Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

036: The Strange Case of Youzhou

Su Wen had someone keep a close eye on Wei Nanzi and prevent him from sleeping. Su Wen planned to use the most common method of interrogating prisoners in the modern judicial system!

First, endure; second, persuade; third, win over the heart.

Since there are no clues, this is the only way.

The reason for the external arrangements was to prepare for both possibilities. If Wei Nanzi remained adamant and refused to budge, the only option would be to use the method of imposing martial law the next day to trick the mastermind behind the scenes and force him to reveal his true colors.

Around two or three in the morning, Su Wen brought Li Xingguo and Cui Wuyi to the prison cell.

At this moment, Wei Nanzi's energy and spirit had been completely drained, and his face looked extremely pale.

Su Wen looked at Wei Nanzi and said, "Wei, coroner, why did you cut open the corpse's abdomen?"

Wei Nanzi did not answer, but remained sitting listlessly. Su Wen took out a drawing of human organs and placed it on the table, saying, "This drawing is a diagram of the organ locations you made after dissecting those corpses, right?"

Wei Nanzi glanced at it but remained silent.

Li Xingguo, standing to the side, angrily retorted, "This guy's too stubborn! Let's resort to torture. I want to see if he'll confess!"

Su Wen waved his hand and said, "Hey, Wei the coroner is, after all, a craftsman. Although his knife skills are superb, he is still a scholar. How can he be subjected to such severe torture?"

Wei Nanzi remained silent, sitting quietly as if she had decided to stay completely silent and not say a word!

Seeing this, Su Wen smiled slightly and said, "Since you won't tell me, then I'll guess!"

Wei Nanzi glanced at Su Wen and simply smiled.

Su Wen slowly said, "Someone approached you, probably offering you benefits, to help dissect corpses and draw diagrams of human organs. You hadn't had the chance before, since Ning Shui County had good public security and hadn't had a case in a long time. Just then, Youzhou City needed to suppress bandits and was short of coroners, so they seconded you there. Using your position as a coroner, you began dissecting corpses and drawing diagrams of human organs!"

"I've carefully examined these soldiers' corpses. At first, you were rough around the edges, but you became more and more skilled later on, clearly having reached the pinnacle of your craft!"

"I took all your utility knives back, and after examining them carefully, I think it must be this one!"

After speaking, Su Wen placed a knife that wasn't too big on the table. The knife was about 1.2 to 1.3 feet long and nearly 5 to 6 centimeters wide. The blade was very sharp and the body was polished exceptionally smooth.

When Wei Nanzi saw the knife, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but he simply sneered and did not reply.

After examining the knife carefully, Su Wen slowly said, "This knife is sharp enough to easily cut a person into pieces. I compared the blades and found that not only are the wounds similar to those on the soldiers, but they are also very similar to the wounds of the five corpses killed in Youzhou from January to May. Of course, what I find most similar are the wounds on the two women who were cut into pieces!"

Su Wen suddenly slammed the knife on the table and shouted, "You audacious Wei Nanzi! As a coroner, don't you know that coroners are forbidden from killing? You not only violated the rules of the profession, but you also killed seven people in succession. Five of them had their internal organs removed, and two were dismembered by you. You are incredibly audacious and deserve to die!"

Startled by Su Wen's sudden change in tone, Wei Nanzi frowned.

Su Wen continued, "Wei Nanzi, when I checked your household registration, I found that although your father passed away early, you should still have a mother. When I went to your house, I found that your mother was not home. I think the person behind you who instructed you and He Yan is using your mother as leverage, which is why you dare not speak, right?"

Wei Nanzi did not answer, and Su Wen continued, "Wei Nanzi, I asked Magistrate Cui about your father this morning. Your father was a good coroner; he served as a coroner in Ningshui County for a full forty years. The neighbors all said he was a kind old man. It's just a pity that your father could have given up his career as a coroner, escaped his lowly status, and become a worker, but he was devoted to clearing the name of the deceased and restoring justice, so he gave up that opportunity. This also affected your mother..."

"Shut up!"

A roar came from Wei Nanzi's mouth, which startled Su Wen, Li Xingguo, and Cui Wuyi.

Seeing Wei Nanzi's angry expression, Su Wen's lips curled up slightly, and he continued, "Your neighbors say your mother is having an affair, and some neighbors even say you're not actually your father's son, but rather that your mother is having an affair with someone else..."

"I told you to shut up, didn't you hear me? I told you to shut up!"

Seeing Wei Nanzi's agitated state, Su Wen deliberately slowed his tone and said, "Actually, I've heard people say that your father and you look very alike, and you're not actually your mother..."

"I told you to shut up... ah..."

Su Wen then changed the subject, saying, "I heard that you and your mother frequently visit Ningxiang Temple. Could it be that your mother's lover is a monk?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Nanzi was furious, staring intently at Su Wen with eyes that seemed to want to tear him apart.

At this moment, Su Wen said earnestly, "Actually, it's useless whether you tell me or not. We've already traced the source of the gastrodia powder to datura flowers, and we also know that you planted datura flowers in Ningshui County. Tomorrow at dawn, we will declare martial law in all four counties of Youzhou, and then lead our troops to search Ningshui County. Once we find the datura flowers, we'll be able to uncover the person behind you!"

At this point, Su Wen smiled slightly and said, "However, you've killed so many, but I really don't have any evidence to prove that you did it. But, once we eliminate the Datura Flower, do you think the person behind you will think that you leaked the secret?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Nanzi's expression changed drastically, and she began to ponder.

Seeing that Wei Nanzi was starting to have designs on him, Su Wen quickly pressed further, saying, "Now tell me who's behind you, and if you confess, I can guarantee that I'll immediately send people to protect your mother, and you might even get a lighter sentence. Otherwise, I think given the methods of the person behind you, they'll definitely kill your mother!"

Upon hearing Su Wen's words, Wei Nanzi clearly hesitated.

It's important to know that Wei Nanzi didn't have a good relationship with his father. The main reason was that his father could have transferred to a worker's status, but he insisted on becoming a coroner and even made him become a coroner as well, which led him to hate his father.

After all, coroners belonged to a lowly social class and could never take the imperial examinations for their entire lives, or even for their entire families!

Wei Nanzi took a deep breath and said, "Fine, I'll confess!"