novelSusiti 058: Help with the investigation
058: Help with the investigation
Su Wen glanced at Han Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "You really hate her!"
......
The next day, Su Wen handed the case over to Magistrate Liao. Magistrate Liao exchanged a few pleasantries with Su Wen, and then Su Wen took out five hundred coins and gave them to Chen Xian, telling him to take the constables out for drinks and meat.
Su Wen and Xu Ge did not linger and left Fei County for Jiaoshui County in Laizhou.
Su Wen was completely unaware of the sentencing of Han Xuan, the madam, and Song Huai, because he was not very familiar with the Tang Dynasty law. Everything had to be handed over to the Dali Temple, and the officials of the Ministry of Justice had to review the entire case file before a decision could be made!
The two traveled on and off for another four or five days.
When passing through Ling County, before even entering the city, we saw more than ten constables standing at the city gate. One of them was holding a portrait, as if he were arresting a wanted criminal. He would glance at everyone who passed by and then wave them away.
We've been traveling a long and tiring journey, and we're exhausted!
The two ignored everything and strode into the city, thinking they would rest there for a day before continuing their journey the next day. They had just reached the city gate.
The person holding the portrait saw Su Wen, looked at the portrait again, and then asked, "Who are you two?"
Su Wen replied, "We are on our way to take up our new post in Jiaoshui County, Laizhou!" With that, Su Wen took out his travel permit from his robes and handed it to the man. The man looked at the permit and then asked, "Are you Su Wen, the Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice?"
Su Wen was quite surprised and said, "Indeed, you know me?"
The man, with a smile on his face, quickly took a step back, then bowed and said, "This humble official is Ye Chujiu, the elder of Ling County. I have been ordered by the county magistrate to wait here for you two. Please come into the county office for a chat!"
Su Wen glanced at Xu Ge, hesitated slightly, and then replied, "That won't be necessary. We both need to go to Jiaoshui County in Laizhou to take up our posts, and we dare not linger any longer. We are truly sorry!"
Ye Chu Jiu bowed again and said, "Chief Su, the reason I've invited you to the county office is because Magistrate Guo of this county wants to ask you for a favor!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen frowned, looking puzzled, and asked, "I don't know the magistrate of Ling County. May I ask what magistrate Guo needs my help with?"
Ye Chu Jiu sighed and said, "The matter is very complicated. Magistrate Guo has only been in office for a short time. He heard from his friend, Magistrate Cui Ziyan of Ning Shui County, that Chief Inspector Su is a brilliant detective. Therefore, he wants to ask you for help in solving a murder case in Ling County!"
Su Wen frowned and began to think. Good heavens, Cui Ziyan from Ningshui County, that old man looked down on him, but now he's praising him so highly in front of his friend.
Su Wen bowed and said, "Since it is what Magistrate Cui Ziyan said, then please proceed!"
Ye Chu Jiu said, "Please!"
We arrived at the county government office.
Ye Chu Jiu went into the inner hall to announce their arrival. A moment later, Magistrate Guo, who was about forty or fifty years old and had dark skin, immediately bowed upon seeing Su Wen and Xu Ge and asked, "May I ask which of you is Su Wen, the County Magistrate?"
Su Wen hurriedly returned the greeting, saying, "Reporting to the magistrate, my name is Su Wen. May I ask your honorable name?"
The magistrate said, "I, Guo Jingzhi, have long heard of Magistrate Su's many remarkable cases and his great talent. I shouldn't have troubled Chief Justice Su, but the previous magistrate was afraid of being punished, so he had already decided on the case. After the Court of Judicial Review reviewed it, they realized that the case was not right and sent it back for retrial, but..."
Guo Jingzhi sighed and said, "The plaintiff has already committed suicide. I am truly incapable of investigating cases. The position of county lieutenant is currently vacant, and there is no one to fill it. I fear this will become an unsolved case. I heard that Chief Justice Su will be passing through this area, so I ordered someone to wait for him at the city gate. I implore Chief Justice Su to help me solve this case, bring justice to the deceased, and bring the murderer to justice!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen bowed to Guo Jingzhi and said, "In that case, this humble official will accept Magistrate Guo's request. May I ask where the case file is located? I need to examine it first!"
Guo Jingzhi said, "Please!"
After speaking, Guo Jingzhi looked at the elder Ye Chujiu beside him and said, "Ye Chujiu, this case is now entirely entrusted to Chief Su. You and the county constables must obey Chief Su's orders and must not disobey!"
Ye Chu Jiu bowed and replied, "Yes!"
......
More than half a month ago, Gu Zongsheng, a cloth merchant in the county, brought Liu Asi, a water carrier, to the county government to report to the authorities. As soon as they entered the county hall, Gu Zongsheng burst into tears and said that Liu Asi had killed four women in his family.
When the magistrate Ding Feng heard this, he was greatly shocked. He had bought his official position in the previous dynasty. He had originally bought a minor official position of the ninth rank, but he had hardly encountered any cases and was quite conscientious in his work. Therefore, he was promoted several times and finally became the magistrate of Ling County!
Having served as magistrate of Ling County for less than two years, there hadn't been any major cases in the county during those two years. The most common issues he dealt with were disputes between neighbors or the arrest of a few thieves.
He was truly shocked to learn that four people had died at once.
So he hurriedly asked Gu Zongsheng to explain the cause and effect.
Gu Zongsheng's wife, Zhou, just turned 30 this year. Since their marriage, her health has been poor. Not only has she been unable to give birth to any children for Gu Zongsheng, but she is now bedridden and unable to get out of bed often.
Gu Zongsheng and Zhou Shi were childhood sweethearts, growing up together without any qualms. Not only did he not despise his wife, but he also did not think about taking a concubine. On the contrary, he worked even harder to earn money and searched everywhere for a miracle doctor to cure his wife Zhou Shi!
However, after nearly ten years of marriage, they still had no children, which was not a good thing. So, at the urging of his wife, Zhou, they adopted Yue Nu, the child of Zhou's sister, into their family.
Zhou and Yue Nu had a very good relationship. Just a few days ago, Zhou's condition worsened, and she could only lie in bed and was unable to get up.
Seeing his wife bedridden and his six-year-old daughter Yuenu, Gu Zongsheng had no choice but to ask his mother-in-law, Wang, who was over sixty years old, to come and help take care of them.
However, her mother-in-law was getting old and it was difficult for her to take care of the two of them. So sometimes, during the day, Wang would call her 22-year-old niece, Qian, to her home to help take care of them!
However, Gu Zongsheng never expected that today, while he was doing business in the next county, his neighbor would suddenly call him back, saying that something terrible had happened at home!
All four women in the family hanged themselves!
When Gu Zongsheng arrived home, he discovered that the person who first discovered the scene was none other than Liu Asi, the water carrier he had hired. Unexpectedly, Liu Asi tried to run away as soon as he saw Gu Zongsheng and his group. Seeing this, Gu Zongsheng concluded that the murderer was Liu Asi. He believed that Liu Asi had killed the four women after failing to rape them and then faked a hanging. Therefore, he took Liu Asi to the county office.
After listening to Gu Zongsheng's explanation, Ding Feng knew that this case was no small matter!
Ding Feng questioned Liu Asi and subjected him to twenty strokes of the cane. Liu Asi cried out that he was wronged and that Zhao Zongsheng was wronged, spewing false accusations.
It turned out that in the morning, Liu Asi went to the Gu family to fetch and deliver water as usual, and he called out a few times as usual.
Although he didn't hear a reply from inside, he still opened the door and poured water into the water tank as usual.
Then Liu Asi went outside the main house to say hello, so as to prove that he had come to the Gu family to fetch water today, so as to avoid being fined by Gu Zongsheng. However, he found that the main house door was closed and there was no sound from inside.
In the past, the main gate of the house was not closed. Occasionally it was closed, and the voices of the ladies of the house could still be heard inside. But today it was very quiet, without a sound.