Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

059: The Profiler of the Tang Dynasty

So Liu Asi looked through the window, and what he saw nearly made him fall to the ground in fright.

Inside the main room, four women were found hanged. Liu Asi rushed out to call the neighbors, who broke down the door and entered. They discovered that the four women had been dead for some time.

That's why the neighbor went to the next county to call Gu Zongsheng back!

However, as soon as Gu Zongsheng entered, he suspected that Liu Asi had been lustful and wanted to rape the women. When they refused, he killed them and then faked a hanging.

Seeing this, Liu Asi didn't want to say anything more to Gu Zongsheng and just wanted to leave!

Su Wen felt a headache coming on when he saw what was written in the case file. Ding Feng, as the county magistrate, actually asked these irrelevant questions in the county government hall. Why didn't he hurry up and check the crime scene!

The case file stated that the next person in charge was a local elder. Ye Chu Jiu reminded him of this, and then ordered Ye Chu Jiu to lead the constables and the coroner to the crime scene for examination.

The main door of the Gu family's house had been kicked open. Two wet buckets were placed by the door, and the floor inside was covered with footprints, likely left by the people who had been driven out. The scene had been disturbed.

Coroner's examination revealed that the deceased were four women: Zhou, a 30-year-old woman; Yuenu, a 6-year-old girl; Qian, a 22-year-old woman; and Wang, a woman in her sixties.

Inside the crime scene, Zhou, the wife of the deceased Gu Zongsheng, was found hanging from the window frame by a rope, covered with a quilt, while her body lay on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The rope used to hang the mother-in-law, Wang, was above the roof beam. Below the rope was a stool that she had kicked over, and her body was placed on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The stepdaughter Yue Nu and her niece Qian Shi had ropes around their necks and were hanging on either side of the chair back.

The deceased were all dressed in new clothes. His wife, Zhou, and his niece, Wang, were even wearing bright red clothes and had wedding makeup on their faces.

Ye Chu Jiu carefully examined the house. Based on the investigation, there were no male belongings, nor any hair or other items left by a man. Therefore, Ye Chu Jiu deduced that it was neither a crime of passion nor a rape-murder!

Furthermore, no valuables in the house had been touched or stolen, so it could not have been a case of theft and murder!

The women were dressed neatly, looking as if they had hanged themselves. It was clear that they hadn't committed suicide out of anger because of an argument!

Upon seeing this, Su Wen looked for the autopsy report from the side.

It turned out there was no autopsy report. Instead, Ye Chu Jiu, who had followed along, handed the autopsy report to Su Wendao from his pocket: "The former magistrate, in order to close the case as quickly as possible, claimed it was suicide and closed the case. To prevent the autopsy report from reaching the Dali Temple, he did not include it in the case file!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen was furious, but there was nothing he could do, so he took the autopsy report and began to examine it.

The deceased, surnamed Zhou, was a woman, approximately six to six feet one inch tall. She had no external injuries, her face was covered in wedding makeup, and her clothing showed no signs of tearing or damage. There were no signs of rape, struggle, or resistance. There were ligature marks on her neck, her eyes were bloodshot, her tongue was not touching her teeth, her lips were not protruding, and her hands were not clenched into fists. The preliminary examination suggests that the deceased died from suffocation after having her mouth and nose covered, and then the act was staged as a suicide by hanging.

The deceased, surnamed Wang, was a woman approximately 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8 inches tall. She had no external injuries, wore new clothes that were undamaged, and showed no signs of being raped, struggled, or resisting. There were ligature marks on her neck, her eyes were bloodshot, her tongue was not touching her teeth, and she did not stick out her lips. Her hands were not clenched into fists, and there were white cloth threads between her fingers. It is believed that she was strangled from behind, and when she tried to resist, she grabbed the white cloth and tore at it, but her resistance was futile, and she was strangled to death.

Deceased: Ms. Qian, female, approximately 6 feet 2 to 6 feet 3 inches tall, with wedding makeup on her face, wearing new clothes that were undamaged, and showing no signs of being raped, fighting, or resisting. There were ligature marks on her neck, her eyes were bloodshot, her tongue was not touching her teeth, her lips were not protruding, her hands were not clenched into fists, and there were marks on her head indicating a severe blow. The preliminary examination suggests that the deceased died on the spot from a severe blow to the head.

The deceased was a woman named Yue Nu, approximately 2.7 to 2.8 feet tall. She had no external injuries, wore new clothes that were undamaged, and showed no signs of being raped, struggled, or resisting. There were ligature marks on her neck, fingernail marks on both sides of her neck, bloodshot eyes, her tongue was not touching her teeth, and she had not protruded from her lips. Her hands were not clenched into fists, and there were fine flakes of skin under her fingernails. Preliminary examination suggests that she was strangled to death.

Coroner Jiang Fengyu deduced that, based on the manner of the deaths and the fact that multiple people were killed in close succession without resistance, the initial conclusion was that it was a man and a woman who committed the crimes, and that the murderer and the victims were likely acquaintances, since the victim, Ms. Wang, was attacked from behind, and it would be impossible for someone who was not an acquaintance to approach her from behind.

The men used weapons to strike Qian, who was trying to escape and call for help, killing her on the spot. As for Yue Nu, she was too young and the deceased Zhou was unable to resist, so they were killed one after another. Judging from the skin flakes under Yue Nu's fingernails, it can be inferred that she had female skin. Because female skin is whiter and has not been exposed to rain, snow, wind, frost, or scorching sun, it is delicate and smooth.

Furthermore, based on the scene, the male perpetrator was estimated to be over seven feet five inches tall, extremely strong, and likely had martial arts training or served in the military. He struck the head with a single blow, killing the victim instantly. His imposing physique allowed him to intimidate the others, and his age was estimated to be between thirty and forty years old.

The female killer should be between six and seven feet tall. She is likely someone who loves beauty, has smooth skin, and likes to apply plum blossom scented balm. There is a faint scent of plum blossom scented balm on Yue Nu's neck. Plum blossom scented balm is expensive, so she should be a wealthy person. She should be between twenty-five and thirty years old!

When Su Wen saw this, his eyes widened, and he looked at Ye Chu Jiu beside him, asking, "Is Jiang Fengyu your county's coroner?"

Ye Chu Jiu replied, "Yes!"

Su Wen was utterly astonished. Was this ancient times? Had he encountered some kind of top-tier profiler?

This person's skill level is even comparable to that of Professor Li Meijin. And this is still the ancient Tang Dynasty? This person is simply a genius among geniuses. This profiling ability is already at a modern world-class level!

Su Wen looked at the autopsy report, stood up, and looked at Ye Chu Jiu, saying, "The autopsy report and profiling are so clear, why didn't the previous magistrate solve the case? All it took was checking the deceased's acquaintances; they could have easily solved the case by comparing their information with the profiling."

Ye Chu Jiu said, "The previous magistrate simply didn't believe it, so he didn't even look at it. When he went to examine the body, he only glanced at the coroner, Jiang, and left. After returning home, he thought about it on his own and then closed the case!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen chuckled speechlessly, then asked, "Why?"

Ye Chu Jiu said, "Because Counselor Jiang is a woman, and the descendant of a criminal!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen lost all his temper.

Although the Tang Dynasty was already quite open, women began to be feared and suppressed after Wu Zetian, Empress Wei, and Princess Taiping. After Li Longji executed Princess Taiping and seized power, women began to be suppressed in all aspects.

The powerful families and other nobles who had been killed by Wu Zetian in the past also began to actively join.

Ultimately, it was a feudal dynasty, which meant that a genius like Jiang the coroner would not have many opportunities to be given important positions, and if he were to be put in public, his fate might not be much better!