“Oh, you’re asking about the person who pawned this thing.” The old man squinted and shouted loudly towards Zhang Biao, “It’s been a while, you have to let me think again!”
Zhang Biao felt uncertain when he saw old man in this state.
This afternoon, he came out of the prison already feeling upset. Then his mother came over to make trouble, making the yamen chaotic.
So, he ran to the study to escape the commotion.
Originally, Master Bai Lixin came over to discuss the progress of the case, but as soon as they exchanged a few words, his subordinates hurried back, informing him of a lead on the jade earrings.
Then he rushed over with Bai Lixin to find clues about the jade earring.
All these cases lately are piled up together and it was overwhelming.
Either they don’t come, or they come all at once.
Some are old unsolved cases, some involve families, and some are absurd and strange.
Let’s ask, can it get any more chaotic?
Zhang Biao sighed heavily.
What kind of situation is this?
Bai Lixin was very patient, silently watching and drinking tea while the old man recalled.
After a whole incense stick’s time, the old man was still shaking his head with his eyes closed.
Zhang Biao couldn’t stand it anymore. Being an impatient person, he suddenly stood up from the chair, walked to the old man, and gently pushed his arm. “Hey, shopkeeper, have you remembered or not?”
With this push, the old man suddenly opened his blurred eyes, rubbing them and yawning, “What time is it now? Is it time for dinner?”
Zhang Biao: “…”
‘I knew you are a big-headed ghost!
We’ve been killing time here waiting for you to remember, and you fell asleep?!
How can you sleep? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?!’
“Shopkeeper!” Zhang Biao shouted loudly in the old man’s ear, “I’m asking you, have you remembered the appearance of the person who pawned the earrings?!”
“Oh, yes, yes, the earrings…” The old man opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Biao, as if remembering what he was doing, then lowered his head to scrutinize the painting, seemingly trying to figure something out.
Seeing that he was about to close his eyes again, Zhang Biao couldn’t take it and looked at Bai Lixin with uncertainty. “Sir, could this be a confused old man? I don’t think we can trust everything he says.”
“We can’t fully trust, but it might have some reference value.” Bai Lixin opened his folding fan with a “snap” and began fanning himself leisurely.
The closed door curtain was pulled open, and a young man dressed as a shop assistant walked in, carrying snacks.
He placed the tea on the table, saying, “Guests, please have some food.”
His gaze fell on the painting on the table. He made a “Huh” sound, and said, “These earrings…”
Zhang Biao instantly sensed that something was off in his tone and quickly looked up, asking, “Have you seen them?!”
The young man tugged his hair and took a couple of steps closer, staring at the painting carefully. “It seems like I’ve seen them. These earrings, ate they made of green jade? I remember someone seemed to have pawned them about two years ago.”
Zhang Biao’s eyes that were originally filled with disappointment, suddenly lit up with joy. “Do you remember what that person looked like?”
Indeed, after a dark night, there comes a new village.
When the young man furrowed his brows, Zhang Biao also furrowed his.
After a moment, the young man spoke, “I remember it was a woman.”
After saying that, he looked at the old man, “Is that so, Master? A woman dressed in white.”
The old man was still confused, muttering, “A woman? A woman in white?”
“Oh, a woman… Yes, that’s right…”
Zhang Biao glanced at the old man, then at the young man, and finally focused on the latter. “You continue.”
“It’s been two years, how can you remember her clothes?” Zhang Biao asked.
“That day, my master and I were watching the shop together and the person came in to pawn something in a panic. As for why I remember she was wearing white, it’s because she seemed strange at that time, so I remembered it. A woman acting suspiciously, pawning jade earrings – it looked like she stole it.”
“Sir, when I saw you all looking for clues, today and then I saw the painting of these earrings, I instantly understood. My guess must have been correct. Tell me the truth, were these jade earrings stolen?”
“The yamen will handle these matters, what you need to know, we’ll let you know. What you don’t need to know, we won’t tell you,” Zhang Biao said coldly. “Do you remember the person’s appearance?”
The young man thought for a while before saying earnestly, “I remember that person was quite young, maybe around twenty years old. They spoke cautiously and seemed somewhat restrained, and their height was about this tall.”
As he said this, the young man gestured with his hand.
“And,” he continued, “I remember there was a scar on her wrist.”
Bai Lixin and Zhang Biao exchanged glances.
Zhang Biao lowered his voice and leaned toward Bai Lixin, “Sir, listening to this description, doesn’t it seem familiar?”
Bai Lixin: “I also feel that way.”
Zhang Biao: “Ping Er has a scar on her wrist, right? The height matches, and the age matches.”
“Could the murderer be Ping Er? If Ping Er escaped without taking anything as she said, how do these jade earrings fit into the picture?”
The young man was still present.
He looked at the two curiously. Bai Lixin waved at Zhang Biao, indicating to continue questioning.
“What did she say when she came.” Bai Lixin asked.
“I’ve forgotten the details,” the young man scratched his head, “I just remember she seemed flustered. I was puzzled, she was dressed shabbily, yet she owned something so expensive.”
“I found it strange, so I remembered.”
“When pawning items, we have live pawning and dead pawning. Live pawning means placing the item here as collateral, with a redemption period. Dead pawning means giving the item directly to us. The jade earrings were valuable, but she didn’t seem to know their worth…”
The young man chuckled twice, then continued with some embarrassment, “Those jade earrings should have been worth this much.”
He extended all five fingers, then gestured, “And then we only gave her this much.”
The young man’s five fingers slowly retracted, leaving only an index finger.
“She didn’t even notice something was wrong, no…” The young man quickly denied his judgment, “Maybe she did notice but was afraid to speak up, so she had to let us haggle recklessly.”
“When she got the money, she hurriedly left.”
“Is she from the town?” Bai Lixin continued to ask.
“Well, our Qingcheng Town is not so big, but it’s not small either. She might have lived here but I didn’t get to see her. Anyway, I haven’t seen her. If I see her again, maybe I could recognize her.”
Zhang Biao glanced at Bai Lixin, and Bai Lixin nodded at him.
He then looked at the shop assistant, “Alright, don’t tell anyone about today’s events, understand?”
The shop assistant nodded respectfully, “Certainly, certainly, when officials ask, us common folks will certainly comply.”
Zhang Biao paused, “The things you said today, are they all true?”
The shop assistant replied, “I guarantee, every word is true.”
“Good, if you discover anything else, come to the yamen to find me anytime. I might come back to you later. We’ll take our leave now.”
After Zhang Biao and Bai Lixin left the pawnshop, Zhang Biao asked one of the constables behind him, “Where is the tofu seller, Ping Er, right now?”
The constable hurriedly responded, “She has been selling tofu recently, behaving normally, and I haven’t seen her meeting anyone.”
After a moment of thought, Zhang Biao looked at Bai Lixin, “Sir, this pawnshop and the tofu shop happen to be located at the farthest two corners. There’s also a tofu shop here. Even if they want to buy tofu, they wouldn’t go to the diagonally opposite side.”
“If you intentionally avoid it, it’s indeed possible to never meet.”
Bai Lixin nodded, “We should go see this girl Ping Er again.”
The two of them exchanged a few words and soon started moving towards the tofu stall.
Seeing Zhang Biao and Bai Lixin coming again, Ping Er remained calm as before.
She finished selling the last piece of tofu before inviting them into her house.
As soon as they entered, Zhang Biao took out the jades’ original drawing and slapped it on the table. “Miss Ping Er, take a look, does this look familiar to you?”
Ping Er stared at the drawing for a moment, “I’ve never seen it.”
There was another loud slap, “I can see you won’t speak the truth until you see a coffin. If you’re unwilling to be honest, I’ll have to bring in Master Cao to confront you. Let’s see if Xiao Cui really had such jade earrings.”
Ping Er was stunned, and her eyes suddenly turned red. After biting her lip in contemplation for a long time, she said, “I… I was just temporarily confused.”
“At that time, I saw Miss being pushed into the river by a person in black, got scared, and ran away. Later, when I went back to take another look, the person in black was gone. Then I went to the riverbank to find Miss and discovered her body lying on the shore. Seeing she had no breath and a pile of gold and silver treasures in her arms, greed took over, and I decided to keep the things for myself.”
After finishing her story, Ping Er suddenly knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, “I was wrong, please, discern the truth. I really was momentarily confused, but I didn’t kill anyone.”
Zhang Biao: “Do you have any evidence to prove you didn’t kill anyone?”
Ping Er’s face turned pale, “I… I have no reason to kill Miss. We depended on each other, she bought me after I sold myself to bury my father. Since then, we’ve always been together. I’m her servant, and I’m only well when Miss is well. If Miss dies, I won’t be better off.”
“This can’t be a reason to absolve you of the crime. I ask you, did you see the murderer’s appearance clearly? You better tell me the truth this time. If you say one more false word, I might just detain you!”
After saying this, Zhang Biao’s eyes widened with anger, looking quite intimidating.
Ping Er instantly felt intimidated and immediately knelt down, knocking her head loudly several times.
“I was wrong, I’ll talk, I’ll talk, I’ll tell everything.”
Ping Er swallowed, “I, I didn’t see the specific appearance of the murderer.”
“But, from a distance, I felt the murderer wasn’t very tall.”
“When we left Master Cao’s place, we took the pipa with us. But when I searched around my miss, I didn’t see the pipa. It’s very likely the person in black took it away.”
“I still remember what the pipa looked like. I can draw it for you now!”
Bai Lixin looked at the woman on the ground. “Speak up, what happened that night.”
Ping Er bit her lip, finally nodding, “Actually, it’s similar to what I said last time, but… it’s not only the miss who suffered from their bullying, but also me. While they were unleashing atrocities, they also asked the miss to play the pipa.”
“After they had enough fun, they gave my miss some money and sent us away.”
“At that time on the road… we walked and sat by the bridge to rest, and then I went to find a sedan for her. The rest is what I said before.”
Zhang Biao frowned, “Are you sure you’re not lying to us this time? If I catch you lying again, severe punishment awaits!”
Ping Er quickly waved her hands, revealing the scar hidden in her sleeve.
The scar was as long as a hand, and looked quite fierce. The wound was deep, seemingly reaching the bone.
While observing Ping Er, Bai Lixin had noticed that her right hand wasn’t very functional, and it was the arm with the scar.
Ping Er quickly kowtowed, “I really didn’t lie this time, officials, I beg you, don’t compare me, a young woman, with others.”
Zhang Biao: “How did you know the murderer was short?”
Ping Er: “At that time, the murderer was struggling with my miss. Their heights seemed similar. My miss is about my height.”
Zhang Biao quickly understood, “Similar in height to your miss, could it be another woman? From a distance, did it seem like a woman to you?”
Ping Er trembled, “I don’t know about that. The murderer had their back to me at that time, and was wearing loose black clothes. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.”
Zhang Biao uttered an “oh,” then said, “Think carefully again, is there anything you missed?”
While kneeling on the ground, Ping Er thought earnestly for a long time before shaking her head, “No, there’s nothing else, there’s really nothing this time.”
“Stay here honestly,” Zhang Biao said coldly, “Stealing money is not a minor offense. I won’t arrest you for now. If I find out you’ve run away, the punishment will be even more severe when I catch you!”
Ping Er kowtowed again, “Yes, I won’t leave. I won’t go anywhere. Please rest assured, officials.”
“And I stole money…” Ping Er said and suddenly burst into tears. “I had no other choice. I depended on my miss for survival. Originally, my miss promised to buy my freedom. That night, I suffered harm following my miss, and on the road, she promised to share everything with me.”
“Also, the miss is dead, and I… I have no one to rely on.”
“I thought if the remaining half of her money fell into the hands of the brothel, it would just end up in the pocket of the momo. If my miss has any spirit in heaven, she wouldn’t want such a thing to happen.”
“So, I took the initiative and brought everything here.”
“Please, sir, show mercy. Considering the close bond between me and my miss, save me.” Ping Er crawled to Zhang Biao’s feet, holding onto his legs and crying.
Zhang Biao took a step back, maintaining official decorum. “The only one who can save you is yourself. What you can do now is redeem yourself. If the information you provide is useful, I will consider asking the county magistrate to handle it leniently.”
Ping Er immediately knelt on the ground upon hearing this, kowtowing forcefully.
After letting Ping Er draw the pipa and coming out of the tofu stall, Zhang Biao rubbed his head irritably. Under his rubbing, the originally stiff hat became even flatter.
“Okay, let’s overturn everything and start anew.”
“Master Cao lied, he concealed how they tortured the two girls.”
“Ping Er also lied, she concealed her theft.”
“This is what we’ve discovered now, perhaps there are things we haven’t found yet.”
“Heh, sir. Have you noticed that all the things they concealed were detrimental to themselves? If they were so afraid, why did they do it in the first place? They did it but didn’t dare to admit it. Sir, tell me, how can people be so disgusting?”
Suddenly, he thought of Zhang Lin in prison.
A person who had always seemed proud and arrogant, in the face of imprisonment, became ugly in an instant.
Using all means, he lied, threw a tantrum, cursed and swore.
Was this the same person he liked and admired?
How did his brother become this ghostly figure?
No, perhaps this was his brother’s true nature.
Before, it was only because of his excessive favoritism.
His brother and mother relied on his favoritism without any fear.
One dared to kill, and the other dared to throw a tantrum openly in the yamen.
All his years of sincere efforts were just feeding a dog, a dog that would wag its tail when it saw him and guard his door.
He spent so much energy trying to please these two people, but this was how they treated him.
In a few days, he completely saw through them.
Zhang Lin was his brother. Even though he detained him, even though the other was heartless, he couldn’t be unrighteous.
Whether he was sent to the frontier or beheaded in autumn, before the execution, he would take good care of him, fulfilling a brother’s duty.
It was a duty, not an emotional bond.
The bond between them as brothers was over.
As for his mother.
She carried him for nine months and raised him from childhood.
He couldn’t cut off this kindness, nor could he give it up.
Now that his brother was gone, for the rest of his mother’s life, he would take good care of her.
This was what he should do.
A mother was destined to be different from other relationships, he couldn’t forget the good, the hardships, sacrifices, and efforts his mother had made.
After realizing this, Zhang Biao suddenly felt enlightened. The heavy stone that had accumulated in his heart for several days finally fell.
“Oh, you’re asking about the person who pawned this thing.” The old man squinted and shouted loudly towards Zhang Biao, “It’s been a while, you have to let me think again!”
Zhang Biao felt uncertain when he saw old man in this state.
This afternoon, he came out of the prison already feeling upset. Then his mother came over to make trouble, making the yamen chaotic.
So, he ran to the study to escape the commotion.
Originally, Master Bai Lixin came over to discuss the progress of the case, but as soon as they exchanged a few words, his subordinates hurried back, informing him of a lead on the jade earrings.
Then he rushed over with Bai Lixin to find clues about the jade earring.
All these cases lately are piled up together and it was overwhelming.
Either they don’t come, or they come all at once.
Some are old unsolved cases, some involve families, and some are absurd and strange.
Let’s ask, can it get any more chaotic?
Zhang Biao sighed heavily.
What kind of situation is this?
Bai Lixin was very patient, silently watching and drinking tea while the old man recalled.
After a whole incense stick’s time, the old man was still shaking his head with his eyes closed.
Zhang Biao couldn’t stand it anymore. Being an impatient person, he suddenly stood up from the chair, walked to the old man, and gently pushed his arm. “Hey, shopkeeper, have you remembered or not?”
With this push, the old man suddenly opened his blurred eyes, rubbing them and yawning, “What time is it now? Is it time for dinner?”
Zhang Biao: “…”
‘I knew you are a big-headed ghost!
We’ve been killing time here waiting for you to remember, and you fell asleep?!
How can you sleep? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?!’
“Shopkeeper!” Zhang Biao shouted loudly in the old man’s ear, “I’m asking you, have you remembered the appearance of the person who pawned the earrings?!”
“Oh, yes, yes, the earrings…” The old man opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Biao, as if remembering what he was doing, then lowered his head to scrutinize the painting, seemingly trying to figure something out.
Seeing that he was about to close his eyes again, Zhang Biao couldn’t take it and looked at Bai Lixin with uncertainty. “Sir, could this be a confused old man? I don’t think we can trust everything he says.”
“We can’t fully trust, but it might have some reference value.” Bai Lixin opened his folding fan with a “snap” and began fanning himself leisurely.
The closed door curtain was pulled open, and a young man dressed as a shop assistant walked in, carrying snacks.
He placed the tea on the table, saying, “Guests, please have some food.”
His gaze fell on the painting on the table. He made a “Huh” sound, and said, “These earrings…”
Zhang Biao instantly sensed that something was off in his tone and quickly looked up, asking, “Have you seen them?!”
The young man tugged his hair and took a couple of steps closer, staring at the painting carefully. “It seems like I’ve seen them. These earrings, ate they made of green jade? I remember someone seemed to have pawned them about two years ago.”
Zhang Biao’s eyes that were originally filled with disappointment, suddenly lit up with joy. “Do you remember what that person looked like?”
Indeed, after a dark night, there comes a new village.
When the young man furrowed his brows, Zhang Biao also furrowed his.
After a moment, the young man spoke, “I remember it was a woman.”
After saying that, he looked at the old man, “Is that so, Master? A woman dressed in white.”
The old man was still confused, muttering, “A woman? A woman in white?”
“Oh, a woman… Yes, that’s right…”
Zhang Biao glanced at the old man, then at the young man, and finally focused on the latter. “You continue.”
“It’s been two years, how can you remember her clothes?” Zhang Biao asked.
“That day, my master and I were watching the shop together and the person came in to pawn something in a panic. As for why I remember she was wearing white, it’s because she seemed strange at that time, so I remembered it. A woman acting suspiciously, pawning jade earrings – it looked like she stole it.”
“Sir, when I saw you all looking for clues, today and then I saw the painting of these earrings, I instantly understood. My guess must have been correct. Tell me the truth, were these jade earrings stolen?”
“The yamen will handle these matters, what you need to know, we’ll let you know. What you don’t need to know, we won’t tell you,” Zhang Biao said coldly. “Do you remember the person’s appearance?”
The young man thought for a while before saying earnestly, “I remember that person was quite young, maybe around twenty years old. They spoke cautiously and seemed somewhat restrained, and their height was about this tall.”
As he said this, the young man gestured with his hand.
“And,” he continued, “I remember there was a scar on her wrist.”
Bai Lixin and Zhang Biao exchanged glances.
Zhang Biao lowered his voice and leaned toward Bai Lixin, “Sir, listening to this description, doesn’t it seem familiar?”
Bai Lixin: “I also feel that way.”
Zhang Biao: “Ping Er has a scar on her wrist, right? The height matches, and the age matches.”
“Could the murderer be Ping Er? If Ping Er escaped without taking anything as she said, how do these jade earrings fit into the picture?”
The young man was still present.
He looked at the two curiously. Bai Lixin waved at Zhang Biao, indicating to continue questioning.
“What did she say when she came.” Bai Lixin asked.
“I’ve forgotten the details,” the young man scratched his head, “I just remember she seemed flustered. I was puzzled, she was dressed shabbily, yet she owned something so expensive.”
“I found it strange, so I remembered.”
“When pawning items, we have live pawning and dead pawning. Live pawning means placing the item here as collateral, with a redemption period. Dead pawning means giving the item directly to us. The jade earrings were valuable, but she didn’t seem to know their worth…”
The young man chuckled twice, then continued with some embarrassment, “Those jade earrings should have been worth this much.”
He extended all five fingers, then gestured, “And then we only gave her this much.”
The young man’s five fingers slowly retracted, leaving only an index finger.
“She didn’t even notice something was wrong, no…” The young man quickly denied his judgment, “Maybe she did notice but was afraid to speak up, so she had to let us haggle recklessly.”
“When she got the money, she hurriedly left.”
“Is she from the town?” Bai Lixin continued to ask.
“Well, our Qingcheng Town is not so big, but it’s not small either. She might have lived here but I didn’t get to see her. Anyway, I haven’t seen her. If I see her again, maybe I could recognize her.”
Zhang Biao glanced at Bai Lixin, and Bai Lixin nodded at him.
He then looked at the shop assistant, “Alright, don’t tell anyone about today’s events, understand?”
The shop assistant nodded respectfully, “Certainly, certainly, when officials ask, us common folks will certainly comply.”
Zhang Biao paused, “The things you said today, are they all true?”
The shop assistant replied, “I guarantee, every word is true.”
“Good, if you discover anything else, come to the yamen to find me anytime. I might come back to you later. We’ll take our leave now.”
After Zhang Biao and Bai Lixin left the pawnshop, Zhang Biao asked one of the constables behind him, “Where is the tofu seller, Ping Er, right now?”
The constable hurriedly responded, “She has been selling tofu recently, behaving normally, and I haven’t seen her meeting anyone.”
After a moment of thought, Zhang Biao looked at Bai Lixin, “Sir, this pawnshop and the tofu shop happen to be located at the farthest two corners. There’s also a tofu shop here. Even if they want to buy tofu, they wouldn’t go to the diagonally opposite side.”
“If you intentionally avoid it, it’s indeed possible to never meet.”
Bai Lixin nodded, “We should go see this girl Ping Er again.”
The two of them exchanged a few words and soon started moving towards the tofu stall.
Seeing Zhang Biao and Bai Lixin coming again, Ping Er remained calm as before.
She finished selling the last piece of tofu before inviting them into her house.
As soon as they entered, Zhang Biao took out the jades’ original drawing and slapped it on the table. “Miss Ping Er, take a look, does this look familiar to you?”
Ping Er stared at the drawing for a moment, “I’ve never seen it.”
There was another loud slap, “I can see you won’t speak the truth until you see a coffin. If you’re unwilling to be honest, I’ll have to bring in Master Cao to confront you. Let’s see if Xiao Cui really had such jade earrings.”
Ping Er was stunned, and her eyes suddenly turned red. After biting her lip in contemplation for a long time, she said, “I… I was just temporarily confused.”
“At that time, I saw Miss being pushed into the river by a person in black, got scared, and ran away. Later, when I went back to take another look, the person in black was gone. Then I went to the riverbank to find Miss and discovered her body lying on the shore. Seeing she had no breath and a pile of gold and silver treasures in her arms, greed took over, and I decided to keep the things for myself.”
After finishing her story, Ping Er suddenly knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, “I was wrong, please, discern the truth. I really was momentarily confused, but I didn’t kill anyone.”
Zhang Biao: “Do you have any evidence to prove you didn’t kill anyone?”
Ping Er’s face turned pale, “I… I have no reason to kill Miss. We depended on each other, she bought me after I sold myself to bury my father. Since then, we’ve always been together. I’m her servant, and I’m only well when Miss is well. If Miss dies, I won’t be better off.”
“This can’t be a reason to absolve you of the crime. I ask you, did you see the murderer’s appearance clearly? You better tell me the truth this time. If you say one more false word, I might just detain you!”
After saying this, Zhang Biao’s eyes widened with anger, looking quite intimidating.
Ping Er instantly felt intimidated and immediately knelt down, knocking her head loudly several times.
“I was wrong, I’ll talk, I’ll talk, I’ll tell everything.”
Ping Er swallowed, “I, I didn’t see the specific appearance of the murderer.”
“But, from a distance, I felt the murderer wasn’t very tall.”
“When we left Master Cao’s place, we took the pipa with us. But when I searched around my miss, I didn’t see the pipa. It’s very likely the person in black took it away.”
“I still remember what the pipa looked like. I can draw it for you now!”
Bai Lixin looked at the woman on the ground. “Speak up, what happened that night.”
Ping Er bit her lip, finally nodding, “Actually, it’s similar to what I said last time, but… it’s not only the miss who suffered from their bullying, but also me. While they were unleashing atrocities, they also asked the miss to play the pipa.”
“After they had enough fun, they gave my miss some money and sent us away.”
“At that time on the road… we walked and sat by the bridge to rest, and then I went to find a sedan for her. The rest is what I said before.”
Zhang Biao frowned, “Are you sure you’re not lying to us this time? If I catch you lying again, severe punishment awaits!”
Ping Er quickly waved her hands, revealing the scar hidden in her sleeve.
The scar was as long as a hand, and looked quite fierce. The wound was deep, seemingly reaching the bone.
While observing Ping Er, Bai Lixin had noticed that her right hand wasn’t very functional, and it was the arm with the scar.
Ping Er quickly kowtowed, “I really didn’t lie this time, officials, I beg you, don’t compare me, a young woman, with others.”
Zhang Biao: “How did you know the murderer was short?”
Ping Er: “At that time, the murderer was struggling with my miss. Their heights seemed similar. My miss is about my height.”
Zhang Biao quickly understood, “Similar in height to your miss, could it be another woman? From a distance, did it seem like a woman to you?”
Ping Er trembled, “I don’t know about that. The murderer had their back to me at that time, and was wearing loose black clothes. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.”
Zhang Biao uttered an “oh,” then said, “Think carefully again, is there anything you missed?”
While kneeling on the ground, Ping Er thought earnestly for a long time before shaking her head, “No, there’s nothing else, there’s really nothing this time.”
“Stay here honestly,” Zhang Biao said coldly, “Stealing money is not a minor offense. I won’t arrest you for now. If I find out you’ve run away, the punishment will be even more severe when I catch you!”
Ping Er kowtowed again, “Yes, I won’t leave. I won’t go anywhere. Please rest assured, officials.”
“And I stole money…” Ping Er said and suddenly burst into tears. “I had no other choice. I depended on my miss for survival. Originally, my miss promised to buy my freedom. That night, I suffered harm following my miss, and on the road, she promised to share everything with me.”
“Also, the miss is dead, and I… I have no one to rely on.”
“I thought if the remaining half of her money fell into the hands of the brothel, it would just end up in the pocket of the momo. If my miss has any spirit in heaven, she wouldn’t want such a thing to happen.”
“So, I took the initiative and brought everything here.”
“Please, sir, show mercy. Considering the close bond between me and my miss, save me.” Ping Er crawled to Zhang Biao’s feet, holding onto his legs and crying.
Zhang Biao took a step back, maintaining official decorum. “The only one who can save you is yourself. What you can do now is redeem yourself. If the information you provide is useful, I will consider asking the county magistrate to handle it leniently.”
Ping Er immediately knelt on the ground upon hearing this, kowtowing forcefully.
After letting Ping Er draw the pipa and coming out of the tofu stall, Zhang Biao rubbed his head irritably. Under his rubbing, the originally stiff hat became even flatter.
“Okay, let’s overturn everything and start anew.”
“Master Cao lied, he concealed how they tortured the two girls.”
“Ping Er also lied, she concealed her theft.”
“This is what we’ve discovered now, perhaps there are things we haven’t found yet.”
“Heh, sir. Have you noticed that all the things they concealed were detrimental to themselves? If they were so afraid, why did they do it in the first place? They did it but didn’t dare to admit it. Sir, tell me, how can people be so disgusting?”
Suddenly, he thought of Zhang Lin in prison.
A person who had always seemed proud and arrogant, in the face of imprisonment, became ugly in an instant.
Using all means, he lied, threw a tantrum, cursed and swore.
Was this the same person he liked and admired?
How did his brother become this ghostly figure?
No, perhaps this was his brother’s true nature.
Before, it was only because of his excessive favoritism.
His brother and mother relied on his favoritism without any fear.
One dared to kill, and the other dared to throw a tantrum openly in the yamen.
All his years of sincere efforts were just feeding a dog, a dog that would wag its tail when it saw him and guard his door.
He spent so much energy trying to please these two people, but this was how they treated him.
In a few days, he completely saw through them.
Zhang Lin was his brother. Even though he detained him, even though the other was heartless, he couldn’t be unrighteous.
Whether he was sent to the frontier or beheaded in autumn, before the execution, he would take good care of him, fulfilling a brother’s duty.
It was a duty, not an emotional bond.
The bond between them as brothers was over.
As for his mother.
She carried him for nine months and raised him from childhood.
He couldn’t cut off this kindness, nor could he give it up.
Now that his brother was gone, for the rest of his mother’s life, he would take good care of her.
This was what he should do.
A mother was destined to be different from other relationships, he couldn’t forget the good, the hardships, sacrifices, and efforts his mother had made.
After realizing this, Zhang Biao suddenly felt enlightened. The heavy stone that had accumulated in his heart for several days finally fell.
