Chapter 13: CH 13

Cui Xie coolly instructed people to continue to proceed with the rummaging.

The rice, vegetables, and meat that usually would have been distributed should have been replaced with silver now that he was at the ancestral home, but that silver was missing; medicinal ingredients that were said to help replenish the body and nourish one’s vital energy had also been sent, but the ingredients smelled of damp mildew; there was also a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone: the brush’s handle was fired with inferior crystalline tuhao glaze, the paper was a piece of soft-yellow bamboo paper and the ink was made from black coal, worth only about two taels. Many shops’ accountants would not use this type of ink.

Tuhao is a type of firing technique/glaze. It is called ‘rabbit glaze’ because of the shape of the crystalline markings revealing uniform and fine silk-like threads/veins, shaped like rabbit hair. Hence the name. 

Pengyan compared and contrasted the goods to what they were supposed to receive, but none of the goods matched.

The goods these two people sent over may have been allocated to them by the Cui Family’s couple, and these words may have indeed been instructed by Xu Furen. They could only follow others’ instructions and did not have the freedom to act independently. However, their performance of being unable to act of their own volition had been sufficient to have Cui Xie lose his standing and fall from grace. It was entirely possible that this would cripply his future career potential as an official.

夫人(fū ren): the mistress/wife, also a general term to refer to an official’s wife/madam.

On this particular street, more than a dozen scholars rented residences on this street, some of which were well-known xiucai with scholarly merit. Coupled with their relatives, friends, and classmates, their influence was sufficient enough to cover the entire Shilin Forest. They could even influence the ideas of educators and county magistrates. As soon as Cui Ming and the others had arrived at the ancestral home, they had clamored outside the door with great fanfare, openly declaring that Cui Xie was unfilial. This was all meant for these scholars to hear.

Xiucai: a person who has passed the triennial county-level Imperial exam

Shilin Forest or Stone Forest is a notable set of limestone formations about 500 km2 located in Shilin County, Yunnan Province. The tall rocks that rise and jut out from the ground are somewhat like stalagmites and create the illusion of a forest made of stone. It is a heritage site.

Being unfilial to one’s parents, beating one’s siblings, having a dishonest nature…each one was a fatal criminal charge. If today’s matter could not be resolved on the spot, and he let them pour dirty water on him and leave, he would be left with an irredeemable stained reputation among these scholars and even in the entire Shilin Forest of a Qian’an county!

In the Ming Dynasty, before an exam candidate could enter the examination room, it was compulsory for one to secure at least five tongsheng‘s mutual assurances and support. Or, a linsheng could vouch for the exam candidate. Otherwise, an exam candidate would not be allowed to enter the examination room. If he shouldered these accusations, ten eyes see and ten hands point. Even if one were to spend money to ask a few scholars to be one’s guarantor for the examination, no one would dare to vouch for him due to the risk of damaging their own reputation. 

tongsheng: meaning ‘child student’; an entry-level examinee who had passed the county/prefecture exams.

Linsheng: meaning ‘granary student’; the first class of shengyuan, who were the best performers in the college exam, and got to receive government-issued rations and pay for their academic achievements. The top performers within this class would get accepted into the Imperial Academy as gongsheng (貢生, lit. “tribute student”), who will then be eligible to sit the provincial or even the national exam directly.

Shengyuan: meaning ‘student member’; also commonly called xiucai, a distinguished talent having passed the college exam

‘ten eyes see and ten hands point’: idiom; personal speech and actions are always under the supervision of the masses and it is impossible to conceal one’s actions

His household registration was now registered in Qian ‘an, where he was currently living. It was impossible for him to return to the capital to take the exam. As for Official Cui’s yinjian title, that had already been bestowed to Cui Heng, and the household would not give him this title. This would make it impossible for him to bypass the county examination and directly take the triennial provincial Imperial examination.

yinjian: one of the many titles given to students during an Imperial examination, specifically the sons of officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Bureaucratic officials enjoyed this privilege where their sons could have an easier time if they had this title during the different Imperial exams and based on what type of family you came from, there would be different titles, Imperial exam content, and exam supervisors. Think of it as an alumni legacy privilege for colleges, it is a very nepotistic and corrupt system.

Now that it came to this, his road to taking the preliminary round of imperial examinations had been thoroughly cut off.

They really deserved to be cultured well-read people, an educated middle-class Master and Furen. With just one move, they did not give people any room to reverse their fortunes.

However, Cui Xie had called for people to spread out these unpresentable, shabby things and let Pengyang declare out the proper distributions for their monthly allowance, one item at a time. Afterward, the audience’s emotions flickered and began to show large disparities from their previous ill feelings. As such, the crowd began to mobilize together and some even shouted from outside the residence’s enclosure: “Young Master, quickly beat these two wicked servants who robbed from your household to death! We will go to court to testify for you!”

Those scholars on the street also unknowingly directed their malice towards Cui Ming’s body instead. They felt that the words he had just uttered were meant to embezzle Cui Xie’s belongings and had deliberately made a ruckus to tarnish his Young Master’s reputation. In this way, it would make it hard for the Young Master to speak up.

Cui Xie took in everyone’s expression and could not help sneering a few times in his heart.

Cui Ming had mistaken him as a forlorn Young Master falling from grace and decided to act on behalf of the Furen to lecture him a few words. Cui Ming had believed that he could embezzle and deduct as much as he wanted from the monthly allowance and even bully as much as he wanted. But once this status as Furen’s trusted servant was peeled off, he had nothing else to rely on. This type of behavior was callous and he had intended to deceive his master as a servant and even steal property. As long as this was reported to the county office, this was a felony worth of exile.

Even if Xu Furen was angered after learning of the matter, she could not boldly admit she had indeed wanted to deduct Cui Xie’s monthly allowance, let alone defend a servant who stole the family’s wealth.

To put it bluntly, those shameful and secretive schemes of the residence could only apply to the inner courtyard where the Furen’s power could block out the sky with one hand.

‘block out the sky with one hand’: idiom; to hide the truth from the public or masses

Standing amidst the crowd, Cui Xie glimpsed at the ashen complexions of Cui Ming and the coachman. He inwardly sighed and asked them in a clear voice: “My family has always had a benevolent father, filial son, with peaceful relations among brothers. How could there be discord? I came back to study this time because I was attending to my sickly paternal grandparents. The elders were worried that this would impact my studies, hence, they sent me to the ancestral home. As for how I was injured upon my journey to the ancestral town…this matter involves official affairs of the Imperial court, I dare not divulge any more. However, those in the jinyiwei and Tongshou’s government offices, from top to bottom, are aware. A da-ren personally invited a physician over already, how could my father and mother blame me?”

benevolent father, filial son: idiom; natural love between parents and children

Da-ren: honorific name people used to call government officials or those of higher rank

Jinyiwei: means the ‘Embroidered Uniform Guard’; and was essentially the imperial secret police that served the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. They are given the authority to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecutions with full autonomy in arresting, interrogating, and punishing anyone, including nobles and the emperor’s relatives. The guards would usually don a distinctive golden-yellow uniform with an identifiable plaque hanging near his torso and carrying a special blade weapon. 

The three characters, ‘jinyiwei’ immediately stunned Cui Ming and the neighbors who had been watching the lively commotion. Even those who inwardly believed in their hearts that there were contradictions in the matter did not dare to speak. 

Cui Xie remained calm and collected, not even batting an eyelid at the crowds’ reactions. His gaze swept the surroundings and he faced two people to say: “Never mind the matter of stealing my things, you should not have spread false rumors and slandered your master for the sake of greed, let alone falsely claim that my parents would want to deduct my expenses. You instigated disharmony between father and son, threatening a mother and son’s relationship.”

He raised his chin and cupped his hands in salute to the crowd: “My Cui Family cannot house such wicked servants. I will send them over to the proper officials and ask the County Magistrate to preside over meting out justice. I hope that these distinguished neighbors will testify for me.”

Several of the well craftsmen hired by his family cried out: “This subordinate is willing to testify for the Young Master! These two evil servants deceived others and even tried to reverse black and white on such a bright day, framing their master! If it weren’t for the Young Master’s insight, directly revealing that in and outs of the matter regarding those male-female thieves*, who knows how many things would have been swindled away!”

‘颠倒黑白’ or  ‘reverse black and white’: idiom; meaning to distort the truth or misrepresent facts

*This male-female part is meant to be an insult. They are basically calling Cui Ming & coachman, half-female, half male, and was considered a grave insult to a man in ancient times

Several of the neighbors who had come to help earlier in the morning also added: “Our diligent and attentive origins and reputation are always exhausted by such evil and vicious servants. This matter of taking unfair advantage of one’s master to swindle property, it’ll just be better to beat them to death to resolve this grievance!”

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The Second Manager had long been tied up like a rice dumpling, sprawled on the ground and absolutely speechless. He was suffocating from his gag and breathlessly began hyperventilating. The coachman shivered with a jolt, knelt down, and began to beg bitterly: “Young Master, I am merely a coachman. You must not lump me with Cui Ming as a group of thieves who kill with a thousand swords…”

‘kill with a thousand swords’: the phrase is originally in dialect and merely describes of ruthless thieves who kill and rob for a living

Cui Xie waved his hand disinterestedly: “Save your breath until the County Magistrate presides over this matter.”

The coachman’s complexion went red and then paled, and he suddenly shrieked: “ I, I, can testify! It’s that Second Manager who was greedy for your property! On the road, I saw him spending time in drinking and pleasure and even went to a half-open door to find a woman! As a manager, how much money does he have? It was all because he was greedy at you and Cui Yuan’s things and stole away the clothes, medicinal ingredients midway through the journey!”

‘spending time in drinking and pleasure’: indulge in sensual pleasures, the life of debauchery

‘Half-open door’: prostitute’s dwelling

Cui Ming’s eyes were about to pop out of his sockets, and he ‘barked’ at the coachmen, his face flushed and his neck veins popping out.

The coachman looked away and ignored him, gazing at Cui Xie with an eager gaze, begging the Young Master to give him a way out since he had not slandered his master.

Cui Xie nodded slightly, “There are a few threads of truth. Then, you can be a witness to the judicial court.”

He then ordered Cui Yuan to bring the residence’s carriage over so that they could avoid the two servants from colluding together with their confessions if they were in a single carriage. He also planned on getting on the carriage and heading over to the yamen to personally file a complaint. The crowd all tried to persuade him: “It’s a loss of face to go to the yamen to file a complaint. You are a Young Master of an official family, no need to personally go to court. Just ask your residence’s Old Cui to deliver the accusation.”

Landlord Zhao also asked someone to take his eldest grandson’s shengyuan nameplate over to the yamen and requested that the County magistrate to help deal with the evil servant. 

yamen: administrative government office of a local bureaucrat/official

Cui Yuan thanked them all and firmly insisted: “The family’s servants have committed evil and it is all thanks to the help of these distinguished neighbors that we could catch this servant and return our family’s innocence. Once they are sent to the yamen, I will have to trouble for you all to testify at court. If I, as the master, do nothing and just wait at home, how can I feel at ease!”

Cui Yuan’s status was not high enough, and moreover, he was very honest. If this Second Manager arrived at court and borrowed the Official Cui and Xu Furen’s identities to suppress him and the coachman jumped ships, the great situation that had been created now may be reversed. It would be better to go there in person and feel at ease.

Cui Xie insisted on alighting the carriage and several enthusiastic neighbors and well craftsman who had helped with the residence’s renovations also followed him to the county office, ready to testify.

On the street in front of the yamen, Cui Yuan commissioned a scholar using two silver taels to write a letter on his behalf, instructing the scholar to write: ‘Jinshi in the Chenghua Bingxu Year, Official Cui in the Ministry of Revenue, Yunnan Division”. These were written in large characters and then the testimonial was handed over. 

Jinshi: : highest rank a scholar can get and is attained after passing the triennial Imperial court exam. When scholars attain this rank they usually become court officials. It should be noted that the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) had a very large number of jinshi graduates reaching up to around 24, 536 in total.

They are referring to the reign of Ming Dynasty’s Ninth emperor, Chenghua Emperor, Zhu Jianshen. Chenghua stands for ‘accomplished change’. Chenghua is not the emperor’s real name but the name he is given when he ascends to the throne. This title is used when addressing his reign/era and people use this term when mentioning the current emperor or his reign. After all, one cannot refer to the emperor by his real/birth name.

Bingxu year: roughly around 1466, this is most likely when Cui Que, Cui Xie’s father, became a jinshi

Soon after, a minor official escorted the master and servants to the grand flower hall while the rest were separately invited into one of the side rooms. Tea and refreshments were also brought out, and Cui Xie was invited to partake in having some tea while he waited. Cui Xie instructed Cui Yuan to reward the minor official with two taels of silver. That minor official thanked him graciously and whispered, “Today, there is an Imperial envoy entering the county. The esteemed Grand Senior Official (Magistrate) and Grand Second Official (County Deputy) have gone to wait upon that Imperial envoy. Please sit down for a while, Chen dianshi da-ren has already received the accusations and will immediately designate the Second Court to handle the questioning.”

Dianshi: official title; this type of official is in charge of arrests and prisons under the county magistrate. If the Magistrate, County Deputy and Official Registrar is absent, they are in charge of the office’s proceedings

In truth, the entire county from top-down had their hands tired in welcoming the Imperial envoy at this time. If it was any other case, Chen dianshi would have long sent the paper down and hustled the people away. However, the bright and shining  ‘Jinshi in the Chenghua Bingxu Year, Official Cui in the Ministry of Revenue (son)’ made him deliberate again and again. Ultimately, he decided not to send the people away.

Forget it, he did not know exactly when the Imperial envoy would enter the city. He would only be asking for a confession. It wouldn’t take much effort to send those two servants into custody.

Chen dianshi was promoted to the Second Court, and asked the records office to bring the plaintiff to court.

Since he had received the documentation in advance and knowing that Cui Xie was the son of a current official, he did not let him kneel. Instead, he ordered someone to bring over a chair to let him sit while he watched the trial. On the other hand, Cui Ming did not have the privilege to experience such good treatment. After entering, the yamen runners pressed him to the floor, kneeling and waiting for the interrogation.

Since he had been brought out in front of the Second Court, the yamen runners removed the gag in Cui Ming’s mouth.

Cui MIng also understood that this was his last chance to struggle. If he was convicted of theft, his wife would definitely look down upon him and abandon him. Instead, she would rather let him be convicted of theft and avoid harming the reputation of the late Furen’s son.

Only by completely ruining the reputation and future of the Young Master, letting his wife know that he was useful and worth saving, could he forge open a path to survive!”

As soon as the gag was released, and his tongue was free, he cried out:

“I truly have not stolen this petty official’s monthly allowance! This monthly allowance was allocated by my family’s Official master and his Furen. The purpose was to hone down the Eldest Young Master’s temper so that he will not act out as he does at home. Relying on his identity as a Young Master of an official’s family to amass ill-gotten wealth, bullying men and women alike, dominating lawsuits and oppressing the village people…”

The servant had many words to say. The entire hall, from the dianshi to the yamen runners, when they looked at Cui Xie, they could not connect him with these words.

The Young Master sat upright on the chair, with his back ramrod straight. Although his brows still faintly emanated childish air, his serene eyes already possess a calmness that even an adult could hardly reach. His demeanor was pure and upright and did not look like a person who would commit such evils.

Additionally, Cui Xie was also born with a fair appearance. If he were a few years older and was not a tyrant who took unfair advantage of others, who knows how many young and beautiful women would come to watch the trial.

Chen dianshi could not help but smile, pointing at Cui Ming to say: “If you want to slander your Master, you should at least say something believable. Saying such impudent remarks, if I really believed it, wouldn’t that make the Senior Official(Magistrate) laugh to death. Truly a thief through to the bones, if you won’t confess, someone come﹘”

A few ferocious and brutish looking yamen runners pounced to press Cui Ming to the floor, attaching two thick bars to his legs, the point of a wooden plank suspended above his bottom. Chen dianshi took out a small bamboo stick and initially wanted to beat Cui Ming a few times with the wooden plank and then ask some questions, but he was worried that it would take too long﹘if he had the poor luck to miss welcoming the Imperial envoy, would it be better to continue the beatings or not?

He hesitated for a long time and Cui Ming started howling: “Da-ren, do not beat me, this servant is telling the truth! My family’s Eldest Young Master is indeed idle all day at home, beating and scolding his younger brother and was sent here because he had angered the Master and Furen. On this trip, I was also instructed to clearly investigate to see if the Young Master has learned his lesson and wanted to repent. That way, this servant can go back and inform the Furen. Da-ren can also travel to the Cui Residence in the capital for further questioning, everyone in the Cui family knows this.”

Chen dianshi could not help but glance at Cui Xie again. Cui Xie rose from his seat, gave him a deep nod, and spoke in a lowkey voice: “Please investigate clearly, da-ren. Not to mention this junior’s peaceful and harmonious relations with younger brother since childhood, this junior has never so much as flicked him; Even if this junior truly did so, it would be to discipline my younger brother and is also my duty as an elder brother. Is there any reason why parents would resent their eldest son because the eldest son educates the younger son? Is there any justification to not provide clothes or food because of it?”

Cui Ming glared at him, his throat was blocked with unspoken complaints and anger, his eyes bloodshot.

You, a young man who has been studying and learning propriety and etiquette since childhood, how can you be so fluent in telling lies? You are even more familiar than someone who was ordered to ruin your reputation and had even prepared a stomachful of lies on the road!

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