Chapter 283
Chapter 283
The town official dared not say another word. He led his subordinates to wait outside the mortuary, and after more than an hour, another party duly came hurrying up.
The county magistrate climbed out of his carriage and strode over to the town official, asking anxiously, “How is it? Her Highness…”
The town official clasped his hands, his face full of embarrassment. “My lord, Her Highness is unharmed. She’s inside the mortuary now. But…”
As he spoke, he turned slightly aside and lowered his voice. “Her Highness wants to investigate the Zhu Family Village case…”
“What?”
“And that’s not all. There are men from the Ministry of Justice and Dali Temple here too!”
“What? Of what rank?”
“The Vice Minister of Justice and the Junior Minister of Dali Temple!”
The county magistrate felt as though a thunderbolt had struck him out of a clear sky. He stood stunned for a long time before finally uttering, “We’re finished.”
“How did we draw that Living Yama from the capital here? Now we’re in trouble!”
As he spoke, footsteps sounded behind him.
He turned and saw a young man of imposing bearing. Just as the rumors said, he was young, yet had a commanding presence.
The magistrate stepped forward at once and bowed, trembling. “Your humble subordinate Li Zhao greets Your Lordship…”
Ren Fengjue came straight to the point. “I imagine Magistrate Li already knows the situation here.”
Li Zhao dared not evade the question. “Are you referring to the arson case that took place here a month ago, my lord?”
Ren Fengjue frowned, his voice hardening. “An arson case?”
Cold sweat was almost seeping from Li Zhao’s palms. “The details I received did indeed describe an arson case…”
Ren Fengjue glanced at the town official with displeasure. “Didn’t he tell you that this case also involves dozens, perhaps a hundred, lives?”
At those words, both men hastily dropped to their knees.
Li Zhao explained, “After receiving the report, I did send the county constable here to examine the situation. All these villages had been burned down. It was clearly the work of bandits!”
“Since the case was so serious and involved so many deaths, I also submitted a report to the prefectural office. But…”
“Your Lordship must also know that since the previous prefect left office, the prefectural office has had no one to lead it. I waited a month without receiving any instructions. That’s what caused the delay.”
Ren Fengjue understood exactly what he meant.
The town official blamed the county magistrate; the county magistrate blamed the prefect. And since the prefect had fallen from office and there was no one to take charge of the case, it was indeed a convenient excuse.
He was furious, but then, recalling all the disorder in Liangzhou City, he quelled his anger.
One link led to the next. If the upper beam was crooked, how could the lower ones be straight?
“Very well. Since the prefectural office won’t deal with it, I will. What do you two think?”
From any other official, those words would have constituted an overreach of authority.
But coming from Ren Fengjue, they were words no one dared defy.
The county magistrate and town official immediately assumed an air of reverence. “We await Your Lordship’s orders.”
While it was still light, Ren Fengjue immediately instructed everyone to search the scene thoroughly, overlooking no clue.
The runners reacted differently to the order. Some were eager to solve the case and distinguish themselves; others felt it was none of their concern and were deeply reluctant.
Even so, none dared slack off.
This Living Yama was hardly someone they could fool!
“Search properly. Search carefully. Don’t overlook the slightest clue. Report any discovery at once!”
“Yes, my lord!”
At the command, the crowd dispersed from the mortuary entrance.
County Magistrate Li Zhao glanced back at the mortuary, feeling somewhat unnerved. He ventured to suggest to Ren Fengjue, “My lord, perhaps you and Her Highness could go to the town office to rest? This isn’t a suitable place to stay for too long.”
Ren Fengjue took the opportunity to ask, “How much do you know about this mortuary, Magistrate Li?”
Li Zhao hurried to reply, “During my years as a town official, I often had to travel among these villages. I do know a little.”
“Did you ever see the mortuary keeper here?”
“Of course. But only once, from a distance. I never went close.”
Ren Fengjue nodded. “Then come inside with me and have a look, Magistrate Li.”
The request made Li Zhao’s heart quail. Yet he could not refuse, and could only steel himself and follow.
Ren Fengjue led him straight into the room where the mortuary keeper had lived and asked him to examine the designs on the walls.
Li Zhao craned his neck and looked for a long time. “These look… like nothing more than a child’s random scribbles. But… they’re too high up for a child.”
What ordinary child could reach that high?
Ren Fengjue smiled. “Have you ever seen the Di people of Mount Ya, Magistrate Li?”
Li Zhao’s expression changed. He answered truthfully, “To be frank, my lord, I haven’t.”
After the founding of Great Qi, the Marquis of Zhenbei, Jiang Ting, had been stationed in Liangzhou City. Within a few years, he had begun hunting down the Di people of Mount Ya on a large scale.
It had taken a full two years to capture them all and bring them down from the mountain. The Di Slave Camp had then been built nearby.
By the time Li Zhao became a town official, the Di Slave Camp had long since been completed.
Ren Fengjue asked again, “Then are you aware that the deaths of these villagers may very well involve the Di Slaves?”
Li Zhao drew in a sharp breath. “I heard… the man who reported it did say so. But… there was no evidence. Besides…”
“The Di Slaves are directly controlled by the Wanting Army. If that truly is the case, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask the Marquis of Zhenbei to intervene.”
“It seems you understand the situation quite well, Magistrate Li. Once we’ve established the facts of the case, we will naturally approach whoever needs to be approached.”
The thought of the Marquis of Zhenbei frightened Li Zhao even more. Fortunately, he had a Living Yama standing in front of him now. Otherwise, he would never have meddled in this affair!
He looked at the drawings on the wall again and asked, “Do you suspect the mortuary keeper was connected to the Di Slaves, Lord Ren?”
Ren Fengjue replied casually, “I simply find the mortuary keeper rather mysterious. I’m only looking for clues…”
Li Zhao was about to offer a few flattering remarks when the town official came to report that a large quantity of human remains had been found beneath the burned houses.
The discovery had been expected. Ren Fengjue ordered, “However many there are, find them all.”
The search went on until dark. They had turned the whole of Zhu Family Village upside down and dug out everything that could be recovered.
Laid out on the snow, the remains made a horrifying sight.
The bodies were so badly burned that the coroner could make only a rough examination and could not determine the precise causes of death.
Yet they shared one feature: almost all their neck vertebrae bore fractures from tearing bites, plainly the work of wild beasts from the mountains.
Zhu Peng stood before the bodies, weeping bitterly. He could not even tell which remains belonged to his wife, Xiaoyun.
“My lord…”
He knelt before Ren Fengjue. “Those savage Di Slaves must have killed them! You mustn’t let them get away with it!”
Ren Fengjue said nothing. Turning toward the dark mass of Mount Ya in the night, he wondered: if the Di Slaves truly had killed these people, where were they hiding now?