Chapter 10: Mediation

Jiao Guozha exerted pressure in the jail, and He Xianya successfully lured him in. The two worked in seamless coordination, leading Shopkeeper Zhou to confess to extortion and resisting official duties. He Xianya continued his intimidation: "Pang Yu suffered internal injury and spat blood on the spot, and to this day he is still far from recovery. Three doctors of Tongcheng can attest to it — the injury has reached the level of permanent disability. By law, Zhou Yongtian should be sentenced to strangulation."

Shopkeeper Zhou had never imagined it could reach the point of costing him his life. Lying on the ground, he could only wail. Zhou Yueru, her eyes red, said to her father, "I told you before — if you confessed to extortion, how could it be just a matter of compensating for injury? These people are beasts who devour men without spitting out the bones."

The Village Elder had been here a long time and had naturally seen plenty of the Litigation Trickster's tricks. By classifying this matter as a serious criminal offense, He Xianya placed it outside the mediation scope of the Shenming Pavilion.

But since they had come to the Shenming Pavilion, they clearly did not want to go to trial. These tactics were all methods to intimidate the accused — first bring out a death sentence, make sure the criminal is thoroughly cowed, and only then talk silver. In truth, He Xianya and his associates absolutely did not want Zhou Yongtian sentenced to strangulation — they did not even want cudgel punishment.

Because the county yamen only had the authority to impose caning punishment. Cudgel punishment required review by Anqing Prefecture, and strangulation required review by the Prefecture, the Branch Surveillance Circuit, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Ministry of Justice — the county yamen would then have little autonomy. With so many hands in the process, even if Shopkeeper Zhou were ruined and bankrupted, how much silver could He Xianya and his people get?

The Village Elder, of course, would not say this openly. In this case, Pang Yu's side was clearly the stronger party, and the Village Elder would never place himself in opposition to the strong. Seeing the state of the Zhou father and daughter, he knew the timing was about right, so he asked Pang Yu, "Since the Zhou Family has admitted to striking a person, Young Master Pang, you are the victim. If the Zhou Family pays silver, would you be willing to spare this Zhou Yongtian and settle the lawsuit?"

Seeing the Zhou Family Daughter weep, Pang Yu felt an inexplicable wave of satisfaction. Putting on a hesitant expression, he said, "I am of pure and kind character, and if I can spare him, I naturally will. But this matter is a heinous crime, known to all in Tongcheng. If Zhou Yongtian harms others again in the future, people will say that I, as a yamen runner, failed to uphold justice and enforce the law, thus leaving calamity in the human world. I too am in a difficult position."

The Village Elder watched Pang Yu put on a convincing act and felt utter contempt in his heart. He was well acquainted with Pang Yu's notorious reputation. Hearing the words "pure and kind character," he could not suppress a dry cough and said, "Zhou Yongtian has learned his lesson this time and presumably will not dare to do evil in the future. If this matter is settled, this old man can write it clearly in the Good and Evil Ledger, so all may see the circumstances. In that way, the common people will naturally understand Young Master Pang. Grant mercy where mercy is due, and the people will even say Young Master Pang is magnanimous."

Pang Yu, his breath faint, nodded and said, "I have always been a good man. Since Elder Wu says so, I will give Elder Wu face. However, the cost of medicine for the injury is considerable, and I have no choice. If the compensation is reasonable, I will withdraw the suit."

The Village Elder said, "Then Young Master Pang, name a figure."

Pang Yu shot He Xianya a look, signaling him to speak. He Xianya, still maintaining his refined and courteous manner, put away his folding fan and said, "Elder Wu, the matter of compensation is discussed in separate parts. First, there are the costs of medicine and nursing care. Second, there is the loss of wages. Thirdly — Young Master Pang's injury is to the head. At first glance it may seem not serious, but what is inside cannot be clearly stated, nor can the doctors give any guarantee. If the injury should relapse in the future, he still needs something to rely on."

Pang Yu looked at He Xianya with great appreciation. This man had a refined appearance and graceful bearing, yet he was precisely someone who did wicked deeds. The two temperaments mingled in him alone, much like certain financial consultants Pang Yu had worked with before. Naturally, Pang Yu felt a greater affinity for this familiar feeling.

Over on the other side, Zhou Yueru had turned her head away, biting her lip tightly, lost in thought — probably angered by her father.

He Xianya presented several sheets of paper to the Village Elder and continued, "Here are the prescriptions written by the doctors over these days. In total, ten doses of medicine were prescribed, priced at twenty-one taels of silver. Because Pang Yu's head injury is severe, and the greatest fear is wind entering, he still needs medicinal treatment and recuperation — at the very least, another thirty doses. The decoction and medicine cost is eighty-four taels. In the earlier days he could not leave his bed, so someone was hired to care for him, costing two taels. The subtotal is eighty-six taels."

Shopkeeper Zhou's hands began to tremble. Over eighty taels of silver was already an enormous sum, absolutely unaffordable for an ordinary household. Zhou Yueru did not even look at the prescription list. She knew these men were all from the yamen, and since she herself did not understand prescriptions, even if they claimed one hundred taels per dose, she could not refute it on the spot.

"Next, regarding wages. Young Master Pang has been at home for several days now. The Document Receiving Office will naturally dock his wages for this month, and how much more will be docked later is still uncertain. For now, we set it at five taels. Finally, regarding future reliance — Young Master Pang is still a youth. After taking that vicious blow from you, he has been babbling nonsense from time to time these days, which every neighbor and village elder knows. Many people say Young Master Pang has been, has been..."

He Xianya gave a dry cough, glanced at Pang Yu, and stopped speaking. Pang Yu lifted his head and added without the slightest concern, "They all say I've been beaten stupid." Having said this, he laid his head back down on the table.

Zhou Yueru lowered her brows and said coldly, "As if you weren't stupid before."

Ignoring her, He Xianya continued, "His brain has been somewhat addled. In the future, when serving in the yamen, his superiors will certainly not want Young Master Pang. Even if it were running his family shop for a livelihood, he absolutely could not do it. That means decades of livelihood — ah, and if he still needs someone to care for him, a mere bit of silver is better than nothing at all. A fine person reduced to this — truly, one cannot bear to think of it."

Jiao Guozha also heaved a sigh. He Xianya squeezed out half a tear to moisten the rims of his eyes — achieving this degree of emotion was already the limit of his feelings for Brother Pang. He made a show of wiping it away. The Village Elder, watching him perform with such apparent sincerity, chimed in obligingly with a sigh of his own.

Shopkeeper Zhou had long since been tormented into complete submission in the jail, and just now had confessed to striking a man after failed extortion. By this point, he was completely led by the nose by He Xianya. Wanting only to leave the jail cell as soon as possible, he said to He Xianya in a low, humbled voice, "Sir, there is no need to list item by item. Just name a figure — how much in total?"

"Two hundred and fifty taels!"

"Ah!"

Shopkeeper Zhou and Pang Yu cried out in alarm at the same time. Shopkeeper Zhou was one thing, but He Xianya had no idea why Pang Yu was exclaiming.

Pang Yu raised a hand and waved it, saying, "I'll be generous — let's reduce it by one tael. Two hundred and forty-nine taels."

Shopkeeper Zhou, his face crumpled in misery, said, "Even if you killed me, I could not produce so much silver."

Seeing that Zhou Yueru still had a stiff expression, Pang Yu thought for a moment and then teased, "Shopkeeper Zhou, I haven't even finished settling accounts for those two hundred-odd taels. Let me tell you the truth — this very morning, my mother-in-law came to my house, saying that because my head injury let the wind in, she absolutely must break off the engagement with my family. The ruckus made it known to all the neighbors. My wife is gone because of the ruckus, and I haven't even sought compensation from you for that. How about this — compensate me with your daughter as a concubine, and I'll reduce it by one hundred taels."

Jiao Guozha let out a lecherous chuckle at the side. This side of Pang Yu was the one he knew well.

Zhou Yueru spat and said angrily, "In your dreams. Even if you killed me, I would never marry someone like you."

Shopkeeper Zhou wept, "Runner Pang, if I could produce two hundred taels of silver, why would I have left my home and come all the way to Nanzhili to seek a living? No matter what, I cannot come up with so much. I only beg Young Master Pang to raise your noble hand, spare us father and daughter a little, and give the Zhou Family a way to live."

"Father, don't beg him..." Zhou Yueru patted her father's shoulder, and as she spoke, tears fell like a string of pearls. "They are making sky-high demands. We won't negotiate with them anymore. We'll go to trial with him, seek justice from the Father-and-Mother Officials. I don't believe there is no place to reason."

Jiao Guozha laughed heartily and said, "That suits us just fine. Brothers, take the prisoner back to the jail — and make sure you keep a close watch on him. Let me tell you, County Magistrate Gu has been promoted elsewhere, and now the matter of county administration is being handled by Magistrate Yang, the Susong County Magistrate. Lawsuits are piled up in a backlog, and public hearings are few and far between. For a case like yours, it might come up in two or three months."

At the mention of being taken back to jail for another two or three months, Shopkeeper Zhou knew he would not survive. He clung desperately to Pang Yu's trouser leg, and no matter how Zhou Yueru pulled, he would not get up. Tears and mucus streaming down his face, he said to Pang Yu, "Runner Pang, I beg you, don't send me back. I am willing to pay silver, but even if you fried my skin and stripped my bones, I truly do not have two hundred taels. Even if I sold all the goods in my shop, I could only scrape together eighty or ninety taels of silver. I beg you to spare me a little first."

Hearing this, Pang Yu now knew Shopkeeper Zhou's bottom line. Words spoken under such circumstances ought to have considerable credibility. Eighty or ninety taels was within an acceptable range — even a bit more than the fifty or sixty he had initially estimated. In any case, his injury was no longer a serious issue.

At that moment, the Village Elder spoke to Zhou Yueru, "Woman of the Zhou Family, what this gentleman just said is the truth. The Document Receiving Office originally held public hearings on the third, sixth, and ninth days, each time sending two or three lawsuits to trial. But now, no one knows how many can be heard. Magistrate Yang is acting as Tongcheng County Magistrate, but he is originally the proper magistrate of Susong. Even when he comes, he mainly handles rations and pay, and likely has little time to hear trials. There is already a long queue ahead — two or three months is an early estimate. Therefore, settling it now at the Shenming Pavilion is always more advantageous than waiting for trial. Furthermore, everyone saw your father strike a man on the head. Even in court, there is no chance of winning the case. Striking a person with an object — at that time, not only will you pay silver, but at the very least you will receive fifty strokes of the cudgel. When the plank comes down, if your fortune is poor, it would not be unheard of to lose both life and money. I am an old man with one foot in the grave; I would never speak false words to a young girl like you."

Zhou Yueru grew even more troubled upon hearing this. In the Ming Dynasty, yamens held public hearings on fixed schedules. Apart from major cases like robbery and homicide, all other lawsuits had to queue for a number. In the early Ming, customs were simple and honest, and there were not many cases in a year. After the mid-Ming, customs deteriorated, and litigants everywhere grew more and more numerous, often having to wait for quite some time. Her father had been locked up for only a few days and had already been tormented into this state — if he came out after two or three months, having half his life left would be considered good. And then there was talk of beating with the plank. The people they had offended were yamen runners — they could never win the lawsuit, and when the time came, the plank-wielders would beat him to death without a second thought. For a moment, she was at a complete loss.