The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei vol 5 by Roy David Tod

Author:Roy, David Tod [Roy, David Tod]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2013-04-24T19:00:00+00:00

Wu Tien-en Acts Treacherously and Suffers Disgrace

The two of them, thereupon, took the document with them and proceeded to go first to Wu Yüeh-niang’s residence. Yüeh-niang treated them to wine and food and gave each of them a tael of silver as a reward for their efforts. Since Manager Fu Ming was still confined to his bed at home, Yüeh-niang’s brother, Wu the Second, agreed to accompany them to the police station.

Police Chief Wu Tien-en, on seeing that P’ing-an had been incarcerated for two days without anyone from Hsi-men Ch’ing’s household offering to grease his palm about the situation, was in the very act of ordering a clerk to draft a document forwarding the case to the prefectural and district authorities, when the two emissaries from the office of the Regional Military Command showed up and delivered the certified document to him. When he saw that the inscription in red ink on the envelope indicated that both he and the culprit were ordered to appear before the commandant, and opened and read the enclosed deposition by Wu Yüeh-niang, he was thrown into a state of panic. Doing his best to placate Li An and Chang Sheng, he gave them each a tip of two taels of silver, wrote up a document about the case, and then took the accused with him as he made his way to the office of the Regional Military Command. Upon arriving there, he had to wait for what seemed like half a day before the commandant took his place on the bench, with soldiers and jailers lined up to either side, and ordered them to be brought before him.

Police Chief Wu Tien-en handed up the document he had drafted, and after the commandant had read it, he said, “This case is one that falls under the jurisdiction of this office. Why have you not forwarded it to me for a decision, but chosen to procrastinate this way, no doubt in the hope of obtaining a bribe? It is clear that you are guilty of malfeasance.”

Police Chief Wu Tien-en pleaded, “Your humble servant was just in the process of drafting a document to forward to Your Honor when your summons unexpectedly arrived.”

“You dog of an official!” the commandant cried at him. “This conduct of yours is detestable. How high an official are you to try to manipulate the law this way, in defiance of your superiors? I have been commissioned by the Emperor himself to protect this territory, apprehend thieves and bandits, command the military forces, and oversee the canals and waterways. My jurisdiction over these matters is clearly established. How can you feel entitled to arrest a suspect without reporting it to higher authorities, and have the culprit tortured and beaten in the endeavor to get him to falsely implicate innocent parties? It is obvious that you are guilty of malfeasance.”

When Police Chief Wu Tien-en heard this accusation, he tore off his official cap and proceeded to kowtow before him at the foot of the steps.

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