Chapter 12 Dragging On

  This day, Wang Er went to the city to deliver goods. Wang Da sat at the counter, staring blankly at the pedestrians on the street. The store was quiet and deserted. At this time last year, some Yangge teams, stilts teams, temples, and theater troupes would come to buy some cheap musical instruments for the occasion, but this year not a single one had been sold yet. They couldn't go out onto the streets to pull people in, after all.

  Wang was worried and didn't know what to do. He thought carefully and remembered that his father had always said he had a problem with chest tightness, and last year's serious illness was caused by sudden fainting. Now, after the autopsy, there were no wounds on the body, could it be that he really died from shame and anger, with a heart attack? The Wang family music store's reputation was now ruined, and the whole family was about to be left out in the cold, what was to be done?

  Lost in thought, someone suddenly patted the counter and chuckled: "Wang Da, what are you daydreaming about? Are you planning to buy some New Year's goods?"

  Wang raised his head to see an old man in a blue robe standing outside the counter with a smile all over his face, and he quickly got up to welcome him, smiling all over his face: "Old Wu, how did you have time to come? Please come in. Quickly, bring a good tea from inside."

  This old man with a clear face is called Wu Jie, in his fifties, and is a businessman from the Sichuan-Shaanxi region who comes to the suburbs of Beijing to do business in medicinal materials. His wealth is far beyond that of the Wang family. Jixingyi is his distribution center for medicinal materials, where he spends half of every year, and most people doing business here know this generous Mr. Wu.

  Wu Jie sat down on the chair with a smile and said, "What's the hurry? It's almost Chinese New Year, isn't it? After finishing this business, I'll be heading back home for the holiday. I passed by your place and thought I'd drop in to say hello. How come you're sitting at the counter today? Look, you still don't know how to manage things properly! The entrance is so deserted! Where's your dad?"

  Wang's face darkened and he forced a smile: "Ah, Old Wu, to be honest with you... my father passed away just the other day."

  Wu Jie was shocked and exclaimed, "How is that possible? When I left here to go to Shaanxi and Sichuan to purchase medicinal materials, Old Master Wang's body was still quite good. How... did his old illness of chest tightness and shortness of breath recur last year?"

  Wang Dada's wife poured out a pot of tea, also with a sorrowful face. Seeing Old Wu, she forced a smile and greeted him, then retreated to the back room after pouring a cup of tea.

  Wu Jie pulled out his emerald-mouthed tobacco pouch from his sleeve, took out a handful of medicinal tobacco from the pouch tied to his waistband, lit it with a piece of coal, and slowly took a puff. He narrowed his eyes and said: "Master Wang has lived to be seventy years old, as people say that living to be seventy is rare since ancient times. Master Wang can be considered to have died of natural causes, which is a happy funeral. I know you two brothers are very filial, come on, sit down, don't be sad, and let's talk."

  Wang Da recounted the events from start to finish, naturally omitting the part about finding the pearls on his father's body. He ended with a resentful tone: "A father's grudge cannot be shared under the same sky, Old Wu, you've traveled far and wide, seen and experienced much, tell me, if I don't avenge this, won't I be ridiculed to death by my neighbors? It's just that... cough, the Ma family is too powerful, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble everywhere. That's why... You also saw it, even guests are no longer visiting us. The county magistrate is not in his office, I think he's just paying lip service, protecting his own kind, intentionally favoring the Ma family."

  Wu Jie sneered and puffed out a mouthful of smoke, saying: "What's the big idea? Isn't it obvious that they're helping the Wang family?"

  Wang Da listened and was both shocked and angry, slapping his thigh in frustration: "I knew it! We have to find a doctor, find the owner of the pharmacy, we go to find County Taoyang, but he's never there... this... this... He's forcing me to take the Ming Code to Beijing to file a complaint with the Emperor!"

  Mr. Wu puffed on his cigarette, rolling his eyes and saying: "Do you still think this is the Hongwu era? Entering the capital to report to the emperor? You're lucky to have thought of it, but the emperor lives in the Forbidden City, with layers of gates and soldiers guarding him. Can you even see him? Even if you did, what then? The county magistrate hasn't said he won't handle this case, human life is more important than heaven, carefully judging a case isn't wrong. At that time, perhaps the emperor will even praise Magistrate Min for being cautious in handling cases and not wrongly killing people. By then, you'll be convicted of slandering the imperial court and deceiving the emperor, which is a serious crime punishable by exterminating nine generations of your family."

  King Dai heard such a terrible consequence, and he was so frightened that his hair stood on end. After a while, he took a deep breath and said: "My dear, thanks to Mr. Wu's reminder, I have little experience and haven't seen much of the world. If it weren't for your words, I would have brought great disaster upon myself. What...what can be done now?"

  Mr. Wu smiled slightly, slowly exhaling cigarette smoke, watching the mist rise, and said slowly: "Brother Wang, I don't have much experience to speak of, but having traveled extensively, I've heard and seen many things like this. As the saying goes, 'ordinary people shouldn't fight with officials,' and another phrase says 'the people's hearts are like iron, while official laws are like a furnace.' In this matter, you don't have sufficient evidence, even if you take it to court, it's unlikely you'll win. Now, you're making things difficult for yourself, I have some good advice, would you be willing to listen?"

  Wang Da hastily picked up the teapot and poured some hot tea for Old Wu, saying with great respect: "Old Wu, please speak, I won't hide it from you, these past two days my heart has been unsettled, it's like riding a tiger, unable to get on or off. If you have any good ideas, please, in memory of my late father, don't hesitate to instruct me."

  Mr. Wu smiled, tapped his pipe gently on the leg of the chair, and put it down slowly on the table. He picked up his tea cup, took a sip, and then said slowly: "To say that this matter was originally unclear, you have witnesses to prove that Ma Ang was arguing with you when Wang died by their side, but no one can prove that Ma Ang hit him. That Yang Xiuzai is a man of merit, he was present from beginning to end, if I were the county magistrate, I couldn't just determine someone's guilt like this, so it's not surprising that County Magistrate Min doesn't believe you."

  Now that things have turned out this way......, Wang Lao Di, I'm telling you a fair word, don't take offense, but Wang Lao Ban is already a dead man walking. His passing was also his own doing. I know you're a filial son and not intentionally trying to drag someone down with him in death, but if this really is a miscarriage of justice, aren't you just adding another sin to your father's name?

  "Besides, you're dragging your family down with you by living here. If you really offend Magistrate Ma, he's just taken office and has a few years of good governance ahead of him. Can you afford to provoke him? Moreover, this case has been dragging on for so long, it's not just that your family will be ruined, but also that your elderly father's body can't even rest in peace. He's still lying in the mortuary during this cold winter month, and who knows if they'll even perform an autopsy, dissecting his bones to examine the wounds. He raised your two brothers, and in the end, not a single one of them will have a complete corpse. How can you bear to do this?"

  Wang Da heard this and burst into tears, sobbing: "Old Wu, you're the boss, give me some advice, what should I do now?"

  Wu Jie smiled slightly and said, "If you really have a filial heart, then Old Master Wang will be able to live out his years in peace and contentment. As for the matter of the money, regardless of whether it's true or false, the Ma family won't bother to pursue it further."

  Although your father wasn't beaten to death, he did get into a dispute while doing business, and the anger and frustration brought on by his old age and declining health led to his demise. The Ma family can't escape responsibility for this. If we don't punish them severely, it will be hard to appease you, and it would be even more difficult to justify in front of our neighbors. In my opinion, why not have the Ma family compensate you with a few dozen taels of silver? They should also cover all the funeral expenses. What do you think if we handle this case like that?

  Wang Da listened, hung his head and didn't speak, puffed for a long time before saying: "This... if we handle it this way, won't people laugh at my brothers for seeking wealth and ignoring our father's great enmity? How can I say such a thing?"

  Old Wu's eyes flashed, and he was about to speak again when a man riding a donkey walked up to the door, jumped off, tied the reins, stomped his feet, and rushed into the room with a serious face. Wang Da looked up and saw that it was his brother Wang Er, and quickly stood up saying: "Second Brother, you're back, what...?"

  He looked out and exclaimed, "Wasn't it to bring in a batch of bamboo flutes, copper gongs, and copper cymbals? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

  Wang Er cupped his hands to Wu Laoban and said, "Hello, Wang Laoban." Then he walked over and plopped himself down in his brother's chair, saying angrily, "What kind of goods are these? Liu Laoban wants us to pay cash on the spot and won't give us credit anymore."

  "What's going on? Our family did business with him for the first time last year, and he was willing to give us goods on credit. Now that we've been dealing with each other for over a year and have never owed him any money, why does he suddenly want to do cash transactions?"

  Wang Erdao said: "It's still because of the killing talent of the Ma family, and I don't know which tongue root is stirring up trouble...", he said to this point suddenly remembered that Wu Laoban was still sitting in the house, and hurriedly shut his mouth.

  Wu Jie took a sip of tea, slowly got up and said: "These days are busy with business, I won't sit for long either. I'll go back now, we'll see each other after the New Year." He smiled and nodded to Wang Da and Wang Er, and walked out with a smile.

  Wang Da listened to his brother's words, and was stunned for half a day. When he saw that Old Wu had already turned out of sight, he couldn't help but stamp his foot in frustration and hurriedly chased after him, shouting from behind: "Old Wu, please wait a moment! I have an even better idea than yours, it's just that this matter requires your esteemed self to mediate on our behalf. Please, you must help us!"