Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 129: The Azure Dragon Case

Su Wen bowed deeply to the emperor seated at the table, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

The emperor said, "I saw in your memorial that you have uncovered clues and identified a suspect. Tell me about it!"

Su Wen bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Su Wendao said, "According to what the maid of the deceased Li Xinyue said, I found a book called 'Ningxiang Ji,' which is quite popular among women in Chang'an. This book was a gift from Pei Yinnu. When my fiancée Cui Lingyu and I were delivering wedding gifts, we learned that recently many women from prominent families in Chang'an have been taking Qinglong powder!"

"Merchants exaggerated the effects of Azure Dragon Powder, claiming it could make people younger and whiter. In reality, this so-called Azure Dragon Powder is just Yiduosan, mixed with dragon scale powder and other ingredients!"

"Following this clue, I found Shili Village, about a hundred miles outside Chang'an. The village head, Song Xun, recounted the incident of the Azure Dragon falling on the eighth day of the third month. Subsequently, I found some silkworm silk and a piece of paper that was half burned at the scene of the fall!"

"Therefore, following the clues, I traced the silk's origin to a merchant in Da'an Ward, Chang'an, who specializes in silk quilts. From her, I learned that over a year ago, someone purchased and commissioned a batch of extremely special silk. This silk was incredibly soft and resilient. I compared this silk with the silk I had previously found on the sandbar and found that the workmanship was identical, indicating that they both originated from that merchant in Da'an Ward!"

"All the clues pointed to illusion, so I went to see the Imperial Preceptor Ye Fashan. From him, I learned that he had once taken on a disciple named Shi Linfeng, who disguised himself as a monk and had met the doctor who sold Azure Dragon Powder, the village head Song Xun, and two vagrants who collected money for him!"

"Your Majesty, I had Cui Lingyu examine the portrait drawn by Song Xun. We learned from Ye Fashan that this person's name was Shi Linfeng, and from his disciple, we learned that Shi Linfeng's illusionary arts were extremely powerful!"

"In Chang'an, there is a female shop owner whose paper-cutting skills are superb. So I ordered her to cut out this paper-cut of Li Xinyue. In addition, my subordinates also learned from her that about a year ago, a very handsome young man came to her to learn the art of paper-cutting, and she taught him. That man was none other than Shi Linfeng!"

"One day, having nothing to do, I went with Cui Lingyu to watch the illusion troupe's performance. I found a Ningyue Pavilion emblem in the hand of a dwarf at the entrance!"

"While in Shazhou, I met many people from Ningyue Pavilion. They were all unfortunate people who were fortunate enough to be rescued by Master Huineng, who taught them various arts and crafts so that they could support their families!"

"I remember that they left Shazhou before me. As a result, I have been in Chang'an for more than a month, but they still have not arrived. I happened to see the sign of Ningyue Pavilion, so I ordered the Judicial Officer of Yongzhou to send people to look for them."

"As it turns out, this afternoon, when Cui Lingyu and I returned from the Taoist temple, we learned from Xu Ge that Ningyue Pavilion had been destroyed by fire in Hezhou, and all thirty-four people in the pavilion perished!"

"That day, I tentatively questioned the dwarf at Ningyue Pavilion, but he had no idea what I was talking about. Therefore, I suspected that these people were disguised as members of Ningyue Pavilion, and that there might be quite a few Tibetans among them!"

"Your Majesty, Cui Lingyu and I have carefully discussed all the details, and we have concluded that Shi Linfeng has most likely already defected to the Tibetans, or rather, Shi Linfeng is most likely the real Yitian!"

"Previously, I had no doubt that Zhang Xizhou was Yitian, but today I heard from the young Taoist that when Shi Linfeng was expelled from his sect by National Preceptor Ye Fashan, he immediately joined Princess Taiping's household within the first year of the Xiantian realm!"

"Today, when Cui Lingyu and I were discussing this, I learned that Princess Taiping had several male favorites in her household, one of whom was a master of illusion. I suspect that this person was Shi Linfeng."

"However, Shi Linfeng is extremely intelligent and cautious. If we were to post a wanted notice, we might never be able to catch him. Therefore, I am not in a hurry to post the notice."

"After careful consideration, I have discovered that the reason the other party fabricated the incident of the Azure Dragon falling was to spread the news throughout Chang'an, and then from Chang'an to the entire Tang Dynasty. Combined with the birth of the new Buddha in Dunhuang, this would plant a seed in the hearts of the people of the Tang Dynasty that the sage is about to die and a new Buddha is about to be born!"

"But even so, they still couldn't shake the foundation of the entire Tang Dynasty. So they came up with the idea of ​​using Ningxiangji and Qinglong powder to corrupt the women in aristocratic families, making them fall into a desire for Ningxiangji and Qinglong powder!"

"In this way, we can incite chaos among all the ministers and noble families in Chang'an. Your humble servant instructed Ji Ming to carefully investigate the Azure Dragon Powder and dragon scales. According to Ji Ming's careful research, in addition to Yiduosan, a very small amount of Diyejia was added to the Azure Dragon Powder. This is to make noblewomen feel happy after taking it and want to eat more, thus becoming addicted to it!"

"This person meticulously planned all of this, but what he didn't expect was that the village head of Shili Village would immediately connect the Azure Dragon's fall to the Sage. So he ordered everyone in the village to block the news, so when people from other villages inquired, the villagers denied it. As a result, the news did not spread throughout Chang'an!"

"Because Shi Linfeng is greedy and lustful, he must have seen Pei Yinnu and Li Xinyue's beauty by chance, and thus became lustful, which is why he took action against them."

"Your Majesty, I suspect that he initially chose Pei Yinnu, but the plan failed because the Imperial Guards were patrolling the area that day. So, a few days later, the opportunity fell to Li Xinyue."

"Unexpectedly, Li Xinyue consumed an excessive amount of Qinglong powder, causing her to enter a state of extreme excitement, which ultimately led to her death from over-excitement!"

What Su Wen really wanted to say here was that the combination of aphrodisiacs and marijuana caused excessive excitement, leading to vasoconstriction, increased blood pressure, faster heartbeat, and accelerated blood flow, which could cause arrhythmia and potentially induce sudden cardiac death.

But these things were like heavenly books to the ancients. It's better to keep it simple and easy to understand: he died from excessive excitement!

"Based on all the information and clues above, the other party likely intends to assassinate the Emperor on the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, taking advantage of his performance at Xingqing Palace. Their aim is to then seize control of the court and powerful families, thus achieving their grand ambition!"

Upon hearing Su Wen's words, everyone couldn't help but look at him. Almost no one expected that Su Wen would solve such a complex and bizarre case in just a few days!

The sage looked at Su Wen and said, "Now that we have so many clues, Su Wen, why don't you send people to capture the Illusionist Group and Shi Linfeng?"

Su Wendao said, "Because, as of now, I do not know Shi Linfeng's exact hiding place. Once the arrest begins, all those with ill intentions hiding in Chang'an will flee and go into hiding, making it extremely difficult to catch them then!"

Zhang said, "Su Wen is right. These thieves harbor ill intentions and are very cunning. If we don't wipe them out in one fell swoop, they might be released back into the wild, and the consequences could be dire!"