The incident of Branjung’s death led Saridin to confront the Duke of Pati at that time, Wasis Joyo Kusumo. Wasis ordered the judge to sentence Saridin for the murder of Branjung. Saridin insisted that he had killed a tiger, not Branjung.
Here began a lengthy negotiation, as the clever Saridin refused to be easily blamed. Eventually, the judge offered an option to Saridin, “Din, you won’t go to jail for this, but instead, you’ll stay with us, near the ducal office.” Saridin responded, “Well, sure, since I’m not guilty. But will I be able to visit my wife and child while I’m there?” The judge replied, “Of course, as long as you can.” Saridin was then taken to jail and sentenced according to the agreed-upon time.
After some time in prison, Saridin couldn’t bear the longing for his family. One night, he easily escaped from his cell and went to visit his wife and child. Suddenly, in the dark house, Saridin caught the village head attempting to assault his wife. Unable to control his anger, Saridin killed the man.
The village head reported the incident to the authorities, questioning how Saridin, who was already imprisoned, could freely return home. Saridin was summoned to court again, but his defense remained elegant, “In the previous trial, you said I could visit my family as long as I could, and that night I could. As soon as I arrived home, I saw this man trying to assault my wife, so I taught him a lesson. Yet, I am the one considered guilty. The law here is quite amusing!” Saridin was sentenced again to continue his previous punishment.
The story continued. Eventually, when released from prison, Saridin studied at the Kudus school under the guidance of Kanjeng Sunan Kudus. There, Saridin caused controversy once again. Despite being considered a recent student, his knowledge of religion and mystical sciences surpassed that of the other students. This led to a new problem for Saridin, an argument with his teacher, Sunan Kudus, regarding water and fish.
To test Saridin’s wisdom, Sunan Kudus asked, “Does every form of water always have fish?” Saridin promptly replied, “Yes, Kanjeng Sunan.” Hearing Saridin’s answer, Sunan Kudus instructed a student to pick a coconut directly from the tree. The coconut was cracked open, and to everyone’s amazement, there were fish inside. The teacher smiled at the sight.
In this situation, the other students believed that Saridin had been audacious by displaying his knowledge to the teacher. To teach him a lesson, when tasked with filling the bath tubs, the students used up all the buckets, leaving none for Saridin. Feeling uncomfortable for being idle, Saridin tried to borrow a bucket to take turns with the other students, but one of them replied, “If you want to work, there’s a basket; use it!” Saridin ingeniously used the basket to fill the tub, and it was quickly filled. The other students could only watch in astonishment at Saridin’s success.