PC Chapter 23

In the thickening fog, Old Man Tian’s sweetwater shop had closed for the night. He stacked the stools on the tables and loaded the pots, pans, and other utensils onto a handcart. With one last glance at the entrance of the examination hall, he pushed the cart away.

As he turned around, he came face to face with the officials from the Dali Temple.

After a brief pause, Old Man Tian set down the cart handle, wiped his hands on his clothes, and said calmly, “Let’s go.”

Night had fully descended, but the Dali Temple was brightly lit. Officials stood on either side with their authority sticks, including everyone from the junior magistrate Zhang Jun to the clerks, assessors, and prison officers, all waiting to see how the newly crowned top scholar would handle the case of the evil ghost murders.

The suspect was brought in—Old Man Tian of Tian Ji Tang Shui, who was nearing sixty. He knelt in the main hall with a calm demeanor, though his back was slightly bent, his hands stained with the blood of several lives.

The new top scholar of the year sat at the head of the hall. His face was like jade, with traces of youthful spirit. He stared calmly at the person below and asked, “Do you plead guilty?”

Old Man Tian made no attempt to struggle or deny. He responded calmly, “I killed them.”

Su Cen frowned and asked, “Be specific. Who were they?”

Old Man Tian reflected for a moment and listed them one by one: “First was Lü Liang. I followed him into the Eastern Market and saw him trying to strangle Xiu Niang. I stabbed him from behind. Then there was Yuan Shaochun. I told him that he needed to come back and fulfill his vow. He did come to the examination hall in the middle of the night to burn paper offerings. I used a prepared rope to strangle him from behind. Unexpectedly he woke up while being hung from a tree, but he was too weak to escape, so I hung him from a crooked tree behind the examination hall. Finally, there was Wu Qing. I drugged his sweetwater, and when he fell unconscious, I transported him to Gao Miao’s house, which I had also drugged. I hung him from a beam and killed him.”

These confessions matched Su Cen’s previous deductions. Su Cen reviewed the known clues and nodded before asking, “What about Wu Deshui?”

Old Man Tian showed a hint of confusion. “Who is Wu Deshui?”

“So how did you get into the Eastern Market?”

Old Man Tian thought for a moment, “When I went, the Eastern Market gate was slightly open.”

He admitted to the other three murders and there was no need to lie about Wu Deshui. Su Cen frowned, realizing that there was indeed a third person involved.

“Why frame Gao Miao?”

“Because you suspected him,” Old Man Tian glanced at Su Cen. “That day at the sweetwater shop, you asked him about his injured arm. Knowing that I was injured while killing Yuan Shaochun, you started suspecting that the person with an injured arm was the culprit. So I pushed him on his way home. Also, Gao Miao was already a firm believer in the evil ghost in the examination hall and had many people come to worship there. If you investigated him, you would find him involved. Then, by sending Wu Qing to his house, it would confirm that he was the killer.”

“They all said that Gao Miao was spreading rumors, but you were actually the first to spread them, weren’t you?” Su Cen said. “You used your sweetwater shop at the examination hall to intentionally or unintentionally spread the rumor of the evil ghost. Anyone who heard it would naturally help to spread it further.”

“They would rather believe it, especially if it was related to the examination. They would certainly pay attention.”

Su Cen vaguely remembered that when he first visited Tian Ji TianShui, under Old Man Tian’s subtle hints, he had walked around the examination hall and had run into Gao Miao, who was burning paper offerings behind the hall.

No longer beating around the bush, Su Cen directly asked, “Why did you kill them?”

“Why?” Old Man Tian gave a grim smile and repeated the question, “Why? I also want to know why.”

“It’s because of Tian Pingzhi.”

Old Man Tian was momentarily stunned.

Su Cen picked up the list sent by the Ministry of Rites from the table. “We investigated and found that the person who died in the examination hall and never came out was named Tian Pingzhi. He was your son.”

“In the 21st year of Yonglong, he passed the provincial examination in Liuzhou, and in the 22nd year of Yonglong, he entered the capital to participate in the imperial examination. I remember you said he drank your sweetwater before entering the examination hall, but Tian Pingzhi participated in the examination in the 22nd year of Yonglong, while your sweetwater shop was only set up in front of the examination hall in the 1st year of Tianxiu. He could not have drunk your sweetwater before the examination, and he could not have given you extra money. So there is only one explanation: you sent him to the examination hall and watched him enter.”

The old man’s expression finally showed signs of collapse. He sat down on the ground, and a fleeting light appeared in his murky eyes.

“Ping’er… My Ping’er was so smart from a young age… He did well in his studies and was filial. He loved to drink the sweetwater I made… That year, I accompanied him to the capital for the examination. I saw him drink the sweetwater and enter the examination hall. I waited outside for three days, but he… he…”

Su Cen calmly said, “He died inside the examination hall.”

Old Man Tian choked up and, after a pause, continued, “Ping’er was fine when he went in. He even joked with me, saying that if he didn’t pass, he would set up a stall selling sweetwater outside the examination hall. Later, I heard that someone had died inside. I thought it couldn’t be Ping’er. He was always calm, how could he have died suddenly from failing an exam? I waited for him outside the examination hall for three days, until everyone had come out, until the gate of the examination hall was closed, but I never saw Ping’er…”

Su Cen frowned, “What about the body?”

“The people from the Ministry of Rites said it was buried on the spot behind the examination hall. They wouldn’t let me in. I, an old man, lost my child, and I didn’t even get to see him for the last time.”

“Did you report it to the authorities back then?”

“Of course, I reported it,” Old Man Tian’s eyes were blank as he stared ahead. “I went to the Jingzhao Prefecture, the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Rites. I was met with disdain and rejection everywhere. They all said Ping’er died of a heart attack, and no one took the case. Later, Chen Guanglu, the then-junior magistrate of Dali, said he would help me investigate. After more than a month, he hastily closed the case, telling me Ping’er died of natural causes and advised me not to persist. At that time, Emperor Taizong had just passed away, and the case was left unresolved.”

Su Cen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Guanglu was renowned as the foremost authority on criminal law in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He had never ruled any case as unjust or wrongful and was considered a model for future generations. If he said the case was resolved, then it should indeed be considered resolved.

“After all these years, why are you still committing crimes in the name of Tian Pingzhi?”

Old Man Tian slowly straightened up. “Because my Ping’er was murdered by someone.”

Everyone in the hall was stunned.

Su Cen steadied himself and asked, “Who told you that he was murdered?”

The old man, filled with anger, stood up, his mottled hands trembling uncontrollably. “My Ping’er was murdered because he offended someone. He saw something he shouldn’t have, and that’s why they killed him in the examination hall!”

Su Cen frowned and repeated slowly, “Who told you this?”

He didn’t believe that Old Man Tian could suddenly know after more than ten years that Tian Pingzhi had died a wrongful death without someone telling him or instructing him to do something.

“It was the person who led you to the East Market and opened the East Market gate for you, right?” Su Cen fixed his gaze on the old man. “What else did he tell you? Who killed Tian Pingzhi?”

Old Man Tian shook his head. “He only said Ping’er was killed by someone from the court.”

“From the court?” Su Cen repeated. “So, you used the name of Tian Pingzhi’s ghost to commit these crimes to scare that person and draw him out.”

Su Cen considered those from the court who had pushed for a swift resolution of the case. The most vocal were mostly members of the empress dowager’s faction, led by Liu Cheng. But among them, who might be guilty, and who were merely suppressing the Prince Ning faction?

Liu Cheng… always Liu Cheng.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd coughed lightly. Zhang Jun, the junior magistrate of Dali, who had been listening to the trial, spoke up, “The case is clear now. He used the guise of a vengeful ghost to commit murder. Su Daren can close the case now.”

Su Cen frowned.

Zhang Jun was pushing for the case to be closed as soon as it involved someone from the court. He likely knew that the case’s ramifications were broad and that further investigation could be uncontrollable.

“But there is still one more life,” Su Cen persisted, ignoring the obstruction, and asked Old Man Tian, “Who told you these things?”

Su Cen walked down from the platform and crouched beside Old Man Tian. “Tell me who killed Wu Deshui, and I’ll help you investigate Tian Pingzhi’s case.”

“Su Cen…” Zhang Jun’s brow furrowed deeply.

Su Cen made a downward gesture with his hand and stared intently at Old Man Tian. “I captured you in one day and cleared Gao Miao’s name. Does that mean I’ve passed your test? Since I said I would help you investigate, I will see it through to the end.”

Rarely did the old man’s dry eyes show any sign of movement, but he finally pressed his lips together and said quietly, “I need to go back to the examination hall one last time.”

 

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