Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 126: The Azure Dragon Case

Song Xun nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll have Song Niu take you!"

Su Wen responded, then stood up and looked at Xu Ge, saying, "Xu Ge, immediately send someone to take Lord Song to Chang'an and have Lingyu try to draw the portrait of the monk Lord Song saw!"

Xu Ge nodded and replied, "Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Song Xun stood to one side, a faint sadness flashing across his face. He turned to instruct his family, but Su Wen, seeing this, quickly said, "Lord Song, don't be nervous, it's nothing. I just want to ask you to go to Chang'an so that Lingyu can draw a portrait of the monk you've met. Lingyu's painting skills are extremely advanced; she can draw the person's appearance based on your description!"

Upon hearing this, Song Xun again asked incredulously, "Sir, are you really not sending this old man to be punished? The matter of the fallen dragon is of utmost importance. If someone needs to take the blame, this old man is willing to do so. I only ask that you spare the rest of the villagers!"

Su Wendao said, "Lord Song, what crime have you committed?"

Song Xun said, "A dragon falling from the sky! This is a heinous crime! If it hadn't spread, that would have been fine. But since your government officials know about it, it must have already reached the Emperor's ears. Does the Emperor really not intend to punish us?"

Su Wen smiled and said, "Lord Song, the matter of the dragon is nothing but nonsense, a folk legend, and not to be believed!"

Song Xun said, "But we saw it all!"

Su Wen laughed and said, "Lord Song, sometimes what people see with their eyes is not necessarily what it actually is!"

Su Wen held up the dragon scale in his hand and said, "Just like this so-called dragon scale, what you see as a dragon scale is actually just the scale of an animal. Through some special means, it has been transformed into what you call a dragon scale. As for the dragon you saw, it was probably just some kind of illusion!"

"Illusion?" Song Xun, the only literate person in the village, suddenly understood and said, "I understand now! Minister Su means that someone wants to use this matter for something!"

"Hmm!" Su Wen nodded in response, "However, it was fortunate that Lord Song reacted quickly and ordered the villagers to keep the matter to themselves, thus preventing it from spreading widely. This also meant that the other side wasted their efforts in staging this whole charade, and even their attempt to use it for a conspiracy failed. Therefore, to this day, almost no one in the entire city of Chang'an knows about this news!"

Upon hearing this, Song Xun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, a burly man, about seven feet tall and dressed simply, carrying a bow and several arrows, walked over.

Upon seeing the crowd, he bowed to Song Xun and said, "Song Niu greets Lord Song. May I ask what brings you here, Lord Song?"

Song Xun said, "Take your superiors to the place where you found the dragon scales that day!"

Song Niu hesitated for a moment, then pretended not to know, saying, "Master Song, what are you talking about? What place where you found the dragon scale? I don't remember anything like that. Are you mistaken?"

Song Xun said, "Song Niu, don't worry, these officials are good officials. Just take them there, it'll be fine!"

Upon hearing this, Song Niu still hesitated. Su Wen then spoke up, "Song Niu, don't worry. If something really happens, it won't be me coming, but the Imperial Guards. Just lead the way!"

Song Niu looked at Song Xun again, and Song Xun nodded slightly, agreeing with Su Wen's words. Seeing this, Song Niu said, "Then please follow me, esteemed officials!"

Su Wen and the others accompanied Song Niu to the western peak. After about an hour, Song Niu led them to a landslide area. Song Niu said, "We found the dragon scales here on the morning of the ninth day of the third month!"

Su Wen asked, "How many dragon scales are there?"

Song Niu said, "About thirty or forty pieces, that's not much!"

Su Wen stepped onto the landslide debris and looked around. Finding nothing, he said, "Send a few people up the mountain to search carefully, especially for anything resembling silkworm silk!"

Song Niu looked puzzled, and the constables were also puzzled. How could silkworm silk appear in this mountain? But since Su Wen had given the order, all the constables responded and began to search the mountain carefully.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually darkened.

Searching for any remaining silkworm silk from a few months ago in this area was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Just when Su Wen thought he couldn't find it...

Suddenly, a constable rushed over. When Su Wen saw that the constable was holding a half-burnt piece of paper and a few strands of silk, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

Su Wen carefully examined the silk and found that it was indeed the same as the two silk threads he had picked up earlier. It seemed that Su Wen had guessed correctly; the other party had used illusion magic to create this dragon fall incident!

Unfortunately, the other party did not expect that Song Xun, the village head, was an extremely clever person who immediately linked the fallen dragon to the sage. Therefore, he ordered the entire village not to leak the news, which effectively thwarted their attempt to spread the news.

This is a profound lesson that plans can't keep up with changes; often, the more complex the plan, the more uncontrollable things will happen.

Su Wen called out to everyone, "Xu Ge, tell everyone to come back. We've found a clue!"

Xu Ge shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone come back! We've found them!"

......

By the time Su Wen and the others returned to the prison, it was already completely dark.

Su Wen looked at the constables and said, "You've worked hard, brothers. Once this case is solved, I will definitely treat you all to a good meal at the best restaurant in Chang'an!"

The constables responded and then left.

Su Wen and Xu Ge had already said goodbye. When Su Wen returned home, he found Cui Lingyu waiting for him. As soon as she saw Su Wen return, she immediately said softly, "Xiao Bi, go and heat up the food and bring it up!"

Cui Bi responded.

Seeing that Cui Lingyu was still at home, Su Wen asked with some surprise, "Lingyu, why are you still here? It might have an impact if someone sees you!"

Cui Lingyu said, "Don't worry, Su Lang. Almost everyone in Wannian County of Chang'an knows that we will be engaged on the tenth of next month. It's fine for me to stay at your home!"

Su Wen didn't understand what this meant, but the openness of the Tang Dynasty was no less than that of the future. After all, even things like pornography and Yiduosan could be openly popular among noble families. Presumably, no one would say anything bad about it!

Cui Lingyu asked, "Su Lang, did you gain anything from this trip?"

Su Wendao said, "Yes, I ordered people to search the place Song Xun mentioned, and they indeed found silkworm silk. It seems that, like the Buddha we saw in Shazhou, someone used illusion magic to create the scene of the Azure Dragon falling!"