Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

020: The Weixian County Five-Corpse Wrongful Murder Case

Su Wen's mind was filled with even more doubts. How could this case be so chaotic?

The key point is that, based on the current clues, Hu Lang has the strongest motive and is the most suspicious. However, there is no possibility of multiple people committing the crime at the scene. Two more people have died, and they are still buried in the place where the heads were buried. There is also evidence of tofu on the deceased's clothes.

Su Wen was also greatly confused, he just couldn't understand it.

As dusk settled outside, about ten minutes later, a constable led a man of about forty-seven or forty-eight years old and a woman into the courtroom. Su Wen then put down his teacup, stood up, and walked toward the two of them.

Upon seeing Su Wen and the several constables standing on either side, the two men were so frightened that they knelt down and lowered their heads, not daring to even glance at Su Wen.

Just as Wang Weifeng was about to step forward to help the two, Su Wen reached out and stopped him, giving him a look that Wang Weifeng immediately understood.

Su Wen stepped forward and coughed, saying, "Someone reported to the authorities today that around 3:45 AM two days ago, someone saw you digging a pit on the bank of the Ning River. This morning, we discovered traces of burial on the riverbank. When we dug it up, we found two people and two heads inside. Did you and your wife kill them?"

Upon hearing this, the man was utterly devastated and collapsed to the ground. The woman beside him immediately cried out, "Oh dear, how are we going to live now!"

Su Wen looked at the man and snapped at the woman, "Shut up, or you'll be charged with shouting in court!"

He then shouted, "Speak up! Did you kill the two people and the two heads in that pit?"

Faced with this rebuke, the man was terrified and confessed immediately!

"Two days ago, around 3 AM, I had just opened the door to make tofu when I saw two human heads hanging at the entrance. I was terrified and wanted to report it to the authorities, but then I remembered that my father had been beaten to death in court by cruel officials for doing so. We all know what Magistrate Mo is like; people who report to the authorities are often given twenty strokes of the cane first. Young people can withstand that, but I'm almost fifty. How could I possibly withstand twenty strokes of the cane!"

"So I planned to take the two heads to the nearby Ningshui River and throw them away, but then I thought, these two people have already had their heads chopped off and hung up, I couldn't bear to do that, so I decided to dig a hole and bury them!"

"But, when we were burying him, Lu Da happened to run into us. He was so scared that he wanted to report us to the authorities. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to explain myself and would be beaten to death by Magistrate Mo, so I told him the whole story. He asked me for three thousand coins, and I agreed to give him three thousand coins in exchange for keeping the matter quiet. He agreed, and then we buried him together. I thought to myself, three thousand coins would take me two or three months of not eating or drinking to earn, so when he wasn't looking, I hit him in the back with a stone and killed him, and then buried him!"

"Just when I thought everything was over, I unexpectedly saw Ma Fei running over again. He said he saw me kill someone with a stone and wanted to report me to the authorities. I was scared, so I promised to give him 100,000 coins. He agreed, and then we buried the body together."

"After I buried him, he came with me to my house to get the money, but I didn't have 100,000 yuan. So I got angry and we started fighting. I almost lost the fight. Just as Ma Fei was about to strangle me, I picked up a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen, killing him."

"I then dragged his body to the riverbank and buried it with him!"

After these words were spoken, Su Wen and Wang Weifeng were both stunned. Even Su Wen himself was almost speechless and laughed!

Su Wen thought the matter would be very difficult to investigate, but the result was unexpected.

Su Wen asked, "Where's the murder weapon?"

"This is the knife I usually use to cut tofu in the shop!"

Su Wen looked at a constable and said, "Go and fetch it!"

"yes!"

After the constable left, Su Wen looked at the tofu shop owner and couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "Does your wife know about this?"

The tofu vendor shook his head: "I don't know anything about this. She only saw the two heads. She advised me to report it to the authorities, but when I thought about my father being beaten to death in court, I didn't dare..."

Su Wen, enraged, took a deep breath and said, "If I say you're cowardly, you wouldn't even dare report it to the authorities, yet you dared to kill two people. If I say you're bold, you wouldn't dare report it to the authorities. If I say you're merciful, you could still continue doing business after killing two people. If I say you're cruel, you couldn't bear to throw the two heads into the river. Sigh!"

Su Wen looked at Wang Weifeng, unsure of how to sentence the shop owner.

Wang Weifeng said, "First, imprison the shop owner. Once the case is fully solved, submit the case file to the Court of Judicial Review for sentencing!"

The constable responded!

As Su Wen watched the sky outside gradually darken, he stretched and said, "It's getting late, and I'm a bit tired today. I'd like to find a tavern or inn to rest for the day until they bring Hu Lang back for further interrogation!"

Wang Weifeng responded, "Okay!"

Just as Su Wengang was about to find a tavern or inn, a man rushed over and bowed, saying, "Magistrate Wang, Hu Lang refused to come and even killed a constable while fleeing. He has already escaped. Xue Song, the Judicial Advisor of Youzhou, has ordered martial law throughout Youzhou and commanded all constables and soldiers in Youzhou to kill anyone who captures Hu Lang and who resists arrest on the spot, with a reward of ten thousand coins!"

Su Wen was quite shocked to hear this. In ancient feudal dynasties, daring to kill a constable or resist arrest was a major incident!

It is important to understand that in ancient feudal dynasties, constables represented the government and were related to imperial power. Resisting arrest was already a great disrespect and a serious crime. Now, daring to kill a constable was a capital offense, which meant beheading or public execution. In severe cases, it could even be punished with the death penalty, such as being torn apart by chariots or dismembered!

Wang Weifeng looked at Su Wen and said, "It seems that Qian Yin and Zhu Shi were killed by Hu Lang, but I wonder if they were spared!"

"With ten thousand coins, I'm afraid all the ghostwriters in Youzhou have already started making their moves!"

Bounty hunters are people who specialize in capturing or killing people for whom the government has placed a bounty. They all have legal orders issued by the government and carry out arrests based on the portraits and identities provided by the government. Most of the time, when criminals fall into their hands, they are killed and their heads are taken to the government in exchange for the bounty.

After all, killing someone is much easier than capturing them alive!

Su Wen looked at Magistrate Wang and said, "Magistrate Wang, if you want to completely solve the case, please add another five thousand coins to the reward and demand that he be captured alive!"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Weifeng nodded and replied, "Yes, this case cannot remain unresolved. I will draft a reward offer right away!"

Su Wen said, "Yes, we need to hurry!"

Before long, the notice was issued. That night, an urgent message was sent to seal off the entire Youzhou. The Tang Dynasty was a relatively open dynasty and was not particularly strictly controlled. However, once the area was sealed off, people would have to submit documents to enter and exit the region. These documents were the passes to pass through the border, which later became known as travel permits.

If you are caught without a travel permit, it will be considered a crime, and you will be arrested. Those who resist or try to escape will be killed without warning!

......

In the dead of night, Su Wen was fast asleep.

In his dream, Su Wen vaguely saw a figure standing at the door. Su Wen looked at the person and shouted, "Who am I? How dare you be here? I am the Doctor of Criminal Justice, specially appointed by the Emperor of the Great Tang!"

"Dr. Su, my name is Yuan Tianfang, and I am from Ningshui County next door. I died a tragic death, and I beg Dr. Su to avenge me and seek justice for me. My body is located beneath the main hall of Qingfeng Temple in Ningshui County. I implore Dr. Su to clear my name and restore justice!"

Su Wen frowned and asked, "What did you say?"

Before he finished speaking, a thick white fog began to appear all around, and the figure disappeared into the fog, which startled Su Wen awake from his sleep!

Su Wen was panting heavily, covered in sweat, and still felt lingering fear!