Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 127: The Azure Dragon Case

After pondering for a moment, Cui Lingyu slowly said, "It seems that the other party wants to use the fall of the Azure Dragon to create the impression that a sage is about to perish. If this is combined with the birth of a new Buddha in Shazhou, then the people can be sowing the seeds of the sage's demise and the arrival of a new Buddha, thereby causing turmoil in the Tang Dynasty!"

Su Wen nodded: "In that case, this case must have been planned by Zhang Xizhou long ago. It's just that the two places are too far apart, making it impossible to contact each other in time. Therefore, the plan is still being carried out. But... the news of Zhang Xizhou's rebellion in Dunhuang has been circulating among the people of Chang'an. It's impossible that the other side was unaware of it. If they already knew that Zhang Xizhou was dead, why would they continue to carry it out?"

Cui Lingyu then looked at Su Wen and said, "Su Lang, I think Zhang Xizhou is probably not Yi Tian at all, but a pawn that has been thrown out, a substitute!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen hesitated for a moment, his mind racing, and then nodded: "Lingyu, what you said makes sense. I also think that Zhang Xizhou was probably just a pawn thrown out to cover for the real Yitian to leave Shazhou, or rather, the real Yitian was never in Shazhou at all, but had always been lurking in Chang'an!"

Just then, Cui Bi and several maids brought the food to the table one after another, saying, "Miss, Young Master Su, the food is ready, please eat!"

Cui Lingyu said, "Su Lang, let's eat first. You've been out since 9:45 AM and haven't eaten anything. You must be very hungry. Let's eat first!"

Su Wen nodded and replied, "Okay!"

After finishing his meal, Su Wen took out the half-burnt piece of paper from his pocket and said, "Lingyu, we found this piece of paper at the scene today. What do you think?"

Just as Cui Lingyu was about to speak, a scene suddenly flashed before Su Wen's eyes.

Su Wen hurriedly put down his bowl, chopsticks, and papers, then stood up and asked, "Xiao Bi, are there any skilled paper-cutters in the entire city of Chang'an?"

Xiao Bi pondered for a moment and said, "There's a paper-cutting shop where the female owner is incredibly skilled at paper-cutting. Most of the paper-cuttings used for weddings and lanterns in Chang'an are made by her. I vaguely remember that the Emperor even praised her!"

Su Wen immediately frowned and said, "Xiao Bi, thank you for your trouble. Go to the prison immediately and bring a few guards to take her there. Have her cut out a paper-cut based on Li Xinyue's style!"

Cui Bi responded, "Yes!"

Cui Lingyu asked, "Su Lang, what have you thought of?"

Su Wen nodded in agreement, "That's right, I suddenly remembered. We've always felt that Li Xinyue's death was very strange, especially the timing. How could someone who should have died between Hai Shi and Zi Shi be able to communicate with her maid at Zi Shi 1:15, and still be reading at Zi Shi 4:45!"

Cui Lingyu, prompted by Su Wen's question, immediately looked at him and said, "You mean, the murderer used paper-cutting to create a rough outline of Li Xinyue, and then used pinhole imaging technology to project the paper-cut onto the window, which is why when Fang Zheng went to inquire that day, he found her still reading a book!"

Su Wen nodded and replied, "That's right!"

After saying this, Su Wen frowned again, puzzled, and asked, "But how could the murderer imitate Li Xinyue's voice?"

Cui Lingyu suddenly thought of: "Ventriloquism!"

After pondering for a moment, Cui Lingyu stood up and said, "Brother Su, I've thought of a few people!"

"Who?"

Cui Lingyu said, "Zhang Guo, Ye Fashan, and Luo Gongyuan are all incredibly skilled in ventriloquism and are proficient in illusion techniques. However, in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, there is currently only Daoist Ye Fashan. Why don't we go and ask him?"

Su Wen nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll go tomorrow!"

Su Wen then looked at Cui Lingyu and said, "By the way, Lingyu, I had someone summon Song Xun today to have you draw his portrait. I wonder if you can do it?"

Cui Lingyu responded, then put down her chopsticks and walked to the side, handing a scroll to Su Wen, saying, "After I finished painting this portrait, I showed it to Song Xun, and it's already ninety percent similar!"

Su Wen exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, I never imagined that the Dao of Spirit Jade Painting was so powerful!"

Su Wen opened the scroll and examined it. He saw that the person in the painting was a monk, but he was extremely handsome and looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old.

......

The next day.

After Su Wen arrived at the prison, Li Xingguo and Cui Changfeng, the two men who had been arrested, were brought along. The two men were dressed in coarse linen clothes, and were thin and sallow-faced, with skin that was even somewhat dirty and messy. They looked like beggars or vagrants.

Su Wen asked, "Who entrusted you two to collect the money and give the Azure Dragon Powder?"

The two men knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. One of them spoke first, "Sir, spare our lives! Sir, we are refugees from outside the city. Yesterday, a monk found us and told us to go to the shops at dawn the next day to collect money and place the bag on the steps. We would then receive one hundred coins. We really didn't know anything. We won't do it again!"

In fact, Su Wen had already guessed it the moment he saw the two of them.

Su Wen unfolded the portrait in his hand for the two to examine, asking, "Is this the monk?"

The two nodded almost simultaneously, replying, "Yes...yes...yes, it's this person. He's the one who sent us. Shangguan's portrait is so lifelike, it's practically identical!"

Su Wen waved his hand and said, "You two can leave now!"

Upon hearing this, the two immediately kowtowed to Su Wen, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Not long after the two left, Cheng Nianci went to the courtroom and bowed to Su Wen, saying, "Minister Su, I've made some progress in investigating the silk matter. There's a silk-making company in Da'anfang, Chang'an County, that said a monk recently commissioned a batch of extremely special silk. I compared it, and it's almost identical to the silk you gave me!"

Upon hearing this, all the clues seemed to point to the monk in the portrait.

......

Su Wen, Cui Lingyu, and Cui Bi arrived at a Taoist temple in Chang'an City, intending to inquire about Ye Fashan.

Cui Lingyu said, "Young Master Su, Master Ye Fashan is no ordinary person. He is the Imperial Preceptor appointed by the Sage. Although Master Ye Fashan has not accepted the appointment, we still need to be polite in our speech!"

Su Wen responded.

As the young Taoist led the two to an old Taoist priest with white hair, they bowed to Ye Fashan and said, "Cui Lingyu of the Cui family of Boling, and Su Wen, the prison warden, greet Master Ye!"

When Ye Fashan saw the two men arrive, he smiled slightly and said, "May I ask what brings you two to my Taoist temple?"

Su Wendao said, "Master Ye, I would like to ask you something. Do you recognize the person in the painting?"

As he spoke, Su Wen handed the scroll to Ye Fashan. Ye Fashan unfurled the scroll, glanced at the person in the painting, and then frowned, saying, "To tell you the truth, this person is a disciple I took in many years ago when I was traveling in the Western Regions. His name is Shi Linfeng. He is a Western Region barbarian. When I first met him, he was only nine years old and was about to starve to death. I took pity on him and took him in as my disciple."