BXBX NOVEL Chapter 152 - 152: The Case of Patricide
A widow and an orphan in a home that was falling apart and devoid of wealth; it was a household from which nothing could be gained. The Qingxian Society members saw no reason to visit such a place.
“Alright,” Lu Xuan nodded.
Lu Ping continued to document the state of the body. After instructing him to properly preserve the body, Lu Xuan left the scene with Cheng Lingzhu and a few yamen runners, following Li Xian towards Sun Hong’s home.
On the way, Cheng Lingzhu expressed her doubts, “I don’t think Sun Hong’s death was an accident.”
“How so?” Lu Xuan asked curiously.
“According to Li Xian, Sun Hong went out gambling every night and didn’t return home until noon,” Cheng Lingzhu explained. “If that’s the case, he should have been very familiar with the route. How could he have accidentally fallen in after walking it so many times?”
Lu Xuan nodded in agreement, “Moreover, the path by the river is wide enough for a carriage, and a normal person wouldn’t walk so close to the edge. Even if Sun Hong was drunk, after so many walks, his body should have adapted to the route, preventing him from walking into the river.”
After an incense stick’s time, they arrived at Sun Hong’s house.
“This really is a poor home,” Lu Xuan remarked.
The mud brick house was dilapidated and drafty, with several holes in the thatched roof from prolonged exposure to the elements. The fence, serving as the courtyard wall, was crooked with several gaps. The yard was barren except for some withered wheat ears spread out to dry, pathetically few in number.
Compared to Sun Hong’s house, even the house of He Zhao in the Dream Ruins City, shrouded in perpetual night, seemed like a mansion.
They soon met Sun Hong’s wife, Zhou Shi, and his son, Sun Fang. Zhou Shi was in her thirties but appeared much older, easily mistaken for someone in her fifties. Her joints were swollen from hard work, her hands calloused, and her hair was streaked with gray. Sun Fang, fifteen or sixteen years old, was thin and showed signs of malnutrition. His clothes were patched and faded, and a dirty red string with what appeared to be a longevity lock hung around his neck.
Sun Fang eyed the group warily as they entered. Zhou Shi, upon hearing of Sun Hong’s death, remained calm and silent. Perhaps after enduring Sun Hong’s abuse and disappointment, she had no tears left to shed. His death seemed more like a release for the mother and son.
The house’s furnishings were sparse. An eight-immortal table with a leg replaced by a stick, a sandpot with a half-pot of medicine on the table, and a dressing table with a small copper mirror were the most notable items. The dressing table, brought by Zhou Shi from her parental home, had almost been sold by Sun Hong several times for alcohol money, but Zhou Shi had fiercely prevented it.
“What were you both doing yesterday at noon?” Cheng Lingzhu suddenly asked.
“Two lords,” Zhou Shi bowed to them, “I’ve been ill with a cold these past few days and was resting at noon yesterday. Sun Fang was outside boiling medicine for me.”
Lu Xuan inspected the contents of the pot and nodded, “Indeed, it’s medicine for treating a cold.”
Cheng Lingzhu walked around the room while Lu Xuan examined the dressing table, shaking the copper mirror. After a while, they exchanged glances and left the room.
“Did you notice anything?” Lu Xuan asked her.
Cheng Lingzhu thought for a moment, “Let’s return to the yamen. Lu Ping might have made some discoveries by now.”
Back at the Qingxian City yamen.
“Did anyone come to lodge a complaint this morning?” Lu Xuan asked as he entered the main hall.
“Reporting to the lord,” Li Ming respectfully replied, “Two people came to report cases. The first was a dispute over land rights between neighbors, and the second involved an elderly woman accusing her son of being unfilial. As per your instructions, lord, I’ve recorded their statements after calming them down, awaiting your resolution.”
“Well done,” Lu Xuan commended, but with a homicide case at hand, he was not planning to address these two cases immediately.
“Has Lu Ping returned?” Lu Xuan inquired.
“Lord Lu has already returned and is examining the body in the backyard, Li
Ming informed.
“Lead us there.”
“Yes, lord.”
“Lord, lord, ” Lu Ping quickly approached as he saw Lu Xuan enter the yard.
While “lord” was a formal title, “lord” also indicated closeness and carried the connotation of “noble lord.” Despite his stutter, Lu Ping didn’t miss the chance to flatter the magistrate.
“What have you found? You seem anxious,” Lu Xuan observed.
“I found this… in the… palm of the… deceased,” Lu Ping slowed down his speech as he presented a wooden tray holding a coin.
“What is this?” Lu Xuan took the coin, examining it closely.
“It’s a ‘Ning Yuan Tong Bao’,” Li Ming exclaimed in surprise. “Such old coins are rare.”
“Old coin?” Cheng Lingzhu frowned.
“Ning Yuan was the reign title of the uncle of the grandfather of the current emperor,” Li Ming calculated, “That emperor ruled only for three years, during which this ‘Ning Yuan Tong Bao’ was minted. After his sudden death, his son ascended the throne but passed away within half a year… and then the throne went to the current emperor’s lineage.”
Li Ming didn’t elaborate further on the sensitive topic of imperial succession, but everyone understood the implication: the abrupt deaths of that Emperor Kang and his heir were likely connected to the grandfather of the current emperor.
“After ascending the throne, the emperor’s grandfather changed the reign title and issued new Great Kang coins, leading to the gradual decline in circulation of ‘Ning Yuan Tong Bao’… How did Sun Hong have one?” Li Ming wondered.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Xuan said, “This coin is evidence in this case; I will keep it for now.”
Lu Ping, without questioning, handed over the coin.
Around noon.
In the wheat field.
Sun Fang bent over, cutting a swath of wheat. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, splashing into the dirt. Wiping his sweat, his throat parched, he took a final sip of water from his bottle to moisten his throat.
Just as he was about to resume cutting wheat, two figures appeared in the field. Sun Fang recognized them: the new county magistrate and his advisor. He straightened up, his gaze cautious.
Magistrate Lu Xuan approached leisurely and extended his hand to Sun Fang, “Here, this is yours.” In his hand was a copper coin.
Sun Fang didn’t take it, instead stepping back, “Magistrate… What does this mean?”
Lu Xuan pointed at Sun Fang’s neck, “What hangs from the red string around your neck?”
Sun Fang looked down, “It’s my amulet.”
“Yesterday at noon, you killed Sun Hong, didn’t you?” Cheng Lingzhu said.
“Your mother was resting in the bedroom at that time because she caught a cold, ” Lu Xuan spoke, “After you set the medicine on the stove, you quietly left the house. You knew Sun Hong would return home along the path by the riverbank every day at noon, so you made preparations in advance.”
Cheng Lingzhu continued, “You wanted to kill Sun Hong, but knowing your own strength was weak, you thought of a… Cunning method. That Ning Yuan Tong Bao was your amulet. You took it off and placed it on the path by the riverbank. You deliberately lured the gambling Sun Hong to pick it up, bringing him close to the riverbank. At noon, with the sun bright, you stood on a slope far from the ditch, using the copper mirror from your home to shine light on Sun Hong. Drunk and staggering, Sun Hong lost balance when the reflected light from the mirror hit his eyes as he picked up the coin, causing him to fall into the ditch.”
“Is there anything incorrect in the advisor’s deduction?” Lu Xuan looked into Sun Fang’s eyes.
Sun Fang remained silent for a long time. Then, he reached out and grabbed the red string around his neck, pulling it hard. The string came off, hanging empty without anything attached..