Lady, escort the emperor! 11
Chapter 11: Ingenious Use of the Law Book
In the courtroom, Chang’an County Magistrate Pei Zhe felt his head about to explode.
A murder had occurred within his jurisdiction—not a small matter.
It would have been manageable if it were an ordinary murder, but the victim was a renowned Chang’an merchant. He not only held a high position in the business world but also had close ties to certain high-ranking officials in the court.
It happened to be his fiftieth birthday last night, and numerous guests stayed overnight at his house. These guests were all influential figures—some wealthy merchants, others court officials like the victim himself. Letting them go and then investigating each one individually would be a hundred times more troublesome. But keeping them all and questioning them one by one was equally impractical.
The cacophony of their voices was giving him a headache. Pei Zhe picked up the sounding block, about to restore order, when a hurried voice suddenly came from outside.
“Stop! Let me handle this!”
The voice sounded familiar. Pei Zhe looked up and saw a familiar figure.
His heart sank. Things were already chaotic enough; this young master adding to the confusion would only make matters worse.
Though displeased, he maintained a smile, personally greeting the newcomer and apologetically saying, “Young Master, as you can see, I’m rather preoccupied at the moment. I’ll properly attend to you once I’ve solved this case…”
Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. Good, the case hadn’t been solved yet.
He smiled and said, “Investigate your case; I’ll just watch from the side. I won’t disturb you.”
Pei Zhe chuckled, returned to his seat, and continued reviewing the testimonies.
He had initially planned to emulate Li Nuo’s method—having everyone write down what happened last night in detail, both forward and backward, to determine who was lying and pinpoint the suspect. However, it was the deceased’s fiftieth birthday banquet last night, and almost all the guests had been drinking, many sleeping soundly through the night, unable to recall anything, let alone recount events in reverse.
While that method was clever, it was inapplicable to this case.
Li Nuo, standing aside, saw the County Magistrate’s furrowed brow and asked, “Magistrate Pei, have you found anything?”
Pei Zhe shook his head. “I’ve investigated all morning, to no avail.”
Li Nuo pondered and asked, “Should I give it a try?”
Pei Zhe turned to Li Nuo, his eyes full of disbelief. “You?”
It wasn’t that he looked down on Li Nuo; this case involved too many people with absolutely no leads. He’d interrogated them for a whole morning and found nothing.
Zheng Yuanwai, the deceased, was known for building bridges and roads, distributing porridge and alms, and being kind to others. He had no apparent enemies; there wasn’t even a suspect. How could this be investigated?
Only if his father, Li Xuanying, intervened would Pei Zhe see a glimmer of hope.
Li Nuo smiled slightly. “We’re not getting anywhere; might as well let me try?”
Pei Zhe asked, “How do you plan to investigate, Young Master?”
Li Nuo didn’t actually know how to investigate; that was the job of detectives. As a judge, his role was to judge, and he was self-aware enough to know that in terms of intellect, he was no match for figures like Bao Zheng, Di Renjie, or Sherlock Holmes.
But he had the Law Book.
He just needed to imprison everyone, write a verdict based on murder charges, and observe the Law Book to see if the portrait of the perpetrator appears, if their lifespan has increased—that would tell him if they were the culprit. With so many people, it was merely a matter of using a bit more ink.
If the killer was among them, he would eventually find them.
The only issue was the post-investigation explanation. He couldn’t let anyone see him writing the names. Li Nuo looked at the County Magistrate and said, “This place is too chaotic for an interrogation. Let’s confine them to the jail first.”
Pei Zhe raised an eyebrow, then said, “Young Master, that’s not advisable. Most of these individuals are influential; some are even court officials. Though their ranks are not high, they still hold official positions…”
Li Nuo glanced around, estimated the number of people, and said, “The courtroom is too disorderly; the jail is quieter, more suitable for questioning. I guarantee I’ll have them released within two hours…”
The County Magistrate considered this, then nodded slightly, striking the sounding block a few times. The courtroom gradually fell silent.
He cleared his throat. “I understand everyone’s feelings, but you are all friends of Zheng Yuanwai. I’m sure you wouldn’t want the culprit to go unpunished. Please temporarily move to the jail. I guarantee the questioning will be over in two hours, and you can all return home…”
As soon as the County Magistrate finished speaking, a low murmur arose in the courtroom.
While some grumbling and complaints persisted, they mostly accepted the County Magistrate’s words. After all, it was a murder case; they’d waited all morning; waiting another two hours wasn’t a big deal.
A quarter of an hour later.
Inside the Chang’an County Yamen jail.
This was Li Nuo’s first time in a jail. He had expected the ancient prison to be dirty, messy, and poorly maintained, but he was pleasantly surprised. While the various torture instruments hanging on the walls were intimidating, the cells were relatively clean. Besides being cold and damp, there were no unpleasant odors.
Last night, Zheng Yuanwai’s banquet had many guests, some of whom stayed overnight due to intoxication. Including the Zheng family servants, the case involved over two hundred people.
To temporarily detain them, the County Magistrate divided them into five cells.
Twenty-odd officials occupied one cell, the women another, and the rest were dispersed among the remaining three.
“Villain!”
As Li Nuo passed a cell, a familiar voice rang out.
He turned and saw the female assassin glaring fiercely at him from inside a cell.
Li Nuo ignored her, his gaze fixed on the hovering Law Book.
Now, the portraits on the Law Book had increased from two pages to four.
The moment everyone was locked up, the Law Book had suddenly added two pages. One page depicted a handsome man, the other a young woman. The woman’s portrait was colorful and bright, like the previous two; the man’s was a dull black and white.
With a glance, he quickly located both individuals in two separate cells.
He had underestimated the mysterious Law Book. Apparently, there was no need for interrogation; once the culprits were jailed, their portraits would appear in the Law Book.
This saved even the ink.
However, his lifespan on the cover hadn’t increased yet. The number would likely change after the verdict.
Although he had identified the culprits, he couldn’t just convict them without due process. Li Nuo sat down at a table in the jail and said to the County Magistrate sitting beside him, “Magistrate Pei, you can bring them over now.”
Of those detained, the most important were the court officials. According to the law, county yamen could detain officials of rank seven or above for a maximum of two hours. After two hours, they either had to be released or transferred to the Ministry of Punishment or Dali Temple. Therefore, Pei Zhe had the highest-ranking middle-aged man brought out first.
The richly dressed, corpulent man sat down at the table with a swagger, showing no respect for Pei Zhe. “Magistrate Pei, get to the point. I have official business to attend to.”
Pei Zhe shook his head. “It’s not I who will be questioning you, but this young master.”
Only then did the official notice the young man seated in the main position. His brows furrowed, but he didn’t get angry. Instead, he asked first, “Who is this person? What is his official rank and title?”
Although he was a sixth-rank official, two ranks higher than a local county magistrate, this was Chang’an, a city teeming with officials and nobles. A mere sixth-rank official couldn’t afford to offend many people.
The County Magistrate shook his head. “He holds no official position or title.”
Hearing this, the Vice-Minister of Justice knew he could get angry. He immediately shouted, “No official position? What gives him the right to interrogate me? What’s going on with your Chang’an County Yamen? Can just anyone interrogate court officials…”
As a Vice-Minister of Justice, a sixth-rank official, being interrogated by the Chang’an County Magistrate was one thing; though he looked down on the Chang’an County Yamen officials, Pei Zhe’s rank was two levels higher, so it wasn’t a loss of face.
This young man, besides his handsome looks, had no air of authority, certainly not from a noble family. With no official position or title, how dare he interrogate him?
Facing the enraged Vice-Minister, the County Magistrate calmly and slowly said, “He is Master Li’s son.”
“So what if he is Master Li’s son? Does that give him the right to break court rules…?” Even if he were the son of the Prime Minister, without an official position, he had no right to interrogate court officials. He had done nothing wrong and had nothing to fear. The Vice-Minister’s anger was still simmering. He said a sentence, then seemed to realize something, his expression freezing. He cautiously asked, “Which…Master Li?”
The County Magistrate smiled slightly. “Master Li Xuanying. Minister Zhang, you must be more familiar with him than I.”
As soon as Pei Zhe finished speaking, the Vice-Minister of Justice, whose bottom had been firmly planted, shot up instantly. A smile plastered itself on his chubby face. He rushed to Li Nuo, humbly bowing, slapping himself while apologetically saying, “My eyes are blind! I didn’t recognize the Young Master. Please forgive me, Young Master. Ask whatever you want; I will answer truthfully…”
(End of Chapter)
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
0 Comments