Judge Bao and the Swapped Prince · chapter 4 of 6
Two Rooms, One Answer
两个房间
Judge Bao does not believe or doubt; he tests. He asks the same three questions in two different rooms, and the old woman and an old eunuch give the same answers.
Read what you hear
- Judge Bao 衙役，去请陈琳陈老先生来。记住，别告诉他为什么。
Yáyì, qù qǐng Chén Lín Chén lǎoxiānsheng lái. Jìzhù, bié gàosu tā wèishénme.
Clerk, go and invite old Mr. Chen Lin. Remember, don't tell him why.
- Court Clerk 是，大人。可是……您还是不太相信那位老人家，对吗？
Shì, dàrén. Kěshì… nín háishi bú tài xiāngxìn nà wèi lǎorenjia, duì ma?
Yes, sir. But... you don't quite believe the old lady yet, do you?
- Judge Bao 我相信她的眼泪。但是断案要靠证据。有人想骗官府，也有人真的有冤。
Wǒ xiāngxìn tā de yǎnlèi. Dànshì duàn'àn yào kào zhèngjù. Yǒu rén xiǎng piàn guānfǔ, yě yǒu rén zhēnde yǒu yuān.
I believe her tears. But solving a case needs proof. Some people want to trick the court, and some really have been wronged.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Judge Bao and the Swapped Prince is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Court Clerk 那我们怎么知道，谁说的是真话？
Nà wǒmen zěnme zhīdao, shéi shuō de shì zhēnhuà?
Then how do we know who is telling the truth?
- Judge Bao 问两个人，同样的问题，让他们分开回答。说得一样，就不是骗人。
Wèn liǎng gè rén, tóngyàng de wèntí, ràng tāmen fēnkāi huídá. Shuō de yíyàng, jiù bú shì piàn rén.
Ask two people the same questions, and have them answer apart. If the answers match, it is no lie.
- Court Clerk 高明！大人，您真聪明！
Gāomíng! Dàrén, nín zhēn cōngming!
Brilliant! Sir, you are so clever!
- Judge Bao 不要拍马屁。快去。
Bú yào pāi mǎpì. Kuàiqù.
No flattery. Go quickly.
- Narrator 第二天，陈琳来了。他已经是一位头发全白的老人。
Dì'èr tiān, Chén Lín lái le. Tā yǐjīng shì yí wèi tóufa quánbái de lǎorén.
The next day, Chen Lin arrived. He was now an old man with completely white hair.
- Old Chen Lin 包大人，您找我？老奴只是八王爷府里的老仆人，什么都不知道啊。
Bāo dàrén, nín zhǎo wǒ? Lǎonú zhǐshì Bā wángyé fǔlǐ de lǎo púrén, shénme dōu bù zhīdao a.
Lord Bao, you sent for me? This old servant is only a household servant of Prince Ba's. I don't know anything.
- Judge Bao 陈老先生，二十年前，宫里发生过一件事。你还记得吗？
Chén lǎoxiānsheng, èrshí nián qián, gōnglǐ fāshēng guò yí jiàn shì. Nǐ hái jìde ma?
Old Mr. Chen, twenty years ago something happened in the palace. Do you remember?
- Old Chen Lin 二十年前？……大人，您为什么问这个？
Èrshí nián qián? … dàrén, nín wèishénme wèn zhège?
Twenty years ago? ...Sir, why do you ask this?
- Judge Bao 别怕。我只问三个问题。第一个，那天晚上，你带出宫的是什么？
Bié pà. Wǒ zhǐ wèn sān gè wèntí. Dìyī gè, nà tiān wǎnshang, nǐ dài chūgōng de shì shénme?
Don't be afraid. I will ask only three questions. First, what did you carry out of the palace that night?
- Old Chen Lin 是一位小太子。我把他放在食盒里，上面盖着一层热包子。
Shì yí wèi xiǎo tàizǐ. Wǒ bǎ tā fàng zài shíhé lǐ, shàngmiàn gài zhe yì céng rè bāozi.
A little prince. I put him in a food box and covered him with a layer of hot buns.
- Judge Bao 第二个问题。太子的身上，有没有一样东西？
Dì'èr gè wèntí. Tàizǐ de shēnshàng, yǒu méiyǒu yíyàng dōngxi?
Second question. Did the prince have something on him?
- Old Chen Lin 有。一把小玉锁，红绳子，上面刻着一个“福”字。是寇珠亲手挂上的。
Yǒu. Yì bǎ xiǎo yùsuǒ, hóng shéngzi, shàngmiàn kèzhe yí gè “fú” zì. Shì Kòu Zhū qīnshǒu guà shàng de.
Yes. A small jade lock on a red string, carved with the character for luck. Kou Zhu hung it there with her own hands.
- Judge Bao 第三个问题。寇珠后来怎么样了？
Dìsān gè wèntí. Kòu Zhū hòulái zěnmeyàng le?
Third question. What became of Kou Zhu?
- Old Chen Lin 她被关了很久，一个字也不肯说。后来她生病走了。她最后一句话是：“太子平安。”
Tā bèi guān le hěn jiǔ, yí gè zì yě bùkěn shuō. Hòulái tā shēngbìng zǒu le. Tā zuìhòu yí jù huà shì: “Tàizǐ píng'ān.”
She was locked away a long time and would not say one word. Later she fell ill and passed away. Her last words were, "The prince is safe."
- Narrator 包大人走进旁边的房间。老人坐在窗边。
Bāo dàrén zǒu jìn pángbiān de fángjiān. Lǎorén zuò zài chuāngbiān.
Judge Bao walked into the next room. The old woman sat by the window.
- Judge Bao 老人家，我也要问你三个问题。你的孩子出生那天晚上，谁在你的身边？
Lǎorenjia, wǒ yě yào wèn nǐ sān gè wèntí. Nǐ de háizi chūshēng nà tiān wǎnshang, shéi zài nǐ de shēnbiān?
Old lady, I also have three questions for you. On the night your child was born, who was beside you?
- Old Lady Li 寇珠。她是我的丫头，也是我最好的朋友。她的手总是很暖。
Kòu Zhū. Tā shì wǒ de yātou, yě shì wǒ zuìhǎo de péngyou. Tā de shǒu zǒngshì hěn nuǎn.
Kou Zhu. She was my maid and my best friend. Her hands were always warm.
- Judge Bao 你的孩子身上，有什么记号？
Nǐ de háizi shēnshàng, yǒu shénme jìhào?
What mark did your child have on him?
- Old Lady Li 一把小玉锁，红绳子，上面有一个“福”字。是我让寇珠挂在他脖子上的。
Yì bǎ xiǎo yùsuǒ, hóng shéngzi, shàngmiàn yǒu yí gè “fú” zì. Shì wǒ ràng Kòu Zhū guà zài tā bózi shàng de.
A small jade lock on a red string with the character for luck. I had Kou Zhu hang it around his neck.
- Judge Bao 最后一个问题。如果你能见到寇珠，你想对她说什么？
Zuìhòu yí gè wèntí. Rúguǒ nǐ néng jiàndào Kòu Zhū, nǐ xiǎng duì tā shuō shénme?
Last question. If you could see Kou Zhu, what would you say to her?
- Old Lady Li 我想说，谢谢你。谢谢你没有丢下我。……她还在宫里吗？她好吗？
Wǒ xiǎng shuō, xièxie nǐ. Xièxie nǐ méiyǒu diūxià wǒ. … tā hái zài gōnglǐ ma? Tā hǎo ma?
I would say, thank you. Thank you for not leaving me. ...Is she still in the palace? Is she well?
- Judge Bao 老人家，寇珠已经不在了。到最后，她也没有说出太子在哪里。
Lǎorenjia, Kòu Zhū yǐjīng bú zài le. Dào zuìhòu, tā yě méiyǒu shuō chū tàizǐ zài nǎlǐ.
Old lady, Kou Zhu is gone. To the very end, she never told where the prince was.
- Old Lady Li 我的好姑娘……她一直在保护我的孩子……我却什么都不知道！
Wǒ de hǎo gūniang… tā yìzhí zài bǎohù wǒ de háizi… wǒ què shénme dōu bù zhīdao!
My good girl... she kept protecting my child... and I knew nothing!
- Court Clerk 大人！我去问过了！两个人的话，一个字都不差！
Dàrén! Wǒ qù wèn guò le! Liǎng gè rén de huà, yí gè zì dōu bú chà!
Sir! I checked! The two people's words match, not one word different!
- Judge Bao 好。这下，我可以进宫见皇上了。
Hǎo. Zhè xià, wǒ kěyǐ jìngōng jiàn huángshang le.
Good. Now I can go into the palace to see the emperor.
- Court Clerk 可是大人，皇上会相信吗？现在的太后，就是当年的刘娘娘啊！
Kěshì dàrén, huángshang huì xiāngxìn ma? Xiànzài de tàihòu, jiùshì dāngnián de Liú niángniang a!
But sir, will the emperor believe it? The empress dowager now is the very Lady Liu of that time!
- Judge Bao 我知道。皇上叫她母亲，已经叫了二十年。所以明天，我们每走一步，都要非常小心。
Wǒ zhīdao. Huángshang jiào tā mǔqīn, yǐjīng jiào le èrshí nián. Suǒyǐ míngtiān, wǒmen měi zǒu yí bù, dōu yào fēicháng xiǎoxīn.
I know. The emperor has called her mother for twenty years. So tomorrow, every step we take must be very careful.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Judge Bao question two people in separate rooms?
“说得一样，就不是骗人”
- How did Chen Lin carry the baby out of the palace?
“我把他放在食盒里，上面盖着一层热包子”
- What did the baby prince have around his neck?
“一把小玉锁，红绳子”
- What happened to Kou Zhu?
“一个字也不肯说……她也没有说出太子在哪里”
- Why is the clerk worried about tomorrow?
“现在的太后，就是当年的刘娘娘”