Feng Yan of Tang Dynasty came from humble origins, he was a man of generous spirit who placed great importance on loyalty and righteousness. On one occasion, whilst standing up for someone who had been wronged, he killed a man; to evade the authorities, he fled to Huazhou, where he went into hiding amongst the troops.
While in Huazhou, Feng Yan had an affair with the wife of an officer named Zhang Ying. One day, while the two were rendezvousing at Zhang’s home, Zhang Ying unexpectedly returned – he was drunk and went straight to bed. Feng Yan hid behind the door, but his headscarf had fallen beneath the pillow, right next to Zhang Ying’s saber. Feng Yan gestured to Zhang’s wife to hand him the headscarf, but she misunderstood, thinking he intended to kill her husband, and handed him the saber instead. Feng Yan, finding the woman to be utterly malicious, killed her with the saber, then took the headscarf and left.
The next day, Zhang Ying woke up to find his wife’s body and his bloodstained saber. Neighbours and his wife’s relatives were convinced he had murdered her, and dragged him to the magistrate’s court. Zhang Ying was subjected to severe torture; unable to bear it, he confessed and was sentenced to death.
On the day of the execution, Feng Yan stepped forward from the crowd of onlookers, shouting, ‘Do not kill an innocent man!’ He confessed to having committed adultery with Zhang Ying’s wife and murdered her, and turned himself in.
Moved by Feng Yan’s actions, the local official wrote to the Emperor, offering to forfeit his own office and position to atone for Feng Yan’s crime. Upon hearing of this, the Emperor was deeply moved and ultimately issued an imperial edict pardoning all death row prisoners in Huazhou.
Origin: Tai Ping Guang Ji
#38 冯燕
冯燕是唐朝人。他出身普通，但为人豪爽，很重义气。有一次，他替人打抱不平打死了人，为了躲官府追捕，逃到了滑州，藏匿在军队里。
在滑州的时候，冯燕和一个叫张婴的军官的妻子私通。有一天，两人正在张家幽会，张婴出乎意料地回来了，他喝醉了酒，直接上床睡了。冯燕躲到了门后，可他的头巾掉在了枕头下面，正好挨着张婴的佩刀。冯燕用手势示意张妻把头巾拿给他，但张妻误会了，以为冯燕想杀她丈夫，就把刀递了过去。冯燕觉得这女人心太毒了，就一刀把她杀了，然后拿走头巾离开了。
第二天，张婴醒来时发现了妻子的尸体和带血的佩刀。邻居和妻子的娘家人都认定是他杀的，就把他扭送到官府。张婴被严刑拷打，受不了只好认罪，被判了死刑。
到了行刑的那天，冯燕从围观的人群里冲出来，大喊，“不要错杀无辜”，承认自己与张婴妻子通奸并杀了她，主动投了案。
当地官员被冯燕这种行为感动了，就上书给皇帝，说愿意用自己的官职和地位来替冯燕赎罪。皇帝听说了这件事，也很感慨，最后下了一道诏书，把滑州所有的死囚都赦免了。
出自《太平广记》