Chapter 17: Liang Tian Lai Dies of Shock at the Dreadful News — Magistrate Huang Examines the Bodies After Breaking Open the Stone Hall

Now, Tian Lai and his brother had departed at lamplight time, bidding farewell to their mother Ling Shi, each leaving a few final words with their wives, then taking Yang Fu with them and boarding a boat to the provincial capital. When they arrived at Tian He Trading House, all the shop hands were startled: "Old Mistress's birthday is tomorrow, and Brother Liang and the others were just going home to raise a cup in her honor — what brings you back at this hour?" Tian Lai let out a long sigh and told them everything: how Zhang Feng had come with the warning, all the way through to how they had fled to avoid danger. Just then the shop's head bookkeeper slapped the table and cried out, "Ah, Brother Liang! What a serious mistake you have made! Once you had Zhang Feng's warning, you should have kept Zhang Feng there as a witness, then simultaneously reported the matter to both the civil and military yamens to have it on record, while gathering the constables, night-watchmen, and local militia to lie in ambush on all four sides — either to capture the attackers, or to mount a guard at the gate. That would have been the right course of action! Instead, why did you and your father and brother leave together, abandoning all the women in the house? What if tomorrow, when you return, something has happened to the old mistress — then what? Ai! This truly defies reason!" These few words so frightened Tian Lai that he gaped open-mouthed, his soul scattering — he stamped his feet and cried, "What is to be done now?" Jun Lai also said, "We are cursed fools! How could we not have thought of this? Now what can we do? Even if we rush back, it will be too late!" Yang Fu said, "But Zhang Feng said they intended to 'kill every male, spare every female' — the women might be all right." The bookkeeper said, "Young Master! You are usually quite quick-witted — why can't you see this? When the men are at home, they say such things. But now that all the men have left, and they find no men at all — will they not vent their fury on the women instead?" Yang Fu fell silent at this. Tian Lai leaped to his feet: "Enough talk! Let us go straight back tonight!" The bookkeeper said, "Brother Liang, there is no need to panic just yet. Even if we called a fast boat right now, we could not reach your home until the fifth watch (approximately 3-5 am). What if we blundered straight into the raiders? Better to wait until dawn." In his agitation, Tian Lai's mind had lost its moorings; hearing this, he stopped again. The other shop hands all fell to debating the matter noisily.

That whole night, Tian Lai and his two companions did not sleep. Two shop hands stayed up with them to keep watch until dawn. Tian Lai passed the night with his heart pounding — one moment burning hot with sweat, the next turning ice cold — and the three men groaned and sighed in an unbroken chain. By the time daylight began to pale, Tian Lai was ready to go again. The bookkeeper, who had been keeping him company through the night, by now was dozing in a state of forward-and-backward near-collapse. Hearing Tian Lai wanting to leave again, he roused himself with difficulty: "Brother Liang! We have endured the night — a little while longer will not matter. If anything has happened at home, the messenger will arrive shortly. If you go now, you will be going in the wrong direction." Hearing this, Tian Lai sat down again. Before long all the shop assistants were up, bustling about opening the shop for the day.

Tian Lai could not sit still; he would get up to look outside, then come back in and sigh. All at once he saw Qi Fu come staggering in, barefoot and soaked in sweat, gasping for breath: "Master — something terrible!..." He managed only that one sentence, then lost his footing and tumbled to the ground with a thud, bursting into loud weeping. Jun Lai was frightened out of his wits and wanted urgently to ask, but could not get out a single word. Yang Fu was already cold all over, even his tongue gone numb. When they looked at Tian Lai — he did not say a word; his face had gone white as paper; his lips were blue; his black eyes were rolling upward in their sockets. Yang Fu was about to call out "Father!" when Tian Lai suddenly lurched backward, rigid, and fell flat on his back with a terrible sound. Yang Fu let out a wail and began to weep. Jun Lai managed at last to cry out, "Brother! What is happening?" The shop hands rushed about in confusion, fetching ginger broth, hot water, and restorative powder, pouring them in and massaging for a long while before he slowly came around. Jun Lai and Yang Fu helped him sit up. By this point Qi Fu, frightened into silence, had stopped weeping and was actually trying to comfort him: "Sir, please don't lose heart — nothing truly irreversible may have happened at home." Tian Lai said, "Tell me — what happened last night? Quickly!" Qi Fu said, "Last night near the end of the first watch, the raiders came. I gave the warning to those inside, told everyone to close the inner gate, and I hid in the pool that can never be filled. Before long the raiders broke open the main gate, then used fire to break through the inner gate. I was too frightened to show my face. What happened after that, I do not know. Our neighbor Uncle Han Zhao and the surrounding neighbors, though they beat gongs and called for help from their rooftops, could not get anyone to come. The noise was deafening and went on until near the end of the third watch — almost the fourth watch — before the raiders finally left. I crawled out and went inside to look. I found the stone hall's heavy gate firmly shut, with a great heap of unburned straw ash piled outside the door, the fire still glowing within! I called out to open the door, but no matter how I shouted until my throat broke, no one answered. I was terrified, and at once hired the fastest narrow boat (lingzai) I could find and came to report to you, sir, to ask you to return home immediately and decide what to do."

Hearing this, Tian Lai knew it was far more likely to be catastrophe than not, yet he could only cling to one thread of hope. He hurriedly brought Jun Lai, Yang Fu, and Qi Fu, hired a fast boat, and flew back toward Tancun. When they arrived home, they found remnants of fire still smoldering, and the scene in great disorder — only the stone hall's heavy gate remained closed as before. Han Zhao was already there, wringing his hands in desperation. Tian Lai and his brother saw him, but had no time for words; they pushed aside the straw ash and hammered on the gate, calling out for a long time — not a sound in response. While they stood there in a panic, they saw Inspector Li arrive in a sedan chair, with the local constable Li Yi accompanying him in front. Inspector Li made a circuit of the outer and inner premises, then turned to Tian Lai and said, "Fortunately nothing has been stolen — that is something to be thankful for."

Tian Lai said, "There is no sound at all from within the stone hall — quite possibly there are lives lost inside. Moreover, the outer door has been set on fire and broken down — this is clearly the work of bandits. I respectfully ask Your Lordship to classify this as a bandit case and submit a detailed report." Inspector Li said, "The stone hall door was bolted from the inside — even if these were bandits, how would they have gotten inside to kill anyone? Unless the bandits also died inside!" Tian Lai said anxiously, "If Your Lordship is unwilling to file this as a bandit case, I will go myself and report it to the county." Inspector Li grew angry: "Your house clearly shows not a single thing missing — only fire damage, which for all we know may be the result of your own carelessness! You are very bold to claim banditry without any evidence." Tian Lai said, "Your Lordship need not be angry. Since the raiders left near the fourth watch last night, the stone hall door has not been opened. Once the door is opened — if all eight of the women inside are safe, I will not presume to make further trouble, and leave the matter to Your Lordship's report. But if something has happened inside, I will have no choice but to go directly to the county to make my report." Inspector Li thought for a moment — there was indeed something strange about this case — and said, "Very well. You have stonemasons sent for to chisel open the stone hall, while the constable goes to report to the county. I will also return to prepare my detailed report." Tian Lai thanked Inspector Li, and at once had stonemasons sent for while dispatching Qi Fu with the constable to report to the county yamen.

The Panyu county magistrate at this time was surnamed Huang, a native of Jiangxi, a man who had passed both civil examinations (two-degree graduate). He was known for being humane and conscientious — none of the bad habits of officialdom in later times. Since he had taken up his post in the third month of this year, the district had been orderly, and he had never dealt with a bandit or murder case. Hearing this report, he was greatly alarmed; hearing furthermore that the stone hall could not yet be opened, he knew something serious had happened. He assembled his law scribes, coroners, and bailiffs, and flew out to the countryside to conduct the inspection. By the time he arrived at Tancun, it was already around the shen hour (3-5 pm), and the two stonemasons were still working to cut open the stone hall — they had not yet broken through. He summoned Tian Lai and his brother, asked them a few preliminary questions, then called the constable Li Yi before him: "Last night there was a violent armed raid here, with the gate set on fire — did you report this to the civil and military authorities?" Li Yi bowed his head and knelt in silence. Magistrate Huang slapped the table and asked again; Li Yi said nothing. Magistrate Huang raged, "You dog! What do you have to say?" Li Yi said, "This humble man had the misfortune to have had a little too much to drink last night and was unaware of what happened." Magistrate Huang was furious; he issued the order for punishment, had Li Yi thrown to the ground, and dealt him a thousand light strokes of the paddle. He then summoned the neighbors for testimony; they all confirmed that seeing the raiders so numerous and powerful, they dared not intervene, and had climbed to their rooftops to beat gongs and shout for help, but no one had come. The magistrate dismissed them and summoned the gate-watchman Huang Yuan, who received five hundred strokes before the court. Then the magistrate left his seat and personally urged the stonemasons to chisel with all their strength. By now one panel of the stone door had been chiseled into a large hollow but had not yet been fully pierced through; he had a scaffolding erected, with a great iron hammer hung on it to swing against the door. After several dozen blows, at last a hole was made. Tian Lai went forward and bent down to crawl in through the hole — but the moment his head was lowered to the opening, a foul blast of coal gas rushed out at him, making his nose and eyes stream, and he doubled over coughing. One of the stonemasons nearby picked up a cloth, covered his mouth and nose, and crawled inside, drew back the iron bolt, and pushed open the stone door. A rolling stream of foul, faintly smoky air poured out without ceasing. The runners went in, and after a short while, carried out eight female corpses one by one. Tian Lai and his brother and son howled with grief; when they saw Ling Shi's body, they clung to it and wept and cried all the more. Yang Fu reached out and pressed his hand to her chest, then said, "Father, Uncle — do not weep just yet. Grandmother can still be saved." There was a great commotion as everyone fetched ginger broth and boiling water and tried to revive her; indeed Ling Shi gradually regained consciousness.

It emerged that everyone inside had been rendered unconscious by the smoke. The maidservant Cheng Shi had already collapsed rigid on the ground; when Ling Shi was groping about in the dark, she kicked against Cheng Shi's head, stumbled, and fell face-down. Her mouth and nose happened to land between Cheng Shi's thighs. Since smoke rises, Ling Shi, lying low to the ground, had access to a small amount of air, and so she did not die. Now she revived, looked about her, and saw corpses lying everywhere in disarray — and could not help but burst into weeping. Tian Lai could only console her and help her into the inner rooms, where a neighbor woman was asked to come and keep her company, while he himself returned outside to respond to the magistrate's questions.

Magistrate Huang ordered the coroner to inspect each of the seven female bodies carefully; the coroner reported that they had died from suffocation by smoke, with no other injuries. Tian Lai then submitted the names of the dead: "First, Tian Lai's wife Liu Shi; second, Jun Lai's wife Ye Shi; third, Yang Fu's wife Chen Shi; fourth, Tian Lai's daughter Gui Chan; fifth, hired servant woman Cheng Shi; sixth, maidservant Chun Tao; seventh, maidservant Qiu Ju." Magistrate Huang sighed: "This gang of raiders killed seven people in all!" He had the scribes fill in the coroner's forms. Jun Lai knelt and stepped forward to report: "My wife Ye Shi was five months with child. I beg Your Honor to note this and enter it in the case records as eight deaths." Magistrate Huang was startled; he quickly had the coroner perform the appropriate examination. The coroner took a fresh piece of roof tile, heated it red-hot in charcoal ash, then dipped it in vinegar, and while still hot pressed it against Ye Shi's abdomen. After a moment it was removed and presented to the magistrate. Magistrate Huang looked — on the tile, the faint shadow of a male child had appeared. He had the scribes enter this accordingly in the forms. Then, with a few words of consolation to Tian Lai, he instructed him to prepare his written complaint as quickly as possible so that the raiders could be pursued and captured, and departed for the yamen.

Tian Lai and his brother then, in the midst of their grief and sorrow, cleaned up the remnant ashes and purchased coffins to hold the seven bodies for burial. The particulars of that harrowing scene need not be dwelt upon here. As for Ling Gui Xing — when word of this reached him, he was so terrified that he lost control of his bowels and bladder. From that day forward, he opened wide his treasury and deployed the god of wealth, staging a dark and corrupt spectacle across the officialdom of Guangdong.

What ultimately came of it? Read on to the next chapter.