novelSusiti 002: The Monk Case
002: The Monk Case
Upon hearing this, County Lieutenant Ma was at a loss for what to do, and even showed a hint of fear on his face.
Instead, Su Wen frowned, because Zhang Wan's gaze just now convinced Su Wen that Zhang Wan had something to hide!
"What time is it?" Su Wen asked.
"Around 1:15 PM!" Zhang Wan replied.
Just then, a constable rushed in, panting, holding a portrait in his hand. He said, "Reporting, County Commandant, Coroner Su, we have news. The monks at Qingming Temple say they've seen this monk. He's a wandering monk who stayed at Qingming Temple for a few days a few days ago."
Su Wen kept his eyes on Zhang Wan. He saw that when Zhang Wan heard the word "monk," his eyes subconsciously glanced at the constable next to him, then turned his head back and continued to wail!
Su Wen frowned, seemingly lost in thought.
Upon hearing this, County Lieutenant Ma sighed and said, "Don't mention other matters yet; I am currently handling other cases!"
After saying this, County Magistrate Ma turned to the two men and said, "Since your daughter is dead and has risen from the dead to escape, then so be it. Return the betrothal gifts to him, and let this matter rest!"
Zhang Wan and Yao Yicheng responded and had no choice but to leave. Zhang Wan walked away with his butt sticking out.
After the two men left, County Commandant Ma looked at Su Wen and the constable and asked, "Do either of you have any leads on this murder case?"
The constable reported, "Reporting to the county magistrate, when we passed through the market just now, someone said that the old charcoal seller, Old Liu, saw the blue robe worn by the monk's corpse. Our men have already gone to arrest him!"
"Alright!" County Lieutenant Ma looked at Su Wen beside him, who clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "Your Excellency, there's something fishy about this case. Please don't force a confession!"
"Hmph!" County Lieutenant Ma glanced at Su Wen and laughed, "You, a mere coroner, dare to instruct me on how to handle cases? You just stand aside and listen carefully!"
A short while later.
Two constables brought Old Liu to the courtroom. County Lieutenant Ma glanced at Old Liu and shouted, "How dare you, Old Liu! Confess the truth!"
Old Liu was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I...I have seen that monk!"
Upon hearing this, County Commandant Ma glanced at Su Wen with a confident air, as if showing off.
"Yesterday I was grinding tofu at home when I suddenly saw a person dressed in wedding attire. I thought I had seen a ghost, but when he spoke, it turned out to be a man. I was quite frightened. I asked him why he was wearing wedding attire, and he said he didn't know. He just wanted me to give him a set of clothes that ordinary people wear, so I gave him a set of blue clothes!"
"Then the monk gave me the wedding dress!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen asked, "When did you see that monk last night?"
"At the third quarter of Hai hour!"
Upon hearing this, County Commandant Ma looked at Su Wen and said, "Su Wen, I am presiding over a case. When did it become your place to interrupt?"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen could only shut his mouth and remain silent.
With a loud thud, County Commandant Ma roared, "You old Liu! In my opinion, you clearly killed the monk because you saw that his wedding robes were valuable, and then stole the robes to sell for money. Now you dare to spout nonsense in this very hall! I bet you won't confess unless you're beaten! Guards, beat him until he confesses!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen wanted to speak up to dissuade him, but unexpectedly, County Commandant Ma glared at Su Wen without saying a word, which frightened Su Wen into not daring to continue speaking.
Two constables immediately pinned Old Liu to the ground and began beating him with a board.
They beat him until his skin was torn and flesh was flying everywhere. Old Liu was beaten until he forced himself to sign the confession. Seeing this, Su Wen could only sigh.
But what could a lowly coroner do?
County Magistrate Ma said, "Since he has confessed, then throw him in the death row. I'll report to the Court of Judicial Review before we discuss anything else. Court adjourned!"
After saying this, the two constables led Old Liu away from the main hall, while County Commandant Ma came up to Su Wen, glared at him arrogantly, and said, "Su Wen, you're just a lowly coroner. If you dare to speak out of turn in court again, I'll charge you with overstepping your bounds!"
"snort!"
County Magistrate Ma flicked his sleeves and strode away. Su Wen dared not utter a word, but stood there, sighing inwardly, "What a corrupt official who treats human life like dirt!"
After County Magistrate Ma had walked away, Zhao Qing patted Su Wen on the shoulder and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "Brother Su, forget it. County Magistrate Ma has always been like this. Just don't interfere next time, or you'll get a beating!"
After saying that, Zhao Qing could only shake his head and turn to leave!
Su Wen stood in the hall, silent for a while, then had no choice but to head home, intending to tidy up the house first, since it was really too messy.
Moreover, the clothes on his body reeked of a sour stench, which must have been because the original owner of the body didn't like to be clean.
As they passed the Zhang residence, they saw people carrying a sedan chair. One of the bearers whispered, "This time, the sedan chair is unusually heavy. Could it be the ghost of the Second Miss?"
"Shh, how dare you say that!"
A beautiful woman boarded the carriage. Zhang Wan, his rear end sticking out, walked to the carriage, glanced at it, and then asked in a slightly questioning tone, "What, going to the temple to burn incense again?"
A maid nodded and replied, "Yes, sir, the young lady wishes to go to offer incense and pray for blessings!"
"You go to burn incense and pray for blessings every few days, but it's no use at all. Today, your father was even punished, and you didn't even care!" Zhang Wan cursed as he entered the house, and a servant hurriedly went to help him up.
Su Wen glanced at it only once before hurrying home.
When Su Wen arrived at his doorstep, he noticed that his house was entirely black, unlike any he had seen on the street. There was a plaque on the door that read "Home of the Coroner." It was located in a remote area, with no other houses nearby. Even when people passed by, they would hurry away, as if this home of the coroner was filled with bad luck.
Su Wen returned home and began a thorough cleaning.
He was busy until dusk, and seeing the clean house, Su Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt much better!
Su Wen received one hundred coins from the government for the autopsy today. He took the coins and thought about buying some meat to cook and eat, since he was quite hungry after a busy day.
In those days, coroners not only had a low social status, but were also temporary workers. They were only paid once for each body they examined. If they were unlucky and didn't examine any bodies for a month, they wouldn't get paid. Therefore, coroners were generally poor and had to find other jobs to support their families.
Su Wen couldn't think of any side hustles yet, so he could only sigh.
Before long, they arrived at Butcher Zhao's house.
Then they saw a beautiful woman washing clothes nearby. Although she wasn't stunningly beautiful, she was still quite pretty.
"Oh, Counselor Su, it's been a long time. What kind of meat do you want to buy?" the beautiful woman asked.
Su Wen smiled slightly: "I'll buy ten qian of pork!"
The beautiful woman turned around and called into the house, "Husband, Coroner Su bought ten qian of pork, come out quickly and get him some!"
A voice responded from inside the house, and a burly man came out, picked up a cleaver from the table, and said with a smile, "Coroner Su, what kind of meat do you want?"
Su Wen pointed to a piece of meat hanging up. The burly man picked up a knife and began to chop it cleanly and efficiently. In no time, he had cut a piece of meat, weighed it, wrapped it in a lotus leaf, and handed it to Su Wen. Su Wen handed the money to Zhao the butcher, smiled, and hurried home.