Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

041:5 Prison

After more than half a month of arduous travel, Su Wen and Li Xingguo finally arrived in Luoyang.

"Luoyang City has a total of 128 wards, divided into East and West Markets by Kaiyuan Avenue. The East Market is on the left and the West Market is on the west. As the capital of Empress Wu Zetian's reign, Luoyang was naturally rebuilt following the construction methods of Chang'an!"

Luoyang city had five gates. The small gates on the left and right sides were for people to pass through, while the small gates on the sides near the middle were for carriages and horses. The middle road was reserved for the royal family, and no one else was allowed to walk on it. Of course, some officials were allowed to pass through with permission.

The construction and regulations were similar to those of Chang'an City today.

"Sages often resided in Luoyang, hence Luoyang was also known as Little Chang'an!"

Hearing Li Xingguo's introduction, Su Wen didn't listen at all, because the sight of people queuing to enter the city was already shocking to him.

Among the pedestrians on both sides were people from various countries, and on one side of the passage, horse-drawn carriages and cars came and went in an endless stream.

When Su Wen was studying history, he knew that Luoyang was an international metropolis during the Tang Dynasty, no less than Shanghai today, and its prosperity was unimaginable!

Su Wen looked at Li Xingguo beside him and asked, "How many people live here?"

Li Xingguo thought for a moment and said, "About two million people!"

"Two million people?" Su Wen was shocked by what Li Xingguo said. According to Su Wen's memory, Chang'an City only had a little over one million people. So, Luoyang was more prosperous than Chang'an?

Li Xingguo said, "Previously, Luoyang's population was less than one million, but Empress Wu Zetian brought in hundreds of thousands of people from elsewhere. After so many years, Luoyang should have a population of about that many. The memorials submitted by Luoyang during the Xiantian era stated that Luoyang's population was over 1.8 million. In recent years, the people have become wealthier, so the population should have increased!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen was once again awestruck by Luoyang.

Su Wen never expected that he would become the magistrate of Luoyang County.

Seeing the excited expression on Su Wen's face, Li Xingguo couldn't help but say, "Magistrate Su, let me first pour some water on you. Luozhou has ten counties, and you are only the magistrate of Luoyang County. Although this is Luoyang City, it should actually be called Luozhou. We are only the magistrates of Luoyang County in the East Market on the left, and Yanshi County in the West Market on the right!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen simply responded with a sound of agreement.

The two entered the city, and Li Xingguo said, "Magistrate Su, we need to register at the Prefectural Governor's office first, and then we can go to the county office!"

The governor's residence.

Su Wen and Li Xingguo bowed to the person in front of them. This person was less than 1.7 meters tall, slightly overweight, and around 60 years old, but full of energy. He did not look like a frail old man, but rather a middle-aged man.

"Oh dear, I thought you wouldn't arrive for a while longer, so I hadn't prepared to greet you at the city gate. I didn't expect you to arrive so early!"

Li Xingguo said, "Prefect Cui, you flatter us. We had nothing to do on the way, so we arrived ahead of schedule!"

Then, Li Xingguo introduced Su Wen to Governor Cui, saying, "Governor Cui, this is the newly appointed magistrate of Luoyang, Su Wen!"

Su Wen bowed and said, "This humble official, Su Wen, greets Governor Cui!"

Governor Cui sized up Su Wen and said with a smile, "Magistrate Su is not only a man of great talent, but also has such an extraordinary appearance. I have heard about the cases you solved in Youzhou. You are truly a young hero. Most of the cases were solved within a few days, and you even solved the Youzhou mystery and killed the traitor Xue Huaiyi. I am quite impressed!"

Su Wen bowed slightly, a broad smile on his face, and said, "It was truly a stroke of luck. I hope Governor Cui will take good care of me in the future!"

Li Xingguo also smiled and said, "Magistrate Su, let me introduce you. This is Cui Lü from Qinghe!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen muttered to himself, "Good heavens, he's surnamed Cui, and he's from the Cui clan of Qinghe."

Su Wen asked, "What is the relationship between Governor Cui and Cui Wuyi, the magistrate of Lu County in Youzhou?"

Cui Lu laughed and said, "That's my cousin's son, and also my nephew!"

Su Wen responded but remained silent. Cui Lu continued, "I originally planned to host a welcome dinner for you two at Qingfeng Restaurant in the East Market, but... a few days ago, a very strange murder case occurred in Luoyang County. Neither the county magistrate nor the county constable is skilled in investigation, so I need to ask Magistrate Su to solve this case as soon as possible and restore peace to Luoyang!"

Su Wen responded and bowed to Cui Lu, saying, "This humble servant obeys. Please rest assured, Prefect Cui, I will go to the county office to check the files immediately!"

"Hmm!" Cui Lu nodded in response.

......

Luoyang County Office.

Su Wen and Li Xingguo stepped inside and headed straight for the case file storage area. Just as Su Wen was examining the files, the county magistrate rushed over, bowed, and said, "This humble servant, Lin Yun, greets Magistrate Su Wen!"

Su Wen merely glanced up at Lin Yun and asked, "Where is the county magistrate?"

Yu Linyun said, "Reporting to the County Magistrate, County Lieutenant Zhou Fei is in charge of handling issues such as road repairs and house renovations in Luoyang County. He has been extremely busy and unable to come to report. Please forgive him, County Magistrate Su!"

Su Wen glanced at the case file and simply replied, "Hmm, if he's busy, he doesn't need to come. Is the case file detailed enough?"

"I went to the scene immediately upon receiving the news of this case. I personally recorded everything. It involved a matter of life and death, so I was absolutely meticulous and not careless in the slightest!"

The case occurred in Daohuafang, Luoyang County, on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month. The deceased was a 40-year-old woman who was a matchmaker. She died at 2:40 PM. At the time of her death, she was naked and had a smile on her face.

Su Wen picked up the autopsy report again and examined it carefully.

Deceased: Female, approximately 6 feet 1 to 6 feet 2 inches tall, naked, without any clothing, smiling, body slightly curled up, no injuries on the body surface, slight powder in the mouth and nose, after examination, the type of powder could not be determined, cause of death unknown, the coroner suspects death due to poisoning and hallucination!

After reading the autopsy report, Su Wen looked at Yu Linyun and asked, "Who wrote this autopsy report?"

Yu Linyun said, "It was examined by Qian Feng, the county's veteran coroner. He said he was unaware of the powder in the patient's mouth and nose and that the county government needs to investigate!"

Su Wen responded, "Hmm, it's written quite carefully. I'll add a hundred coins as a reward. Where's the powder?"

Yu Linyun said, "Yes, the powder has been handed over to the elders to lead people to investigate major pharmacies. I believe they will come back to report soon!"

Su Wen nodded in agreement: "If you find out, come and tell me. Come on, take me to the morgue!"

Yu Linyun nodded in agreement.

Su Wen followed closely behind, and Li Xingguo also followed closely behind.

Before long, the three arrived at the morgue. Su Wen approached the corpse, and without hesitation, lifted the white sheet, saying, "General, please make a note of this for me!"

Li Xingguo responded.

Su Wen began to carefully examine the body, saying, "Remember, the deceased is female, approximately six feet one to six feet two inches tall. She was unclothed, with no wounds on her body, no injuries to her genitals, no wounds on her head, and no signs of poisoning in her mouth or nose. She did not suffer any severe blows before death!"

Without saying a word, Su Wen took out the bag he always carried, opened it, took out a knife, and cut open his stomach.

Upon witnessing this scene, Yu Linyun trembled uncontrollably, then asked, "Magistrate Su, this deceased committed no crime, why was he disemboweled?"

Su Wen glanced at Yu Linyun and said, "This is an autopsy. Since we can't find anything on the body, we should examine the internal organs to see if the death was caused by organ damage!"

"Isn't this...isn't this against etiquette?"

In response to Lin Yun's question, Su Wen said, "Seeking justice for the deceased is the most important and crucial matter. Once a person is dead, nothing remains; what need is there for formalities?"