Chapter 12: Holding Clinic (Part II)

Deputy Magistrate Sun had quickly pledged his allegiance today, most likely because of Le Wuya's fabricated confession.

Until the court session began, he still didn't know whether he had chosen the right side.

But when Le Wuya uttered the word "autopsy" with firm clarity, the blood in his veins turned to ice.

If the magistrate truly had the skill to examine corpses... why hadn't he said so before?

Had these past six months been about him biding his time, watching in secret, making fools of them all?

Ignoring the turmoil in Deputy Magistrate Sun's heart, Le Wuya gave an order: "Penal Clerk Zhang Yuanzheng, bring the case file for Chang Xiaohu."

Secretary Zhang shot a nervous glance at Deputy Magistrate Sun, but received no response, so he reluctantly went to retrieve the file.

Le Wuya approached Chang Xiaohu's body.

Half a year had passed. Chang Xiaohu's corpse had rotted, his head already separated from his neck, bones exposed, with patches of disheveled, scraggly hair still clinging to his scalp. At a glance, it was horrifying.

Le Wuya bent down beside him, his expression unchanged, his gaze fixed on the skull, palms, and leg bones.

After meticulously examining each bone, Le Wuya issued two commands: "Light five lamps in the room, and boil some water."

The runners filed in, bringing the lamps.

With the additional lamps, the courtroom became even brighter.

Secretary Zhang, who arrived late, returned with Chang Xiaohu's case file.

Le Wuya: "Read it."

Secretary Zhang kept glancing at Deputy Magistrate Sun, but his anxiety was lost on Deputy Magistrate Sun, who ignored him.

Deputy Magistrate Sun sat perfectly still, eyes downcast, not saying a word.

Secretary Zhang's heart turned cold.

That morning, he had flattered and fawned over Deputy Magistrate Sun, who had seemed quite pleased.

What had happened in the span of a single day?

Through gritted teeth, he read as ordered: "The deceased, Chang Xiaohu—had foam and water coming from his mouth and nose, his abdomen was swollen with water. The skin was broken and bleeding, determined to be injuries from branches and stones, consistent with drowning."

Le Wuya: "That's all?"

Secretary Zhang: "Yes..."

Le Wuya gave a cold laugh.

What a fine coroner.

With a single cursory sentence, he had sealed a person's fate.

He turned to Aunt Su, still prostrate on the ground: "Su, since you refuse to leave the court, I have questions for you. When you buried him, did you touch Chang Xiaohu's body?"

Aunt Su lifted her head, expression dazed: "I washed Xiaohu's body myself."

She had personally washed the filth from the corpse and dressed it in clean clothes, without anyone else's help.

"Who buried him?"

Aunt Su replied slowly: "A few neighbors: Blacksmith Jiang and Carpenter Yu, who live next door..."

"Was the body bumped or knocked during transport?"

Aunt Su thought for a moment, then shook her head.

Having lost her son and having some money on hand, she had asked Carpenter Yu to bring a ready-made coffin to the yamen to collect her son's remains.

The two families knew she was alone and pitiful, so they carefully helped lift the body into the coffin and then carried it to the Chang family burial ground to bury it.

Jiang's wife and Yu's wife, afraid she might take her own life, accompanied her the entire way, offering comfort.

Five people, ten eyes, had all witnessed Chang Xiaohu's smooth burial.

Le Wuya nodded: "Someone, summon these four to the courtroom."

As it happened, Blacksmith Jiang, having seen Aunt Su rush to the yamen to file a complaint, worried something might happen, so he sent his wife Li to check things out.

She was at the edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoe and anxiously peering inside, when she was summoned into the courtroom.

Nervously, she knelt behind Aunt Su, bowed once, and dared not say another word.

The runners went to fetch the other three.

Le Wuya pointed to between Chang Xiaohu's half-open teeth: "What is between the teeth?"

Aunt Su answered softly: "A pearl and a jade plaque."

Le Wuya had seen clearly during his inspection.

These were objects placed on the tongue—a blessing from the living to the dead, meant to ensure a good afterlife.

Thinking back to the burial scene, tears streamed down Aunt Su's face.

She remembered chanting repeatedly as she placed the pearl and jade plaque into his mouth.

Son, in your next life, don't be born into a prince's or noble's house. Choose carefully, be born into a well-off family, and don't come back to your mother.

Le Wuya: "Where were they purchased?"

Dazed, she answered: "The jewelry shop in the south of the city... called Jin's..."

"Was a record kept of the purchase?"

Seeing Aunt Su's exhaustion, Li gathered the courage to answer: "Yes, yes, there is. Jin's keeps a record for every piece of jewelry sold. I... I accompanied her there. The shop must still have the record."

Le Wuya gave a grunt of acknowledgment, stood up, and clasped his hands behind his back. As he passed the clerk's desk, he said casually: "Record that."

The clerk quickly recorded it.

Le Wuya: "By custom, one such object would be enough. Why did you put two in his mouth?"

Aunt Su was momentarily at a loss for words.

At the time, she had been even more confused, and had forgotten why she had placed two items in her son's mouth.

Le Wuya didn't rush to prompt her for an answer. Instead, he took a pair of thin gloves from Coroner Shang's bloodstained toolbox, and under the bright lamplight, he lifted the half-rotted skull and held it up to the lamp for a closer examination.

Li Shi gasped and grabbed Aunt Su's right arm, terrified that her maternal instinct would cause her to charge at the magistrate.

If she were to be punished along with him, it would be no laughing matter!

But Aunt Su did not lunge forward to stop him.

She could tell that the magistrate was not toying with Xiaohu's remains but was genuinely inspecting them.

Among the commoners outside the yamen, some recoiled in fear, while others craned their necks curiously to get a better look, and for a moment, a slight commotion arose at the gate.

Just as the yamen runners were about to shout for order, Le Wuya said, "Summon the three who were at the very front to the hall."

Jiang He, pushed to the very front, was speechless.

Summoned to the hall, he was not at all flustered. He glanced at the bones and quickly understood the situation.

Under the bright light of the hall, he turned his gaze to Master Wenren.

In the lamplight, he faintly discerned that "Wenren Yue" had unusual pupils.

But before he could look closely, the county magistrate seemed to sense it and turned to look at him.

He calmly lowered his eyes, thinking: if the young general had reincarnated, he would probably still be a child playing with a rattle, not playing with bones here.

As he was lost in thought, a loud voice directly shouted: "Hey, there's a crack in the bone, and light is shining through!"

Those bold enough to push to the front were not timid.

Naturally, they dared to look and observe. Another person immediately added: "There's a dent in the back of his skull! It looks like... like... he was hit!"

"Even commoners can see what Coroner Shang cannot recognize or distinguish," Le Wuya said sarcastically. "Coroner Shang, your skills are lacking."

Shang argued in defense: "At that time, there was a heavy rainstorm. Chang Xiaohu fell into the water and hit his head on a stone. There's nothing unreasonable about that!"

Le Wuya reacted quickly and immediately retorted: "Then why did Coroner Shang omit that from the record?"

"The skull injury could have been fatal. The case file records that Chang Xiaohu's flesh was wounded by branches and stones, yet you didn't bother to record this fatal wound..."

Le Wuya swished his sleeve, and the natural air of a former powerful minister emerged: "Thus, it is not yet known whether Chang Xiaohu died by drowning or from a severe collision injury. How dare you casually rule it as drowning?"

Coroner Shang clenched his teeth and refused to admit it.

If he were proven to have neglected his duty, his official position would surely be lost.

He had been a coroner in Jincheng for fifteen years; this iron rice bowl had fed him for half his life, and he absolutely could not afford to break it!

He argued stubbornly: "Magistrate, Chang Xiaohu had foam at the corners of his mouth, which is a sure sign of drowning. I have been a coroner for fifteen years—I could not have made a mistake!"

Since half a year had already passed, and "foam at the corners of the mouth" was written in black and white in the case file, without strong counterevidence, Chang Xiaohu could only be ruled as a drowning!

Le Wuya waved his hand and dismissed the three people from the hall.

"Could not have made a mistake?" Le Wuya sat back down on the seat. "Coroner Shang, those are your words."

He turned his gaze to Aunt Su and Li Shi, the wife of Blacksmith Jiang.

The two women were huddled in a corner of the hall, whispering to each other.

The confusion on Aunt Su's face gradually faded.

Together, they looked at Le Wuya, timid and hesitant, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

Le Wuya: "Speak freely."

Aunt Su opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Her sorrowful gaze brushed lightly over Chang Xiaohu's corpse before shifting elsewhere, her shoulders trembling.

Seeing that Aunt Su couldn't speak, Li Shi grew anxious and interjected: "Magistrate, it's, it's a small matter... You just asked why two objects were placed in Xiaohu's mouth? At that time, Xiaohu had just had his accident, and everyone was in a flurry. I was beside Sister Su, helping with many things. I remember we went to buy burial items. The shop assistant at the gold shop said that holding a jade in the hand symbolized talent in the next life, and placing a pearl in the mouth meant never worrying about food and drink. We bought them, originally intending to let Xiaohu take them with him on his final journey. But at that time, Xiaohu's hands were open and his fingers were stiff; we couldn't force them closed. My husband tried a few times but was afraid of hurting Xiaohu, so he gave up. We all discussed it and decided to put both in his mouth, at least so that in the next life, he won't go hungry..."

"Is there any corroborating witness?"

Li Shi quickly said: "Brother Yu's wife, Sister Mo, was also there! She knows about this too!"

Coroner Shang's face, already pale, turned even whiter at these words, almost the color of a corpse.

Speak of the devil.

Carpenter Yu and his wife Mo had just finished work together and, as soon as they stepped out, heard that Aunt Su had gone to report the case again. The couple, not knowing what had happened, were discussing it by the roadside when the people sent to summon them recognized them and brought them back to the yamen.

Mo, not understanding the situation, was asked by Le Wuya why two objects were placed in Chang Xiaohu's mouth, and she immediately recalled that small episode.

Gesturing with her hand, she raised her palm: "At that time, Xiaohu's hand was spread open like this."

The few of them had not coordinated their stories beforehand, and the details had no discrepancies.

This evidence was valid.

He looked up in panic and met Le Wuya's gaze.

Le Wuya asked coldly: "Coroner Shang, you have been in criminal justice for many years. You must be thoroughly familiar with the chapter on 'drowning' in *The Washing Away of Wrongs*, aren't you?"

Coroner Shang was tongue-tied.

"Don't remember? I'll recite it for you. 'If the person drowned while alive, the mouth is closed, eyes indeterminate, hands clenched; if drowned, the hands are clenched, eyes closed, abdomen swollen...'"

Le Wuya fixed his gaze on him: "You said Chang Xiaohu died by drowning. Do a drowning victim's hands open?"

Le Wuya's speech quickened: "According to the case file, all of Chang Xiaohu's symptoms were consistent with drowning; the wounds on his body were caused by debris in the water; the healed wounds were left by Su when she was disciplining her son. However, Shang Juncai, you omitted this fatal skull injury; and the victim's hands being open, which is inconsistent with drowning, you even blatantly lied, saying that Chang Xiaohu had foam at the corners of his mouth, thinking that since his body had decayed, it could no longer be examined?"

"At that time, it was the summer rainy season, and the river was muddy. If Chang Xiaohu still had breath when he fell, his mouth and nose would have inhaled sand and other debris. Even if Su had cleaned him meticulously, she could not have been thorough in every detail. Do you want me to pour hot water over the top of his head to see if any mud or sand flows out of the nasal cavity and eye sockets of this skull?"

With nothing left to argue, Coroner Shang collapsed to the ground, almost fainting.

Le Wuya's voice was stern: "Chang Xiaohu died unjustly, and it was all your fault! Relying on your knowledge of autopsy techniques, you dared to falsify the case file, misleading Su into believing that Chang Xiaohu died accidentally and withdrawing her lawsuit. Who knows how many unjust and false cases you have manufactured over these ten-plus years, causing countless deceased to cry out to heaven for justice in vain!"

With Le Wuya's successive accusations, the commoners were indignant, yet remained deathly silent.

Upon hearing the phrase "cry out to heaven for justice," a loud "Good!" burst from the crowd.

Then, chaos erupted outside—shouts of approval, curses, explanations to those who didn't understand, all kinds of noise mingled together. Even a righteous person threw a straw sandal, and with good aim, it hit Coroner Shang squarely on the top of his head.

With each word, Coroner Shang's face turned a shade paler.

He understood.

Le Wuya was not just reprimanding him—he was deliberately pinning one charge after another on him!

If he admitted to the charge of "manufacturing numerous unjust and false cases," losing his job would be the least of his worries.

This is a crime that would get your entire family wiped out!

Coroner Shang didn't even dare to pretend to faint to escape. Fighting off the overwhelming dizziness and ringing in his ears, he struggled to roll over and kowtowed on the ground, sobbing as he cried out: "Your Honor! I, I truly failed in my duties, but even if I had the nerve of a god, I wouldn't dare do such a thing! Someone pulled the strings and threatened me. I was blinded by greed for a moment and made this terrible mistake. I would never, ever, ever dare to fabricate a wrongful case! Your Honor, please see the truth!"

Inside and outside the courtroom, there was dead silence.

After a long pause, Le Wuya just made a skeptical noise: "Oh?"

"Who would be so bold as to instigate and threaten a public official? In Nanting County, is there someone else calling the shots for you?"

Coroner Shang didn't dare to hide it, but he also didn't dare to directly accuse Master Chen, so he muttered vaguely: "Xiaofu Coal Mine... sent someone..."

Upon hearing the words "Xiaofu Coal Mine", the crowd burst into a mix of gasps and angry shouts.

Le Wuya pointed to the secretary: "Write that down."

Only then did the secretary realize he'd been spellbound; a drop of ink was about to fall on the paper.

He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and continued working.

"Xiaofu Coal Mine?" Le Wuya laughed. "Coroner Shang, do you take me for a five-year-old child? Without evidence, just your word, you can accuse Xiaofu Coal Mine? What if tomorrow you recant and falsely claim I set you up six months ago—would that count too?"

Realizing that without evidence to counter, his life was at stake, Coroner Shang no longer gave a damn about any of that: "Your Honor, I swear I wouldn't dare! My monthly salary is meager, only half a tael per month. Six months ago, Xiaofu Coal Mine gave me 20 taels of silver. I have an eighty-year-old mother at home. I figured with this money I could get her a fine mahogany coffin, but I was afraid that coming into so much money all at once would draw attention, so I locked the silver in a wicker box under the bed. My household income is meager; my wife keeps track of every entry. This silver from six months ago was also in the ledger. For the entry reason, I didn't dare to write it out directly, only wrote the giver's name, Chen Fu'er, the accounting manager of Xiaofu Coal Mine! The handwriting is from six months ago; there's absolutely no forgery!"

He sobbed: "Your Honor, you have sharp eyes. All these years I've served the yamen, I've always done my best! It was for my mother's sake that I was momentarily confused and went against my conscience. I beg you, Your Honor—"

After saying all that in one breath, his injuries flared up, and he finally passed out.

Le Wuya showed no emotion.

Whether Coroner Shang was truly filial and wanted a good coffin for his mother, or planned to spend it on himself, it didn't matter.

After ordering Coroner Shang taken to the back hall and a doctor called, Le Wuya banged the gavel:

"Summon Coroner Shang's wife, and bring the ledger and the wicker box as evidence. Bring the box intact, without damaging it in the slightest."

"Arrest all the managers of Xiaofu Coal Mine and the accountant Chen Fu'er for questioning!"

Three swift runners raced to Xiaofu Coal Mine to bring them in.

Xiaofu Coal Mine was quite far from the county yamen, so it took some time.

The other two yamen runners went to Coroner Shang's home, summoned his wife as ordered, and brought back the intact wicker box and key.

Coroner Shang's wife, suddenly caught in this upheaval, didn't dare deny or quibble, and honestly corroborated his words.

She personally opened the wicker box with the key.

Inside was a package of silver wrapped in blue floral cloth, covered in a fine layer of dust, clearly unopened for a long time.

Exactly twenty taels, no more, no less.

The cloth was very ordinary, and the giver wasn't stupid enough to include a note saying "Given to Shang Juncai on such-and-such date," so it was difficult to tell who gave it at first.

Le Wuya examined it for a moment, then fetched a sheet of pure white rice paper and a clean fine-bristled brush used for autopsy. He carefully brushed the cloth, sweeping the dust onto the paper, and actually brushed off a thin layer of fine black dust.

Le Wuya smiled brightly, put down the brush, wrapped up the fine dust from the paper, and had someone seal it in a clean paper bag.

After doing this, Le Wuya deliberately glanced at the water clock, as if calculating the time.

After mentally calculating for a moment, he turned to Deputy Magistrate Sun: "Deputy Magistrate Sun, how many yamen runners are still in the compound?"

Deputy Magistrate Sun replied respectfully: "Since Your Honor is holding court through the night, all twenty runners are on duty. Three went to Xiaofu Coal Mine, so there are still seventeen in the compound."

Le Wuya: "The two who went to Coroner Shang's home to fetch the box will remain in the courtroom for now. Bring the other fifteen into the hall!"

Fifteen sturdy men filed into the hall and shouted in unison: "Present!"

Le Wuya: "He Qingsong."

He Qingsong was the one who had gone with him to catch gamblers that afternoon and had witnessed Le Wuya shoot down Ge Erzi with one arrow.

Le Wuya: "You take the lead. Each of you go to the area around Xiaofu Coal Mine's accounting office, take a handful of soil, wrap it in cloth, and bring it back. Meanwhile, bring back five miners."

Le Wuya was indeed generous; he had said that helping him would bring benefits, and he made good on it upon returning.

With the benefits securely in his pocket, He Qingsong was full of fighting spirit and responded in a booming voice: "Yes! Your Honor, which five should we bring?"

"I want those who look weak, with non-local accents, and preferably those who are still working in the mine at this moment. You must choose them yourselves; don't accept anyone given to you. You are to be in groups of three, supervise each other. Each group selects one miner and brings him back."

After speaking, he raised his voice: "If anyone wants to watch the fun, they can go along too."

This trial was indeed interesting, with back-and-forth exchanges and quite interactive.

The people were watching eagerly. Hearing this, indeed a few were eager and ready to go along.

But the crowd stirred for a moment, then fell silent again.

This was different from when Le Wuya had invited people to come up and view the corpse earlier.

As for Xiaofu Coal Mine, many locals had their suspicions but found it inconvenient to speak openly.

Jiang He, who was not in the know, was confused for a moment.

Since they were all going to Xiaofu Coal Mine, why send two separate groups? Wouldn't it be easier to bring everyone at once?

Before Jiang He could figure it out, the young magistrate on the bench smiled and fixed his eyes on him.

"This gentleman," Le Wuya pointed at Jiang He, "how about taking a trip on behalf of this county?"

Jiang He: "...Ah?"

Jiang He: "Me?"

Le Wuya smiled: "Yes, just now you were standing in the very front, and now you seem very eager to go. Truly an eager person."

Jiang He blinked, still not understanding.

...Did he look like he wanted to go very much?

Le Wuya emphasized: "Sir, please go along and watch the fun."

Jiang He felt as if he understood a bit.

He honestly nodded: "Alright."

A squad of yamen runners charged fiercely into the night.

Jiang He followed slowly at the very back. He went to the inn near the yamen to get his horse, took out a long thin gray cloth bundle from his saddlebag, looked around, then bit his lower lip slightly and whistled.

Another person materialized out of the shadows like a ghost: "Brother Jiang, what's the matter?"

"Send someone else to sit in on the interrogation and don't miss any details. And you go inform the two young masters. Magistrate Wenren called me in to do some work for him."

The man was taken aback: "We work for the young masters. Why's the magistrate bossing you around?"

He left a half-finished sentence hanging: "...And you're actually listening to him?"

Jiang He gazed at the bright moon on the horizon, clutching the gray cloth bundle to his chest.

To outsiders, he was always cold and distant, as if he had everything figured out: "Just do it."

The truth was, he had no idea why Wenren Yue felt so comfortable ordering him around.

Was it because he didn't look like a merchant? Or had he accidentally shown some hint of martial arts?

Young General Yue once said diligence can make up for lack of talent.

So as he walked, he tried to figure out what he was doing wrong.

The moonlight deepened.

As he strolled along, holding his sword bundle close, he noticed a group of constables gradually falling to the back of the line.

One of them squatted down to adjust his boots, moving slowly and deliberately, as he watched the dozen or so others walk ahead.

The lone constable, seeing no one noticed, smirked. Just as he started to stand, a voice ghosted from behind: "Get back in line."

The constable trying to sneak off and send word was speechless.

He turned around and saw Jiang He, dressed as a merchant and not very tall.

Jiang He: "Didn't the magistrate tell you lot to..."

The constable, afraid that his voice would attract the attention of the team that hadn't gone far, quickly hissed: "You wanna die? Get the hell outta here!"

With that, he grabbed Jiang He around the neck, trying to force his head down and drag the nosy merchant aside.

In an instant, everything went white.

A frost-white blade slid out of the narrow bundle in Jiang He's arms and settled against the constable's throat.

Jiang He didn't bother with words; his expression barely shifted, and he said with genuine confusion: "Fall in."

The constable froze, then spun and sprinted after the squad like he'd seen a ghost.

Jiang He sheathed his sword and kept tailing them at a steady distance.

After mulling things over for most of the walk, Jiang He's ears perked up.

A moment later, he darted ahead a few steps.

He Qingsong, at the front, felt a breeze at his back and turned to find Jiang He's blank face right there.

He Qingsong: "Whoa!"

But before he could get mad or flustered, Jiang He ordered softly: "Into that alley, all of you."

He was already confused: they were on official business, so why had the magistrate sent a civilian to tag along?

This guy was striking, clearly not from around here, yet he was so eager, and the magistrate kept singling him out...

Low-level clerks were usually the best at reading the room.

A few days ago, the magistrate was clearly getting crushed by Deputy Magistrate Sun, barely able to catch his breath.

How had he turned things around in a single day with such overwhelming force—raiding gambling houses, digging up bodies, holding trials at night?

Could it be... he was waiting for his moment?

At that thought, He Qingsong's expression toward the man shifted.

The magistrate must have had a deeper reason for sending this man along!

He Qingsong waved his hand. As the oldest constable with the most seniority, the others naturally followed his lead.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they heard the thud of boots.

The first squad of constables, sent to Xiaofu Coal Mine to bring in the workers, was passing by on the main street.

He Qingsong was understandably surprised: he hadn't heard a single footstep, yet this guy told them to take cover?

Once they were farther off, He Qingsong asked in a low voice: "Why dodge them?"

Jiang He didn't reply: "Move out."

Seeing that Jiang He was keeping his mouth shut, He Qingsong smartly dropped it.

The truth is, if he knew why Jiang He wouldn't answer, he'd probably have fainted from shock.

...Jiang He himself didn't know. It was just that his instincts were sharper than most, and he figured it was safer to steer clear.

Once the footsteps died away, the group came out and moved on.

Jiang He still hung back at the end of the line.

After about two hundred paces, Jiang He stopped dead, stared into space, and nodded as the lightbulb went on: "Ah..."

Magistrate Wenren had ordered the first squad to bring in everyone who ran the coal mine.

So when the second squad entered the mine with its leadership gone, wouldn't their next moves be smoother?

After working that out, his usually blank face finally relaxed a bit.

But the next question hit him right away, and his face went serious again.

Why was he following his orders? As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Author's note: Jiang He, a serious-faced loose cannon.