Broken Jade - Chapter 92

Chapter 92

It seemed no one had visited Pinghe County’s archives in a very long time.

The moment the door opened, fine dust billowed into their faces. The air was musty with the smell of aging paper.

“Please, make yourselves at home, my lords.”

With that, the County Deputy stopped accompanying them and turned to leave, claiming he was going to find some commoners for them to question.

Wei Heng stepped inside. Drafts whistled through the dilapidated wooden windows, so he opened one that was still relatively intact. A fresh breeze swept in, dispersing some of the musty odor.

Sheng Zhaoning picked up the county gazetteer and records within reach and began leafing through them.

Wei Heng dusted off a chair and drew Sheng Zhaoning over to sit down. He then ventured farther into the archives, primarily searching for Pinghe County’s account books from recent years.

They each busied themselves with their own task, and the room fell silent.

Only the occasional rustle of turning pages could be heard.

It was quite some time before the County Deputy finally returned with a group of people.

“My lords, I have brought more than a dozen people here. Would you like to question them now?” the County Deputy asked from the doorway.

Wei Heng had nearly finished reviewing the account books from the past two years.

Sheng Zhaoning ran her fingertips over the ragged edge where pages had been deliberately torn from the county gazetteer. Deep in thought, she closed the volume and exchanged a glance with Wei Heng.

“Let’s go,” they said in unison.

The County Deputy’s gaze darted between them. He could not shake the feeling that something was amiss, though he could not say exactly what.

In any case, the two of them seemed rather strange…

The three returned to the main hall together.

More than a dozen people were already standing inside.

When they saw the three return, their faces filled with the same deep wariness Wei Heng and Sheng Zhaoning had seen on every passerby upon first entering the county seat.

The County Deputy looked around, then cupped his hands. “My lords, please feel free to ask whatever questions you may have.”

Seated at the head of the hall, Wei Heng studied the people below. After a moment’s consideration, he said, “You are all long-standing residents of Pinghe County. There is something I would like to ask you about, and I hope you will speak frankly.”

Every gaze turned toward him at once.

Under the weight of their stares, Wei Heng asked, “What sort of reputation did Shen Tongshu have while in office? Did he ever break the law or abuse innocent citizens?”

The moment the question left his lips, the crowd erupted in outrage.

“Shen Tongshu is a corrupt bastard!”

“He took bribes, perverted justice, deceived his superiors, and kept the people below him in the dark! He thought himself above the law!”

“Both my children starved to death. I’m the only one left in my entire family, and it’s all because of Shen Tongshu!”

“Shen Tongshu, that corrupt bastard, deserves a horrible death!”

One after another, they hurled abuse at Shen Tongshu, denouncing every aspect of the man.

The crimes they accused him of were too numerous to count and appalling to hear.

Sheng Zhaoning frowned as she watched the indignant crowd condemn him. Suddenly, she recalled Shen Tongshu’s thin, unsteady figure-and the words he had spoken:

-What does it mean to be clean? What does it mean to be innocent?

She knew judging a person by appearances was a grave mistake, yet she truly could not see the shadow of a corrupt, lawbreaking official in him.

On the contrary, despite his long imprisonment, Shen Tongshu still possessed a clear, upright air between his brows. The integrity of an honorable civil official could faintly be glimpsed in his bearing.

As she pondered this, the two guards Wei Heng had sent out earlier to gather information returned.

Sheng Zhaoning looked up at the two figures in the doorway as they entered one after the other.

Wang Qi surveyed the scene, wove through the crowd, and reached the front in two quick strides. Glancing at Sheng Zhaoning beside Wei Heng, he lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear.

“Your Highness, we have confirmed it.”

He truthfully reported what they had learned. “Shen Tongshu’s reputation among the people is abysmal. Every commoner we questioned cursed him bitterly. They all hate him so much they would gladly kill him themselves.”

Like a fog rising out of nowhere, the mystery only grew thicker.

Sheng Zhaoning lowered her eyes in thought, then suddenly asked, “Do we know how Shen Tongshu’s mother and younger sister died, or where they were buried?”

Wang Qi considered the question before replying, “Their causes of death remain unknown, but after considerable effort, we managed to learn where they were buried. Both were laid to rest in the Shen Family Ancestral Cemetery. Song Han and I went to investigate. The cemetery is guarded, so we couldn’t get close, but we could make out the names on the headstones. They are indeed Shen Tongshu’s family members.”

The cemetery was guarded…

Sheng Zhaoning frowned at that.

If everything the people here claimed was true, then Shen Tongshu was indeed a corrupt official whose actions had cost countless lives. Why, then, would the people of Pinghe County allow his mother and sister to be buried in his ancestral cemetery, much less assign guards to watch over their graves?

Moreover, the mutual aid between the officials and the common people that they had witnessed on their journey could not have been staged. The local authorities and the people were unusually united, bound together against a common enemy. From beginning to end, they had all treated Sheng Zhaoning’s party with unmistakable hostility.

Then there were the county records, which clearly documented the changes Pinghe County had undergone over the past five years. Once an impoverished, insignificant county, it had later flourished on every front. Even after the natural disaster, signs of its former prosperity remained, proof of how much care the local officials had invested in the county.

Yet every record of Shen Tongshu’s deeds had clearly been erased.

Whatever could not be erased had simply been torn out, leaving no trace of his achievements behind.

Each piece of evidence suggested that the matter was far from simple.

An ordinary official eager to close the case would never have investigated this thoroughly. They would have gone along with the prevailing narrative and sentenced Shen Tongshu to death, sparing themselves the trouble of calculating his merits.

The person behind this had likely counted on precisely that.

It seemed someone had indeed been deliberately obstructing their search for the truth all along.

And that, in turn, suggested Shen Tongshu truly had been wronged.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Just as the crowd’s shouting and cursing reached a fever pitch, the grievance drum suddenly sounded outside the county yamen.

Sheng Zhaoning raised her head and looked toward the entrance.

The County Deputy beside her went pale. “Quickly, get that mad old woman out of here!”

He urgently issued the order to the bailiffs on either side of him.

The bailiffs acknowledged the command and were about to leave when Wei Heng stopped them.

“Wait.”

The two bailiffs had no choice but to halt. Looking troubled, they turned to the County Deputy.

Wei Heng’s gaze also settled on him.

“The grievance drum has been struck, and I am here to preside over the court. On what grounds would we drive away the petitioner?”

The County Deputy’s eyes flickered. He forced a dry laugh and said, “My lord, you may not be aware, but there is an old woman in Pinghe County who has lost her mind. She comes to beat the drum outside the county yamen every few days. There is truly no need to see her.”

Wei Heng smiled back. “When the grievance drum sounds, the court must convene. I am sure you are familiar with that rule, Lord Li.”

The County Deputy froze, his face twisting with conflict.

The townspeople in the hall had also fallen silent. They exchanged glances, but not one of them spoke.

Wei Heng waited. At last, the County Deputy closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“Bring her in!”

At his command, the bailiffs headed outside once more.

A short while later, they returned, supporting an old woman between them as they led her into the courtroom.

Sheng Zhaoning looked over. The old woman’s hair was gray, her clothes were filthy and disheveled, and both her face and hands were smeared with mud. The pupil of one eye was clouded white, while the other remained half-closed, barely able to see.

She seemed not to have expected so many people in the courtroom. Trembling, she stood in the center with the aid of a walking stick and slowly swept her gaze across their faces. Then, in a hoarse voice, she asked, “Have you all come to clear Magistrate Shen’s name too?”

Every expression in the room changed. An eerie silence descended over the hall.

The County Deputy’s face went deathly pale. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes in helpless despair.

The very thing he had feared most had happened after all…