Liu was hung up and whipped before he had a chance to explain himself. The people of the city overheard Liu’s cries and couldn’t stop themselves from looking into the court to see what all the noise was about. One such passerby was an old man with a hunchback, who had once been a servant in Liu’s home in Ling’nan. It had been years since he had seen Liu, but he had no family of his own and hence thought of Liu as his family. The old man had in fact been searching for Liu, and knew that he had journeyed to the capital to take the palace exam.
Among others who passed by while Liu was being whipped were several errand goers hoping to hear who had been named the top-ranked scholar in the nation. The hunchbacked old man heard them say Liu’s name, and spoke up.
“Has the list been posted yet? Has the Top Scholar been announced yet?”
“Liu Mengmei was named as the Top Scholar for this year,” answered one of the errand goers. “We are under orders to find him.”
The old man was relieved to hear that his young master had received the grand title. He informed the trio of errand goers that the man they were looking for was, in fact, the one whose screams had distracted them. The trio of Chen’s men went inside the court, and soon confirmed that the man being whipped was indeed Liu Mengmei.
Word was sent back to Chen that they had located the Top Scholar of the Year, and also that he had been beaten. But it was more than Chen alone was capable of dealing with so he sought a meeting with the court’s claims examiner.
Liu instantly recognized the claims examiner and knew that he’d probably be all right. Seeing Chen, as the royal messenger, however, took him by surprise. He greeted the old hunchback and then sent him to fetch his wife and the nun as quickly as possible. But the old man deducted from their brief conversation that Liu had not robbed the girl’s grave, and that she had been resurrected.
The claims examiner requested that Du release Liu. Du was informed that the emperor had named Liu the Top Scholar for that year. Du couldn’t believe the news. He insisted that there must have been some mistake made.
“Prime minister, I personally gave him money to cover his traveling expenses when he was on his way to take the imperial exam. I was also the supervisor for the test. No mistake has been made.”
Du knew that the claims examiner was telling the truth so he had no other choice but to listen. He ordered Liu to be untied and told him he could attend the feast, but he was still reluctant to trust the scholar. It was greatly confusing for him, how such a horrible human could also be the year"s top-ranked scholar. Du was storming around the room, trying to ease some of his anger, when Chen arrived.
"Congratulations, my lord!" Chen said with a bow.
"For what?"
"You"ve been promoted to Prime Minister, you"re daughter has been resurrected and you will soon be reunited with her, and lastly, that your son-in-law has been names the top-scholar of the nation. Aren"t those things worth celebrating?"
"Mr. Chen, what are you talking about?" Du, who knew nothing about his daughter"s resurrection, was completely taken aback by Chen"s words.
"Do you expect me to believe that this man is my son-in- low? “And what are you implying about my daughter? Wasn"t it you who recently informed me of her robbed grave? How could you say such nonsense to me?"
"Everything I"ve said is true. Your daughter—human or not—is alive, I believe."
"You are mistaken, Mr. Chen. I refuse to believe this mumbo jumbo. There is no such thing as resurrection. As the prime minister—if you really heard this story—I must report it to the emperor. As royal messenger, please relay this information to him immediately."
