20. Testing Schemes②

The capital’s yamen

Yamens quickly brought Yan Wu to the court; behind him followed his parents. Upon seeing that it was Shang Zhixia presiding, Yan’s mother breathed a sigh of relief and turned happily to her husband, saying, “Thank goodness it’s Zhixia handling the case—our son is saved!” Hui Yue’er and Zhao Chengxian stood nearby and overheard her words. Yue’er felt uneasy, unsure if the magistrate would truly judge impartially. She did not yet know that Zhao Chengxian had deliberately arranged for this case to be tried here; otherwise, the middle-aged woman could have filed her complaint elsewhere.

The moment the middle-aged woman saw Yan Wu, she lost all reason, lunging at him with fists and tears, cursing as she struck: “You damned beast, give me back my husband and daughter’s lives! Bastard, you’re worse than a pig or a dog. My daughter and husband will haunt you even in death…” Her face was creased with grief as she sobbed. Yan Wu shoved her aside with one hand, and she fell heavily to the ground.

Yan Wu, looking unruffled, straightened his wrinkled clothes with an air of disdain. “Aren’t you just after more money? Name your price—just stop troubling my cousin!” To him, two human lives were as trivial as cabbages and radishes, their worth reducible to a sum of money. His callousness was chilling—a true lost cause, the very image of an incorrigible wastrel.

The woman was speechless with rage, only able to weep silently by the side. Hui Yue’er nearly rushed forward to beat Yan Wu herself, never having seen such brazen wickedness; but Zhao Chengxian caught her in time, signaling her to keep watching.

Hearing his cousin’s words, Shang Zhixia was bitterly disappointed. He resolved to judge the case according to the law. Staring at Yan Wu, he thundered, “Yan Wu, how dare you not kneel in the presence of the court?” Only then did Yan Wu kneel, though with obvious reluctance, his face full of resentment and contempt. Shang Zhixia raised his voice again: “Yan Wu, Wang Liu-shi accuses you of beating her husband to death and driving her daughter to suicide. Do you confess?”

Since childhood, Yan’s parents had spoiled him, indulging his every whim and fostering his arrogance. He had grown to believe that money could buy anything in the world. But could money truly buy a life?

Even now, Yan Wu thought merely paying compensation would suffice. He looked at Shang Zhixia with an easy smile, saying, “Cousin, isn’t ‘confess’ a bit much? So two people died—how much compensation do they want