Du Bao had received his promotion for ending the war. The emperor also kept Du’s promise and made Chen one of his official messengers. Chen would be responsible for delivering the emperor’s orders and edicts. The old man was beyond happy with this title, he felt rejuvenated and more confident than he had in years.
As the soldiers dispersed the nation gradually returned to normal. The supervisor of the exams finally requested that the emperor read over the results and name the top scholar of the year. Liu was, of course, one of the successful candidates. It was a Song Dynasty tradition that a celebratory banquet be thrown for all the exam candidates. The dinner was held in the royal garden, Qionglin Garden, and hence became known as the Qionglin Feast.
Chen was instructed to invite all the candidates. As he was going over the list of names he discovered that the top-ranked scholar of the year was Liu. Though Chen was still angry with Liu for digging up the grave, he was clear that Liu was the most successful candidate who deserved the opportunity to dine with the emperor.
As the one who was responsible for tracking down each of the scholars, Chen searched high and low for Liu. The scouts were sent out but everyone came back empty-handed. Chen wanted to make a good impression with his first official task as messenger so he sent out even more people to locate Liu.
What Chen didn’t know was that Liu had actually been arrested by his unsuspecting father-in-law, and was now locked up in the capital’s prison. Du had nearly forgotten about the young man he’d had arrested. But after a few days he remembered and sent for Liu so that he could question him.
Unlike the other prisoners, Liu did not go down on his knees begging for mercy. Instead, he stood upright in front of the court insisting that he was in fact Du’s son-in-law. But his insistence only angered Du more.
“My daughter has been dead for three years and she was never married! She wasn’t even engaged when she passed. What is this nonsense about you being my son-in-law all about? Did you honestly think you could claim a government job using such a flimsy story?”
“I know I look miserable and shabby right now,” laughed Liu. “But I’m smart, and with my skills I don’t worry about food and clothes. In fact, I could pass the imperial exam. Why would I pretend to be your son-in-law?”
“So this is how you chose to play your hand? Fine,” Du said calmly. “Search his bag for stolen goods.”
The guards searched Liu’s single bag and discovered the painting. But Liu didn’t panic. He believed that when Du saw Liniang’s self-portrait he would be allowed to speak and soon be acknowledged as family. However, the painting only reminded Du of his daughter’s grave robbery.
“What’s your name?”
“Liu Mengmei from Ling’an.” “Have you ever been to Nan’an?”
“Yes. In fact I stayed there for some time.”
“Did you know Mother Stone, the Nun and Chen, the Tutor?”
“Yes, I know both of them.”
“So you are the grave robber,” Du laughed humorlessly. “I’ve been looking for you. Didn’t expect you would surrender yourself, though. Not only did you rob my daughter’s grave but you pretended to be a relation of mine,” Du shook his head in disgust. “Hang him up and whip him.”
