The First Criminal Judge of the Zhenguan Era

Chapter 167 The Bizarre Dismemberment! Ding Feng's shock: You already have a clue?
"What!?"

"Who did you say was killed!?"

As soon as Lu Yangyuan finished speaking, before Liu Shuyi could even open his mouth, Ding Feng's expression changed drastically. His eyes widened, and his voice became sharp due to the intense emotional fluctuations.

Lu Yangyuan didn't understand why Ding Feng reacted so strongly. He couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi, only to see Liu Shuyi frowning and deep in thought, seemingly quite surprised by the matter as well.

At this point, Liu Shuyi asked, "What exactly happened?"

Lu Yangyuan then said, "Two quarters of an hour ago, the magistrate of Wannian County sent his yamen runners to the Ministry of Justice to request an audience with Physician Liu. Since Physician Liu had not yet returned from the palace, Assistant Minister Cui received the yamen runners instead."

"The constable said that this morning a citizen went to the Wannian County government office to report that a charred severed arm was found on the roadside near his house."

"A charred severed arm?" Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

Lu Yangyuan nodded: "It was a left arm. The arm was burned black and the flesh was a bloody mess. After hearing the report, Gu Wen, the county magistrate of Wannian County, led people to check it out."

"Then they searched the vicinity, and not long after, they found a head on a tree not far away. Gu Wen identified it as the head of Yang Wanli, the Grand Master of Ceremonies."

Ding Feng was completely stunned when he heard this.

He thought that Yang Wanli's sudden murder was already surprising enough, but who would have thought that Yang Wanli was not only killed, but also dismembered!
"What kind of deep-seated hatred... that would lead someone to kill and then dismember their body?" Ding Feng murmured.

Liu Shuyi was also very surprised. He frowned slightly and asked, "Is there any damage to the head or face? Can you be completely sure it is Yang Wanli?"

Lu Yangyuan shook his head: "This humble official is not aware of that; the yamen runners did not mention any of that."

Liu Shuyi wasn't surprised. The constable was just there to deliver a message. Cui Lin didn't press for details, so the constable naturally wouldn't go into too much detail. He said, "Continue."

Lu Yangyuan nodded and continued, "After Gu Wen discovered that the deceased was Yang Wanli, a senior official, his expression changed drastically. He realized that this case was beyond his purview to solve, so he immediately ordered someone to inform the county magistrate, Li Xinchun, about the situation."

"Upon hearing that the deceased was Yang Wanli, Magistrate Li rushed over without hesitation. However, whether he questioned the surrounding villagers or continued the search, he could not find any other parts of Yang Wanli's body, nor could he obtain any useful clues from the villagers."

"Magistrate Li found the case troublesome because Yang Wanli was of high status. If the case could not be solved for a long time, the news of the dismemberment would likely cause panic among the people and officials. Therefore, Magistrate Li thought of Doctor Liu."

"Upon hearing what the yamen runner said, Cui Yuanwailang realized the seriousness of the matter. He was unable to make a decision for Liu Langzhong, so he immediately sent me to the palace to find Liu Langzhong."

After hearing the whole story, Liu Shuyi had a general understanding of the case.

"Dr. Liu..."

Ding Feng seemed to have regained some composure at this point, and he couldn't help but ask Liu Shuyi, "Do you think Yang Wanli's death might be related to the case I'm investigating?"

Liu Shuyi's eyes flickered.

Actually, he was also considering this matter.

Ding Feng had just arrived in Chang'an last night and had just asked Li Shimin this morning to open a case to investigate Yang Wanli's cheating. However, before he could even meet Yang Wanli, Yang Wanli died!
The timing was quite coincidental.

However, if the goal was simply to obstruct Ding Feng's investigation, killing Yang Wanli would have sufficed; why dismember him? This was clearly unnecessary.

Therefore, Liu Shuyi is also unable to ascertain the exact truth.

"I dare not draw any conclusions before I have obtained any valid clues."

Liu Shuyi looked at Ding Feng and said, "Imperial Censor Ding, it seems we have to make the trip ourselves."

…………

Three-quarters of an hour later, Mo Xiaofan drove the carriage and followed Lu Yangyuan into the gate of Anshan Ward.

Anshan Ward was located in the south-central part of Chang'an City, separated from Zhuque Avenue by one ward and three wards away from the South Gate. Compared with the wards near the Imperial City and the East and West Markets, Anshan Ward was relatively remote, had more commoners, and was more chaotic.

Therefore, as soon as the carriage entered Anshanfang, the noisy sounds of the marketplace reached Liu Shuyi and Ding Feng inside the carriage.

"Why are you here?"

Ding Feng looked puzzled: "I have checked Yang Wanli's information. Yang Wanli's residence is in Xuanyang Ward. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he thought of Yang Wanli's hard work and did not want Yang Wanli to continue to work hard. Therefore, he appointed him as a civil official and a senior official. Yang Wanli no longer needs to go to the yamen to report every day and can rest well."

"Therefore, Yang Wanli spends most of his time resting in his residence and rarely goes out. Anshan Ward is not close to Xuanyang Ward, and it is so messy and noisy that ordinary officials would not come to such a place. Why would he come here?"

Li Shimin did not want Yang Wanli to work hard, so he appointed him as a civil official.

Liu Shuyi glanced at Ding Feng, never expecting that this censor with thick eyebrows and big eyes would also lie through his teeth.

From a powerful Vice Minister of Revenue, he was directly reduced to a civil official, and a civil official of equal rank with no real power... Clearly, this was Li Shimin's way of marginalizing Yang Wanli and seizing power from him.

From this perspective, Yang Wanli was most likely someone promoted by Li Yuan, and in Li Shimin's mind, he belonged to Li Yuan.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he divided his court officials into four categories. One category consisted of ordinary members of Li Jiancheng's faction. Li Shimin would win over those who were capable and whose image could be improved after being won over. Wei Zheng was a representative figure of this category.

One type was Li Jiancheng's confidants, those who were extremely loyal to him. Li Shimin killed these people without any hesitation.

The third type is the ministers promoted by Li Yuan, who are loyal to Li Yuan and have a close relationship with him. Li Shimin will marginalize or demote these people. Pei Ji is a representative figure of this type.

The last type is the people from the Prince of Qin's mansion. These people are undoubtedly his most trusted confidants, all of whom hold high-ranking positions and enjoy generous salaries.

Therefore, by observing how Li Shimin dealt with these officials after ascending the throne, we can basically infer their status during the Wude era.

First there were high-ranking officials from the three ministries, and now there's a former vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue...

"Li Yuan really has a keen eye for recognizing people," Liu Shuyi thought to himself.

At this moment, the carriage stopped, and Lu Yangyuan's voice came from outside: "Doctor Liu, we have arrived."

Liu Shuyi gathered his scattered thoughts, exchanged a glance with Ding Feng, and without any hesitation, quickly got off the carriage.

As soon as they got off the carriage, Liu Shuyi found that they had stopped in an alley.

The road was not wide, only wide enough for one horse-drawn carriage to pass through, with houses where people lived on both sides.

There was some standing water on the ground – this was caused by melting snow and ice.

A few bare trees stood scattered along the roadside, with a few sparrows perched on their branches, curiously peering at the people below.

The yamen runners of Wannian County knocked on the doors of nearby residents' homes, asking them questions. Under a tree not far away, many runners surrounded the residents in layers.

It wasn't until someone noticed Liu Shuyi's arrival and shouted, "The doctor Liu is here!" that the yamen runners quickly made way for him, and two figures strode out and walked briskly toward Liu Shuyi.

"Dr. Liu, you've finally arrived."

Li Xinchun, the magistrate of Wannian County, cupped his hands to Liu Shuyi and said, "This case is truly bizarre and strange. If you hadn't come, I would have gone to find you myself."

Gu Wen, the county magistrate behind Li Xinchun, also bowed to Liu Shuyi at the same time.

However, he was not as relaxed as Li Xinchun when facing Liu Shuyi.

He bent over deeply, his head almost touching the ground, and dared not look Liu Shuyi in the eye... In the case of Ma Qingfeng's family massacre, because of Qian Wenqing, he did not believe that Liu Shuyi could solve the case, which not only tricked the county magistrate Li Xinchun, but also made him give up his credit and offended Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi is now a fifth-rank physician and a fourth-rank county magistrate, while Gu Wen was severely reprimanded by the county magistrate for his previous mistake and almost lost his position as county lieutenant. Although the two had only been apart for a few days, their statuses were already worlds apart. At this moment, Liu Shuyi could crush him as easily as crushing an ant. Therefore, Gu Wen was extremely afraid of Liu Shuyi.

He was afraid that if Liu Shuyi saw him, he would remember the grudges from the Ma Qingfeng family massacre and might actually strangle him.

Gu Wen's reaction naturally did not escape Liu Shuyi's notice. Liu Shuyi knew countless people and saw through Gu Wen's thoughts at a glance. If there was nothing else to do, he might take the opportunity to give Gu Wen a warning, so that Gu Wen would blame Qian Wenqing, sow discord between the two, and weaken Qian Wenqing's strength. However, there were more important things to do at the moment, so he was too lazy to pay attention to Gu Wen.

Liu Shuyi said to Li Xinchun, "I hit it off with Magistrate Li the moment we met. Magistrate Li personally sent someone to ask me for help. As soon as I heard that, I rushed over without stopping. However, the journey was a bit long, which delayed me a bit. I apologize for keeping Magistrate Li waiting."

Li Xinchun quickly waved his hand: "Please don't say that, Physician Liu. It's because Physician Liu has had a long journey. I was just a little anxious about this case, so I misspoke. It wasn't that I was blaming Physician Liu for being late. I hope Physician Liu will forgive me." Liu Shuyi then smiled: "Magistrate Li, you're too kind. Of course I understand what you mean."

As he spoke, he looked at the area surrounded by constables and said, "Let's not talk about that now, let's look at the case."

Li Xinchun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Liu Shuyi was no longer bothered by the issues he had just mentioned.

He couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Liu Shuyi had only recently been promoted to physician and had just become a fourth-rank county magistrate yesterday, yet he felt as if he were facing the same kind of old fox as Du Ruhui.
He took a deep breath and quickly led Liu Shuyi to the front of the crowd.

At this moment, Liu Shuyi and Ding Feng noticed that in front of the withered tree surrounded by yamen runners, there were two white cloths, on which were placed a charred severed arm and a head respectively.

The surface of the severed arm was carbonized, and only the general outline could be seen; no flesh or blood remained.

The skull is relatively intact, except that a sharp piece of wood pierced through the skull from the neck, just like skewering a candied hawthorn.

However, since the wood did not injure his face, apart from some bloodstains, there were no other marks on his face that could cover up his appearance.

Therefore, Liu Shuyi was able to clearly see the deceased's final expression—eyes wide open, mouth agape, as if he had seen something terrifying before he died, his expression twisted and filled with fear.

The original owner had seen Yang Wanli when he participated in the assessment, and Liu Shuyi still had a vague memory of him. After identifying him now, he confirmed that the head in front of him was indeed Yang Wanli.

"It seems this isn't the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' strategy that Liu Yuanming used back then..."

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin and asked, "Who discovered the severed arm?"

Knowing that Liu Shuyi had begun his investigation, Li Xinchun did not delay and immediately ordered his men to summon the people who had reported the case.

"This humble citizen, Deng Liu, greets Physician Liu."

Deng Liu was a man in his thirties, slightly thin, with a tanned complexion, rough skin on his face as if he had been exposed to the sun and wind, and calluses all over his hands.

He looked somewhat nervous, his eyes secretly glancing at the head on the white cloth, and then his face turned pale, his lips becoming noticeably lighter in color.

Liu Shuyi took in Deng Liu's reaction and said, "Tell me in detail how you discovered the severed arm."

Deng Liu hurriedly said, "At four quarters past dawn this morning, I left my house and, as usual, headed towards the North Gate. But I hadn't gone far when I suddenly noticed a bundle on the corner of the wall by the roadside."

"Upon seeing the bundle, Xiaomin quickly looked to his left and right, only to find himself alone on the road. Curious about who had dropped it, Xiaomin opened it and then..."

Deng Liu swallowed hard, his face showing lingering fear and terror. Even now, recalling his morning's events, he felt a chill run down his spine. He instinctively tightened his clothes and said, "Then I discovered that the bundle contained this severed arm!"

"The bundle?" Liu Shuyi asked Li Xinchun, "Where's the bundle?"

Li Xinchun hurriedly said, "Bring the bundle up."

Soon a yamen runner came over carrying a tray with a gray bundle on it.

Liu Shuyi examined the surface of the bundle carefully. The cloth was rough and the workmanship was not exquisite. It was the kind of bundle that ordinary people usually used, and it could be bought in any cloth shop.

After thinking for a moment, he opened the bundle and saw that the inside was covered with black residue. Liu Shuyi reached out and pinched some residue, then smelled it. There was a faint smell of burning protein and a hint of pine wood.

"Was this arm charred from pine wood?"

Liu Shuyi scanned the alleyway but did not see any ashes from the burning firewood.

"It wasn't burned here..."

He withdrew his gaze and carefully examined the bundle inside and out again. After confirming that there were no other useful clues on the bundle, he nodded and looked at Deng Liu again, saying, "You said you came out at four quarters past the hour of Mao (5:45 AM). Why are you so sure?"

In ancient times, without clocks, determining the time was a very difficult task.

But Deng Liu's timeline was accurate, not vague.

Deng Liu hurriedly explained, "I make a living by manual labor. Every day I have to go to the grain store to carry grain. The grain store starts work at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and I need to arrive at Maoshi (5-7 AM). It takes me three-quarters of an hour to get from here to the grain store, so I leave home at Maoshi (4-7 AM) every day. I have done this every day and it has become a habit."

A biological clock developed from work?

Liu Shuyi nodded and then asked, "Did you hear any strange noises outside last night?"

“Strange noise?” Deng Liu frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I didn’t hear anything. Of course, I might be sleeping soundly, so there might be some noise but I didn’t hear it.”

Li Xinchun then said, "I also had people ask other people nearby, and they all said they didn't hear any noise."

Liu Shuyi nodded: "Were there any watchmen or patrolling Imperial Guards passing through here last night?"

Li Xinchun said, "Yes, the Imperial Guards and the night watchmen passed through here at Hai hour and Zi hour respectively."

"Was this bundle on the ground when they passed by?"

Li Xinchun shook his head: "It can't be confirmed. The package was located in the shadows of the corner. The Imperial Guards and the watchmen didn't pay attention to the corner, so they couldn't be sure if the package was there at that time."

"However, I asked the local people, and they said that they did not find any bundles when they passed by here before the curfew yesterday."

Liu Shuyi said, "In other words, this bundle was placed here after the curfew yesterday, before 4:45 AM."

He thought for a moment, then his gaze shifted to the head pierced by the wood.

Looking at Yang Wanli's distorted and terrified face, Liu Shuyi asked, "Where was this head found?"

Gu Wen nervously raised his finger and pointed to the right branch of the withered tree in front of him, whispering, "It's right here."

Liu Shuyi followed Gu Wen's finger and saw that there were bloodstains on the branch and on the ground directly below it.

However, as the ice and snow melted, the bloodstains were diluted by the water, making them difficult to spot without close inspection.

Looking at the two bloodstains, Liu Shuyi narrowed his eyes: "There's still blood on the ground, which means the head was still dripping blood when the murderer hung it on the tree branch..."

"The amount of blood inside the skull is limited, and it will gradually congeal over time. The fact that it continues to drip after hanging here indicates that it didn't take long for the murderer to bring the head here after cutting it off..."

"The bundle on the arm confirms that the murderer delivered it after curfew. To avoid being discovered, the murderer would have delivered the arm and head in one go, not in two separate trips..."

"Therefore, this head must have been sent after curfew... After curfew, the gates of the ward will be closed, making it very difficult to enter and exit, and the journey must have taken a lot of time. However, the bloodstains on the head indicate that it was sent here after being cut off, so it shouldn't have been long. Combining all of this, we can confirm one thing..."

Li Xinchun quickly looked at Liu Shuyi, and Ding Feng also looked at Liu Shuyi with surprise. Judging from Liu Shuyi's words, there was a clue.

So fast, while he was still in a daze, Liu Shuyi already had a clue?

"That is……"

Liu Shuyi met their gazes and said in a deep voice, "The murderer must have dismembered the body in Anshanfang!"

"At the same time, the patrol routes of the Imperial Guards and the night watchmen are not fixed. In order to avoid being discovered by the night watchmen and the Imperial Guards on night patrol, he would not travel long distances, nor would he run from the easternmost point to the westernmost point to dispose of the body. In other words, the place where the body was dismembered should not be too far from here."

"Magistrate Li!"

Li Xinchun quickly replied, "Go ahead."

Liu Shuyi stared directly at him: "Ask the people if anyone heard the sound of chopping something last night. If so, it's most likely the sound of dismemberment!"

"At the same time, search all the houses on the three streets nearby! Dismemberment will inevitably leave a lot of blood, which won't be easy to clean up. Also, find out whose houses use pine wood for firewood, or whose furniture is made of pine wood but has been destroyed. The murderer burned his severed arm in the middle of the night, so he couldn't go out specifically to look for firewood. He should use whatever he has at home..."

"If we look at these three points, barring any unforeseen circumstances..."

Li Xinchun couldn't help but look at Liu Shuyi excitedly, when he heard Liu Shuyi say, "We should be able to find the place where the body was dismembered!"

(End of this chapter)