I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 535: Confident Bao Zheng: There is no case in the world that I, Bao Xiren, cannot solve
An hour later.

Su Liang and Liu Sandao rode their horses to a shed area five miles southwest of Nanjiao Market.

Because this area is close to the Nanjiao market, farmers, vendors from surrounding counties and some outsiders often live here during the slack season to facilitate their business.

Over time.

Everyone started building houses, and a simple shanty area was formed.

In the shed area.

There are people from all walks of life and all over the place, and there are also some lazy beggars who gather here to make a living.

Near the city of Bianjing, sometimes begging or doing odd jobs could earn more than in the countryside.

Therefore, it attracted many outsiders to come here.

An official once submitted a memorial, saying that the shantytown was shabby, dirty, and chaotic, and that it damaged the image of the city of Bianliang, and recommended that it be demolished.

But Bao Zheng strongly opposed it.

Bao Zheng knew that this was the living place of a group of people who were even lower class than the vendors in the Nanjiao market. If it was demolished, many people would lose their livelihoods.

Therefore, he wanted to turn this place into a grass market as a supplement to the South Suburb Market.

It is currently being remodeled.

All residents here are registered, and there are police patrolling and management. The public security and living conditions are much better than before.

……

After a while.

Led by a Kaifeng government servant, Su Liang and Liu Sandao came to a small forest behind the shantytown.

en route.

The bailiff also introduced the general situation to Su Liang.

Three people died in the woods, all of whom were long-term residents of the shantytown.

Their names are Cai Dashi, Xu San and Liu Shi respectively.

Cai Dashi was about 40 years old and looked very similar to the "Kitchen God" painted by Su Liang. The other two were both around 60 years old.

These three people were not from Kaifeng Prefecture and had been working as laborers at the Bianhe wharf for a long time.

I have co-workers and acquaintances here, but no relatives.

Because "beating the night tiger" was more profitable in the twelfth lunar month, they disguised themselves as ghosts and entered the city of Bianjing.

These three people are most likely the ones who robbed Bai Zhen.

They were all killed by a two-foot-long iron spike. The murder weapon was found at the scene. It is suspected that they died in a fight. The time of death was yesterday.

Someone passed by last night and discovered the case and reported it to the police. The yamen runner in charge found that one of the men was very similar to the person wanted by Kaifeng Prefecture, so he reported the case to Kaifeng Prefecture.

……

And this moment.

Two coroners were performing an autopsy on the scene. A makeshift thatched hut not far away was Bao Zheng's temporary court.

The New Year is approaching.

The occurrence of such cases has a very bad impact.

Bao Zheng had to take action himself.

He set up a temporary court here in order to find evidence and investigate the case more quickly.

When he saw Su Liang coming, he hurriedly said, "Jingming, take a closer look."

Su Liang nodded and walked with Bao Zheng into the depths of the woods.

This place is very secluded and few people usually appear here. The discoverer was about to defecate when he accidentally discovered the body.

There were three corpses, one of them was lying with a bloody iron spike in his hand, and his chest was pierced by the iron spike.

The other two were curled up on the other side, both lying on their sides, one with a cone in the back and the other with a cone in the stomach.

The blood had coagulated, his face was pale, and there were signs of fighting around him.

Su Liang had also participated in wars, so he was naturally not afraid of such corpses.

Immediately, he walked up to the body of the man named Cai Dashi and began to observe it carefully.

Lean slightly.

After Su Liang thought for a while, he said to Bao Zheng, "Yes, the man who rushed out of the Pig Slaughtering Alley and dropped the Kitchen God mask was him. There is no doubt about it."

Because the man was dressed strangely and was very close to Su Liang, Su Liang could see him very clearly.

Hearing Su Liang's firm answer, Bao Zheng nodded, walked out of the grove with Su Liang, and said, "Jingming, your mission is completed. It's almost the New Year, so you should return quickly!"

This case had nothing to do with the Censorate and happened during the New Year. What Su Liang liked most during the New Year was to be at home with his family, so Bao Zheng asked him to return quickly.

"Okay, Brother Xiren, investigating the case is important, but you also have to take care of your health!" Su Liang hit Bao Zheng on the shoulder.

Bao Zheng is now 57 years old.

Because of Kaifeng Prefecture, his temples have turned gray, he looks much older, and his health is not as good as before.

Bao Zheng smiled and nodded.

This was the first time Bao Zheng smiled in these two days.

Just as Su Liang was about to leave, two fast horses suddenly came running from not far away.

Sitting on one horse was a servant from Kaifeng Prefecture, and sitting on the other was Bai Zhen, a clerk from the Dali Temple.

When the two men reached the grove, they immediately reined in their horses. Then, while Bai Zhen grabbed the reins with one hand, he lightly pressed the saddle with the other hand, then jumped up and dismounted in a very elegant manner.

"What great body movements!" Su Liang couldn't help but admire in a low voice.

I didn't expect that a civil servant's riding skills would be so good.

Judging from his movements, he should be a martial artist.

In the Song Dynasty, there were not many Jinshi who were both talented in civil and military affairs.

Bai Zhen walked up quickly and was visibly stunned when he saw Su Liang.

"Greetings to Mr. Bao, and greetings to Minister Su!" Bai Zhen bowed.

Bao Zheng said: "Bai Sizhi, I called you here to let you identify whether these three people are the criminals who robbed you. Although he has not seen their true faces, but the criminals' body shape, masks, and the clothes they wore that day should be able to identify them!"

Bai Zhen said: "Of course you can, of course you can!"

Bai Zhen is also in charge of criminal cases in the Dali Temple. If he fails to identify the suspect, then the people of the Dali Temple will be in trouble.

Immediately, Bai Zhen went to the grove to identify it.

And this moment.

Su Liang looked at Bai Zhen's back and was suddenly stunned.

Although Bai Zhen changed into a gray robe at this moment, it was the same length as the black robe he wore last time, and the shoes were also the same style.

When Bai Zhen walked to the small puddle in the grove, the uppers of his shoes and the hem of his robe were quickly covered with mud.

A bold idea suddenly popped up in Su Liang's mind.

He whispered a few words to Liu Sandao behind him, who immediately understood, mounted his horse and galloped towards the direction of Bianjing City.

Bao Zheng saw this scene with a puzzled look on his face.

At this time, Bai Zhen walked out quickly.

He clasped his hands and said, "Master Bao, the clothes and masks these three people are wearing are exactly what the criminals who robbed me the other day wore. Their body shapes and postures also match perfectly!"

Bao Zheng nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work, Bai Sizhi. You can go back now."

Bai Zhen nodded to Bao Zheng, then looked at Su Liang. "Central Prime Minister Su, why are you here?" Bai Zhen asked.

This case is the responsibility of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the Censorate has no right to interfere.

Su Liang smiled and said, "I forgot to tell you yesterday that it was on my way home that I saw the true face of the person who robbed you."

"I thank Prime Minister Su Zhongcheng. If it weren't for you, these three people would have died here and no one would know that they were the criminals who robbed me." Bai Zhen bowed to Su Liang and left quickly.

At this time.

Bao Zheng looked at Su Liang and asked in confusion: "Jingming, why did you let Sandao go first? Do you want to stay here?"

Su Liang smiled slightly.

"Brother Xiren, maybe in an hour, we can find the murderer!"

"Hmm? Found the murderer? How do you determine that this case was not a fight between three people?"

Bao Zheng looked puzzled.

Just as Su Liang was about to speak, the coroner handed him the document of his autopsy results.

Bao Zheng took a closer look and looked at Su Liang in disbelief.

"From the state of death of the three people and the traces of the struggle, it seems that Xu San and Liu Shi worked together to stab Cai Dashi with the iron spike, causing serious injuries. Then, Cai Dashi pulled out the iron spike from his body and killed the two people. However, from the autopsy results, even if Cai Dashi did not die from the stab, he definitely did not have the strength to kill the two people. It is very likely that there was a fourth person at the time of the crime."

The autopsy results further confirmed the correctness of what Su Liang said.

Bao Zheng looked at Su Liang.

Su Liang smiled and said, "I will tell Brother Xiren when Sandao returns from the city. If we tell him now, there is a high possibility of misjudgment, which will affect the case in Kaifeng Prefecture."

Bao Zheng nodded.

Immediately, the two of them sat in the temporary court.

The yamen runners of Kaifeng Prefecture were busy calling the surrounding residents to record their statements. Kaifeng Prefecture has always been meticulous in handling cases.

All residents living within ten miles of the crime scene must be questioned and asked to give their statements.

Liu Sandao rode a fast horse back to the city, and the round trip took at least an hour.

Soon, the sun rose to three poles.

Su Liang suddenly stood up and said to Bao Zheng, "Brother Xiren, please find me a fast-riding yamen runner. I...I want him to go to the Forbidden City to deliver a very urgent message."

Immediately, Bao Zheng waved and called a yamen runner over.

Su Liang said to him, "Little brother, you must ride your horse to the Forbidden City immediately and find Zhang Maize, the governor of Zhang Prefecture. Tell him that I have something to do this afternoon and cannot see the emperor. I will cancel the meeting with you this afternoon!"

"Ah?" The yamen runner looked at Su Liang in confusion.

"Su... Su Zhongcheng, the emperor summoned you... and you dared to postpone it? This... this... I dare not pass it on!"

Bao Zheng was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Government affairs are of utmost importance.

When summoned by the emperor, the minister actually said he had something else to do and could not go. Su Liang was the only one in the Song Dynasty who was like this.

Not to mention hail, even if it rains knives, we must go.

This is my duty as a minister.

"Jingming, stop messing around. What can be more important than seeing the emperor?" Bao Zheng glared at him.

Su Liang scratched his head helplessly and said, "This matter is unresolved and it is useless for the government to deal with it. Forget it. I will write a letter and you can give it to Zhang Maoze, the governor."

Only after hearing the message was delivered did the bailiff dare to nod.

……

Half an hour later, Liu Sandao came back running frantically, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Boss, the clothes and shoes he wore yesterday have been washed, leaving no trace. I wanted to go into his room to investigate, but I found that there were thin threads hanging from the door and window. If I entered the room, I might be discovered and it would be difficult to restore it. In order not to alert the enemy, I did not go in."

Su Liang nodded.

"He washes his shoes and clothes at night, and hangs silk in his humble room. His carefulness makes me think that he is the murderer."

Bao Zheng was confused as he listened and had no idea what Su Liang was talking about.

Su Liang looked at Bao Zheng and said, "Brother Xiren, let's find a quiet place to talk."

Immediately, the two of them walked to a slope on the northwest side of the temporary court.

Liu Sandao stood guard on the side to prevent anyone from approaching.

Su Liang looked at Bao Zheng and said, "Brother Xiren, these three people may have died because of me."

"What? Jingming, tell me what happened in detail."

Bao Zheng suddenly became anxious.

Su Liang said slowly, "I suspect the murderer of the three people is Dali Temple Sizhi Bai Zhen."

"Killing someone for three strings of cash, no way?" Bao Zheng was puzzled.

Su Liang shook his head and said, "Although I have no evidence, I have a motive for him to kill."

"The day before yesterday, the government gave me eight resumes of candidates for the position of Censor-in-Chief and asked me to select the right person and discuss the matter with him this afternoon. Bai Zhen is one of them."

"After reading his resume, I felt that Bai Zhen was okay, especially because he was a poor and honest man with excellent literary talent. So, yesterday evening I prepared to go to his home to meet him."

"At that time, he had just returned from outside. There was grass and mud on his shoes and the hem of his robe. Although he had wiped it, it was obvious how muddy it was originally. It was hard to find it in the city. He must have gone out of the city, but he lied and said that he went to sit in a teahouse on the next street to avoid the trivialities of many scholars who admired his 'reputation of poverty' and wanted to have a good chat with him."

"Just now, I saw Bai Zhen enter the grove. Although he changed his clothes and shoes, the style was almost the same, and the degree of grass and mud he was covered in was exactly the same as yesterday."

"And judging from the way he dismounted from his horse, he is a martial artist and is fully capable of killing these three ordinary people."

"Based on this, I made a bold guess. The three men robbed Bai Zhen because Bai Zhen used Qian to instigate them, intending to promote his reputation of being poor. He did this because he knew that there was a vacancy for a supervisory censor in the court, and he was a candidate."

As a member of the Dali Temple.

His resume was transferred, and it was not difficult for him to know why it was transferred.

"If I hadn't seen the true face of one of the looters, Bai Zhen's plan would have been quite successful. Yesterday, his reputation for being poor spread throughout Bianjing City, and I also planned to nominate him as the Censor-in-Chief."

"And because I saw the looters' faces, Kaifeng Prefecture posted a notice, and he immediately panicked!"

"He was afraid that Cai Dashi would betray him. Once he did, his career would be over. For the sake of his career, he killed them while he was paying the remaining money for the three people."

"Unfortunately, when I asked Sanda to go back and get his shoes and clothes, he had already wiped off all the traces on them."

"Oh!" Su Liang sighed.

"Although there is no concrete evidence, his motive for killing three people is reasonable, and all the signs make sense."

Bao Zheng nodded slightly.

"If you hadn't said that Bai Zhen was a candidate for the Supervisory Censor, I wouldn't have known about this. This reasoning makes sense everywhere."

Su Liang continued, "According to the new Song Dynasty Criminal Code, I am not considered an eyewitness, and there is no physical evidence at the moment, so I cannot convict him at all."

"He is also a criminal judge and is well aware of the consequences of admitting to murder. Therefore, even if we torture him, he will not confess. This... this... is a bit difficult."

Hearing this, Bao Zheng puffed out his chest and snorted coldly with some arrogance.

"Humph!"

"Jingming, you underestimate me too much! I have plenty of ways to handle this kind of case. If he is innocent, I will clear his name; if he is the murderer, I will make him confess. There is no case in the world that I, Bao Zheng, cannot solve!"

"Of course I believe in Brother Xiren's ability."

When Su Liang heard Bao Zheng's words, he instantly became confident from his previous frustration.

Discuss the case.

If Bao Zheng couldn't find it out, then probably no official in the world would be able to find it out.

In other words, there is no case in the world that Bao Xiren cannot solve.

(End of this chapter)