The Ming dynasty largely followed the administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty, but split the authority of the provincial administration into three: the Provincial Administration Commission for civil administration, the Provincial Surveillance Commission for judicial matters, and the Regional Military Commission for military affairs. This separation of powers was intended as a system of checks and balances.

Under the Provincial Surveillance Commission, there were also sub-circuits for inspection and administration, each overseen by a Vice Surveillance Commissioner or an Assistant Surveillance Commissioner. For example, Zhejiang was divided into the Eastern Zhejiang Circuit and the Western Zhejiang Circuit, with Hangzhou Prefecture falling under the jurisdiction of the Western Zhejiang Circuit.

The Western Zhejiang Circuit Inspector Mr. Clark took the accusations from the The Harris Family very seriously, as this was not only a homicide case but also involved a county official accepting bribes and perverting the law—an absolutely major case in the entire province of Zhejiang.

He immediately ordered the Surveillance Commission’s Coroner to re-examine the corpse, and the results were dramatically different—the Surveillance Commission’s Coroner, after inspecting the scene and examining the body, determined that the woman had been dead for several months, only tied to a stone and sunk to the riverbed, and later floated to the surface when the rope came loose. That’s why she didn’t appear to have been dead for so long.

Seeing that the autopsy results from Fuyang County had been overturned, Mr. Clark’s judgment naturally shifted in favor of the plaintiff. He turned his suspicions toward the officials of Fuyang County, ordered Judge Brooks suspended pending investigation, and personally interrogated Richard Foster.

Richard Foster spoke confidently before Mr. Clark, adamantly denying that he had killed his wife. But Mr. Clark, through questioning witnesses, learned that he had a record of beating his wife. Richard Foster explained that his original wife had died in childbirth, and he later remarried Mrs. Harris. However, Mrs. Harris was flirtatious and often joked around with his classmates, which embarrassed him greatly. Sometimes, their arguments turned physical. This time, Mrs. Harris disappeared after a fight, supposedly on her way back to her parents’ home...

Mr. Clark immediately rebuked him, saying, “Your two families are less than ten li apart, and Mrs. Harris left in broad daylight—how could anything have happened to her? Clearly, you killed her and then lied that she went back to her parents’ home!”

Richard Foster repeatedly claimed ignorance, and since he held the title of scholar, Mr. Clark could not use torture. He then noticed that the The Harris Family’s complaint listed a witness, Samuel Hill, who was a classmate of Richard Foster.

Mr. Clark immediately summoned him to court for questioning. Samuel Hill revealed that, when drinking together in the past, he had heard Richard Foster complain several times that Mrs. Harris was unchaste, and that he wished he could kill her.

At this, Mr. Clark was convinced that Richard Foster was the murderer, and even wrote to the Education Circuit to strip him of his scholar’s title, then subjected him to severe torture!

Although Richard Foster was tough, after enduring all manner of torture devices, he finally broke and confessed under duress, admitting that he and Mrs. Harris had a poor relationship, that he lured her to the riverside, beat her to death, then tied her to a stone and sank her to the bottom of the river...

Later, Richard Foster also confessed the location where he had hidden the bloodstained clothes and murder weapon. When the constables went to investigate, they indeed found a bloodstained dress and a cudgel. Seeing the case finally break open, Mr. Clark was overjoyed, ordered the barely alive Richard Foster taken away, and then summoned Coroner Brown for questioning. At first, Coroner Brown insisted that he had not taken any money, and that even if his examination was mistaken, it was merely due to lack of skill. The clerk William Walker from the criminal office gave the same answer!

What the Coroner said was reasonable—even if the result was wrong, it was at most dereliction of duty, punishable by dismissal, but not a criminal offense. But as Mr. Clark got nowhere with the questioning, he turned back to interrogate Richard Foster. Having been beaten into submission, Richard Foster confessed everything, admitting that he had bribed Judge Brooks with one hundred strings of paper money, which was passed on by the criminal office clerk William Walker.

With Richard Foster’s confession, Mr. Clark again interrogated the Fuyang County clerks. This time, he was smarter and left the slippery William Walker for last, first questioning Coroner Brown.

Sure enough, when Coroner Brown saw the confession, he admitted to taking a ten-string “hardship fee,” which was given to him by Clerk Walker.

With Coroner Brown’s confession in hand, Mr. Clark was overjoyed and immediately summoned Clerk Walker. In court, Clerk Walker was both amused and exasperated, saying that the bookish types didn’t understand the realities of life, and thought everyone in the yamen lived on air. The county magistrate might be as honest as water, but every time he went out, there were dozens of people involved—palanquin bearers, three classes of yamen runners, plus white laborers and militia. They had no income, or at most a little wage silver, which was not enough to support their families. They relied on these errands to earn some extra money.

For example, when going to Lingqiao Town, the party involved had to pay “shoe money” as usual. Since it was ten li away, there was an extra thirty wen, plus twenty wen for food and drink. Then, transporting the body to the public mortuary and conducting the autopsy—all these expenses had to be covered by the party involved; the government had no obligation to pay. So when I asked for a hundred strings of expenses, I was just following long-standing practice, not soliciting a bribe.

Though the words were unpleasant, that was the reality—anyone in William Walker’s position would have done the same. Besides, such things were not something a mere minor clerk could change. Who would have thought that Mr. Clark, being so bookish, would insist this was bribery? He then pressed Judge Brooks to see if he had accepted a bribe, but William Walker stubbornly insisted that it was all the work of the underlings, and the magistrate knew nothing about it.

To pry open William Walker’s mouth, Mr. Clark once again resorted to severe torture, but whether he encountered a tough character or the yamen runners went easy on him, in any case William Walker withstood the torture and steadfastly refused to admit that Judge Brooks was involved. Mr. Clark was left with no choice but to stop pursuing the matter, though this was already enough to cause trouble for Judge Brooks.

After making this case ironclad, the circuit inspector reported the case. Because it was a major homicide involving official corruption, the Surveillance Commission had to report it to the Ministry of Justice, and only after the emperor’s personal approval and the orders being relayed back down could the sentence be carried out.