The case

In the rear courtyard of the prefect's residence in Huai'an Commandery, several officials were conversing in low voices.

A fat, middle-aged man with a broad face and large ears asked, "Where have the Black Robe Guards from the Imperial Capital gone now?"

A man dressed as a Court Clerk hurriedly replied, "Your lordship, Clerk Ye has already received them. I heard they went to the Heavenly Prison to interrogate Sun Liu in person."

"They didn't ask me to receive them?"

The Court Clerk shook his head. "My lord, you are a bona fide civil official of the Principal Fifth Rank. Powerful though the Black Robe Guard may be, they cannot cover the sky with one hand. Surely you needn't personally receive every random person who comes along?"

"Having Clerk Ye receive them is quite sufficient!"

The prefect grunted in agreement. "You have a point. Tell outsiders that I have caught a chill and am resting in bed, unable to receive visitors.

"Also, don't offend those little devils from the Black Robe Guard. Have all the lavish gifts prepared. Whatever they want, whether silver or women, arrange it for them as long as they don't go too far."

The adviser smiled. "Rest assured, my lord. I have already made arrangements with the Green Cloud Tower. Assistant Prefect Li will personally host a banquet for them tonight.

"They're all young, at an age when their blood runs hot. Put a courtesan in each of their rooms tonight, and I guarantee they won't grow branches outside the main bough and cause you trouble!"

"Good, good!" The prefect was thoroughly pleased. He patted the adviser's shoulder. "With you handling things, I can rest easy. Do as you said!"

Inside the Heavenly Prison, Song Xuan and the female prisoner, Sun Liu, were staring at each other.

In truth, although the woman was married, she looked only a little over twenty. Even after suffering torment in the Heavenly Prison and becoming haggard, traces of her delicate beauty were still visible on closer inspection.

"Think carefully. This is your last chance. If you don't want to ride the wooden horse through the streets for public humiliation, tell me: did you commit adultery or not?"

Sun Liu looked fearfully at Song Xuan. Too ashamed to voice certain things, she instinctively turned toward Song Qian.

But a moment later, her gaze returned to Song Xuan.

Forget it. That girl from the Black Robe Guard looks like a vicious one. This young man seems kinder.

"My lord, I have been wronged!"

Sun Liu knelt on the ground, tears finally spilling from her eyes. "My lord, I've been wronged! Truly wronged! I was forced! I really didn't commit adultery!"

"My lord, I can die, but I cannot die bearing the disgrace of adultery!

"I was wronged! I was forced! I didn't commit adultery! I didn't!"

The woman grew agitated, repeatedly insisting that she had not committed adultery. Yet whenever Song Xuan asked what had actually happened, she became incoherent, stammering and unable to explain.

"Enough!"

Song Xuan sighed and instructed Monkey, who stood outside the cell, "Go outside the city and bring the prisoner's husband here!"

Then he turned to Clerk Ye. "Sorry for the trouble, Clerk Ye, but please send a few bailiffs with him."

Clerk Ye wasted no words. He immediately assigned several bailiffs, who hurried out of the Heavenly Prison with Monkey.

Over two hours later, they dragged a farmer into the cell.

The moment the man saw the woman kneeling on the ground, he cursed angrily. "You bitch! What nonsense have you been spouting now?"

Finding his shouting irritating, Song Xuan signaled with his eyes for Lu Xiaoliu to quiet him down.

Lu Xiaoliu immediately stepped forward and drew the longsword at his waist with a clang. "You dare shout in front of the Black Robe Guard? Tired of living?"

At the sound of the weapon being drawn, the man immediately behaved himself. When he saw the icy look in Lu Xiaoliu's eyes, his legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"My lord, I've been honest all my life! I've never done anything wrong! You mustn't falsely accuse an innocent man!"

Song Xuan could not be bothered to waste words on him. "Answer whatever I ask. If you tell even half a lie, I'll send you to the Black Robe Guard Imperial Prison for dinner!"

At the mention of the Black Robe Guard Imperial Prison, not only the farmer but even Clerk Ye and the other bailiffs outside the door shuddered.

That place was nothing less than the King of Hell's court built in the mortal world. Once someone entered, they could forget about coming out in one piece.

"Tell me: were you the one who reported your wife's adultery to the authorities?"

The man hesitated, instinctively looking outside the cell as though asking whether he could speak.

Before he could receive an answer, however, Lu Xiaoliu's longsword was already resting against his neck.

The man instantly lost his nerve.

"My lord, these days, how would ordinary folk like us dare report anything to the authorities?"

"Oh?"

Song Xuan's interest was immediately piqued. "Tell me everything you know in detail!"

"All right! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

The man drew a deep breath and began from the beginning.

"I was a tenant farmer outside the commandery seat, earning my living by working for others. We weren't wealthy, but we managed to get by. Over the years, we saved a little money.

"Perhaps it was good fortune I accumulated in my previous life, but a matchmaker introduced me to a wife as beautiful as a flower. Who in the village didn't envy me?"

As he spoke of his marriage, he looked at his wife, who knelt with her head lowered, quietly sobbing. His eyes were filled with conflicting emotions.

"Please don't laugh at me, my lord, but farmers like us have never seen much of the world. My wife's looks might not compare to the young ladies of wealthy families, but throughout all the villages for miles around, she was famous for her beauty."

He glanced sheepishly at Song Xuan, then at Song Qian, feeling rather embarrassed. Beautiful though his wife was, her looks still fell short of these two.

"Skip the nonsense. Tell me what happened next!" Song Xuan urged.

"Yes, yes. Next..." The man swallowed, his face full of regret. "Then disaster came."

"One evening, I returned from working in the city and found a woman sitting outside our yard's fence. She looked pitiful, as though she was resting.

"I went over to ask about her. She said her name was Xiao Li and that she came from the neighboring Huaiyang Commandery.

"Xiao Li said she had been married for five years, but after her husband died last year, his family had abused her in every way. Even her father-in-law had improper designs on her.

"She couldn't bear it any longer and secretly ran away. Now she had wandered here and used up all her travel money, so she wanted to stay at our house for one night."

The man paused briefly, then said in embarrassment, "I felt sorry for her, so I agreed."

Song Qian scoffed. "You thought she was pretty, didn't you? Tell me, if an old woman had come asking to stay at your house for a night, would you have agreed?"

The man lowered his head in shame. "I suppose... perhaps... I might have?"

Song Xuan waved a hand and asked, "Was this woman connected to the case?"

"Yes! She was the reason all this happened!"

Song Xuan nodded. "Then keep talking!"