During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, where the Fujiang and Jialing rivers converged in Sichuan, there was a Hezhou capital named after the confluence of the two rivers. There was a town in Hezhou capital called Qijian Bridge. There lived a family on the main street of Qijian Bridge. The head of the household was Ju Huairen, who was loyal; his wife, Ju Xiangshi, ran the housework and abided by the laws of women. The son, Ju Daqiang, was born thin and small, and his strength was thin. His daughter-in-law, Ju Cao, was also beautiful, but simple-minded. Her daughter Ju Xiaomei was only 9 years old, but she was smart and courageous. Although life of the Ju family was not very rich, it was quiet and peaceful. Who knew that late that night, Ju Xiangshi woke up and touched her hand, and her husband who was sleeping by her side was gone. No one answered after shouting a few times. She hurriedly got up to light the oil lamp and found that her husband's clothes, shoes and socks were not there. Ju Xiangshi hurriedly put on his clothes and held the oil lamp. She searched the front and back of the house, inside and outside the house, but found no sign of her husband, only to see that the door was open. She did not dare to go out alone to check, so she quickly came to the door of her son's room and woke Daqiang, who came out to listen to her mother and said, "Then you wait at home, I will take a look outside the door." He turned and walked out the door.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law waited left and right at home, and they waited almost two hours without seeing Daqiang father and son go home, so they couldn't help but feel a little nervous. At this time, the sky was about to dawn, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went outside trembling. After walking not far, they found that there seemed to be something dark on the roadside, and the two took a closer look and almost fainted. It turned out that Daqiang father and son were killed by someone on the roadside! The poor mother-in-law and daughter-in-law each hugged their husbands and cried bitterly, and the crying alarmed the neighbors. Everyone surrounded them one after another.

When the sun was three poles high, Rong Yutian, the prefect of Hezhou, led the yamen to Qijian Bridge. They carefully investigated the crime scene and found that Ju Huairen, Ju Daqiang and their sons had died of excessive blood loss after being stabbed with sharp blades into their internal organs. Since the crime scene was on the main road, and the villagers and neighbours were separated early in the morning, the scene had long since been destroyed and no clues had been found. Rong Yutian listened to the report and said for a while: "Let the family bury the body first. The case was then slowly investigated." After that, the group of people went back to the house.

In the following months, Prefect Rong Yutian made unannounced investigations everywhere, but there were no clues, and the case never progressed. But the case not only caused a sensation in Sichuan, but also alarmed the imperial court. The governor of Sichuan, Huang Zonghan sent people one after another to urge him to solve the case as soon as possible and arrest the murderer. And gave him an ultimatum: he must solve the case within three months, otherwise he will only ask, just when Rong Yutian was helpless and had no idea, the criminal official Chen Laolun offered Rong Yutian a plan. Rong Yutian was overjoyed when he heard it, and now promised that as long as he could find a way to close the case, in addition to giving him 500 taels of silver for his use, he also promised to have the opportunity to promote and reuse him first in the future.

Although Old Chen Lun's name was "Old Lun", he was actually not old. He was only in his 20s and had been a criminal official for several years. This person had a nimble brain, many methods, thick ideas, and was articulate.

On this day, Chen Lao Lun found a matchmaker, explained it like this, and then took out 50 taels of silver to give to the matchmaker Wang. The matchmaker Wang promised to do it.

The next day, Matchmaker Wang came to Ju's house and pretended to be concerned to inquire about the situation of the case. At the end, she said to Ju Xiangshi: "I said old sister-in-law, it is really pitiful that your family has suffered such a big disaster. There are two less big men in the family, and there are three of you, the old and the young, and these already tight days will become more and more difficult in the future. Old sister-in-law, I don't know if I should say it or not? With your family's current situation, I think the best way is to remarry your daughter-in-law Ju Cao. This will not only save a person's food and clothing expenses, but also get a considerable retainer. I don't know what you think?" Ju Xiang felt that Matchmaker Wang's words were reasonable, so she said, "That's what I said, but I don't know if you can find a suitable family for my daughter-in-law?" "I said old sister-in-law, you don't have to worry about this, I promise to find you a very satisfactory suitable family."

A few days later, Matchmaker Wang came to the Ju family's house, and as soon as she entered the door, she shouted loudly: "Sister-in-law, congratulations, congratulations. A few days ago, you asked me to protect the media for your daughter-in-law, and you didn't say that I really found a suitable family for her. Guess who it is? He is Chen Laolun, a criminal officer of the Hezhou government office. Chen Laolun has a good character and eats public food. Don't miss the opportunity." As soon as Ju Xiangshi heard it, Chen Laolun has a good relationship and is currently in a lawsuit. It would be a good thing to be able to kiss someone in the yamen. Therefore, he agreed to this marriage very readily.

Not long after, Chen Lao Lun married Ju Cao. After marriage, Chen Lao Lun took care of Ju Cao and was considerate, and the two lived in harmony.

In a flash, another month passed.

At noon that day, Chen Lao Lun came home from the yamen, his face full of worry. Ju Cao asked him why he was so worried. Chen Lao Lun said with a embarrassed face, "It's not your ex-husband's murder." Ju Cao was startled and asked, "What does that case have to do with you?" Chen Lao Lun said, "Lord Rong handed this case to me and ordered me to solve it within a time limit. And I don't have a good plan at present, so I am very worried." Ju Cao's family also started to worry on the side. After a while, Chen Lao Lun said in a consultative tone, "Can you go home and persuade your mother-in-law to take back the case and stop suing, won't this case be closed? As long as she agrees to take back the petition, I will give her 300 taels of silver to ensure that she will eat and drink for the rest of her life, and live a comfortable life. "Ju Cao thought for a while and said," This is absolutely impossible. I know my mother-in-law very well. She has sworn on the graves of her husband and son many times that she will not avenge this and will not be a human being! How can I, as her daughter-in-law, ask her to withdraw the complaint? How can I be worthy of the great power under Jiuquan? You should find another way. "After listening, Chen Lao Lun looked displeased and was silent.

After a few days, Chen Lao Lun came home and sighed: "Alas, Lord Rong was very angry when he saw that I couldn't solve the case for a long time. Yesterday, he ordered me to solve the case quickly within a month, or kill me first. My life is over, my life is over!" When Ju Cao heard this, she inevitably broke down in tears. She asked Chen Lao Lun what his plans were, but Chen Lao Lun hesitated and stopped talking, as if there was something difficult to say. Ju Cao said, "You and I are already a family, but you can say anything if you want." Chen Lao Lun said: "As far as I know, Ju Huairen and Ju Daqiang were all killed by your mother-in-law Ju Xiangshi and the adulterer." No, this is absolutely impossible. My mother-in-law has always been a decent person and abides by women's ethics. She will never do such a hurtful and humiliating thing. "Alas, you are so confused, don't you want to tell you when your mother-in-law has an adultery? Now that I even know the adulterer, why do you have to defend her again? Besides, I have already told you that if the Hezhou murder case cannot be closed in time, I will die, and if you don't go to court to testify, this case will not be closed. Now my life is in your hands, do you want to save my life, or do you want to be a widow again? You have to consider the stakes carefully." Tell the truth, if you want to be a widow again, how will you live in the future? Tell lies, and you are really sorry for your mother-in-law, your father-in-law and ex-husband under Jiuquan. Ju Cao thought about it, and finally promised Chen Laolun to testify in court.

At noon that day, Ju Xiangshi went to the Hezhou government office to beat the drum again. Unexpectedly, Rong Yutian was shocked after rising to the hall and shouted loudly: "Ju Xiang-shi, what a bad woman, you conspired with the adulterer to kill your husband and son, but now you are fighting backwards and shouting injustice all day long. Do you know your crime?" Ju Xiang-shi almost fainted under the hall when she heard the words, and was so angry that she couldn't speak for a while. She only knew how to shout injustice and kowtow. Rong Yutian said: "If you don't call a witness, you won't admit it. Bring the adulterer to court." The yamen shouted, and a man in his 40s was taken to the hall. He saw that this man was big and three thick, with a fleshy face, and heard Rong Yutian ask: Who is the name of the person in the hall? The man knelt in front of the hall and said, "If you go back to your lord, the villain's name is Wang Erhu." Rong Yutian pointed at Ju Xiangshi and said, "Wang Erhu, do you know this person?" Wang Erhu turned his head and glanced at Ju Xiangshi and said, "The villain knows her, she is Ju Xiangshi from Qijian Bridge." Rong Yutian slapped a startled tree and shouted sharply: "What is the relationship between the two of you, and whether her husband and son were killed by you together? Quickly tell the truth. Otherwise, you will not forgive me." Wang Erhu said: "The villain knows that he has sinned deeply, and he will never dare to lie. The villain has been adulterous with Ju Xiangshi for a long time. That night, the villain knew that Ju Huairen was not there, so he came to Ju's house late at night and shared the bed with Ju Xiangshi for a day. He will leave Ju's house tomorrow. Just as he walked outside the door, he met Ju Huairen who was returning from going out. When the enemy met, he was extremely jealous, and the two of us fought without saying a few words. That Ju Huairen was no match for me at all, and he was stabbed to death by me on the side of the road a few times. I was about to turn around and leave, but his son Ju Daqiang came again. When he saw that I had killed his father, he pounced on me and tried to fight with me. Although Ju Daqiang was young, he was thin and small, and Rong Yutian said, "Since ancient times, you have to tell the truth." "Human life is at stake, and villains dare not lie." Rong Yutian asked Ju Xiangshi again, "You have heard what Wang Erhu said, what else do you have to say now?Ju Xiangshi hurriedly defended: "My lord is clear, I don't know this person at all. What he said just now is completely nonsense, and the people and women are really wronged. Rong Yutian shouted loudly: "What a bold and diabolical woman, who dares to quibble with all the evidence and witnesses. If you don't come from the truth, don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless," Ju Xiangshi replied: "Even if you kill me, I will not lie against my conscience. Rong Yutian became angry and shouted: "Hit, give me 50 big boards."

After a while, Ju Xiang was beaten to pieces, but she still refused to admit it. Suddenly, she thought of her daughter-in-law Ju Cao, and said in a weak voice, "My daughter-in-law Ju Cao remarried to the criminal official Chen Laolun, and she can prove my innocence." Rong Yutian said, "Okay, then take Ju Cao to court."

Ju Cao came to the front of the hall and saw her mother-in-law, who had not seen her for a few days and was now being tortured, and she felt very uncomfortable. She knew that her mother-in-law was innocent, but when she thought that after Chen Lao Lun's death, she would be widowed again, she couldn't care much. So when Rong Yutian asked her if Ju Xiang had committed adultery with Wang Erhu and conspired to kill Ju Huairen and Ju Daqiang, she replied, "It's true." Ju Xiang never thought that Ju Cao, who had been with her every day, would also trap her in a place of injustice, and for a while she felt that she had a mouth all over her body and couldn't tell. Thinking of her husband and son who had not yet taken revenge under the knife, and she had suffered a great humiliation, what was the point of living in the world? So she shouted "wronged" and slammed into the pillar in front of the hall. Thanks to the yamen's quick-sightedness, she grabbed her. But at this moment she was disheartened and just wanted to die quickly. When Rong Yutian asked her again if she had committed adultery with Wang Erhu and conspired to kill her husband and son, she confessed in a confused way. Rong Yutian was overjoyed and hurriedly asked Ju Xiangshi to draw a bet on the confession.

Subsequently, Rong Yutian beat Wang Erhu and Ju Xiang to death in prison, sorted out the case file of the Hezhou murder case, and submitted it to the provincial police department. He also sent a lot of gold and silver jewelry to the Taoist platform, the police department, and the trial officer, asking them to uphold the original judgment and close the case quickly.

After the Hezhou murder case was closed, inside and outside the office, the people of Hezhou knew that Ju Xiang was wronged, but no one dared to stand up for Ju Xiang's injustice. Only Ju Xiang's nine-year-old daughter, Ju Xiaomei, asked someone to write a complaint, begging along the door, and came to Chengdu after several hardships.

In Chengdu, Ju Xiaomei repeatedly beat the drum in the judicial department, but each time he was thrown out by the yamen before he could go to court. It turned out that the justice department accepted Rong Yutian's bribe, colluded with Rong Yutian, and insisted on the original judgment, which was not accepted.

One day, Ju Xiaomei learned that the governor of Sichuan, Huang Zonghan, was going to pass through a street in Chengdu, so she decided to stop the palanquin and file a complaint. Early that morning, she was waiting by the roadside. When Huang Zonghan's palanquin passed her, she rushed to the middle of the road and knelt on her knees. Holding a paper, she shouted, I'm wronged. Sitting in the palanquin, Huang Zonghan heard someone shouting, opened the curtain of the palanquin and saw that it was a little girl. He ordered someone to bring the paper and looked at it carefully. He was very surprised, because what was written in the complaint was very different from what he knew about the Hezhou murder. He sent someone to reward Ju Xiaomei with two strings of money and told Ju Xiaohui, "I will definitely transfer the complaint to the Ministry of Justice. You go back and wait for the good news first." Seeing that Ju Xiaomei had some hope, she quickly kowtowed

A few days later, Ju Xiaomei stopped the palanquin again to complain. Huang Zonghan saw it and said, "Why did you come to stop my palanquin again? I have transferred your complaint to the Justice Department, why didn't you go to the Justice Department to complain?Ju Xiaomei said, "The women of the people have beaten drums many times in the Justice Department to plead their grievances, but they have all been kicked out of the courtroom and will not be accepted. The complaints that adults have transferred are also like stones sinking into the sea, and there is no news. The women of the people went to inquire, but they not only refused to admit it, but also beat the women of the people. They had no choice but to alarm the adults again, and hoped that the adults would forgive their sins and plead for the women of the people. Huang Zonghan said, "Is this really the case?Ju Xiaomei replied, "The women of the people

Returning to the government office, Huang Zonghan sent someone to inform the Investigation Department, ordering him to re-investigate the Hezhou murder case and report the investigation results to him at any time. On the other hand, he also invited his confidant Li Yanggu, who screened around and gave him a handwritten letter, ordering him to secretly go to Hezhou immediately, and be sure to investigate the Hezhou murder case to the bottom.

More than ten days later, the Department of Justice never reported the progress of the Hezhou murder case to Huang Zonghan. Huang Zonghan decided to go to the office in person to urge him. Coincidentally, Huang Zonghan came to the office, just in time to interrogate the Department of Justice and the judges in charge of the Hezhou murder case, and insisted that Ju Xiaomei, who was in the hall, admit that she was a false accusation. Ju Xiaomei would not change his mind, and had been beaten to pieces by the yamen. Huang Zonghan reprimanded the Department of Justice angrily: "This girl's father and brother were unfortunately poisoned, and her mother was imprisoned again, and she was alone. It is very pitiful. When she was young, she knew to avenge her father and brother and avenge her mother. Her filial piety is commendable. Even if there is something wrong, she should not be tortured like this."

After saying this, the judge's face reddened for a while, and he quickly ordered him to stop the torture. Huang Zonghan asked again, "Why only interrogate Ju Xiaomei and not arraign the adulterer Wang Erhu?" The judge asked, so he had to order Wang Erhu to go to court. As soon as Huang Zonghan saw Wang Erhu, he was not angry. It turned out that Wang Erhu was neatly dressed and rosy, and did not look like a prisoner at all. Huang Zonghan sharply reprimanded the judge and said, "How can such a big murderer become a guest, and he didn't give me a big punishment quickly." The judge was helpless and ordered Wang Erhu to be beaten with a staff. But before the yamen's stick fell, Wang Erhu said, "Don't hit, don't hit. You agreed from the beginning that you wouldn't let me be tortured, how did you change your mind now? "Huang Zonghan was taken aback and said," If you don't recruit it from the truth, you will definitely not forgive me. "" I said, I said, I said everything. "Then Wang Erhu told Chen Lao Lun how to bribe him, let him pretend to be an adulterer, and promised that he would not be punished or suffer, and that once the case was closed, he would be sent home immediately. After listening, the inspector and all the trial officers looked at each other. Huang Zonghan was surprised and happy. He was surprised that there was such an inside story in the Hezhou murder case, and he was happy that the case had finally made progress.

Besides, Li Yanggu was ordered by Huang Zonghan to bring two personal servants, pretending to be business people, and changed their surname to Wu. The three of them went down the river by boat, arrived in Luzhou in a few days, and then took a steamer along the Yangtze River to Chongqing. Li Yanggu and the three of them just stepped on the shore, and two people dressed as servants came to block their way. I saw the two servants holding name stickers, half kneeling on the ground, and said respectfully: "Master Li, the villain has been waiting here for a long time at the order of Lord Dao Tai, why did the old master come so late?" Li Yanggu couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the words, because only Lord Huang knew about his secret trip. Along the way, he went incognito and disguised himself, why did anyone know as soon as he arrived in Chongqing? I will not admit to seeing how he is doing for the time being. So, he said with a smile on his face: "I am afraid that the two of you have mistaken me. My surname is Wu, not Li, and I am a businessperson and not an official. How dare you bother the two of you to call me Eldest Master?" Before the two servants could finish his words, they laughed and said, "Master Li, stop pretending, you are the famous'Li Beard '. No one in Sichuan knows, and which one does not know? Didn't you come here on the order of Lord Huang to go to Hezhou to investigate the murder of Hezhou? Our Lord Daotai said that this matter is not busy, let Master Li go to the yacht to rest before leaving." It turned out that Li Yanggu was nicknamed Li Beard because of his long beard: Li Yanggu saw that Yu knew the purpose of his secret trip, so he didn't dare to underestimate it. So he answered truthfully: "I am indeed Li Yanggu, but this trip is not to Hezhou, but to Chongqing to collect personal debts, so I dare not tell others with my real name." The two servants said: "Whether it is for public or private reasons, please go to the yamen to rest and rest first." After saying that, the two could not help but say, one left and one right put Li Yanggu straight to the yamen. Li Yanggu was helpless and had to let it go: a group of five people came to the yamen entrance, but saw that the master of the daotai was already waiting at the gate. He very humbly took Li Yanggu into the mansion, with good tea, good wine, and good dinner. During the conversation, the Taoist platform asked, "Brother Li's trip is for the Hezhou murder case, right?" Li Yanggu waved his hand and said, "Where, where, brother's visit to Chongqing this time is mainly to collect private debts, which has nothing to do with public pragmatism." The Taoist platform knew that Li Yanggu lied and did not point it out. After dinner, Li Yanggu got up and said goodbye, and the Taoist platform refused to let him go without saying anything. He took Li Yanggu's hand and said, "Since it's not business, why don't you stay a few days less? Li Yanggu had no choice but to live patiently in the mansion and take the time to pretend to be some real-world friends to collect debts.

Three days later, Li Yanggu said that the debt had been cleared and he had to return to the provincial capital on schedule, and he was determined to leave. Seeing that Qiang could not keep it, he turned around and whispered, "Brother, there is no need to hide it, I already know the purpose of your trip. If you can say a few kind words in front of the Governor and let the Hezhou murder case be upheld, the brother is willing to give 3,000 taels of gold as a reward, and I hope the brother will raise his hand." After saying that, he took out 3,000 taels of gold and handed it to Li Yanggu. Li Yanggu hugged his hands and said, "Brother, it's not that the younger brother is unwilling to help, but because he has nothing to do with this case, and he dare not accept it." Dao Tai said, "Even if it's not for the Hezhou murder case, please accept this gold with a smile, and treat it as a little greeting gift from the younger brother." Li Yanggu refused and left.

Li Yanggu and his two personal servants took a boat up the Yangtze River again. Li Yanggu ordered his servants to buy him a new set of clothes and shaved off his long beard. He was never recognized again along the way.

In Hezhou and Qijian Bridge, Li Yanggu made an unannounced investigation and used Chen Laolun as a clue to find out the various crimes of corrupt officials such as Rong Yutian. Only who was the real culprit in the Hezhou murder case still had no clue.

On the way back to the provincial capital, Li Yanggu didn't dare to be careless. He decided to take the dry road instead. That night, he came to Yinshan Town,

During dinner, Li Yanggu overheard two people gossiping at the next table. Only one of them said, "Alas, those officials are too confused now. The Ju father and son of the Qijian Bridge in Hezhou were clearly killed by someone, while the state official closed the case on the murder of his wife's husband. Another said, "You said the Ju father and son were killed by someone, do you know who the murderer is?" The first person who spoke looked left and right, then lowered his voice and proudly said, "To be honest, the murderer, is it far away, close to the horizon, the Ju father and son were killed by me. "You are really a thief. You dare to talk nonsense about the matter of human life." Alas, how dare I say such a big thing casually, it was really a last resort at the time. That day, I passed by Qijian Bridge, and because I was penniless, I couldn't continue on my way, so I climbed over the wall in the middle of the night and entered a house. Looking around in the dark, I only stole a quilt. I just walked out of the door with the quilt in my arms when a man of prime age came after me and held on to the quilt. The two of us dragged me and held each other for a while, and I scared him and said, "Hurry up, let go, or I'll kill you." Who knew that the man ignored me and grabbed the quilt harder. In a hurry, I took out the short knife I was carrying with me and stabbed him hard in the abdomen, killing the man on the spot. I was about to turn around and leave, but suddenly a young man chased out the door. I simply did nothing and killed the young man with a short knife. I knew that I could not escape my guilt, so I had been wandering outside for more than a year and dared not go home. I heard that the Hezhou murder case was now closed, so I was hurrying to go home.

When Li Yanggu heard this, he thought it was really a thief who didn't confess. He quietly gave the two servants a wink, and the two servants pounced. Before the murderer understood what was going on, he had already been hugged firmly and could not move.

So far, the murder case of Qijianqiao in Hezhou has finally come to light. After reporting it to the imperial court for approval, Rong Yutian, Daotai, the Ministry of Justice, and the city officials who participated in the trial of the murder case in Hezhou were all demoted to the people and will never be used again. Ju Cao was sentenced to imprisonment for providing false evidence, and the murderer was executed by Ling Chi; Wang Erhu was sent to the army, and Chen Laolun committed suicide in fear of crime. Ju Xiangshi was acquitted. Ju Xiaomei was honored by the imperial court as a filial daughter.