Chinese Literature

magistrate’s office. When the magistrate heard that it was a murder case, he took his seat in the court and ordered the plaintiffs to state their case from the beginning. Mr. Wang was the first to speak.

“Your Honour,” he said, “I am a native of this district, living in the country. I am nearly sixty and have only one daughter whom I married some years ago to Liu Kuei who lived in this city. Later, as they had no son, Liu took a concubine from the Chen family. They called the concubine Second Sister, and the three of them got on quite well together and never quarrelled. The day before yesterday, since it was my birthday, I sent a man to fetch my daughter and son-in-law to stay for one night; and the next day, realizing that my son-in-law had no means of supporting his family, I gave him fifteen strings of cash to set up a business which would bring them in enough to live on. The concubine had stayed at home to look after the house. Last night when my son-in-law went home, she seems to have killed him with an axe and fled with a young man named Tsui Ning; but they have both been caught. I beg Your Honour to take pity on my son-in-law’s strange death. Here are the wicked man and the adulteress, with the stolen money as evidence. May it please Your Honour, in your wisdom, to pass sentence!”

Then the magistrate called to the concubine: ‘“‘Come here! How did you plot with your lover to murder your husband, steal the money and escape? What have you to say?”

“Though I was only Liu Kuei’s concubine,” she replied, “he treated me well and his wife was good to me. Why should I want to harm them? But last night my husband came home half drunk, with fifteen strings of cash. When I asked him where the money came from, he said he had pawned me for fifteen strings of cash, because he couldn’t support the family; and he hadn’t let my parents know about it, but wanted me to go to the other man the next day. I was so upset that I slipped out that night to stay with a neighbour, and I set off early this morning for my parents’ home. I had asked the neighbours to tell my husband to go with my new master to my parents’ home to settle the business. . I was on my way home when the neighbour I had stayed with caught up with me and dragged me back. I know nothing about my husband’s murder.”

“Nonsense!” shouted the magistrate. “The fifteen strings of cash were given him by his father-in-law, yet you claim that he raised the money by pawning you: that is obviously a lie. And why should a woman slip out at the dead of night? You must have been planning to run away. You couldn’t have done this alone: some man must have abetted you in this murder and robbery. Out with the truth now!’

Before the young woman could speak again, several neighbours stepped forward, knelt down and said: “Your Honour is as all-seeing as Heaven. The concubine did spend the night in the second house to the left of their house, going off this morning. When we discovered that her husband had been murdered, we sent men after her who overtook her

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