Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 333 The Detective's Chronicle of Gaoyang County

Before leaving his residence, the Prince of Gaoyang left two sentences for me, saying that if His Majesty sent someone to look for him, I must pass these words on to you.

As Gao Yue spoke, she secretly glanced at Li Shimin. Seeing that he was not angry, she braced herself and repeated the story.

He said, "Let's go, let's go, people always have to learn to grow up on their own; let's go, let's go, life inevitably involves suffering and struggle."

These two sentences were spoken in a jumbled and incoherent manner, neither like poetry nor proverbs. Gao Yue read them haltingly, unable to understand their deeper meaning.

If Wen He were here, she would definitely sing it with deep emotion, and add at the end, "This is the price of love~".

After hearing this, Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something and suddenly burst out laughing.

The smile came suddenly, instantly dispelling the somber atmosphere in the hall.

He pointed outside the hall, both angry and amused: "You, Wen Jiaying! You dare not openly talk back to me, so you try to persuade me with such nonsense!"

How could he not understand the hidden meaning in Wen He's words?

This clearly means that the crown prince cannot always be protected under someone's wings; he should be allowed to experience the storms of life and learn to grow up.

As a father, I should also let go of my concerns and accept the fact that my child will eventually become independent.

Li Shimin leaned back on the dragon throne, recalling Gao Yue's report from the previous day, in which Li Chengqian boasted that he would "capture Jieli alive."

Perhaps Wen He is right. Keeping Gao Ming in the Eastern Palace all the time will really turn him into a foolish ruler who is oblivious to the suffering of the common people.

But what kind of nonsense is this brat reciting?

If word gets out, it will only make us a laughingstock.

He remained silent for a long time before finally saying to Gao Yue, "Issue my decree that the Crown Prince may travel with the students on their study tour. Order the Xuanjia Guard to select elite troops to work with the Hundred Cavalry Division to ensure the Crown Prince's safety. They must send back a report of his safety every day. Also, send someone to the south bank of the Wei River to tell Wen Jiaying to go and return quickly. If he dares to be absent from the Crown Prince's study tour, I will not let him off lightly!"

"This servant obeys the decree!" Gao Yue quickly bowed and accepted the decree, secretly admiring him.

The two sentences from the magistrate of Gaoyang actually persuaded His Majesty; that's truly remarkable.

Inside the Liangyi Hall, the sunlight was still bright.

Li Shimin watched the birds flying past the window, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

Meanwhile, on the south bank of the Wei River, Wen He was squatting on the edge of a field, watching the Ministry of Justice officials investigate the scene.

Li Chengqian, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but ask, "Sir, do you think Father will agree to my studying abroad?"

Wen He stood up with a smile, patting the dirt off her hands: "Don't worry, with the help of the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Dai, plus the two sentences I left behind, even if His Majesty is reluctant, he will nod in agreement."

Do you still remember the dreams of your youth, like a flower that never fades, accompanying me through wind and rain, witnessing the vicissitudes of life and the changes of time?

The way Wen He hummed the strange tune made Li Chengqian, who was standing next to her, frown.

The tune had neither the rhythm of poetry nor the folk rhymes of the streets, leaving him completely bewildered. He wanted to ask, but was afraid of interrupting the teacher and getting beaten up.

Before long, a series of hurried footsteps came from afar, and a middle-aged man dressed in the clothes of a notorious bandit leader walked quickly towards them. It was Fan Biao, who had previously crossed paths with Wen He at Qujiang Pool.

He spotted Wen He from afar, and as he approached, he quickly bowed and greeted him respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Magistrate Wen, greetings, young master."

Although Fan Biao did not know Li Chengqian's identity, he saw that Li Chengqian had an extraordinary demeanor and was able to follow Wen He closely, so he knew that he was no ordinary person. Therefore, he also had more respect for the young man.

"Has the coroner examined the body?"

Wen He nodded in return and went straight to the point, his gaze unconsciously sweeping toward the corpse covered with a straw mat not far away.

"Reporting to the magistrate, the coroner's preliminary examination indicates that the deceased appeared to have accidentally fallen into the river while walking at night. In this freezing weather, he must have been in the water for half the night and froze to death."

As Fan Biao replied, he observed Wen He's expression. Seeing that Wen He's face remained calm, he added.

"It must have been an accident."

"What an unexpected turn of events..."

Wen He repeated the sentence in a low voice, her tone somewhat bored.

This morning, he took Li Chengqian to the Ministry of Justice for roll call, and they happened to run into Fan Biao who came to report a case. He thought he would come across an interesting case, which would allow him to avoid Li Shimin's questioning and broaden Li Chengqian's horizons. However, it turned out to be an unexpected incident.

No wonder the Vice Minister of Justice approved it so readily this morning without asking any questions about the details of the case. He had found it strange at the time, but now he understands.

The Ministry of Justice must have anticipated the accident and, unwilling to put in the effort, assigned this "idle post" to him, a position that was essentially a sinecure.

Has the deceased been identified?

Although Wen He found it boring, she didn't want to give up halfway. Since she had taken on this matter, she had to see it through to the end.

Fan Biao shook his head: "Not yet, but the deceased was wearing a fur coat, not an official's round-necked robe. He looked like a merchant. There aren't many merchants living around here. Send someone to inquire, and we should have news soon."

He glanced at the sky; the cold wind swirled withered leaves across the ground, and he couldn't help but shiver. He quickly advised, "Magistrate, it's too cold today. Why don't you and your young master go to the county office to rest and have a cup of hot tea to warm yourselves up? I'll report to you as soon as I find out the news."

These words carried a hint of deliberate flattery, yet they were also sincere.

Wen He is now a favorite of His Majesty and the Crown Prince's tutor. Being able to please him will only bring benefits and no harm.

But Wen He didn't reply. Instead, her eyes darkened slightly, and her tone suddenly became serious: "You said he was dressed in rich clothes?"

"Ah? Yes, yes, yes!"

Fan Biao nodded quickly, his tone tinged with a hint of regret.

"That fur coat looks like rabbit fur, and it feels wonderful to the touch. It would cost at least ten strings of cash in the West Market of Chang'an. Even if I were to work as the head of the criminal gang for two or three years, I might not be able to afford one."

Was he the only one there at the time?

Wen He pressed on, her gaze fixed on Fan Biao, not missing a single expression on his face. "Yes," Fan Biao blinked, somewhat puzzled.

Didn't you make it clear when you reported the case that only one body was found? Why is Wen asking again?
As he was wondering, he suddenly seemed to realize something, his expression changed abruptly, and his voice rose several decibels.

"Does the county magistrate mean... this wasn't an accident?!"

Seeing that he finally realized what was happening, Wen He nodded slightly.

This man isn't too stupid; it seems he rose to the position of Bad Commander through genuine ability.

"Sir, why wasn't this an accident?"

Li Chengqian stepped forward, his face full of confusion.

The coroner said that he accidentally fell into the river and froze to death. What does his rich clothing have to do with whether it was an accident or not?
"Let the Bad Commander speak."

Wen He turned to the side, gesturing for Fan Biao to explain.

Fan Biao then belatedly realized what was happening.

The boy in front of us is only eight or nine years old, yet he is so highly regarded by the county magistrate. Who else could it be but His Highness the Crown Prince?

He had met the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty before, and now that he had met the Crown Prince, he was momentarily dazed and his mind was in a mess.

Thinking to myself, I wonder if I should go back and visit my ancestral graves in a few days.

I wonder if there's any blue smoke coming out of it.

"Is this guy stupid?" Li Chengqian frowned in displeasure when he saw that the man hadn't moved for a long time and was just staring blankly at him.

Seeing this, Wen He chuckled and patted Li Chengqian on the shoulder: "He's not stupid, he's scared silly."

"Yes, yes, yes! Oh no, no, no!"

Fan Biao snapped back to his senses, quickly waved his hand, and bowed to Li Chengqian, his tone becoming increasingly humble.

"So that the young master may know, this place is in a remote location. It's not far to the west that it's the territory of Huazhou. Apart from farmers, very few people come here on weekdays. It's understandable if an ordinary farmer goes out alone."

He swallowed hard, composed himself, and continued, "But the deceased was wearing a rabbit fur coat, which clearly indicates that he was a wealthy merchant. How could such a person go out without servants by his side? Even if he didn't ride a horse, he would have taken a carriage, and at least there should have been a servant carrying a lantern to attend to him."

"But now he has fallen into the river all by himself, without even anyone to warn him. There must be something going on here!"

Li Chengqian's eyes lit up as he finally understood: "You mean, he was deliberately lured here?"

"It's also possible that he was murdered and his body dumped here, or that he came here to commit suicide," Wen He added.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but take a deep breath, turning his head to stare at Wen He with expectant eyes, blinking.

Wen He knew he was shocked, so she just smiled faintly and said to Fan Biao, "Go ask the coroner if there was any mud or sand under the deceased's fingernails, and if there was any water accumulation in his abdomen."

Although he didn't know anything about autopsies, he had at least watched many episodes of "Death God Elementary School Student," "Detective Dee," and "Young Justice Bao."

"Hey, okay."

Fan Biao didn't question it at all, nodded quickly, and turned to ask the coroner.

"Sir, why are you investigating these things?" Li Chengqian asked curiously.

"Well, if a person drowns, they will definitely struggle before they die, so there will definitely be mud and sand under their fingernails. In addition, they will definitely have drunk a lot of water before they die."

"If none of these exist, then suicide can be ruled out. Also, there's another point: Fan Biao just said he froze to death, but he was still wearing clothes. If a person freezes to death, they would feel very hot before they die and would subconsciously take off their clothes."

Li Chengqian's eyes gleamed as he listened.

"Sir, you know so much. No wonder Father sent you to the Ministry of Justice."

"Ahem, keep it low-key, keep it low-key. When I was young, I also wished that there would be no more wrongful convictions in the world." Wen He put his hands behind his back, clearly identifying himself as Song Ci.

"But sir, you seem to be only eleven years old."

"Snapped!"

Wen He raised her hand and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Shut up."

Li Chengqian covered his head, feeling both angry and aggrieved.

Not long after, Fan Biao returned with a look of utter astonishment on his face.

"County magistrate, you were right about everything! Even the coroner changed his story, saying that ligature marks were found on the deceased's neck, and that he was strangled to death and then his body was dumped. You're amazing!"

Fan Biao exclaimed in surprise.

Wen He waved her hand casually: "It's nothing, keep it low-key."

He kept saying he was keeping a low profile, but Li Chengqian could clearly see the smug look on his husband's face.

"May I ask, sir, what should we do next?" Fan Biao asked for instructions.

Next, of course, is...

There is only one truth!
"Find out his identity, investigate his family, and ask the coroner if there were any signs of struggle before the death. If not, then it must have been an inside job."

Fan Biao was certainly more familiar with this kind of thing than he was; the reason he asked was simply because of their difference in status.

Upon hearing this, Fan Biao flattered, "Your Excellency is truly talented. I will go now."

(End of this chapter)