This happened in the 17th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign during the Qing Dynasty. One early morning, a man in his thirties rushed into the main hall of Cangwu County's yamen in Guangxi, knelt down on both knees, and raised his petition to appeal for justice. The county magistrate, Li Wenzheng, seeing someone filing a complaint, slapped the bench with his gavel and said, "Who are you accusing? Speak slowly and clearly."
The plaintiff raised his head, submitted his petition, and tearfully declared: "This humble servant, Yu Alü, lives by the West Gate, at Limu Bridge. I accuse Qiu Yicheng, the rice shop owner on the main street, of defaulting on a debt and insulting me. In the 59th year of the Kangxi reign, Qiu Yicheng borrowed three hundred taels of silver from my late father. Now, holding the promissory note written by Qiu Yicheng himself that year, I am demanding repayment, but he has turned his back and denied the debt. The note is here; I beg Your Honor to uphold justice for me."
Magistrate Li asked, "Why are you only pursuing this debt now, after thirty-two years?"
Yu Alü replied, "My late father was a merchant. Back then, Qiu Yicheng borrowed money from him for business. I was still a child and knew nothing of this. In the 7th year of the Yongzheng reign, my father tragically died suddenly of illness. I inherited my father's business and carried on, but recently my business suffered losses, and I found myself at my wit's end. Then my mother remembered the money lent out long ago, and pulled the old promissory note from the bottom of a trunk, sending me to demand the debt from Qiu Yicheng."
Magistrate Li ordered his attendants to bring forward the promissory note and summoned Qiu Yicheng to appear.
Qiu Yicheng, in his fifties, knelt down as soon as he entered the hall. Magistrate Li shouted loudly, "How dare you default on a debt and insult someone? Confess the truth immediately, to avoid physical punishment!"
After hearing the plaintiff's statement, Qiu Yicheng cried out, "I'm innocent! I did have dealings with his father in the past, but I never borrowed a single coin from him. Recently, Yu Alü came to me asking to borrow three hundred taels. I run a small shop; where would I get such a large sum to lend him? He started cursing and stormed off in anger. Now he claims I owe his family three hundred taels—this is outright slander! I beg Your Honor to make a fair judgment!"
Yu Alü, standing nearby, cursed Qiu Yicheng for making false excuses, while Qiu Yicheng countered that Yu Alü was deliberately trying to swindle him. Magistrate Li found it difficult to reach a decision immediately and said to the two men, "Go home for now. Wait until I have made my judgment, then I will summon you again."
Magistrate Li retired to the back chamber, took a sip of tea, picked up the promissory note and studied it carefully, pondering for a long time. Then he went to his desk, took out a copy of the *Kangxi Dictionary* to consult, and next opened a calendar from a certain year of the Yongzheng reign. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and burst out laughing: "This promissory note is a forgery! How could it possibly fool me?"
The next day, when court reconvened and both men were brought in, Magistrate Li sternly shouted at Yu Alü, "You audacious rascal! How dare you slander an innocent citizen? Confess quickly!"
Yu Alü denied it: "I have evidence to prove my case. How can you call this slander?"
Magistrate Li said, "The note is forged."
Yu Alü was startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure: "On what grounds do you say that, Your Honor?"
Magistrate Li gave a cold laugh: "The surname 'Qiu' of the debtor, Qiu Yicheng, written on the note—originally, it had no '阝' radical. It was only during the Yongzheng reign, when Emperor Yongzheng greatly honored Confucius, the Great Sage and First Teacher, that the taboo against using the character '丘' (qiū, Confucius's surname) led to the addition of the '阝' radical, transforming '丘' into '邱', the form we use today. That prohibition was recorded in the calendars of the time. If this note were truly written in the 59th year of the Kangxi reign, the surname should be written as '丘', not '邱'. Yet here it is written as '邱'. Clearly, this promissory note was not written during the Kangxi era at all, but forged later."
Yu Alü, hearing this, was left speechless. Magistrate Li then questioned him about who had forged the note. Yu Alü still tried to stubbornly deny it, so Magistrate Li ordered him to be beaten with the bamboo. Under duress, Yu Alü finally confessed.
It turned out that Yu Alü had been lazy and gluttonous since childhood, grew up to indulge in gambling, drinking, and whoring, and was also poor at managing his affairs, gradually squandering his entire fortune. He then approached Qiu Yicheng, his father's old friend, to borrow three hundred taels of silver, claiming he wanted to revive his family business. Qiu Yicheng, both angered by Yu Alü's lack of ambition and unable to afford such a sum, gave him a stern lecture. Yu Alü, unable to get the money and humiliated by the rebuke, became furious and plotted to swindle him. Yu Alü had a friend named Zhu Aliang, who was exceptionally skilled at imitation. Yu Alü retrieved samples of Qiu Yicheng's handwriting from home, colluded with Zhu Aliang to forge this promissory note, hoping that if successful, they could split the three hundred taels fifty-fifty. But their conspiracy was uncovered.
Magistrate Li summoned Zhu Aliang for questioning. Seeing that Yu Alü had already confessed, Zhu dared not hide anything and admitted his part in the crime as well. Magistrate Li ordered his attendants to put both criminals in the cangue and await further punishment, then announced the court was adjourned. Qiu Yicheng, deeply grateful for the magistrate's keen judgment, kowtowed in thanks and left.