Sister Dies, Sister Remarries (Part 5)
Liu Xingjian nodded: "The government has long had a clear order that opening a gambling den is punishable as theft. Setting up a gambling den in public like this, this person must have lost his mind."
Zhebierjia cupped the copper coins in both hands, raised them above his head, shook them vigorously a few times, and threw them out. The wizard loudly called out "Yin" and "Yang" as he picked up the copper coins from the ground one by one.
“Five Yangs and two Yins!” Zhebierjia said smugly, glancing at me. “Your turn!”
Zhimo suddenly leaped up, spread his arms, and blocked my way, shaking his head desperately: "Qing Niangzi! Don't gamble! I know you want to help my sister get justice, but you can't help someone by risking your life!"
“Zhimo, listen carefully—your elder sister’s death is important to you, but it’s equally important to me and to everyone here! Don’t powerless people even deserve a chance to seek justice? I, Qingcheng, refuse to believe that the mountain god would be so unjust!” I pushed her away forcefully, took the copper coin from the shaman’s hand, and was about to throw it when a shout came from outside the room, “Stop!”
"Lord Wei!"
"Lord Wei!"
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw three people on two horses. Wei Ji jumped off his horse and threw the reins to Shi Yu. The person traveling with him was not Huai Xu, but Wu Bantou from the Yuezhou government office.
The onlookers automatically parted to make way, and Zhebierjia hurriedly stepped forward to greet him: "Your Excellency, Prefect."
Wei Ji stepped forward quickly and asked, "Chief Zhebi, the imperial court and the prefecture have repeatedly issued orders banning gambling, yet you are defying these orders. Why do you do this?"
Zhebierjia pointed at me and said indignantly, "Lord Wei, Qingniangzi from Batingdao brought a group of vagrants to my Niumendong to cause trouble at the funeral. I... I was forced into a corner by her!"
I laughed in anger at this man: "Zhebierjia, have some shame. Who was it that just now was saying they wanted to tie me up and sacrifice me to the mountain god? I told you to go to the side and do some divination, and you pulled out some copper coins and wanted to gamble your life with me. Who's really pushing me too far?"
Wei Ji approached, extended a hand towards me, and said in a stern voice, "Give me the evidence."
I replied "Yes" and poured the seven copper coins I was holding into his palm.
Wei Ji's face was stern as he fiddled with copper coins in his hand, turning to Zhe Bierjia: "As the head of Niumen Dong, you openly set up a gambling den in front of the coffin. If we're talking about making a scene at a funeral, who else but you?"
"My lord!" Zhebier slapped his thigh and complained, "You said 'ignorance is no excuse,' how was I supposed to know you would come all the way from Junlian to crack down on gambling? If I had known, I would have stayed in the mountains and never come out!"
After a slight pause, he cautiously asked again, "Lord Wei, are you here today to collect a debt? I would appreciate it if the government could grant me a few more days to repay the money borrowed for bridge repairs. I am confident that I can pay it back after selling this batch of loose tea after the holiday."
"I have come here today not to arrest gamblers, nor to collect debts." Wei Ji put the copper coins into his sleeve and said solemnly, "The new decree of Rongzhou Prefecture stipulates that in any area under the jurisdiction of the tributary prefectures within its territory, if an adult dies unexpectedly, the headman of the local village must immediately report to the government and await an autopsy. Only after the cause of death has been verified can the body be laid to rest."
"Zhe Bierjia, considering that you were unaware of the situation, I will temporarily waive your responsibility for concealing the truth. Right now, you must immediately dismiss the idlers and have someone carry the body back inside for the coroner to examine."
Zhebierjia seemed relieved and waved to the Dong people outside the house: "Disperse, disperse!" He then said to the coffin bearers, "We'll seal the coffin later, let's carry it inside first."
The Dong people were clearly unwilling to leave, but silently retreated a little further away. The shaman raised his bell-ringing token and led the coffin bearers back, with the people in the mortuary following behind, their expressions varied.
I pulled Shiyu aside and asked in a low voice, "Where is your sister Huaixu?"
Shi Yu replied, "The master asked Sister Huai Xu to go to the border market to find Inspector Guo, saying that he would send a team of archers to guard the body."
Nii's body was placed in the center of the main room again. Weiji ordered Aguercuo and the shaman who had examined the body earlier to stay behind; Aguercuo's family and Nii's family each sent a female relative to witness the event; the rest of the people waited in the courtyard to listen.
Wei Ji beckoned over Wu Bantou and introduced him to the crowd: "This is Wu Lei, a bailiff in the prefectural government. His family has been running a funeral business for over twenty years, and he also works part-time as a coroner in the government office. I have now assigned him to inspect the scene, and I hope you will all cooperate."
In an instant, the air inside and outside the main room seemed to freeze, so quiet that even breathing could be clearly heard.
Wei Ji nodded slightly and gestured to Wu Lei, "We can begin."
Wu Lei clasped his hands and replied, "Yes, sir." He then opened the rattan trunk he carried with him, took out some liquor and a white cloth, and carefully washed his hands.
Suddenly, with a muffled thud, Agur Tso, who was kneeling to the side holding the Niyiling tablet, collapsed to the ground.
Ercuo's mother screamed in terror: "Ercuo!"
The shaman quickly stepped forward, helped Agul Tso up, and pinched his philtrum and the space between his thumb and forefinger several times. After a while, Agul Tso let out a long sigh, slowly opened his eyes, and woke up.
Wei Ji frowned slightly and instructed Wu Lei, "Continue."
Wu Lei bent down and was about to lift the white sheet covering the body when Ercuo's mother suddenly rushed out from the side, forcefully pushed him away, and threw herself on Niyi's body, wailing, "My daughter-in-law's body must not be touched by any outsider! If word gets out, how will our Ercuo ever be able to go out in public again? Our whole family will be gossiped about by the villagers!"
Seeing this, Zhimo hurriedly went over and pulled her away, saying sternly, "Don't you dare touch my sister! Elder Awu can examine her, so why can't the uncle in the yamen examine her?"
Ercuo's mother blushed and retorted in a hoarse voice, "Elder Awu is a Liao person. He consulted a divination stick beforehand, and the mountain god gave his permission. Unlike him, who is not only a man, but also a Han Chinese!"
Agu's family members outside chimed in, "That's right! We can't let him test it!"
Zhimo was furious. He shoved Ercuo's mother and cursed, "You old hag, you're spouting nonsense! Your whole family has something to hide!"
"Pah!" Ercuo's mother glared angrily and scratched Zhimo's cheek with her hand. "You little slut, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The two women wrestled together, and Zhe Bierjia shouted at them, "Stop! Where are you going to find a woman to perform an autopsy in this remote mountain area? Aren't you putting the prefect in a difficult position?"
At that moment, Xu Sao, who was standing beside him, suddenly shouted, "I'll examine it!" With that, she pushed through the crowd and strode into the main room. "Your Excellency, Xu Sao, an exile, is a midwife from Yanziping. She has examined female corpses for the yamen in her hometown before. Today, she is willing to share your burden!"
Wei Ji raised his hand in greeting to her: "Then I will trouble you." His gaze swept over the crowd outside the house and settled on Zhebierjia. He said coldly, "Chief Zhebierjia, if you fail to control your people, I will hold you accountable."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhebierjia agreed repeatedly, then turned around and scolded Agu's family, "All of you shut up!"
Zhimo and Ercuo's mother finally let go of each other. Xu Sao calmly walked to the rattan box, first cleansed her hands with fire wine and white cloth, then took out a soft ruler, quickly peeled off the white sheet on the corpse, carefully measured it, and then reported loudly: "The deceased is a young pregnant woman, five feet one inch tall, with an intact head and no missing limbs."
Wu Lei picked up a pen and paper and recorded what he had said on the autopsy report. At the same time, the shaman next to him also repeated Xu Sao's autopsy report to everyone in Liao language.
Aunt Xu put away the measuring tape, then took out a bamboo stick and several pieces of white cloth from the rattan box, and began to examine Ni Yi's head, face and neck.
The air inside and outside the main room seemed to freeze again, and for a moment, it was eerily quiet.
Dozens of eyes were fixed on Xu Sao's every move. After a long pause, Xu Sao finally spoke: "Record: The head has a bun, and there is no damage to the hair; the ears and eyes are intact, the face is purplish and swollen, there are blood spots in the whites of the eyes, and the pupils are dilated; the mouth is open, the tongue is touching the teeth, there is blood and a foreign object between the teeth; the neck is purplish-blue, there are rope marks, and there are pinpoint skin lesions." After speaking, she handed the white cloth containing the foreign object to Wei Ji, "Please take a look, sir."
Wei Ji glanced at it briefly and said calmly, "Chief Wu, store it for inspection."
"Yes, sir." Wu Lei responded and took it, placing it on the tray.
Aunt Xu replaced the bamboo skewer with a new one and then examined Ni Yi's torso and limbs.
"Note: The torso showed no blunt force trauma, no bruising, and soft skin; the left elbow could bend, all left fingers could bend, the nails were dark with blood spots, and there were signs of cleaning and trimming; the right elbow could bend, the first phalanx of the right little finger was fractured, the other four fingers could bend, the nails were dark with blood spots, and there were signs of cleaning and trimming; the left knee could bend, and the left toes were intact; the right knee could bend, and the right toes were intact. In addition, the fetus had descended into the pelvis, the vulva was open, and there were signs of premature birth before death."
After the shaman finished repeating the last sentence, Aunt Nii suddenly burst into tears, repeatedly banging her head on the ground: "Mountain God! What sins have I committed, what sins have I committed!"
The Agu family members looked at each other in bewilderment. Some wanted to argue, but were forced back by Zhebierjia's sharp gaze and had no choice but to remain silent.
Agur Tso, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, was already pale and his body was trembling like a leaf, as if he was about to collapse at any moment.
Amid the sobs of Nii's family, Aunt Xu gently tidied Nii's clothes and hair, and slowly covered her with a white sheet. After washing her hands with spirits and a white cloth, she took the vermilion ink from Wu Lei and solemnly pressed her fingerprint onto the autopsy record.
Wei Ji said "Thank you for your hard work" to Aunt Xu, then turned around and instructed Wu Lei: "Examine the suspect Agur Tso for injuries."
"Yes!" Wu Lei picked up the examination paper and pen and strode towards Aguercuo. Aguercuo's family members all showed expressions of panic.
"What are you going to do to him?!" Seeing this, Ercuo's mother tried to stop her again, but Zhimo grabbed her arm tightly. Xu Sao came closer and lifted her other arm. Together, the two dragged the struggling Ercuo's mother to the corner of the wall.
Wu Lei directly addressed Agul Tso in the local dialect: "Extend both hands flat."
Agur Tso trembled and stretched out his hands. Wu Lei grasped his wrists, carefully examined his hands, and said, "Roll up your sleeves."
Agur Tso suddenly became agitated, crossed his arms over his shoulders, kicked his legs, and desperately tried to dodge backward.
Wu Lei stood on one leg, with the other knee pressing down on Agur Tso's legs. He forcibly pulled down Agur Tso's arms, grabbed his wrists with one hand, and quickly rolled up the sleeves of his clothes to his shoulders with the other.
Agur Tso cried out in pain as a fresh, bright red scar, the size of a coin, was clearly visible on the outside of his left forearm.
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