Chapter 11: Holding Court (Part One)

Chapter 11: Holding Court (Part One)

Amid the rhythmic thudding of the water-and-fire clubs against the ground, Le Wuya, his mind racing, slowly calmed down.

As the gavel fell, the entire hall fell silent.

Aunt Su, her eyes red, stood below the hall, her expression numb from excessive weeping.

Le Wuya: "Who is the plaintiff? What's your complaint?"

The court clerk knew the risks and instructed Aunt Su that accusing an official as a commoner was a grave offense; she should not directly say the yamen had dug up her ancestors' graves, but instead claim her son's grave had been looted by unknown persons, and request the yamen to investigate on her behalf.

After hearing the clerk's statement, Le Wuya blinked, showing surprise: "I arranged that."

He immediately turned to Sun Ru and questioned him with righteous indignation: "Deputy Magistrate Sun, did I not say to discuss this properly with the Su family before exhuming Chang Xiaohu? Why did you not follow my orders?"

Deputy Magistrate Sun: "..."

Without waiting for Sun to defend himself, Le Wuya spoke kindly to the stunned Aunt Su: "I had intended to examine Chang Xiaohu's body to determine his cause of death. But these underlings were incompetent and misunderstood my orders. I apologize."

He slammed the gavel: "Guards, allocate five taels of silver for the repair of the Chang family ancestral grave."

Then, in a conciliatory tone, he said to Aunt Su: "This matter was handled improperly, harming the feng shui of the Chang family graves. If five taels is insufficient and a Buddhist ceremony for the dead is needed to restore the feng shui, I will pay out of my own pocket. After the case is concluded, Deputy Magistrate Sun and the officials who mishandled the matter will come to your home to apologize. Su, do you have any other grievances to present?"

The case was resolved smoothly and swiftly.

If another person had their ancestral grave mistakenly dug up by the yamen and received such a verdict, they would likely hold their nose and accept it.

The more carefree might even secretly rejoice at the prospect of some extra silver.

But Aunt Su's face showed no joy—only turned ashen.

"My son..." her lips trembled. "Your Honor, you say that Xiaohu..."

Le Wuya, however, no longer looked at her: "Su, if you still have objections to my verdict, step down for now and think it over before making your plea. This court has many cases to hear today."

He slammed the gavel again: "Bring up the two beggars who committed assault."

The two were led in with bitter expressions.

The one-armed beggar, as instructed by Le Wuya, recounted how the brothers had been trying to make some money from corpses at the morgue and had "accidentally" injured someone.

Earlier that day, they had been seen carrying a wounded young beggar around while begging.

The local morgue mainly housed temporary coffins for unknown, friendless strangers; any valuables had long been stripped during encoffining.

The villagers, feeling that the desecrated corpses were not their concern and that the brothers were not acting for personal gain but to save the life of a young beggar they happened to meet, considered them righteous and came forward to testify. Even the assistant from the bun shop joined in the clamor, adding a couple of cries of "They're innocent!"

Jiang He watched with folded arms, surprised to see the magistrate, amid the noisy crowd, did not silence them but instead looked quite at ease.

...As if this chaotic scene was exactly what he wanted to see.

As the noise gradually subsided, Le Wuya looked at the two below the hall: "What are your names and where are you from?"

Both of them perked up.

Here it was!

They had served the magistrate diligently, even taking the blame, all for this moment!

The one-armed beggar raised his head: "My name is Hu Wu, from Hejin's Xiying County. The brother beside me is my cousin, also surnamed Hu..."

The beggar with the broken leg said softly: "My name is Hu Wen."

These were not their original names.

But from now on, they would be Hu Wen and Hu Wu.

Le Wuya asked further: "Do you have travel permits?"

Hu Wu, who was more eloquent, continued: "Our family was of artisan class; we know a bit of lacquerwork."

"Why did you end up here?"

"Natural disasters struck our hometown, and on the road we were robbed by bandits. They took everything and gave us two knife wounds. We were lucky to survive..."

In the past two years, the Hejin area had indeed suffered first drought, then plague, leading to countless refugees.

At these words, the commoners below couldn't help sighing, and sympathy welled up again.

Below the hall, Jiang He frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the two men's injuries.

He thought: Bandit blades are usually homemade, clumsy and dull. How could they slice off limbs so clean and smooth?

This looked more like wounds from a fine military saber.

But he did not intend to expose this.

First, because he had to hide his identity.

Second, he knew he wasn't too bright.

For some reason, whenever he spoke too much, people would laugh at him. Over time, he got used to keeping quiet.

Le Wuya was secretly watching him. Seeing him hesitate to speak, Le Wuya smiled slightly, then slammed the gavel, startling everyone into silence.

Le Wuya said sternly: "You two claimed to be after money. So why did you beat up a public official for no reason? Don't lie, tell the truth!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang He gave a small nod.

That was a good point.

If they were after money, and someone came in and caught them stealing, they could just run away—especially since they were disabled and the two of them together might not be able to overpower an intruder.

Better to run away. Why bother beating him up?

But Hu Wu felt sure of himself.

Le Wuya had already privately coached him earlier, giving him plenty of time to figure out what Le Wuya wanted.

He suddenly kowtowed, his voice choked with tears: "I am guilty! At first, I didn't know he was a public servant. I thought he was here to steal too. We brothers just wanted to hide. Who knew that when he came in, he started rifling through a fresh corpse? I thought, even if he was after money, this was going too far—that's desecrating a corpse, ruining your good karma! My cousin was scared, and when he moved, the man noticed and asked 'Who's there?' When he turned, I saw he had a knife in his hand. We were terrified, both crippled, unable to run fast. Fearing he would kill us to silence us permanently, we struck first, pouncing on him and fighting blindly. When we came to our senses, he was already on the ground, saying that, that the magistrate had sent him on official business—he was... the yamen's coroner. Only then we knew we messed up. Too scared to run, we turned ourselves in. I am guilty! Guilty!"

As he spoke, he trembled violently, kowtowing and pleading for mercy, looking completely pathetic.

The crowd below buzzed with talk.

If they were in these brothers' shoes, seeing a man holding a sharp blade and cutting up a corpse among the corpses, they would probably be scared to death.

If they didn't fight back, they'd end up as one of those nameless corpses.

Le Wuya nodded. "Bring Coroner Shang up."

Deputy Magistrate Sun still had some skill. Amidst such chaos, he still managed to send someone to fetch a doctor, who set his leg with a simple splint.

Coroner Shang was in the back hall, dazed with pain, unaware even of why he had been beaten so badly.

But his instinct told him something was wrong.

He had gone to the morgue on his own after receiving Deputy Magistrate Sun's message. If the magistrate asked why he went to the morgue, how would he explain?

He tried to think of an excuse, but the agony from his wound made it impossible to concentrate.

Now brought into the hall, he saw the two beggars kneeling beside him, and the magistrate wearing an inscrutable smile. His ominous premonition grew stronger.

Yet, what he feared most came to pass.

Le Wuya: "Coroner Shang, let me ask you—when did I tell you to go to the morgue on official business?"

Coroner Shang: "..."

He took a deep breath, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Deputy Magistrate Sun.

Deputy Magistrate Sun, though filled with bitterness, forced himself to appear open and returned the look.

Deputy Magistrate Sun knew he had left no evidence.

He had merely told Coroner Shang that the magistrate had unearthed Chang Xiaohu's body, but he had not instructed the coroner to go to the morgue and tamper with it.

Coroner Shang, locking eyes with Deputy Magistrate Sun, realized he couldn't drag him into this, so he had to answer vaguely: "Your subordinate... heard that Chang Xiaohu's body had been moved to the morgue, so I wanted to take a look in advance. It's within my duties."

He hoped Le Wuya was still the muddled official he had been, like Wenren Yue, and that by invoking his work, the magistrate would be left speechless.

Unexpectedly, Le Wuya was not sidetracked. He seized on the critical point: "These two here just said that I sent you to the morgue. Coroner Shang, when did I send you there? Since you're so eager to act in my stead, why don't I just let you sit in my seat?"

Coroner Shang's heart skipped a beat.

In the chaos, to avoid being beaten to death, he didn't remember what he had shouted.

Using the magistrate's name for his own purposes was fine in private, but could never be brought into the open.

Forcing himself through the pain, he answered: "Your subordinate said nothing of the sort!"

After all, in the morgue at that time, only the three of them were present. As long as each side told a different story, there was still a chance to turn things around.

However, Hu Wu beside him immediately exclaimed with a look of surprise: "Coroner, if you hadn't said it, how would I know you were named Shang and were a coroner? If you hadn't said you were here on the magistrate's orders, after we beat you, why would we bother bringing you to the yamen to surrender? We could have just left you in the morgue and run away."

Caught off guard by this quick-witted retort, Coroner Shang was momentarily speechless. After a stunned pause, he angrily retorted: "Nonsense! You two attacked me without a word, and only then did I reveal my identity. When did I ever say I was here on the magistrate's orders?"

Le Wuya, resting his cheek on his hand, watched him red-faced and furious, and interjected a casual remark: "Coroner Shang, do you mean to say that before they attacked you, they had no idea you were a government official?"

At this point, Coroner Shang could only stubbornly answer: "Yes!"

Le Wuya turned to look at the clerk, who had stopped writing. The clerk caught his meaning and quickly lifted his brush, dipped it in ink, ready to record the case.

Le Wuya proclaimed in a clear voice: "Hu Wen and Hu Wu sneaked into the morgue intending to steal from the deceased. According to Dayu criminal law, if no property was obtained, each is to receive fifty lashes, spared the tattooing; for assaulting a government employee and breaking a limb, they should normally be punished with one hundred strokes and exile three thousand li. However, since they did not know Coroner Shang Jun's identity, and voluntarily surrendered, their punishment is mitigated by two degrees. Moreover, because they saw Coroner Shang entering the morgue with a knife and acted in self-defense due to a misunderstanding, Hu Wen and Hu Wu have justification, and their punishment is mitigated by another two degrees. For the two crimes together, the penalty is fifty lashes and twenty strokes. After receiving the punishment, they are permitted to retroactively register their households and find their own livelihood."

He looked at the two men and asked gently: "Do you submit to the punishment?"

Coroner Shang was dumbfounded.

How could the punishment be so light?

But then, thinking it over, a bitter taste rose in his throat, and he had nothing to say.

He had insisted he did not reveal his official identity before being beaten, so the two beggars were indeed without fault due to ignorance, and their crime should be reduced accordingly.

Before Hu Wen and Hu Wu could react, the crowd burst into cheers.

Jiang He nodded silently.

Though the two men had some suspicious points, they had cared for the little beggar and stolen only to save his life—displayed a certain chivalry.

If they were heavily punished, the people would be dissatisfied; if they were let off lightly, it would diminish the dignity of the yamen since the injured party was a government employee.

The magistrate's judgment was both lawful and humane—perfectly fitting.

Hu Wen and Hu Wu were overjoyed.

They were tough-skinned and used to being beaten and scolded by military officers in the army, so a few beatings were no big deal.

Most importantly, from now on, they would become officially registered, able to shed their identity as deserters. They no longer needed to save money to bribe the Village Head for household registration, nor live in constant dread. They had a chance at a peaceful life...

This was a blessing they'd never dared to dream of!

They hastily signed their confessions and accepted the punishment, barely containing their joy as they were taken away to be flogged.

One case closed, another began.

Le Wuya smiled: "Coroner Shang, it's your turn. Now, you..."

He observed Coroner Shang, seeing his pallid face, rapid breathing, and appearance on the verge of fainting. Considerately, he said: "I appreciate your dedication to duty, so I won't hold it against you that you used my name. Which corpse did you touch?"

Coroner Shang's breath caught, and he didn't dare faint anymore. He just lay prostrate with his head down, silent.

Le Wuya's brow furrowed slightly, and he teased: "Let me guess—it was Chang Xiaohu, wasn't it?"

Not only Coroner Shang, but Jiang He also trembled.

...That tone—how could it be so much like the Young General?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Le Wuya felt he had been a bit rash.

But he was used to being mischievous, and this gentleman's mask just didn't sit well on him.

He glanced at Jiang He, who was frowning, lost in thought, and then casually resumed his dignified demeanor: "Guards! Coroner Shang is injured. Bring in Chang Xiaohu's body."

Aunt Su, who had been listless on the side, suddenly raised her head and stared fixedly into the distance.

A stretcher carried Chang Xiaohu into the hall.

A sheet of white linen covered his thin, withered corpse.

Her Xiaohu had always been frail, small for his age, but this corpse looked even more pitiful than she remembered.

She had longed so much to see Chang Xiaohu; just a moment ago in front of the yamen, she was like a mad tiger. But now that she actually saw her son's body, she was frozen to the spot, unable to take a step forward.

Half a year ago, she had sued Xiaofu Coal Mine over Chang Xiaohu's death. That very night, the mine sent someone to her home, offering a decent sum of condolence payment, along with some threats that were soft on the surface but hard underneath.

"Aunt Su, please accept our condolences. But no matter how the yamen conducts its investigation, Chang Xiaohu's death can only be ruled 'accidental.' That is simply the truth."

You also know that Small Fortune Coal Mine is the property of Chen the Good, a man of high standing in our city. Taking in your frail son was a risk for him. To put it bluntly, if Little Tiger had died of illness in the mine, he would have had to pay an extra burial fee. Why not hire a strong, healthy worker? Isn't it out of neighborly kindness? How can you slander him so recklessly? Don't you feel ashamed?

If others see you repaying kindness with enmity, they might be reluctant to hire you for work in the future.

Without relatives to back her up, Aunt Su, alone and vulnerable, was indeed afraid.

She took the money and dropped the lawsuit, pretending not to see Scholar Ming's subsequent fuss, no matter how much he protested.

But she never expected to see her son, who had been buried underground, again.

Seeing Aunt Su stiff and standing motionless in the courtroom, Le Wuya ordered: "Escort Su out of the court."

She should not witness the following matters.

Aunt Su was distraught, tears streaming down her face.

Only when a jailer pulled her did she snap back to reality. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the ground, unable to speak coherently. She lay face down on the ground, her shoulders shaking, mumbling: "Your Honor, Great Magistrate..."

The jailer thought she was about to create a disturbance in the court and was about to use force, but then heard Le Wuya order indifferently: "If she wants to stay and watch, let her stay."

Little Tiger's death was so mysterious.

Aunt Su was illiterate and timid. But she was still a human being, and she still felt aggrieved and resentful, wanting to know the truth.

Le Wuya stepped down from the bench and lifted the white cloth covering the face.

Little Tiger had been buried for half a year, from summer to winter. His body was half-dried and half-rotten, with white bones exposed. The remaining skin was black and shriveled, tightly stretched over the skeleton. When the cloth was lifted, there was no foul odor, but the gawkers in front still instinctively covered their noses.

Le Wuya stared for a moment into the hollow eye sockets, which had rotted into two white cavities, and then looked down.

A cut had been made across the chest, the wound clean and neat.

Le Wuya did not question Coroner Shang, but said coldly: "Sun Ru."

Deputy Magistrate Sun, taken aback by being suddenly addressed, tensed up and quickly responded: "Here, Your Honor."

"You were so careless in handling this matter." Le Wuya pointed at the wound. "I was forced to exhume Little Tiger's body to review an old case. You neither informed the family nor preserved the body's integrity. You made mistakes at every step. What punishment do you think you deserve?"

Deputy Magistrate Sun sensed the coldness in his tone. His eyes fell on the shape of the wound, which was clearly not caused by digging or transporting. Then he recalled the fragments of testimony from the 'Hu brothers' earlier, and understood the gist of the situation: Well, the magistrate is playing dumb again.

He immediately knelt down: "Please allow me to explain, Your Honor. How could I dare slack off on a task you entrusted? Though those constables are usually careless, they were careful when digging. Little Tiger's body was placed in a thin coffin and well sealed. When removing the body, they pulled the white cloth from under it and carefully lifted it out. Therefore, this wound was definitely not caused during the exhumation. It seems... it seems..."

Le Wuya finished his sentence: "It seems like a knife wound, also consistent with the testimony of the 'Hu brothers'."

Le Wuya's deep eyes fixed on Coroner Shang, who was sweating profusely: "Coroner Shang, you have your usual autopsy knives. We can compare them. If the cut matches, it will be physical evidence; with the 'Hu brothers' eyewitness account, we have testimony."

"Shang Juncai, you snuck into the mortuary last night and tampered with Little Tiger's corpse. What were you up to?"

Coroner Shang realized things were going south and simply kept his mouth shut. The more he said, the more mistakes he would make. After all, the magistrate wouldn't understand...

Just as he thought this, he heard Le Wuya say coldly: "Since you refuse to speak and it's inconvenient for you to conduct the examination, why don't I take over your duty and perform an autopsy in public? How about that?"