Chapter Forty-Two: What Case Was Judged Wrong?

As soon as I heard that, I wanted to slip away quietly—after all, my conversation with Tang Renjie today had pretty much covered everything that needed to be said. Besides, the secretary mentioned that the second son of the Wang family was getting married here today, which most likely referred to Cheng Xiaoyu and her husband. I had only glanced at them from the side earlier, and I really didn’t want to meet her face-to-face; the ex-boyfriend status was just too awkward.

“Tang, is there anything else you’d like to add? If not, Fatty and I will take our leave,” I said to Tang Renjie.

“That’s about it, but why are you in such a hurry? You haven’t even enjoyed your meal yet. I’ve arranged quite a few activities—why not stay and have some fun?” Tang Renjie replied.

“No, thank you. I rarely go out, and the situation in the village is complicated. If I don’t get back, I’ll feel uneasy,” I said.

“Stop pretending—aren’t you just uncomfortable because your ex-girlfriend is about to come toast you?” Fatty interjected. “I’ve thought about it: the girl married someone who’s qualified to toast Tang Renjie, so her family must be pretty decent. So, you broke up back then because of money, right? I don’t know what you’re so timid about. With Fatty and Boss Tang here today, we can help you save face.”

Tang Renjie looked at me with a curious expression. “Really? What a coincidence.”

“I went to college here; most of my classmates are locals. Fatty, don’t speculate,” I replied. Truth be told, I didn’t like to bring up that past. After I’d mustered the courage to bring her home, only to be dumped so miserably, only I knew the depth of my embarrassment. All these years, I’ve been treading water, with no progress in life. If not for my eldest brother, I wouldn’t have been able to repair the house, let alone have the right to dine with Fatty and Tang Renjie.

Who would have thought Tang Renjie would want to help me save face? He nodded at his secretary. “Go ahead, bring them over.”

After that, Tang Renjie pulled me to sit down. “Let’s meet them first.”

Soon, a pair of middle-aged spouses entered, their faces radiant with smiles, accompanied by several people. Behind them came Cheng Xiaoyu and her groom. The groom was tall, handsome, and wealthy—he fit the modern ideal perfectly. As soon as the family walked in, they busied themselves toasting Tang Renjie, and then poured drinks for me. Apparently, they didn’t know who I was, so they asked Tang Renjie, “Boss Tang, who’s this accomplished young man? You haven’t introduced him.”

“His surname is Ye—Ye Jihuan, my eldest nephew,” Tang Renjie answered.

Maybe they were weary from all the toasting, but Cheng Xiaoyu seemed distracted from the moment she entered. When she heard my name, she was snapped out of her absent-mindedness and fixed her gaze on me, almost incredulously.

“Truly a talented young man. Where are you employed, Mr. Ye?” Cheng Xiaoyu’s father-in-law raised his glass and clinked it with mine.

Though Tang Renjie called me his nephew, which might surprise the girl who left me years ago over family circumstances—a slap in the face, some would say—I found it utterly meaningless. I stood up and replied, “Young, perhaps, but talented I dare not claim. I’m currently in Fudigou—you know it? The poorest village in the city. I’m a village official there. After graduating, I went straight over—university village official.”

Mr. Wang paused, then pointed at me knowingly, smiling, “Your family arranged for you to gain experience there, right?”

“No, my family’s actually from there, just nearby. Here, congratulations to the newlyweds—may you live long and happily together.” I raised my glass and drank it all in one gulp.

With that drink, I swallowed all those damned youthful years.

After they finished toasting Fatty, Cheng Xiaoyu and I didn’t exchange a word. Such a reunion was too awkward. After they left, Tang Renjie asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to help you save face?”

I waved him off. “Save face for what? I don’t blame her, and it’s not her fault anyway.”

“You shouldn’t be so self-effacing. If your eldest brother weren’t so stubborn, material things wouldn’t be a problem,” Tang Renjie hinted.

“If my brother weren’t stubborn, he wouldn’t be himself, would he? Boss Tang, you’re busy with work; I won’t trouble you any further. Fatty and I will head back,” I said, standing up.

“Shall I have a car take you?” Tang Renjie asked.

“No need. Or are you afraid my brother won’t know I came to see you?” I laughed.

—We retraced our steps, returning from the city to Fudigou. The stark difference in architecture was jarring. I didn’t go home but went straight to the village committee with Fatty. The information we’d gotten from Tang Renjie needed some discussion.

At the village committee, Fatty brewed tea bought in the city. As we sipped, our first topic was how much of Tang Renjie’s words could be trusted.

“Fifty-fifty. Tang Renjie is sly, his words are watertight, but he’s not trustworthy,” Fatty said.

I nodded. “I agree. Now that he’s figured out our backgrounds, he knows we’re clueless about all this. So most likely, what he told us is just what he wants us to do. In the end, we can’t escape being led by the nose.”

Fatty took another sip of tea, then suddenly frowned. “I couldn’t say this earlier, but I think I know what’s up with Old Lady Wang.”

Fatty was fixated on Old Lady Wang’s death, whereas to me, she’d simply offended the Fool and been dragged to her death—hardly the crux of the matter.

Before I could speak, Fatty looked at me. “You think I’m off-topic, don’t you? But you don’t understand what it means when a Dharma Queen is killed and her soul is seized, and the city god does nothing. The human world has its rules, and so does the underworld. Old Lady Wang was truly skilled; after her death, she should have been eligible to cultivate with the city god. If her soul was seized, the city god should have reported it to the underworld. It’s like when someone is murdered—you go to the police station, and if it’s serious, it gets handed to the criminal investigation unit. This should definitely be handled, but it wasn’t. Do you know what that means?”

“She had powerful backing?” I guessed, remembering how Liu Lao could kill so easily.

“Exactly. Something from that coffin in the river—no one dares intervene, not even the underworld authorities. That’s really strange,” Fatty said.

“So what’s the story with Old Lady Wang?” I asked, now genuinely curious.

“She really did judge the case wrong,” Fatty answered.

“That’s not news—she said so herself before she died,” I replied. But then I reconsidered. Fatty wasn’t one to speak nonsense; his words always had deeper meaning.

Sure enough, Fatty asked, “What do you think she meant by judging the case wrong?”

I couldn’t figure it out and replied uncertainly, “All these years, everyone thought she shouldn’t have defended Chen Stone—it was like helping the murderer.”

“You’re wrong. After the Fool died and caused trouble, if she really was after Chen Stone’s life, Old Lady Wang, as Dharma Queen, had to intervene—that was her duty. On this point, she didn’t judge wrong. Though making Chen Stone cut open the child’s belly was bloody, think about it: it was the right call. Old Lady Wang specialized in communicating with spirits—her title was ‘Dharma Queen,’ but often she was just a spirit medium. Digging out the child, and after that the Fool stopped bothering Chen Stone—that must have been the result of Old Lady Wang’s communication with the Fool. So where’s the mistake?”

“Fine, but let’s cut the chatter—explain clearly,” I said.

“Fatty’s just making sure you understand. The problem lies with that child. The Fool, Xu Ailing, wasn’t pregnant before death, but after. Old Lady Wang’s claim to have judged the case wrong stems from this fact,” Fatty said slowly.

I was bewildered.

“You mean someone desecrated her corpse?” I asked.

“Are you stupid? Why did the Fool die? Chen Stone wanted to sacrifice her to the River God. After the offering, she became the River God’s woman. The child in her belly was the River God’s. Old Lady Wang judged wrong on this point, so the River God killed her and took all three souls and seven spirits—condemning her to eternal damnation!” Fatty declared.

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