Chapter 41: Dawn
Fang Jian acted swiftly. Within a single day, she had secured both witnesses and physical evidence for the case. She then borrowed troops to lock down all of Qinzhou. With Prefect Chen Yangzheng absent, the remaining subordinate officials were leaderless and caught completely off guard. Fang Jian had her people take statements from the servants of the Chen estate. With Chen Qingshang's tacit approval, the servants who had been beaten by Chen Shouyi came forward one by one to identify him. Even though the steward and others bit down and claimed ignorance, they could not explain the five sets of skeletal remains, so Fang Jian had them all imprisoned.
This work kept them busy until nightfall. Chen Shouyi had already been locked in the Qinzhou Prefecture prison. Fang Jian specifically assigned several soldiers to guard him, to prevent him from doing something desperate.
When Fang Jian walked into the prison cell, Chen Shouyi was no longer panicked. He sat there quietly, cross-legged with his eyes closed, recuperating his spirit. Shen Jin grabbed a long bench, placed it by Fang Jian's feet, and invited her to sit.
"Chen Shouyi, don't you have anything to say?" Fang Jian asked.
Chen Shouyi opened his eyes and said calmly, "What is there to say?"
"The witnesses and evidence are all here. Do you confess to the crime of wantonly taking human lives, or not?"
"Heh, you jest, my lord. Just because skeletons were dug up in my Chen family's courtyard doesn't mean I killed them, does it?" Chen Shouyi said nonchalantly.
"Oh? Then what of the witnesses?"
"It's all slander. The Chen family is large and influential; it's common to have one or two scoundrels with covetous eyes." Chen Shouyi stubbornly refused to admit anything.
"Then why was the young master in such a hurry during the day?"
"I… I was momentarily anxious… Father is not home. I am the eldest son. If something happens, Father will punish me when he returns…" Chen Shouyi stammered.
"No matter. If the young master is unwilling to speak with me, perhaps you'd be willing to speak with the innocent souls who died unjustly? The five skeletons are in the cell next door, watching you through the bars. I'm afraid they're quite eager to have a chat with you tonight." Fang Jian pointed outside, where several soldiers were carrying thin coffins into the prison.
"No… no!" Chen Shouyi's guilty conscience made him panic at her words. He stood up and tried to lunge at Fang Jian, but he was held down firmly by the soldiers.
"Oh, right," Fang Jian stood up, dusting the corner of her official robe. "I wonder if the late young madam would also like to come and chat with you."
"A'qiong? No… don't…"
In less than half a night, Chen Shouyi broke. Fang Jian rose from her couch in the middle of the night to conduct the interrogation, solely to obtain a confession as quickly as possible and solidify the case.
When she saw Chen Shouyi again, he had already lost the air of a noble family's son. His hair was disheveled, and he looked like a madman.
"You wanted to see me?" Fang Jian gracefully lifted the hem of her robe and sat down opposite Chen Shouyi.
"My lord, I confess. I did it. It was all me," Chen Shouyi said, slumping onto the straw mat and muttering.
"Tell me why." Fang Jian signaled for the scribe to take notes.
"Heh, there is no why. I was just unhappy and needed a place to vent. I am the legitimate eldest son of the Chen family, the face of the family. How could I go mad outside? So I could only lock myself in my room and find things to do." Chen Shouyi said dejectedly. "At first, it was just a few kicks and punches. I don't know when it started, but my hands grew heavier and heavier, and I couldn't control it. I always suspected I was sick, but who could I tell? Day after day, it just became like this."
"Is that all?" Fang Jian frowned.
"Is that all?" Chen Shouyi began to laugh, a chilling and unsettling sound. "Right, how could you people understand? You're a Triple First, you must have been a genius with a photographic memory since childhood. How could you understand my difficulties? I am clearly the Chen family's legitimate eldest son, I'm supposed to live up to my parents' expectations, but what about me? I can't do anything. When I was young, my studies were inferior to my second younger sister's in every way. Father always compared me to her. She's a lady, she's younger, and he'd scold me for not being diligent enough. But I was already trying so hard! I was just born this way."
Tears fell from Chen Shouyi's eyes. He had never spoken these words to anyone, but now they all came pouring out. "After my sister married, I thought it would get better, but Father still cursed me, called me dull, always looked at me with disappointment, even said I was worse than my even younger third sister. They all look down on me, haha, just a little lady, what's she so arrogant about? The Chen family fortune will be mine sooner or later, it has nothing to do with them, what right do they have to look down on me? Even the servants were laughing at me, did they think I couldn't hear? No matter how dull I am, I'm still the Chen family's legitimate eldest son. Are these slaves even worthy!"
"Servants are people too."
"People? What are people? Am I even a person? I'm just an object of the Chen family, the legitimate eldest son, ha, the legitimate eldest son. Anyone could have this position, as long as he came from my mother's womb, as long as he's a boy, he's the legitimate eldest son. Does it matter if he's Chen Shouyi or Chen Shou'er? Everyone who sees me only sees the Chen family's legitimate eldest son. What am I? I can't be a person, so why should they get to be people?" Chen Shouyi was laughing and crying, almost completely insane.
The atmosphere in the small cell seemed to freeze, so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Fang Jian let out a breath and changed the subject. "Tell me about Song Qiong."
"Song Qiong? Song Qiong looked down on me too. She was so close with my second sister; they must have laughed at me together. She is merely my wife, my appendage! She should obey me! She should submit to me! I hate her, hate her calmness, her silence, her mockery, hate that she could understand Father's words, hate that she was always lecturing me!"
"So you beat her too?"
"She asked for it! Why should those lowlifes be treated gently by her! She's my wife! She should sink into depravity with me! Hahaha! So what if she's smart, so what if she's perceptive, she's just a lady, what's the use of being so clever living her whole life in the inner quarters? Ha! No matter how talented, wasn't she still pressed beneath me! Hahaha!"
"Were you responsible for her death?" Fang Jian recalled something and asked with a frown.
"No!" Chen Shouyi shot up, only to be forced back down by the soldiers. "I told you, she's my wife! She was carrying my legitimate eldest son! Why would I kill them! How could she leave me! A'qiong… A'qiong… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… sob…"
Fang Jian interrogated him all night. With his defenses shattered, Chen Shouyi answered every question, spilling everything he knew, including a stream of sordid affairs from various major families.
The next day, Fang Jian used his confession to interrogate the rest of the Chen family. It was immediately clear who was complicit and who was not. Within a few days, she had sorted through all the evidence and held a public trial outside the prefectural government office. For the crimes of murder and spousal abuse, Chen Shouyi was sentenced to death by beheading with a reprieve. The steward, attendants, and others were sentenced one by one according to the extent of their complicity. The evidence was ironclad, leaving the powers of Qinzhou unable to refute it. Prefect Chen Yangzheng was suspected of providing cover and dereliction of duty, but as he was a third-rank official, Fang Jian had no authority to handle him. She organized all the documents and testimonies and sent them by express courier directly to the Emperor, respectfully requesting a sacred judgment.
When the news reached the capital, the court was shocked. That the son of a third-rank prefect would commit such atrocities, and that the prefect would cover for him, was unheard of in this dynasty. Her Majesty was enraged, immediately throwing Chen Yangzheng in prison and ordering the three judicial offices to verify the facts and impose a heavy punishment. At the same time, a new prefect for Qinzhou was appointed and dispatched to his post that very day. With that, the mountain that had loomed over Qinzhou was finally moved.
The Chen family was thrown into chaos. Chen Qingshang stepped forward to take charge of the situation, and in doing so, seized control as the head of the Chen family.
When the common people saw that even the legitimate eldest son of the Chen family had been dealt with by the Censor, the resentment that had been suppressed for who knows how long was finally unleashed. Countless petitions flew to the Censorate office, and every day, innumerable people lined up outside, waiting to seek justice. Aided by the string of dirty secrets from various families that Chen Shouyi had confessed, Fang Jian and the new prefect followed the threads and turned the entire prefecture of Qinzhou upside down.
On a rest day, Chen Qingshang invited Fang Jian for an outing. Fang Jian had finally managed to free up some time and was glad for the rare chance to relax and stretch her legs outside the Censorate office. It was October, and the autumn air was crisp and clear. A cool breeze blew along the road, refreshing the soul. They had arranged to go see Song Qiong together.
Fang Jian walked slowly along the mountain path, asking Chen Qingshang, "She was your sister-in-law. Is she not buried in your family's ancestral tomb?" The mountain path was rugged, not at all like the burial grounds of a major family.
"She wouldn't have wanted that," Chen Qingshang replied, walking ahead. "I secretly had someone steal her body out and found this beautiful place with clear waters and green mountains to bury her."
Fang Jian was so shocked she nearly stumbled. For a matter as grave as life and death, Chen Qingshang was truly audacious. After trekking for a while, the view suddenly opened up and the path became level. They arrived at Song Qiong's grave. The location offered a panoramic view of Qinzhou City. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and a clear mountain breeze rustled through the trees, filling one's heart with peace and joy.
"It truly is a good place," Fang Jian praised.
Chen Qingshang gently cleared the weeds from Song Qiong's grave and placed offerings before it. Fang Jian came to help, opening a jar of wine, filling a cup, and pouring it before the tomb. Fang Jian genuinely admired Song Qiong. She was a pure lotus that grew from the mud, unyielding in the face of adversity, extending a hand to those even weaker than herself despite her own peril.
Chen Qingshang took another cup, filled it with wine, and handed it to Fang Jian. Then she raised her own cup in a gesture to Fang Jian. "On behalf of all the ladies of Qinzhou, I thank you, my lord."
Fang Jian tilted her head back and drank the wine. "There is no need to thank me. I only did what was within my duty. You should thank yourselves."
Chen Qingshang also drained her cup. When she lifted her head, her eyes were brimming with tears. She began to laugh with abandon, startling the birds in the forest. The burdens that had weighed on her heart for days and years, the ropes and iron chains that had never loosened their grip, shattered completely in that moment.
Fang Jian raised her cup to her in a toast. "May your futures be as vast as the high heavens and wide seas, may the great roc soar on the wind.1"
They talked for a long time at Song Qiong's grave, speaking of the past and the future. The three of them finished the jar of wine completely. Later in the evening, Fang Jian left first. Chen Qingshang arranged for people to escort her down the mountain, leaving Chen Qingshang alone. She moved closer to Song Qiong's tombstone, pressed her cheek against the cold stone, and closed her eyes, as if feeling a lover's embrace.
A'qiong, do you see it?
After enduring the long, long night, the light of dawn has finally appeared.
Do you see it?
Author's Notes
- The great roc soars ninety thousand li on the wind: from Li Qingzhao's Fisherman's Pride: The Sky Meets the Clouds and Waves, Connecting to the Morning Mist.
- The brave, when angered, draw their blades against the stronger; the cowardly, when angered, draw their blades against the weaker. A perfect reflection of Song Qiong and Chen Shouyi.
- Did anyone guess the CP?
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