Gu Qingyun brought Bai Zhu'er's corpse to the riverbank. Not far away, Bai Shuyuan was squatting, waiting anxiously. The sight of the lifelike body gave him quite a fright.
Yet his love for his sister suppressed his fear. With trembling legs, he used all fours to scramble over to Bai Zhu'er's corpse. Gazing at those familiar features, he broke down into wails once more.
“Your Honor, this truly is my sister! My sister really was down here! She has suffered so much... I beg Your Honor to see justice done for her!”
His heart-wrenching weeping brought tears to the eyes of the surrounding constables, though fear still kept them from stepping closer.
County Magistrate Yu's knees felt a bit weak as well. He swallowed hard, dreading that the corpse might suddenly reanimate. But remembering what Gu Qingyun had told him, he mustered his courage and said,
“Bai Shuyuan, step aside for now. This official must have men wrap Bai Zhu'er's corpse in a bamboo mat and bring it back to the county yamen, where the coroner will examine it.”
Bai Shuyuan's wailing hitched, his lips trembling. He did not want to disturb his sister's remains. Yet to uncover the truth, he could not stop them. Gritting his teeth with reddened eyes, he forced out a response:
“Yes, Your Honor.”
County Magistrate Yu then turned to Head Constable Liu, Wang Hu, and the others.
“To prevent further complications, go directly to arrest He Yuan and Zhang Xiaoxiao shortly. Tomorrow morning, we shall convene court and try this case.”
Troubled looks crossed the faces of Wang Hu and the others, lingering fear holding them back. Unable to watch any longer, Gu Qingyun spoke up:
“Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang, there's no need to fear. Bai Zhu'er's benefactor found a way to preserve her body from rotting; it's no different from an ordinary corpse. Besides, don't you have me here?”
...
By the time Gu Qingyun and the others returned to the county yamen, it was nearly the Xu hour. Having no time for dinner, she changed into her constable uniform, picked up her saber and lantern from the table, and headed to the duty office to find Bai Fan.
As usual, Little Black perched on her shoulder, accompanying her.
“Let's go. Time for night patrol.”
Hearing Gu Qingyun's voice, Bai Fan stood up and walked straight over to her, full of curiosity.
“Sister Yun, where did you go? I came to get you for dinner this evening, but no one answered when I knocked.”
Gu Qingyun shook her head.
“Someone beat the drum to submit a complaint today, so I went along to see the commotion.”
Bai Fan scratched his head.
“I was sleeping soundly and didn't hear the drum.”
With that, he quickly pressed further,
“Sister Yun, what kind of commotion was it? Anything that gets you to go watch must be out of the ordinary.”
Gu Qingyun thought for a moment and gave him a brief summary. Bai Fan turned pale as he listened, secretly relieved he had slept so heavily and hadn't joined the crowd—otherwise, he wouldn't even have had the guts to work the night watch.
Seeing his cowardly look, Gu Qingyun found it secretly amusing.
“Let's go. Time to patrol.”
Bai Fan took two white steamed buns from his pocket and handed them to her.
“I wasn't sure if you'd eat dinner out or not, so I saved these especially for you, worried you'd be hungry.”
“Thanks. My stomach was indeed growling; you've saved me right in the nick of time.” Gu Qingyun devoured the buns in a few bites and took a gulp of water, instantly feeling much better.
Exiting through the side gate of the yamen, the two began their patrol. When they reached Bamboo Leaf Alley, Granny Wang from the Bai household came jogging over with a food box in hand.
“Constable Gu, you've worked hard tonight. My master said he is currently consoling the old master and old madam at home and cannot step away to express his gratitude in person.
“He specially reserved several tables at Taihe Restaurant to thank all the constables. Knowing that you were on duty, he had me bring several dishes directly to you. Rest assured, all the others on duty received food as well.”
Gu Qingyun reached out to accept it.
“Please extend my thanks to your master.”
Once the elderly woman left, Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan finished patrolling two streets, found a clean spot to sit on the ground, and began digging into the food from the box.
Bai Fan ate a little before he couldn't manage another bite. With a crestfallen face, he watched Gu Qingyun eat ravenously.
“Had I known there would be such a sumptuous dinner tonight, I wouldn't have eaten so many steamed buns earlier. Now I can only look and not eat—it's sheer agony.”
Gu Qingyun couldn't be bothered with his clowning. Keeping her head down, she polished off food meant for two entirely on her own.
That night, Zhang Xiaoxiao and He Yuan stayed in the cells, suffering through misery.
...
By the following morning, the common folk living in the streets near the county yamen had all learned that Gu Qingyun and the others had indeed hauled a woman's corpse out of the Huai River.
When County Magistrate Yu opened court to hear the case, a dense crowd of townsfolk packed the area outside the hall, as the matter had drawn widespread attention.
Gu Qingyun and Bai Fan were no exception. Coming off duty early that morning, they had breakfast and found a spot on the side of the main hall to watch.
Brought to the hall and forced to kneel on the ground, He Yuan was completely dazed. He had no idea what crime he was supposed to have committed to be locked in a cell overnight.
Prior to yesterday, he had been clad in fine silks and dining on lavish feasts. Yet after just one night in jail, he was scruffy-bearded, his hair disheveled, clad only in plain white undergarments, looking like a completely different person.
Beside him, Zhang Xiaoxiao knelt motionless, as though she had resigned herself to her fate.
The moment he entered the hall, he shouted,
“Your Honor, I have been wronged!”
County Magistrate Yu struck his gavel.
“Silence!
“He Yuan, Zhang Xiaoxiao murdered Bai Zhu'er, sank her body into the river, and assumed her identity to marry into your He family. The evidence is conclusive, and she has already confessed and signed her statement. Were you aware of this, or were you not?”
Tears and snot streaming down his face, He Yuan prostrated himself on the ground.
“Your Honor, this commoner truly had no idea!”
With a stern expression, County Magistrate Yu tossed a sheet of paper to the ground.
“He Yuan, on the twenty-fourth day of the eighth month, you accompanied several friends to Yihong Courtyard. During the gathering, you claimed that you had leverage over your wife.
“You said that even if you frequented brothels every single day from then on, your wife wouldn't be able to say a word. These are the testimonies of several courtesans from the brothel. Do you acknowledge them?
“Tell this official: what leverage did you have over your wife? Confess everything honestly!”
A collective gasp rippled through the hall. The onlookers below stared at him with bizarre looks. They had actually believed he was wrongfully accused; who would have thought that a silent dog bites the hardest?
Even Gu Qingyun had not expected County Magistrate Yu to dig up so much in just a single night. He was truly worthy of being a county magistrate—he certainly had a knack for interrogating cases.
Down below, He Yuan refused to confess, continuing to cry out that he was innocent. County Magistrate Yu tossed down a token.
“Bailiffs, administer twenty strokes of the heavy plank first! Let's see if he confesses then!”
Gu Qingyun's mouth twitched at the sight. Wouldn't that count as extracting a confession through torture? Just as the thought crossed her mind, she saw He Yuan collapse limp to the ground, shaking like a sieve.
“Your Honor, I confess! I'll confess!”
According to He Yuan, he had discovered three months after the wedding that Bai Zhu'er had been replaced. Having lived under the same roof with Zhang Xiaoxiao for half a year, he was fairly familiar with her dining habits.
He had noticed that many of his wife's habits were remarkably similar to Zhang Xiaoxiao's, which had aroused his suspicions back then.
Yet unwilling to lose in-laws who were so generous to him, he decided to play along with the deception and keep the matter concealed.
He reasoned that with this leverage in hand, whether he wished to frequent brothels or keep a mistress on the side, Zhang Xiaoxiao would never be able to object, since her own standing was illegitimate to begin with.
He had even turned a blind eye when Zhang Xiaoxiao took silver to support her maternal uncle's family, which was why her uncle's family had never questioned Zhang Xiaoxiao's whereabouts.
Standing nearby, Bai Shuyuan heard this and grew so enraged that his eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead. Grabbing He Yuan by the collar, he yelled,
“Are you even human? When your winery was short on money, I gave you silver without a second thought! And this is how you repay me?!
“You clearly knew she was an impostor, and that she might have been the one who murdered my sister, yet you still brought her over to celebrate my parents' birthdays and provided her with fine clothes and lavish food! Where did you leave my poor sister?!”
Zhang San and Li Si pulled the two apart, and County Magistrate Yu immediately had He Yuan sign and press his thumbprint onto the confession.
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