Chapter 77: Fellow Travellers
After leaving the Song Mansion, Li Nuo and County Lieutenant Wang got on Butler Wu's carriage and headed straight for the crime scene.
County Lieutenant Wang remembered Li Nuo's instructions and came to him as soon as he heard about the murder. He didn't even have time to ask about the details of the case. He sent a group of detectives to seal off the scene and then reported the news to Li Nuo himself.
"Faster, faster!"
Worried about missing the time, Li Nuo kept urging Butler Wu along the way.
A moment later, in a neighborhood in Chang'an city.
A carriage stopped at the gate of the town and Li Nuo jumped off in a hurry.
From a distance, you can see a dark crowd ahead, with many people gathered there.
This is not the core area of Chang'an, and the houses in the area are low and dilapidated.
The people living nearby, including the detectives from the Chang'an County Government, were stopped outside a house.
Several other figures in uniforms were guarding the door with knives.
The uniforms they wore were very similar to those of the Chang'an County Yamen, but not exactly the same.
The constables and yamen runners of Chang'an County had the word "Bu" or "Ya" on the chest of their uniforms, while these men had the word "Xing" on their chests.
County Magistrate Wang was stunned when he saw this: "Why are people from the Ministry of Justice here?"
Li Nuo's heart sank, thinking to himself, oh no, is it too late, and someone has cut in?
He immediately walked through the crowd, but when he entered the yard, he was stopped by two officials from the Ministry of Justice.
The two men crossed their swords and blocked Li Nuo's way, saying coldly: "The Ministry of Justice is investigating the case, everyone else please stay away!"
An old constable stepped forward and said to Li Nuo and County Magistrate Wang, "Sir, the people from the Ministry of Justice had already come before we arrived, and they wouldn't let us in..."
County Magistrate Wang came over and said to the two men from the Ministry of Justice with a smile, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am the county magistrate of Chang'an. I am here to investigate a murder case. Please let me pass."
When they saw County Magistrate Wang, their attitudes softened slightly, but their tone was still unquestionable: "The Ministry of Justice has taken over this case. It has nothing to do with your Chang'an County Office. Sir, please go back."
County Magistrate Wang looked at Li Nuo, indicating that he was powerless.
Even though this is Chang'an County, Chang'an is also the Chang'an of Daxia. The Jingzhao Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple are all considered their superior offices.
The Ministry of Justice cannot take care of other things, but as long as the Ministry of Justice directly intervenes in cases that occur in the county, they will have nothing to do with it.
Li Nuo looked at the two criminal officials and said, "This case involves human life. Even if the criminal department intervenes directly, the Chang'an County Office has the right to know. Please give me some convenience..."
The two looked at him, unmoved.
It seems that there is no point in reasoning with them.
So Li Nuo looked at them and spoke again.
"My father is Li Xuanjing."
"Please, sir."
…
The two officials from the Ministry of Justice stepped aside, and Li Nuo, accompanied by Steward Wu and County Magistrate Wang, entered the courtyard.
There were several officials from the Ministry of Justice in the courtyard. When they saw the strangers coming in, the leader frowned, took a few steps forward, and was about to speak when a figure ran in from the door and whispered something in his ear. The man trembled and quickly stepped back.
Li Nuo looked towards a pomegranate tree in the yard, and saw a figure hanging under the tree.
She was an elderly woman with a cyanotic face, eyes rolled up, and a slightly protruding tongue. She looked a little scary at first glance.
Speaking of corpses, Li Nuo has seen much scarier ones. This time his mental state was pretty good. Although his face was still a little pale, he was not frightened to the point of vomiting while leaning against the wall like last time.
A woman in a black criminal uniform stood under the tree, looked at the body hanging on the tree, and picked up the stool that had been kicked to the ground. She said calmly: "The feet were hanging naturally, and the height of the stool was just right. Apart from the marks on the neck, there were no other injuries on the body. There was no trace of a second person at the scene. The neighbors around did not hear any shouting or fighting. It is confirmed that the deceased hanged himself. The time of death should be within six hours..."
She dusted off her hands and said regretfully, "It was a wasted trip..."
"Six hours, not bad..."
Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the woman.
She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, about the same height as his wife, and very beautiful. Even her temperament was somewhat similar to his wife's.
A head of shiny black hair, not carefully braided, tied casually behind the head, exudes a kind of heroic spirit.
However, although she is similar to my wife in many ways, the two are very different in terms of figure.
It's not that the woman is far inferior, it's that the wife is far inferior.
The ordinary uniform of the Ministry of Justice was turned into a uniform temptation by her. Her breasts were raised high and her waist was slender. If you look down, you can see another full curve...
Li Nuo looked at her once and stopped looking. No matter how beautiful she was or how nice her figure was, she was still a unique woman and no one could replace her position in his heart.
But it’s strange, although it was the first time he met this woman, Li Nuo always felt that she was very kind.
At this moment, the woman seemed to sense something and turned to look at Li Nuo.
The two looked at each other, and the woman's eyes showed a little surprise. She walked over slowly and said, "It's rare to meet a practitioner of the law, and she is about to enter the country. Unfortunately, she hanged herself, and you made a wasted trip..."
Li Nuo knew where his affection for this woman came from.
She is actually also a practitioner of law.
Being able to see through his strength at a glance, she must be at least at the second level of the Legalist realm.
This was the first person of the same kind he met.
And it was a woman.
Like Confucianism, Legalism requires people to become officials, but women in Daxia cannot be officials. Among Legalism, women are extremely rare, and even if there are some, most of them cannot reach a high level...
Li Nuo didn't know how she practiced. Not to mention a female legalist, even a female detective was the first time he saw one.
When someone else took the initiative to talk to him, Li Nuo nodded slightly to her as a courtesy, and then asked, "Who reported the case?"
The woman said: "She was the deceased's neighbor. She saw that the deceased had not gone out all day yesterday. She was worried and climbed over the wall to check. As a result, she found that she had hanged herself in the yard."
The first person to discover the deceased was a neighboring peasant woman. Li Nuo called her over and questioned her. Although the honest woman was stumbling, it was obviously because she was frightened and she did not pose any suspicion.
This peasant woman is definitely not the murderer.
Because the case happened less than a day ago and when she appeared within a ten-foot radius of Li Nuo, there was no new portrait added to the Code.
At this time, the woman looked at Li Nuo and said, "Don't waste your energy. I have investigated countless cases and can distinguish between suicide and homicide."
County Magistrate Wang also came over and whispered to Li Nuo, "Sir, based on my many years of experience in investigating cases, this old woman did hang herself."
If the old woman really committed suicide, then Li Nuo's trip was in vain. Without a criminal, there is no one to try and no one to judge.
But since he was here, Li Nuo had to at least ask her the reason for her suicide. Was she forced by life and took the initiative to seek relief, or was she forced by someone and had no choice but to commit suicide?
If it is the latter, even if the other party did not take direct action, he or she must bear certain legal responsibilities.
Li Nuo first had someone put the old woman's body down, move it into the house, and cover it with a white cloth.
Afterwards, he asked County Lieutenant Wang to gather the old woman's neighbors and ask them some questions about the old woman's life.
I learned from the neighbors that she moved to Chang'an from another place many years ago. Her family was poor, and she helped people wash clothes and weave cloth in exchange for some money.
Because she is kind to others, her neighbors would occasionally help her.
She has a son, and for more than ten years, the mother and son have depended on each other.
The old woman's son studied in an academy in Chang'an and seldom came home.
The old woman's neighbors said that her son was a good student with excellent grades, and she often showed off to her neighbors. After the incident, someone went to the academy to call him back.
When talking about this matter, the people sighed.
"Hey, Aunt Zhang is such a good person, why can't she let it go?"
"Yes, Han Zhuo is studying at Qingfeng Academy, and his grades are very good. It is said that he may pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi."
"Even if I don't pass the imperial examination, I can still be a private school teacher and make money..."
"What a pity! If she just holds on a little longer, good days will come soon..."
"Maybe she didn't want to burden her son. I remember Aunt Zhang said a few days ago that she seemed to be seriously ill. She probably didn't want to make her son worry. After all, he will take the imperial examination next year..."
"Poor parents in the world..."
…
County Magistrate Wang found some fine medicine in the main hall, which confirmed what the neighbor said.
At this point, the case seemed very clear. The old woman was seriously ill and did not want to be a burden to her son who was studying in the academy, so she chose to end her life so that her son would have no worries and could prepare for the exam with peace of mind.
Her death embodies the passionate and intense love of a great mother for her son.
Everyone present, whether they were onlookers or officials from the county government and the Ministry of Justice, were moved.
The woman even turned her head and wiped her red eyes.
The courtyard was silent. At one moment, hurried footsteps were heard coming from the door.
A scholar in a blue shirt, holding the hem of his shirt, ran into the yard quickly. He looked anxious and sweaty. As soon as he ran in, he immediately looked at a woman and asked in a trembling voice, "Aunt Zhang, my mother, what happened to my mother?"
Everyone had complicated expressions and didn't know how to start.
But at this moment, Li Nuo's eyes condensed slightly.
He raised his head and looked at the invisible code floating in the void.
Above the code, after a slight fluctuation, the fifth portrait appeared.
A bright colorful portrait.
There will be three more updates tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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