Chapter 51: The Foolish Magistrate Decides Family Matters

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Within the magistrate’s office of Anping County, the atmosphere was peculiar. Fortunately for Wang Gemao’s ill-tempered nature, he never failed to leave the people unsettled, for no one could guess what schemes the magistrate was plotting. Ever since it became known that Chief Constable Zhang’s family held considerable prestige in Anping, Wang Gemao had made an enemy of him. It was strange indeed; a muddle-headed official making no effort to forge ties with the local powers, preferring instead to stir trouble within his own ranks—what could it mean?

Liu Chengyu, though a minor official without real authority, led a comfortable life in the yamen. Upon learning that Magistrate Wang often visited Magistrate Sima’s residence alone, Liu heightened his vigilance, instructing Liu Buwen and Luo Gan to maintain contact and seize any opportunity to catch Magistrate Wang off guard.

The day after the bamboo grove guild meeting, coinciding with the local plum blossom festival, Wang Gemao found himself bored in the yamen. When the drum sounded outside the hall, he impatiently ordered Chief Constable Zhang to bring people in for routine business. During his year in office, he had dealt with nothing but trivial matters, unable to display his “grand talents,” leaving him listless and discontented.

Upon entering the hall, he saw only a young couple. Not yet inside, Wang Gemao peered out and saw them bringing their marital quarrels to the public court—were these people so idle as to parade their petty conflicts before the authorities?

Wang Gemao propped his cheek in his palm, turning his face aside as the couple knelt before him.

Wang Gemao mumbled, “Your Honor, I have grievances to present!”

Below, the wife echoed, “Your Honor, I have grievances to present!”

Without a glance at the couple, Wang Gemao continued muttering, “Your Honor, it is I who truly have grievances. I beg your discerning judgment!”

Below, the husband replied, “Your Honor, it is I who truly have grievances. I beg your discerning judgment!”

Wang Gemao waved them away, unwilling to listen. He was thoroughly bored of these hackneyed pleadings.

Wang Gemao said, “Go away, go away. I’m not in the mood to waste time on you.”

The husband and wife looked at each other in confusion.

Wang Gemao’s lips twitched, he drank his tea and toyed with the turtle on his desk, pressing its head down whenever it poked out.

The wife bowed, pleading, “Your Honor! Please do justice for me. My husband is truly useless! All day he frolics with insects and birds, never striving, lazy and gluttonous. We can no longer go on.”

The husband, furious, retorted, “You! Slandering me—lazy and gluttonous? Since our marriage, haven’t I cared for our family? You wasteful woman, always working against us. Who knows how much gold has disappeared from our home? Today, with Your Honor here, tell me—did you secretly sell it?”

Unable to bear the humiliation, he slapped his wife, leaving a red mark on her face. She burst into tears, aggrieved.

Wang Gemao continued playing with his turtle, paying no heed to the case. Chief Constable Zhang, seeing Wang Gemao’s indifference, grew even more frustrated with the magistrate’s disregard for the people.

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The wife wept, “For years since our wedding, I have done my utmost for you, yet you… only care for your own pleasure, neglecting both young and old in the family. If I hadn’t sold our jewelry, we would have starved long ago! You are bound to face retribution!”

The husband, unable to comprehend, angrily rebuked her and turned to Wang Gemao with a bow.

Husband: “Your Honor, please see clearly! She deceives and confounds, knowing neither gratitude nor propriety!”

Wang Gemao finally lost patience, signaling them to stop. The room fell silent as he waited for the turtle to poke its head out again, then slapped its shell with a dull thud.

“Since neither of you will yield, very well, I shall judge. You, as the wife, airing your husband’s faults in court—what decorum is this?”

The wife cried even louder. The husband, thinking himself victorious, grinned with pride.

Wang Gemao continued, “But as the saying goes, filial piety is the root of all virtue. You, as the husband, failed to care for your family, nearly causing their starvation—deserving of punishment! Thirty strokes, bring the bench!”

Chief Constable Zhang was taken aback. The nearby clerks immediately pinned the husband down, ignoring his pleas, and began delivering the blows.

The wife finally ceased her crying, a hint of satisfaction appearing on her face. Yet as the strokes mounted, the husband cried out in pain, making the wife anxious and worried for him—these subtle changes did not escape Wang Gemao’s notice.

The wife knelt, pleading for mercy for her husband, “Your Honor! My husband may have erred, but I beg you to show leniency!”

Wang Gemao feigned surprise, “Oh? Now you plead? Weren’t you just wishing him retribution?”

The wife was deeply troubled, repeatedly knocking her head on the floor, occasionally appealing to Chief Constable Zhang.

Wife: “Chief Constable Zhang, please speak for us! You know my husband is not a bad man!”

Chief Constable Zhang looked pained, unable to bear the scene.

Chief Constable Zhang bowed, “Your Honor, I beg you to show mercy. Ordinary people suffer enough from punishment; this family is not evil.”

Wang Gemao, seeing Zhang lose his temper and step forward, scoffed again.

Wang Gemao: “Impossible! Who decides good and evil? You only ask for the beating to stop, not for reconciliation? Continue!”

As the argument went back and forth, the beating continued, reaching over twenty strokes, and the husband was nearly unconscious.

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Seeing her husband’s dire state, the wife quickly apologized to Wang Gemao.

Wife: “Your Honor, we reconcile! There is no issue between us!”

Wang Gemao, satisfied, clapped his hands and slumped sideways in his chair.

Wang Gemao: “Very well! Stop.” The two clerks ceased beating, and Wang Gemao continued, “Next question: you said you sold the family’s gold jewelry, correct?”

The wife nodded.

Wang Gemao’s face was plastered with a false smile. “I must be responsible for the people, cannot simply turn a blind eye. Do you agree?”

The wife nodded again, and the battered husband nodded along.

Wang Gemao: “To prevent future disputes, based on the value of the sold jewelry, you must deposit the equivalent funds with the yamen as collateral. If you have no trouble within two years, you may redeem it. Understood?”

Neither the wife nor husband expected this turn of events—after suffering the beating, now they must compensate the yamen? What logic was this?

As confusion clouded their faces, Wang Gemao’s patience wore thin, and he slammed his palm heavily onto the turtle’s shell.

Wang Gemao, furious: “Do you understand?”

The couple had no choice but to accept their fate, replying affirmatively. Wang Gemao had them sign a statement and sent them away. Chief Constable Zhang was still in shock; after witnessing countless bizarre judgments from Wang Gemao throughout the past year, he could hardly believe how much more outrageous they had become.

Wang Gemao lazily stretched, stepping outside to gaze into the distance.

On the distant hills, all the blossoms had withered, leaving only groves of pines and cypresses. The townspeople sought solace by admiring the evergreens.

Wang Gemao, utterly at ease, muttered to himself, “It is yet another fine occasion—time to share joy with the people!”

With that, he led several constables to admire the pine and cypress. Chief Constable Zhang did not follow, his gaze burning with anger as he watched Wang Gemao’s figure recede, wishing nothing more than for the magistrate to stumble headlong into the snow and never rise again.