40

Shen Xiaoxia Encounters the Expedition Memorials

As the story goes, with a saintly emperor on the throne in the Jiajing reign period [1522–66] in the present dynasty [Ming], crops thrived in favorable weather and the empire and its people enjoyed peace and prosperity. However, the unfortunate appointment of an evil minister compromised the integrity of imperial rule and brought the empire to the brink of chaos. Who was this evil minister? He was Yan Song, courtesy name Jiexi, a native of Fenyi in Jiangxi. He had won favor by playing the sycophant, ingratiating himself with eunuchs, setting up Taoist altars, and writing invocations to please the emperor.¹ So he rose rapidly to prominence. For all his feigned humbleness and modesty, he had, in fact, a suspicious and evil mind. His calumnies ruined the grand academician Xia Yan, whereas he himself took over as prime minister, with full power over the imperial court as well as the general public. His son Yan Shifan, who rose from the status of an official student to become vice-minister of the Ministry of Works, was an even more ruthless man, but he was not without such talents as a malicious mind might possess, for he had wide learning, a good memory, and a quick, calculating brain. Jiexi, his father, had the greatest trust in his advice and invariably sought his counsel on all thorny problems. Hence the father and the son came to be known in the court as the Elder Prime Minister and the Younger Prime Minister.

In collusion, father and son seized power, solicited bribes, and sold titles and government posts for profit. Those wishing to attain wealth and status needed only to bribe the father and son generously and honor them as godfathers to be appointed to eminent posts. As a consequence, unsavory characters flocked to them until all government offices were filled with their trusted lackeys. All those who stood out against them were immediately crushed. Less serious o enders were subject to beatings and exile. Graver o enses were punishable by death. What a terror they were! Only those prepared to die dared venture remarks on the side of justice. Anyone other than such passionately loyal and patriotic men as Guan Longfeng² and Bi Gan³ would rather sacrifice the interests of the empire than o end the prime minister. Such a state of a airs prompted an anonymous poet of the time to change the poem “On Prodigies”⁴ into this quatrain:

Changes to another poem produced the following:

Secure in the knowledge that they were favored by the emperor, Yan Song and his son wallowed in vice. Their mountain-high record of evildoings prompted a loyal subject to stand up against them. His remarkable deeds have been kept alive in an extraordinary story. He died, but it was a death that brought him eternal fame. Verily,

The man, a native of Shaoxing in Zhejiang, was named Shen Lian, courtesy name Qingxia. Endowed with outstanding talent in the military as well as civil arts, he aspired to bring peace to the land and the people. From an early age, he greatly admired Zhuge Liang⁶ for his integrity and loved to recite the two memorials contained in the collection of Zhuge Liang’s works—memorials to the throne requesting permission for an expedition against the enemy. Hundreds of times he copied these petition memorials by hand and posted them all over his walls. Each time he had drunk a lot, he would recite them aloud, and, when he came to the line “Devote my life to my duty till I die,” he would heave deep sighs and burst into passionate weeping. Accustomed to his ways, people called him “the mad man.”

In the cyclical year of wuxu [1538] during the Jiajing reign period, Shen Lian passed the imperial examinations and, as a scholar with a jinshi degree, was appointed as a county magistrate, a post that he served for three terms in the counties of Liyang, Chiping, and Qingfeng consecutively, and a fine magistrate he turned out to be. Indeed,

Being an outspoken man loath to fawn on his superiors, he was transferred to the position of registrar of the imperial guards. Soon after arriving in the capital, he boiled with indignation when he discovered that the Yan family was laden with ill-gotten goods. One day, at an official banquet, he was disgusted by the arrogance of Yan Shifan. In the midst of the drinking, Yan Shifan ranted and raved as if no one else were present and asked for a huge wine vessel. Those unable to finish the wine were subject to punishment. The vessel was big enough for over two gallons of wine, but none of those present dared refuse, for fear of Yan Shifan’s power. There was only a Censor Ma who, having no capacity for wine, pleaded to be excused when Shifan deliberately set the vessel before him. As Shifan turned a deaf ear to his pleas, Censor Ma had to comply, but no sooner had his lips touched the wine than his face flushed red and his eyebrows knitted together in an expression of crushing misery. Shifan went down the table, grabbed Censor Ma by one ear, and forced the wine down his throat. The censor could do no better than hold his breath and swallow the wine in successive gulps. It would have been all right if he did not take in the wine, but, as it was, he felt as if the sky and the earth had changed places and the walls were all revolving around him. Feeling weak and unsteady on his feet, he could hardly manage to keep himself from falling.

While Shifan clapped his hands and roared with laughter, Shen Lian’s anger flared. All of a sudden, he stood up, rolled up his sleeves, seized the wine vessel, filled it to the brim, and walked up to Shifan. “Censor Ma is too drunk to return the courtesy that you did him,” said he. “So let me do the honor for him.”

A stunned Shifan was about to raise his hand to decline the o er when Shen Lian continued harshly with a stern look, “If others can drink it, so can you. Others may fear you, but not I, Shen Lian!”

Grabbing Shifan by one ear, he forced the wine down Shifan’s throat, doing just what Shifan had done to Censor Ma. As Shifan finished up in one gulp, Shen Lian tossed the vessel on the table, clapped his hands, and roared with laughter, just as Shifan had done. (Hurrah! Guan Fu⁷ was no hero, because he fawned on the prime minister before turning against him. Guan Fu was a brave man at best, but Shen Lian here is a man of honor and loyalty.) All of the other officials present were so frightened that their faces were drained of all color. They hung their heads and dared not make a sound. When Shifan feigned drunkenness and left the banquet, Shen Lian did not rise to see him o .

Remaining seated in his chair, he sighed, “The Han dynasty and the traitor can never coexist!” He repeated this quotation from Zhuge Liang’s second petition memorial seven or eight times, comparing the Yans to Cao Cao and his son.⁸ Though the others were breathless with fear that Yan Shifan might hear him, Shen Lian himself took no notice of them but continued to drink cup after cup and did not leave until he had drunk himself to a stupor.

When he woke up at the fifth watch, he thought to himself, “In an outburst, I forced wine down that scoundrel Yan Shifan’s throat. He will certainly seek revenge out of spite. Since I’ve done it, I might as well carry it through and get ahead of him. The vices of the Yan father and son have stirred the anger of humans as well as gods. But with the emperor so firmly on their side and my position so humble that my words carry no weight, I need to bide my time until the right moment before I strike. However, I cannot a ord to wait. Let me imitate Zhang Liang, who attacked the First Qin Emperor at Bolangsha. Even though he missed, he served as an example for all.”

Resting his head on the pillow, he mentally composed a memorial to the emperor. By daylight, when he had the words ready in his head, he rose, burned some incense, washed his hands, and wrote the memorial, which enumerated ten major crimes of Yan Song and his son, ranging from their seizure of power and acceptance of bribes to their acts of deceiving the emperor and endangering the empire. He pleaded that the Yan father and son be executed in the interests of the empire.

The emperor responded by a decree that said, “For his calumny against court ministers and his attempt to seek fame for himself, it is hereby ordered that Shen Lian be given a hundred heavy strokes by the imperial guards and exiled, as a civilian without official rank, to the northern frontier.”

Yan Shifan sent a messenger to instruct the imperial guards to make sure that Shen Lian was beaten to death. Fortunately, the captain, Lu Bing, was a man with a mind of his own. He had great respect for Shen Lian’s integrity and, moreover, as his subordinate, was on quite good terms with him. Therefore, he went out of his way to protect Shen Lian and used, for the beating, only the middle portion of the rod instead of the tip, thus inflicting less pain. (Lu Bing is a henchman of the Yans. The fact that he went out of his way to protect Shen shows that there is still some goodness in him.) Thereafter, Shen Lian registered at the Ministry of Revenue as a citizen of Bao’an Prefecture. With his wounds still unhealed, he gathered together his belongings that very day and, with his wife and children, hired a carriage and rode out through the city gate in the direction of Bao’an.

Shen Lian’s wife, originally of the Xu clan, had given him four sons. The oldest son, Shen Xiang, a prefectural student with a stipend, had remained in Shaoxing. The second and third sons, Shen Gun and Shen Bao, had followed their parents to the capital to pursue their studies. The youngest son, Shen Zhi, was only one year old. As the family of five set out on their journey, not a single person from the entire assembly of civil and military officials ventured to come and see them o , for fear of the Yans’ power, as this poem testifies:

Let us pass over the hardships of the journey. Fortunately, the family made it to Bao’an Prefecture. Being part of Xuanfu Military Region, Bao’an was a remote place with none of the glamour of cities closer to the center of the empire. This alien land was nothing but desolation wherever you looked. Moreover, days upon days of dismal rain had so darkened the sky and the earth that the place looked doubly heartrending. They wished to rent a house, but, there being no acquaintances to guide them, they were at a loss as to where to find lodging. As they were wondering what to do, a man with a small umbrella came into view. Noticing the baggage by the roadside and impressed by Shen Lian’s refined looks, the man stopped and asked, after a closer look, “May I ask your name, sir? And where are you from?”

“My surname is Shen,” replied Shen Lian. “I just came from the capital.”

“I’ve heard that there is a Registrar Shen in the capital who wrote a memorial to the emperor, asking that Yan Song and his son be executed. Might you be he?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I have long admired you. I am so happy to meet you. This is not a place to talk. My humble home being not far from here, allow me to take you and your family there before you decide what to do next.”

The man’s sincerity made Shen Lian decide to oblige him. They soon arrived. Though not an imposing mansion, it was nevertheless a fine house. In the main hall, the man saluted Shen Lian with folded hands and dropped to his knees in a deep bow. In great haste, Shen Lian returned the salutation and asked, “Who might you be? Why are you so kind to us?”

“I am Jia Shi,” replied the man. “I have the title of battalion commander of the local garrison, a title that I inherited from my older brother, who died recently without leaving a son. But, with the treacherous Yans in power, all those who inherit ranks must pay heavy bribes. I have no wish to hold office. Thanks to my ancestors, I have a few mu of land to make a living with. The other day, I heard about your attempt to impeach the Yans. You are truly a most loyal official and a most righteous man. Then I heard that you were in this area. I was dying to see you but never expected that my path would, by heaven’s will, cross yours. This is the luck of three lifetimes!” With these words, he dropped to his knees again, only to rise after Shen Lian insisted on raising him to his feet. He was then introduced to Shen Gun and Shen Bao. Jia Shi told his wife to take Shen Lian’s wife to the interior of the house to arrange for their lodging. After the luggage had all been unloaded, the carriage driver was sent away. Jia Shi then had his men kill a pig and buy wine for the guests.

“On such a rainy day,” said Jia Shi, “I don’t think you would have a chance of finding lodging anywhere else. Please put your mind at ease and feel free to have some cups of wine to refresh yourselves after the hardships of the journey.”

Shen Lian said in gratitude, “We just met by chance. How can I deserve such hospitality?”

Jia Shi rejoined, “Mine is but a humble farmer’s cottage with nothing more to o er than coarse food. I hope you won’t mind.” The host and the guest fell into a conversation deploring current events and found each other’s company so congenial that they wished they had met earlier.

After having spent the night, Shen Lian rose the following morning and said to Jia Shi, “I would like to look for a house for my family. Would you please give me some guidance?”

“What kind of house?” asked Jia Shi.

“I would be most happy to have one like yours. As for rent, I’ll follow whatever advice you give me.”

“That can be easily done.” So saying, Jia Shi went o but returned after a short while. “There is no lack of houses for rent,” said he, “but they are all dirty and damp. A decent house is hard to come by on such short notice. Why don’t you just stay here a while? I’ll take my family to live with my wife’s parents until you return to the capital. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Shen Lian objected, “I am grateful for your kindness, but how can I take over your house? I will never hear of it.”

Jia Shi rejoined, “I may be nothing more than a farmer, but I do know right from wrong. Much as I admire you for being a man of honor and integrity, I have not been able to serve you. Now that heaven grants me the opportunity to o er these humble rooms to you as a temporary residence, please do accept my goodwill.” He had hardly finished speaking before he instructed his men to bring out the cart, the horse, and the donkey to carry o his valuables and personal belongings. Furniture and housewares were left in the house for Shen to use. Overwhelmed by such generosity, Shen Lian expressed willingness to pledge brotherhood with him. (To have such a sworn brother is by no means a bad deal.)

“I am but a village farmer,” said Jia Shi. “How would I dream of aligning myself with an eminent official?”

Shen Lian protested, “It is the mind and sentiment that true men value. What does social status matter?”

Jia Shi, being the younger of the two by five years, honored Shen Lian as his older brother. Shen Lian, in his turn, made his two sons honor Jia Shi as their uncle. Jia Shi also called forth his wife to greet the new relatives. After having partaken of the dinner with Shen Lian, Jia led his wife away to live with his parents-in-law, while Shen Lian stayed on in Jia Shi’s house. A contemporary poet had this to say about Jia Shi’s o ering his house:

As news spread throughout Bao’an that Registrar Shen had been banished to this region for having made accusations against Prime Minister Yan, all the local elders came to pay their respects to him. Some brought along firewood and rice, some brought wine and food, and some sent their sons and brothers to him to be his students. Every day, Shen Lian gave talks to local residents about loyalty, filial piety, and the deeds of men of honor and justice in history. At rousing moments in his speeches, he would pound the table and shout at the top of his voice, his hair standing on end. At other times he would heave long sighs of grief and let tears freely course down his cheeks. The audience, old and young alike, was held spellbound. When he contemptuously cursed the Yans, they would join in. Anyone who did not do so would be accused by the rest of the audience of being lacking in their sense of justice and loyalty. This spontaneous reaction later became a tradition. (Source of trouble.) As word spread that Registrar Shen was as skilled in the military arts as he was in letters, they also asked him to join them in archery practice.

He ordered that three effigies be made of straw and wrapped up in cloth. On one of them was written “Li Linfu, evil prime minister of the Tang dynasty.” On another was written “Qin Hui, evil prime minister of the Song dynasty.” And on the third one was written “Yan Song, evil prime minister of the Ming dynasty.” The three effigies were used as targets. Those wishing to shoot at Li Linfu were to cry out, “Villain! Here comes my arrow!” The same thing was done to the other two effigies.

Shen Lian got the unsophisticated and outspoken Northerners so excited that they never worried that the Yan family might hear about what they were doing. As the old proverb says, “The only way to prevent people from knowing is not to do it.” (Do not do something just for the sake of gratification. This is a case in point.) Families with power and influence never lack informers. What Shen Lian was doing was promptly reported to Yan Song and his son. Deeply angered, Yan Song and his son planned to find some excuse to kill Shen Lian so that he could not pose a threat to them any more.

As the post of military governor of Xuanfu and Datong happened to be vacant at the time, Prime Minister Yan ordered the Ministry of Personnel to give the post to his godson Yang Shun. The Ministry of Personnel complied. As Yang Shun went to the Yan residence to bid the Yans farewell, Yan Shifan set out wine in his honor. In the midst of the drinking, Yan Shifan dismissed all others present and told Yang Shun to find out Shen Lian’s misdemeanors. Yang Shun left with profuse promises to carry out the order. Truly,

Soon after Yang Shun assumed office, Altan Khan, the Tartar chief at Datong, invaded the Yingzhou⁹ region. Over forty strongholds were taken and numerous men and women were captured. Yang Shun dared not send forth his troops to the rescue. Instead, he waited until the Tartars were gone before ordering his men to give chase. Just as in a real battle, gongs and drums were beaten, banners were unfurled, and cannonballs were shot, but all this was done just for show, because not even the shadow of half a Tartar was anywhere in sight. Knowing fully well that he would be held accountable for having missed the opportunity to strike, Yang Shun secretly ordered the commanders and soldiers to capture civilians who were in hiding from the troops, shave and cut o their heads, and present them as Tartars’ heads to the Ministry of War to claim credit. Goodness knows how many innocent civilians were slaughtered as a result.

Shen Lian flew into a rage when he heard of this. He wrote a letter and asked a lieutenant to deliver it to Yang Shun, but the lieutenant, knowing all too well that Shen was a troublemaker prone to making o ensive remarks, refused to deliver the letter. Thereupon Shen Lian donned a blue robe and a small cap and stood outside the yamen waiting for Yang Shun to come out so he could deliver the letter himself.

Yang Shun took the letter, only to find that it said, roughly,

At the end of the letter was a poem that ran as follows:

The letter so angered Yang Shun that he tore it into pieces.

Having also written an essay in memory of the dead, Shen Lian and his followers prepared o erings and made bows heavenward in a memorial service to honor those who died so unjustly. He also wrote this poem titled “Lament at the Frontier”:

He also wrote another poem:

Governor Yang had under him a trusted commander named Luo Kai who copied the poems and the memorial essay and secretly presented them to Yang Shun. Stirred into even greater rage, Yang Shun changed the first poem to read,

He also wrote a secret letter, which he sealed tightly with the poems, and made Luo Kai deliver it to Yan Shifan. The letter said, “Out of spite against the prime minister and his son, Shen Lian is taking advantage of the situation to seek revenge by engaging knights-errant and assassins. During the Tartar invasion, he wrote these quatrains, urging the Tartars to ‘kill that villain.’ His sinister intentions are all too clear.”

Appalled at the letter, Shifan took counsel of Lu Kai, his trusted censor, who said, “Unworthy as I am, I can relieve you of this major source of worry if I am sent to that region.”

Greatly delighted, Shifan ordered that the Censorate dispatch Lu Kai to the region as an inspector. (Treating official titles as his own private property to be given out freely by the Censorate at his order alone, as if there’s no one else in the imperial court.) Before Lu set o on his journey, Shifan set out wine in a farewell feast and said, “Please convey this message to Yang Shun: ‘If you work as a team and remove this thorn from my flesh, I will reward you with royal titles. I’ll surely keep the promise to both you and Mr. Yang.’”

Lu Kai promised to do as he was told. He arrived in Xuanfu a few days later, equipped with his credentials, and met with Governor Yang. After Lu Kai gave Yang Shun a full report of Shifan’s message, Yang Shun said, “I have been turning this matter over in my mind from morning to night, forgetting food and sleep. But I still haven’t come up with a good plan to do away with that man.”

“Let’s work on this together,” said Lu Kai, “partly to live up to the Yans’ expectations of us and partly in order not to miss the opportunity of advancement.”

“Right you are,” Yang Shun agreed. “We’ll let each other know when the right moment comes.”

After they parted, Lu Kai’s words kept Yang Shun awake the whole night through. The following morning, as he sat in court session, his adjutant reported, “The Weizhou guards have captured two rebels. They are now outside the gate, awaiting your orders.”

“Bring them in,” said Yang Shun.

The escorting guard kowtowed and presented Yang Shun with a letter that, when opened and read, made Yang Shun burst into laughter. The two men, Yan Hao and Yang Y inkui, were followers of the sorcerer Xiao Qin, ringleader of the White Lotus Cult. A frequent visitor to the Tartar regions, Xiao Qin skillfully deceived the locals by o ering incense and coaxed Altan Khan into believing that he was in possession of such magic that a curse from him would bring instant death to men and a cry from him would bring instant ruin to a city. The khan, being a densely ignorant man, believed him and honored him as Grand Master Xiao Qin. His several hundred followers, forming a separate battalion, served as guides for the Tartars’ incursions across the border, bringing much harm to China. Yang’s predecessor, Governor Shi, had sent generous bribes through interpreters to Tuotuo, the Tartar chief, with this message:

Tuotuo nodded in approval and reported as much to Altan Khan, much to the latter’s delight. The khan then summoned Xiao Qin and ordered him to lead a thousand horsemen and approach the city to try out his magic. Knowing that he would surely fail the test, Xiao Qin changed clothes and tried to escape under cover of night, but was stopped and questioned by guards at Juyong Pass. His followers Qiao Yuan, Zhang Panlong, and others were also captured and brought before Governor Shi. Upon their confession that there were numerous followers of their cult scattered in the western and southern regions, arrests were made in various places. Yan Hao and Yang Yinkui, who were now brought before Governor Yang, were also well-known followers of Xiao Qin. Governor Yang was overjoyed at the capture of the two men, partly because this would be an achievement to his credit since his assumption of the post and partly because it was an opportunity to do away with Shen Lian. That very evening, he asked Censor Lu to his private chamber for a consultation.

“There being no other way to get Shen Lian,” said Yang, “the White Lotus Cult’s collusion with the Tartars will do it, because this is what angers the emperor most. Let us add Shen Lian’s name to the confession by cult members Yan Hao and Yang Y inkui, presenting him as their mentor, saying that Shen Lian, disgruntled at his loss of office, taught them sorcery and colluded with the Tartars in a conspiracy of rebellion against the empire. We will then plead that since he has been captured, thanks to heaven, he should be executed to put an end to this potential threat once and for all. Let us first send a secret message to the Yan family so that they can urge the Ministry of Justice to give its approval promptly. I can guarantee that Shen Lian will not give us the slip this time!”

Lu Kai clapped his hands and exclaimed, “How ingenious! How ingenious!”

Then and there, the two of them decided on what they were going to write and arranged to send the report and the secret message that same day. Yan Song, being the first to read them, instructed Yan Shifan to send word to the Ministry of Justice. Minister Xu Lun was an incompetent old man. At the order from the Yans, he dutifully gave a speedy approval that fully granted Yang and Lu’s request. Then, there followed the emperor’s decree that the cult members were to be executed without delay by the local authorities. Yang Shun’s son was appointed battalion commander of the imperial guards. Lu Kai, for his service, was promoted three ranks and was put on the waiting list for vacancies in the capital.

Let us now follow another thread of the story. After sending in the reports, Yang Shun secretly had Shen Lian thrown into jail. At a loss what to do, the panic-stricken Lady Xu, Shen Gun, and Shen Bao sought the counsel of Jia Shi, Shen Lian’s sworn brother.

“This must be the work of the two villains Yang and Lu in revenge on behalf of the Yan family,” said Jia Shi. “Imprisonment means they have falsely charged him with some serious crime. The two young men would do well to escape to some faraway place, not to return until the Yan family’s power subsides. If you remain here, Yang and Lu will not leave you in peace.”

“How can we leave before knowing what will happen to Father?” said Shen Gun.

Jia Shi replied, “Your father o ended the wrong man. His case is already beyond all hope. Your first concern should be to continue the family line. How can you court your own death for the sake of a minor act of filial piety? You also need to advise your mother to make plans to ensure her own safety. As for your father, I will surely see to it that he is well taken care of. Don’t worry.”

When the two sons repeated Jia Shi’s words to their mother, she said, “How can you abandon your father when he is in jail on a framed-up charge? However well-intentioned Uncle Jia may be, he is, after all, an outsider. I believe that the scoundrels Yang and Lu, in trying to curry favor with the Yans, are only out to get your father, not his wife and sons. Your escape will be an admission of guilt, and if, after you have left, your father dies with no one to bury his bones, you will be cursed forever as unfilial sons. How will you be able to face the world?” (Valid point, morally speaking.) So saying, she broke down into a flood of tears. Shen Gun and Shen Bao also wailed in grief. When word came to him that Lady Xu would not hear of his advice, Jia Shi heaved a sigh and left.

A few days later, Jia Shi found out the truth. Shen Lian had indeed been sentenced to death for his alleged involvement with the White Lotus cult. In jail, Shen Lian kept up a stream of curses. Knowing that he was in the wrong, Yang Shun feared that he would look bad if Shen denounced him in public at the execution. So he ordered the jailers to produce a note testifying to Shen Lian’s illness and then had him murdered.

When Jia Shi told Lady Xu about this, it goes without saying that the mother and sons wept bitterly. Luckily Jia Shi bought the corpse from one of his many acquaintances and told the jailers to produce another corpse if there was an order that Shen’s head was to be cut o and hung up for public display. Then he arranged, without the knowledge of the Shen brothers, to have the body buried in a coffin in a vacant lot. It was not until after the burial that he told Shen Gun, “Your father’s remains are in a safe place. But the location is a secret not to be divulged yet. I will show you where it is after all the commotion subsides.”

The Shen brothers were overwhelmed with gratitude. To Jia Shi’s renewed attempts to talk them into fleeing, Shen Gun said, “We feel very bad for having occupied your house for so long, but it is our mother’s wish that we wait until the injustice has been redressed before we carry the coffin home. That’s why we are still here.”

Jia Shi said in irritation, “All my life, I have devoted myself to the well-being of other people. What I said just now was for the good of your family. How could I have tried to talk you into leaving because you have been occupying my house? However, since your mother is so determined, I won’t insist. Now, I’ll be away for a year or so to attend to some minor business. Stay here by all means, but take care.”

As his eyes happened to rest on the two petition memorials by Zhuge Liang in Shen Lian’s handwriting on the wall, Jia Shi continued, “I’d like to have these two scrolls as a souvenir while I’m on the road. Should we meet in future, they’ll serve as a token of faith.”

Shen Gun accordingly took down the scrolls, rolled them up, and handed them to Jia Shi. Tucking them away in his sleeves, Jia Shi bade them a tearful farewell. The fact of the matter was that Jia Shi had premonitions that, as Shen Lian’s good friend, he would surely be implicated because Yang and Lu, being the wicked men they were, would not stop at the death of Shen Lian alone. Therefore, before any action could be taken against him, he fled to stay with his relatives in Henan, but of him, for the time being, no more.

Let us come back to Lu Kai, who, emboldened by the reply from the Ministry of Justice and the imperial decree, brought Yan Hao and Yang Y inkui out of jail for execution. Shen Lian’s head was to be cut o and displayed in public together with theirs. Little did the authorities know that Shen Lian’s real body had already been bought and taken out by Jia Shi, nor were they able to tell the di erence, but this is of no concern to us.

In the meantime, Yang Shun was disgruntled that he was rewarded with no more than a post for his son. He complained to Lu Kai, “Yan Shifan promised that he would reward me with a royal title upon completion of the job. I wonder why he went back on his word.”

After reflecting for a while, Lu Kai said in reply, “Shen Lian was the Yan family’s archenemy. He is dead all right, but his sons are untouched. Weeds will grow back if they are not pulled out by the roots. I believe that’s the reason why the prime minister is discontented with us.”

“If so,” said Yang, “that can be easily taken care of. We’ll write another memorial to say that though Shen Lian has been done away with, his sons should also be brought to justice for their involvement, and their property should be confiscated, for laws of the empire are to be enforced so as to strike fear in the heart of the populace. We’ll also arrest and punish all those ruffians who shot at the straw men with him and the man who gave him lodging. After the Yans are thus fully avenged, we will claim rewards by reminding them of their promise. By then, what excuse can they have to go back on their word?” (Ingenious.)

“How ingenious!” exclaimed Lu Kai. “This matter brooks no delay. We’d better act while his family is still here, so that we can get them one and all. My only fear is that his sons might hear of this and give us the slip. That’ll mean more work for us.”

Yang Shun agreed. They wrote a memorial to the throne and a note to the Yans, pledging their loyalty. In the meantime, they also notified the prefect of Bao’an, asking him to have the Shen family kept under tight watch to prevent them from running away. Action was to be taken as soon as the imperial decree arrived. As the poem says,

A few days later, the imperial decree arrived. Carrying arrest warrants, constables from the yamen went for Shen Lian’s family. All who had associated with Shen Lian were identified and arrested, with the exception of Jia Shi, who, having fled, was reported to be in hiding. Such was Jia Shi’s foresight. A contemporary poet had this to say in praise of him:

Yang Shun personally interrogated the Shen brothers about how they had colluded with the Tartars. The brothers cried in protest. How could they have anything to confess! At Governor Yang’s orders, they were beaten to a pulp. Their constitution unable to withstand the torture, Shen Gun and Shen Bao both died under the rod. How sad it was that these two young men ended up in the City of the Unjustly Dead in the underworld! All the others arrested with them were convicted as accomplices. The dead numbered in the dozens. The infant son, Shen Zhi, was exempted from charges but, forbidden to live in Bao’an, was banished with his mother Lady Xu to the remote town of Yunzhou.

Lu Kai again took counsel with Yang Shun and said, “Shen Lian’s oldest son Shen Xiang is a famous scholar in Shaoxing. Should he rise to power someday, he will surely be hostile to us. The best thing to do is to eliminate him as well, to stamp out all sources of future trouble as well as to impress the prime minister with our thoroughness.”

Yang Shun agreed and sent documents to Zhejiang designating Shen Xiang as a criminal sought by the imperial government to be delivered under guard for trial. He also ordered a trusted subordinate, Registrar Jin Shao, to select competent yamen runners to deliver the letter and murder Shen Xiang at a convenient point on the way back. They were also to obtain an official statement from the local area testifying that the man had died of sickness. When the job was done, they would be rewarded handsomely, and Jin Shao would be recommended for a promotion of more than one grade. With this last assurance, Jin Shao hurried back to his yamen and carefully selected two experienced runners, Zhang Qian and Li Wan, invited them to the private quarters of the yamen for wine and food, and presented them with twenty taels of silver from his own pocket.

Zhang Qian and Li Wan said in protest, “How could we dream of accepting a reward without having done anything to deserve it?”

Jin Shao said in explanation, “This silver is not from me but from Governor Yang, who wants you to carry an order to Shaoxing to arrest Shen Xiang. Keep a tight watch over him all along the way. You must do such and such . . . ¹⁰ When you come back, you will be handsomely rewarded. If you fail, be advised that the governor’s yamen is no place for joking. You’ll have to go there yourselves to make your report.”

Zhang Qian and Li Wan exclaimed, “Even if it’s just an order from Your Honor rather than the governor, how would we dare say no?” They put away the silver, thanked Jin, and, equipped with the prefect’s summons, hastened on their way south.

Now let us come to Shen Xiang, courtesy name Xiaoxia, a prefectural stipendiary scholar in Shaoxing. He had heard some time ago with great concern that his father had been convicted of a crime over some verbal remarks and was banished, deprived of all official rank, to regions beyond the border. He wished to make a trip to Bao’an but hesitated because the a airs of his household would be unattended to. One day, there suddenly came to him runners from the prefecture of Bao’an who, without stopping for a word of explanation, tied him up in chains and took him to the prefectural yamen. Having let Shen Xiang read the summons carefully, the prefect handed him over to the runners along with a letter of reply and told them to be careful along the way. Only then did Shen Xiang learn that his father and two younger brothers had died untimely deaths and that his mother had been exiled to a remote region. He burst into loud sobs.

Weeping as he went out the yamen gate, he saw his entire family, old and young, huddled together there crying their hearts out. What had happened was that because the document contained the phrase “confiscated by imperial decree,” the prefect had ordered the county marshal to seal up the house and drive out all the members of the household. At this added blow, Shen Xiaoxia wept until he choked. A moment or two later, relatives of the family came to bid him farewell. Knowing full well that his departure boded ill, they felt obliged to o er some words of comfort. Meng Chunyuan, his father-in-law, o ered the two runners a packet of silver and begged that they take good care of his son-in-law, but the runners thought the o er insufficient and refused to take it. It was not until Shen’s wife Meng-shi added a pair of gold hairpins that they accepted.

Between sobs, Shen Xiaoxia told his wife, “This journey bodes ill. Don’t worry about me. Just consider me dead, and go back to live with your parents. Being from a genteel family, you are not likely to remarry. I won’t have to worry on that score.” He continued, while pointing to his concubine Wen Shunü, “However, she, being young and without a place to go, should remarry. I am thirty years old and still without a son. She is now two and a half months pregnant, and if, by any chance, she gives birth to a boy, the Shen family ancestral sacrifices can be carried on. For my sake, my wife, please take her to your parents’ home and let her stay there until the pregnancy comes to full term. Whatever the sex of the baby, she will then be ready to be sent away wherever you want.”

His voice was still in the air when Wen-shi said, “What kind of talk is this? You’re going thousands of li away. How can you manage without some family member looking after you! The mistress can return to the Meng family, but I will be happy to follow you and serve you, however hard life may be, so that you will have company and the mistress won’t have to worry too much.”

Shen Xiaoxia objected, “I don’t object to having a family member with me, but this journey is not a happy one. What good will it do to have you die with me in a remote place?”

Wen-shi rejoined, “Everyone knows that while your father held office in the capital, you were here at home. Even though he was falsely accused of wrongdoings, how could you have been an accomplice when you were so far away? I will help you appeal to the authorities and defend yourself. I am sure you will not be sentenced to death. If you are imprisoned, I would still be free to look after you.”

Meng-shi was just as worried about her husband, and, impressed by the concubine’s reasoning, she also urged her husband to take Wen Shunü along. Shen Xiaoxia had always loved Shunü for her talent and wisdom. Now that Meng-shi was also supportive, he felt obliged to comply.

That night, they all stayed with Meng Chunyuan, his father-in-law. The following morning, with the two runners Zhang Qian and Li Wan urging them to set out on the journey, Wen-shi changed into cotton clothes, wrapped up her hair in a blue kerchief, took leave of Meng-shi, and, baggage on her back, set o with Shen Xiaoxia. The sorrow of parting need not be described here.

All along the way, Wen-shi stayed by Shen Xiaoxia’s side and personally served him food and tea. At the outset, Zhang Qian and Li Wan treated them fairly well, but, assured after crossing the Yangzi River and switching to overland travel in Xuzhou that they were by now far from Shen’s home base, they gradually grew mean, yelling at them and making things difficult for them. Noticing the change in Zhang and Li’s behavior, Wen-shi said quietly to her husband, “I think these two thugs are up to something. Being a woman, I don’t know the roads we are traveling, but if we find ourselves in some deserted wilderness, we’d better watch out for ourselves.” Shen Xiaoxia nodded, though without much conviction.

A few days later, however, he noticed that the two runners frequently whispered to each other in private. As his eyes happened to rest upon a shining Japanese sword in their baggage, his heart gave a jump. In fear, he said to Wen-shi, “You said that the thugs were up to something. I can feel it, too. Tomorrow, we’ll be in the prefecture of Jining. Beyond Jining are the Taihang and Liangshan Mountains. If the two of them strike in such bandit-infested places, you won’t be able to help me, and I won’t be able to help you either. What’s to be done?”

“Things being the way they are,” said Wen-shi, “if you can think of any way to escape, please go. I’ll stay here. They can’t swallow me alive!” (What a woman! With such courage, she should be of service to the empire.)

“By the east gate of Jining, there is a Secretary Feng who is at home in mourning for his father. He is a most chivalrous man and a close friend of my father’s. They passed the examinations in the same year. Tomorrow I’ll go to him for help. He’ll surely take me in. My only concern is that you, being a woman, can’t deal with the two thugs. How can I have a clear conscience if you su er on my account? If you feel you can handle them, I’ll be more ready to go. Otherwise, we shall share life and death together to meet our destiny, and I’ll have no regrets if I die.”

“Don’t hesitate to escape when there is a chance,” said Wen-shi. “I will know what to do. Don’t worry about me.”

Their mu›ed conversation went undetected, for, having had a long day, Zhang Qian and Li Wan were snoring away in a deep, wine-induced sleep.

The following morning, Shen Xiaoxia asked Zhang Qian when they set out again, “How far are we from Jining?”

“Only forty li. We’ll be there at around noon.”

“By the east gate of Jining lives a Secretary Feng who is a friend of my father’s,” said Shen Xiaoxia. “When he was in the capital, he borrowed two hundred taels of silver from my father. I still have with me the receipt of the loan. He has since been in charge of Beixin Customs and should have lots of silver at home. If I go in my present wretched circumstances to claim back the loan, he will surely pay me back. This money should be more than enough to cover the traveling expenses and make the journey more comfortable.”

Zhang Qian hesitated, but Li Wan readily granted the request. He said in Zhang Qian’s ear, “He looks like an honest man to me. What’s more, if his beloved concubine and his baggage are here, I don’t think there’s anything fishy. If he comes back with the silver, the two of us will be in luck. Why not let him go?”

“What you said may be very true,” said Zhang. “But still, let’s pick an inn and put down the luggage. I’ll keep watch over the woman there while you follow him. Nothing can go wrong that way.”

Let me skip unimportant details. By nine in the morning, they had reached the outskirts of Jining and put their baggage in a clean inn.

“Why don’t the two of you follow me to the east gate?” suggested Shen Xiaoxia. “We’ll still be in good time for lunch back here.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Li Wan. “They might even keep us for lunch and some wine.”

At this point, Wen-shi said purposefully to her husband, “As the proverb says, ‘Relationships change with shifts in status.’ Secretary Feng may have owed your father money, but now that your father is dead and you are in trouble, who would be willing to pay up? You’ll only be asking for humiliation. It would be better for us to eat lunch now and get on with the journey.”

Shen Xiaoxia insisted, “It’s not much of a walk from here to the east gate. It won’t hurt to call on him.”

With designs on the two hundred taels of silver, Li Wan eagerly urged Shen to go.

Shen Xiaoxia said to Wen-shi, “Sit here and be patient. If we come back too soon, that means nothing came of it. If he is kind enough to keep us for lunch, he will surely give me back the money. In that case, I will hire a sedan-chair for you tomorrow. I can tell that riding on that donkey has been hard for you all these days.”

While the two runners were not looking, Wen-shi gave her husband a meaningful look and said, “Come back soon. Don’t make me wait too long.” (The a ectionate words between husband and wife cannot make the runners suspicious.)

Li Wan commented with a sneer, “How long is the trip anyway? Why do they have to be as long-winded as old folks?”

Seeing that her husband had stepped out, Wen-shi deliberately called Li Wan back and said to him, “If Mr. Feng keeps you for lunch and makes you stay long, be sure to remind him that you need to be on your way.”

“Of course,” promised Li Wan. By the time Li Wan walked down the steps, Shen Xiaoxia was already quite a distance away. Li Wan, not being alert enough, did not suspect anything, for he knew his way around Jining and knew how to get to Secretary Feng’s house by the east gate. A few steps farther down the road, he felt the need to relieve himself, found a latrine pit, and took his time doing what he needed to do before he got up and slowly made his way toward the east gate.

When Shen Xiaoxia turned around and found Li Wan nowhere in sight, he ran all the way to Secretary Feng’s home. Xiaoxia was predestined to be saved, for it so happened that Secretary Feng was all by himself in the hall. They had got to know each other well when they lived in the capital, and Feng was startled upon seeing the young man. Without bothering to make bows, Shen Xiang grabbed Feng by his clothes and said, “I need a place to talk.”

Feng realized what was afoot and led him into the study. As Shen Xiaoxia broke down in tears, Feng said, “My boy, tell me quickly what is the matter. Don’t let grief make you neglect what you need to do.”

Shen Xiaoxia said between sobs, “I won’t repeat how my father died unjustly at Yan’s hands, but my two younger brothers, who followed my father to his post, were also murdered by Yang Shun and Lu Kai. That left only me still alive at home. Then orders came to the prefect to have me escorted under guard for interrogation. The family line is coming to an end any moment now. The two runners escorting me are up to some mischief. I suspect that they have been ordered by the villains Yang and Lu to murder me when we reach the Taihang and Liangshan Mountains. I thought of a plan, got away from them, and came to you for help. If you could come up with a way to shelter me, my deceased father’s spirit in heaven would be most grateful. If you, my uncle, can’t shelter me, I shall bang my head against these steps till I die. To die in front of you is better than at the hands of those thugs.”

“My good boy, don’t worry. At the back of my bedchamber, there is a double wall. You may well hide yourself there. You won’t be found, however hard anyone may search. I will now take you there, where you may stay for several days. I’ll think of a plan in the meantime.”

With a bow, Shen Xiang said gratefully, “You, my uncle, are the father of my rebirth!”

Taking Shen Xiang by the hand, Feng led him to the back of his bedchamber, where he pried up a piece of the floor to reveal a secret passageway that led, after fifty to sixty steps, to three small lit rooms surrounded on all four sides by walls. It was indeed a well-hidden place. Every day, Mr. Feng personally brought in tea and food. His household rules being as strict as they were, who dared to leak out half a word? Truly,

Let us now come back to Li Wan, who, having relieved himself at the latrine pit, made his way to the Feng residence by the east gate.

“Is the Honorable Secretary Feng at home?” he asked the old doorkeeper.

“Yes, he is.”

“Did your master admit a visitor in a white robe?”

“Yes, they are having lunch in the study.”

These words made Li Wan feel even more relaxed. He waited until about one in the afternoon when, indeed, a man in white came out. Li Wan stepped forward eagerly, only to find that the man was not Shen Xiang. The man headed straight for the door and went out. Li Wan waited till his patience wore out. Feeling the pangs of hunger, he couldn’t help but ask the old doorkeeper, “The visitor whom you said your master was keeping for lunch—why is he still inside?”

“Didn’t you see him leave just a moment ago?”

“Aren’t there other visitors in your master’s study?

“Not that I know of.”

“Who was that man in white?”

“He is the master’s brother-in-law. He comes often.”

“Where is your master?”

“The master always takes a nap after lunch. He must be sound asleep now.”

Realizing that they were not talking about the same man, Li Wan started to panic. “I’ll be frank with you,” said he. “I am sent by the governor of Xuanfu and Datong. I have been escorting a Shen Xiang of Shaoxing with the courtesy name Xiaoxia, a wanted criminal. He said that he wished to pay a visit to his father’s friend, your master. I followed him to your house. He went in, but I have been waiting all this time for him without seeing him come out. You may not know it, but he might still be in the study. Please go in and remind him to come out quickly because we need to be on our way.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded the old man with calculated bewilderment. “I don’t understand a thing you say.” (Wonderful acting.)

In spite of his irritation, Li Wan patiently repeated every word. The old doorkeeper spit into his face and cursed, “You’ve been seeing ghosts! When was there ever a Mr. Shen here? The master is in mourning and is receiving no one from outside the family. This door is my responsibility. All visitors are announced by me. And here you are, talking such nonsense! Might you be a house burglar pretending to be some kind of government runner? Get out of my sight and stop pestering me like this!” (He has been instructed by Mr. Feng to do this.)

Li Wan grew frantic. In a burst of rage, he said, “This Shen Xiang is a major criminal wanted by the imperial court. This is not a joke. Call your master out. I need to speak to him.”

“The master is asleep. How would I dare to disturb him for nothing? What a barbarian!” So saying, he walked o with a swagger.

“What an incompetent old croaker!” said Li Wan to himself. “I simply asked him to make an announcement, and he had to make it so difficult! Shen Xiang must be inside. I have a warrant from the military authorities. I am here not for some private matter. What do I have to fear even if I go straight in?” Recklessly he stormed into the hall, banged on the screen, and shouted, “Mr. Shen, it’s time to go!”

No answer came. He kept shouting until a young servant-boy emerged from within.

“Where is the doorkeeper?” asked the boy. “Whom did he let in, to make so much noise in the hall?”

Before Li Wan could stop him for a word, the boy took a look behind the screen and headed west.

Li Wan said to himself, “Maybe the study is in the west wing. Let me go and take a look. What do I have to fear?”

From the hall he turned west and saw a long corridor stretching ahead of him. There being no one around, he pressed ahead and came to what looked like women’s quarters, where quite a few women were moving about. Intimidated at the sight, Li Wan retraced his steps. As he found his way back to the hall, he heard a commotion outside and went out to see what it was. It turned out that Zhang Qian was there looking for him and, failing to see him, was quarreling with the doorkeeper. At the sight of Li Wan, Zhang Qian lashed out before Li Wan could say anything in explanation, “A fine partner you are! Thinking of nothing but wine and food instead of doing a stroke of useful work! You left for the town at nine in the morning. It’s now almost five in the afternoon and you are still here idling about! Why haven’t you taken the prisoner away? What are you waiting for?” (Bravo!)

Li Wan said, “Phooey! What wine and food are you talking about? I haven’t even seen the shadow of the man!”

“Didn’t you come here with him?”

“While I was at the latrine, that damn Southerner hurried ahead and got a start on me. I wasn’t able to catch up with him. By the time I arrived here, the doorkeeper said there was a visitor in a white robe eating lunch in the study. I thought it must be him, but he hasn’t come out yet, and the doorkeeper refused to announce me. I haven’t been able to get myself even a cup of water. My brother, would you please do me a favor and stay here for a moment while I go back to the inn to grab a bite?”

“You idiot!” said Zhang. “Don’t you know what an important prisoner he is? How could you have let him walk alone? You should have at least followed him into the study. How do you know if he is really in the study at this moment? I am amazed that you still talk as if nothing has happened. You made this mess. It has nothing to do with me!” So saying, he turned around as if to go. Li Wan darted forward and stopped him.

“I’m sure he’s inside,” said Li Wan. “Where else could he go? Why don’t you help me say something to get him out. You have a full stomach. Why are you in such a rush?”

“His concubine is still at the inn,” explained Zhang. “I did ask the innkeeper to keep an eye on her, but I’m still worried because she is the rope with which we can lead Shen Xiang by the nose. As long as we keep her with us, Shen Xiang will surely return.”

Li Wan agreed, “You are right.” So Zhang Qian left.

Su ering from the pangs of hunger, Li Wan waited until dark, but still there was no sign of Shen. As evening was setting in, Li Wan’s hunger got the better of him. Catching sight of a refreshment shop nearby, he took o his shirt and pawned it for a few pennies’ worth of pastries. Before long, he heard the sound of a door being bolted. By the time he rushed back, the door of the Feng house was already closed. Li Wan said to himself, “I have never been so humiliated before in all my years as a runner! How highly placed must a secretary be for his doorkeeper to put on such airs? Shen Xiang is also a man who doesn’t know any better. With his wife and baggage at the inn, he should have at least sent word out if he is staying here for the night. Well, things being the way they are, I’ll have to make do tonight under the eaves and wait until daybreak for a smarter servant to talk to.” It being the tenth month of the year, the weather was not overly cold, but in the middle of the night, a wind sprang up and brought on a drizzle that drenched his clothes. A miserable night it was.

By daybreak, the rain stopped. Who appeared but Zhang Qian again, at the persistent urging of Wen-shi. With official documents with him, Zhang Qian consulted with Li Wan about what to do. As soon as the door opened, they barged into the hall and yelled at the top of their voices, over the protests of the old doorkeeper. In a moment, the commotion attracted all the members of the family, young and old, who swarmed into the hall. With everybody talking at once, the noise could be heard from the streets. A crowd of spectators gathered at the door for a peek inside. All this bustle got the attention of Mr. Feng, who, being a righteous and benevolent man, was staying at home mourning the death of his father. From the interior of the house he emerged in leisurely steps. Let me now describe how he looked. He was wearing

Hearing a cough, the servants cried, “The master is here!” As they withdrew to stand on both sides of the hall, Feng entered and asked, “What is all this noise about?”

Zhang Qian and Li Wan stepped forward and said with a salute, “Master Feng, by order of the governor of Xuanfu and Datong, we went to Shaoxing to arrest Shen Xiang, a criminal wanted by the imperial court, and were passing through this area on our way back when Shen Xiang claimed that, his father being a friend of yours, he wished to pay you a visit. We did not dare to object, but let him have his wish. Since he came to your house yesterday morning, he has not yet come out. Our journey is being delayed, yet your servants refuse to announce us. We beg that you do us the kindness of urging him to be on his way as soon as possible.” Zhang Qian took out from his bosom the arrest warrant and other official documents. After reading them, Feng asked, “Is Shen Xiang the son of Registrar Shen Lian?”

“Yes,” said Li Wan.

Covering up his ears and sticking out his tongue, Feng said, “How insensible you runners are! For Shen Xiang to be a criminal wanted by the imperial court is not as bad as his being an enemy of Prime Minister Yan, and who would dare shelter an enemy of the prime minister! (How clever to change the subject to the Yans!) He didn’t come to my house yesterday as you claim. Should your lies get spread to the authorities and should they report to the Yan family, how am I to shoulder the blame? The two of you were too careless, or you may have taken bribery and set a major prisoner free. And now you are here to put the blame on me!” He ordered the servants to throw the two men out, to close the door, and not to get involved, for it would be no laughing matter if the Yans heard of this.

With some more angry words, Feng turned back into the interior of the house. Thus ordered by the master, the servants pushed and shoved, and, in a trice, the two runners found themselves on the other side of the door, which then swung closed. Curses could still be heard from inside. Zhang Qian and Li Wan stared at each other in shock, with mouths agape and tongues sticking out. Zhang Qian grumbled, “Yesterday, it was you who urged that he be allowed to go into town. Now you go ahead and find him.”

“Don’t start blaming me yet. Let’s go back to ask his wife. She might know where he is. Then we’ll come back to get him.”

Zhang Qian agreed, “You are right. They are a loving couple. Last night when he didn’t come back, the woman sat alone for four to six hours quietly shedding tears. She should know where her husband is.” While talking, the two men hurried out of the city and back to the inn.

Hearing the runners’ voices, Wen-shi rushed out from her room and asked, “Why isn’t my husband here?”

Zhang Qian replied, pointing at Li Wan, “Ask him.” Whereupon Li Wan gave a full account of the happenings of the day before, complete with details of his stop at the latrine, which slowed him down, and everything that had occurred at the Feng residence.

“I went to town this morning on an empty stomach,” said Zhang, “and now I’m fully loaded with humiliation. Your husband does seem to have left Feng’s house. He must have told you where he would go. Tell us before it’s too late, so that we can go and look for him.”

Before he had quite finished, Wen-shi grabbed the two men and cried with tears in her eyes, “A fine thing you did! Give me back my husband!”

“Your husband wanted to pay a visit to some friend of his father’s, and we let him go out of the goodness of our hearts. Now that he has disappeared, we are the ones to be held accountable. That’s why we are so anxious to get him back, if only we knew how. Now, here you are, demanding that we give you back your husband. Are you saying we hid him? How ridiculous!” Loosening their shirts, they sat down in anger.

Wen-shi stepped outside, blocked the entrance, and, stamping her feet, called out her grievances in loud wails. As the old innkeeper rushed over to pacify her, she said, “Grandpa, let me tell you what happened. My husband took me in as a concubine when he was thirty years old and without a son. I’ve been with him for two years now. As I am more than three months pregnant, he couldn’t bring himself to send me away. That’s why I am with him every step of the way on this thousand-li journey. Yesterday, he went to see a friend of his father’s because we were running out of traveling money. That runner, Li, went with him. I got suspicious when they did not return last night. This morning, the two runners came back without him. They must have murdered him. Please help me get back my husband, or I won’t call it quits.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, young lady,” said the innkeeper. “They have no grudge against your husband. Why would they kill him for no reason at all?”

Wen-shi explained in sobs, “Grandpa, you may not know that Prime Minister Yan hates my husband. These two runners must have received some order from the Yans, or they are trying to claim credit for themselves from the Yans. (Brilliant.) Now, does it stand to reason that my husband would suddenly disappear without a word to me after having brought me so far from home? Even if he tried to escape, how could Li, who went with him, let him go? To please the Yans, they have killed my husband and left me, a helpless woman, to face the world alone. Please help me appeal to the authorities to bring the two murderers to justice.” She poured her words out in such a torrent that Zhang Qian and Li Wan were not able to get a word in, much as they tried to. The innkeeper found Wen-shi’s reasoning quite convincing. He, too, became suspicious of the runners. Out of pity for the woman, he tried to console her by saying, “What you said may all be very true, but your husband may not be dead yet. Why don’t you wait for one more day?”

“One more day may not do any harm, but whose responsibility will it be if the two murderers get away in the meantime?”

“If we wanted to escape after murdering your husband,” said Zhang, “why did we come back here?”

Wen-shi countered, “You thought I, being a woman, would not know what to do, so you came back to kidnap me. Now, out with it! Where’s my husband’s corpse? You’ll have to tell anyway when we are in court!”

Overwhelmed by her sharp tongue, the innkeeper did not utter another word. The forty to fifty onlookers who had gathered in the meantime were all moved by the woman’s sad story. Indignant at the two runners, they said to her, “If you want to appeal to the authorities, we’ll take you to the military commissioner.”

With a deep bow, Wen-shi said tearfully, “I am so grateful to you all for your readiness to help a poor woman in distress. Please take the two murderers with you. Don’t let them escape!”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure of that.”

Before Zhang Qian and Li Wan could say a word, the onlookers continued, “You two don’t have to explain. Lies will be lies; the truth will be the truth. If you are not guilty of anything, why don’t you just go with her to the authorities? What do you have to fear?”

As Wen-shi sobbed her way ahead, the crowd pushed Zhang Qian and Li Wan all the way to the military commissioner’s yamen, but the gate was still closed.

It so happened that it was the day on which the yamen was to hear cases of complaint. With a white apron tied to her waist, Wen-shi ran past the gate. Seeing a big drum on a stand by the entrance, she grabbed the drumstick hanging from the stand and started beating the drum frantically. Frightened out of their wits at the earth-shaking sound, the captain and gatekeeper rushed over and tied her up with a rope, shouting, “How dare you!”

Wen-shi threw herself to the ground in a fit of passionate weeping while, at the same time, crying that a gross injustice had been done to her. At a sharp order from inside, the gate was opened. Military Commissioner Wang took his seat in the court and asked who had been beating the drum.

After the captain brought Wen-shi in, she tearfully gave a detailed account of how the family had been struck with misfortune, how the father and two sons had died untimely deaths, leaving behind only her husband Shen Xiang, and how Shen Xiang had been murdered on the road by the two runners the day before. The commissioner called forth Zhang Qian and Li Wan for questioning. To everything Zhang Qian and Li Wan said, she o ered a rebuttal. So convincing was she that Zhang Qian and Li Wan found themselves unable to fault her reasoning.

“The Yans being as powerful as they are, such cases of secret murder do take place from time to time,” the commissioner thought to himself. “I can’t say this case is not one of them.” Thereupon, he ordered the captain to take Wen-shi and the two men to the prefectural yamen for further questioning.

Charged now with the responsibility for this case, Prefect He promptly summoned the innkeeper so as to hear the testimony of all four of them. The woman was adamant in accusing the two men of murdering her husband. Li Wan confessed that his stop at the latrine made him lose track of his man. Zhang Qian and the innkeeper also made depositions to the best of their knowledge. The prefect was unable to make up his mind. The woman looked so heart-stricken that her story seemed quite believable, but on the other hand, Zhang Qian and Li Wan refused to admit that they had done what they were accused of. After some reflection, the prefect detained the four of them while he himself got into a sedan chair to visit Secretary Feng and find out what he had to say.

At the announcement of the prefect’s visit, Feng hastened to greet him and ushered him into the main hall. After some tea, Prefect He brought up the subject of Shen Xiang. No sooner had the name of Shen Xiang been mentioned than Feng covered up his ears and said, “That man is the prime minister’s enemy. Although I may have passed the examinations the same year he did, we were not really friends. Please don’t ask me about him, Your Honor. I’m afraid that should the Yan family hear about this, I might be implicated.” So saying, he stood up and continued, “Since Your Honor is busy with official business, I would not presume to keep you longer.”

A disappointed Prefect He could not do more than take his leave. Riding in his sedan-chair, he thought to himself, “Judging from Feng’s fear of the Yan family, I don’t think Shen Xiang is in his house. Shen may indeed have been murdered by the runners. Or he may have gone to someone else he knew after being rejected by Feng.”

Back in his yamen, he again called forth the four people in the case. “Apart from Secretary Feng,” he asked Wen-shi, “what other acquaintances did your husband have in the prefecture?”

“None, Your Honor.”

“When did your husband leave? When did Zhang Qian and Li Wan tell you they had lost him?”

“My husband left the inn with Li Wan before lunch yesterday. In late afternoon, Zhang Qian also went to town under the excuse of urging them to get on with the journey. When he returned at night, he said to me, ‘My brother Li Wan is staying for the night with your husband in the Feng residence. I will go again early tomorrow morning to urge them to be on their way.’ Today, Zhang Qian was away all morning and returned with Li Wan but not my husband. If those two didn’t kill my husband, who did? If my husband was not in the Feng residence, Li Wan should have looked for him yesterday, and Zhang Qian should have been worried, too. Why did he try to pacify me with nice words? It’s all very obvious. Zhang Qian and Li Wan must have arranged on the road for Li Wan to strike under the cover of night. This morning, Zhang Qian went to town to help him bury the corpse before they came back to give me a reply. Your Honor, I look forward to your wise judgment.”

Prefect He said, “What you say does make sense.”

Before Zhang and Li could say anything in defense of themselves, the prefect thundered, “What kind of runners are you? If you didn’t murder him, you must have taken bribes and set him free. What do you have to say for yourselves?” At his order, Zhang and Li were given thirty thrashings. Their skin ripped open and blood spurted out (Hurrah!), but still they did not confess. Out of pity for the woman, who kept weeping bitterly at one side, the prefect ordered that ankle-squeezers be applied to the two runners. (Hurrah!) The fact was, the two men had not committed murder. However sharp the pain, what did they have to confess? The ankle-squeezers were applied twice, but still no confession came. When the prefect ordered that the squeezers be applied a third time, Zhang and Li, unable to withstand any more torture, pleaded, “Shen Xiang is not dead. Please set a deadline, Your Honor, and we will, under guard, find Shen Xiang and give him back to his wife.”

For lack of a definitive plan of his own, the prefect reluctantly gave his consent. Wen-shi was sent to stay in a nunnery. Four militiamen were dispatched to put Zhang Qian and Li Wan in chains, escort them in their search for Shen Xiang, and report at the yamen every five days. They would be subject to a beating if unsuccessful. (Good!) The innkeeper was released. The case was duly reported to the military commissioner, who approved of the prefect’s decision.

With Zhang and Li tied to the same chain, the four militiamen took turns watching them. The few taels of traveling money they had were taken away by the four men to pay for food and wine. Their Japanese sword was also exchanged for wine. (Good!) Linqing¹² was a huge place teeming with travelers. Where were they to look for Shen? To search there was just an excuse to buy some time.

As soon as the first five days were over, Wen-shi left the nunnery and went to the yamen, where, amid her wails of grief, she threatened to kill herself. The prefect was thus obliged to have Zhang and Li beaten up for having failed to accomplish their mission. The deadline was extended over ten times, and goodness knows how many bamboo rods were broken in the thrashings until the two men could not move a step. Zhang Qian at last fell ill and died. Li Wan, left alone (Good!), went to the nunnery to plead with Wen-shi.

“I am so desperate now that I’m going to tell you everything. When we first undertook the job, there was indeed a verbal message from Registrar Jin Shao saying that Governor Yang had ordered us to murder your husband at some point along the journey and get a death certificate from the local authorities to close the case. We gave our promise all right, but how could we bring ourselves to do such an evil thing? For some unknown reason, your husband suddenly escaped, which truly and honestly had nothing to do with us. With heaven above as my witness, if I’ve said a word that is not true, let my whole family perish! (So be it!) Now that my brother Zhang Qian has been beaten to death for having failed to meet the prefect’s five-day deadline, it would be another injustice for me to die also. Your husband is indeed alive. You will, someday, be reunited with him. I beg only that you stop weeping at the yamen. You will accumulate credit in the underworld if you can help extend the deadline and spare my unworthy life.”

“It’s hard to believe that you are not guilty of murdering my husband, but, since you say so, I’ll stop going to the yamen and give you more time to search. But you need to work hard at it. Don’t waste your time.”

Li Wan humbly voiced agreement as he left. There is a poem in evidence:

The prefect had set up and strictly observed the deadlines for the capture of Shen Xiang partly because Shen was wanted by the governor and partly because of the woman’s daily entreaties. But Li Wan was not destined to die yet, for something happened that spared his life. Governor Yang Shun and Censor Lu Kai consulted each other day and night on plans to ingratiate themselves with the Yan family in hopes of obtaining royal titles. All too unexpectedly, a Secretary Wu Shilai of the Office of War heard about Yang Shun’s killing of innocent civilians to claim credit and wrote a memorial denouncing him and also accusing Lu Kai of abetting him in his evil deeds. The memorial reached Emperor Jiajing just when he was making preparations for a prayer service. The report about the massacre so enraged the emperor for its disruption of universal harmony that he dispatched imperial guards to bring Yang Shun to face charges. Awed by the emperor’s towering rage, Yan Song was not able to come to the rescue in time. However, Yan Song’s mediation lightened the sentence to the deprivation of all official titles. How laughable that Yang Shun and Lu Kai killed to please their superiors, only to end up becoming objects of ridicule! What purpose did all their scheming serve? (Good!)

When word reached Prefect He that Governor Yang had been removed from office, the importance that the prefect attached to the case began to diminish. Now that Wen-shi stopped coming to make her tearful appeals and one of the two runners had died, leaving only Li Wan with his piteous pleas for mercy, Prefect He ordered that he be freed from his iron chains and try hard to bring Shen Xiang to the authorities. These were all too obviously signs that he was now a free man. Li Wan kowtowed again and again as if he had received an amnesty and, once out of the yamen, ran as fast as his legs could carry him. With no traveling money on him, he could do no better than beg his way home, but, of him, no more.

Now Shen Xiaoxia had been hiding in the double wall of Mr. Feng’s house for months and learned everything that had happened through the inquiries of his host. News about Wen-shi finding shelter in a nunnery brought Shen Xiaoxia great inward joy. About a year later, he learned that Zhang Qian and Li Wan were no longer on his trail and that the case had cooled o . Feng had three inner rooms cleaned up for Shen Xiang to do his studies in, but would not allow him to venture out, nor was Shen’s presence known to anyone outside. Though Mr Feng’s three years of mourning had come to an end, for Mr. Shen’s sake, he did not resume office.

Time sped by like an arrow. Shen Xiang had been staying with Mr. Feng for eight years now. Yan Song’s wife Ouyang-shi died. Yan Shifan, the son, refused to accompany her coffin back to her native village but instead, urged his father to write a memorial requesting that he remain in the capital to “serve his father.” In fact, during the mourning period, he drank and caroused day and night in the company of his concubines. Emperor Jiajing, being a most filial son, was displeased upon learning of such behavior. There was a priest called Lan Daoxing who could commune with the gods. The Son of Heaven summoned him and asked him to invoke some gods to answer questions about the virtue of the court ministers.

“The gods I invoke,” said Lan Daoxing, “are true gods who dwell in heaven. Being of the highest integrity and not prone to flattery, they might say things o ensive to Your Majesty. Please forgive me if this happens.”

“It is indeed the divine words of truth that I wish to hear,” said the emperor. “Why would I blame you for something that has nothing to do with you?”

Lan drew magic figures and chanted incantations, upon which the following lines appeared on his sand tray:¹³

Emperor Jiajing read the lines and said, “Please explain.”

“But I am too ignorant to understand,” said the priest. (What a subtle way of o ering advice! A clever man of the olden times.)

“I do,” said the emperor. “A high hill refers to the character Song, for it is made up of the components ‘high’ and ‘hill.’ ‘Foreign grass’ refers to the character fan, for it consists of the components ‘foreign’ and ‘grass.’ This is a reference to Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan. I have long heard that they have been abusing their power to the detriment of the interests of the empire. Now that the gods have revealed the truth to me, I will immediately take action, but you must not tell anyone about this.”

With kowtows and assurances that he would not say a word about this, Lan Daoxing took his reward and departed.

Henceforth, Emperor Jiajing gradually distanced himself from Yan Song. A censor named Zou Yinglong took the opportunity and wrote a memorial to the emperor, accusing Yan Shifan of relying on his father’s power to sell government posts and titles and commit many other evil deeds, and urging that he be executed. The memorial also requested that Yan Song, who doted on his evil son and formed a clique to bring down the worthy and the virtuous, be removed from his post so as to clean up the court. Immensely pleased with the memorial, Emperor Jiajing promoted Yinglong to the position of commissioner of the Bureau of Transmission. Yan Shifan was brought before the Judicial Office and charged with crimes punishable by banishment. Yan Song was sent back to his native village.

Soon thereafter, Lin Run, regional inspector of Jiangxi, reported that instead of performing military service, Yan Shifan stayed at home and became more of a despot, seizing fields from local residents, sheltering unsavory characters at home, establishing illicit communications with Japanese pirates, and engaging in other conspiratorial activities. By an imperial order, he was brought to the three judicial offices¹⁴ for interrogation. After the investigators reported back to the imperial court confirming the charges, Yan Shifan was executed and his property confiscated. Yan Song was sent to a poorhouse, where he was to spend the rest of his days. All officials who had been wronged were rehabilitated.

As soon as he learned the good news, Feng hastened to repeat it to Shen Xiang, who was then let out of the study to go to the nunnery to see Wen Shunü. At the reunion, the husband and wife fell upon each other’s shoulders and wept. Wen-shi had been three months pregnant when she left home. Now, her son, born in the nunnery, was already ten years old. Under Wen-shi’s personal tutoring, the boy could already read the Five Classics,¹⁵ to Shen Xiang’s immense delight.

Feng decided to go to the capital for reappointment and asked Shen Xiang to go with him to clear his father’s name. In the meantime, Wen-shi could stay with the Feng family. Shen Xiang took the advice and went with Feng to Beijing. As a first step, Mr. Feng paid a visit to Censor Zou of the Bureau of Transmission. Before showing him Shen Xiang’s written complaint, he explained to Censor Zou the injustice done to Shen Lian and his sons. Zou Yinglong promised to do his utmost to have the case settled. The following day, Shen Xiang sent his memorial to the imperial court through the Bureau of Transmission. Thereafter, the emperor issued a decree that granted Shen Lian a posthumous promotion of one rank to redress the wrong done to a loyal subject. His wife and youngest son were to return to their native place. All their confiscated property was to be returned in full by the county and prefectural authorities. Having been a student on government stipend for many years, Shen Xiang was now made a tribute student¹⁶ and a county magistrate.

Shen Xiang wrote another memorial to express his gratitude:

The emperor approved the request. Yang Shun and Lu Kai were summoned again to Beijing and convicted of crimes punishable by death.

While Yang Shun and Lu Kai were in jail awaiting execution, Shen Xiang went to bid farewell to Mr. Feng, for he needed to go personally to Yunzhou to escort his mother and youngest brother Shen Zhi to Beijing to live somewhere near the Feng residence there. He would then proceed to Bao’an to search for his father’s remains and bring them back for a proper burial.

Mr. Feng said, “I’ve just received an answer to my inquiries about your mother in Yunzhou. She is well. Your brother Shen Zhi is already a scholar. I will send someone to escort them here. Your most important task is to find your father’s remains. You’d better go quickly. You can join your mother here later.”

Thus instructed, Shen Xiang headed straight for Bao’an. Tw o days of searching produced nothing. On the third day, he was sitting tired in front of a house when an old man came out to invite him into the hall for a cup of tea. Shen Xiang’s eyes fell upon a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall. It was Zhuge Liang’s two petition memorials, bearing a date but no signature. Shen Xiaoxia examined the scroll with such fixed intensity that the old man asked, “Why are you looking at that scroll?”

“May I ask who wrote it?”

“My deceased friend Shen Lian.”

“Why is it in your house?”

“My name is Jia Shi,” replied the old man. “When Shen Lian was sent to this region, he stayed with me in my house. We became sworn brothers. Who would have thought that later, a most extraordinary disaster was to strike him. Afraid that I would be implicated, I fled to Henan to be out of harm’s way. I took with me two scrolls of calligraphy, which I remounted on one scroll and often look at it as if looking at his face. It wasn’t until after Governor Yang was removed from office that I dared return here. Lady Xu and her youngest son Shen Zhi moved to Yunzhou. I often go there to visit them. Recently, when I heard that the Yan family was on the decline, I thought that my brother could now be rehabilitated, and sent a messenger to Yunzhou to report the news. I believe Mr. Shen Junior will come for his father’s remains. I hung up the scroll in the main hall so that he could recognize his deceased father’s handwriting.”

At these words, Shen Xiaoxia threw himself to the ground, crying, “My most kind uncle!”

Jia Shi hastened to raise him to his feet, saying, “Who might you be?”

“I am Shen Xiang. It’s my father’s writing on that scroll.”

“I heard that Yang Shun had summoned you in order to finish o the entire family. I thought he had killed you. How did you manage to survive?”

Shen Xiaoxia’s detailed account of what had taken place at Linqing drew amazed exclamations from Jia Shi, who then told the servants to set out dinner in honor of the visitor.

“You must know where my father’s remains are. Please show me the place.”

“Your father died unjustly in prison. I stole his corpse and buried it without daring to breathe a word about it to anyone. Now that you are here to carry the remains back to your native place, my pains were not taken in vain.”

They were heading for the door when a young man on horseback came up.

“What a coincidence!” Jia Shi said, pointing at the newcomer. “This is your youngest brother.”

The young man was none other than Shen Zhi. As Shen Zhi got down from the horse to greet them, Jia Shi pointed at Shen Xiaoxia and said, “This is your oldest brother Shen Xiang.”

This being the first time the brothers had ever laid eyes on each other, they embraced tearfully, not quite believing that this was not a dream. With Jia Shi leading the way, the three of them repaired to Shen Lian’s grave, which was found to be so overgrown with weeds that the mound was hardly discernible. As Jia Shi led the Shen brothers in kowtowing to the tomb, the two brothers shed such bitter tears that they collapsed to the ground. “There are important matters I need to consult you about,” said Jia Shi, trying to pacify them. “Don’t let yourselves be consumed with grief.”

Only then did they dry their tears. Jia Shi continued, “Your two brothers also died untimely deaths. It was the kindhearted jailer Mao, who, out of sympathy for them, secretly buried them three miles west of the city. Mao has passed away, but I know where he buried them. Since you are escorting your father’s coffin back, why don’t you also take your two brothers’ remains back so that the spirits of the father and sons may stay together? What do you say?”

The Shen brothers agreed, “We could hope for nothing more.”

That very day, they followed Jia Shi west of the city to look at the site and were overwhelmed with grief.

The following day, they prepared coffins and chose an auspicious day for digging up the graves for reburial. The three bodies remained as fresh as if they were alive. It was their righteous spirit that spared them from the least decomposition. That Shen Xiang and his brother shed more tears of grief need not be described here. When the carriages for the three coffins were ready, they went to take their leave of Jia Shi.

Before departing, Shen Xiang said to Jia Shi, “I would like to have the scroll for display in the memorial hall. I hope you will not turn me down.”

Jia Shi readily gave consent, took down the scroll, and gave it to them as a gift. The Shen brothers bowed in gratitude and bade him a tearful farewell. Shen Xiang escorted the coffins first to Zhangjiawan,¹⁷ where he had them loaded on a boat. Then he returned to Beijing, where he reported to his mother Lady Xu and thanked Mr. Feng before he got ready to leave.

Out of respect for Shen Lian’s virtues and admiration for the Shen brothers for undertaking the journey with the coffins, all the officials in the capital sent gifts, money, and travel documents. Shen Xiaoxia accepted only one travel document and turned down all the others. Back at Zhangjiawan again, the party was transferred onto a government-owned boat. With a hundred men pulling and towing, the boat moved ahead at great speed. In a few days they arrived at Linqing. Shen Xiang ordered that the boat be moored while he himself went unaccompanied into town, delivered to the Feng residence a letter from Mr. Feng assuring his family of his well-being, and then took Wen-shi and their ten-year-old son to the boat. They paid their respects to the coffins before going to greet Lady Xu. The sight of her grown-up grandson filled the old lady with unspeakable joy. There was a time when the family line was thought to have been extinguished, but, in fact, it was now continuing well into the next generation, whereas the enemies of the family had all perished miserably as a retribution from heaven. The will of heaven indeed prevailed. Clearly, the wicked will come to grief, whereas virtue pays in the end.

Let us get back to our story. When the ship arrived in Shaoxing in Zhejiang, Meng Chunyuan, leading his daughter and Shen Xiang’s wife, Meng-shi, went twenty li from home to greet the Shen family. Sorrow and joy mingled at the family reunion. The boat bearing the coffins was moored in the harbor. All the local officials went there for mourning. Confiscated family possessions were all checked and returned. The Shen brothers buried the coffins in their ancestral graveyard and strictly observed three years of mourning. No one failed to praise them for their outstanding filial piety. The local magistrate also had a memorial hall erected in honor of Shen Lian, where memorial services were held each spring and autumn. The scroll in Shen Lian’s handwriting is, to this day, hung in an honored place in the memorial hall.

On the day the mourning period ended, Shen Xiang went to the capital, where he was appointed a county magistrate. Being honest and incorrupt, he rose to be a prefect. Wen-shi’s son passed the imperial examinations at an early age and became a jinshi in the same year as his uncle Shen Zhi. The family never ran short of scholars from generation to generation.

For his e orts to save Shen Xiang, Mr. Feng won great prestige in the capital for his loyalty and rose through the official ranks until he became secretary of the Ministry of Personnel. One day, Shen Lian appeared to him in a dream and said to him, “The Lord on High, impressed by my honesty and integrity, has made me the city god of Beijing. You are to be the city god of Nanjing. We shall be assuming our posts at the hour of noon tomorrow.”

Feng woke up in amazement. When noon came, he saw a horse-drawn carriage approaching to receive him, and he passed away without any illness. Both men became gods. There is a poem in evidence: