Chapter 14
After dinner, bidding farewell to the merchant couple, the three of us returned to the County Office.
As soon as we entered, Qing Mu reported that he had received Xu Qingzhu’s invitation, saying that two days later he would host a welcome banquet for me at Tianranju.
I tossed the invitation onto the table and sneered, “It’s been more than ten days and only now he thinks of a welcome banquet? Sounds more like a Hongmen Banquet.”
Zi Su said, “I think Xu Qingzhu and the others are afraid you’ll uncover something, Young Master, so they’re deliberately coming to test you.”
Song Lan chimed in, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect Young Master! If anyone tries anything, my fists aren’t just for show.”
I looked speechlessly at this brawny fellow.
“Don’t cause trouble for Young Master!” Zi Su tugged Song Lan’s ear and dragged him outside.
Qing Mu continued, “Xu Qingzhu also sent over two maidservants and four servants, saying that since you’re new to Anyang, you might be short-handed, so he’s providing some staff to serve you.”
“So quick to plant spies?” I sat down, flicking my robe, and asked, “How did you arrange them?”
“The maidservants are working in the kitchen with Nan Xing,” Qing Mu replied. “The servants are with me in the front yard, guarding the gate, sweeping, and doing rough work. I absolutely won’t let them come before Young Master and be an eyesore.”
I nodded, “You handle it as you see fit.”
Stretching, I walked toward the back courtyard.
The next morning, after breakfast, I took Song Lan to the County Office. Zi Su also went out, saying she’d scout around Dong Manor first to find an escape route.
I agreed wholeheartedly, gave her a few more instructions, and we parted ways at the County Office gate.
At the County Office, I heard from the gatekeeper that Liyang had sent Coroners, who arrived last night.
In the back hall, Yu Baisu and Xu Qingzhu were both present.
“Greetings, County Magistrate and County Deputy Magistrate,” I saluted and asked, “I heard Liyang sent Coroners for a re-examination?”
“Yes, they arrived too late last night, so we didn’t notify you,” Yu Baisu took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and spoke slowly, “It hasn’t been seventy-two hours yet. Lord Zheng, when do you plan to have them conduct the re-examination?”
I glanced at the sun slowly climbing outside, “Today is just right.”
Yu Baisu waved his hand knowingly, “I have other official duties. Qingzhu, you’ll accompany Lord Zheng for the re-examination today.”
“Yes,” Xu Qingzhu accepted the order, then turned to me with a smile, “Lord Zheng, you’re here so early. Have you eaten? Why not join us? The County Magistrate’s crystal shrimp dumplings are famous.”
“I’ve already eaten,” I replied, “Please, you two go ahead. I’ll wait outside.”
Yu Baisu waved me off, and I bowed and withdrew.
Song Lan’s eyes darted, “Sir, I need to use the latrine.”
I looked back at him, knowing he was up to something, and whispered, “This is the County Office, don’t mess around.”
“Got it!” Song Lan replied, trotting off to the back.
A maidservant brought tea. I lifted the lid, and a faint fragrance wafted to my nose-refreshing and pure.
I took a sip, the aroma lingering on my lips and teeth, and couldn’t help but praise, “Excellent tea.”
The little maid behind me couldn’t hold back and giggled.
I turned to her, “What are you laughing at? Are you mocking me for being inexperienced, never having tasted good tea?”
The maid hurriedly knelt and kowtowed, “Forgive me, sir, I wouldn’t dare.”
“Get up, I’m not blaming you,” I gestured for her to rise. “Let me test you-do you know what tea this is and where it’s from?”
She kowtowed again, then stood and replied, “Sir, this is Qingcheng Snow Bud, produced in Qingcheng Mountain, Sichuan. Picked before the Qingming Festival, the soup is emerald green, the buds stand upright, the fragrance is strong, and the tea is neither muddy nor strong.”
I smiled, “Well said. Now, let me ask you, what water was used to brew this tea?”
Praised, the maid looked proud, “Naturally, the water is from the spring on Yujing Mountain outside the city. The water there has the least impurities, perfect for brewing tea. Also-”
“Enough!”
A loud shout interrupted her. Xu Qingzhu strode in with two men, his tone stern, “How dare you chatter before the County Sheriff! Step back!”
“Yes, yes!”
The maid trembled all over, hurriedly saluted, and rushed out, accidentally stepping on her skirt.
“Careful,” I steadied her.
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered, stumbling out the door.
“Lord Zheng, the servants are ignorant,” Xu Qingzhu came to my side, apologetic, “Sorry for offending you.”
“It’s nothing,” I stood, hands behind my back, looking at the newcomers, “Are these the Coroners from Liyang?”
Xu Qingzhu nodded and said to the bailiffs, “This is County Sheriff Zheng Xuanming.”
The two cupped their fists, “We are Li Zhong and Li Xiao, greetings to County Sheriff.”
I examined their faces, “Are you brothers?”
“Yes, sir,” Li Zhong replied, “I’m the elder. Both of us serve as Coroners at Liyang County Office. We received the official document and came today for the re-examination.”
“Good, no time to waste. Come with me.”
The remains had already been brought from the Dong Family and placed in the room at the County Office reserved for Coroners to examine bodies.
The two entered and began the re-examination.
Xu Qingzhu and I stood at the door watching. The two were skilled, their procedures for examination and record-keeping orderly and practiced-clearly experienced Coroners.
I nodded inwardly; finally, some reliable people.
After finishing, they came out to report that the re-examination results matched the initial findings exactly: the deceased was indeed male.
Li Xiao even remarked, “The initial Coroner not only examined thoroughly but also categorized and labeled the bones, making the re-examination clear and saving much time. I remember Anyang’s Coroner is Chen Zheng. I met him in Liyang a few years ago-his skills were average then. I didn’t expect such improvement now. Truly admirable.”
Xu Qingzhu laughed, “Chen Zheng got drunk and broke his hand before. The initial examination was done by Lord Zheng.”
Li Xiao was surprised. “I didn’t expect, my lord, that you are also skilled in this art.”
I smiled at him. “Not at all. Aside from verifying his gender, did you see the cause of death?”
The two looked at each other and both shook their heads.
I said, “Are you familiar with the Bone Steaming Method?”
Again, they shook their heads, looking confused.
Even Xu Qingzhu couldn’t help but ask, “What is bone steaming? Are you going to put the bones in a steamer basket?”
I looked up at the sky. “Bone examination must be done on a clear day. The weather is perfect today, so we can steam the bones.”
The three were curious and all crowded over to see how I would steam the bones.
I said to Xu Qingzhu, “I need a pit, five feet long, three feet wide, and two feet deep.”
Xu Qingzhu replied, “That’s not difficult. I’ll bring people to dig one.”
I continued, “Once it’s dug, burn charcoal in it until the ground is red-hot. Then pour in two liters of good wine and five liters of strong vinegar.”
Xu Qingzhu led people to find a place to dig the pit. I took the Li Family Brothers and washed the bones clean with water, then tied them together with hemp rope and placed them on a mat.
Before long, a Bailiff came to report that the pit was ready. The Li Family Brothers carried the mat out of the county office and headed to the back mountain.
The County Magistrate, Yu Baisu, had already arrived with Bailiffs, sitting on a chair and talking to Xu Qingzhu.
Not far away, a crowd of commoners had gathered, craning their necks to watch.
I asked, “Why are there so many people here?”
A Bailiff replied, “Anyang has always been peaceful. Bailiffs usually just patrol the streets and rarely have to catch thieves. This time, the County Magistrate brought so many Bailiffs out, so the people got curious and followed to watch. Someone spread the word that you, my lord, were going to steam bones to determine the cause of death. No one had ever heard of such a thing, so the crowd kept growing, all coming to see the spectacle.”
Hearing this, I sneered inwardly. Yu Baisu had deliberately spread the news. If I failed to find the cause of death by bone steaming, my reputation in Anyang would be ruined. I would lose authority among the Bailiffs, and even if they obeyed outwardly, they would secretly disdain me. If they slack off in their duties, disrespect is a small matter, but if someone dies because of it, that would be a disaster.
No matter what, there must be a result from today’s bone steaming.
I watched as steam rose from the pit and said, “Put the bones in.”
“Yes!”
The Li Family Brothers placed the bones inside. The rising steam enveloped them, and the commoners pointed and whispered, finding it all very novel. Yu Baisu asked, “How long must the bones be steamed?”
I replied, “One to two hours.”
Yu Baisu glanced at the rising sun and ordered someone to set up umbrellas, inviting, “Lord Zheng, why not wait here together?”
Seeing the sun grow hotter, I did not refuse. After a polite exchange, I walked under the umbrella and sat on the chair below Yu Baisu.
A Bailiff brought tea, and we drank while waiting for the result.
As the weather grew hotter, the temperature in the pit rose, and more steam billowed out.
The crowd, having waited long with no result and growing hot, began to disperse, though some persisted, determined to see the outcome.
When the sun was nearly overhead, Li Zhong came to report, “County Sheriff, the time is up.”
“Good.” I ordered the Li Family Brothers, “Open the prepared red oil-paper umbrella and carry the bones out to place under it.”
The two did as instructed, opening the umbrella and moving the bones. The crowd, seeing movement at last, surged forward to get a better look, only to be pushed back by the Bailiffs.
I rubbed sesame oil under my nose, donned my examination clothes, and walked under the umbrella.
I saw that the once white bones now showed blood-colored lines.
Li Zhong exclaimed, “How can this be? After steaming, blood seems to seep from the bones!”
I picked up a broken rib, held it to the sunlight, and beckoned the Li Family Brothers to look.
Li Xiao said, “There is blood at the fracture.”
I took another broken bone and held it to the light for them to see.
Li Zhong said, “There is no blood on this bone.”
Yu Baisu, seeing this strange phenomenon, also came over to look. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, “Both are broken bones. Why does one have blood and the other not?”
“After bone steaming, under the red oil-paper umbrella, if blood is visible on the bone, it means the person was beaten. If the fractured bone shows blood in the sunlight, it means the beating happened before death.” I pointed to another white bone. “If there is no blood on the bone but there are fractures, those are marks of being struck after death.”
Yu Baisu’s eyes widened, murmuring, “This is simply unbelievable, unheard of.”
The crowd behind gasped, some even saying that I could determine the cause of death just by steaming bones, calling me a genius in solving cases.
I glanced at those speaking-they were young men around twenty, dressed in shabby clothes, speaking with a bit of swagger. I saw Song Lan among them, nodding vigorously.
I shook my head speechlessly, took off my examination clothes, and cupped my fists to Yu Baisu. “This male corpse died in Dong Manor and was violently beaten before death, with more than ten fractures on the bones. I ask you, my lord, to summon the Dong Family for questioning.”
Yu Baisu’s face darkened, stroking his beard without speaking.
Xu Qingzhu quickly said, “The appearance of this corpse is suspicious. Originally, the deceased was the Singing Girl Huai Xi, but somehow it became an unidentified male corpse. Perhaps the Dong Family was framed by someone else.”
I also knew that convicting the Dong Family based solely on an unidentified corpse was wishful thinking, so I changed my tone. “Even if the Dong Family is innocent, they should still be questioned in court. After all, the corpse was found at their banquet.”
This was reasonable and irrefutable, and with so many people present, Yu Baisu had nothing to say. In the end, he could only send someone to the Dong Family and then left in a huff.
I also directed the Bailiffs to tidy up the scene and had the Li Family Brothers bring the bones back to the county office.