Chapter 11: A Violent Uproar at Yugeng Hall — Jue Xing Profits Twice from Private Dealings

Now, Gui Xing had seen how badly things were going and hurried to send Xi Lai to fetch Jue Xing, while he himself stayed to consult with Zong Kong. Jue Xing had not yet arrived, and there was no knowing how to manage things in the meantime. Zong Kong said, "She took the poison herself — it's not as if we forced it down her throat. What is there to fear?" Before the words were out of his mouth, Da An and Da Xian came staggering out together. Without a word of preamble, Da An strode up to Gui Xing, seized him by the front of his robe, and bellowed, "What illness carried off my daughter?"

At this, Gui Xing went pale as a sheet, his eyes glazed and his mouth stopped — he could not utter a single syllable. After a long moment he managed, "I don't know what illness it was either!" Da An released him with a shove, and Gui Xing, unable to keep his footing, stumbled backward several steps and sat down hard against a chair, striking his thigh with a thump. Da Xian stepped forward and dealt him two slaps across the face, sending sparks flashing before Gui Xing's eyes and setting his ears ringing. Zong Kong leaped up and pointed at Da Xian: "Hey, friend! If you have something to say, say it properly — why go straight to blows?" Da Xian roared back, "My niece has been murdered by you people — do you think I'll just let it pass?" Zong Kong said, "Ha! Which eye of yours saw us murder her? That little slut herself—" Before he could finish, Da Xian was already on him, and landed a fist square in his face. Zong Kong raised his arms to block, and the two men grappled and scuffled. Zong Kong seized his moment and shoved Da Xian hard in the chest; Da Xian lost his balance and fell backward onto the central hall table, sending a three- or four-foot antique porcelain vase crashing to the floor in fragments. Da Xian snatched up a piece of Yingde stone from the table and hurled it at Zong Kong. Zong Kong ducked his head, and the stone flew over him and shattered the glass window.

Zong Kong grabbed a porcelain spittoon from the floor and flung it back. This opened the floodgates: Da Xian stopped trying to hit people and instead picked up a large Western clock and hurled it into the courtyard with a tremendous crash, smashing it to bits. He then broke a Chai kiln flower dish into sixteen or more pieces, and every piece of art and calligraphy on display was swept away in the melee. By this point Zong Kong had lost all composure. The twenty-odd He family kinsmen inside heard the commotion and came pouring out to join the fight. The Ling family ruffians, seeing Zong Kong and Da Xian at each other's throats, were about to pile in to help, but Ling Mei Xian held them back: "A real man fights one-on-one — there's no glory in ganging up." The others stayed their hands. When they then saw the He family kinsmen pour out, they surged forward and went at them pair by pair, turning the great four-pillared hall into a battlefield. Da An simply kept one hand clamped on Gui Xing and sat beside him, terrified Gui Xing would flee. Zong Kong was chasing Da Xian when suddenly someone tugged at him from behind — he turned and saw it was Mei Xian, holding out a clay jar. Zong Kong took it, looked at it, and broke into a grin. He pressed forward, fixed his eyes on Da Xian, took careful aim, and brought the jar down squarely on his head. With a great crack the jar broke apart, and a stream of liquid filth — night soil — poured over Da Xian from head to foot. Da Xian let out an involuntary cry; as his mouth flew open, a good deal of the filth ran in. Zong Kong had already stepped away.

Da Xian made straight for Gui Xing and crashed into him, grabbing Gui Xing's fine silk robe to wipe himself. At that moment Gui Xing's wits returned under pressure: he spun around, seized Da An with both hands, gave him a kick with his foot, then yanked him forward and gave him a shove. Da An tumbled into Da Xian, and Gui Xing, still caught in Da An's grip, was dragged down with them. All three went sprawling in a heap, everyone plastered in filth, filling the room with an extraordinary fragrance. Zong Kong clapped his hands and shouted, "Gentlemen! Take off your clothes, quickly!" That single remark brought all three to their senses. They all stripped off their robes at once. Gui Xing seized the chance to bolt for the inner rooms. But the maidservants and women servants inside had been driven out by the He family men amid much fighting and uproar, and in their panic had barred the inner door, so Gui Xing could not get through. Then came a tremendous crash that seemed to shake heaven and earth: the great signboard inscribed "Yugeng Hall" had been knocked down with a bamboo pole. The echoes had barely faded when a great shout rang out: "Nobody move — I am here!" Gui Xing looked up, and saw that it was Qu Jue Xing.

Jue Xing stepped through the main gate and swept forward, separating the brawling pairs one by one. He would separate two men, then move to the next pair — but by the time he reached those two, the first pair had gone at it again. With great effort he finally pulled everyone apart. Then Jue Xing raised his voice: "No more fighting, anyone — this is not a matter to be settled with fists! Gui Xing, my worthy nephew, come and sit in the center. Members of the He family, please take seats on the east side. Our Ling family people, sit on the west side, and let us discuss things calmly." He also called Da Xian to sit in the center and said, "I ask you, sir, to settle your kinsmen down for the moment, let the tempers cool, and speak reasonably." Then he told Gui Xing, "Worthy nephew, keep your own people in check — no more fighting." With that, he took Da An by the arm and led him to the study, where, seeing him covered in filth, he called for water to be brought so he could wash his face, then had the inner door opened and a change of clothes fetched for him.

Jue Xing began: "Your daughter is gone. Fighting will not settle this — she cannot be brought back to life no matter how long you fight. You are, after all, relatives. Why make it worse? In my humble view, let your son-in-law apologize properly and make amends, and that will be the end of it." Da An was washing his face, and laughed coldly: "I understand what you are saying, sir — but do you know how my daughter died?" Jue Xing said, "I have only been told she died from taking opium." Da An said, "Exactly. My perfectly good daughter was given in marriage to him — why would she take her own life for no reason? Ling Gui Xing thinks that because he has money and power he can drive a wife to her death and then buy my silence with cash. I have seen money before — it does not move me!" Jue Xing said, "Then what is it you wish to do, sir?"

Da An said, "Since she died an unnatural death, the body must be examined by an official, and the matter judged by the court." Jue Xing said, "Good! That is a sound course of action, and I agree entirely. Nor need you trouble yourself to report it to the authorities — the Ling family can do so as well. But there is one point I must raise: after the official comes and examines the body, how do you suppose he will rule? You may not have read the legal codes yourself, but you are an educated and reasonable man. I ask you frankly: if the examination finds she took poison of her own accord, is there any statute under which another party can be held liable for her death? If there is no basis for that, why go through the examination? Furthermore, she was a daughter married out — she had entered his household, and they have a son of five. There is another matter: I doubt there is any law compelling a son-in-law to pay condolence money to a father-in-law. Even if the county magistrate ignores the statutes and forces Gui Xing to pay you a sum — even then, the knowing world will say of you that you are using a corpse to extort money, or that you are selling your daughter's body. Are you willing to bear that reputation?" Da An said, "Still, it was the abuse she suffered there that drove her to end her life." Jue Xing said, "And your evidence of abuse? In the examination, your daughter's remains will be exposed outdoors for the coroner to inspect — and there will almost certainly be no wounds found. Moreover, Gui Xing has no concubines — if he had taken a concubine, you might at least have grounds to allege 'mistreatment.' But can you point to a single piece of evidence? You have none whatsoever. On the other hand, there is clear and irrefutable evidence on the other side. After you report to the authorities and the official arrives — on one hand the body examination, on the other the scene inspection — can the state of this hall still be called respectable? Barely short of having the roof pulled down. And those antiques and paintings are not without value. At that point the case will be divided in two: the matter of death will follow its own statutory course; the matter of trespass and destruction — not to mention that Gui Xing is unlikely to let that go quietly — when prices are set and the court orders compensation, it could easily run to ten or eighteen thousand taels. If you say the things are not worth that much, you will simply be asked to replace them in kind."

This speech left Da An speechless, staring blankly. Jue Xing turned away and went out to speak with Gui Xing. He was gone for quite some time before returning and sitting down without a word. Da An finally broke the silence: "In your view, sir, how should this be handled?" Jue Xing said, "This is your affair — why are you asking me? I see no easy resolution. When I just now went out to speak with Gui Xing, he had only one thing to say: 'Not even my own father has ever made me swallow such an indignity.' I have no idea how you two will settle this." He gave a cold laugh: "And for no reason at all, a dead woman lies there in her bed, and not a single geomancer has been called — to say nothing of anything else." Da An said, "No more words — I ask you to mediate this on my behalf." Jue Xing said, "How can I mediate without knowing your wishes?" Da An said, "Whatever you think best, I will agree to." Jue Xing said, "Without knowing what you want, I have no footing to stand on." Da An said, "I have no demands — I only want my son-in-law to give me some face." Jue Xing, hearing this, went out and drew Gui Xing aside for a murmured conference, then came back in: "I have done my best to bring him around. He is willing to let the matter of the damaged property go entirely, and will additionally offer one thousand silver taels to dry your tears." Da An bowed his head and thought for a moment — his answer was slow in coming. Jue Xing stood up: "Make up your mind now — if you agree, agree; if not, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave. Your name is He, Gui Xing's name is Ling, and mine is Qu — you may go on creating whatever chaos you like. I am quite content to sit back and watch the spectacle." He made as if to go. Da An reached out and grabbed his sleeve: "Please don't rush, sir — I will agree. But my daughter must have a proper coffin and burial clothes, and the seven-times-seven, forty-nine days of Buddhist rites and masses for the dead must not be skipped." Jue Xing said, "That is a matter of the Ling family's standing — you may set your mind at rest. Since you have agreed, please return home. The money I will deliver on his behalf within three days." Da An said, "Then I will wait at home for three days. You must not break your word." Jue Xing said, "I am a man of my word — how could I break it?" With that, they came out of the study together. Da An went inside to weep over his daughter one last time, then gathered his kinsmen and departed in a general dispersal.

Jue Xing saw them out the main gate, then turned back inside, clapped his hands, and laughed heartily: "Ha! My tongue has driven them off! This matter was genuinely tricky — if he had truly gone ahead and reported it for a coroner's examination, it would not have led to any great calamity, but the examination might well have dragged out the story of my cousin's niece hanging herself as well. A family like ours losing two people to self-inflicted deaths in under three days, alarming the authorities — wouldn't that have made us a complete laughingstock? As it stands, a little over two thousand taels of silver has resolved everything. How satisfying!" Zong Kong said, "How did it come to more than two thousand taels?" Jue Xing said, "Da An wants one thousand taels for his tears; Da Xian wants five hundred; the rest of the kinsmen he brought — twenty-four people in all, fifty each — comes to one thousand two hundred. That makes two thousand seven hundred taels total." Then to Gui Xing: "They have all agreed. They ask that when the bank notes are written tomorrow, one be for one thousand, one for five hundred, and the remaining twenty-four each for fifty, so they can each take their own." Gui Xing agreed to everything, and with that the coffin was ordered, monks and Taoist priests were engaged, and the mourning rites began.

What happened next? Read on to the next chapter.