Chapter 23 - Reversal

The beauty was like a poisonous flower, with a lethality behind her smile.

Chen Zhao’s whole body went soft. His only thought was that Jiang Ruan’s gentle argument had already dug numerous traps for him to fall in. Anything he said now would only be perceived as false. From the beginning, he had no chance of winning.

Qian Wan Li was not faring much better than Chen Zhao. Jiang Ruan, undermining the judge in such a way, had made it impossible for the trial to continue. Only, Qian Wan Li had already collected the bribe, so he had put in a great effort to keep up appearances. However, today, this thorny situation had already gone beyond his expectations. Not to mention, Imperial Censor Wang was present as well and had witnessed the whole ordeal. If he stubbornly supported Chen Zhao, it would be hard to convince the people, moreover, he was not sure what Wang Daren would think of this action. On the other hand, if he supported Jiang Ruan, he would have to return the money that he had already received from Chen Zhao, and he felt really unwilling to do so. Furthermore, he had also planned to ask for a sum of money from Jiang Quan as well, so this gold mine of his could not be squandered away. Only, he needed to think of a way where it could be possible for him to have his cake and eat it too?

But the reality did not allow Qian Wan Li to ponder even for much longer. A moment later, the sound of the beats of a drum[1] fell into the people’s ears. Li Mi rushed towards Qian Wan Li and cupped his fist to him. “Qian Daren, there is someone outside, beating the drum of justice.”

[1] Gǔshēng ( 鼓声 ) – sound of a drum; drumbeat

To beat the drum of justice, no one had made such a move on East Street before! Everyone knew what kind of a place this government office was. If one really suffered an injustice, shelling out silver was better than beating the drum. If they had no silver with them, even if they beat the drum for a year, no one would care about them and the person might possibly be sent to jail for it.

Upon hearing this, Qian Wan Li was also surprised. “Who is beating the drum of justice?” He looked to the side, where Wang Daren sat, and sought his opinion, “What do you think, Daren?”

“Bring the person in,” Wang Daren said coldly, his voice like a gong striking Qian Wan Li’s heart. Qian Wan Li couldn’t help but be frightened.

The person was quickly brought in. It was a young girl who was dressed as a maidservant. When she entered the court, she knelt.

“Who are you? What injustice have you faced?” Without waiting for Qian Wan Li to speak, Wang Daren spoke first. Qian Wan Li didn’t dare to stop him and could only complain in his heart. It seemed that Wang Daren was determined to intervene in this case. But Qian Wan Li couldn’t refuse his intervention. This Imperial Censor Wang was a favourite of the Emperor and usually, he would never suffer a loss. This person was as stubborn and unyielding as a stone. Unable to stand most officials, the ones that were positioned under his control would ultimately not have a good end. It could be said that Imperial Censor Wang was like a demon in the minds of the officials. So, when the demon spoke now, he didn’t dare to slight him. Although the money was good, he had to keep his official hat on his head. Qian Wan Li made up his mind that it was worthless to keep Chen Zhao’s money, and as for Jian Quan, he would forget about him too. Since Imperial Censor Wang was present, he would present the image of being a just and incorruptible official who was a parental figure to the masses.

Having made up his mind, Qian Wan Li hummed and said, “Yes, what grievances do you have? If you speak honestly- this official- I myself, and Daren here will give you justice.”

The people standing outside let out a laugh; Qian Wan Li’s words were bound to make them laugh. When a corruptible official swore to bring justice to someone, it would only make people think that he was putting on airs. Chen Zhao looked at Qian Wan Li blankly. Suddenly, he began to panic. Things weren’t proceeding as he had expected. Now even Qian Wan Li’s attitude had become quite ambiguous. If at this crucial point, he defected, what hope would he, Chen Zhao, have?

The girl quickly and obediently kowtowed to the officials sitting in the front. “This slave is deeply grateful for the help. This slave did not beat the drum for herself, but for Miss Jiang. This slave is a maidservant at Jiang family’s manor. This slave can vouch for Miss Jiang. It wasn’t Miss Jiang who killed Chun Ying, it was Chen Zhao!”

Then, the girl looked up to reveal a familiar face. It was Qiu Yan.

“Qiu Yan! You… what are you talking about?” Chen Zhao, after the initial surprise, now showed an expression of disbelief. In this case, Qiu Yan should have actually been on his side. There was no reason for her to support Jiang Ruan but now she had come out to testify against him. What could be the reason?

“This slave did not lie!” Qiu Yan didn’t look at Chen Zhao. “This slave and Chun Ying were first-rank maids at the residence, and thus, we also lived together. The day of the murder, this slave went out to buy something and after this slave’s return, this slave heard something strange outside. Since it was a strange noise, this slave didn’t dare to show myself but peeped out from a small hole through a window. Chen Zhao was pushing Chun Ying to the ground. He covered her nose and mouth, restraining her, until she stopped struggling. This slave was terribly scared of being discovered by him and so, ran. Later, this slave didn’t dare mention this matter to anyone. Who knew that yesterday, the young lady would be imprisoned! Although this slave is afraid of dying, this slave could not watch an innocent person being tried and become a scapegoat. So this slave decided to come here after much thought to vouch for Miss Jiang.”

“Damn hussy, what are you saying?! Jiang Ruan must have given you many benefits to pour filthy water* on my son like this. Daren is just and fair and naturally knows who is lying and who is speaking the truth! Be careful, or you will be imprisoned! You little slut, just wait and see if this old woman does not tear your mouth after you leave!” From within the crowd, this familiar high pitched voice came. It was none other than Zhang Lan. At first, without a doubt, Chen Zhao’s stance was untouchable. However, after watching her and listening to Jiang Ruan’s speech, she had suddenly become anxious. And now, Qiu Yan had appeared to cause a stir. By this time, Zhang Lan had begun to realize the danger of the situation. Thus, without taking into account the place she was in, she began shouting abuses in public like a shrew.

* To cast a bucket of dirty water – to deflect and misdirect the culpability onto someone else.

After hearing such words used in front of him, Qian Wan Li was not happy. Seeing that Imperial Censor Wang was frowning, Qian Wan Li hit the gavel on the desk. “Silence!” When everyone became quiet, Qian Wan Li asked Qiu Yan. “What evidence do you have to support your claim?”

Jiang Ruan smiled quietly. In the silent court, her smile was clear and unblemished, and in seeing that, people felt as if a soft breeze was blowing in their hearts. As everyone focused their eyes on her, Jiang Ruan slowly said, “Daren actually need not think that Qiu Yan would speak on my behalf. Everyone knows that in the entire residence, other than Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao, my two maids, I am not familiar with others.”

Jiang Ruan’s smiling gaze landed upon Qiu Yan. “I am also very surprised that Qiu Yan is willing to bear witness for me.”

Qiu Yan dodged Jiang Ruan’s gaze. “This slave… this slave wants to act according to her conscience.”

“You’re lying!” Chen Zhao roared furiously. “You are clearly talking nonsense! You both are colluding together to place the blame on me!”

“Your words are truly laughable,” Jiang Ruan raised her eyebrows and looked at him. “I have stayed in prison all day. I did not have any opportunity to meet Qiu Yan. Are you suggesting that we colluded earlier and planned this entire incident out? But if that is correct, how could we have known that Chen Zhao would bring government officials to arrest us yesterday? Am I a ghost or a demon to know all that?”

Chen Zhao looked at her beautiful face. Her limpid eyes were like spring water, but they taught people not to unconsciously fall into their trap. Her lips were full, like petals, but they seemed to only spit out venomous words. Her moving eyebrows were charming, but had a vague, murderous intent to them. She was not a fairy, but a witch. She was not a beauty, but a snake.

Suddenly, inside Chen Zhao’s heart there was a flash of panic. He only felt that the other person had transformed from a charming woman to a terrible monster. His whole body shivered with uncertainty.

“This slave can also vouch for Miss Jiang! Miss Jiang is not the murderer!” Another voice shouted at the right time.