In ancient Zhangzhou, a poor oil seller named Wu Chun left his load with a stone lion. When he returned, it was gone. The magistrate Xu Hu decided to "interrogate" the lion, drawing a huge crowd.
He ordered that everyone entering the court must drop two coins into a water bucket. Those whose coins left an oil slick were suspects. Soon, a gambler named Wu Wen was caught—his coins revealed the truth.
This seemingly absurd trial was a clever trap. Magistrate Xu understood human nature. He used the stone lion as bait to lure out the real thief.
The lesson is clear: wisdom lies not in following appearances, but in seeing through them. Like the silent lion that mirrored people's hearts, we too must look beyond the surface to find the truth. In life, the most ridiculous situations often hide the deepest insights.