Unglaublich - Kapitel 14
A bowl of water was brought up and placed on the floor in front of Cheng Yin'ai.
A bright red pill was handed to Cheng Yin'ai's palm.
He looked at the pill, his hand trembling slightly.
Zhang Wentao stared intently into his eyes and asked, "Is one pill enough?"
Cheng Yin'ai hesitated for a long time, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Everyone was staring at the bright red, blood-like pill in Cheng Yin'ai's hand.
"Hahaha..." Cheng Yin'ai suddenly burst into wild laughter: "What's so difficult about death? What's so precious about life? I'm not greedy for life. However, I cannot let the filthy and ugly deeds of the Cheng family men and women be covered up so easily. Although Cheng Xianju and Jia Cheng are dead, the remaining beasts of the Cheng family will still be punished for their filth!" Then, Cheng Yin'ai told a family scandal that no one had ever heard of before.
Twenty years ago, Cheng Xiande, who was already thirty years old but unable to have a child, had an affair with Jia, the young wife of the steward Jia Cheng.
Cheng Xiande, having heard that Jia's broad face and wide hips indicated a fertile constitution, desired to conceive a son through her. Jia Cheng, himself useless in bed but eager to curry favor with his master, went to great lengths to facilitate this, fawning over him. Cheng Xiande's wife, Cheng Ke, forbade him from taking concubines or engaging in philandering, and also desired a son to ensure the Cheng family line wouldn't end. She could only turn a blind eye to the affair. Fortunately, the good fortune remained within the family; Jia, being married, couldn't enter the Cheng household, so no trouble ensued.
A year later, Jia became pregnant. Cheng Ke immediately sent Jia to the countryside, along with several trusted old women to accompany her, ostensibly to serve her, but in reality to monitor her. Cheng Ke herself, however, feigned pregnancy at home. Jia indeed "lived up to expectations," giving birth to a healthy baby boy for the Cheng family. Three days after his birth, the boy was taken to Cheng Ke and presented as her own son, named Cheng Yin'ai.
All of this did not escape the notice of the second son, Cheng Xianju. Although he had his fortune told several times and each time it indicated that he would have daughters but no sons, he was still unwilling to give up. So he followed his elder brother's example and did the same thing, giving Jia Cheng plenty of benefits and seducing Jia's wife, hoping to use Jia's fertility to give himself a son.
“I did not kill Jia Zhenlian!” Cheng Yin’ai said, kneeling on the ground with his head held high. His voice was filled with sorrow, and he was deeply grieved by Jia Zhenlian’s death.
"It's true that Jia Zhenlian committed suicide, but you gave her the poison. Also, your second uncle Cheng Xianju and steward Jia Cheng were also forced to take this poison and died. Why did you kill these two people? And how did you use the name of Cheng Xiaohan's ghost? Confess the truth."
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, sir. If Jia Zhenlian was going to commit suicide, why did you ask me to give her poison? And why did she go to the Buddhist hall to kill herself? I have no grudge against my second uncle or the steward Jia Chengben. Although they opposed my marriage to Jia Zhenlian, I could have just eloped with her. Why did you do something so pointless?”
Zhang Wentao snorted and said, "I'm also very curious, and I was just about to ask you for an explanation!" He turned to the constables beside him and asked, "Have you searched Cheng Yin'ai's room?"
"They've searched everything. As per your orders, sir, all suspicious pills and powders have been brought over."
"Let me see it."
A yamen runner brought over a medicine box. Zhang Wentao ordered him to open it, and after carefully examining it for a while, he took out a medicine bottle the size of a fist.
He gently poured out a few pills and carefully sniffed them. The pills were about the size of broad beans, and their color was bright red, so vivid it was frightening.
"What is this?"
"This is prepared aconite root. I suffer from headaches and need to take it occasionally."
"It seems you know a bit about medicine, but isn't this pill a bit too big? And judging by its bright color, isn't its purity a bit too high? Since you've taken this medicine before, you should take it in front of me! Someone, bring him a bowl of water."
A bowl of water was brought up and placed on the floor in front of Cheng Yin'ai.
A bright red pill was handed to Cheng Yin'ai's palm.
He looked at the pill, his hand trembling slightly.
Zhang Wentao stared intently into his eyes and asked, "Is one pill enough?"
Cheng Yin'ai hesitated for a long time, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Everyone was staring at the bright red, blood-like pill in Cheng Yin'ai's hand.
"Hahaha..." Cheng Yin'ai suddenly burst into wild laughter: "What's so difficult about death? What's so precious about life? I'm not greedy for life. However, I cannot let the filthy and ugly deeds of the Cheng family men and women be covered up so easily. Although Cheng Xianju and Jia Cheng are dead, the remaining beasts of the Cheng family will still be punished for their filth!" Then, Cheng Yin'ai told a family scandal that no one had ever heard of before.
Twenty years ago, Cheng Xiande, who was already thirty years old but unable to have a child, had an affair with Jia, the young wife of the steward Jia Cheng.
Cheng Xiande, having heard that Jia's broad face and wide hips indicated a fertile constitution, desired to conceive a son through her. Jia Cheng, himself useless in bed but eager to curry favor with his master, went to great lengths to facilitate this, fawning over him. Cheng Xiande's wife, Cheng Ke, forbade him from taking concubines or engaging in philandering, and also desired a son to ensure the Cheng family line wouldn't end. She could only turn a blind eye to the affair. Fortunately, the good fortune remained within the family; Jia, being married, couldn't enter the Cheng household, so no trouble ensued.
A year later, Jia became pregnant. Cheng Ke immediately sent Jia to the countryside, along with several trusted old women to accompany her, ostensibly to serve her, but in reality to monitor her. Cheng Ke herself, however, feigned pregnancy at home. Jia indeed "lived up to expectations," giving birth to a healthy baby boy for the Cheng family. Three days after his birth, the boy was taken to Cheng Ke and presented as her own son, named Cheng Yin'ai.
All of this did not escape the notice of the second son, Cheng Xianju. Although he had his fortune told several times and each time it indicated that he would have daughters but no sons, he was still unwilling to give up. So he followed his elder brother's example and did the same thing, giving Jia Cheng plenty of benefits and seducing Jia's wife, hoping to use Jia's fertility to give himself a son.
But fate had other plans. Jia's wife became pregnant twice, and Cheng Xianju's wife pretended to be pregnant twice, but both times they gave birth to daughters. Cheng Xianju had no choice but to pretend that the daughters had died young, while Jia Cheng ended up with two daughters conceived by other men.
More than ten years later, Jia Cheng's eldest daughter got married, and his youngest daughter grew into a beautiful and graceful fifteen-year-old. Cheng Yin'ai was also nineteen, and had grown into a handsome young man. The two lived in the same household, and as time went by, they fell in love. They made vows of eternal love, one vowing to marry no one but her, and the other vowing to marry no one but him.
This incestuous marriage between siblings was naturally opposed by everyone in the know. Cheng Yin'ai, pampered and indulged in the Cheng family since childhood, was experiencing his first blow, and almost everyone stood up against him. His already withdrawn and sensitive personality was severely stimulated. Subsequently, he recklessly engaged in multiple affairs with Jia Zhenlian.
During their last tryst, they were discovered by Jia. Jia tearfully told him the truth and begged him never to come looking for Jia Zhenlian again.
Cheng Yin'ai finally learned that the woman he deeply loved, the woman with whom he had shared intimate moments many times, was actually his own younger sister. They shared the same mother, and their respective fathers were brothers.
The eldest son of the Cheng family, who was always arrogant, proud, and considered himself refined, suddenly became a beastly incestuous criminal.
Cheng Yin'ai was on the verge of collapse.
He always maintained that he was innocent, but he became the biggest victim.
Although he hated his biological parents, Jia and Cheng Xiande, the most, he simply couldn't bring himself to harm them.
He focused all his hatred on Cheng Xianju and Jia Cheng, and was constantly looking for an opportunity to get rid of them.
Two months ago, by chance, he met a man who looked remarkably like Cheng Hanxiao. He had also learned a little about the fact that Cheng Hanxiao had been murdered by his father and second uncle through a scheme, from his mother, Cheng Ke Shi. Thus, a plan surfaced in his mind during the banquet where he first met this man.
Cheng Yin'ai spent a considerable amount of time and money with this person every day, eventually becoming his confidant. Once things were settled, Cheng Yin'ai revealed his plan: this person, who resembled Cheng Hanxiao, would impersonate Cheng Hanxiao's ghost, and Cheng Yin'ai would then lure Cheng Xiande and Jia Cheng to the Buddhist temple and kill them. Finally, the blame would be placed on Cheng Hanxiao's ghost.
On February 19th of this year, during the "pilgrimage to the mountain and offering incense" ceremony, the "Ghost of the Cold Sky" intentionally showed up in front of the women of the Cheng family; on March 5th, with the help of Cheng Yin'ai, the "Ghost of the Cold Sky" sneaked onto the stage, deliberately letting everyone see him, and then quietly slipped away.
Then, a series of bloody incidents began.
Cheng Yin'ai first revealed to his second uncle, Cheng Xianju, that he knew about Cheng's relationship with Jia Shi, and then used this to blackmail him, demanding that he meet him alone at the Buddhist hall on the night of the fifteenth of March, claiming that he had important matters to discuss with him. Cheng Xianju assumed Cheng Yin'ai wanted to talk about Jia Zhenlian, and fearing that Cheng Yin'ai would expose this shameful affair, he lied to his concubine Hongyu that night and went to the Buddhist hall to meet Cheng Yin'ai.
To his surprise, Cheng Yin'ai launched into a tirade upon seeing him, revealing everything. Sensing something was wrong, Cheng Xianju tried to leave. But Cheng Yin'ai caught up from behind and strangled him with the curtain's strap. Cheng Xianju struggled desperately, and in the struggle, he saw Cheng Hanxiao's ghost, pale-faced, walk in from outside. Cheng Xianju was terrified. At that moment, Cheng Yin'ai seized the opportunity to shove aconitine into his mouth. He and the "Hanxiao ghost" together held Cheng Xianju down, forcing him to swallow it. Thus, the scene of Cheng Xianju dying of terror after encountering a ghost unfolded.
Cheng Yin'ai followed the same method, killing the steward Jia Cheng in the same way as "The Ghost of the Cold Sky." However, unlike Jia Cheng, who was much stronger, Cheng Yin'ai had to tap him on the forehead a few times with an inkstone.
On the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, a panicked Jia Zhenlian found Cheng Yin'ai and told him that she was pregnant. Cheng Yin'ai, of course, could not allow this incestuous pregnancy to continue. He couldn't even face his younger sister, who was still unaware of the truth. So, on the fifth day of the fourth lunar month, he lured Jia Zhenlian to a Buddhist temple and tricked her into ingesting aconitine.
The Great Qing Divine Judgment Fifty-Five
The Cheng brothers' indecent assault case occurred before Wei Shenyin took office, while Cheng Yin'ai's incest case was actually due to the perpetrator's lack of knowledge. Therefore, although Wei Shenyin was reprimanded, he was not punished. Cheng Yin'ai committed suicide in prison shortly after his imprisonment. He never revealed the identity of the person impersonating Cheng Hanxiao's ghost. Cheng Xiande was stripped of his scholar's degree and given fifty strokes of the cane for his offensive conduct. As for the other involved parties, those who died were not pursued. The imposter who escaped, because he looked exactly like Cheng Hanxiao, had a portrait drawn based on the portrait left by Cheng Hanxiao before his death, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Although the case of Cheng Hanxiao being struck by lightning has been investigated and found to be a conspiracy between the Cheng brothers and Jia Cheng, the trail went cold after Jia Cheng was killed by Cheng Yin'ai. Zhang Wentao, unable to find evidence of Cheng Xiande's involvement, had to give up.
Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.
It was July of that year, the beginning of autumn when the summer heat was fading. An early autumn rain fell steadily, pattering against the eaves and walls, nourishing everything on earth. Though the sky was overcast, some light peeked through the clouds, making it a perfectly pleasant day. Zhang Wentao and Qian Botang set up a chessboard in the study, playing a game to pass the time. The sound of chess pieces being placed could be heard intermittently from inside the study.
Qian Botang lost both games, then pushed the board aside and laughed, "Teacher's chess skills are superb; I am no match for you. I need to study 'The Plum Blossom Manual' and 'The Secret of the Orange' a few more times before I can play against you again!"
Zhang Wentao arranged the chess pieces and said, “Playing chess now is not about winning! Look, every house is raining, and frogs are croaking everywhere. Let’s idly tap the chess pieces, laugh as we watch the falling flowers, sip fragrant tea, and be completely at ease. This tranquil and serene state of mind, like a carefree hermit, forgetting both honor and disgrace, is something we haven’t been able to enjoy in our years in officialdom. Why bother going to the study to study chess books?”
After listening, Qian Botang clapped his hands and said, "Only after your guidance, Teacher, can I appreciate the wonder of this otherworldly scene."
As the two were talking, they heard shouts coming from afar, as if someone was yelling loudly in the rain.
Qian Botang listened intently and said, "That voice sounds familiar, who is it?"
Zhang asked Tao Ye, "It does sound familiar."
At this moment, Fu Lin, a family member, walked into the courtyard with an oil-paper umbrella. He went straight to the eaves, closed the umbrella, and said to Zhang Wentao, "Master, Cheng Xiande of the Cheng family has gone mad. He's running around the streets and alleys in the rain looking for his son. Aren't you going to go and see him?"
Zhang Wentao put down his chess piece, paused for a moment, and then sighed, "Back then, the Cheng brothers were sonless and incompetent, while Cheng Hanxiao had a son and was favored by the old master of the Cheng family. So, in order to seize the family fortune, the Cheng brothers first seduced Jia Shi to ask for a child, and later murdered their brother-in-law to steal the wealth. Unexpectedly, after all their scheming, all the Cheng family's wealth ultimately went to Cheng Hanxiao's son, Cheng Baochou. The Cheng brothers ended up losing both their wealth and their reputation." After saying this, he stood up, looked out the window, and sighed again, "Flowers bloom and wither, fleeting beauty; fate arises and ends, seemingly close yet worlds apart. Everything is predestined! If one deceives and forces things, one will surely be punished by heaven!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blinding everyone with a white light. Then came a thunderclap that resounded through the heavens and earth, like a firework rolling down from the sky, making people dizzy and their ears ring!
Zhang Wentao, Qian Botang, and Fu Lin were all stunned by the shock! Just as they came to their senses, Wu Gaolin, the official, ran in, looking like a drowned rat, and said, "Master, I just came back from the street. That thunder was really powerful; it killed someone on the street."
Fu Lin hurriedly asked, "Who is it?"
"Who else? That mad master Cheng Xiande from the Cheng family!"
Zhang Wentao and Qian Botang exchanged a glance, both stunned!
The rain suddenly intensified, pouring down with a loud pattering sound!
The group paused for a moment, then Qian Botang softly said, "Teacher is right: flowers bloom and fade, fleeting beauty; relationships begin and end, seemingly close yet worlds apart. Everything is preordained! If one deceives and forces things, one will surely be punished by heaven!" (This book is from , a free txt novel download site.)
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