The official atmosphere in Zhejiang has changed a lot since Fu took office. Although it hasn't completely transformed, things are definitely different now. On the surface, he looks like a clean official. The yamen sign is old and not repaired, the courtyard gate is broken and left unfixed, and the warm pavilion is torn and not patched up. The county magistrates have to listen to him and don't dare to brown-nose him. The grand prefectural yamen is a total wreck, with grass growing in the hall up to the knees and no one cleaning it; horse manure is piled high, and no one is bothering to clean that up either. Everyone says that with a superior like him, you don’t need to do anything yourself, and you don’t let others do anything either—county magistrates usually get rich, you know? In reality, he doesn’t seem to spend money on the surface, but he secretly takes plenty of backhanders, just in a different way. So, compared to before, he is indeed more frugal, which is considered a plus. However, the greedy atmosphere hasn’t been shaken off. As the saying goes, "Officials travel a thousand miles just for wealth." Writers have never seen an official who isn’t at all greedy for money, so they can’t come up with such stories.
Speaking of Fu being in office for half a year, the court saw him as upright and honest, with a good reputation, so he was promoted by decree. He used to be a big shot in the capital, and in just six months, he was promoted to a high-ranking official in the border areas. Naturally, he was grateful and wanted to repay the court. He immediately submitted a memorial of thanks. When the subordinate officials heard about it, they all came to congratulate him at his residence, which I won’t go into detail about. After his promotion, he worked even harder and taught his son to read in his spare time. His wife had passed away, and his son was raised by his father’s other wife. At twelve, he could actually write "Po Cheng" (a type of eight-legged essay, a traditional form of Chinese literary composition), which made Fu very proud. Holding a book called "Enlightenment of Grammar," he would read it to his son every day and say, "Our family has been blessed by the emperor for generations. Besides taking the imperial examination to serve the country, there’s no other path for us." In his family, it’s just him, his father’s other wife, and his son, so apart from being an official and teaching his son, he has nothing else to do. And with his promotion, he was on cloud nine.
One day, after the meeting, Master Fu returned to his room to eat. He was just about to quiz his son on his lessons after dinner. Normally, there were few people at meals, and it was always his concubine who accompanied him. This day, he waited for a long time, but his concubine did not come out. He thought she was delayed by something, so he didn't pay much attention. After finishing the meal, she still had not appeared. He asked the old nurse, but she didn't say anything. Later, he asked his son, who was young and quick to speak, "My mother has been crying in bed from morning till now, and she hasn't combed her hair." Master Fu was very surprised and couldn't understand what was going on, so he asked his son again. The old nurse next to him signaled for the boy to be quiet, but Master Fu saw it and scolded her, saying, "Why are you being sneaky? What are you hiding from me?" He had to ask clearly. The boy mumbled, "I don't know. This morning, Tang Er Ye said there was a pretty woman with a child who came to find Dad. My mother got angry because of this." Master Fu was shocked when he heard this. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Where the devil is she now?" The son replied, "Tang Er Ye didn't let her in, so my mother asked him to drive her away." Master Fu was anxious, "Where is that woman now?" The son said, "I don't know." The old nurse, realizing she couldn't keep it a secret, said, "That woman said she came from Beijing and has been staying at a small inn on the west side of the yamen for two days. She said she has known the master for more than ten years and that he promised her something in the past, so she came to find him." Master Fu exclaimed, "That's impossible! I don't know any woman!" The old nurse replied, "That's what she said; we don't know either." Master Fu asked, "I'm not asking you. Has she been to the yamen?" The old nurse said, "We don't know; we just heard it from Tang Er Ye." Master Fu ordered, "Call Tang Sheng, I'll ask him." Tang Sheng was Master Fu's trusted servant. According to the household rules, the children could not call the servants directly by their names, so the boy called him Tang Er Ye.
It is said that the second wife had heard the maids say that a woman came to find the master before. The second wife was very jealous, and when she heard it, she suspected and asked the maids. The maids said it was Mr. Tang who mentioned it. The second wife called Mr. Tang to ask for clarification. With the main wife gone, the second wife was in charge, and the servants all flattered her, so Mr. Tang laid bare the whole affair. The second wife was so angry that she almost fainted. At that time, Mr. Fu was meeting guests in the hall, and the housekeeper wanted to come out to report the news several times, but because the guests were important, she was afraid it would be inconvenient, so she didn't dare to say anything. When Mr. Fu sent the guests away and returned for dinner, the second wife felt a little better but still refused to get up from the bed. Mr. Fu asked his son and called Mr. Tang; the second wife heard all of this and played deaf, curious to see how they would handle it.
The young master heard his mother getting angry, so he dropped his bowl and ran to the backyard. The servants and the old lady finally tracked him down and said, "Oh my goodness, Master! You need to get back upstairs quickly! Your mother's about to rip your dad a new one! Who knows what will happen now!" At first, the young master refused to go, but he was finally persuaded by the servants and the old lady to go to the main room. When his mother saw him, she fiercely punched her son twice while cursing at the master, "We'll show him, we'll die together! We'll get rid of that problem for him! Now that your father has that bastard, you're expendable!" Then she shouted, "Get me a rope! I'll strangle you first, then myself!" Two punches, and the boy burst into tears.
Old Man Fu was originally standing under the corridor when he heard that Second Wife was looking for the young master. Knowing that things were heating up, he quickly returned to the main room and sat down on the chair by the window in the inner chamber, sighing. Second Wife ignored him. Later, when she saw the mistress hitting her son and trying to strangle him, he was really fuming. He stood up and said, "This son is raised by me! You mistresses don't know any better, but I'm the one in charge here! You can't hit him!" When Second Wife heard this, she became even angrier and spat at Old Man Fu, saying, "You say this son is raised by you; isn't he the one I carried for ten months and gave birth to? I'm his mother, I can hit him!" With that, she laid into her son a few times. The son cried and jumped. Old Man Fu said, "This is outrageous! In our respected family, even a mistress is so crazy; what a disgrace!" Second Wife shot back, "Ain't a concubine a person?" Old Man Fu replied, "Others indulge their mistresses and put them on a pedestal; I'm different, I follow my family values. Before the old master passed away, he left a will. If it's not good, I will..." Before he could finish, Second Wife pressed him, "What do you want to do?" Old Man Fu fell silent again. Second Wife continued, "You keep mentioning the old master's will. Are you mingling with those no-good women outside also written in the old master's will? Since you have good family values, you shouldn't have been involved with those other women before! I don't even know if the Zhang family and the Wang family have raised bastards; they have to come to you!" Old Man Fu was left speechless by her remarks and sneered a few times, "Listen to what she's saying, how ridiculous! She's accusing me before even knowing what kind of woman she is! Let's figure out who she is first, then we can talk."
The concubine was about to continue speaking when someone reported, "His cousin's wife is here." Master Fu immediately got up to greet her, calling out "Cousin's wife" to the elderly woman who entered, saying, "This is outrageous! Please persuade her, Cousin's wife. Stay for dinner; I have official business and cannot accompany you." Master Fu's accountant was his cousin. His cousin's wife, therefore, was Madam Biao. Because Master Fu had few people of his own, he let his cousin and cousin's wife stay in the yamen (government office) for convenience in looking after them. Today, when the household staff saw the concubine and Master Fu arguing, they quickly sent a message to his cousin's wife, asking her to come and persuade them. Seeing his cousin's wife, Master Fu used the excuse of official business to escape.
Tang Sheng has been waiting at the end of the corridor and followed Master Fu when he came out. Upon entering the office, Master Fu sat down while Tang Sheng stood. Master Fu asked Tang Sheng, "When did that woman come? How many times has she come in total? Where is she staying now? What is she here for?" Tang Sheng replied, "That woman's been here for five or six days now, staying at a little inn west of the courthouse. On the day she arrived, she sent someone to find me, but I didn't go. The next evening, she came with her child. The guard wouldn't let her in, so she sent me a note. When I went out to see her, she was nicely dressed; the child looked about seven or eight years old, chubby." Master Fu said, "I didn't ask about that; I asked why she came here." Tang Sheng took a step forward and replied softly, "I went out to see her and asked why she was here. She said she had known him for eight years in the capital and later became pregnant. Since she couldn't raise the baby, he had told her that no matter if it was a boy or a girl, both the adult and the child belonged to him; but it wasn't convenient to make it public at home, so she had to live outside in the future. Ten months later, she had a son, the child she brought with her now." Master Fu said, "Since the child is mine and I have spoken to her, why did she wait seven or eight years to come to me after raising him?" Tang Sheng said, "I asked her that too. Besides, you were in the capital for seven or eight years – why didn't she come find you then?" Master Fu said, "Yes, what did she say?" Tang Sheng said, "She said she hadn't raised the child yet; her mother took her to Tianjin Wei, and the child was raised there. After raising the child, she always wanted to be with him. The madam wouldn't let her, making her work. It wasn't until the year before last that she redeemed herself. Because she had no money, she did business in Tianjin Wei for two years. She came to Beijing in February, hoping to find him. She didn't know he'd been transferred, so she came here as fast as she could."
Fu Fuyuan listened, frowned, shook his head, and didn't speak for a long time. After resting for a while, he murmured, "He redeemed himself in Tianjin, where did he get the money? How did he know I was here?"
Tang Sheng said, "How can the business in the kiln be without that dirty money? Master, you are the governor; can you hide it from everyone?"
Fu Fuyuan said, "Don't listen to his nonsense; I don't know this person. You go scare him. If he dares to come again, I'll have him hauled off to the county lockup!"
Tang Sheng said, "I've said all this. Since he came once, he has been sitting outside the second door every night, waiting until the door of the mansion is closed before leaving. In the first three days, he was reasonable, saying he didn't come to make things difficult for the master; as long as the master sees him and gives him an explanation, he'll leave. He also said not to give money to the master; he can make a living by doing business himself. He mentioned that he has survived these seven or eight years without receiving the money sent by the master, and his son is already grown. We've got history; why bother the master? However, what goes around comes around; there must be a result in the future, and the words must be clarified."
Fu Fuyuan said, "Stop with the nonsense! If he continues, I’ll slap him twice!"
Tang Sheng said, "I told him that too; I told him to watch his mouth. But he wasn't convinced and argued with me. It was even worse last night; he insisted on breaking in. Fortunately, the gatekeeper stopped him and didn't let him in. Coincidentally, the maids came out to handle things, saw it, and told the madam. I knew this matter couldn't be kept secret; at first, I tried to stop them from making a fuss, afraid of causing trouble. They didn't listen, and sure enough, they almost caused a big incident today."
Fu Fuyuan said, "The house is not quiet yet, and another woman has emerged outside. Go and tell him to understand and quickly leave Hangzhou. If he keeps bothering me, send him to the county; he won't get away with it!"
After Fu Fuyuan finished speaking, though Tang Sheng mumbled his agreement, he just stood there. Fu Fuyuan asked him, "Why are you still standing there?"
Tang Sheng said, "Sir, that woman is really something; she's got a real sharp tongue. At first, there were some things I didn't want to tell you, but now I gotta explain this to the boss and figure out how to handle her."
Fu Fuyuan said, "What, you're afraid of her?"
Tang Sheng said, "It's not her, it's her type I'm worried about. She doesn't care about her reputation. I'm afraid she'll make a scene and ruin the boss's name."
Fu Fuyuan said, "Get her out of here! And if she gives you any trouble, teach her a lesson."
Tang Sheng said, "Honestly, Sir, I've already told her all this. Not only is she not afraid, she smiled and said, 'If you don't get him to see me, I've waited years and suffered enough! It's not fair! I'm going to sue in Qiantang County!'"
Fu Fuyuan said, "Sue who?"
Tang Sheng said, "I don't know who she will sue."
Fu Fuyuan said, "Let her sue! I doubt Qiantang County will even take her case!"
Tang Sheng said, "I think so too. Later, she thought of this, saying if the county doesn't work, she'll go to the prefecture, if the prefecture doesn't work, she'll go to the circuit, if the circuit doesn't work, she'll go to the capital. If she loses in Hangzhou, she'll go all the way to Beijing!"
Fu Fuyuan listened to this and was so angry that his beard stood up. He repeatedly said, "Bloody hell, what a firecracker! Tang Sheng, you know the old man's a fair sort, always does things by the book, never bullies anyone. This woman, back during the war with the West, when the news in the capital was bad and families were worried, they all moved back to their hometown. It was Old Man Sun from the Imperial College who was happy and invited me out for drinks a few times, that's how I met her. Later, she got pregnant and insisted the child was mine. At that time, thinking about my son's affairs, another kid wouldn't hurt, so I agreed. Who knew that when I went out of Beijing for business and came back in less than two months, when I went to look for her again, she was nowhere to be found. I've been wondering ever since whether it was a boy or a girl. If it's a girl, she'll end up just like her mother – and that's not on. So when I heard today that it was a boy, I felt much more at ease, let her go, it's none of my business anymore. It's not like I'm heartless, but my son's out there somewhere. Look at my family now, who knows how we will live in the future. Besides, this woman is not easy to deal with. I've got enough on my plate, so let's forget it; I won't ask anymore!"
Tang Sheng said, "Since the master doesn't want to keep her, let's find a way to send her away. Don't let her keep turning up and ruining the old man's name. If Madam knows, she will be angry."
Fu Fuyuan said, "You daft sod! Send her to Qiantang County, let Lord Lu handle her, job done, then?"
Tang Sheng said, "Once she arrives in the county, everyone will know."
Fu Fuyuan said, "Old Lu's a different kettle of fish, he'll sort it. He'll scare her straight, give her a bit of dosh, and that'll be that."
Tang Sheng said, "We'll have to give her some money anyway, I'll go talk to her. She'll go if we pay her, so why bother sending her to the county? It's a faff."
Fu Fuyuan got anxious, "You're a right donkey! She needs paying off, but why make the old man do it himself?"
Tang Sheng finally understood what the master meant. The county was supposed to pay, but the master wouldn't cough up. He just shrugged and left. Just as he entered the gatehouse, the servant said, "Boss, that woman's back." Tang Sheng shook his head and said, "She caused all this trouble and expects someone else to clean up her mess? No way! I guess I owe them one. Might as well help her." Muttering to himself, he went outside. The woman was pulling a child and pointing incessantly at the gatekeeper. She was wearing a light blue jacket over dark trousers, a gold hairpin, and silver bracelets. Even though she was plainly dressed, her fair skin and big, expressive eyes stood out. Her chubby son, a bright little chap, piped up "Uncle Tang Sheng!" as soon as she said it. The gatekeeper wouldn't let her in and started yelling, so she yelled back. Tang Sheng happened to see this and reprimanded the gatekeeper. It wasn't a good look, so he ushered her into the gatehouse, had the servant make tea, and got some snacks for the kid.
Finally, after half a day's work, I sat down. The woman asked, "What's happened with my case? I put it in your hands, so it should be sorted by now, shouldn't it? I don't want to stay here any longer; the longer I stay, the more troubled I become. Once it's settled, the sooner you get rid of us the better. I'm not an unreasonable person; I've handled plenty of cash. As long as he sees me and says a few words, I'll leave. If I don't leave, I'm a fool! If he refuses to see me, just give me something in writing. He's a high-ranking official with three wives and concubines; who knows if he'll find someone else? Give me a written note, so I have proof for the future." Tang Sheng said, "Don't worry about all that. If you have any difficulties, tell us; we'll help you figure it out and send you off as soon as possible. That's all beside the point." The woman said, "It's not about the money; I just want to see him! If I don't see him for a day, I won't leave!" Finally, Tang Sheng persuaded her, and she agreed, smiling and saying, "I wouldn't mind being sent to Qiantang County. But since I had a good relationship with him, why drag his name through the mud in Qiantang County? Now that you're helping, I won't blackmail him. Just pay me for the last seven or eight years, plus a bit extra, and I'll be on my way. Even if I'm begging, I won't bother him again. Mr. Tang, you understand. If your master won't give me anything in writing and wants a clean break, this is the bare minimum."
Tang Sheng listened, feeling happy she was gone but worried sick. The boss wouldn't cough up, so he told Tang Sheng to wrangle some cash from Mr. Lu in Qiantang County. It was a long shot, though. After a lot of haggling, they settled on six thousand taels. The woman was waiting in the front gatehouse. Tang Sheng thought for a while and decided he couldn't just walk in and ask the county magistrate, so he had to report back to the master. Fu Fuyuan was chatting with his mistress upstairs. Fu Fuyuan said to her, "That pain in the neck's been shipped off to the county office. She'll be out of Hangzhou by tomorrow." His mistress didn't say a word. When Tang Sheng went up to see the situation, he couldn't say anything, so he just rattled off a couple of other things to get it over with, then went to the signing room to kill time.
Fu Fuyuan understood right away and came out, asking, "How did it go?" Tang Sheng laid it all out and said, "This woman is quite reasonable; sending her away doesn't seem right. What about the money, then?" Fu Fuyuan replied, "Six thousand taels is a lot." Tang Sheng continued, "I heard a former official had to shell out twenty thousand taels for something like this." Fu Fuyuan remained silent for a while, clearly not about to pay himself. Tang Sheng had a thought and said, "There's someone outside who wants your help keeping something quiet, and he doesn't want you to pay. He’s afraid to come in person. I’ll let him know he can take responsibility for this. It won't hurt your reputation, and even if there are rumors later, the money isn’t coming from you, so there’s no guilt." Fu Fuyuan agreed, "As long as the money isn't from me, you can handle it. But only ask for six thousand; any more would be cheating. You can’t cheat anyone, not even yourself!" Tang Sheng wanted to laugh but held it in and promised to take care of it. Within three days, the matter was resolved, the woman left Hangzhou, and Tang Sheng earned a good amount. Who was the person seeking recommendation? It was the local grain official. He explained to Tang Sheng that he wanted Fu Fuyuan to provide him with a secret guarantee, and he was willing to pay for it. Fu Fuyuan agreed, and he immediately paid the money. This grain official, named Jia Xiaozhi, was a decent, honest man, rising from a county magistrate to a circuit intendant. He was good at sucking up and won Fu Fuyuan's favor. He really came through this time, so Fu Fuyuan wrote him a recommendation letter. There just happened to be an opening in Henan, and he was appointed as the censor of Henan. His farewell to colleagues and journey north for his new position? The rest is history.
This time, he was following his mother's orders and went with his family. When they were three days out from the capital and staying at an inn, he went to discuss with her: "Ma, could you run through that advice you gave when Father took that post in Zhejiang again? I don't want to forget a thing." His mother replied, "I remember those words." So, from the next stop where he started having lunch, when they were about two miles away from the inn, he had the sedan chair bearers rush ahead, get off at the inn's entrance, and wait on the street. Even when local officials came to pick him up, they could only stand with him. When he saw the shadow of his mother's sedan chair from afar, he had already knelt down. When the sedan chair arrived, he called out, "This son is here to receive Mother's arrival." His mother nodded from inside the sedan chair, and only then did he stand up, hold the sedan chair poles, and slowly push the sedan chair into the inn. She instructed from inside, "You are now a third-rank official of the court, in charge of all the prisons in the province. You must serve the court faithfully and not disappoint me or the teachings I gave you." Upon hearing this, he turned to face the sedan door and replied, "Yes, Mother. I will follow your teachings." After his mother got off the sedan chair, he quickly went forward to assist her into the house. After everything was arranged properly, he came out to greet the guests. This behavior earned praise from the officials who came to pick him up and the onlookers: "This official is truly filial!" He followed this ritual at midday rests and overnight stays, and when leaving the inn, he always knelt to see them off. Local officials, seeing this only once, found it odd. But the provincial officials escorting his mother for several days were truly astonished. They privately remarked, "The official kneels to receive his mother several times a day, which he should do. But the old lady's teachings are always the same, never changing. Why is that?" They understood perfectly.
On the third day, as they were nearing Kaifeng, he was even busier. In the morning, he came out of the store to see her off, then met her for lunch and offered his respects, and after lunch, he escorted her again. Five miles outside the city, he dismounted and performed a kowtow. When they reached the city gate, all the provincial officials came out to greet him. After the prescribed rituals were performed, he walked alongside the old lady's sedan chair, offering support as they moved from outside the city to inside. Upon reaching the gate of the official residence, he knelt down again. Along the way, the old lady gave him a series of instructions, and he kept repeatedly bowing and offering his humble obedience. After settling the old lady, he went to pay respects to the Vice Minister. Everyone knew he was a filial son and respected him greatly.
On the day of receiving the official seal, he went to the imperial palace to express his gratitude, kowtowed, and insisted on inviting the old lady to come out and bow as well. The old lady, dressed in a fine robe, was carefully carried out on a bamboo chair by two stewards. Jia Naitai personally assisted the old lady down from the sedan chair to bow. When the old lady kowtowed, he knelt behind her; when the old lady finished bowing, he stood up, bowed to her, and said, "Your son has been granted the position of Inspector of Henan by the grace of the Emperor. Today is the first day of receiving the official seal, and I must seek guidance from the old lady in all matters." Just as the old lady was about to sit down and speak, she suddenly coughed violently. Jia Naitai hurriedly helped the old lady sit down and gently massaged her back. The stewards brought tea. After the old lady sat for a while and stopped coughing, she suddenly brought up phlegm and felt dizzy and unable to sit still. Several officials suggested, "The old lady is old and cannot bear the exhaustion. It's better to have someone carry her chair to her room for rest." The old lady also knew she was clearly overexerted, so she had to let them carry her inside. Jia Naitai followed her to the room, busy for a while before coming out. The subsequent formalities, including visits to his superiors, are omitted here.
After he took office, he did everything himself and rarely delegated. For cases reported by prefectures and counties requiring court hearings, he personally presided over the trial. Upon seeing a criminal, he'd ask, "Do you have grievances?" Honest convicts wouldn't dare plead innocence; they would just repeat their confession, and that would be the end of it. Cunning ones, however, would be beaten and tortured, still screaming their innocence. After local officials completed the interrogations, convictions, and paperwork, he'd simply declare the case closed, and the criminals would happily delay the process. If a convict cried innocence, Jia would immediately halt proceedings, sending a document to the local county yamen to summon the plaintiffs and witnesses for a new trial. He said his Ma had taught him that. She said, "Life's precious; can't be rushed. If you wrong someone, when they meet the King of Hell after death, they will come back to claim your life." Jia feared vengeful ghosts above all else, so he followed his Ma's teachings with extra caution. Nine out of ten convicts claimed innocence. Jia had no choice but to detain the criminals while sending documents to various prefectures and counties. Within a month, every jail was overflowing. Ninety-nine out of a hundred cases remained unresolved. The families of the deceased, victims, witnesses, and neighbors from all over, as well as guests from inns in the provincial capital, were all crowded in. Many were broke, stuck, and unable to return home.
The old lady had read about Bao Zheng and Shi Shilun, those famous officials who used to go undercover to seek justice for the people. Jia Nie kept this in mind and often changed into plain clothes, slipping out of the courthouse to check out what was going on in the streets. After half a year, one evening, he came out alone, walked for a while, and felt a bit tired. Suddenly, he saw a fortune teller by the roadside, with a table, a chair, and the fortune teller sitting alone under the lamplight reading a book. Several stools sat nearby. Tired from his walk, Jia Nie spotted an empty stool and sat down. The fortune teller quickly greeted him, thinking he had come for a reading. Jia Nie said, "Nah, just resting my feet." Seeing no business, the fortune teller went back to his book, ignoring Jia.
