Criminal investigation in ancient times

It can be regarded as coming back!Looking at the familiar room, Zhang Rui felt hot in his eyes.Although he didn't live in Tongzhou for a few days, he regarded Tongzhou as his home from the bottom of his heart.

After freshening up and eating something, everyone went back to their own rooms to rest. Zhang Rui lay on the bed that Uncle Han had made for him and sighed. Sure enough, he was comfortable in his own place.Suddenly remembering the letter found on the body of the deceased, he got up and walked to the desk, prying off the wax bit by bit, revealing the letter paper inside...

Zhang Rui took out the letter with two fingers, unfolded it, and the contents of the letter could be read clearly.But every sentence is understandable, but together it is as obscure as a code word.Fold the letter and knock it on the head. This letter may have used code words or other means. I don't know if it can be untied. Besides, this person is not sure. It can be concluded that this person has kung fu on him, and the wound looks like the murder weapon is soaked in poison. , this person was injured and died of poison when he ran to this ruined temple.

It seems that the deceased should have escaped from Tongzhou City, because there is no shop in front of the ruined temple, and the only one that is relatively close to Tongzhou City.If he could run there in an hour, it can be concluded that this person was injured in Tongzhou City.

Could it be that many things happened in the city in the past few months when I was away?After thinking about it for a while, I felt my head was swollen. I rubbed my temples and lay down on the bed. I didn't sleep well after running around for a few days, so I had to take a rest.

After sleeping until noon on the second day, Zhang Rui woke up and opened his eyes to see the bright sun outside. Zhang Rui rubbed the corners of his eyes, got up, changed into casual clothes and walked out.

Yesterday was still gloomy and windy, but today is surprisingly good, the sky is blue and there is not a trace of cloud.Seeing him wake up, Uncle Han said, "Master, are you hungry? The food is being cooked in the kitchen. I'll bring it to you when you get up and warm it up." "

As soon as Uncle Han reminded him, Zhang Rui touched his stomach and nodded. He was really hungry and deflated.He paced towards the gazebo in the courtyard, sat on the stone bench with his chin propped up, his head still muddy.

After a while, Uncle Han came over with the chopping board, put the vegetables and rice on the table and said, "Young master likes to eat them, and the old slave specially ordered the kitchen to make them."

Zhang Rui picked up his chopsticks and ate with a smile, "Uncle Han, did anything happen in Tongzhou City during my absence?

Uncle Han sat down on the stone bench next to him and said, "It's nothing serious, but a family came to report that their son was missing."

Zhang Rui swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "Lost?"

Uncle Han nodded, "It is said that he is a fool, about sixteen or seventeen years old, and he ran out to play some time ago, but he couldn't find anyone."

Zhang Rui nodded and ate the rice in the bowl, "What happened next?"

Uncle Han: "The adults in the mansion sent yamen servants to look for it, but they dropped the case when they couldn't find it."

After eating, the cloth towel wiped his hands and said, "Why didn't you see Zhou Yin, are they all up?"

Uncle Han was stunned and said: "My lord got up in the morning, went to your room and saw that you were still asleep and then left the mansion."

Zhang Rui: "Going out..." After saying that, he got up and walked towards the study.

Uncle Han looked at Zhang Rui's back and sighed heavily. It seemed that the two were really serious.

Yesterday, the subordinate officials recorded all the big and small things that happened in Tongzhou City and presented them to Zhang Rui for review. This was also the task left by Zhang Rui before he left.

A hasty look at them is all trivial matters, and there are more businessmen passing by, and all kinds of thieves are also emerging one after another. Although the gangster spirit in Tongzhou has been suppressed, there are too many evils left. People's congresses are used to this kind of stealthy behavior. Small thieves who are caught and turned over to the government will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane if they steal the money once, seventy if they steal money, and they will be detained for one year or exiled to the border for more than three times.Even so, thieves still emerge in endlessly.

Most of the merchants on the road brought groceries, and occasionally some delivered herbs.These thieves have mastered the law after stealing a lot, and they steal very little every time. First, it is not easy to be discovered, and second, even if they are caught hitting the board, they will pass away, causing theft to be prevalent in Tongzhou for a while.

Zhang Rui added a note in the sentencing: Anyone who steals will be caught for the first time and executed according to the criminal law, and the second time he will be exiled directly!Once this rule was changed, the trend of theft was immediately extinguished, and the businessmen who came and went were relieved a lot, and no longer had to worry about being frequented by thieves.

It was not until the afternoon that Zhou Yin came back from the outside, and Zhan Qing followed him carrying a bunch of things.

Seeing this, Zhang Rui asked, "What did you buy?"

Zhou Yin: "I bought two sets of clothes for you and me. I see that you only have two sets of clothes for a change of clothes in the past few months."

Zhang Rui touched his nose and said in his heart: Obviously he didn't take it because he thought it was troublesome.

Zhou Yin walked up to him and said, "I don't know if it fits well. I guess the size I measured with my arm should not be wrong."

Zhang Rui: "When did you measure the size with your arm?"

Zhou Yin raised his eyebrows and smiled next to his ear: "I measured it at night when I went to bed."

Zhang Rui's ears turned red, he looked at Zhan Qing behind Zhou Yin, and coughed dryly in embarrassment.

Zhan Qing Wangtian behind him: I didn't hear anything.

"My lord, something strange was found on my corpse!" He Ming was wearing a gray robe, with gloves made by Zhang Rui on his hands, and a mask on his face, looking like a modern forensic doctor!Let Zhang Rui look at him shaking his head, pointing to his clothes and saying: "Why are you dressed like this?"

He Ming stretched his fingers and said: "My lord, these gloves are so easy to use. I asked my embroiderer to order more than ten pairs of these gloves for me. I don't have to worry about holding things with my hands when I disembowel a corpse in the future. The mask is also good. , take it with you to prevent the dirt from splashing into your nose and mouth."

Zhang Ruidao: "Yes, these two are quite suitable for you. By the way, what do you say is the strange thing?"

He Ming said: "Your Excellency, follow me to see."

Several people went to the mortuary room and saw that the corpse was still sitting on the table, because the body was already stiff after death and could not be laid flat at all.

He Ming pointed to one of the feet and said, "My lord, I found a tattoo on this man's ankle, look." He lifted up the trousers of this man, revealing a tattoo, but what does this tattoo mean?

Zhou Yin: "I think this seems to be a code, or a totem."

Zhang Rui shook his head: "Maybe it's some kind of script or... the Xiongnu language? But the Huns are generally clear-cut, and this person clearly looks like a person from the Great Zhou Dynasty," Zhou Yin asked the secret guard to take a look, the secret guard He glanced at it and said, "This is the meaning of wolf in the Huns."

Zhang Rui: "Wolf?! It's really a Xiongnu character!"

He Ming took off his mask and said, "Is this person related to the Huns?"

Zhang Rui snorted coldly: "I'm afraid that's not the only thing. This person may be the secret agent of the Xiongnu in Dazhou. But why did he die outside the city of Tongzhou?"

Several people couldn't figure it out. Forget it, this person's identity was suspicious, and he didn't have any tokens to prove his identity, but he couldn't judge any useful information from a tattoo.The only thing that can be checked is that strange letter...

"My lord, someone is carrying a dead body at the gate of the government office to sue someone for murder!" The office worker hurried in and knelt down and said.

Zhang Rui said: "Go, go and have a look!"

Before he reached the lobby, he heard crying. Zhang Rui listened carefully and felt that although the crying was miserable, it was not sad but had a little fear, so he couldn't help but become suspicious.

Went to the back hall to change the official uniform, walked into the hall and saw a corpse covered with a white cloth parked in the hall, Zhang Rui waved his hand, and the yamen servant next to him lifted the white cloth, everyone was surprised immediately, the corpse was soaked in water and rotted It's as thick as two people, with a head the size of a basketball.Zhang Rui waved his hand hastily, and the yamen servant covered the white cloth.Kneeling next to her was a woman in white, crying with a handkerchief in her hands.

"Crack!" Zhang Rui patted the startled wood and said: "Who is in the hall to report their names, what is the so-called matter, and who are they going to sue?"

The woman sobbed twice and said: "The woman's name is He Cuihua, and she was a citizen of Hejiagou Village ten miles away from Tongzhou. The deceased was the husband of the woman. A few days ago, the husband of the woman made an appointment with Yang Er from the village to come to Tongzhou together. I was doing work in the city, but after a few days, Yang Er came back first by himself, but my husband did not return. I went to ask him, and he said that my husband would come back after a few days after taking over private work. I was really anxious to wait. I went into the city alone to look for him, but I didn't expect him to..." After saying that, he began to cry.

Zhang Ruidao: "Who are you suing?"

The woman wept and said: "The woman...the woman sued that...that high door wooden frame. The woman learned from Yang Er's mouth that my husband died working on this high door wooden frame."

Zhang Rui frowned and said to Zhu Bo next to him, "What does this tall wooden square do?"

The master Bo Gong cupped his hands and said: "Sir, this high-door wooden frame is a wooden frame made by a family in the city, because the furniture of his family is well-made and the materials are good. If there are married people in the city, most of them order furniture here. .”

Zhang Rui nodded, so the dead man was a carpenter. "You said that your husband went to the city a few days ago to work in Gaomen Mufang?" He Cuihua nodded.

"Is there any evidence?"

He Cuihua said: "The people in Mufang have all seen my husband."

Zhang Rui: "Tell the shopkeeper of Gaomen Mufang."

After a stick of incense, a tall and thin middle-aged man was brought to the yamen. When the shopkeeper saw Zhang Rui, he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Grassmen are noble and respectful."

Zhang Ruidao: "The hall is the shopkeeper of Gaomen Mufang?"

The man nodded hastily and said, "It's the little one."

Zhang Rui pointed to the corpse next to him and said, "Do you know this corpse next to it?"

The yamen servant lifted the white cloth, and the shopkeeper turned his head to look and was so frightened that he leaned back and trembled and said, "Old man... my lord, I really can't tell who this is."

Zhang Rui squeezed his earlobe and said, "He Cuihua, tell him who this is?"

He Cuihua put down her handkerchief and turned her head, "This is He Dayong, working on your wooden fence."

The shopkeeper thought for a while and said: "This...He Dayong did come to our Mufang to do a few days of work, but two days ago he said that he had something to go home at home, and he paid half a penny of money from me. , Could it be that there was an accident on the road?"

He Cuihua cried even more when he heard what he said, pointing to shopkeeper Gao and said: "You are clearly denying that my husband did something while working there, but you said that something happened to him on the road. I haven't sent him a letter, so why is there something wrong with his family?!"

The shopkeeper was so angry at her questioning that he hurriedly cupped his hands to Zhang Rui and said, "My lord, I really don't know how He Dayong died. He and the shop assistants heard it when he paid the money. If you don’t believe me, you can call the guy who worked in the store a few days ago to ask.”

Zhang Rui nodded, seeing that his face was flushed and he was gasping for air, so he knew he was not lying.But He Cuihua said that she never brought the message to Tongzhou, so why did He Dayong go home with the money from the shopkeeper?

"He Cuihua, where was your husband's body found?"

He Cuihua said: "It was salvaged by fishermen by the Tongzhou River."

Zhang Rui: "Then what evidence do you have that this wooden frame killed your husband?"

He Cuihua murmured: "There is no evidence for this... the woman, but..."

"Crack!" Zhang Rui knocked on the gavel, "He Cuihua, you have no evidence to prove that your husband was killed in Gaomen Mufang, and you sued innocent people indiscriminately. I will beat you ten boards as punishment. Do you accept it or not?"

When He Cuihua heard that she was going to hit the board, her face turned pale with fright and hurriedly kowtowed: "The girl knows her mistake, please forgive the girl."

Seeing her flustered expression, Zhang Rui waved his hands, and Zhang Rui waved his hands. The servants on both sides took out their court sticks, drove the woman onto the bench and beat her up.

Although there are not many ten court rods, it is already a severe punishment for a delicate and tender woman.She yelled as she was hit straight, and a little blood was printed under the hem of her white clothes.

After the execution, he left the hall. The woman was still crying, but when she stood up, she had a resentful expression on her face. Zhang Rui gave Duan Xiaobai a look, Duan Xiaobai nodded, and secretly followed the woman After leaving the lobby, the body was also carried down by several yamen servants.

"Leave the hall!" As he said, he lifted the hem of his clothes and got up to leave.

He Cuihua came out of the government office and rubbed her spanked buttocks "Ouch, Ouch", and spat at the corpse next to her, "Damn ghost, it's really hard to get some money from you!" Then she yelled to the side A driver pulling the legs pulled the body away, the driver waved his hand in fright when he saw the dead man and said: "I dare not pull it, madam, I'd better find someone else."

He Cui pinched her waist angrily and scolded: "My old lady will lose your money! Thirty big money, can you take it?!"

The coachman was a little scared, but also worried about the big money, he hesitated for a while and nodded, "I don't know where Madam is going to take this corpse?"

He Cuihua snorted coldly and said, "Take the mass grave."

Zhang Rui left the hall and walked towards the back, Zhou Yin saw him in the back hall and clapped his hands and praised: "Our Rui'er is getting more and more capable."

Zhang Rui blushed and covered his cheeks and said, "Your teeth are sore, how did you learn from Xiao Ze?"

Zhou Yin walked up to him and hugged him around the waist and said, "This king likes your arrogance in handling cases."

Zhang Rui stretched out his hand and hooked his chin and said, "How would you like me to interrogate you?"

Zhou Yin shook his head with a smile and said solemnly: "Just now, I saw that woman behaving strangely, and she doesn't look like a good person."

Zhang Rui nodded, "I have already sent Xiao Bai to follow her. I suspect that the deceased may still be related to this woman."

Not long after, Duan Xiaobai came back in a hurry and said, "My lord, that woman bought her dead husband a straw mat and threw it in a mass grave."

Zhang Ruidao: "Immediately send someone to stop that woman and bring her back to the yamen!"

Duan Xiaobai cupped his fists and said, "Obey!"

After a while, He Cuihua was brought back, she knelt on the ground and looked at Zhang Rui with a helpless face, and said, "I don't know why the Lord called the women here?"

Zhang Rui knocked on the gavel and said: "He Cuihua, I ask you, where is your husband now?!"

He Cuihua flinched in fright, her face turned pale, she opened her mouth and said, "The husband of the civilian woman has...sent someone to send her back to Hejiagou."

Zhang Rui said angrily: "You naughty woman, I sent people to follow you, and you clearly saw that you wrapped your husband in straw mats and threw them in a mass grave, how dare you argue!"

He Cuihua was so frightened that she hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "The women did bury their husbands' bodies in mass graves. The women have no choice but to save on food and drink without Dayong. There are elderly parents-in-law at home. Spending money to buy a coffin for him is really not worth the money."

Zhang Rui got up and walked down the hall, circled He Cuihua three times and pulled out a silver hairpin from her head, and her hair immediately fell down.He Cuihua was startled, and stretched out her hand to touch her head.

"If my guess is correct, this hairpin is worth two taels of silver, right?"

He Cuihua sighed, "It's worthless..."

Zhang Rui sneered and threw the hairpin back on her body and said, "You have been married to He Dayong for many years, and now your husband died unexpectedly. A thin coffin only costs three hundred cash, which is actually not worth one of your hairpins!"

He Cuihua knelt on the ground and stopped talking.

Zhang Rui went back to the top, picked up the gavel and knocked on it: "He Cuihua! I ask you if He Dayong was killed by you!"

He Cuihua was so frightened that she hurriedly shook her head: "I am wronged, my lord! How could a commoner murder her own husband! Your lord has learned a lesson!"

Looking at her tricky face, Zhang Rui shook his head and said, "It seems that you won't tell the truth without torture! Come here, bring up the splint. If you don't call out the murderer today, I will arrest you." Fingers snapped off!"