Chapter 549: Ping’an Solves the Case—Part IV

“An official…?”

“No way… another official?”

“But this lord is far too young, isn’t he? He looks barely fifteen or sixteen!”

The crowd surrounding the scene instantly erupted into an uproar. Gasps rang out one after another, and countless pairs of eyes widened so hard they looked ready to pop from their sockets. No one could believe what they were seeing. It felt as absurd and impossible as the sun rising in the west.

Just a moment ago, this youth had been the “simpleton” they mocked and laughed at without restraint. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into an official—a genuine government official no less. The gap between a foolish country bumpkin and an honored official was simply too enormous. The people could not mentally reconcile the difference, but the truth was laid bare right before them, leaving no room for doubt.

After all, the official credential Zhu Ping’an had just taken out was not unfamiliar to them. Only moments earlier, that arrogant Fifth-Rank Tongzhi lord had displayed the exact same kind of document. The common folk themselves could not distinguish real from fake, but the yamen runners certainly could. Those two officers had dropped to their knees the instant they saw it.

Among everyone present, the old man who had shared a cabin aboard the boat with Zhu Ping’an was undoubtedly the most shaken.

The old fellow had always assumed Zhu Ping’an was merely another scholar traveling to Yingtian Prefecture to take the academy examination. Last night, when Zhu Ping’an studied by candlelight deep into the night, the old man had even enthusiastically shared all kinds of advice, using his own nephew’s examination experiences as examples.

Who could have imagined…

What examination candidate? The young man was already an official!

Heavens above—how old was this youngster even supposed to be?

Yet when the old man recalled the image of Zhu Ping’an bent over his books beneath the dim flickering candlelight, diligently studying while everyone else slept, admiration flooded his heart even more deeply.

No wonder he had become an official at such a young age.

With that kind of dedication, he deserved it.

Heaven rewards the diligent indeed.

The commotion surrounding Zhu Ping’an soon drew the attention of the Chun’an County Magistrate once more.

Though the magistrate was known for his upright backbone and refusal to bend to either pressure or favor, the most basic courtesies of officialdom could not simply be ignored.

The two men exchanged formal greetings.

Just as he had done before the Tongzhi lord earlier, the magistrate stood ramrod straight, neither servile nor arrogant, merely cupping his hands lightly in acknowledgment.

“May I ask this lord,” the Chun’an magistrate said without the slightest bit of hesitation, getting straight to the point, “upon what evidence do you base your earlier claim?”

That question was exactly what everyone present wanted to know.

At that instant, every gaze in the crowd turned toward Zhu Ping’an.

That’s right!

Why?

What evidence did he have?

Surely one could not simply accuse someone of murder merely because one was an official. Words alone proved nothing. There had to be evidence, didn’t there?

Even being the center of universal attention was probably no more than this.

Facing both the magistrate’s scrutiny and the countless questioning eyes around him, Zhu Ping’an did not deliberately keep everyone in suspense. Instead, he calmly shifted his gaze toward the boatman, Wang Gui.

“My lord, I am innocent! Wronged! I have suffered a grievous injustice!”

Under Zhu Ping’an’s steady gaze, Wang Gui remained kneeling on the ground, crying out miserably as though he had endured some colossal unfairness. Yet despite the dramatic performance, his eyes flickered nervously, refusing to meet Zhu Ping’an’s directly.

Watching the exaggerated display, Zhu Ping’an merely shook his head faintly.

He stepped forward and asked in an even tone:

“Do you still remember what you shouted this morning when you went to Master Zhang’s house after waiting a long time for him by the river?”

“When… when I called at the door?”

Wang Gui froze.

“Yes. Do you remember?” Zhu Ping’an nodded.

“Madam Zhang! Madam Zhang! Open the door quickly!”

Wang Gui answered reflexively, completely unable to understand why Zhu Ping’an was asking this.

After hearing the reply, Zhu Ping’an nodded once.

Then he turned toward the Chun’an magistrate and lightly cupped his hands.

“That,” he said calmly, “is the reason I called him the murderer.”

“Huh?”

The surrounding crowd was completely bewildered.

What did that even mean?

How could a single sentence determine that Wang Gui was the murderer? It sounded like an utterly normal way of knocking on someone’s door. Nothing strange about it at all.

Immediately, dissatisfaction spread through the crowd like wildfire.

“A setup! There’s definitely something shady going on!”

“If this isn’t corruption, then what is?”

Officials truly did have mouths on both sides of their faces. The poor could never fight the rich, and commoners could never fight officials. To those in power, black could become white, a deer could become a horse—whatever they said became truth. The ones who suffered in the end were always ordinary people.

Wang Gui’s family had earned their livelihood by the river generation after generation. Rain or scorching sun, they labored bitterly every day just to survive.

And look at that Madam Zhang—draped in gold and silver, living in luxury, acting like some seductive fox spirit, constantly flirting and carrying on.

Yet this young official insisted the murderer was Wang Gui… based solely on a line shouted at the door?

The crowd sighed endlessly, anger and resentment written openly across their faces.

After hearing Zhu Ping’an’s explanation, however, the Chun’an magistrate fell into deep thought.

Several seconds later, his eyes slowly shifted toward Wang Gui kneeling on the ground.

“My lord! You are the people’s magistrate of Chun’an County—you must uphold justice for this humble commoner!”

Wang Gui suddenly crawled several steps forward on his knees and clutched tightly onto the magistrate’s leg, wailing pitifully.

“I refuse to accept this! I refuse!”

“You refuse?”

Zhu Ping’an lowered his head and looked at him.

“I refuse!” Wang Gui nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face as though he had suffered unbearable injustice.

The crowd watching nearby felt both sympathy and anger. Sympathy for the miserable boatman Wang Gui. Anger toward these dog officials who toyed with human lives and twisted black into white.

“Very well,” Zhu Ping’an said with a nod.

“This morning, after waiting for Master Zhang by the river and failing to see him arrive, why did you go to his home and knock on the door?”

“Because we had arranged it beforehand!” Wang Gui answered indignantly, his voice trembling with grievance.

“This morning I was supposed to ferry Master Zhang to Yingtian Prefecture. He was late and never showed up, so naturally I went to his home to call him aboard the boat!”

“Oh?”

Zhu Ping’an nodded slowly.

“So the person you were looking for… was Master Zhang?”

His tone remained calm and steady at first. Yet suddenly, in the very next moment, his voice sharpened like a drawn blade.

“Then if you were looking for Master Zhang—why did you call out for Madam Zhang when you knocked on the door?”

The instant those words rang out, it felt as though thunder had exploded overhead.

The accusation struck directly at the heart of the matter.

Cold sweat instantly poured from Wang Gui’s forehead. His face went deathly pale, and he collapsed backward onto the ground as though all strength had been ripped from his body.

At last, part of the crowd suddenly came to a realization.

The others, however, still looked utterly confused, unable to understand the hidden meaning behind the exchange. Those who had figured it out immediately began excitedly explaining the logic to the people beside them, savoring the rare satisfaction of appearing knowledgeable.

The entire scene buzzed with murmurs and whispers.

And when the crowd looked back at Zhu Ping’an again, their eyes now carried unmistakable awe.

“This proves that you already knew Master Zhang was not at home, so you called for Madam Zhang instead!”

Zhu Ping’an stood tall, staring coldly down at Wang Gui.

“You knew Master Zhang was absent, yet you still went to his home pretending to call him aboard the boat. A thief crying ‘catch the thief’—it was a clever plan.

But when you knocked on the door, you exposed yourself.

You are the murderer who killed Master Zhang.”

His expression turned stern and imposing.

“Now speak. Where is Master Zhang?”

Then, after a slight pause, his voice grew even colder.

“And let me warn you—if your silence delays the duties of the Tongzhi lord or this official, your crime will only become more severe.”

At those words, the entire crowd finally understood.

An uproar of praise instantly exploded across the scene.

Their impression of Zhu Ping’an had completely transformed.

Moments earlier, they had thought him a foolish youth, perhaps even another corrupt official who bullied the common people. Yet now, with nothing more than a single sentence, he had unraveled a baffling case that none of them could make sense of.

Everyone had heard Wang Gui’s words.

But only this young official had noticed the fatal flaw hidden within them.

Only he had possessed the sharp eyes to see through the deception and solve the case instantly.

No wonder he had become an official at such a young age.

Truly formidable.

Cries of praise rose endlessly from the crowd.

“An honest magistrate reborn!”

“Bao Zheng returned to life!”

“A divine judge!”

Such exclamations rang out one after another without pause.

Meanwhile, Wang Gui’s psychological defenses had already completely collapsed beneath Zhu Ping’an’s relentless questioning.

Now, under the contemptuous stares and curses of the surrounding crowd, he no longer had even the slightest will to resist.

His whole body sagged limply upon the ground like a drenched hen fallen into muddy water.

At last, he confessed everything truthfully.

Under escort from the yamen runners, Wang Gui led the officials to a patch of woodland by the riverside. There, amidst scattered withered grass and disturbed earth, they dug up the murdered Master Zhang.

And the moment the victim’s body was finally discovered, the crowd’s admiration for Zhu Ping’an reached its absolute peak.