Chapter 38: Calming the Waves (Part 1)
“If I can’t get justice for my brother, I’m not afraid to die!”
The woman’s cry, echoing through the courtyard as the staff struck her flesh, resonated with the onlookers.
Such punishment was difficult even for men to endure. Judge Tan couldn’t believe this frail woman had withstood a dozen lashes without begging for mercy.
“Your Honor…” an officer said, holding the bloodstained staff, a flicker of pity in his eyes.
“How many lashes has she received?” Judge Tan asked, looking at the motionless woman on the torture bench.
“Twelve,” the officer replied cautiously.
Hesitation flickered in Judge Tan’s eyes, but after a moment, he straightened his expression. “The law must be upheld. Eight more lashes.”
“Yes, Your Honor…” the officer reluctantly raised the staff again.
As the staff struck, shimmering dust scattered, and Xu He Xue’s robe was stained with blood. He clenched his hand, peeling away the silvery light from his own body and enveloping Ni Su with it.
It was an agonizing pain, the pain of his own flesh being torn, the most humiliating punishment he had endured in life.
His clean robes were now soaked with blood, making him look even more wretched than her. Ni Su’s pale lips trembled as she shook her head at him.
She couldn’t call out his name.
She couldn’t speak to him in front of so many people.
Tears streamed down her face, her fingernails digging into the wood of the bench.
“Judge Tan, she’s a woman! Sixteen lashes is enough!” a voice boomed from the entrance of the court.
Judge Tan looked up and saw a young man in dark robes. He signaled the officers to stop. “Who are you? How dare you disrupt the court!”
“Zhou Ting, Deputy Commander of the Yin Ye Si,” the young man said, presenting his token to the guards. He turned and gestured behind him. “I’m here on orders to bring Young Master Wu to confront the accuser.”
The crowd parted as a palanquin carrying a pale, sickly-looking young man in fine clothes was brought forward.
When someone filed a complaint, the accused had to be present. Judge Tan allowed Zhou Ting and his men to enter.
As Wu Ji Kang was carried inside, Cai Chun Xu, ignoring her husband’s attempts to restrain her, spat at him.
The spittle landed on Wu Ji Kang’s clothes, his face contorting in disgust.
“He’s accused of murder, yet he’s carried in like he has no legs! Make him walk!” Cai Chun Xu shouted.
The crowd echoed her words. “Make him walk!”
Rotten vegetables and eggs flew through the air, hitting Wu Ji Kang as the palanquin bearers hurriedly lowered him. He glared at the crowd, his face contorted with rage, his chest heaving. Zhou Ting’s calm voice cut through the commotion. “Young Master Wu, please enter the court.”
He emphasized the word “court,” reminding Wu Ji Kang of his situation.
Wu Ji Kang stood up, supported by his servants, and slowly entered the court.
In the bright sunlight, he saw the woman lying on the torture bench, her back covered in blood, her body convulsing.
He instinctively gripped a servant’s wrist, thinking, She’s endured so much, yet she’s still alive…
“Young Master,” the servant whispered, reminding him to ascend the steps.
But it was too late. Wu Ji Kang stumbled and almost fell. He steadied himself and bowed to Judge Tan. “Greetings, Your Honor.”
“Your Honor, should we continue the beating?” an officer asked.
Judge Tan hesitated, unsure how to proceed.
“Your Honor, the Dengwen Drum Court administers punishment before the trial to deter false accusations and disrespect towards the Emperor. The purpose is not to punish, but to test the petitioner’s sincerity. Is her sincerity not evident?” Zhou Ting said, pointing at Ni Su.
“But twenty lashes is the rule,” Judge Tan frowned. “Without rules, there’s no order.”
“Your Honor! I’m willing to take the remaining lashes for her!” a voice suddenly cried from outside.
All eyes turned to the young man clutching a guard’s arm at the entrance. Ni Su, after a moment, recognized He Zhong Ping.
He knelt down and shouted, “Ji Ming was a man of integrity! Talent invites envy, and excellence attracts resentment! He was my friend, and he helped me! I can’t stand by and watch his sister suffer alone! A life for a life! Although Ji Ming is dead, we commoner scholars are still here! I, He Zhong Ping, am willing to endure the punishment and seek justice for my friend, Ni Qinglan!”
News of Ni Su’s appeal and beating had spread throughout Yun Jing. Not only He Zhong Ping, but other commoner scholars had also rushed to the Dengwen Drum Court, abandoning their studies.
“We study to serve the people and uphold justice! That’s what our teachers taught us! But who will uphold justice for us commoner scholars? Today it’s Ni Qinglan, tomorrow it could be any of us!” another scholar said, kneeling beside He Zhong Ping. “I’m willing to endure the punishment and seek justice for Ni Qinglan!”
“What are you waiting for? Are you less courageous than a frail woman?” another scholar cried, kneeling down.
More and more scholars knelt, echoing his words. “We’re willing to endure the punishment and seek justice for Ni Qinglan!”
Judge Tan, wiping the sweat from his forehead, heard the crowd outside shouting, “Your Honor, stop the beating!” He couldn’t continue and gestured for the officers to release Ni Su.
He Zhong Ping and the other scholars were allowed inside. The officers brought more torture benches, and the scholars eagerly took their places.
Judge Tan was troubled. He didn’t know how the situation had escalated to this point. As a member of the Censorate, he knew that if this case wasn’t handled properly, the Hanlin Academy would gain the upper hand.
But in this situation…
He looked at the scholars being beaten outside and sighed, his head throbbing.
“Wu Ji Kang, this woman accuses you of murdering her brother. You confessed to this crime at the Yin Ye Si. Is this true?” Judge Tan asked, composing himself.
Wu Ji Kang regretted his confession. He hated the cries from outside. “But I didn’t mean to kill him! I just… I just confined him, and then he starved to death! He starved himself! It’s not my fault…”
“If you hadn’t imprisoned and tortured him, he wouldn’t have suffered from soul loss!” Ni Su said, trying to sit up, but her wrists were too weak.
“How was I supposed to know?” Wu Ji Kang said, his mind hazy. “I said, I didn’t mean to kill him! I don’t deserve to die! I don’t deserve to die…”
“If you don’t die, I, Ni Su, will never rest!” Ni Su couldn’t forget his cruel smile at the Yin Ye Si gate. She wished she had a knife. If the law couldn’t bring her justice, she would take it herself.
She would make him stop smiling, stop looking down on her brother’s life.
Wu Ji Kang, his anxiety growing, scratched his neck, hating her gaze. If it weren’t for those meddling scholars…
“I truly didn’t intend to kill him. Tell me, how can I compensate you?” he asked, walking over to her and lowering his voice, feigning helplessness, but his eyes were cold and menacing. “Do you want money? Or something else?”
Ni Su wanted to tear his face apart. She trembled, then saw Wu Ji Kang stumble back, his expression changing.
Silvery light, like threads, wrapped around his neck. Ni Su followed the light.
In the sunlight, Xu He Xue’s pale, bloody hand, its bones delicate and graceful, tightened its grip. The silvery threads, like fine silk, pierced Wu Ji Kang’s clothes, tearing open the whip wounds hidden beneath.
Wu Ji Kang screamed in terror, unable to see what was constricting him, feeling only the searing pain as the threads tore his flesh. He writhed on the ground.
“Ni Su, don’t worry. I won’t use my powers to kill him,” Xu He Xue said, his cold eyes fixed on the writhing figure, not looking at Ni Su. “But he should repay the sixteen lashes he made you endure.”
Ni Su wanted to tell him to stop, to not weaken himself further, or it would snow again.
But she couldn’t.
She couldn’t risk exposing him.
She watched as he tightened his grip, the silvery threads digging into Wu Ji Kang’s flesh, controlling him like a puppet, forcing him to bang his head against the ground until it bled. The Wu residence servants and court officers struggled to restrain him.
Wu Ji Kang screamed, “Ghosts! There are ghosts!”
Xu He Xue, almost accustomed to his own pain, watched Wu Ji Kang’s pathetic display with cold indifference.
“Don’t be sad, and don’t lose hope. Someone else wants justice as much as you do,” he said, his form fading like mist, looking at the young scholars on the torture benches. “The court is cold, but some people’s blood is still warm.”
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