The Strange Case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai

This film (drama)Also known as小白菜奇案，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2012Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating8.0(For reference only)。

Case SummaryIn October of the twelfth year of the Tongzhi reign (1873 AD), a murder occurred in Yuhang Town, Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province, where Ge Pinlian, a tofu shop assistant, died suddenly. The county magistrate Liu Xitong suspected that the county's scholar Yang Naiwu had seduced Ge's wife Bi Xiugu and poisoned Ge to death. Yang Naiwu and Bi Xiugu were subjected to severe torture, with the case concluded as "murdering the husband to steal the wife," which was reported to the Hangzhou government and the Zhejiang province office. Both the Hangzhou government and Zhejiang province maintained the original verdict, reporting it to the Ministry of Justice. Later, Yang Naiwu’s sister Yang Shuying appealed to the court in the capital twice, alarming some righteous officials in the court who collectively petitioned for justice. The court ordered the Ministry of Justice to exhume the body for a forensic examination, revealing the truth and exonerating the wrongfully accused.Background of the Wrongful CaseYang Naiwu, a native of Yuhang, lived at the entrance of Chengqing Alley on the county front street. In August of the twelfth year of the Tongzhi reign, he passed the imperial examination at the age of 33. He was known for his uprightness and had a deep-seated grudge against the county magistrate Liu Xitong. At that time, there was a beautiful girl named Bi Xiugu in town, often wearing a green dress and white skirt, earning her the nickname "Little Cabbage." At the age of 18, she married Ge Pinlian and rented a room in Yang Naiwu's house, with both families getting along harmoniously. Bi Xiugu frequently visited the Yang household for chats and meals, where Yang Naiwu taught her to read. Some gossipers in the neighborhood spread rumors of an affair, saying "Yang is eating Little Cabbage." Ge Pinlian, feeling suspicious, moved out from Yang's house into Taiping Alley.Beginning of the Wrongful CaseOn the seventh day of October, Ge Pinlian experienced fever and swelling in his knees. Bi Xiugu advised him to rest at home, but he insisted on going to help at the tofu shop. On the morning of the ninth day, when returning home, he was shivering from the cold, with phlegm in his throat and frothing at the mouth, and died by nightfall. By the night of the tenth, his body had changed, with clear blood from his mouth and nose. His stepmother, Feng Xushi, suspected poisoning. His mother, Ge Yushi, reported her son's unexplained death to the county office and requested an examination. County magistrate Liu Xitong, having a grudge against Yang Naiwu, suspected him of conspiring to poison Ge. He personally led police and a coroner to the scene to examine the body. At noon, the deceased had a pale blue complexion, and there were abnormal rashes on his abdomen. Coroner Shen Xiang found blood in the deceased's mouth and nose and claimed it was "blood flowing from seven orifices." He used a silver needle to probe the throat, finding dark blue-black material, attributing the death to poisoning. Liu Xitong then brought Bi Xiugu back to the county office for questioning, where she claimed ignorance. The next day, under torture, she was coerced into falsely claiming an affair with Yang Naiwu, stating that on the fifth day, Yang had given her arsenic to murder her husband. Liu Xitong then summoned Yang Naiwu for confrontation. Yang denied the allegations, angrily accusing the magistrate of slander. As Yang was a newly certified scholar, it was inconvenient to torture him directly. Liu Xitong then applied to his superiors to strip Yang of his scholar title before proceeding to torture him, resulting in a coerced confession. Liu Xitong considered the case settled and reported the findings and interrogation results to the Hangzhou government.Arbitrary JudgementGovernor Chen Lu of Hangzhou believed Liu Xitong's claims, indiscriminately applying torture against Yang Naiwu, who was forced to mix his confessions. He claimed he had bought arsenic at Qian Bao's pharmacy on the third day, and Liu Xitong went back to Yuhang to summon Qian Bao for verification. Qian Bao claimed his name was Qian Tan and that he had never used the name Qian Bao, stating that Airen Tang was a small medicine shop and had never sold arsenic. County clerk Chen Hu threatened and bribed Qian Bao, also asking Zhang Jun, who worked as an instructor at the county office, to write a letter urging him to admit to selling the poison, warning that if he didn’t, evidence from Yang Naiwu would worsen his punishment. Under pressure, Qian Bao falsified the evidence and produced a document claiming he sold arsenic. Seeing that three pieces of evidence had aligned, Governor Chen Lu reported to Zhejiang's provincial governor Yang Changrui. Yang Changrui, believing the case to be valid, concluded it as originally stated, reporting it to the Ministry of Justice for approval to execute the sentence.Appeal to the CapitalWhile in prison, Yang Naiwu wrote a petition, which his sister Yang Shuying smuggled out, and along with his wife Zhan Caifeng, they traveled to the capital to appeal to the Censorate, but were sent back to Zhejiang. The first attempt to appeal to the capital failed, so Yang Shuying sought out Yang Naiwu's classmate Wu Yitong in Hangzhou. At that time, Wu Yitong worked as a teacher in Hu Xueyan's home. Coincidentally, the Vice Minister of War Xia Tongshan had completed his mourning period and was returning to the capital, passing through Hangzhou, where Hu Xueyan held a farewell banquet. During the event, Wu Yitong spoke of Yang Naiwu's wrongful case, and Xia Tongshan agreed to mention it upon returning to the capital.Second Trip to the CapitalIn September, Yang Shuying and Zhan Caifeng made a second trip to the capital. Xia Tongshan introduced them to over thirty Zhejiang officials in the capital, and they submitted their petition to the Ministry of Justice. Xia Tongshan also contacted the Grand Minister of Defense, Weng Tonghe, to brief the two empress dowagers on the details of the case. The Qing court issued an order to send Hu Ruilan, the Deputy Minister of Rites who was also the provincial education official of Zhejiang, to Hangzhou for a retrial. Zhejiang governor Yang Changrui sent officials from Ningbo and Jiaxing to assist in the investigation. During the interrogation, Yang Naiwu and Bi Xiugu recanted their statements. Under severe torture, Yang Naiwu had both legs crushed, and Bi Xiugu had all ten fingers broken, both of them again coerced into false confessions.Re-examinationOn the eighteenth of October, Hu Ruilan reported the case to the Ministry of Justice, which found numerous inconsistencies upon detailed study and requested an audience with the court. The Ministry of Justice then ordered Hu Ruilan to conduct a retrial, explicitly stating that no torture was to be used. Yang Naiwu fought violently to recant his confession. The witness Qian Bao had died, leaving no definitive conclusion. In December, over thirty Zhejiang gentry, including Wu Yitong and Wang Shuping, jointly petitioned to have the case and the defendants transferred to the capital for a fair trial. Xia Tongshan and other officials made numerous appeals before Empress Dowager Cixi on behalf of the case. The court issued orders, instructing Yang Changrui to transport all case files, defendants, witnesses, and Ge Pinlian's body to the capital. Liu Xitong was also removed from his post and sent along.Truth RevealedIn December of the second year of Guangxu, the Ministry of Justice held a major trial. The Censorate and the Supreme Court held a joint hearing. Yang Naiwu recounted the events of the case, denying any affair or conspiracy to poison, while Bi Xiugu cried out for justice, stating the truth. Witnesses and relatives were questioned, and testimonies from doorkeeper Shen Caiquan, coroner Shen Xiang, and assistants from Airen Tang were obtained, all revealing the truth. Subsequently, the coffin was opened for examination, confirming that the death was due to illness and not poisoning. After over three years of wrongful accusation, the truth finally came to light.Dramatic ConclusionOn the sixteenth of February, the Qing court issued an order to remove Liu Xitong from his position as county magistrate of Yuhang and sentenced him to penal servitude in Heilongjiang. Governors Chen Lu of Hangzhou, Bian Baocheng of Ningbo, Luo Zisen of Jiaxing, and the substitute magistrate Gu Deheng, along with Gong Xintong and Xi Guang, were all dismissed from their positions for careless judgment. Deputy Minister Hu Ruilan and Governor Yang Changrui, neglecting human life, were also dismissed. Other personnel received penalties; coroner Shen Xiang was flogged eighty times and sentenced to two years in prison, doorkeeper Shen Caiquan was flogged one hundred times and sentenced to exile for three thousand miles, Zhang Jun was removed from his instructor position, Ge Pinlian's mother Shen Yushi was flogged one hundred times and sentenced to four years in prison, Bi Xiugu was penalized for provoking suspicion and was flogged eighty times, and Yang Naiwu was stripped of his scholar credentials for not adhering to social norms. Chen Hu was exempt from punishment due to oversight leading to Ge Pinlian’s death, and Qian Bao was pardoned due to his illness. The wrongful case of Yang and Bi took over three years and four months to resolve, with a convoluted narrative, shocking both the court and the public. After his release, Yang Naiwu lived by sericulture, dying of untreated sores in the third year of the Republic (1914) at the age of 74, with his grave located in Anshan Village, outside the west gate of Yuhang Town. After being released, Bi Xiugu became a nun at Zuntian Temple in Shimen Pond outside the South Gate, receiving the Dharma name Huiding. She passed away in the tenth year of the Republic (1920) at the age of 76.&*&vod_class: History, Costume