Futile Devices Scans

Tao Mo failed to have the coffin opened and was deeply vexed.

Old Tao, knowing the full sequence of events, secretly thanked Heaven and Earth. Opening a coffin for re-examination was no trivial matter, especially after burial had already taken place. Tao Mo possessed no concrete evidence in hand, and if trouble truly arose, not only would he offend Master One-Hammer, he might even lose the official hat atop his head.

Seeing Tao Mo’s gloomy mood, Old Tao quickly diverted his attention. “Clerk Cui has already sent people to investigate the identity of the man who beat the grievance drum.”

Tao Mo’s eyes lit up. “Who is he?”

“That man is named Cai Fengyuan, a scholar from a neighboring county.”

Tao Mo said, “He knew Miss Tong?”

Old Tao hesitated a moment before saying, “By all rights, they should not have known each other.” Yet somehow, they did.

Tao Mo frowned. “Then how did they come to know each other?”

Old Tao replied, “Young Master could have Clerk Cui send men to bring him here and explain the entire matter from beginning to end.” Since Cai Fengyuan had dared to beat the grievance drum and appear in court, he had likely already prepared himself to explain everything.

“That would not be appropriate,” Tao Mo said. “It would be better if I asked personally.”

Seeing that he was about to leave immediately, Old Tao hurriedly said, “Young Master should at least change clothes first.”

Only then did Tao Mo notice he was still wearing his official robes. Annoyed, he exclaimed, “Ah, I actually wore this to see Gu She.”

Old Tao thought: You walked right into that yourself. Pretending surprise, he asked, “Young Master went to see Gu She?”

Every time Old Tao mentioned Gu She, Tao Mo felt somewhat ashamed. Lowering his head, he said, “I wanted to ask him to accompany me in opening the coffin.”

Old Tao said, “Young Master Gu is a scholar. How would he know how to examine corpses?”

Tao Mo replied, “But he went with me.”

Old Tao paused in surprise, utterly unable to understand Gu She’s thoughts either. “Perhaps Young Master Gu cares about Miss Tong’s cause of death. Still, he is Master One-Hammer’s prized disciple. Young Master would do better not to become too close to him.”

Tao Mo asked in confusion, “Since he is Master One-Hammer’s prized disciple, shouldn’t I naturally become close to him? Why instead should I avoid closeness?”

Old Tao said meaningfully, “I fear the closeness Young Master desires may not be what Young Master Gu desires.”

Tao Mo’s face instantly flushed scarlet. “I-I’ll go change clothes.”

Watching his hurried retreating figure, Old Tao silently sighed.

Why had the trend of male favorites become so widespread lately?

⸻

After changing clothes, Tao Mo brought along Hao Guozi and, guided by a yamen runner, hurried toward the inn where Cai Fengyuan was staying.

The inn was somewhat shabby. Though it was midday, there were barely any guests seated inside.

The moment the innkeeper saw the yamen runner enter, he hurried forward to greet them. “Officer, what instructions do you have?”

The yamen runner asked, “Is Cai Fengyuan staying here?”

The innkeeper had long heard of Cai Fengyuan beating the grievance drum that morning and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes. He’s staying in the third room on the left side of the second floor. Another scholar is staying with him as well. I heard Cai Fengyuan call him Brother Bian.”

The yamen runner nodded. “Is he currently in his room?”

“He hasn’t left since returning this morning.” As he spoke, the innkeeper secretly glanced at Tao Mo standing behind the yamen runner.

Tao Mo returned the look with a smile.

Startled, the innkeeper exclaimed, “Could this be the County Magistrate?”

Hao Guozi jumped out proudly. “Indeed. This is Magistrate Tao.”

The innkeeper was so frightened he nearly knelt, but Tao Mo quickly helped him up. “This isn’t the courtroom. There’s no need for that.”

The innkeeper said, “This humble one will lead County Magistrate upstairs.”

Tao Mo replied, “Thank you for the trouble.”

Only after they had gone upstairs did discussions gradually begin downstairs.

“Heh, this magistrate looks pretty gentle.”

“That’s just the surface. Newly appointed officials are usually all turtle grandsons at first. Once they’ve secured their footing—hmph—they become even more arrogant than tiger kings.”

“I don’t think he looks like that.”

“The previous few didn’t look like that either.”

“Sigh. But there’s no need to worry. This is Tanyang County. Here, only officials leave lying flat while litigation masters strut around sideways.”

“Hahaha! True enough.”

⸻

Tao Mo did not hear the discussions downstairs. At that moment, he was watching the door before him swing open as the young man from the courtroom transformed from surprise into a cold sneer.

“County Magistrate truly has a keen nose to have sniffed your way here from so far away.”

Tao Mo asked, “May I come in and sit for a while?”

“If I refuse, I suppose I’ll just end up being dragged into prison to sit there instead, hm?” Cai Fengyuan stepped aside to let him enter.

Hao Guozi frowned. “Why are your words so full of hidden barbs?”

Tao Mo turned to the yamen runner and said, “Thank you for guiding us here. You may return now.”

The yamen runner withdrew.

Tao Mo stepped into the room.

Like the inn hall downstairs, the guest room was rather worn down. The only window had strips of cloth stuffed into the gaps, likely to block out drafts. The “Brother Bian” mentioned by the innkeeper was not inside. Only Cai Fengyuan sat boldly at the table, refusing even to look at them.

Hao Guozi grew angrier the more he watched. “Do you even know what hospitality is?”

Cai Fengyuan replied, “Can those who arrive uninvited even be considered guests?”

Tao Mo asked, “May I sit down?”

Cai Fengyuan turned his head aside. “Sit or don’t sit. Up to you.”

Tao Mo slowly sat down, then conveniently dragged another chair over for Hao Guozi and let him sit as well.

“I came here because of Miss Tong’s case,” he said directly.

Cai Fengyuan glanced at him sidelong. “I wonder how much hush money Magistrate Tao is willing to offer?”

Tao Mo blinked. “Hush money?”

Cai Fengyuan sneered. “Or perhaps Magistrate Tao intends not to spend even a single coin—just threaten me a little and drive me out of Tanyang?”

Tao Mo soothed him, “Rest assured. As long as you haven’t committed wrongdoing, I absolutely will not drive you away.”

Cai Fengyuan flew into a rage, slamming the table as he stood. “What a shameless villain accusing others first! No wonder you managed to win the trust of Master One-Hammer and his wife. So this is the sort of crafty cunning you possess!”

Tao Mo was utterly bewildered by the scolding. Blankly, he said, “But weren’t you the one filing accusations?”

“That’s right! I will accuse you! Not only here in Tanyang County, but at the prefectural offices, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review as well!” Suddenly tears streamed down Cai Fengyuan’s face. “If I don’t accuse you, how can I comfort Yinghong’s spirit in Heaven?”

Tao Mo was completely stunned.

At last Hao Guozi understood. “You’re slandering us! My young master has never even met Miss Tong before. How could he possibly have driven her to death?”

“Met her?” Cai Fengyuan looked almost insane, half laughing and half crying. “Yinghong and I loved each other deeply. We pledged our lives to one another long ago. In this life, neither of us would marry anyone else. We agreed that once I passed the provincial examinations and earned official honors, I would go to the Tong residence to formally propose marriage. But who knew… who knew she would be unable to wait for me and leave this world just like that?”

Hao Guozi asked, “Miss Tong was already twenty. How is it that you still hadn’t passed?”

Cai Fengyuan’s sobbing abruptly stopped. A faint flush of red surfaced beneath his pale bluish complexion.

Hao Guozi found it amusing. “Could it be that you kept failing the examinations year after year, wasting the best years of that young lady’s life, until she lost hope in life and hanged herself?”

“Ridiculous!” Cai Fengyuan became so angry even his ears and neck turned red. “If the Tong family and the county magistrate had not joined forces to pressure her, how could she possibly have resorted to such extremes?”

The teasing vanished from Hao Guozi’s face, replaced by anger. “I already told you—my young master never even met Miss Tong, much less intended to marry her! Can’t you understand plain words?”

Cai Fengyuan replied bitterly, “Now that Yinghong’s fragrance has vanished and jade has perished, naturally you can say whatever you please.”

Hao Guozi blurted out, “My young master only likes men! How could he possibly fancy Miss Tong?!”

The room instantly fell silent.

Tao Mo was so embarrassed he wished the earth would swallow him whole.

After a long while, Cai Fengyuan finally muttered, “What proof do you have?”

Hao Guozi gritted his teeth angrily. “How could something like this even have proof? What, do you expect my young master to strip off your clothes and pin you onto a bed before you’ll believe it?”

Cai Fengyuan looked as though he had been punched square in the face. His complexion alternated between green and white.

Tao Mo’s face reddened so intensely it seemed almost to drip blood. “Stop talking.”

Realizing he had spoken carelessly, Hao Guozi muttered softly, “But he was bullying us too much.”

Tao Mo said, “Let’s still focus on Miss Tong’s cause of death.”

Hao Guozi replied, “What’s there to ask? Clearly Miss Tong waited and waited for him to pass the examinations, but since he never did, she lost hope in life and killed herself.”

Cai Fengyuan pressed his lips tightly together, his expression extremely ugly.

In a gentle voice, Tao Mo said, “Young Master Cai, please sit. Whatever the truth may be, please explain everything carefully from the beginning.”

Once Cai Fengyuan learned Tao Mo had no intention of marrying Tong Yinghong, the disgust in his heart toward him vanished completely. Seeing that although Tao Mo’s appearance was not remarkable, his eyes were clear and his demeanor composed, Cai Fengyuan unexpectedly developed a measure of goodwill toward him.

Slowly sitting back down, he said, “Yinghong and I met at Guanyin Temple. It was love at first sight, but we had no opportunity to speak. Yet Heaven took pity on us. Later, every first and fifteenth day of the month, when I brought copied Buddhist scriptures to Guanyin Temple, I would see her there. Gradually, we finally found opportunities to talk.”

“I remember that day clearly. A light drizzle fell outside, while we sat upon two benches. Yet our hearts felt extraordinarily peaceful. Afterward, the first and fifteenth became the two days each month when we would meet.”

“I knew the Tong family was a powerful household in Tanyang County, so we promised that once I became a top scholar, I would certainly marry her properly and gloriously with all the formal rites. But who knew… who knew…”

Unable to resist, Hao Guozi asked, “How many years had you known each other?”

Cai Fengyuan’s lips trembled. “Five years.”

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