The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1936-05-29
THE WILL OF
nj SHOU-LIEN

lLlN Justiee-By LOUIS "a.
mination. All in vain, its symbolism es;;
capped him as day after day he poreo
over 1t.
Your story teller, perhaps deiiber-
ately enjoying the he's suspense, s VII o. r.
self, wisdom is but one facet in the
jewel Of success, and to the pattens
luck must eventually Smile-for what
cannot be achieved by wisdom and
patience must certainly come OF ITS
own accord. This by way Of tuustrat-
discovery. For the man had worn him
self out with effort. He sat at table,
the scroll spread before him and held
open at its corners by teacups, one OF
which contained a portion of the hot
beverage which he slipped from time to
time.
AS though impelled by some unseen
cup Of hot liquid. It spread over the
portrait Of Nj, and as he blotted the
scroll he observed a slight loosening
of its corners. Gently lifting the fragile
silk from its light mat, his astoaish-
ment knew no bounds when he discov-
It was, obviously, the genuine Will OF
Mr.. Nj, and the man had set out his
wishes in no uncertain language. Teng
read:
This is the will of an old official
holding the rank of project. hold en-
nifty for no one. Shameful, my younger
son, now being one year old, will long
chi, is completely without filiai piety,
and since I am convinced that he will
do the child some great damage, have
bequeathed my entire estate to him.
However,. I have buried by the left
wall in the garden ten jars. each con.
tanning thousand taels Of silver, and
of gold. I wish this all to go to Shan
chu and his mother in compensation
for the estate that should have been
rightfully theirs. When some aStute
official has adjusted this matter salts
factortly, let my son give said official
IN reward for his services three hun
signed. mi Shoulder, his true sigma
ture."
Now, though T'eng were virtue per-
sonified, the mention of three hundred
|, taels of silver for the official who
would satisfactorily adjust this strange
situation was an added incentive, and
with no undue haste did he attempt to
son from unscrupulous hands. There
were several peculiar angles to the mat
ter, he realized at once. What he did
do Immediately was to summon the
elder son, Shan-chi, having mapped
out his campaign beforehand.
With no hint of what was going on
dressed his formal questions to Nj
Shan-chi. There is an allegation,
brought here before me by your STEP
mother, Mel Shin. to the effect that
you have usurped the entire property OF
your father. Nj Shoulder, leaving the
widow and her child in poverty. What
do you reply to these charges?"
shan-chi, though horribly angered
hberate treachery, appeared quite un-
perturbed, thinking Of his foresight in
having made an ostensible division a
short time before. "The very least I
can say" said the man, as though with
an effort to speak magnanimously, rs
that the charge Is compounded of jeA-
ousy, contumely, and lies. For by her
own consent, and with the approval of
all our relatives, she has accepted land
and buildings in precisely the manner
laid down in my fathers written will"
1T is complained" said T'eng, that
the estate is an immensely valuable
one in money, and things of rare work
your possession in order to ascertain
if it Is genuine-though you under
stand am merely carrying out my oath
of office to administrate justice, and
have no desire to embarraSs member
Of family of high rank. Therefore, if
you will be good enough to procure the
will in question, I shall be happy to
come and examine same in order to
Judge of its authenticity"
by all MEANS" said Shan-chi. my
house will be honored for all posterity
by your august presence"
Returning home, the elder son felt
little Of the confidence that his Ian
guage had implied. For while there was
no question about the validity Of the
will, there really had been no honest
division of the property, and it was for
the purpose of calling those relatives
to his moral support that he now sent
presents of silver to them all, request
ing them to be present at the inquiry.
They must perforce testify that the
division had been made to the satisfac-
ton of each of them.
In the meanwhile runners arrived
to resummon Mel Shin to the magis-
trate'S presence. She imagined that
out Of his reputed wisdom he must
make some decision in her favor, sol
she hurried to the yamen to hear
what the pronouncement of TengI
might be.
What he said was, Naturally my