Futile Devices Scans

The imperial capital of Xiling, Fengdu, was once known as “Fuyao City”. Owing to its elevated terrain and the constant winds that blew through it year-round, it earned that name. Aside from the imperial palace, all matters of civil administration, justice, population, and public order within Fengdu were governed by the Fuyao Prefecture Office.

That afternoon, the Assistant Prefect of Fuyou Prefecture, He Qing Shang, was dozing lightly in his office when a gate attendant brought him a visiting card, saying that someone outside had come requesting an audience.

He stretched with a languid motion, leaning crookedly against his grand armchair, lifted his teacup, and casually took the bright red card. At a glance, he saw the inked characters “Wei Fu, Attendant Gentleman of the Western Secretariat,” and immediately turned his head and sprayed out a mouthful of tea like a scattering celestial maiden:

“How did he end up here? Quick, show him in!”

Any trace of drowsiness vanished instantly. Taking advantage of the attendant going to fetch the guest, He Qing Shang hastily straightened his robes and hat, his mind racing—what wind had blown this great Buddha to his door?

A moment later, the attendant ushered in a crimson-robed official. The two did not interact often; they had only encountered each other at court assemblies. Although He Qing Shang knew what the famously handsome Young Master Wei looked like, he was still momentarily dazzled by his appearance. No wonder the Son of Heaven favors him, he thought. Even if he were just placed there as an ornament, he’d still be pleasing to the eye.

Plastering a smile on his face, he stepped forward to greet him.

“Attendant Wei, constantly serving at His Majesty’s side, must be exceedingly busy with affairs of state. What brings you to the prefectural office today?”

Wei Fu replied politely, “I have come unannounced and caused a disturbance to Your Excellency, Assistant Prefect. I hope you will not take offense.”

“Offense? Many would beg for your presence and never receive it—I could hardly be more pleased,” He Qing Shang said as he invited him to sit. Though his tone was courteous, there was an undercurrent of probing as he asked, “Have you just come from the palace?”

“I happened to pass by the prefectural office and suddenly thought of something, so I took the liberty of calling,” Wei Fu lowered his gaze with a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying. “It concerns a case under your office. It has little to do with me, but I hope Your Excellency will not mind my meddling.”

He Qing Shang could not quite gauge his intent, though he maintained his smile. “Not at all. Please, go on.”

Wei Fu said, “The day before yesterday, the Imperial City Guards were patrolling the streets when they came upon a murder case. The culprit broke out through the rear courtyard and escaped into Liuzhi Alley, where he disappeared. The guards searched house by house. As I happened to be at home on leave, I learned of the case and grew curious, so I came today to ask—has the culprit been apprehended?”

Isn’t the Duke Zhenguo’s residence on Mingshu Street? When did your household move to Liuzhi Alley?

His account was vague and simplified, so He Qing Shang obligingly interpreted it as a convenient excuse. After a brief recollection, he clapped his hands.

“Are you perhaps referring to the case of Xu Shi Fu, the proprietor of Tongshi Pharmacy, who was murdered?”

Wei Fu raised a brow. “So the case has already been concluded?”

Having spent years in officialdom—serving as a local magistrate and handling all manner of criminal cases—He Qing Shang was least inclined to believe in the motive of mere “curiosity.” In an instant, countless convoluted possibilities flashed through his mind: Why would Wei Fu take interest in such an ordinary case? Could there be hidden complications? Or is the case—or the culprit—connected to him? Has he come to plead on someone’s behalf? Surely it can’t be that the Imperial City Guards discovered some unspeakable secret of his, and he’s here to warn me?

“This case is quite straightforward,” He Qing Shang said. “The murderer was an assistant at the pharmacy. His young son fell gravely ill. When he went to retrieve medicine from the counter, the proprietor, Xu Shi Fu, deliberately gave him inferior herbs, delaying treatment and leading to the child’s death. Upon learning the truth, the assistant, in a moment of rage, stabbed the proprietor to death on the spot.”

He took a statement from the case files on the desk and handed it over.

“The true culprit turned himself in at the yamen early yesterday morning. The cause and effect of the case are clear, with both witness testimony and physical evidence complete. There is absolutely no wrongful accusation or injustice in this matter.”

Wei Fu took the statement and skimmed through it at a glance. As it turned out, He Qing Shang had spoken truthfully. The real culprit had already confessed and submitted to the law, and had done so thoroughly—this was a case that could be brought to trial and judged on the spot without anyone crying injustice.

The murderer was named Zhang Wan, a clerk at Tongshi Pharmacy for three years. He had a son, whose childhood name was Zhao Ge, born frail and often ill. Zhang Wan and his wife had raised him with great care, and Zhao Ge had finally grown to the age of eight when, one day, he suddenly fell ill with a persistent high fever. As someone in the trade, Zhang Wan naturally went first to Tongshi Pharmacy to obtain medicine. Yet after several doses, there was no improvement. Zhao Ge struggled on for several days before ultimately succumbing to the illness.

Zhang Wan and his wife buried their beloved child in grief, then returned to the pharmacy to continue working. On the night of the incident, Zhang Wan had been preparing medicinal ingredients until late. When he finally finished and was about to find a place to rest, he suddenly noticed that the pharmacy—already closed for the night—still had lights burning inside.

Out of curiosity, Zhang Wan crept closer and crouched beneath the wall, overhearing the proprietor Xu Shi Fu speaking with someone unknown:

“…That child had no fortune—he’s already dead. Such a waste of a fine body. I even went out of my way to give him herbs without medicinal effect… No help for it—his constitution was too weak. Even if it had worked, he wouldn’t have endured it… I’ll look for another one.”

Hearing this, Zhang Wan immediately connected the words to Zhao Ge’s situation, and suspicion arose in his heart. He returned to his quarters, grabbed a small knife, hid it in his clothing, and went back to the front hall. By then, the guest had already left, and Xu Shi Fu was about to retire for the night. Zhang Wan blocked him at the doorway and demanded to know what those words had meant.

Naturally, Xu Shi Fu denied everything, offering all manner of evasions and excuses. He even threatened to dismiss Zhang Wan, leaving his whole family to starve. Zhang Wan’s anger flared uncontrollably. After Xu Shi Fu finished berating him and pushed past him to leave, Zhang Wan rushed up from behind and drove the knife straight into his back. Xu Shi Fu collapsed and died on the spot.

After the murder, Zhang Wan left the pharmacy in a daze and wandered to the outskirts, sitting among the graves through the night. At some point, exhausted, he fell asleep. In his dream, Zhao Ge bade him farewell and urged him to return home soon. When Zhang Wan awoke, he wept bitterly, then returned to the city and went straight to the prefectural office to surrender himself.

Seeing that Wei Fu remained silent, He Qing Shang studied his expression and added:

“When the constables searched Zhang Wan’s home, they found some leftover medicinal herbs. A physician examined them and confirmed that they were indeed old, inferior stock—there’s no telling how much potency remained. However, Xu Shi Fu is dead and cannot testify. Though Zhang Wan acted out of love for his son, it was not revenge for a parent or elder, so he will likely not escape the death penalty.”

Wei Fu sighed. “Those who kill must be executed; those who injure must be punished. The laws of our dynasty do not permit private vengeance. Your Excellency need only judge the case impartially. As for whether there are mitigating circumstances, that is for the Three Judicial Offices to decide—it is not for us to comment. However, this Xu Shi Fu…”

“What about Xu Shi Fu?”

“If Zhang Wan’s statement is accurate, then the words he overheard that night seem somewhat inconsistent.” Wei Fu tapped the middle section of the statement. “Zhao Ge was merely a child. What deep grievance could Xu Shi Fu possibly have had against him to deliberately use herbs without medicinal effect to harm him? Moreover, Xu Shi Fu was a pharmacist—if he truly intended to take a life, there were far more reliable methods. Why choose the most uncertain one? It almost sounds as if he was leaving it to chance.”

He Qing Shang hesitated. “This… perhaps he was simply stingy by nature, unwilling to use good herbs and always looking to cut corners?”

Wei Fu lifted his eyelids and cast him a silent glance. There was no reproach in it, yet it made the hairs on the back of He Qing Shang’s neck stand on end.

He added calmly, “I trust that Xu Shi Fu’s background and character were thoroughly examined when the testimonies were collected.”

“Yes—yes, they were all investigated.” Struck at his weak point, He Qing Shang hurried to recover. “Indeed, when you examine Xu Shi Fu’s words, they do seem rather suspicious. However, Zhang Wan was overwhelmed with grief, and after the killing he was in a dazed state—it’s possible his memory was confused and his account inaccurate. I will personally question him again later.”

“And this line—‘Even if it had worked, he wouldn’t have endured it,” Wei Fu smoothed out the creases along the edge of the statement, “it seems Xu Shi Fu did not intend to take Zhao Ge’s life at all, but rather to make him into something. When Zhao Ge died, he said, ‘what a waste of such a fine body’, and even mentioned looking for ‘another’… That does not sound like anything decent. The more one thinks on it, the more chilling it becomes, Assistant Prefect He.”

He Qing Shang murmured agreement aloud, but inwardly something clicked—he began to grasp the true purpose behind Wei Fu’s visit.

He was not overly concerned that Wei Fu might deliberately set him up or make things difficult. Among the emperor’s trusted close ministers, Wei Fu was widely known to be gentle, courteous, and easy to deal with. Compared to those rigidly upright lone officials, the ruthless Egret Guards who would not hesitate to confiscate entire households, or the aristocratic clans who looked down on others, Wei Fu’s manner—like a soft spring breeze, never embarrassing others, even offering considerate guidance—could practically be called “approachable.”

—Even though he himself was the emperor’s loyal servant, the brother of the head of the Egret Guards, and a bona fide scion of a noble house all in one.

Yet no matter how high his birth or how many connections he had, interfering beyond his authority in a homicide case under Fuyao Prefecture would be like plucking a tiger’s whiskers—if the censors found out, they could impeach him over it without even leaving him time to digest his last meal. If there were nothing unusual about this case, it would not be worth the risk Wei Fu was taking—nor even the cost of fodder for the carriage from the Duke Zhenguo.

“What you suspect, Attendant, is not without reason. Though Xu Shi Fu is dead, if the mysteries surrounding him remain unresolved, the case cannot truly be considered closed,” He Qing Shang stated his position, then added cautiously, “However, on the night of the incident there was a late-night visitor, as well as a wall-climbing thief. Everyone fled, the scene was chaotic, and there is no clear starting point. Investigating further may prove difficult.”

Wei Fu cast him a sidelong glance that made He Qing Shang uneasy—he could not tell whether Wei Fu thought him perceptive or greedy for advantage.

Wei Fu asked, “Has the wall-climbing thief been caught?”

“Search efforts are still ongoing,” He Qing Shang replied immediately, keen to show that they were not idle. “However, by the time the thief fled, two or three hours had already passed since Xu Shi Fu was killed. I believe he has little to do with the case—likely just a petty thief who stumbled upon the corpse and fled in fright. Compared to him, the visitor who left earlier is far more suspicious. After all, what decent person receives guests in the dead of night unless they have something to hide?”

That remark, by sheer coincidence, struck exactly the right chord. Wei Fu could not help but laugh softly, his shoulders trembling slightly. Turning his head aside to compose himself, he said with genuine approval:

“Assistant Prefect He, your judgment is most astute.”

He Qing Shang, baffled, laughed along awkwardly.

Wei Fu then shifted the topic abruptly. “Assistant Prefect He, you may have heard that last month in Xianglian City, two arson cases occurred in succession.”

He Qing Shang nodded. “I recall hearing something about it. It was said to have alerted the Egret Guards, but beyond that I know little—” He stopped mid-sentence, belatedly realizing what he had just said. His eyes widened as he stared at Wei Fu in uncertainty. “Attendant… what do you mean by this?”

Wei Fu relaxed slightly, leaning back against his chair. As he crossed his legs, the hem of his robe fell smoothly to cover his feet.

“The first arson case occurred in a private residence. The deceased was a silk merchant. At first, the authorities believed it to be a case of robbery and murder, but after carefully questioning witnesses, many inconsistencies came to light. A few days later, a second arson case occurred at an estate outside the city. The location of the fire was precisely the site the merchant had been using to harbor trafficked persons.”

He Qing Shang inhaled sharply several times, the tips of his beard trembling. “Such a thing actually happened…”

“The deceased was not necessarily innocent. The Egret Guards’ involvement was due to suspicions that he might be connected to the Ten Aspects Sect. Had his identity not been exposed after his death, we would not have known that this poisonous weed had already taken root beneath Xiling,” Wei Fu said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. He Qing Shang hardly dared to breathe, listening intently as Wei Fu continued, “This case has already reached the ears of the Son of Heaven and is officially registered with His Majesty. The calamities of the Ten Aspects Sect are not so distant a lesson. Beneath the Emperor’s feet, within the imperial capital, it is better to pursue many false leads than to take even a single misstep. What do you think, Assistant Prefect He?”

The implication was nearly explicit. Beads of sweat formed on He Qing Shang’s forehead as he gripped the wooden armrest tightly and replied solemnly:

“I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Attendant. I will investigate Xu Shi Fu’s case thoroughly.”

“With an official like you, diligent and grounded, the people of Fengdu are fortunate,” Wei Fu said, his eyes curving into a smile. It was like a spring breeze sweeping over, melting ice and snow in an instant. “I cannot offer much assistance, so I shall simply wish you swift success.”

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