Jing Yan
Duan Xu anticipated that Grand Justice Jing Yan would come looking for him. When the invitation arrived, he only tidied up briefly before riding his horse to Jing Yan’s residence. As he dismounted in front of the Jing residence, he saw Jing Yan, dressed in a purple robe embroidered with peacock patterns, standing in the courtyard, scrutinizing him with sharp eyes as if trying to see through his soul.
Jing Yan was in his early thirties this year. His elder brother was the consort of Princess Anle, the Emperor’s favourite, and it was this relationship that gave the Jing family the confidence not to rely on any particular faction. Over the years, he had earned a reputation as a perceptive, impartial Grand Justice who had rejected many cases sent for review by the Ministry of Punishments without any bias.
Although Duan Xu and Jing Yan weren’t particularly close, they had last met at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet before leaving Nandu. They had played a game of chess, but the game was left unfinished as the banquet ended. Today, Jing Yan had invited him to his residence to finish that game of chess.
Jing Yan gave him a deep look and calmly said, “Lord Duan, please.”
They sat down in Jing Yan’s study, where the unfinished game of chess was indeed laid out on the table, with the black and white pieces interspersed perfectly. Duan Xu couldn’t help but smile when he saw it; it seemed that Jing Yan had remembered this game of chess early on and had intended to finish it with him. However, with the sudden emergence of the corruption case involving the horses the game of chess had taken on some additional purposes.
Duan Xu made a move and said leisurely, “Lord Jing, dressed in official robes, I presume you’ve just returned from the Grand Justice Court. Despite your busy schedule, you still remembered our chess game. I am truly honoured.”
Jing Yan made his move and replied, “I heard that General Duan is decisive and unstoppable on the battlefield. I used to think that General Duan was just a civil official, but now I see things differently.”
Looking up at Jing Yan, Duan Xu said, “Lord Jing, you might as well get straight to the point. You didn’t invite me here just to play chess, did you?”
Jing Yan then went straight to the point. “Have you heard about Sun Changde’s confession in the corruption case involving Horses?”
“I’ve heard something about it.”
“He confessed that he was instigated by someone to falsely accuse Minister Sun and Minister Li, and he claimed that the instigator was you, General Duan.”
Duan Xu’s gaze remained on the chessboard as he chuckled, finding it absurd. “Me, instigate him? As a young and inexperienced individual, barely finding my footing, would I dare to do such a thing? He seems to have overestimated me.”
“Three days after last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, he fell into the water while passing by Clear Bridge at night and you saved him.”
“That’s correct. That’s my only interaction with him. Is there anything wrong with saving someone?”
“According to him, he had a feud with Minister Li before, so he suspected that Minister Li was trying to harm him. After that day, you used his gratitude to inquire about information from him, then coerced and bribed him to fabricate the corruption case against Minister Ma, falsely accusing the Ministry of Punishments and the Ministry of Ceremonies.”
“Ridiculous. I haven’t seen him since that day. Does he have any evidence for these baseless accusations?”
Jing Yan made his move, casually saying, “He naturally has many letters and tokens as evidence, but they are inconsequential because, in my view, those pieces of evidence are fake.”
Duan Xu raised an eyebrow, looking up at Jing Yan. The chessboard was a battleground of black and white, with each side vying for dominance.
Jing Yan met his gaze, his expression unchanged, as he continued, “Just like the crucial ledger Sun Changde identified as evidence of Minister Li’s corruption, it was also fabricated.”
“Oh?” Duan Xu looked surprised, as if he were hearing for the first time that the ledger he had fabricated was fake. He said, “Sun Changde’s ledger was also fabricated? He has quite the audacity.”
“While the ledger was indeed fabricated, it wasn’t Sun Changde who fabricated it. When he made the accusation, he likely thought it was genuine. There was indeed someone behind the scenes, pushing him to reveal this case with so-called evidence. However, Sun Changde didn’t know who the mastermind was and now simply follows certain arrangements, shifting the blame onto you,” Jing Yan calmly explained.
Duan Xu’s eyes twinkled with a smile as he replied, “You are insightful, Lord Jing.”
Jing Yan made his move and continued, “However, fabricating a ledger is no simple matter. Even several officials at the Ministry of Punishments failed to detect any issues with it. When I first received it, I also believed it to be genuine. If it weren’t for Sun Changde’s retrial, I wouldn’t have discovered its falsity. The person who could create such a ledger must have seen the real ledger and at least copied half of it.”
Duan Xu hesitated for a moment with his chess piece. Jing Yan then went on, “There are only two possibilities. Either this person had the real ledger but, for some reason, refused to produce it, so they fabricated a copy. Or this person saw the real ledger but it was lost or destroyed, making it unusable as evidence, forcing them to fabricate it. Sun Changde’s confident confession suggests that someone confirmed the real ledger had been destroyed. In that case, it’s the second scenario, where this person hurriedly memorized half of the ledger after seeing it. It must be someone with an extraordinary memory.”
Jing Yan’s sharp gaze bore into Duan Xu’s eyes as he said, “Last July, General Duan went to pay respects to his ancestors in Daizhou, and the horse ranch in Shunzhou, which Sun Changde exposed, is on the way to your hometown. The ledger also came from Shunzhou. Furthermore, the timing of your petition to attack the two states of Yunluo coincides too perfectly with this case.”
Duan Xu burst into laughter, pressing his hand against his forehead. “Lord Jing, have you also been deceived by those rumours circulating in the streets, thinking that I am truly a young genius with a photographic memory? That’s just empty praise from others due to my family’s status. The idea of me memorizing half a ledger at a glance is beyond me.”
“Is it?” Jing Yan calmly made his move, saying, “We played this game of chess over half a year ago. I was able to recreate it because as soon as I got home, I drew out this chessboard. When you came in just now and saw this chessboard, you were surprised to find it exactly the same as half a year ago. Then you sat down and made your move without hesitation. Not only do you clearly remember the chess game from half a year ago, but you also remember where your next move was supposed to be. With such a memory, writing a ledger from memory would be child’s play, wouldn’t it?”
Duan Xu gradually lowered his gaze, idly tapping the chessboard with the black piece in his hand. After a moment, he chuckled and said, “Is that all? Lord Jing’s words are mere speculation, without a shred of evidence. What can they prove?”
Leaning down, he toyed with the black piece in his hand, lazily saying, “As Lord Jing mentioned, in this case, apart from the witness, all the key pieces of evidence are fabricated. And this witness is wavering, changing his testimony from one day to the next. In the end, Sun Changde is just a pawn in this chess game. The real players are not us, but we are also trapped in this game. The Ministry of Punishments has already concluded the case, but when it was reviewed by the Grand Justice Court, the witness changed his testimony. It’s all because the Ministry of Punishments is under the influence of Du Xiang, and Duke Pei wants him to break away from Du Xiang’s influence. Now, with the case, the witness, and the evidence all in your hands, each side hopes that you will use their prepared false evidence and witnesses to attack the other side. No one cares about the truth; they only care about the outcome.”
“No, I care about the truth.”
“Lord Jing cares about the truth. So, do you think the corruption case involving Minister Ma is true or false?”
Jing Yan shook his head calmly. “The evidence is insufficient to draw a conclusion.”
Duan Xu repeated, “Insufficient evidence? Will this matter be let go like this? There are no natural grasslands in Daliang; all the horse farms require occupying farmland belonging to the common people. The land needed to raise one horse can support twenty-five people. With three thousand horses, that’s seventy-five thousand people. If the corruption is true, the livelihoods of these seventy-five thousand people have been pocketed. And on the front lines, with a shortage of warhorses, our cavalry cannot be organized properly. We can only resort to unconventional tactics in battles, each victory hard-won. How can we defend our country under such circumstances?”
Jing Yan looked at him calmly, the deep, sharp gaze piercing through Duan Xu’s eyes. A faint scent wafted from the incense burner on the desk, veiling the space between them as Jing Yan slowly said, “I know all that you’ve said. I understand it better than you do.”
“I called you here today to tell you that if false evidence is taken as truth, you can create it today, and he can create it tomorrow. How can the truth stand on such shaky ground? General Duan is still young; he must understand that falsehoods cannot lead to the truth, and unjust means cannot achieve justice. Sitting in the position of Grand Justice, the only thing I believe in is evidence.”
Duan Xu’s eyes flickered slightly, remaining silent.
Evidence, it’s easier said than done. The traces of this matter have been thoroughly concealed, and the ledger he painstakingly found has been destroyed. To investigate, he can only start with the Minister of War, the Minister of Ceremonies, or even Qin Huanda and Duke Pei behind the scenes, exposing himself and facing obstacles at every step.
“Lord Jing, can you really find concrete evidence?”
“I will do my best to find it. If I can’t, I won’t use false evidence to make a ruling.” Jing Yan made his move, then looked up at Duan Xu and said, “General Duan, you are young and have a deep mind, which is not a bad thing. However, do not be too fixated, lest you stray from the right path. Today’s matter will stay in this study. When you leave, it will not be mentioned again. Take care of yourself, General Duan.”
Duan Xu lowered his gaze for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at Jing Yan. Making a move on the chessboard, he said, “Many thanks for your guidance, Lord Jing.”
In the end, Jing Yan emerged victorious in this game. As Duan Xu departed from the Jing residence, he bowed to Jing Yan, smiling as he said, “I’ve long heard of Lord Jing’s prowess in chess. Today, seeing it first-hand, I find the reputation well deserved.”
Jing Yan merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment, expressing modesty.
As Duan Xu mounted his horse and held the reins, he gazed at Jing Yan and said, “Lord Jing, may your governance ensure that there will be no unjust imprisonments in Daliang forever.”
Though this statement seemed somewhat ironic, it came from the heart. Plotters laid out roads intertwined with truth and falsehood, while justices upheld true law without fault in their respective roles.
Jing Yan would always be the strongest shield, protecting the law of Daliang rather than any individual’s unverified sense of justice.
After leaving Jing Yan’s residence, Duan Xu didn’t return home immediately. Instead, he rode south along Shengxin Street until he reached a spot by an apricot-yellow wall. Beneath the eaves, bells tinkled cheerfully in the wind, and many people passed through the wide-open vermilion doors with a mix of respect and joy.
This was the Lotus Pavilion of the Imperial Teacher’s residence.
In an effort to show empathy towards the people and share in their joy, the Emperor had connected the Lotus Pavilion to the Imperial Teacher’s residence. It opened on the first and fifteenth day of each month, as well as during festivals. On regular days, it was solely for the Imperial Teacher to divine blessings for the royal family and listen to the wishes and worries of the common people.
All citizens could enter the pavilion to pray, but only those selected by the Imperial Teacher had the privilege of asking questions. It was said that the disciples of the Imperial Teacher would place tokens in the homes of the chosen ones or personally give them gifts, inviting them to the pavilion for guidance.
Those who carried the red lotus umbrella were deemed the chosen ones.
Duan Xu retrieved the paper umbrella that He Simu had given him on the streets of Nandu that day from the bag tied to his horse. The vibrant red lotus blossomed vividly on the umbrella.
During the morning court a few days ago, he had encountered the Imperial Teacher, who casually remarked to him, “The destined one, aren’t you returning this paper umbrella?”
Duan Xu weighed the umbrella in his hand, smiling gently, before stepping through the crimson gates.
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