TGCFNM -Chapter 35 Hearing the Mountain God Temple Case

The next day.

Prefect Zhang wore his official robe, sitting upright beneath the plaque. His presence commanded respect without a word. Advisor Qin sat at a low table beside him, ready to take notes.

There were no other seats.

When Chu Ling arrived, she scanned the scene. Seeing that Prefect Zhang hadn’t acknowledged her and seemed to ignore her presence, she walked straight out from the entrance of the yamen and, looking at the gathered crowd, asked, “Is there a chair?”

“…Yes.”

Satisfied, Chu Ling brought a chair, and ignoring everyone’s gazes, took a seat at the lower seat next to Prefect Zhang.

“County Magistrate Chu…” Prefect Zhang spoke slowly.

Chu Ling glanced back with a smile. “I have remembered Your Excellency’s instructions in my heart. I will conduct this trial properly. Please rest assured.”

Prefect Zhang felt a weight in his chest. “No need, County Magistrate Chu, I—”

“You needn’t worry about my safety, Your Excellency. Assisting you in your duties is my responsibility as County Magistrate.” With that, Chu Ling looked down at the officers, “Bring the prisoner Cheng Qiyuan and Sun Miaolu to the court. Summon the witness Yang Shengpei as well.”

Having said this, she turned back and saw Prefect Zhang’s iron-faced expression, and asked with concern, “Your Excellency, did you not rest well last night?”

Prefect Zhang stiffened, slamming the judge’s gavel. “Bring all the prisoners before me!”

With a swift motion, Chu Ling rose and bowed deeply to Prefect Zhang. “I am in awe of Your Excellency. Even amidst marital affection, you still uphold justice, putting righteousness above personal ties. Your virtue deeply moves me!”

“What is Your Excellency talking about?” Advisor Qin frowned.

Chu Ling gave Qin a knowing nod, and he froze, feeling uneasy. Just as he was about to speak, Chu Ling shouted, “Bring in the Prefect’s wife’s nephew, Yang Huaishan!”

Advisor Qin’s face changed drastically. He sprang up. “Excellency Chu! The Prefect is here—how dare you act beyond your authority!”

Chu Ling looked innocent. “Your Excellency, didn’t you say this person should be brought in?”

Prefect Zhang cast a glance at Qin, then struck the gavel. “Bring in the prisoner Yang Huaishan.”

Qin’s face went pale as he instinctively rushed forward. “Excellency, you can’t bring in Master Huaishan. He was raised by the Prefect’s wife, their bond is unusual, and—he is… he is that person’s son.”

Prefect Zhang’s cold gaze made it clear he knew exactly whose son Yang Huaishan was.

Chu Ling smirked coldly. “A mere advisor dares to instruct the Prefect? Upholding the law impartially is not wrong, so why should an advisor have to point it out?”

“Someone, have Advisor Qin, who is feeling unwell today, step down and rest.” Prefect Zhang waved his hand, and immediately someone led Qin away, replacing him with another scribe.

“You, County Magistrate Chu, truly help relieve my burdens,” Prefect Zhang said with a smile.

Chu Ling cupped her hands. “It is what I am supposed to do.” She then sat down again.

Wan Sanjin cautiously approached. “Excellency, are you here to hear the case, or to make enemies?”

Chu Ling lowered her gaze and said softly, “Prefect Zhang is an old fox; this is deliberate. He wants to free himself from the Yang family’s control, and I’m merely giving him a hand. Though he may not thank me, I must still act.”

Wan Sanjin didn’t understand and looked at Su He for clarification.

Su He shrugged; he didn’t understand either. But then again, their master had always made enemies easily—probably because debts piled up faster than worries.

Soon, the accused, Cheng Qiyuan and Sun Miaolu, were brought forward in chains.

Chu Ling looked at the two, aghast at their miserable state—how much torture had they endured to be covered in blood like this?

Magistrate Zhang struck the gavel:

“Prisoners Cheng Qiyuan and Sun Miaolu, do you know your crimes?”

“I… I know my crime,”

“I… I know my crime,” they repeated.

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow—just like that, they admitted guilt.

“Then tell the truth—what crimes have you committed?” Magistrate Zhang demanded coldly.

After exchanging a glance, Cheng Qiyuan spoke slowly: “Your honor, on that day at the Mountain God Temple, Shen Lizhou died unexpectedly. At the time, it was just the two of us in the temple. We were afraid we’d be blamed, so we ran in panic.”

“Is that all?” Zhang coldly scoffed.

Cheng Qiyuan swallowed hard, struggling to look at the magistrate seated above. “We… we were afraid we couldn’t participate in the spring examination, so we cleaned the temple… and removed two of the straw mats.”

“Pei Yuan and Yang Sheng fainted outside the Mountain God Temple—was that because of you?” Zhang asked.

Sun Miaolu shook his head immediately: “No… no, it wasn’t us.”

Cheng Qiyuan seemed to make up his mind. “Your honor, it was the first day of July. That day we gathered at the Mountain God Temple. Brother Shen was staying there temporarily, and we discussed poetry and essays. Later, Brother Huaishan arrived, and he and Brother Shen disagreed on many ideas—they had a huge quarrel.”

Sun Miaolu quickly added, “Yes, the two of them were at odds, and we couldn’t calm them down at all.”

“Brother Huaishan left angrily, saying Brother Shen was ridiculous and not worth associating with,” Cheng Qiyuan exhaled heavily. “We stayed behind to comfort Brother Shen. Later that night, we heard wolves howling in the distance, and we dared not leave, so we decided to spend the night in the temple.”

“Half asleep, half awake, someone—someone broke in. We fled in fear. When we returned after it quieted down, Brother Shen was already dead, and the two of us suddenly passed out.”

Sun Miaolu looked pale. “When we woke in the morning, it was just me and Brother Cheng. Seeing Brother Shen’s body, we were terrified, so we cleaned the scene and then ran away.”

At this moment, Pei Yuan and Yang Sheng had also arrived. Hearing their testimony, Yang Sheng stepped forward first. “Your honor, we lied about the date… because we were threatened. If we hadn’t, it would have endangered our families.”

Pei Yuan’s face was equally grim; everything was left unspoken.

The gathered crowd murmured in astonishment. So it was a dispute of ideas that led Yang Huaishan to hire a killer? But because it was only a quarrel with Shen Lizhou, he killed only him and no one else?

At this point, it seemed that all that remained was to apprehend Yang Huaishan for questioning to catch the culprit. And the reason he hadn’t been caught earlier was probably because the magistrate’s wife had obstructed things behind the scenes.

The magistrate, being willing to uphold justice even against his own family, truly was a good official.

Chu Ling listened quietly. Once everyone had finished speaking, she looked to the side.

Shen Lizhou stood there, thinking for a long while before speaking to Chu Ling: “Your honor, I don’t feel it was Brother Huaishan.”

“Why?” Chu Ling asked silently.

Shen Lizhou exhaled. “Brother Huaishan certainly disagreed with me, and he is knowledgeable and a bit arrogant. We had a huge quarrel. But his behavior makes me think he wouldn’t hire someone to kill. If he were truly angry, he would have acted himself.”

Chu Ling understood, and a strange, absurd feeling crept into her mind. Yang Huaishan was quite the character.