After the family affairs were settled, Song Que no longer had any worries. He took Ji Qiong and started to take office.
The private advisor was originally supposed to assist the county master and act as a staff member, but Gao Fenglin directly assigned Song Que to be responsible for the trial of the case. This should have been County Lieutenant Wang’s authority, but County Lieutenant Wang was happy to focus solely on public security, so he turned a blind eye.
When Song Que was on duty, there was always an eleven or twelve year old boy following him, like a little tail. At first, everyone was a little fussy, but as time went by, they would even ask if they didn’t see him.
Officer Xiao Bing was a newcomer from Linxian County. By chance, he did the same job as before. He thought he was familiar with it, but he found that there was a big difference.
A wealthy man died mysteriously. Xiao Bing and several officers together with Coroner Su were ordered to investigate the scene and bring back the body. Xiao Bing took a quick look and wanted to step forward to lift the body, but was scolded by his seniors. He saw Coroner Su and several seniors measuring the ground, they seemed to be measuring the distance between the corpse and the surrounding objects. Someone also recorded the direction of the body, the position on the bed, and all matters whether important or trivial. Everything was done in great detail.
After finally being able to carry the body back, Xiao Bing was a little puzzled. He couldn’t help but ask the senior next to him in a low voice: “What is Coroner Su’s identity? I’ve noticed that you’re all very polite?”
The coroner has a low status. The attitude of these officers towards Coroner Su could not be called respectful, but compared to what Xiao Bing had seen before, they were very polite.
Officer Chen said: “Coroner Su was working with Master Song, he has learned a lot. He is not like those coroners who know nothing except for guarding corpses. They’re capable of finding out things. It’s frighteningly accurate, so you should be more polite.”
It was supposed to be bad luck to deal with the dead, but once it touched things like the supernatural, it became a different story.
Officer Chen’s words tickled Xiao Bing, he became very curious.
The group of people took the body back to the coffin home. There was an indescribable smell of herbs in the coffin home. Xiao Bing looked around and found a pill burning in each of the four corners. He didn’t know what it was used for.
Officer Chen smiled and said, “That’s the prescription Master Song came up with. It’s called the Purity Pill. Light a pill and the smoke will remove the odor.”
Xiao Bing followed others to carry the body in and finally saw the legendary Master Song. Master Song was wearing a stain-resistant green robe, and he was followed by a young man in a gray robe. Half of the young man’s face was revealed, and he looked like a child from an ordinary family. Xiao Bing didn’t know how he ended up here.
Before Xiao Bing could ask any questions, he saw Master Song turning around. At that moment, Xiao Bing understood the feelings of the seniors. What a fairy-like the other person was, like snow falling on a mountain. Even though he was standing here, listening to the coroner’s examination and reviewing the deceased’s life events, it was like an immortal guiding lost souls and extinguishing all his hatred.
Song Que was originally testing Ji Qiong’s academic performance. Although he brought Ji Qiong with him, he did not want him to inherit the mantle. He just wanted this sensitive child to be more relaxed. Therefore, he used every opportunity to teach him. Ji Qiong was talented and able to endure hardships, Song Que planned to give him some more training before sending him to take the county examination.
Seeing Coroner Su and his entourage come in, Song Que knew it was the murder case reported in the morning, and Ji Qiong was also used with this. He stepped forward to take over the on-site report from the officers.
The on-site report was proposed by Song Que. In the beginning, the officers felt it was a little troublesome. Under the pressure of the magister, they were at Song Que’s mercy. Unexpectedly, the results were quite good, and it helped a lot in many cases. Everyone stopped complaining, and their respect for Song Que rose to a new level.
Song Que looked at the row of officers standing there and said, “It’s better to leave two people behind to help. The others can go back to the government office to do their work.”
The officers looked at each other, and no one wanted to be the first to leave.
They still remember that at the beginning, Gao Fenglin was worried that the methods used by Song Que were too unfamiliar and would not be able to convince the public. Song Que’s solution was to solve more cases and accumulate trust. To this day, no one questions Song Que, and some of Song Que’s methods have been easily popularized. The storytellers in the teahouse also like to make up stories about Song Que solving crimes, making him famous. Coupled with his unique and elegant demeanor, they also gave him the title “Immortal resolving grievance”. Song Que suspected that Gao Fenglin was behind this, but every time he asked, Gao Fenglin pretended to be a fool. In the end, it can only be left unresolved.
The officers all found it interesting to be around Master Song. They pushed and tried to drive each other away. Officer Chen said, “Sir, why don’t you point at two people at random?”
Song Que said, “Then Officer Chen and this little brother next to you.”
Xiao Bing pointed at himself in disbelief. Officer Chen smiled at him and pulled Xiao Bing out under the envious eyes of others.
Xiao Bing said: “Brother Chen, didn’t Master Song ask us to stay?”
Officer Chen said: “Let’s have a bowl of Sanshen soup first, which can remove the smell of corpses.”
Xiao Bing didn’t ask any more questions, knowing that this must be the method proposed by Master Song. He sighed with emotion: “How does Master Song know so much?”
Officer Chen touched his head. Someone had asked Song Que before, what did Master Song say.
“Master Song said all the methods were recorded in the books. There seems to be some “Records of balancing unfair verdicts”, “Records of avoiding injustice”, “Amendments of unjust verdicts” and the like. Master Song picked out a few useful recipes for us to use.”
Xiao Bing said, “Studying is great.”
Officer Chen nodded and said, “I sent my son to study. It’s too late for me, but It’s good to learn a little from Master Song.”
The two of them went back after finishing drinking the Sangshen soup. Song Que had already started the examination.
The deceased was a well-known wealthy family in the county, and his name was Chen Dafu. When his wife came in in the morning, she found Chen Dafu lying naked on the bed, his complexion was a bit off. She went up to check and found that Chen Dafu was not breathing at all, so she reported it to the Yamen.
Coroner Su was already familiar with the specific inspection process and stepped forward to inspect the body. Officer Chen and Xiao Bing were responsible for helping to lift the body when necessary.
Ji Qiong read the on-site report to Song Que, and Song Que began to simulate the situation in his mind. It’s extremely suspicious that Chen Dafu was lying naked on the bed. His clothes and brocade quilt fell to the floor. The small window beside the bed was half open. The things beside the bed were also in a mess, and some fell to the floor. This scene does not look like a struggle. Instead, it looks like Chen Dafu was frightened and fled on the bed.
Song Que first stopped the simulation in his mind and asked Coroner Wuzuo: “How is it? ”
Coroner Su reported the deceased’s height, age, and other basic information without omitting the birthmarks, moles, and other characteristics that could prove his identity. Finally, he came to the various symptoms on the corpse: “There were two small holes on the inside of the right leg, which seemed to be snake bite marks, it was dark purple. There were no obvious injuries in the rest of the area. ”
Song Que signaled Coroner Su to spread the legs of the deceased and carefully looked at the so-called snake bite. They had seen several cases of snake bite wounds. There was nothing wrong with the shape alone. It did look like a snake bite. But the dark purple patch was quite intriguing. For those bitten by poisonous snakes, the tissue at the bite site will be necrotic, and swollen, and it will be dark purple. Although Chen Dafu’s legs were dark purple, there was no swelling. The left and right legs were smooth with the same thickness. It seems like someone faked a poisonous snake bite. If so, the cause of Chen Dafu’s death lies elsewhere. Song Que said: “Check again. ”
This time, Song Que wanted to watch the whole process. He didn’t miss every move of Coroner Su. Coroner Su was used to it, Song Que asked for the review from time to time. He moved skillfully. Officer Chen and Xiao Bing were also helping, mainly responsible for supporting the body.
Every time Song Que read a sentence, Ji Qiong would compare it with what Coroner Su reported. If there was any discrepancy, he would change it. If there was no discrepancy, he would keep it. This time, even the anus was not spared. Xiao Bing was stunned on the side. Officer Chen said: “Don’t make a fuss. Some people like to walk on dry roads. It’s not just one or two incidents. Some people think it’s hidden, so they choose to tamper with that kind of place.
[走旱道 (zuo han dao) It refers to the chrysanthemum road. Chrysanthemum in Chinese slang means anus]
Song Que finally said: “Unfold his bun and check the top of his head again. ”
Coroner Su took apart the bun on Chen Dafu’s head and touched his scalp inch by inch. Finally, he felt a foreign object where the bun used to be. He said excitedly: “Sir, there seems to be something here. ”
Song Que hurriedly stepped forward. Coroner Su pushed aside the surrounding hair, and a very inconspicuous little thing that was close to the color of his hair was exposed. It was a long nail, which was driven into Chen Dafu’s forehead. It was so deep that the nail surface almost touched Chen Dafu’s scalp. If Coroner Su hadn’t touched it carefully this time, he might have missed it.
Xiao Bing gasped when he saw it.
Song Que also paused. Although he has seen a lot over the years, every time he saw it, he still sigh, how can people be so cruel to the same kind?
Song Que asked Ji Qiong to bring a pen and paper. He drew a picture of the bun on Chen Dafu’s head as he remembered it. and asked Ji Qiong to put it away.
Officer Chen asked curiously: “Sir, what’s the secret of this bun? ”
Song Que looked at Ji Qiong, obviously meant to test him. Ji Qiong thought for a moment and hesitantly said: “The long nail was buried just beneath the hair bun, indicating that the bun was tied after the nail was hammered in. We do not rule out the possibility that someone else tied up Chen Dafu’s hair after the murderer buried the nail, but this possibility is very low. In other words, the person who tied his hair into a bun is most likely the real culprit. ”
Song Que touched Ji Qiong’s head with satisfaction. Ji Qiong breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly became happy. Song Que added: “Just as everyone has habits when tying clothes belts, the order and the length of the knots were different. Although this bun is not special, everyone’s little habits are different. They may not be useful, but they may also be useful. Draw the bun just in case. ”
Xiao Bing nodded repeatedly as he listened.
The most likely cause of Chen Dafu’s death was already very obvious, but Song Que still did not end the process hastily and signaled Coroner Su and others to wash the corpse with vinegar and wine and then compress it. The hall was full of the smell of vinegar and wine. If the corpse still has scars, it’ll take an hour for it to show up.
Song Que began to lecture Ji Qiong again.
Xiao Bing felt a little uncomfortable on the side, pulled on Officer Chen’s clothes, and asked in a low voice: “Can we listen to it too? ”
He still remembers how he was chased away by the teacher when he eavesdropped outside the school when he was a child. He was a little scared about such things.
Officer Chen was listening attentively. Song Que was giving lectures in simple terms. Although he was not as smart as Ji Qiong, it was difficult for him to keep up with the two of them. He also learned something. Being interrupted by Xiao Bing, he was not angry and said: “Master Song has said that Confucius advocates teaching without prejudice, and he will not care about this. Although Master Song doesn’t especially teach everyone, when he lectures Brother Ji, everyone can listen if they want without asking him for instructions. ”
Song Que was lecturing, and the waiting time passed in a flash. Everyone re-examined the body, and no other injuries appeared. The nail at the top was confirmed to be the murder weapon. The time of death was between hai shi and chou shi.
[The timekeeping used in ancient China. 亥时 (hai shi) 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. 丑时 (chou shi) 1 a.m to 3 a.m]
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Records of Balancing Unfair Verdicts [Pingyuanlu (平冤錄)] is a collection of law cases compiled by Zhao Yizhai. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Diverse/pingyuanlu.html
Records of Avoiding Injustice [Wuyuanlu (無冤錄)] is an anonymous book on unjust law cases dating from the Yuan period (1279-1368). http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Diverse/wuyuanlu.html
Amendments of unjust verdicts [Xiyuanlu (洗冤錄)] is a collection of difficult lawsuits compiled by Song Ci 宋慈 (1182-1246) during the Southern Song period (1127-1279). http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Diverse/xiyuanlu.html
