Prologue
As the saying goes, the fall of a single leaf heralds the coming of autumn to the world. Sycamore leaves are large, and as soon as autumn begins, they drift and tumble with the wind. A massive leaf swirled in the air before slowly settling on the ground.
In the early autumn season, the capital had always been thick with willows. The roadsides were predominantly lined with drought willows and weeping willows, and the tree was so favored by the people of the capital that many places were named after it.
Just like the residence of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Justice, located in Double Willow Alley, who had renamed his daily living quarters Snow Willow Hall. As was his custom, he rose early to perform a set of the Five Animal Frolics. Between his deep breaths and exhalations, he felt thoroughly refreshed.
A thin, middle-aged woman walked in from outside. On the red lacquered tray she held, decorated with gilded begonia patterns, sat a cup of Willow Leaf Tea. These willow leaves were plucked in the spring when the tender buds were just beginning to unfurl; dried and brewed, the tea not only dispelled internal heat and dryness but also refreshed the spirit, cleared the mind, and improved eyesight.
As the woman placed it before Minister Liu, he gave a short laugh. “Are you bringing this Willow Leaf Tea because you’re afraid I’ll get angry?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” The woman was Minister Liu’s concubine, surnamed Ying. Since Minister Liu’s legitimate wife had passed away and he had never remarried, Concubine Ying currently managed the household.
Seeing that Minister Liu’s expression seemed to have softened, she couldn’t help but mention, “The Yu family came by again yesterday, saying they wanted the Master’s help.”
Minister Liu set down his teacup and let out a cold snort. “Years ago, when he was to marry Li Shu, she fled the wedding and vanished without a trace. Because I felt I had wronged him, I supported him greatly in both his career and finances. I didn’t even ask for Li Shu’s dowry back, yet he still finds it insufficient. Now, he has the audacity to embezzle river works funds, his jurisdiction is in utter chaos, and he has even murdered a censor. Having committed such a major crime, it is now said to involve foreign states. One trouble follows another. I can’t distance myself fast enough, yet I’m supposed to clean up his mess?”
Concubine Ying frowned. “He has only been a Prefect all these years; how did he get entangled with foreign affairs?”
“We will know the truth of it today. Because the river works corruption case involves foreign states—and as you know, it is the Emperor’s grand birthday and all the vassal states have come to the capital to offer congratulations—the Court of Judicial Review has ordered a Joint Trial of the Three Judicial Offices.” As the Minister of Justice, Minister Liu would usually only review cases after the Court of Judicial Review had finished their investigation. But now that the matter had escalated—potentially involving the death penalty or hanging—the Ministry of Justice was required to join the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate for a joint hearing.
For a crime of such magnitude, the Yu family still dared to come seeking help; they truly deserved to be driven out.
To demonstrate his impartiality, Minister Liu had originally submitted a request to recuse himself, but to no avail. The Emperor trusted him and insisted he supervise the case.
Thinking of this, he shook his head.
Concubine Ying took the hint and mentioned it no further. In truth, over all these years, if the Yu family hadn’t come knocking again, she would have likely forgotten that their families were even related by marriage.
A short while later, Minister Liu arrived at the rear courtyard of the yamen in his official sedan. To his surprise, he encountered Consort Zheng the moment he entered. He felt an immediate pang of awkwardness, for Consort Zheng was originally meant to be his esteemed son-in-law.
Years ago, Zheng Hao had placed first in the imperial examinations as the Zhuangyuan. He had intended to travel to Chu Province to marry Minister Liu’s third daughter, Li Shu, but unexpectedly, the Emperor had issued an imperial decree for a royal marriage. From then on, the Zheng and Liu families had ceased all contact. Had it not been for that, Minister Liu would not have hurriedly married his daughter Li Shu to Yu Maozhong. After seeing Yu Maozhong once on her wedding night, his daughter had left a letter and fled. Her whereabouts remained unknown, and it was a mystery whether she was dead or alive.
At the time, he had been furious at her behavior. But seeing now that Yu Maozhong was a corrupt, law-breaking, and cunning fellow, he thought perhaps Li Shu had seen through his true nature and fled not out of a disdain for poverty, but because of the man himself.
However, for today’s Joint Trial of the Three Judicial Offices, Consort Zheng was merely an idle official; the case had nothing to do with him.
…
In the courtroom, Yu Maozhong was brought out. He was born with an honest and loyal appearance; had he not committed such a major crime, no one would believe he was a villain.
The presiding judge was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Despite all the evidence being laid out, Yu Maozhong was extremely slippery. He insisted, “I was coerced into doing all of this. I am but a mere Prefect. Lord Minister, Censor Cen, Censor Lu—these are all false accusations! I am just a Prefect from Anzhou; how could I possibly commit such a massive crime?”
“Lord Minister” referred to the Minister of Justice, Minister Liu; “Censor Cen” referred to the head of the Court of Judicial Review, Cen Shiyan; and “Censor Lu” referred to the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.
Minister Liu was already connected to Yu Maozhong and was desperate to distance himself; he certainly wasn’t going to speak up for him. Censor Lu looked toward the head of the Court of Judicial Review.
Censor Cen couldn’t help but smile. “You truly won’t admit defeat until you’ve seen the coffin. You deny it flatly despite the mountain of evidence? Men, bring in the witness and the testimony.”
He stood up and began to unravel the case piece by piece, presenting it with such precision that even a cunning, sophistical rogue like Yu Maozhong collapsed to the floor, no longer daring to shout about his innocence.
The commoners watching from outside remarked, “Censor Cen truly judges like a god!”
As this part of the case reached a temporary conclusion, the head of the Court of Judicial Review suddenly glanced at Minister Liu and turned back to Yu Maozhong. “There is one more case. Yu Maozhong, do you remember what happened to you eighteen years ago?”
Yu Maozhong hadn’t expected such a question from Censor Cen. He thought for a moment and immediately shook his head. “No, eighteen years ago I was but a mere scholar, not yet in the civil service, studying hard at home.”
Consort Zheng, who had remained silent at the side, gave a cold laugh. “Yu Maozhong, are you still refusing to tell the truth?”
The crowd wondered if this matter was related to Consort Zheng. That seemed impossible; eighteen years ago, Zheng Hao had just been selected as a Consort and was already in the capital, while Yu Maozhong was just a student in his hometown. What connection could there be?
“Reporting to your Lordships, I have already said everything I can say…” Yu Maozhong looked as if he were on the verge of tears.
Censor Cen said calmly, “Call the witness.”
At some point, a gold-trimmed sedan had stopped outside. A woman stepped out. She appeared to be in her late twenties, her dark hair gathered in various shades of black gauze, pinned with a peacock hairpin. On her forehead sat a turquoise stone unique to the Kingdom of Wusun. She extended a snowy-white wrist, resting it on the hand of a youth of eighteen or nineteen. As she walked, her figure appeared graceful and lithe, moving with matchless poise.
She removed her veil before entering the inner yamen. Those around her were momentarily stunned by her beauty, left speechless for a long time.
No one knew who the witness was. Minister Liu took a sip of tea, thinking to himself how tight-lipped Cen Shiyan had been; he hadn’t uttered a single word despite Liu’s inquiries.
But upon seeing this woman enter, his hand trembled, nearly dropping the cup.
Only then did the head of the Court of Judicial Review stand and cup his hands. “Greetings to the Empress Dowager of Wusun.”
This woman was the Empress Dowager of the Kingdom of Wusun, and the youth standing beside her was her son, King Zuopu—the King of Wusun.
The Empress Dowager of Wusun smiled. “This matter is all thanks to Censor Cen. Otherwise, I fear my grievances would never have been known.” At her smile, even the men of the yamen couldn’t help but flush, yet her gaze turned cold as ice as she looked at Yu Maozhong. “Do you still recognize me? You thief, Yu.”
Yu Maozhong had been starved for a long time and his vision was failing. He tried to lean in for a closer look but was held back by the guards. He simply shook his head.
The Empress Dowager of Wusun’s voice was clear and melodious. Her natural way of speaking held a certain charm when she smiled, but now she said, “You indeed do not remember me. Then I shall have to tell you. Years ago, my father fell seriously ill while traveling to the capital for the examinations and was robbed of his money by a servant. He had only met your father, Elder Yu, a few times, yet your father extended a helping hand. My father, mindful of that kindness, specifically betrothed me to you. Knowing your family was poor and fearing people would call our family extravagant, he forbade me from bringing many servants or a large dowry. I never imagined that on our wedding night, you would put a sleeping drug in the nuptial wine and sell me to bandits for ten thousand taels.”
“What?” Minister Liu could no longer remain seated. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Li Shu, you are truly my Li Shu.”
In this courtroom, one shock followed another. The Empress Dowager of Wusun did not look at Minister Liu, but addressed Yu Maozhong. “You were already an inveterate gambler and had squandered your family fortune. You took those ten thousand taels and sold me to a sea merchant. However, the traffickers saw that I was a daughter of an official family, and it happened that a high-ranking official on the road was looking to buy a girl to replace his daughter as a concubine-attendant. I took the place of his young mistress and became one of the six concubine-attendants for Princess Pingning. Seven of us went to Wusun, but I am the only one who returned. The reason I wanted to survive was because I wanted to come back every single moment to kill you with my own hands.”
Only now did Minister Liu understand why Consort Zheng had arrived so early. He had been betrothed to his daughter Li Shu and had been extremely unwilling to marry the Princess. He harbored a deep hatred for Bai Xingzhong, the Chancellor who had suggested the marriage, and would criticize him in memorials whenever possible. Consequently, the relationship between Consort Zheng and the Princess was not harmonious.
Liu was in disbelief. Years ago, he had heard that his daughter fled the wedding, and upon seeing her letter stating she was eloping, he feared she would disgrace the family name. He had long ago declared her deceased. He never imagined she had suffered such a harrowing ordeal.
At that time, Great Qi was at war with Wusun and Dayuan. Having suffered a defeat, they were forced to send a princess for a marriage alliance. The one sent was not a real princess, of course, but a noblewoman from the imperial clan, and her six attendants were all daughters of officials.
The Empress Dowager of Wusun had been remarried to a father, son, and brother three times according to their customs, and it was rumored she had been exiled to the wilderness. Yet she was the one who endured, making her son the new King of Wusun. Later, she took the initiative to restore relations with Great Qi; it was even heard that she was the one who proposed the successful opening of the border trade.
Because of this, the Emperor of Great Qi treated this Empress Dowager with great courtesy, never expecting her to be the daughter who had supposedly fled her wedding.
Yu Maozhong shivered with fear, but he remained stubborn. “You fled the wedding yourself. What does that have to do with me? Why frame me?”
The head of the Court of Judicial Review struck his gavel. “Yu Maozhong, you are truly devoid of conscience.”
The King of Wusun, young and full of vigor, stepped forward and kicked him before saying, “The ones who trafficked my mother have been found. They can be brought for a cross-examination.”
Censor Cen arranged seats for the Empress Dowager of Wusun and the King of Wusun to sit. He then detailed how Yu Maozhong had gambled away everything and conspired with the traffickers, and even produced the official who had sought the substitute.
With the evidence undeniable, Yu Maozhong was sentenced to Zhanjianhou.
The commoners outside all felt that Yu Maozhong was truly monstrous, relieved that the net of heaven has large meshes but lets nothing through.
When the case concluded, the Empress Dowager of Wusun gave Censor Cen a slight bow. “My thanks to you, Lord Cen.”
With that, she turned to leave, ignoring everyone else. The officials present looked at Minister Liu and thought secretly to themselves that it was no wonder Consort Zheng had never forgotten her all these years; she truly possessed skin like jade, a face like a flower, and a beauty that could topple kingdoms.
Minister Liu stepped forward and called out, “It was your father’s fault back then. I only thought of how good your Elder Yu was, and that his son had an official rank. I never expected…”
The Empress Dowager of Wusun did not even turn her head. “The past is in the past. The Liu Li Shu of yesterday is already dead. I do not dare to blame you. I only blame myself. My mother died early; she shouldn’t have existed, and I am a person who shouldn’t have existed either.”
She walked out quickly. Minister Liu, who was usually solemn and rarely smiled, was nearly sixty years old, yet for some reason, he began to weep.
Consort Zheng stepped forward and patted Minister Liu on the shoulder. “Uncle Liu, I heard from Sister Liu that she once escaped the traffickers’ hands by chance. She wrote a letter in blood and had it sent to your residence, but no one came to her rescue. That is why she was forced to marry into a desolate place like Wusun. She did not say these things today precisely to preserve the bond between father and daughter and to save your dignity.”
If word got out that the Minister of Justice had married his daughter to such a treacherous man, leading to her being sold, and that he had ignored his daughter’s plea for help when she reached out, it would be a shocking scandal. Not only would he lose his office, but no one in his clan would think him fit to be a father…
Minister Liu wailed loudly, nearly fainting. Consort Zheng was startled and was about to help him up when he heard the old man murmuring to himself, “Qiujun, Qiujun…”
Consort Zheng did not know who he was calling for, but he felt that Minister Liu’s appearance seemed inexplicably desolate.