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  “I wish I were as sure as you are,” said Baoliu. He smiled wistfully. “I don’t know what the judge will say. I only know how much it meant to me that you stood up for me in court.”

  “I should have stood up for you before!”

  “But I know why you didn’t, Father. All the evidence pointed at me, and with the way I’d been treating you—and Jia Lam. … I had no right to judge you, or her—or to behave like I did. I know that now.”

  “Still, I should have stood by you!”

  “You did. You saved my life—at a terrible cost to you. Your business—I’m so sorry about what has happened to it. I know what it means to you.”

  “I don’t care about the business! I only care about—” Tang Qin stopped himself and hung his head.

  “Baoliu,” said Hai Nan, putting an arm around their father. “Why did you confess? Why?”

  “Because I let the magistrate play me for a fool. He told me that confessing was the only way to save Zhou.”

  “You confessed to save your friend?”

  “Please, you can’t ever tell him!”

  Hai Nan nodded slowly, his gaze meeting his brother’s.

  “No matter what,” said Tang Qin, his lips trembling, “I am proud of you, son.”

  Baoliu looked up through tears in his eyes—and saw a scribe hurrying into the room. “The judge has reached a decision,” he announced.

  THE COURTROOM WAS silent when Baoliu returned. With Linlin next to him, he stood before the judge.

  For a long moment, the dark-robed man studied a document, and then looked up. “Shen Linlin,” he said.

  She stiffened.

  “It is the decision of this court that the money promised by the accord of ka-di was illegally withheld from you. It shall be paid in full, and with the court’s sincere apology.”

  Baoliu touched Linlin’s arm. “Good!” he whispered.

  She smiled halfheartedly, her brow furrowed with worry, her eyes on his.

  “Moreover,” continued the judge, “the money shall be paid by the office of the magistrate and not, as originally stipulated, by Tang Qin, father of Tang Baoliu. The sum of eight thousand tongqian is deemed to have been taken from Tang Qin by fraudulent means; that is, pertinent information was being withheld from him at the time he signed the accord of ka-di. The money shall be returned to him forthwith.”

  Baoliu looked back at his father—and saw that his head was bent, as though waiting for news of more importance.

  “Tang Baoliu,” said the judge.

  Baoliu took a deep breath.

  “It is the decision of this court, on behest of the divine Ninzong, that the verdict of this court be reversed and that you be declared innocent of any crime. The disgrace you once bore in error, you also bore with dignity; you have honored yourself and your family. You may go, and may the fates treat you kindly. I wish you luck.”

  “Huzzah!” shouted Hai Nan.

  “Huzzah!” shouted the others in resounding agreement.

  Baoliu bowed to them—and hung his head, and wept.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked at Linlin.

  “Baoliu!” she cried, as their arms went around each other.

  Hai Nan pushed his way out from the smiling congregation; and then his father, tears in his eyes and a great smile on his face, was there, trying to say something over the noise in the courtroom.

  Zhou grabbed Baoliu’s hand, and together they raised their fists.

  “Huzzah!” roared the crowd.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The author wishes to express his gratitude to Pauline Chen for her invaluable suggestions and contributions pertaining to Chinese culture, history, and language; to Dan Davis for his expert knowledge of ancient Chinese history and customs; and to his wife, Pam, for her tireless support and research during the writing of this book.

  ALSO BY DON WULFFSON

  Soldier X

  Aliens

  Toys!

  Future Fright

  The Upside-Down Ship

  Copyright © 2007 by Don Wulffson

  All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  First published in the United States of America in August 2007 by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.

  Electronic edition published in January 2013

  www.bloomsburykids.com

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from his book, write to Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Wulffson, Don L.

  The Golden Rat / by Don Wulffson.—1st U.S. ed.

  p.cm.

  Summary: When sixteen-year-old Baoliu is wrongfully accused of murdering his stepmother, his father pays someone else to die in his place, leaving Baoliu to fend for himself on the streets of twelfth-century China.

  1. China—History—960—1644—Juvenile fiction.

  [1. China—History—960—1644—Fiction. 2. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.

  PZ7.W96373Go 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2006032266

  ISBN 978-1-61963-002-4 (e-book)