Lady, escort the emperor! 41
Chapter 41: Homicide
Li Nuo had been at the Chang’an County Office for several days. Today was the first time he met the County Assistant Magistrate and the County Magistrate.
In a county, the County Magistrate is the chief official, while the County Assistant Magistrate and the County Magistrate are subordinate officials. Their responsibilities are to assist the County Magistrate in handling government affairs. The County Assistant Magistrate can be understood as the deputy County Magistrate, and can temporarily take over the County Magistrate’s duties if the County Magistrate is absent for some reason. The County Magistrate is specifically in charge of apprehending thieves and bandits, equivalent to the county’s Public Security Bureau chief in later generations.
Li Nuo remembered that in ancient times, in most cases, the County Assistant Magistrate and County Magistrate’s ranks differed greatly, and the County Magistrate was even further behind, a small official barely within the ranks. However, in this world of Da Xia, it seemed that in order to balance the power of the County Magistrate, the ranks of both the County Assistant Magistrate and County Magistrate were not low.
The Chang’an County Magistrate was a fifth-rank official, the County Assistant Magistrate a sixth-rank official, and the County Magistrate a seventh-rank official. All were directly appointed by the court. Pei County Magistrate, as the head of the county, could not act arbitrarily within the County Office.
But judging from the obsequious attitude of the two towards Pei County Magistrate, although Pei Magistrate was cowardly in front of his wife, his skill in managing subordinates seemed quite good. Both Zhang County Assistant Magistrate and Wang County Magistrate were extremely respectful towards him.
With the County Assistant Magistrate and County Magistrate in the County Office, Pei Zhe no longer needed to handle everything personally.
Tasks such as encouraging agriculture and sericulture, collecting taxes and levies, promoting education, and caring for orphans and widows were handled by Zhang County Assistant Magistrate. The dirty and tiring work of apprehending thieves and bandits was actively taken over by Wang County Magistrate. The task of hearing lawsuits and passing judgment was entirely entrusted to Li Nuo. The County Magistrate himself only needed to drink tea and take naps in the back hall, or use the excuse of incognito inspection to go to Feng Qi Lou to aid those poor women…
What more could an official ask for in life?
Unfortunately, all gifts from fate come with a hidden price.
There was a reason why Zhang County Assistant Magistrate and Wang County Magistrate had become so obedient. They weren’t afraid of him, but of the Minister of Justice behind him.
No, what Minister of Justice was behind him?
But everyone thought so, leaving him in a predicament where he couldn’t explain himself even if he tried.
Pei Zhe sighed. For over ten years, he had been extremely cautious in everything he did, unwilling to be drawn into the disputes of the officialdom. Yet, he still couldn’t escape.
He could only comfort himself that even if he was forced to choose a side, he was siding with the powerful Minister of Justice. At least until the Minister fell from power, he himself would be absolutely safe. Not only safe, but he could also have free rein in the Da Xia officialdom. If Prince Chun succeeded to the throne later, he would also have the merit of assisting the ascension of the new emperor, and his position might even be raised further…
Pei Zhe had just changed his clothes and was about to go out to observe the people’s conditions when Wang County Magistrate rushed in, saying in a low voice, “Not good, Magistrate Pei, a major case has occurred!”
Judging from Wang County Magistrate’s expression, this case was not a small one. Pei Zhe forgot about going out and rushed to the main hall of the County Office.
Upon reaching the main hall and seeing the two bodies on the ground, Pei Zhe turned around, leaning against the wall, and vomited violently, spewing out the breakfast he had just eaten.
Li Nuo, a little further away, wasn’t feeling any better.
He had just finished vomiting.
He had been mediating a marital dispute when he heard about the homicide. He didn’t even bother finishing the case, running out immediately.
After all, ten of those small cases only added a single day to his life expectancy, while solving a homicide case added at least ten days, a hundred small cases equaling only one homicide.
If the murderer was a high-level martial artist, the increase in lifespan could be many times the ten days, a massive jump.
So Li Nuo rushed out.
And he retreated just as quickly.
The two corpses lying in the courtyard had apparently been burned and then soaked in water for an unknown period, a horrific sight beyond description. Li Nuo had handled many criminal cases, but he was only responsible for sentencing, never attending a crime scene. This gruesome scene was a major visual shock, almost making him vomit up his previous night’s dinner.
Most of those present were leaning against the walls to vomit. Only Wang County Magistrate and the constables who frequently attended crime scenes could stand normally, but most of their faces were pale.
Pei Zhe ordered someone to carry the bodies to the morgue. After a long while, his complexion finally improved.
He looked at Wang County Magistrate and asked, “What happened?”
Wang County Magistrate approached him, cupped his fists, and said, “Two fishermen reported the case. This morning, while fishing by the river, they discovered the two bodies in a cove. I have examined the area; it’s unlikely to be the primary crime scene. The bodies were burned and then submerged in water for a long time. The coroner couldn’t determine the exact time of death. However, according to the two fishermen, they fished in that cove all day on July 11th, and the bodies weren’t there then. Based on the appearance of the corpses, we estimate the time of death to be between July 12th and July 15th…”
Li Nuo clearly remembered July 12th, as that was the day he had time-traveled.
Today was July 19th, meaning that about seven days had passed since the murders, roughly around the days he had arrived.
Wang County Magistrate continued, “Both corpses are badly burned. The woman has a fatal wound on her chest, and the man is headless, with a clean cut on his neck, indicating that his head was instantly severed by a sharp weapon before death. We suspect the killer is a martial artist of the Inner Breath Realm or higher. I’ve already sent people to nearby villages to investigate if anyone has gone missing recently…”
Wang County Magistrate was undoubtedly professional in investigating and pursuing criminals.
The first and most important step in solving a homicide is identifying the victims.
Only by identifying the victims could they investigate their relationships and determine the next step in the investigation.
Once the victims were identified, finding the murderer would be much easier for Li Nuo.
Judging from the cut on the male corpse’s neck, the murderer was likely a skilled martial artist. Apprehending him would add at least a month to his lifespan, something Li Nuo looked forward to.
That expectation lasted seven days.
During those seven days, the County Office’s constables conducted extensive investigations, but they couldn’t even identify the two victims, and the case reached a standstill with no progress.
Li Nuo was somewhat disappointed, but he couldn’t blame them.
The bodies had been burned and soaked; one was even headless. Without DNA testing technology, even their relatives might not recognize them.
According to Pei County Magistrate, among homicide cases in Da Xia, solving even one out of ten was considered good. Most cases remained unresolved.
Although the homicide case he had high hopes for remained unsolved, Li Nuo’s gains over the past seven days weren’t insignificant. After the case involving the son of the Examination Supervisor, the County Office’s credibility among the people had significantly improved. In these seven days, Li Nuo personally handled over a hundred cases, accumulating ninety-three days of life expectancy.
Compared to the three-day countdown he had half a month ago, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief after three months.
Tomorrow was a day off. Li Nuo planned to give Pei Magistrate and the others, as well as himself, a break and not go to the County Office.
He hadn’t had a single day off in the past half month.
He woke up early every day to go to the County Office, worked all day, sometimes without time for lunch, and after returning home, he would explain mathematics problems to Muru before reading until late at night. His life was incredibly fulfilling.
It’s just that he felt life was meaningless.
So he decided to take a day off to rest.
(End of Chapter)
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
0 Comments