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On the morning of the twenty-first, the villagers of Sister-in-law Village escorted Wang to the magistrate's office.
Seeing this, Chang Tai exchanged a glance with Shengzi. Knowing that he had taken care of last night's matters, he entered without hesitation to report to the magistrate and present the case.
It was unclear what substances were in Xing Ruyi's powder; during the trial, Wang's expression remained one of panic and fear. However, she did not hide any details during the questioning and readily revealed everything.
Wang stated that she initially agreed to marry Wang Laifu because she hoped he would be able to run a business, unlike other peasant families who spent their lives toiling in the fields.
Wang had high aspirations, always feeling that her life should be better than others', that her husband should be stronger than other men, and that her son could eventually become a top scholar. In the first few years, life indeed resembled what Wang had hoped for; although they were not wealthy, they were among the better-off families in the village. However, when Wang Laifu's sister died, he brought home two young girls without her consent. Suddenly, there were two more mouths to feed, increasing their expenses, yet Wang Laifu's business did not grow; he continued his usual routine of selling needles and threads in the streets.
Wang felt a surge of frustration but did not want to constantly argue with Wang Laifu. She knew that although he appeared honest and meek, he could be quite formidable when angered. If he were to divorce her, given her status and appearance, she might struggle to find another suitable match. Thus, despite her dissatisfaction, life continued as usual.
Qiao Qiao and her sister were relatively well-behaved and rarely spoke up for themselves, even when scolded or beaten by Wang. Gradually, Wang began to treat the two sisters with more kindness. She originally planned to help them find suitable in-laws when they grew up so that life could return to normal.
"Then why did you harbor murderous intentions towards Qiao Qiao?" The magistrate slammed his hand on the bench, causing Wang to tremble.
"In response to your honor," Wang said, looking at Wang Laifu standing nearby, "I truly did not mean it."
"People say that after ten years of hard study without anyone noticing, one can suddenly become famous overnight. For these years, I have endured hardships hoping my son could achieve something and earn a degree. Who knew he would come back with the lowest score from his private school? Even the teacher said he wasn't cut out for studying. Rather than waste money on him, it would be better to find him a trade. Your honor, hearing such words made me furious!"
"Your son's poor academic performance has nothing to do with your intent to murder your niece."
"Originally it had nothing to do with it, but later it became related." Wang lowered her head. "After returning home that day, I felt very unsettled and inexplicably angry. I thought about going out for a walk when I overheard others gossiping that nowadays one cannot rely solely on ability but must also depend on money."
"Nonsense!" The magistrate's expression darkened—not out of anger but as if he had been exposed to some hidden truth.
Buying and selling official positions was not common in the Golden Tang Dynasty but did occur privately. However, those sold were typically low-ranking positions like a seventh-grade county magistrate in a remote area. Although officials in the capital earned their positions through examinations and political achievements, many relied on money from others behind the scenes. Thus, hearing Wang speak so openly about this made the magistrate uncomfortable as if a secret had been revealed.
Yet he could not express his anger publicly; doing so would reveal his own guilt and lead common people to speculate unnecessarily. So he suppressed his feelings and forcefully struck the bench again: "Continue your account of events; if there is any deceit involved, I will sentence you to flogging."
Wang paid no attention to the magistrate's reprimand. Although she was a rural woman, she understood that murder required paying with one's life. At this moment, she just wanted clarity on the situation—whether it resulted in flogging or execution—it was better than having Qiao Qiao's ghost follow her around.
She was human and somewhat wicked; yet even wicked people fear ghosts. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Qiao Qiao standing there drenched. The cold well water flowed beneath her, slowly soaking into her clothes and skin. She desperately wanted to end everything quickly.
"I need money—lots of silver—to buy my son a degree. But my husband is just a merchant. The money he earns barely keeps us fed and clothed. I never intended to kill her; I just wanted to find her some in-laws for a bride price! But nowadays living people are worth less than dead ones!"
"Who are they?"
"The Matchmakers, the kind from the countryside who matchmake both the living and the dead. For families like ours, even if a daughter is born beautiful, she can only hope to marry a farmer and earn a few taels of silver, which is considered quite a lot. But for the dead, especially those young girls who have just passed away, they can fetch at least fifty taels of silver. If they are good-looking and of decent stature, they can get even more."
"So, you were driven to kill!"
"I wasn't! I was just tempted; I never intended to kill her. After all, she had been with me for some time. No matter how much I disliked her, there would still be some feelings involved." Wang defended herself, "When I returned home from the Matchmaker's, I was still feeling restless. When I saw Qiao Qiao, I felt a bit irritated and sent her to fetch water from the well. Who would have thought that girl would take so long? By the time my meal was ready, she still hadn't returned. I went to look for her and saw her standing by the well, pulling on the rope. I don't know what came over me; I just rushed over and pushed her in."
"When I pushed her down, she grabbed onto the edge of the well and looked at me, hoping I'd save her. But at that moment, I was completely dazed. All I could think about was that if she died, I would get a lot of silver. My son might even be able to buy a title. Then, I just pried her fingers off one by one and watched her fall."
"What happened next?"
"What happened next?" Wang lowered her head and thought for a moment. "I stood by the well for a while and thought about hurrying back so no one would find out. But as I was leaving, I remembered our water bucket and pulled it up. After retrieving it, I got scared; I feared that if someone saw me with the bucket, they would suspect that I killed Qiao Qiao. So, I stood there shouting for help. Eventually, many people came, and I told them that Qiao Qiao fell into the well while fetching water."
"You are quite clever; it's just a pity that your cleverness has been used for harm," the Official shook his head. "So then, is Qiao Qiao's missing corpse also related to you? Who did you sell her to?"
"That's unfair, Master! I admit that I pushed Qiao Qiao into the well, but her missing body has nothing to do with me. Yes, I wanted to send her to someone else as a Yin Spouse; yes, I wanted to exchange her corpse for silver. But my husband didn't know; I was panicking and didn't dare tell him. He wanted to give Qiao Qiao a proper burial; I agreed. He set up a mourning tent outside; I also agreed because arranging for Qiao Qiao's burial isn't something that can be done quickly. So, I planned to delay it a bit. But unexpectedly, during the night, Qiao Qiao's body disappeared! She must have turned into an Evil Spirit!"
Wang glanced sideways nervously; strangely enough, Qiao Qiao's ghost seemed to have vanished.
She breathed a sigh of relief but still lay on the ground without daring to move.
Chang Tai saw that they had asked enough about Qiao Qiao and walked over to whisper something to the adults before pulling out a silver needle and tossing it in front of Wang: "Wang, let me ask you: have you ever heard of Hooked-Wing poison?"
"No, I've never heard of it!"
"Good! Since you've never heard of it, let me tell you. This silver needle is soaked in Hooked-Wing toxin. Hooked-Wing, also known as Heartbreak Grass or Creeping Vine, belongs to the Strychnos family of plants. It is pungent and warm with great toxicity; its young leaves are even more poisonous. If ingested accidentally, symptoms include dizziness, double vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, numbness in limbs, restlessness; in severe cases, it can cause burning pain in the throat and mouth, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and bloating—leading even to coma or death. Your niece died suddenly from an illness; however, we found this toxin in her throat and intestines. Now tell me where this Hooked-Wing poison in your home came from and how it relates to your niece?"
Before Chang Tai could finish speaking this time, Wang Laifeng rushed over and grabbed Wang's clothing tightly with trembling voice: "Did you also harm your sister?"
"Yes! It was me! I used this Hooked-Wing poison to kill her! Wang Laifeng, what are you going to do about it? I'm aware that killing someone means paying with my life; whether I've killed one or two makes no difference—I'm still going to die! There's nothing left for me to deny! But don't hate me; don't look at me with those pitiful eyes full of grievances! Wang Laifeng, if you want to hate someone, hate yourself! It's your own uselessness that forced me to harm them."
"You—" Wang Laifeng covered her chest with one hand and pointed at Wang with the other. "What a poisonous heart you have!"
"I'm poisonous? I'm poisonous because I am a Mother. I want my Son to have a better life, I want my Son to achieve great things. Am I wrong? It's you, Wang Laifeng! If you had been a bit more capable and earned a little more silver, would I have thought of killing Qiao Qiao to arrange a Ghost Marriage? If you had kept an eye on Qiao Qiao's corpse, would I have needed to target my sister again? Now look, my sister is dead, and not only that, she has caught the eye of Lord Li from the Ministry of War. If this sister becomes the Daughter-in-law of the Deputy Minister of War, wouldn't we be related by official ties? Wouldn't the Vice Minister consider giving our Son an official position because of my sister?"
"You've gone mad! You are insane!" Wang Laifeng cried out in pain, pounding her chest.
"Mad? Yes, I am mad! Master, judge me! It's just death, at worst I'll become a ghost!" Wang cautiously glanced around, a hint of madness flickering in her eyes.
Xing Ruyi stood outside the Yamen and lightly nudged the fox with her shoulder. "I thought this Wang was a formidable character, but it turns out she is all show and no substance. Just a little scare from Qiao Qiao and she has gone completely mad."
"The corpse of Qiao Qiao is hidden by you, isn't it?"
"Actually, it's not really a corpse; she wasn't fully dead. I happened to pass by and saved her. However, seeing how malicious Wang is, I didn't dare send her back until Qiao Qiao was completely recovered. Who knew she would covet the rewards from Li Tai's Family and extend her dark hand towards my sister?"
"Just happened to pass by?" The fox raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, just happened to pass by. What else do you think?" Xing Ruyi replied but avoided eye contact.
"What about my sister? Is she also not dead?" The fox suddenly asked while looking at Wang, who was being judged inside.
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