xymnovel 052: Steamed Bun Shop
052: Steamed Bun Shop
A middle-aged boss in his forties responded and then turned around to fill two bowls with porridge and placed them on Su Wen and Xu Ge's table.
Su Wen said, "Eat up, then let's keep going!"
Xu Ge responded, but still complained, "Master, why doesn't the Sage let you ride in a carriage or on horseback?"
Su Wen took a sip of porridge and said, "How could we possibly fathom the thoughts of a sage? Eat up!"
Su Wen thought to himself: It's all because I arrived too early and disrupted his plans!
Su Wen had thought about it along the way. He felt that Li Longji did not completely regret it, but wanted to see if he could really become an immortal. If he could, that would be the best. If not, then once he arrived, he could investigate the case, solve it, and give the victims justice. As for Li Moxuan, he was just a pawn. As a pawn, one must have the choice to sacrifice oneself and die!
Unfortunately, Su Wen arrived a few days too early, which disrupted all the plans.
Thinking of this, Su Wen picked up his porridge and took a sip. Soon after, the vendor placed a small dish of green vegetables and a plate of steamed buns on the table.
Su Wen first ate a bite of vegetables and drank some porridge, while Xu Ge, who was next to him, ate a bite of a steamed bun and said, "Master, this steamed bun is delicious!"
"Really?" Su Wen picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, then looked at the meat inside. After a careful examination, he immediately spat the bun out of his mouth, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "Xu Ge, take him down!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ge paused for a moment, looked up at Su Wen, and the others in the shop all turned to look in Su Wen and Xu Ge's direction.
The middle-aged shop owner looked at Su Wen with surprise, and was about to speak when Su Wen slapped Xu Ge on the shoulder and shouted, "Still eating? Spit it out! This is human flesh! Take him down!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ge hurriedly spat out the bun in his mouth, stood up, touched the knife tucked behind his waist with one hand, and strode towards the middle-aged boss.
The middle-aged shop owner was quite startled by Su Wen's actions and asked with a puzzled look, "What are you two talking about?"
Su Wen broke open the remaining buns, smelled them, examined the meat carefully, and shouted again, "You merchant, how dare you openly sell buns made of human flesh on the street! This is blatant disrespect for the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty!"
Upon hearing that the buns contained human flesh, the other people in the shop all spat out their food, and some even hurriedly tried to vomit by sticking their fingers down their throats.
In times of war and famine, cannibalism did occur, but this was the early Tang Dynasty, after the reign of Zhenguan and the current Kaiyuan era. There were already laws prohibiting the buying and selling of human flesh and cannibalism!
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged shop owner collapsed to the ground in fright. Su Wen said, "Xu Ge, take him to the county office!"
"Yes, Master!"
moment.
The two men led the middle-aged boss to the county government office, and as Su Wen beat the drum, the two men entered the office.
A middle-aged man dressed in a light green official robe and wearing a silver belt walked out slowly. He was around forty years old, about 1.7 meters tall, slightly overweight, and had a small tuft of beard. In Su Wen's eyes, he was extremely sleazy!
Looking at the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground, then at Xu Ge standing beside him, and Su Wen standing to the side, he asked with some surprise, "Who is beating the drum, and what is the matter?"
Su Wen bowed to the magistrate and said, "I was passing through this area today and stopped at his steamed bun shop for a meal. I discovered that the filling for his steamed buns was not animal meat, but human flesh. Therefore, I arrested him and handed him over to the magistrate for trial!"
The magistrate was quite shocked upon hearing this, but still looked at Su Wen and Xu Ge and asked, "May I ask who you two are?"
Su Wen bowed and said, "I am Su Wen, former magistrate of Luoyang County, chief director of the Criminal Justice Department, and professor of criminal justice. I am currently on my way to Jiaoshui County, Laizhou, to assume my post as county lieutenant!"
Upon hearing this, the magistrate seemed to understand and said, "Oh, you've been demoted?"
Xu Ge, standing to the side, bowed and said, "I am an elder from Luoyang County!"
The magistrate breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, then looked at the two men and said, "Since you two are going to take up your posts, please proceed. This case will be left to me to investigate!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen and Xu Ge didn't say anything more. Just as they turned to leave, the magistrate asked, "What is the name of the person kneeling below?"
The middle-aged shopkeeper said, "Magistrate Liao, my humble name is Song Huai!"
Magistrate Liao said, "You audacious Song Huai, where did you get this human flesh? Did you commit murder? Confess the truth!"
Startled by Magistrate Liao's question, Song Huai replied, "Your Excellency, I do not know, this is pork!"
Magistrate Liao threw down the order tablet on the table and said, "Still trying to deny it? I think you won't confess unless you're tortured! Beat him!"
After saying this, two constables stepped forward, pinned Song Huai to the ground, and brandished their sticks to beat him.
Su Wen couldn't bear to listen any longer. He turned around, bowed to Magistrate Liao, and said, "Magistrate Liao, why resort to torture after only asking a few questions?"
Magistrate Liao rolled his eyes at Su Wen, his face full of disdain, and said, "You're just a lowly county constable, a ninth-rank official. What? Do you think you can teach me, a seventh-rank magistrate, how to handle cases?"
This remark left Su Wen speechless. It's important to understand that it's very difficult for someone who has been demoted to have another chance to be promoted. This is the source of Magistrate Liao's confidence in looking down on Su Wen.
At this moment, Xu Ge, standing to the side, did not hesitate at all and pointed directly at Magistrate Liao, saying, "Magistrate Liao, although my master has been demoted, he still holds the official position of Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice, which is not something you can slander!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liao merely sneered and said, "County Commandant Su is the county commandant of Jiaoshui County in Laizhou. He cannot interfere in the affairs of other places while on his way to his post. County Commandant Su should go to Jiaoshui County to take up his post as soon as possible!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ge was furious and said, "Magistrate Liao, how dare you act so arrogantly! I will write to my father today and have him teach you a lesson!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liao immediately sat up, his face serious yet humble, and asked, "May I ask who the master of Young Master Xu's household is?"
Xu Ge said, "My master is the Vice Minister of Rites, Xu Sheng, and my fifth uncle is the Vice Minister of Works and the Right General of the Imperial Guard!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liao's expression changed drastically. He immediately jogged to Xu Ge's side, bowed, and said, "So it's Young Master Xu. I'm truly sorry for my rudeness. However... the laws of the Tang Dynasty stipulate that cases cannot be handled across districts, so I..."
Xu Ge said, "Although my master was demoted by the Emperor from magistrate of Luoyang County to county lieutenant of Jiaoshui County in Laizhou, his position as chief of the Ministry of Justice was not stripped. He can still access all case files from all places and adjudicate all cases. The Emperor has specially granted him the privilege of being present as if he were personally present!"
Xu Ge paused for a moment, then continued, "Therefore, my master can still hear and supervise this case!"
After hearing this, Magistrate Liao was speechless. He immediately bowed to Su Wen and said, "This humble official was unaware of this matter. In the past few months, there have been too many matters concerning the county, such as river management, grain production, and tax collection. I must not have been able to review this official document. It is truly my fault, and I beg the forgiveness of Chief Supervisor Su!"