Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

043:5 Prison

"He came here to have fun as usual today, and I served him upstairs and drank with him as usual. Around 5:45 pm, he asked me to take a bath, so I went out to prepare to take a bath."

"But as soon as I stepped outside, I heard him start shouting and yelling, throwing things around, and he kept covering his throat with his hand, saying, 'It's so hot, so hot!' I was scared, so I shouted for help. When my mother and the others came up, they saw him run to the door and suddenly collapse to the ground, motionless!"

Su Wen asked, "How long was it from the time he suddenly went mad until his death?"

Yan'er pondered for a moment and said, "Not even half an incense stick's time!"

Su Wen frowned, pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "Take the body back to the morgue. Someone, take me to the residence of Hongye (the matchmaker) who died a few days ago!"

The crowd responded.

Before long, Su Wen, Li Xingguo, and several members of the Bad Guys arrived at Hongye's house.

"This Wu Hongye is very famous in Luoyang. Her husband passed away from illness in his early years. She has a son who is a guerrilla general in the Western Regions Protectorate. He is not yet married. She has already written to him, and it will probably take more than a month to find out. So there is no one at home."

Su Wen said, "Call a few of Wu Hongye's neighbors over to ask them!"

Upon opening the door, everyone entered the house. There was nothing unusual about Wu Hongye's home; it was very clean and tidy. There was a box of silver coins in the house, and no one had stolen them, indicating that the murderer did not kill for money. So, the only thing left to do was to see if Wu Hongye had any enemies!

Before long, several thugs brought along some of Wu Hongye's neighbors.

Su Wen asked, "You're all her neighbors, what's your relationship with her like?"

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads.

Su Wen was somewhat surprised to see this. In ancient times, it was similar to the countryside. Everyone was a neighbor and would see each other all the time. Logically speaking, they shouldn't have had a bad relationship.

Logically speaking, someone like Hongye shouldn't have such bad interpersonal relationships that even her neighbors say they don't get along with her!

"Yes, and she's not a good person either; she's always flirting with other women..."

"She even introduced a girl to another family as a concubine, which led to the girl's suicide!"

"She's also a staunch believer in something called Nestorian Christianity!"

At this moment, someone spoke up: "Hey, Magistrate, you don't know this, but Wu Hongye is greedy and ungrateful. She'll introduce anyone for money, regardless of their character. Just the other day, she introduced the Liu family's daughter to a gambler, which infuriated the Liu family. The marriage didn't happen, and the gambler ruined the Liu family's reputation!"

Hearing the group chattering away, Su Wen was getting a headache and immediately asked, "What's that gambler's name?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "Call him Luo Lin!"

Su Wen looked at the thugs beside him and said, "Take Luo Lin to the county office for questioning!"

The rogue replied, "Yes!"

Su Wen looked at the group and said, "You must not spread what happened today, otherwise you will be punished with a serious crime!"

Several people responded in unison.

Su Wen then turned and left with Li Xingguo and the others. After taking a few steps, Su Wen looked at one of the thugs and asked, "Where does Ding Yuan live? Does he have any family?"

"Reporting to the magistrate, Ding Yuan is a merchant from out of town who comes to Luoyang and has no family there!"

Su Wen stopped and, after thinking for a moment, said, "Let's go back to the county government first!"

Upon returning to the county government, Su Wen and Li Xingguo went straight to the mortuary without hesitation. Xu Ge bowed to them and said, "Magistrate Su, General Li, the body has been brought back. We've also arranged for our men to seize and confiscate everything related to Di Yejia!"

Su Wen nodded, then walked directly to Ding Yuan's corpse. Without any hesitation, he took out his package, pulled out a knife, and cut open Ding Yuan's abdomen.

This scene made Xu Ge's heart tremble, and he subconsciously took a step back.

This time, Su Wen went straight to the stomach and found a fish maw. He cut it open and found a roll of yellow paper inside. He opened the yellow paper and, as expected, found a talisman on it.

Su Wen looked at Li Xingguo and said, "These two cases were committed by the same murderer!"

After Su Wen finished speaking, he looked at Xu Ge and asked, "Xu Ge, you're familiar with Luoyang County. Are there any particularly powerful Taoist priests here?"

Xu Ge thought for a moment and said, "Yes, Li Moxuan. He is Li Chunfeng's disciple and is extremely powerful!"

"Where?" Su Wen asked.

"Tongxuan Temple, Dunhuafang, is right next to Daohuafang!" Xu Ge replied.

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately looked at Xu Ge and asked, "Was it near Daohuafang where Wu Hongye died?"

Xu Ge responded, "Yes!"

Su Wen said, "Come on, take me to see him!"

A moment later, Su Wen, Li Xingguo, and Xu Ge arrived at Dunhuafang. On the way, Su Wen saw many foreigners, and it was almost 7:45 PM, but the entire Dunhuafang was bustling with people. The streets were full of vendors, and every household was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, making it a lively and bustling place.

Su Wen asked, "Isn't there a curfew here?"

Xu Ge said, "The curfew only applies to the streets and Kaiyuan Avenue. There is no curfew within the wards. Dunhua Ward is so lively every day because it has a large population of people from the Western Regions and other outsiders!"

Su Wen responded. Along the way, Su Wen felt the prosperity and power of the Tang Dynasty, which was almost as bustling as Shanghai.

Su Wen couldn't help but exclaim from the bottom of his heart: "Truly worthy of being called the Kaiyuan Era of the Tang Dynasty!"

Before long, the three of them arrived at Tongxuan Temple.

Tongxuan Temple is located on the edge of Dunhua Ward, but it is still very crowded. There are stalls selling things on both sides of the temple gate.

The three entered Tongxuan Temple. The Taoist temple, which should have been quiet, was not quiet at all. There were quite a few foreigners visiting and worshipping. Although they didn't know what they were worshipping for so late at night, there were indeed quite a few people.

The three men randomly approached a young boy and said, "Excuse me, is Daoist Li Moxuan here? We are from the Luoyang County government and have urgent business with Daoist Li Moxuan!"

The young Taoist replied, "Please follow me, all three of you!"

After saying this, the young Taoist led the three to the door of a room in the backyard. As soon as they arrived at the door, they heard a violent coughing fit. After a while, they saw a foreign man walking out of the room.

The man was dressed in a long black robe and wore a black veil on his head. He looked like a heretic, and his complexion was very poor, as if he were seriously ill.

After the young Taoist priest saw the man leave, he stepped into the room, bowed to Li Moxuan, and said, "Master, the people from the Luoyang County government have arrived!"

Li Moxuan responded, "Please let them in!"

The young Taoist priest came out and gestured for the three of them to enter.

The three entered the room and saw an old Taoist priest, about fifty or sixty years old, with a white beard, sitting cross-legged on the ground. The old priest was rather thin, but his spirit and energy were very strong, and his face was ruddy.

Su Wen bowed to Li Moxuan and said, "I am Su Wen, the magistrate of Luoyang County, the chief director of the Criminal Justice Department, and a professor of criminal justice!"

Li Xingguo glanced at Su Wen, then bowed and said, "Formerly the Grand General of the Left Golden Guard, now the Supreme General of the Left Golden Guard, Li Xingguo!"

Xu Ge bowed and said, "I am Xu Ge, an elder of Luoyang County!"

Li Moxuan looked up at the three men, then bowed and said, "This humble Taoist priest is Li Moxuan, a military advisor at Xingqing Palace, a junior official in the Imperial Observatory, a member of the Ministry of Personnel, a professor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a senior historian, a chief historian, a secretary in the Imperial Library, and the abbot of Tongxuan Temple!"

Upon hearing this, all three fell silent and lowered their heads.