“Zhang Wangshi, you continue on.”
After seeing that the scene had quieted down a bit, the Chun’an governor nodded towards the young woman, signalling for her to continue on.
“Oooh ……Qing Tian Daoliang, my master gave me three days ago that he hired a good boatman Wang Gui, said that he wanted to go to Yingtianfu this morning to buy goods, and the appointment time out was a quarter past dawning. My master packed up his gifts and took his belongings with him at four minutes past midnight this morning and left the house.”
The young woman, Zhang Wang’s, sobbed and wiped her tears as she told the story of what happened.
“After my master left the house this morning, about an hour later the maid Bi’er reported back to me saying that she heard someone knocking on the door, knocking very urgently, shouting ‘Lady Zhang, Lady Zhang, open the door.’. I walked to the courtyard and heard such shouts, so I let the maid Bi’er open the door, and then it was Wang Gui, the boatman, who was outside the door. I then asked Wang Gui, why are you in such a hurry, what happened.”
“Wang Gui asked with an anxious look on his face, ‘Lady Zhang, it’s getting late, why isn’t Master Zhang on the boat yet?’. I was surprised to hear that. My master had already been out for an hour, why had he not yet boarded the ship? Then I panicked, so I took my maid and called my family to follow the boatman, and went to the river to find my master. On the way, I met some acquaintances, who said that they had seen my master take a shortcut to the river, and that I could get to the pier by following the river down the road. When we arrived at the river, there was only one boat and no sign of my master. My slave was worried and scared, so I followed Wang Gui to the county office to report the case.”
“My master is a good man, and has done a lot of good deeds by picking up his neighbours and paving bridges and roads. My master is famous for keeping his promises, as long as he has promised something, he will definitely do it, and he will be there when he says he will be there, and if he didn’t get there at the agreed time, something must have happened. Qing Tian Daoliang, you have to be the master of my slave, the master of my house ah.”
The young woman held back her tears as she finished speaking and could no longer restrain herself, turning from the whimpering and sobbing at the beginning to tearing her heart out as she knelt on the ground and requested Governor Chun’an to be her master.
There was a buzzing sound around her, as if there were countless flies flying around, because of the presence of officials, people didn’t dare to speak loudly, but the whispered exchanges were endless, especially when the young woman was talking.
Because of the presence of the officials, people only whispered and expressed their opinions.
“Master Zhang only went out on the front foot, and when someone knocked on the door on the back foot, she opened the door ah, what does this mean ah, she is really used to being a watery woman.”
“That’s right, really not worth it for Master Zhang.”
“Hey, I have heard that this woman does not abide by women’s morals ah, you say that the daughter-in-law of a serious family, who opened the door to the man early in the morning ah, perhaps the boatman as the concubine it …..”
“Often walk by the river, how can not wet shoes. Master Zhang is also trust ah, shortcut can be, but pay attention to safety ah, last night it rained, the riverside is the most slippery but ……”
Compared to the people’s whispered chatter, while the young woman was kneeling to tell the story, Zhu Pingan listened attentively, and when he heard half of it, Zhu Pingan’s eyebrows moved slightly and raised slightly upwards, as if a tightly closed room had opened its door.
After looking at the young woman kneeling at the feet of the Chun’an governor, and sweeping a glance at Wang Gui, the boatman who was standing next to him waiting to reply, then Zhu Pingan shifted his gaze to the governor.
First, let’s see how the governor handles it.
“You get up first, as a parent official, this official will naturally make decisions for the people.”The Magistrate raised his hand in vain and let the people pull the young woman up, then he looked at Wang Gui, the boatman at the side, and asked him to tell the matter again.
“Back to Qing Tian Daolord, my name is Wang Gui, my ancestors have been begging for a living along the Yangtze River for generations. Three days ago, Grand Master Zhang asked someone to find me and made an appointment to go to Yingtianfu to buy goods at a quarter past dusk today. It’s by this river, waiting for him to arrive to start the boat. At dawn, I came to the riverside to wait for Master Zhang, and at a quarter past dawning, Master Zhang had not yet arrived. Little waited at the riverside to the left for Grand Master Zhang and did not come, waited to the right for Grand Master Zhang and did not come, and waited for almost half an hour, but Grand Master Zhang was not able to come.”
“The time is in advance appointment, to Yingtianfu small but also to pick up Li Ji tea house young master back it, Zhang big master this are late almost half an hour has not come to board the boat it, if the wrong time to pick up Li young master, small but can not afford to suffer. So, I hurriedly went to Grand Master Zhang’s house to urge him to ask why Grand Master Zhang had not yet boarded the ship.”
“When I arrived at Grand Master Zhang’s house, I hurriedly knocked on the door and called out to Madam Zhang to open it. Mrs Zhang asked why she was in such a hurry, so I asked that it was getting late, so how come Grand Master Zhang hadn’t gotten on the boat yet. Then Mrs Zhang was surprised and said that Master Zhang went out early in the morning. Then we went back to the riverside, and indeed there was no sign of Grand Master Zhang. Since Eldest Master Zhang had gone out early in the morning, why didn’t he get on the boat? Then I felt that something wasn’t right, so I advised Mrs Zhang to report the case quickly.”
What Boatman Wang Gui said had no discrepancies with what Young Lady Zhang Wang’s said, it all matched up, what the two said was just from different angles, but the content was the same.
After listening to the words of the boatman Wang Gui, the surrounding people exchanged their opinions in whispers. Some said that the young woman Zhang Wang’s collusion with concubines harmed Master Zhang, some said that Master Zhang took a shortcut and fell into the Yangtze River and met with an accident, and some said that Master Zhang may have been killed while going along the river to the pier…….
After listening to what Wang Gui, the boatman, said, Chun’an Magistrate frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. What Boatman Wang Gui and Zhang Wang Clan had said was largely the same, with no discrepancies ……
After pondering for a few moments, Chun’an Magistrate slightly stretched his eyebrows as he turned his gaze to the young woman, Zhang Wang Clan, and asked, ”You just said that you met an acquaintance on the way to the river, and the acquaintance said that Master Zhang took a shortcut to the river from a small road. Who is the surname and name of this acquaintance?”
In the eyes of Chun’an governor, this acquaintance that Zhang Wang said is the key, whether or not Master Zhang has walked to the riverside is related to the location of the search efforts, but also much help for the case.
“Yes ……”The young woman hesitated slightly.
“Who is it?”The Chunan governor dropped his gaze on the young woman, his eyes deep under his eyebrows.
“Back to your lordship, it’s a scion from my slave’s mother’s village who carries goods at the docks, the second son of the old Zhao family at the east end of the village.”The young woman, Zhang Wang’s, returned under the gaze of the Chun’an Magistrate.
After the young woman Zhang Wang’s return, the sound of people mingling reached another **, even with the presence of the errand boy, the sound was still buzzing, it looked like people were very excited.
“The Erlang of the old Zhao family, isn’t that her lover before she married Grand Master Zhang?”
“So it’s Erlang Zhao, no wonder he’s embarrassed to talk about it, tsk, isn’t Erlang Zhao studying to prepare for the exams, why did he suddenly go to the docks to carry goods? Lack of money?”
“Ai, poor Zhang Daolao ah, even ah, bah, adulterous husband silver woman!”
Listening to the young woman Zhang Wang’s answer, people pointed at the young woman even more, and many even brainstormed a lot of images, and then sighs and spitting sounds followed.
“Men, go and summon Zhao Erlang to come here, this official has a few questions he wants to ask.”Governor Chun’an recruited four servants and instructed them to “invite” Zhao Erlang to come.
Invite Zhao Erlang?
Well, how long would a round trip take? The road alone would take at least half an hour, plus the magistrate’s enquiry, I don’t know how long it would take. Moreover, where is the need for such trouble.
Zhu Pingan looked at the side not far from the sick look haggard, precarious sick old man and his worried son, as well as even tiptoe looking at the direction of Yingtianfu scholars, as well as which rubbed his hands from time to time to look in the direction of the home of the first-time father ……
The days and months are gone, the years are not with me ah.
Forget about it, he himself will overstep his role for once.
Thus, a clear voice rang out abruptly, and a naive young man crossed the crowd, pointed at the boatman Wang Gui, and looked up to the Chunan governor.
“Trouble Your Honour to arrest this murderer.”
