Chapter 11: Unable to Stir Up Trouble

  The next day, the Wang family, old and young, neighbors, and Yang Ling were brought to the main hall again. The county magistrate, Min, who had received a report from the yamen runners the previous night and had been carefully instructed by Ma Lian'er according to Yang Ling's plan, was now confident in his judgment. Those flowery words he couldn't utter, but this old soldier was originally not someone to be reasoned with, so he could use his own language to seemingly render a fair verdict.

  Magistrate Ma hid behind the screen of County Magistrate Min to listen to the trial. When Ma Ang was brought up, County Magistrate Min slapped the wooden block and said to Wang Da and Wang Er in a gentle tone: "Wang Da, Wang Er, yesterday this official searched your father's body on the spot and found Miss Ma's pearls. Your father, Old Man Wang, had ulterior motives and greedily hid someone else's pearls. Do you two have any objections to this?"

  "Ah...", Wang Dawang and Wang Er exchanged a glance, unsure what trick County Magistrate Min had up his sleeve. The two brothers exchanged a look with each other and said to County Magistrate Min: "Sir, when my father quarreled with Ma Ang, I was not present at the scene. Whether it was because my father was blinded by personal gain or if Ma Ang deliberately framed him, I truly do not know."

  Ma Ang knelt on the hall, angrily saying: "Fart, can't I be wronged by him? That old thing received my sister's pearls and then denied taking them, deliberately deceiving me of my family's property..."

  The county magistrate slapped the wooden table and shouted: "This official has not asked you any questions, if you dare to interrupt again, I will slap your mouth!"

  Ma Ang hummed and stopped talking, his face puffed up with anger. County Magistrate Min smiled and stroked his whiskers, saying: "So, it seems that you're saying Lord's father was beaten to death by Ma Ang, but you didn't see it with your own eyes?"

  Wang Da's face turned blue with rage, and he said indignantly: "Sir, although I didn't see the murderer beating my father with my own eyes, my father has always been in good health. If it wasn't for this person's crime, how could my father have died suddenly? He saw me coming out to stop him and even tried to attack me, throwing my father aside. The neighbors all saw this and can testify."

  County Magistrate Yin sneered and said, "This is going to be difficult. Yang Ling and Yang Xiucai were both there at the time and saw everything clearly from start to finish. According to Yang Xiucai, your father had embezzled Ma's family's daughter's pearls. Ma's family's son caught him and reasoned with him, but never laid a hand on him. It seems that your father was old and weak, and when his unjust actions were exposed, he died of shame!"

  Wang Da and Wang Er listened and kowtowed, saying: "Your Honor, my father is innocent, my father..."

  "Wait, wait, I haven't finished speaking yet," said the county magistrate with a wave of his hand. "However, according to your brother's words, your father was always in good health and wouldn't have died from a sudden fit of anger. At that time, Ma Ang was arguing with your father, and afterwards your father fell to the ground dead. Although you didn't see it with your own eyes, the neighbors can all testify that from start to finish, the only one who argued with your father was Ma Ang alone. Therefore, the killer must be Ma Ang."

  Wang Da and Wang Er kowtowed repeatedly, saying: "Your Honor is wise, Your Honor is wise. My father was indeed beaten to death by this ruthless murderer. At his age, how could he withstand his fists and kicks? Not to mention that my father had not coveted his wealth, even if he had been tempted by greed, the punishment would not have been death. I beg you, sir, to uphold justice."

  Ma Ang heard the urgency, his legs straightened and he was about to stand up. The two bailiffs beside him crossed their water fire clubs on the ground, pressing down on his knees, causing Ma Ang to cry out in pain, kneeling there unable to move.

  Ma Lian'er saw him and hurried over to hold his shoulders, saying: "Brother, don't worry, Magistrate Min is a just and honest man, he will make a fair judgment!"

  Ma Ang opened his eyes wide and said hastily and angrily: "Where did brother hit him? That old man extorted money from people, and his son is such a good-for-nothing, it's clear that they are cheating me, you quickly go find dad..."

  He hadn't finished speaking when his shoulder was fiercely pinched by Ma Lian'er. Startled, he looked up to see his sister glaring at him fiercely, and suddenly realized something in his heart, so he immediately shut his mouth and didn't speak again.

  The county magistrate of Min smiled and looked at him with a smile, thinking: "This brave but foolhardy fellow, if it weren't for the fact that your father and I were both officials in this Ji Ming Yi, I wouldn't bother to save you. If you don't know what's good for you, you deserve to suffer some hardships."

  County Magistrate Mo cleared his throat and said with a stern expression: "This official has been in this Ji Ming Inn for two years, always impartially enforcing the law, clean and honest, governing the people with prosperity, reputation is well-known to all... would not tolerate an evil-doer, nor would he wrong a good person..."

  Yang Ling couldn't help but want to laugh at these words. It's already ridiculous enough for someone to praise themselves in public, but this big-bearded man said it with such seriousness and effort, as if reciting from a book. However, thinking about how people in the future would write their year-end summaries, everyone would be boasting like they're a beautiful flower, so he let it go.

  County Magistrate Min's tone suddenly changed, and he raised his voice: "Since this official received the case, I braved the snow last night to visit the neighbors, investigate and collect evidence. I also ordered a check on the body of your deceased father. According to what this county knows, there were no external injuries or bruises on your father's body, so it is difficult to have direct and sole evidence that he was beaten to death..."

  County Magistrate Yin secretly swallowed his saliva and thought to himself: "Where did this Yang Scholar come up with such a twisted phrase? However... it sounds quite profound and mysterious, heh heh!"

  He picked up the teacup and took a sip, continuing: "Also, according to what I know about your family, you moved here from southern Fujian two years ago. Your father was seriously ill last autumn, so it's hard to believe that he has always been in good health."

  According to the sauce shop owner He Lao, your father told him that on his way here, he was bitten by a snake in Huguang and delayed his journey for over 10 days. Because of the urgency of the journey, he didn't fully recover before continuing on the road, which may have laid the cause of death.

  In order not to wrong a good person or indulge a bad one, the county has decided that Ma Ang will be detained for observation. This case will not be dismissed until it is clarified. At the same time, an order will be issued to perform an autopsy on your father's body to check if there are any internal injuries. Meanwhile, you need to find the doctor who treated your father last year and bring back the original prescription to prove that your father's illness was not serious enough to leave behind a fatal condition.

  Also, your family should quickly send someone to Huguang to find the doctor who treated your father's illness and obtain the prescription used at that time. Of course, you also need to ask a famous doctor in the prefecture to provide a diagnosis that there is still residual venom of abdominal snake in the body, which will not cause death. The county will use this as evidence to sentence Ma Ang to death.

  "What?! Go find the doctor who treated Father's illness, this is easy to handle, go to the capital city to invite a famous doctor, this... can also be barely handled, but... still need to travel far to Huguang to find the doctor who prescribed the medicine back then, what if he has moved elsewhere, wouldn't it be a waste of time and effort?"

  County Magistrate Yin smiled faintly, this was just the first move. If the Wang family became ruthless and really went to great lengths to bring Langzhong's prescription, they would arrange for Ma Ang to appeal, and then the Wang family would have to go to Huguang again to get proof from the pharmacy. If that didn't work, they could also send his two brothers back to their hometown to find the local government and land officials to produce a document proving their father's robust physique.

  In short, the farther and more troublesome the journey is, the better. The more detailed the evidence required, the better. This shows that one is careful and serious in handling the case, and attaches great importance to human life, while at the same time making it so troublesome for him that he becomes tired of it and gives up pursuing it. This is one of the usual tricks used by insurance companies to shirk their responsibilities.

  King Da and King Er were stunned, still waiting to explain a few more sentences, when Magistrate Min suddenly glared at them with wide eyes, slammed his hand on the wooden desk and shouted loudly: "Come! Take the suspect Ma Ang back to the prison for close surveillance. Everyone else can go home and wait for the victim's family, the Wangs, to find evidence. This court will reconvene to investigate further!"

  The yamen runners responded with a loud "Yes!" and immediately two burly constables rushed out, dragging Ma Rong away like wolves and tigers. This display of ferocity, although directed at Ma Rong, also sent chills down the spines of the Wang brothers, who swallowed their words before they could even speak them.

  The Wang brothers returned home in silence, and if they were to give up now, it would be unbearable. After discussing for two days, they decided that Wang Da would pack his bags and head to Huguang to retrieve the evidence before going to the prefectural city to seek help, while Wang Er would take care of business at home.

  Just then, Wang Da's wife rushed in hastily and anxiously said: "Master, I thought that our house had no guests visiting for the past two days because of the recent death, and relatives were being cautious during the New Year. But it turns out that the Yamen runners have been slandering us everywhere, saying that we do business by selling fake goods as genuine and inferior goods as high-quality ones, forcing people to buy and sell. Not only is Chicken Inn aware of this, but also outsiders will know about it through those ruthless clerks who spread rumors while delivering official documents. If things go on like this, how can our family still do business? Won't we all just be waiting for death?"

  The Wang brothers were shocked, the most feared thing in business is to get a bad reputation. The Yishu government office spread rumors locally, but it's not enough. They took advantage of their hundreds of messengers going back and forth between north and south to spread false information everywhere, and the Wang family music store would have to close down for good.

  The Wang family had no land in this place and relied on business to make a living. Although the family was richer than ordinary farmers, at that time, agriculture was valued more than commerce, and their social status was lower than that of farmers.

  The Ming court stipulated that peasants could wear silk fabrics like those with official titles, but even the wealthiest merchants did not have this privilege. Therefore, although peasants could not afford silk fabrics, rich merchants who could afford them were not allowed to wear them. Even if a merchant had a huge fortune, he could only wear silk fabrics at home and had to change into coarse cloth garments when going out. Otherwise, it would be a serious crime if someone reported him to the authorities.

  So the Wang family is already at a disadvantage in this lawsuit, and if they also mess up their business, it will be a double loss. Looking at this whole family, do they want to make such a big fuss over someone who's already dead that they can't even make a living?

  The two brothers' idea of taking the lawsuit to the end faded a bit, thinking that the year-end was approaching, and it wasn't suitable to go out at this time. It's better for the two brothers to take good care of the store first and talk about it after the Spring Festival.

  Two brothers rushed to the front hall to solicit business, but after two days, not only did they fail to make a single deal, but also heard rumors that Old Man Wang had extorted money from others and was exposed and died in shame. The two sons of the Wang family were even more greedy than their father, and in the cold winter months, they threw their father's body into the autopsy room and didn't care, letting the coroner dissect and examine the bones to try to swindle some money.

  It is often said that people's words are to be feared, others don't care about the truth or falsehood, as long as they don't interact with them, their own reputation will be ruined. So, some originally very friendly neighbors have also become strange and distant in the past two days, gradually drifting apart.

  Two brothers went to see the county magistrate with a grievance, but were told that Liujiaping had been hit by heavy snow and three households' homes had collapsed. The benevolent county magistrate had already gone to provide relief and assistance. They planned to go again the next day, only to be informed that the county magistrate had gone to Xuanfu to oversee the transportation of winter grain for local officials and postal stations.