Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

017: The Weixian County Unsolved Murder Case

Wang Weifeng lowered his head and remained silent. Su Wen, however, frowned and said, "Call Qian Jin and Qian Bin here!"

Wang Weifeng responded and then called several constables to fetch Qian Jin and Qian Bin.

After a while.

The two arrived at the county government office. Qian Jin lowered his head and hid behind Qian Bin, not daring to look up at Su Wen.

Su Wen frowned and carefully examined Qian Jin. Qian Jin was about twenty years old, with fair skin, a curvaceous figure, and a stunningly beautiful face.

Su Wen asked, "Qian Jin, with your appearance, do you often get harassed?"

In response to Su Wen's question, Qian Jin nodded. Su Wen then asked, "I'm asking you, and you must answer truthfully. Tell me everything that happened between you and Zhou Yunlu the other day, word for word!"

Qian Jin responded, "The day before yesterday at noon, after I finished washing clothes, I went out to splash water and accidentally splashed some on Zhou Yunlu. I went up to apologize, and Zhou Yunlu was pleased to see that I wasn't angry. Then my uncle came out and let me into the house, where he apologized to Zhou Yunlu from outside!"

Su Wen looked at Qian Bin, who said, "After I apologized to Zhou Yunlu, he wasn't angry. He just said 'bad luck' and left!"

"Later, around 1:15 PM, I heard Zhou Yunlu knocking on the door and whistling, harassing my niece Qian Jin. So I went out and told him to get lost. He didn't listen and even tried to hit me. So I picked up a stick and chased after him to beat him up!"

Su Wen frowned in thought and asked, "How long have you been chasing him?"

Qian Bin said, "I didn't chase him for long, only a few dozen steps. I'm old, and I couldn't catch up with him, so I turned back and went home!"

Su Wen asked, "Qian Jin, why weren't you home that night?"

Qian Jin said, "My uncle was afraid that Zhou Yunlu would come and harass me again, so he asked me to stay at my uncle's house with my younger sister. So, at 2:45 PM that night, I went to my uncle's house with him!"

Su Wendao said, "Qian Bin, it was a cloudy night the night before last, there was no moonlight, and I checked the nearby alleys; there were no houses with lanterns lit. How did you manage to tell that the other person was Zhou Yunlu?"

Qian Bin said, "I didn't see his face clearly!"

"He spoke?"

"No, but he was wearing the same clothes Zhou Yunlu was wearing that day—the clothes that Jin'er splashed on him!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen said, "So, you didn't see the person's face clearly, nor did you hear the person speak, and you judged the person to be Zhou Yunlu based solely on their clothes?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Bin was immediately speechless, and his head gradually lowered. Su Wen took a deep breath and said, "Do you know that it was because you thought that was Zhou Yunlu that Zhou Yunlu was tortured into confessing by the former magistrate? You are the one who killed Zhou Yunlu!"

Qian Bin shut his mouth after Su Wen said that.

Su Wen looked at Qian Jin, scrutinized her carefully, and slowly asked, "Has anyone else been harassing you recently?"

Qian Jin shook her head slightly and said, "Ever since Hu Lang harassed me two months ago and was seen and chased away by the county magistrate, my uncle and mother have almost never let me go out, so I haven't had any in the past two months!"

Su Wen looked at Wang Weifeng beside him, who also looked bewildered, after all, he had just taken office and hadn't even warmed his seat yet.

Su Wen looked at the constables beside him and asked, "Do you know this Hu Lang?"

"We know him!" The group nodded in agreement. "He's a hoodlum. He used to be a constable (a 'bad guy' is a term for a constable, though there were no constables in the Tang Dynasty; they were called 'bad guys' or 'errand runners,' it didn't matter!). Later, he got into trouble and was dismissed by Magistrate Mo, so he started hanging around the county!"

Su Wen asked, "Why isn't it being dealt with?"

"His father was once a centurion, and since Magistrate Mo didn't say anything, none of us dared to!"

Su Wen merely sneered, then looked at Qian Jin and said, "Continue!"

Qian Jin said, "That day I went to the street to sell embroidery for my mother, and Hu Lang bumped into me. He then tried to rape me... During my resistance, I hit him in the face with a bottle..."

"Stop! You hit him in the face with the bottle. Did it hurt his face?" Su Wen asked.

Qian Jin thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there's a small cut, and it's bleeding!"

"Okay, continue!"

"Then he pinned me to the ground and tore my clothes. At that moment, the county magistrate arrived with several thugs. They beat Hu Lang up. Fearing retaliation, the magistrate ordered the elders to keep a close watch on him!"

Su Wen pondered for a moment and said, "Go and call Hu Lang here!"

A constable announced, "Hu Lang has moved!"

"You moved?" Su Wen asked, frowning. "When did you move?"

"They left with Magistrate Mo!"

Su Wen asked, "Why?"

"Because Hu Lang's father was once a centurion, and had a very close relationship with Magistrate Mo, almost like sworn brothers. Since his brothers all left, they naturally followed Magistrate Mo. When they came here back then, they also came with Magistrate Mo!"

Su Wen smiled slightly and said, "Hmph, this is really troublesome. I'll have to go and ask someone for help!"

Wang Weifeng asked, "Why bother asking for favors?"

Su Wendao said, "This Hu Lang is the most suspicious; no wonder Magistrate Mo is in such a hurry to close the case!"

Upon hearing Su Wen's words, Wang Weifeng swallowed hard and said, "But, although Magistrate Mo has been transferred, he is still the magistrate. With my position, I cannot..."

"I know, that's why I said I need to ask someone for help!"

Just as Su Wen finished speaking, a constable rushed in from outside, saying in a panic, "Magistrate Wang, something terrible has happened! Two corpses and two human heads have been found three miles outside the Ning River!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen frowned deeply.

Wang Weifeng looked at Su Wen, who hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let's go take a look. You go see the Judicial Advisor of Youzhou right now and tell him that Su Wen has asked him for help in ordering the arrest of Hu Lang, who is now a major suspect!"

The constable replied, "Yes!"

Su Wendao said, "Magistrate Wei, let's go to the crime scene first!"

Before long, Su Wen, Wang Weifeng, and their group of constables arrived at the banks of the Ning River at top speed.

At this moment, a few scattered people were watching from about ten or twenty meters away, while several constables were standing at the scene, and an elderly man was kneeling on the ground.

Upon seeing Su Wen and Wang Weifeng arrive, the old man immediately kowtowed and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Magistrate, sir, I don't know what happened. It's been raining all month, but the weather has cleared up recently, and I've been coming here every day. Today was no different; I came here to fish, and I accidentally slipped and fell. That's when I realized it had nothing to do with me!"

Su Wen found it strange to see the old man with snot and tears streaming down his face. Why was he so afraid when he had only discovered the crime scene and was going to report it to the authorities?

At this moment, Wang Weifeng seemed to sense Su Wen's doubts and hurriedly stepped forward to help the old man up, saying, "Old man, this matter has nothing to do with you. You can go home in peace!"

The old man's voice trembled with tears, but he continued to explain, "What happened here really has nothing to do with me. I've never killed or hurt anyone. I just came here to fish!"

Wang Weifeng nodded and replied, "Yes, we know. You can go back now, sir!"