The woman stood rooted to the spot after beating her husband to death.
The child had somehow remained conscious and stopped crying, struck dumb with terror by his dead father and savage mother.
Several breaths later, the middle-aged woman loosened her grip, and the wooden club fell to the ground. The madness slowly faded from her face, clarity returned to her eyes, and then horror overtook her.
"What have I done? What have I done? I..." Panic left her utterly at a loss. Finally, she hurled herself headfirst into a pillar.
Hearing something amiss, the neighbors hurried over to investigate, then scattered in terror to summon the constables. Before long, men from the yamen arrived, took the woman away, and made arrangements for the child.
The county magistrate convened an emergency hearing. He stared blankly at the woman below, whose head was split and bleeding from the collision. Then the head constable hurried up and whispered, "Your Honor, the words 'not guilty' are written on her left hand. They're faintly glowing, for some reason."
The magistrate hurriedly said, "Raise her hand and let me see."
A constable pried open the woman's hand and held it high. The magistrate studied it, then looked up at the dense clouds massed outside the yamen. After a moment's thought, he summoned her neighbors for questioning, then declared, "Heaven has punished the unfilial, and I bear responsibility. This woman is not guilty, but she is not without fault. Take her into custody for now. I will pass judgment tomorrow."
Ink County, only twenty li from the Yangtze River, was a major ink-producing county renowned throughout the Qing Kingdom.
In Pig Intestine Alley on the western side of the city, a commotion filled the entrance to the old Qiao family home. An untold number of people