In the late Qing Dynasty, a shocking injustice occurred in Chenzhou. In order to commemorate Justice Bao , a troupe performed "Go to Chenzhou". Unexpectedly, an old man jumped onto the stage and sued his son Liu Fu for his wrongful death. The old man's surname was Liu. He was once a tenant in Caojia Village, Liangzhou. His son Liu Fu won the first place in the imperial examination because he ate the champion melon, but was framed by Cao Yuanwai and his son. The old man had no way to file a complaint. In desperation, he ran into a black-faced man. He wrote a petition and asked the old man to find a troupe. The actor of Bao Gong in the play heard about the old man's injustice and decided to make a real play and lead everyone to find Li Daotai to seek justice. Li Daotai wanted to arrest the old man to silence him. During the pursuit of the police, the old man ran into the black-faced man and was saved. The black-faced man took the old man back to the troupe, borrowed Bao Gong's clothes, dressed up as Bao Gong, and came to the Daotai Mansion to try the case. Li Daotai was shocked when he saw Bao Gong and wanted to arrest him. However, Wang Chao and Ma Han showed their imperial swords, and it turned out that Bao Gong was the new governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. Li Daotai knelt down in fear, and the father and son of the Cao family confessed. The emperor issued an order, and the father and son of the Cao family were beheaded. Old Liu was heartbroken and found that the champion melon was not real, and felt deeply guilty. The unjust case was finally cleared, and the opera troupe became famous for Bao Gong's wise judgment of the case.
1. Crying out for injustice on stage
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a Wang family opera troupe came to Chenzhou and performed in the city for half a month. On the day when the performance ended, according to the custom of performing in Chenzhou, the troupe had to perform "Going to Chenzhou". After the performance, the actors who played Bao were carried in a sedan chair by eight people to parade around Chenzhou City to commemorate Bao Qingtian. If they met someone who was crying out for justice on the way, the actors would take the petition and personally deliver it to the government office. In order to win the hearts of the people, the government also tried the case impartially.
But this time, something unexpected happened. When the actor who played Bao Gong had just taken his seat on the stage and was about to interrogate Chen Shimei, a ragged old man suddenly rushed out from the audience, staggered onto the stage, and shouted sadly, "Mr. Bao, it's unjust!" Then he fell to his knees in front of the actor. All the audience were stunned by this scene, and their eyes widened.
The actor was stunned at first, then he immediately stood up, helped the old man up with both hands, ordered someone to bring a chair, asked the old man to sit down, and said to him: "Old man, what grievances have you suffered, tell me slowly!"
The audience was immediately impressed by the actor's wit, and they all held their breath to listen to what kind of injustice the old man had suffered. While wiping his tears, the old man told his story in detail.
The old man's surname was Liu, and he was a tenant of Cao Yuanwai's family in Caojia Village, Liangzhou. 10 years ago, his son Liu Fu accidentally ate the champion melon on the Talented Slope outside the village. According to legend, a great talent was buried on the slope. After he was framed and killed, a melon vine grew next to his grave. It only bloomed once every 60 years and only produced one melon. Whoever eats this melon will definitely win the championship.
After Old Man Liu was happy, he couldn't help but worry. His family was poor, how could they afford to support their son's education? In desperation, he thought of a person – Mr. Cao. So, he took his son to Cao's house, and both father and son knelt on the ground, begging Mr. Cao to adopt Liu Fu as his adopted son, to support his education, and he would bring honor to the Cao family when he grew up! But Mr. Cao was worried that Liu Fu would not be able to win the first prize, and the money he spent would be wasted. Liu Fu promised that he would pay it back by working as a long-term worker for the rest of his life! Old Man Liu promised on the spot that from today on, he would leave Caojia Village and never come back in this life! After hearing this, Mr. Cao agreed. After Old Man Liu tearfully gave his son some instructions, he left the village, looking back every step of the way.
Cao Yuanwai hired a teacher to teach his sons Cao Fa and Liu Fu. After ten years of hard study, Cao Fa failed to pass the examination. Liu Fu was extremely smart and diligent. He won the first place in the imperial examination and then the second place in the imperial examination. He went to Beijing to take the examination and won the first place in the imperial examination. He was appointed by the emperor as the prefect of Ganzhou. After returning home in glory, he stayed at home for only one day and then hurried to Ganzhou to take up his post.
As for Old Man Liu, after leaving Caojia Village, he came all the way to Guazhou and barely made a living by doing odd jobs for wealthy families. When he heard that his son had won the first place in the imperial examination, he was both happy and sad, but he always kept his promise and never went to Ganzhou to look for his son.
That year, Guazhou suffered a severe drought, and the crops failed. Old Man Liu had nowhere to live, so he begged all the way to Ganzhou. When he heard that Liu Fu had become a corrupt official despised by everyone, he came to him angrily to settle accounts. Unexpectedly, the prefect was Cao Fa, the son of Cao Yuanwai! Old Man Liu was very puzzled, how did Cao Fa suddenly become the prefect? In order to find out the truth, he rushed back to Caojia Village overnight, but heard an unexpected news that Cao Fa had died of a sudden illness!
After meeting Mr. Cao, he learned from him that Liu Fu had contracted typhoid fever on his way home and died the next day. Mr. Cao felt sorry for the money he had wasted, so he came up with a plan. He claimed that it was his son Cao Fa who had died, and secretly sent him to Ganzhou to replace Liu Fu. Old Liu believed it and cried bitterly in front of his son's grave. Mr. Cao comforted Old Liu and said, "Cao Fa is your son from now on, and he will take care of you until the end of your life." He also gave Old Liu a lot of money.
One day, Cao drove out an old and frail servant. Old Man Liu felt sorry for him and gave him a few taels of silver. The old servant was very grateful and told him a secret: Liu Fu was drunk by Cao's father and son on the night he returned to the village, and then strangled to death with a rope! After hearing this, Old Man Liu's eyes were blazing with anger, and he turned around to find Cao to settle the score! When Cao saw that the matter was exposed, he called a group of servants and beat Old Man Liu on the spot. After dark, he was thrown into a mass grave dozens of miles away.
It was his fate that he was saved by several passers-by. One of the black-faced men was very angry after listening to Old Man Liu's story, and immediately wrote a petition, asking him to go to the Chenzhou Daotai Yamen to file a complaint. The black-faced man repeatedly told Old Man Liu that if they did not do anything, he should go to Wang's Opera Troupe to find him.
Old man Liu came to Chenzhou, found the Daotai government office, picked up the drumstick and started beating the drum to appeal for justice. That day was Daotai Li's 60th birthday, and officials from all over the country came to celebrate, including the father and son of the Cao family. Under the star-studded moon, he was accepting the congratulations of the officials, when he suddenly heard the drum sound. He did not dare to neglect it, and quickly changed into his official uniform to go to court. Daotai Li read the old man Liu's petition, his face darkened, and he scolded: "You bold and unruly people dare to slander the current number one scholar! Come on, kick him out of the hall!" Several yamen runners rushed over and kicked Old Man Liu out of the yamen.
In desperation, Old Man Liu had to ask around and came to Wang's troupe, but he didn't find the black-faced man. He was at a loss. At this time, the opera was playing "Going to Chenzhou". Seeing Bao Gong sitting in the hall, Old Man Liu felt very sad when he thought about his son's unjust case. He suddenly rushed out of the crowd and threw himself on the stage…
2. Murder to silence witnesses
After hearing this, the actor read the petition again and found it was exactly the same as what he said. He immediately opened his eyes wide, slammed the wake-up stick in the hall, and shouted: "Wang Chao and Ma Han, listen to my order, prepare the sedan chair and go to the Taotai Mansion!" The audience saw that Bao Gong was going to act out the play, so they all followed him to the Taotai Mansion.
Li Daotai and other officials were drinking happily when the guards suddenly came to report that the actor Bao Gong had come to the government office to file a petition. He was very disappointed and ordered a group of yamen runners to drive them out to the street and then drink their wine.
The actor who played Lord Bao wanted to take advantage of Old Man Liu's complaint to earn a good reputation for the troupe. He didn't expect that Li Daotai would not give him face this time. He felt very disappointed and had to hand the complaint to the guard to pass on. Then, amid the laughter of the crowd, he took off his fake beard and dragon robe and returned angrily.
The guard handed the petition to Li Daotai. After taking it, he realized that Old Man Liu was not giving up and actually handed the petition to the actor who played Bao Gong. If this matter were to spread, it would be extremely disadvantageous to him. He hurriedly ordered someone to call the Cao family father and son and threw the petition to them. Only then did Cao Yuanwai know that Old Man Liu was not dead. After seeing it, Cao Fa became anxious and looked at his father eagerly, not knowing what to do. Cao Yuanwai's eyes turned and whispered a few words in Li Daotai's ear. Li Daotai thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. At the instruction of his father, Cao Fa immediately called a dozen runners and ordered them to rush to Wang's opera troupe!
The actor went back to the backstage and told the boss what had happened. The boss was afraid of getting into trouble, so he told everyone to pack up their costumes and prepare to leave Chenzhou. At this moment, a dozen fierce-looking officers suddenly rushed in from the front desk. After seeing the boss, they asked viciously, "Where is the old man Liu who complained?" Seeing that they were not here for good, the actor quietly slipped out of the front desk, found Old Man Liu, and told him to hide quickly!
Old Man Liu then realized that Li Daotai and the father and son of the Cao family were in cahoots and wanted to capture him to silence him. He hurriedly ran out of the theater and came to a crossroads. When he was hesitating about where to go, the group of police officers had already chased him. Old Man Liu was frightened and scared. He turned around and ran into an alley, but bumped into someone!
He looked up and was surprised and delighted. This person was the black-faced man who saved his life. When the black-faced man saw the officers chasing after him, he understood something. He immediately ordered the four people behind him to meet them. After a fight, the officers were no match for them and were beaten and fled. Old Man Liu told the black-faced man what happened, and the black-faced man immediately took him back to the troupe.
The troupe owner was about to leave with everyone when he saw the black-faced man suddenly come back with Old Man Liu. He was anxious and scared. Seeing this, the black-faced man said to him, "Let me take care of this matter." Then he suddenly asked to borrow Bao Gong's clothes. The troupe owner asked him what he wanted to do? The black-faced man replied, "Go to the governor's mansion!" The troupe owner looked embarrassed.
The black-faced man winked at someone beside him, and the man whispered something in the ear of the troupe leader, who suddenly changed his expression and immediately became respectful to the black-faced man. The black-faced man quickly put on his face, changed into Bao Gong's clothes, and majestically sat in the eight-man sedan chair and headed straight for the Taotai Mansion. People along the street saw another Bao Gong on tour, thinking that there was something interesting to watch, and followed him closely.
When Li Daotai was in the back hall getting angry because he had not caught Old Man Liu, he suddenly heard the sound of the drum for appealing for justice being beaten. He immediately became furious and rushed to the hall with all the officials.
3. Bao Gong is still alive
But he saw a dark-faced man with a crescent moon on his forehead, wearing a black python robe and a black gauze hat, sitting in the hall with a dignified look, and Wang, Ma, Zhang, and Zhao were standing on both sides. Li Daotai knew at a glance that it was another actor playing Bao Gong who was causing trouble! Seeing that the gate of the yamen was surrounded by a black crowd, he temporarily suppressed his anger and asked in a stern voice: "Who is beating the drum?"
Bao Gong replied, "This prefect!" Li Daotai heard that he was very angry and asked, "Why are you beating the drum?" The black-faced man said in a loud voice, "I have a grievance to redress!" Li Daotai could no longer hold back and scolded, "Who are you? How dare you be so bold and show off in front of me!" He answered again in a loud voice, "My surname is Bao!"
Li Daotai snorted and said sarcastically, "You are such an actor! Get out of here!" Wang Chao at the side suddenly shouted angrily, "Li Daotai, you are so bold that you dare to speak rudely in front of Lord Bao!" Bao Gong waved his hands at Wang Chao and asked, "Li Daotai, as an official appointed by the court, you don't care about the suffering of the people, but gather your subordinates to hold a banquet in the government office. How can this be possible?" This question made Li Daotai speechless.
Bao picked up the petition and continued, "I am here on a tour and have received an unjust case. I would like to borrow the government hall to hear the case in person. What do you think?" The people in the hall were unheard of to hear that Bao was going to personally judge the case, so they all clapped their hands and cheered. Li Daotai had no choice but to nod and agreed. He ordered someone to bring a chair and sit at the side of the hall. The officials had never seen such a scene before, and they all stood behind Li Daotai, wanting to see how this actor would judge the case.
Bao Gong said solemnly that the court was open. The yamen runners on both sides held the gavel and made a crisp sound in the midst of a low and mighty sound. Wang Chao responded by shouting, "Bring old man Liu to the court!" Old man Liu had been waiting outside the hall. Hearing the shout, he hurried to the hall, knelt on the ground, and met Bao Gong. Bao Gong said to him, "Old man, if you have any grievances, just tell me. I will make a decision for you today!"
In front of everyone, Old Man Liu told the whole story of Liu Fu's murder. The Cao family father and son had not expected him to do such a thing, and they were so frightened that they dared not even breathe.
When Li Daotai heard this, he had something to hide and hurriedly tried to stop him, saying, "This villain is simply framing Liu Zhuangyuan!" Bao Gong asked, "Li Daotai, the case has not been tried yet. How do you know it is a false accusation? Could it be that you are involved in this case?" Li Daotai was stunned and quickly changed his words, saying, "The father and son of the Cao family are far away in Ganzhou. They will not be able to come to court until three days later. I am afraid it will be difficult to try the case today."
Bao Gong, however, looked confident and suddenly shouted, "Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, bring Cao's father and son to the hall!" In a moment, the two men picked out Cao's father and son from among the officials and brought them to the hall. Li Daotai was speechless.
Bao Gong slammed the gavel and asked sternly: "Mr. Cao, have you and Cao Fa ever done such a heinous thing?" Mr. Cao kowtowed and argued: "Mr. Bao, old man Liu is slandering me. He said that I killed his son. Do you have any evidence?" Upon hearing this, Bao Gong's eyes widened with anger: "Wang Chao and Ma Han, bring the witnesses and evidence to the court!" After a while, two men were seen carrying a skeleton into the hall, followed by the old servant.
When Cao Yuanwai saw his old servant suddenly appear, his face changed drastically and he fainted on the ground. Cao Fa found that the matter was completely exposed and knew that he could not hide it anymore. He kowtowed like crazy and was about to confess. Li Daotai suddenly stood up, rushed to the front of the hall, snatched the token in the hall, threw it down, and shouted loudly: "All the yamen runners, why don't you take down this rebellious actor!" A group of yamen runners saw the token and rushed to the hall with sticks in their hands!
4. Redress of wrongful convictions
At this time, Wang, Ma, Zhang, and Zhao, four people, were holding knives in their hands and surrounded Bao Gong. Wang Chao shouted: "Who dares to touch Lord Bao!" The yamen runners were suddenly stopped. Li Daotai was anxious: "Whoever catches this actor will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver!" A big reward will surely bring brave men. When the yamen runners heard that there was a silver reward, they rushed to the hall like a swarm of bees.
Ma Han raised his sword and chopped down a desperate criminal who was rushing to the front. Wang Chao suddenly showed a shining sword, held it high in the hall, and shouted to the crowd like thunder: "The emperor has given me the imperial sword. Anyone who dares to touch Mr. Bao will be killed without mercy!" As soon as these words came out, the officials were terrified and knelt down in front of the imperial sword.
Li Daotai was stunned at first, then suddenly shouted: "Don't believe it, the imperial sword is a fake sword they use for the opera!"
After hearing this, Bao Gong flew into a rage: "Li Daotai, open your eyes and take a good look!" After saying that, he immediately took off his black python robe and revealed the governor's uniform underneath. Ma Han shouted angrily: "Li Daotai, why didn't you kneel when you saw Governor Bao?" Li Daotai was stunned. The Bao Gong in the hall turned out to be the new governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Bao! He hurriedly ordered the yamen runners to leave, and fell to his knees, shaking with fear.
The common people in the hall watched it as if they were watching a play. This time they truly saw that the new Mr. Bao was indeed a worthy Justice Bao. They all clapped and cheered!
It turned out that after Bao Da Ren took office, he heard about the corruption of officials and the people's resentment in the four states of Hexi, so he decided to make a private visit. He was a fan of opera, especially the "Going to Chenzhou" by the Wang Family Opera Troupe, so he followed them all the way, listening to the opera while conducting a private visit.
After saving Old Man Liu on the way, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, Bao Da Ren secretly ordered people to find the old servant and confirm the truth of Liu Zhuangyuan's murder, and then took the old servant and Liu Fu's body to Chenzhou. When he came back from the search, Cao Fa sent people to arrest Old Man Liu and wanted to kill him to silence him. So he revealed his identity to the troupe owner, dressed up as Bao Gong, and performed this good show of fake Bao Gong trying a real case…
When Cao Yuanwai woke up, he learned that the person in the hall was the governor, Bao Daren. Faced with overwhelming evidence, he had no choice but to confess on the spot. Bao Daren ordered the father and son to sign and seal, and then immediately put them in death row. Li Daotai was stripped of his hat and feather for accepting bribes and bending the law for personal gain, and was handed over to the Ministry of Personnel for investigation. When the emperor learned that Liu Zhuangyuan had been killed, he was furious and immediately ordered the Cao family father and son to be beheaded on the spot. An unjust case was finally redressed.
After thanking Mr. Bao, Old Man Liu transported the remains of his son Liu Fu back to Caojia Village and buried him on Caizi Hill with the help of the villagers. He had never expected that his son would be so unlucky, dying just after winning the first place in the imperial examination. Now he had a tragedy of an old man sending off his young son. Old Man Liu beat his chest and stamped his feet, wailing.
The villagers couldn't bear to watch and were about to leave with him, when Old Man Liu saw the champion melon vine nearby and suddenly rushed over like crazy, grabbed the vine and started pulling it. When everyone rushed to stop him, he had already pulled up the vine with its roots.
Old man Liu revealed a shocking secret: this melon vine is not a top-notch melon at all!
After hearing this, everyone hurriedly asked the reason. Old Man Liu suddenly looked guilty and finally told the truth: he saw that Liu Fu was gifted and intelligent since childhood, with an extraordinary memory, and he would definitely have a promising future when he grew up. Unfortunately, his family was penniless and had no money to support him to study. After some hard thinking, he finally came up with a solution. Old Man Liu secretly transplanted the melon seedling on the slope, and deliberately arranged for Liu Fu to eat the melon while playing on the slope. Then, he borrowed the rumor about the champion melon and begged Cao Yuanwai to support Liu Fu to study in the name of his adopted son and pass the imperial examination. Who knew that this would lead to a fatal disaster…
Story evaluation
In this ghost story, the author skillfully combines history and folklore, and tells the legendary story of Bao Gong who transformed into an actor and tried cases and judged injustices, with Chenzhou in the Qing Dynasty as the background. The plot is ups and downs and fascinating, showing the author's precise grasp of plot design. First of all, the story sets up suspense at the beginning, and Bao Gong is interrupted by an old man who suddenly rushed onto the stage, which arouses the curiosity of the audience. Then, through the narration of Liu Lao Han, the truth of the unjust case is gradually revealed, so that readers can feel the attraction of the story in a tense atmosphere. Secondly, the story is also quite ingenious in creating an atmosphere. The author uses a lot of vivid details, such as the parade of the troupe and Bao Gong's trial, to bring readers into a real and mysterious historical time and space. At the same time, the ghostly elements in the story, such as the legend of the champion melon, and Bao Gong's mysterious identity, add mystery and tension to the story. In terms of character creation, the characters in the story are distinct and distinctive. Liu Lao Han's kindness and tenacity, the insidiousness and greed of Cao's father and son, and Bao Gong's fairness and wisdom have all left a deep impression on readers. Especially for the character of Bao Gong, the author skillfully shows his pleading for the people and his wisdom and courage through his incarnation as an actor. In addition, the emotional resonance in the story is also commendable. Old Man Liu's love and guilt for his son, as well as his persistent pursuit of justice, make readers have a strong emotional resonance in the reading process. The tragic ending of the story makes people sigh at the impermanence of fate and the vicissitudes of history. In summary, this ghost story has high artistic value in terms of plot design, atmosphere creation, and character creation. It not only shows the author's talent, but also provides readers with an unforgettable reading experience.