Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 31 You could be...

Hearing the noise outside the door, the handsome man called out, "If it's urgent, come in and talk!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

There was a creaking sound.

The door to the side room was immediately pushed open, and a person slipped in, closed the door behind him, and gave a big bow to the people at the table.

The man appeared to be in his early thirties, of unremarkable appearance. He wore a black turban and a dark-colored robe tied diagonally. His face was glistening with sweat, which matted his hair in a few strands. The front of his robe was open, indicating that he had been running quickly.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the handsome man laughed and said, "Who do we have here? It's Li Wai. What urgent business do you have? Why are you in such a hurry? Speak quickly."

It turned out that this Li Waichuan was a long-time bailiff in the county government office, who specialized in handling official business in front of the prefectural and county government offices, and making money by listening to the people around him. If two families were fighting and filing lawsuits, he would sell his wares to both sides; or if officials needed to bribe officials, he would act as a go-between, doing the work for both sides.

Therefore, the people in the county gave him this nickname, calling him Li Waizhuan.

They were both messengers and money-makers; truly, there were no wrong nicknames, only wrong names.

When Li Waichuan saw Zheng Tu, a complete stranger, sitting at the table, he hesitated, then swallowed his words, rubbing his hands together and chuckling dryly, glancing at Zheng Tu with his eyes.

Seeing this, the handsome man waved his hand impatiently and said, "It's alright, just say what you have to say. Why are you beating around the bush? Brother Zheng is no stranger to us."

Hearing this, Li Waichuan was relieved and quickly stepped closer, lowering his voice to ask, "Sir, do you still remember Wu Dalang, the pancake seller, and his brother, Wu Song?"

Upon hearing this, the handsome man pondered for a moment, then nodded: "There is such a person, is it Wu Er, the head constable in the county? He has some martial arts skills, why are you mentioning him?"

Li Waichuan grunted in agreement and continued, "At noon today, Wu Song was incredibly reckless! He went straight to the county government office, beat the drum to appeal for justice, and accused the magistrate of having an affair with his sister-in-law, Pan, and also... also of murdering his elder brother, Wu Dalang."

This is utterly outrageous! I heard this from below the hall. The master only had a quarrel with Wu Dalang that day, and kicked him during the shoving. It was clearly just an accidental injury during the argument. How come he made it sound like the master kicked him to death?

The magistrate was even ordered to arrest the man on the spot. Hearing this, I felt deeply indignant on behalf of the magistrate!

Zheng Tu didn't take it seriously at first, and continued drinking and eating by himself. Occasionally, he would hear a few words like "sister-in-law" and "having an affair," but he just thought it was a common affair.

But the more he listened, the more something seemed off. He unconsciously put down his chopsticks, frowned, and listened intently.

Li Waichuan took a breath and continued, "Wu Song knelt in the hall and pleaded with the magistrate to arrest the man, his words were fierce."

However, our magistrate is a man of great integrity and justice, and he immediately declared: "Wu Song, do not listen to outsiders' instigation and become an enemy of Ximen Qing. This matter is suspicious, the evidence is unclear, and it is difficult to seek justice."

As the sage said: "Even what you see with your own eyes may not be true; how can you completely believe what is said behind your back? You must not act rashly."

The clerk from the criminal investigation department, who was nearby, interjected, "Head Constable, you've worked in the yamen and know the law. In cases of murder, five things must be present: corpse, injuries, illness, evidence, and whereabouts, before any investigation can proceed. Your brother's body has been buried for some time now, and there's no clear evidence of injuries or illness. How can you, sir, adjudicate this case?"

He spoke eloquently, mimicking the tone of the county magistrate and the clerk, and quite similarly at that. He continued, "When Wu Er heard this, although his face turned purple, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, 'If that's how it is, does that mean my brother's grievance will never be avenged?'"

The magistrate said, "You may go back now; I have my own plan."

Wu Er could only say, "Since you refuse my accusation, sir, you are in the right." Having said that, he pocketed the petition and left the hall dejectedly. Haha!

After saying that, Li Waichuan's face showed a fawning smile.

Seeing his appearance, the handsome man couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You monkey, so you got the news from the yamen and came here in a hurry to ask for a reward! You're quite clever. Since that's the case, sit down and have a few drinks with me, and I'll introduce you to my newly sworn brother."

He turned to Zheng Tu and said, "Brother, although this fellow is a shrewd and opportunistic man, he's very well-informed. Now that we've run into him, let him pay his respects to you."

He then said to Li Waichuan, "This is my brother Zheng. You must be respectful to him."

Having said that, he reached into his robes, pulled out a five-tael silver ingot, and tossed it into Li Waichuan's arms with a clang: "You're quite thoughtful, coming to report as soon as you have news. I didn't let your efforts go to waste."

Li Waichuan was overjoyed. He hurriedly took the silver and stuffed it into his pocket, bowing repeatedly: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

He then hurriedly turned to Zheng Tu, his face full of envy, and cupped his hands, saying, "Brother Zheng! What a stroke of luck to have become sworn brothers with such a high-ranking official! From now on, if you ever need my help, just let me know! And if you become rich and powerful in the future, don't forget to help me out!"

Zheng Tu had no time to pay attention to him at that moment.

Ever since he heard about the "Wu brothers," Zheng Tu had begun to harbor doubts and felt uneasy.

When he finally heard the words "please appeal", "the magistrate will not allow it", and "the body is gone", his heart felt like it was being boiled with hot oil. The little bit of alcohol he had drunk earlier vanished instantly. Why did this scene seem so familiar?

The romantic escapades his brother had mentioned earlier, when pieced together, made the story increasingly clear:

The woman's pole was knocked down by the wind and struck the handsome man on the head. From then on, he was restless and unable to eat or sleep, his heart filled with thoughts of the woman. He missed her so much that he wandered around her place every day.

It just so happens that there is a teahouse next to that woman's house. The owner of the teahouse is that old pious woman, Wang Po. Seeing that there is profit to be made, she seduced the two men to "share the glory". The five-word mantra "Pan, Lu, Deng, Xiao, Xian" probably came from her mouth!

The two then met at a teahouse, and their fates were intertwined like lightning and fire; the witch met the king!

From that point on, there was no stopping it!

He knew this classic play by heart. He had initially thought that his brother was just making a joke at the banquet, using a romantic story as a pretext to show off in front of him and others. But now it seemed that it was not something he had made up; it was as real as could be.

What was the name of the main character in that play...?

A thought flashed into his mind like lightning, and he slammed the wine glass in his hand onto the table, splashing wine all over himself without even realizing it.

He suddenly looked up, his muscles tensing, his eyes wide as he stared at the handsome man, and exclaimed in a trembling voice:

"Ximen Qing! My good brother, you...you could you be that Ximen Qing from Yanggu County, the one known as Master Ximen...?!"

The shout came abruptly, and the room immediately fell silent.