Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

083: The Murder Case of the Buddha of Shazhou

Su Wen looked at Zhang Yi and said, "This imperial envoy asks you, where were you at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) today?"

Zhang Yi said, "I'm sleeping at home. Last night I was drinking with the brothers in the camp until almost midnight, so I went home with the help of my servants and went to sleep!"

"Are there any witnesses?"

Zhang Yi said, "Of course, all the brothers in the camp can testify to this last night. I wonder what the Imperial Envoy is referring to?"

Su Wen sized up Zhang Yi. Judging from Zhang Yi's expression, he was indeed not lying. Su Wen continued, "Why did you argue with that Tibetan envoy?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi's face immediately filled with anger. He said, "The Tibetans are wolves in sheep's clothing. From the Zhenguan era until now, they have been constantly plotting to invade our Great Tang. How can such traitors not arouse our anger!"

"I only ask you, why did you argue with him?"

Zhang Yi said, "Yesterday, while patrolling the outer city market, I happened to see a Tibetan man bullying an Indian woman. I couldn't stand it, so I went up and beat him up. But then I ran into that Tibetan envoy. He was very aggressive, and I couldn't argue with him. But he was with that Tibetan man, and he didn't look like a good person. I wanted to fight him, but there were too many people, so I had to go back to the camp. I was so upset that I was drinking in the camp last night!"

Su Wendao said, "Is it that simple? You didn't seek revenge afterward?"

Zhang Yi shook his head at first, but Su Wen was staring intently at him. Zhang Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, the more I thought about it afterward, the angrier I got. So last night, around 9 PM, just as it was getting dark, I took some men, put a sack over his head, and gave him a good beating!"

Su Wen carefully examined Zhang Yi, and seeing that his eyes were not wandering and there was no sign of him lying, he simply replied, "At 1:15 AM today, the wine shopkeeper found him murdered in his room!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi was quite surprised: "What?"

After the initial surprise, Zhang Yi's face showed not a trace of fear, but rather a hint of joy!

Upon seeing Zhang Yi's reaction, Su Wen knew that the case had nothing to do with him. Since Zhang Yi was the murderer, he would not be surprised. If he were to feign surprise, his expression would be exaggerated and not natural. After all, he was not a movie star!

Moreover, who would show a hint of joy on their face when they hear that someone is dead, even though they know they are a suspect?

Zhang Yi then looked at Su Wen and said, "Imperial Envoy Su, you don't suspect me of killing that Tibetan envoy, do you? Although I did fight him, I would never be the kind of person to kill someone through underhanded means. If I really wanted to kill him, I would have gone to his door and killed him directly, I would never have done it in secret!"

Su Wen said, "You should go back to camp first. If anything happens, I'll send someone to fetch you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi bowed and said, "Then this humble general will return to the camp first!"

After saying that, Zhang Yi turned around and couldn't help but leave with a smile on his face. When Su Wen saw him like this, he knew that this man's personality meant that he was not the murderer who killed the Tibetan envoy!

After Zhang Yi had walked away, Su Wen looked at Qin Zhan and Zhang Xizhou, who had been standing to the side, and asked, "Does this Xuanjie Colonel named Zhang Yi have a lot of opinions about the Tibetans?"

Qin Zhan replied, "To be honest, Shazhou has often clashed with Tubo. Tubo previously sent people to harass Shazhou, resulting in the deaths of many people. Therefore, almost everyone in the local military camp feels the same way. The soldiers are quite dissatisfied with the Tubo. Although there are occasional conflicts and fights, they are just fights and no one has ever died. Therefore, they are still relatively restrained!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen replied, "He's not the murderer, but we should still send someone to find the woman who was bullied by the Tibetans in the outer city market yesterday and bring her here for questioning!"

Qin Zhan bowed and said, "Yes!" Then he strode out of the mansion.

Just then, Xu Ge walked in with several employees: "Master, we've brought the person!"

Su Wen looked at the waiters and asked, "Excuse me, how long did that Tibetan envoy stay in that room?"

One of the waiters bowed and said, "I just stayed in that room a few days ago!"

"Yes, I also heard the Tibetan envoy mention that he wanted a room with a view of the market. Our inn only had that one room with a view of the market, so he stayed in that room!"

Su Wen responded and continued, "Does that Tibetan envoy eat garlic?"

The waiters shook their heads and said, "No, we don't eat it. Our restaurant is located in the outer city, and very few people in the outer city eat garlic. People from the inner city rarely come to our outer city, so garlic rarely sells. But some dishes require it, which is why we bought a lot and kept it in the kitchen!"

"Yes, but the rats have been stealing quite a bit of food from it these past few days!"

"Yes, remember to buy some rat poison later. There have been so many rats lately, and they're stealing a lot of our food every night!"

Several workers started whispering among themselves, and Su Wen, hearing this, said, "Alright, you can all go back now!"

As the waiters turned to leave, Su Wen asked, "By the way, is that golden Buddha statue from your restaurant?"

One of the shop assistants turned around, shook his head, and said, "No, that golden Buddha was brought by the Tibetan envoy himself. He said that the golden Buddha was originally intended for the former governor, but the former governor died, so he planned to give the golden Buddha to the current governor!"

Su Wen waved his hand, and after the waiters bowed, they turned and left.

Su Wen frowned and looked at Zhang Xizhou, saying, "Chief Secretary Zhang, have you brought that golden Buddha back to the government office?"

Zhang Xizhou said, "Once it's brought back, put it in the evidence room. This is a murder weapon; it can't be left unattended at the government office!"

Su Wen nodded and said, "Let's go take a look!"

Zhang Xizhou bowed and said, "Please!"

Su Wen, Zhang Xizhou, and Xu Ge entered the evidence room. Su Wen picked up the golden Buddha and examined it. The Buddha was extremely heavy, which surprised Su Wen, who exclaimed, "Pure gold?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ge stepped forward and took a bite, exclaiming in shock, "Master, it really is gold!"

Su Wendao said, "Why would he give such a large golden Buddha to the former governor? Did the former governor and this Tibetan envoy make some kind of deal?"

As he said this, Su Wen glanced at Zhang Xizhou, who was also quite surprised. "That shouldn't be the case," Zhang Xizhou said. "I've heard about the former governor's character, and we've spent three or four years together in Shazhou. He's neither greedy nor lecherous, and he's very diligent. How could he have any connection with the Tibetan envoy?"

Su Wen touched the golden Buddha and examined it carefully. He frowned. The golden Buddha was cast in one piece, so there was nothing unusual about it.

Such a precious golden Buddha statue—the Tibetan envoy would never have given him such a valuable item so casually; there must be something more to it.

The Tibetan envoy said that since the former governor was dead, the position should be given to the current governor.

He didn't even know who the current governor was, so why would he choose to give a gift? After all, if he encountered an honest and upright official, he would never accept such a valuable gift.

After all, although the Tang Dynasty and Tibet are now relatively harmonious, they are still mortal enemies, especially at Shazhou, a relatively important hurdle.

No governor would accept a golden Buddha statue sent by a Tibetan envoy; clearly, something significant must have happened!

Su Wen examined the golden Buddha statue again carefully, studying it closely!