Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

062: The Lianhua Case in Qingzhou

a few days later.

Su Wen has learned a lot about farming, and right now he's sitting in the pavilion with a few old men, drinking tea and chatting. He's living a very carefree life.

When they had nothing to do, Su Wen would tell them stories like those from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. However, Su Wen couldn't remember those stories, so he could only tell them from the TV dramas he had watched. Everyone didn't have much to do on weekdays except for doing some farm work, so they would just get together to listen, laugh, and that was it.

That day, Su Wentong, as usual, sat in the pavilion with several experts, drinking tea. Tea in the Tang Dynasty was very bitter, very unpleasant to drink, and very expensive.

The farmers had no money, so they bought only tea scraps to taste; some liked them, and some didn't.

Su Wen doesn't like this kind of drink. In fact, after drinking it for two days, he felt that it was not as good as plain water with a little sugar!

Just as Su Wen was chatting and laughing with several elderly people, Xu Ge stood on the edge of the field, waving his hands and calling out, "Master... Master!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen got up and walked out of the pavilion, gesturing to Xu Ge. Xu Ge shouted loudly, "Master, an urgent document has arrived from the county government, it's for you!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen hurriedly picked up the shoes that were placed in the pavilion and, without saying a word, rushed towards Xu Ge.

I hurried over while putting on my shoes.

A moment later, upon reaching Xu Ge's side, he asked, "What urgent document? What do you need me for?"

Xu Ge shook her head and said, "I don't know, but my father-in-law and the constables are still waiting over there, let's hurry!"

Before long, Su Wen and Xu Ge hurriedly entered the county office. The county magistrate was standing to one side, along with an eunuch and several bailiffs behind him. The eunuch was holding two documents. Su Wen approached the two men, bowed, and said, "This humble officer is the county constable of Jiaoshui County. Greetings, eunuch and magistrate!"

The eunuch, holding a document in his hand, opened it and said, "Su Wen, receive the imperial decree!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately knelt down and performed a grand salute, bowing his head and saying, "Su Wen receives the imperial decree!"

The eunuch said, "The Emperor and his disciples have decreed that Su Wen be appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal and Prison Affairs Department, equivalent to the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He has the authority to oversee all cases within the Tang Dynasty's territory, investigate and adjudicate cases without submitting them to the Court of Judicial Review. He is also appointed as the Acting Governor of Qingzhou, and is to immediately proceed to Qingzhou to investigate the Lianhua case. This case must be solved as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ge, who was standing to the side, was so excited that she almost burst out laughing.

Upon hearing this, Su Wen could hardly believe it. He had actually been promoted, and by leaps of several ranks at that, from the lowest ninth rank to a high-ranking fourth-rank official. It made Su Wen wonder if he was dreaming!

Seeing Su Wen kneeling motionless on the ground with a blank expression, the eunuch smiled and said, "Young Master Su, receive the imperial decree!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen finally came to his senses; this was not a dream.

Su Wen wiped his hands on his body, then respectfully reached out to accept the imperial edict and slowly stood up.

At this moment, the eunuch handed the document to Su Wen, saying, "This is an imperial edict from the Secretariat. From this day forward, you are the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Investigation Department and the Acting Governor of Qingzhou!"

Su Wen's heart was pounding, and she tried her best to suppress her joy as she said, "Thank you, Father-in-law!"

As he spoke, Su Wen took out a thousand coins from his pocket and handed them to the eunuch, saying, "Thank you for coming to convey my decree, sir. You've worked hard!" (These customary gifts were a common practice in ancient times; almost everyone gave them, even honest officials. They were called rewards or celebratory money!)

The father-in-law took the money, smiled, and then pulled Su Wen aside, saying, "Young Master Su, this is a secret letter from the Emperor to you. Only you can know about it. After you've read it, remember to burn it. No one else can know about it. Do you understand?"

Su Wen replied, "Understood!"

After handing the letter to Su Wen, the eunuch turned around and said, "Then I'll take my leave. Su Shaoqing can pack his things and head to Qingzhou immediately!"

Su Wen put the letter back in his pocket, then turned and bowed, saying, "Respectfully seeing you off, Eunuch!"

After her father-in-law left, Xu Ge said with a joyful expression, "Congratulations, Master!"

Magistrate Hao, standing nearby, also bowed to Su Wen and said, "Congratulations on your promotion, County Lieutenant Su! It's just a pity that you need to depart immediately, otherwise I would have definitely thrown a grand banquet for you tonight!"

Su Wen bowed to Magistrate Hao and said, "I am deeply grateful for your care these past few days, Magistrate Hao. It's just that I don't know when we will meet again!"

Magistrate Hao said, "If fate allows, we will meet again someday. Young Master Su, until we meet again!"

Su Wen returned the greeting, saying, "Until we meet again!"

......

A few days later, Su Wen and Xu Ge arrived in Qingzhou.

Upon entering the city, Su Wen and Xu Ge, leading their horses, immediately sensed a desolate atmosphere.

As the main street of Qingzhou, Zhaode Street should be lined with shops and bustling with people. However, at a glance, almost none of the shops on both sides of the street are open, and it can be said that every shop has its doors tightly closed.

The entire street was almost deserted, with only a handful of people walking around, and they were moving at an unusually fast pace, almost jogging.

Xu Ge asked, "What's going on? Why is it so deserted?"

Su Wen also shook his head.

After walking for a short while, they came across a group of soldiers. The leader was riding a horse, followed by a whole group of soldiers, about thirty in number.

These soldiers were all clad in armor and carried long spears. They did not resemble a patrol at all, because according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, soldiers were only allowed to carry weapons on night patrols. Otherwise, they were not allowed to carry weapons into the city. Moreover, these people were wearing full armor. This was not a patrol, but a war.

Su Wen walked up to the group of people, bowed, and said, "Excuse me..."

Upon seeing this, the rider frowned and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you stop my horse? Do you have ulterior motives?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately raised his voice and said, "I am Su Wen, the acting governor of Qingzhou, the vice minister of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Justice Department, equivalent to the vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, former magistrate of Luoyang County, chief of the Criminal Justice Department, county lieutenant of Jiaoshui County, and professor of criminal justice!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ge glanced at Su Wen with some confusion, but remained silent.

Upon hearing this, the man on horseback immediately dismounted and bowed to Su Wen, saying, "Greetings, Vice Minister Su. I am Du Yu, Deputy General of the Left Army of the Qingzhou Protectorate. I am here on orders from Xia Wenyu, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to patrol the city and search for suspects!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen asked, "Where is Xia Shaoqing now?"

Du Yu said, "Reporting to Vice Minister Su, Vice Minister Xia has been summoned back to the court by the Emperor. However, before his recall, he was still the acting governor of Qingzhou and did not issue any orders to us. Therefore, we must follow the original orders; otherwise, it would be considered disobeying orders and we would be punished according to military law!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen was so angry he almost laughed out loud. He said, "I am now the acting governor of Qingzhou. Issue my order: all patrol troops and soldiers must withdraw from Qingzhou City and return to their original camps to do what they are supposed to do!"

Du Yu responded, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"

Having said that, Du Yu breathed a sigh of relief, mounted his horse, and said, "Thank you, Junior Minister Su!"

After the troops left, Xu Ge said, "Is Xia Wenyu an idiot? Letting troops into the city, no wonder no one dares to come out!"