Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

031: The Nightmare Chases the Murderer

"Yuan Tianfang took good care of me. He taught me about feng shui and architecture while also teaching me to read. I was more talented than him, and I became better than him in just a few months!"

"But I couldn't tell my real name. I could only say I was an unregistered resident. I didn't dare go to the government to register my household. I was destined to be a slave for life, with no way to change my fate. I was unwilling to accept this, so one night I beat Yuan Tianfang to death with a hammer!"

Su Wen asked, "Then why did you poison Master Qingyun and make Amu mentally impaired?"

"There's no other way. That brat Amu keeps pestering Yuan Tianfang, saying he wants him to take him as his disciple. So Amu knows about my situation, and so does Daoist Qingyun. They have to die. My situation absolutely cannot be known to anyone!"

"So I poisoned Master Qingyun and killed Amu?" Liu Yongqiang took a deep breath and said, "Amu, I remember that day it was raining and thundering. I called him to the back mountain of Qingfeng Temple in Yuan Tianfang's name, saying that I wanted to take him as my disciple. He was overjoyed and came despite the heavy rain!"

"I tricked him into drinking poison first, then hit him with a hammer, but the kid was too clever and escaped. I chased him for a long time, and then he slid down the hillside!"

"Ten days! A full ten days! I thought he was dead, but then everyone found him and brought him back. I panicked and wanted to kill him, but when I went to his house, I found he had gone mad. The poison hadn't killed him because of the rain; he drank a lot of water, which weakened the poison. But he also suffered brain damage from the fever. It was like heaven was helping me!"

"After that, I pretended to live as Yuan Tianfang. I discovered that Yuan Tianfang actually had a fiancée, and she was very beautiful. I'm still not convinced. Why should I be sentenced to imprisonment and exile, and become a slave, while Yuan Tianfang can become a renowned feng shui architect? My talent is greater than his. Look at these past twenty years, it was me who worked hard to make Yuan Tianfang's name the number one feng shui architect in Ningshui County, and even Youzhou City. It was me, I am Liu Yongqiang!"

Everyone present was surprised to hear Liu Yongqiang's hysterical roar. They hadn't expected that this guy had become like this.

After listening, Su Wen simply stood up and slowly said, "That's your own brother!"

"What brothers?" Liu Yongqiang demanded loudly, "Do you know what those workers call me behind my back? They call me a bastard, a bastard!"

Su Wen asked, "Where in this hall did you bury Yuan Tianfang's body?"

Liu Yongqiang pointed to the area beneath the statue of the Moral Celestial Venerable among the Three Pure Ones and said, "Yuan Tianfang never treated me like a brother, so I buried his body beneath the Moral Celestial Venerable, so that the Moral Celestial Venerable would suppress his soul and make him remember for all eternity that he was the one who wronged me, not me!"

Su Wen turned to look at the Moral Celestial Venerable, then back at Liu Yongqiang, unsure of what to say.

After Su Wen moved the statue of the Heavenly Venerable of Morality away from the Taoist priest, he ordered his men to start digging. Before long, they unearthed a skeleton with many large holes in its skull. Just by looking at the bones, Su Wen could imagine how ruthless Liu Yongqiang had been to Yuan Tian.

After everything was finished, Su Wen returned to the tavern to rest. He never expected the case to end like this. But Su Wen felt that something was wrong, and he couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned.

Is this considered Liu Yongqiang's confession? Because as long as Liu Yongqiang doesn't come to the temple and pretends he knows nothing, Su Wen really has no evidence to prove that Liu Yongqiang killed Yuan Tianfang.

Su Wen didn't even know if he had solved the case himself!

However, at least the case has been solved. According to modern criminal investigation, almost all cases are solved only after the perpetrator confesses.

Su Wen thought to himself, "Let's not worry about that for now. The county government will announce the whole story of the case by tomorrow morning. Then I can leave Ningshui County and return to Youzhou City. After midnight, it will be the fifteenth of the month, and the real culprit in the case in Youzhou City still needs to be caught."

Thinking about this, Su Wen drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, Su Wen seemed to see a landscape painting. Two people were drinking tea in a pavilion. Amu was standing on one side, and Qingyun Daoist was standing on the other side. Su Wen seemed to be standing in the position of the painting.

The four of them had smiles on their faces, and the atmosphere was peaceful!

One of the men, who was drinking tea, stood up and bowed respectfully to Su Wen, saying, "We now entrust the task to the Chief Justice to clear our name!"

Upon hearing these words, Su Wen suddenly woke up from his bed with a start.

In just a moment, Su Wen frowned, his body covered in sweat. He swallowed hard, feeling that something was off about the case, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Director Su!"

Li Xingguo's voice came from outside the door. Su Wen looked towards the door and asked, "What is it?"

"Liu Yongqiang hanged himself in prison!"

"What?" Su Wen frowned, hurriedly got up, quickly washed up, and went to the door. Opening the door, he saw Li Xingguo standing there. Su Wen asked, "What happened?"

"After throwing Liu Yongqiang into death row last night, we didn't pay him any attention. When the cell boss found out, he had slit his throat with his drinking bowl!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen froze on the spot. Why would he hang himself? He couldn't understand it at all!

When Su Wen arrived at the county government and saw Yuan Tianfang's—no, it should be Liu Yongqiang's—family, everything became clear.

However, Su Wen noticed that Amu's younger sister looked haggard. When he saw her yesterday, she was a very capable woman. But since she learned the news, it had probably only been a few hours, and she looked like she had aged ten years or so, and her mind had become dazed.

Su Wen didn't know how she was going to live her life from now on. On one side was her husband and son, and on the other side was the son of her enemy.

Su Wen had another matter to attend to when he came to Ningshui County, but it was already the fifteenth of the month. His immediate priority was to return to Youzhou City to investigate the case. He could only come to see the coroner after the case in Youzhou City was closed!

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Cui Ziyan, Su Wen and Li Xingguo left Ningshui County and headed back to Youzhou City!

Back in Youzhou City, Su Wen and Li Xingguo returned to the tavern. Upon seeing them, Zhao Qing respectfully bowed and said, "Greetings, esteemed officials. Dr. Su... oh, no, Chief Director Su, congratulations!"

Su Wen bowed to Zhao Qing and said, "There are too many people here, let's go back to our room first!"

Back in his room, Su Wen poured himself a cup of tea, then looked at Zhao Qing and said, "Zhao Qing, this is Li Xingguo, the Grand General of the Left Golden Guard!"

"I am Zhao Qing, an elder of Anle County. Greetings, General!" Zhao Qing said, bowing.

Li Xingguo nodded, then took out an imperial edict from his robes and handed it to Zhao Qing, saying, "His Majesty knows of your merit in protecting Chief Su along the way, and has specially granted you permission to participate in the selection for the Imperial Guard. You can take this imperial edict to Chang'an and strive to enter the Imperial Guard!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qing accepted the imperial edict, his excitement beyond words. He bowed deeply to Su Wen and Li Xingguo, saying, "Thank you, sirs. I will do my utmost to gain entry into the Imperial Guard!"

Although Zhao Qing was an elder, he was still a constable in the county government, belonging to the category of "Bad People". Bad People were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations and had no way to be promoted. At most, he could only become an elder!

The sage actually gave him the right to participate in the selection of the Golden Guard. As long as he can enter the Golden Guard, Zhao Qing will no longer belong to the Bad People and will have the opportunity to be promoted!

Su Wen took a sip of tea and said, "This is what you deserve. By the way, have you found the location and method to enter the Ghost Market these past few days?"

Zhao Qing responded, "Yes, found it!"

Li Xingguo exclaimed in surprise, "Chief Director, are we going to the Ghost Market?"

Su Wen nodded in agreement, "Yes, we haven't caught the real culprit in the case in Youzhou yet, and we don't even know what their purpose was, so we still need to go to the Ghost Market tonight to investigate the clues!"

Li Xingguo said, "But why did I hear the Sage say that you had already solved this case?"

Su Wen said, "That was just a tactic to pretend the structure was broken, thus lowering the killer's guard!"