Mo Sang – CH 092

Chapter 92. Original Sin

Li Sangrou took a few steps back, watching Hei Ma and Zou Wang close the coffin lid, then turned to Lu Hepeng. “What should we do?”

“Manager Zou has already submitted the petition; the first step is done.

Magistrate Luo despises women showing their faces in public. He thinks Sister Qi brought it upon herself, perhaps even deserving of death. He certainly will not put much effort into this case or even investigate it thoroughly.

Most likely, he will simply ignore it. After a while, a report will be submitted, and given Magistrate Luo’s nature, it will probably be written as Sister Qi being unfaithful and bringing about her own death, or something like that.

Magistrate Luo is also very honest and upright, and not easy to suppress.”

“Then let’s investigate ourselves, find out the truth, and hand it over to him to arrest,” Li Sangrou suggested.

“That’s one way.” Lu Hepeng nodded quickly.

“Jin Mao, stay here to watch over things, and you two servants stay too. We are going to Liuzi Town. Sir, you should come along too. Once the investigation is complete, we will need to rewrite the complaint or anything else, like a confession. We will have to trouble you with that,” Li Sangrou immediately instructed.

The group agreed. Zou Wang led the way, with Li Sangrou, Hei Ma, and Lu Hepeng heading straight for Liuzi Town.

Liuzi Town was only about ten li from Linhuan County, and the group traveled quickly, arriving soon after.

Li Sangrou circled the place where Zou Wang had found Sister Qi, then headed straight for a melon shed not far away.

Li Sangrou was still a whole plot of land away from the melon shed when the old man who had been standing at the entrance, shading his eyes with his hand as he watched the commotion, jumped down from the shed and ran off in the opposite direction from Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou stopped, watching the old melon-watching man flee in a panic. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she turned to Zou Wang and asked, “Which family in Liuzi Town is the most powerful? What’s their background? Who are their family members? What’s their reputation like?

Also, are there any ruffians that no one dares to offend?”

“There are no ruffians that no one dares to offend.

There’s a family of local worthies, the Wang family, the one Sister Qi came to deliver the message to.

The Wang family’s father was an old scholar, a renowned teacher throughout Suzhou.

Scholar Cao from the city was a student of Old Scholar Wang. Scholar Shi from Fuli Prefecture was also said to be a student of Old Scholar Wang. Originally from Linhuan County, he moved his family to Fuli Prefecture after passing the imperial examination.

This Scholar Shi is now an advisor to Prefect Zhu of Fuli Prefecture and is highly valued.

Old Scholar Wang just celebrated his seventieth birthday last month and has an excellent reputation, described as having a venerable and otherworldly air.

Old Scholar Wang is an only son with two older sisters. His eldest daughter married Huang, the county magistrate, but both she and her husband have passed away. His second daughter was married into a wealthy family in Fuli Prefecture, though I have not yet found out which family.

Master Wang has two sons and two daughters. His eldest daughter died young. His eldest son and his family were all in Fuli Prefecture. His eldest son was studying under Scholar Shi. His second son, Wang Yide, has just turned twenty and is currently seeking marriage. He also has a daughter, sixteen this year.”

“You’ve done an excellent job,” Li Sangrou praised first.

He must have anticipated her thoughts. In just a day or two, this outsider, with almost no help, had been busy with the funeral arrangements for Sister Qi and seeking help to file a complaint, yet he still managed to gather such detailed information. The steward she had chosen was extremely capable.

“It’s all very easy to find out; I knew everything just by asking.” Zou Wang quickly bowed modestly.

“Let’s go over there.” Li Sangrou pointed to the town entrance.

At the entrance to the town, there was a small food stall that also served as a teahouse, bustling with activity.

The four of them entered the food stall, and the once lively place suddenly became eerily quiet.

Li Sangrou stood at the stall’s entrance, looking at each of the customers—diners, tea drinkers, and casual diners—one by one. After surveying the crowd, she pointed to a table occupied by only one person and asked with a friendly smile, “Could I have a seat?”

The customer that Li Sangrou pointed to grabbed his bowl of noodles, rushed to the side, and looked at Li Sangrou with a fearful expression, holding the bowl.

“Please sit down,” Li Sangrou said with a smile, gesturing to Hei Ma and the others.

Zou Wang smiled amiably and walked to the terrified restaurant owner. “What dishes do you have today? Could you cook us a couple? And have someone make us some tea.”

As he spoke, Zou Wang pulled out a dozen or so large coins and handed them to the young waiter standing next to the owner. “Go buy ten sesame seed cakes over there. You can use the rest to buy some candy.”

The waiter’s eyes lit up at the handful of coins, which easily amounted to fifteen or sixteen.

Ten sesame seed cakes only cost nine coins!

The waiter snatched the coins from Zou Wang’s hand, clutching them tightly in both hands, and ran towards the sesame seed cake shop.

“It’s a great coincidence to share a meal under one roof.

Old Zou, tell the shopkeeper to brew a few more pots of tea and buy some pastries. I will treat everyone to tea and snacks,” Li Sangrou said with a smile. “Also, for these gentlemen, whether it’s food or tea, put it on my tab. If they’ve already paid, have the shopkeeper refund them.”

The shop immediately became lively but also subtly chaotic. Several women pushed their children around, exchanging glances as they went to call for more people.

Li Sangrou glanced at the several teenagers running out and called out with a laugh, “Old Zou, tell the shopkeeper to buy plenty of pastries and lots of tea and cakes too.”

Zou Wang loudly agreed and repeated her instructions, raising his voice.

By the time Li Sangrou placed teacups and a freshly brewed pot of tea in front of her, the small food shop was packed with people, but not noisy at all; everyone was busy eating pastries and drinking tea.

One round of snacks followed by another of tea, and then another round of snacks was served, finally bringing life to the shop.

The shopkeeper brought over two steaming plates of food, and Li Sangrou reached out and pulled him to sit on the bench next to her.

“Shopkeeper, you’ve worked hard. Sit down and rest for a bit; have a cup of tea. It’s on me.”

As she spoke, Li Sangrou casually grabbed two large handfuls of copper coins from the satchel behind Hei Ma and stuffed them into the shopkeeper’s pocket.

“Here, this is a reward for you. You saw him a couple of days ago, did you not?” Li Sangrou pointed to Zou Wang.

The shopkeeper, clutching two large handfuls of coins wrapped in his robe—a hefty sum of forty or fifty coins—glanced at Zou Wang and gritted his teeth, saying, “I’ve seen him. Ah, I know what you want to ask. Ah, that day, everyone on the street heard it; the screams were horrible, utterly heart-wrenching.

You do not need to ask around. Such a tragedy. Who else could it happen to? Who else would dare?

Exactly!” The shopkeeper gestured forcefully.

“Second Young Master Wang?” Li Sangrou asked directly.

“Ah, who else but him?” The shopkeeper’s face was filled with fear, his voice extremely low. “Ah, so pitiful. I was nearby, and as soon as I heard someone screaming for help, I rushed over, only to be beaten back! I got whipped here.”

The shopkeeper turned to show Li Sangrou his back.

“It’s not that the people in our town are unkind, not just in our town, but for many li around, who dares to meddle with Second Young Master’s business?

To meddle with Second Young Master’s business is to have a death wish!

Sigh, you folks, sigh, you should just forget it. They are truly people we cannot afford to offend.

Besides, this is not the first time.

Last year, at the beginning of the year, there was an old beggar who came to this street begging for food. Right during the New Year, he was also…sigh, beaten to death in that grove, and then dumped in that ditch over there. Sigh, who dared to do anything about it?

Sigh, that one was even more pitiful. Not even someone dared to collect the body. We are all worthless people; we only have one life, right?”

The shopkeeper spoke, becoming sorrowful, wiping away tears.

“Thank you. I would not dare. He killed my person, and I will make him pay with his life.”

Li Sangrou smiled, picked up her tea, slowly sipped it, stood up, and instructed Zou Wang to pay the bill.

Several people came out, and after walking a short distance, Li Sangrou looked at Lu Hepeng. “The murderer has been found; what should we do next?”

“That depends on what the superiors do. If they are willing to investigate, they can arrest the murderer directly, and the truth will be revealed in a trial.

If the superiors shirk their responsibilities, then it will be difficult. The Wang family has a scholar, making them a gentry family and a respected elder in the village. In local matters, the respected elders are the first to judge right and wrong. In a murder case, the investigation will be led by the respected elders; this is all in the law.”

Lu Hepeng sighed.

The greatest difficulty in this case was that Magistrate Luo believed that Sister Qi, having shown her face in public, deserved to die.

“Let’s do what we are supposed to do first. No matter what they do, we will not be impolite.

Write a new complaint, and go to the county office with Old Zou again. See Magistrate Luo, appeal to his emotions and reason, use everything you can, and try to persuade him to thoroughly investigate this case,” Li Sangrou paused for a moment, then looked at Lu Hepeng and said.

“Alright!” Lu Hepeng nodded.

The Boss always put righteousness first, which was extremely admirable.

Lu Hepeng and Zou Wang hurried to the county office. Li Sangrou whispered to Hei Ma, “Go to the Wang family and see if Wang Yide is home. Make sure you see him clearly. Stay there until dark. If he does not seem to be trying to escape, go back after dark.”

“What if he tries to escape?” Hei Ma asked hurriedly. This was important; he had to find out.

“Then wait until he runs out of town, knock him unconscious, put him in a sack, and deliver him to our post station,” Li Sangrou ordered directly.

Hei Ma agreed and circled around, heading to the Wang family’s house, while Li Sangrou went back to Sister Qi’s house in the county town.

……………………

When Lu Hepeng and Zou Wang returned to Sister Qi’s house, it was already completely dark.

Hei Ma had just returned and was squatting beside Li Sangrou, watching her spoon-feed Guo’er a bowl of minced meat. He recounted how he entered the Wang family, who lived there, how he saw Wang Yide, and how Wang Yide was drinking and playing a game of pitch-pot with two young men about his age.

The Wang family was bathed in sunshine, peaceful and joyful.

Li Sangrou listened intently, her eyes slightly narrowed. Hearing footsteps, she turned to look at Lu Hepeng and Zou Wang, who entered one after the other.

“How did it go?” Li Sangrou asked, looking at the two men.

“Magistrate Luo said it’s too late today, and he will summon Wang Yide and Master Wang tomorrow for a proper interrogation,” Lu Hepeng said wearily.

“It’s just a perfunctory response.” Zou Wang looked at Li Sangrou bluntly. “Master Lu has tried everything, from kind words to harsh ones, and even turned on him once. Magistrate Luo is completely unmoved.

His implication is that someone like Sister Qi, who is so unchaste, not only runs around the city but also dares to run away, is courting death. A violent death is only a matter of time; she deserves it.” Zou Wang grew angrier as he spoke.

“Someone like Magistrate Luo, who has no worries about food and clothing, has buried himself in books since he was old enough to understand, oblivious to the realities of life. How could he know how difficult it is to live?” Li Sangrou’s tone was cold. After a moment, she sighed heavily.

“He even said that even if he starved to death, he could not lose his sense of morality and righteousness. Really, ugh!” Zou Wang spat angrily.

“Just leave two servants here to watch over things. Let’s find a guesthouse to rest properly; we still have several days of work to do,” Li Sangrou said, bending down to pick up Guo’er.

……………………

The next morning, Li Sangrou had Hei Ma buy mourning clothes. She personally bathed and washed Guo’er’s hair, then changed her into clean mourning clothes.

Jin Mao rushed in. “Boss! Manager Zou went to Liuzi Town with the yamen runners to summon Wang Yide. Master Lu said he’s waiting at the yamen and sent me back to let you know.”

“Alright, go keep an eye on him. Come and call me when he arrives,” Li Sangrou instructed.

The inn they had chosen was very close to the county yamen.

Li Sangrou fed Guo’er a small bowl of vegetable porridge, then placed the tired and dazed Guo’er on the bed. Watching her close her eyes, she herself lay down on another bed, closing her eyes to rest.

“Boss! Coming!” Jin Mao gently nudged Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou got up, looked at the sleeping Guo’er, gestured for Jin Mao to watch over her, and then, with Hei Mao, went out towards the county yamen.

The two went straight into the county yamen and stood at the entrance of the main hall, side by side with Zou Wang, watching Master Wang exchanging pleasantries with Magistrate Luo and Wang Yide following behind him, looking like a dutiful nephew.

After the pleasantries were finally over, Magistrate Luo gestured for Master Wang to sit down, then had someone bring another chair for Wang Yide to sit as well. Pointing to Lu Hepeng, he smiled at Master Wang and said, “This gentleman! He says he’s a clerk for Shunfeng Express and that he used to serve as an advisor in King Rui’s residence!”

Magistrate Luo emphasized the words “King Rui’s residence,” his face filled with disdain.

“They’ve been coming to me since yesterday, making a scene until today.

I really have no choice but to ask you, Master Wang, to come and explain things to me.

It’s about that woman’s corpse outside your town the other day. This Master Lu, he’s even trying to pin it on your son! It’s ridiculous!”

Magistrate Luo’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Master Wang, do not take it to heart. Our children would never do such a thing. Tell him what happened.”

“Yes,” Master Wang bowed and smiled. “As Your Honor knows, it’s my father’s seventieth birthday, and these past few days, there have been guests at home celebrating. My son has been keeping the children company.

As for the woman’s corpse, to be honest, Your Honor does not know yet.”

Master Wang stroked his beard, smiling intimately at Magistrate Luo as he spoke:

“That morning, I heard the night watchman report that a woman’s corpse had been found outside town. I sent someone to check, and they said it was swollen beyond recognition, and she had been dead for who knows how many days.

The night watchman and the cemetery keeper outside town both said that wild dogs had probably dug up a grave and dragged the body out. Alas, how pitiful.

The magistrate also knows that there is a cemetery outside Liuzi Town.”

“This cemetery is a testament to your good deeds,” Magistrate Luo said, bowing to Lord Wang with a smile.

“I dare not accept such praise; it is all thanks to Your Honor’s effective governance.

I immediately ordered them to find some monks to chant a few mantras for the deceased’s rebirth before reburying the woman’s body.

Later, because I was busy, I did not know what happened in between, but I heard that it was not the body in the cemetery, but that she had been murdered. To be honest, Your Honor, I was truly shocked.

Liuzi Town has always been known for its simple and honest people; I’ve never heard of such a tragedy, nor have I heard of such a wicked person in Liuzi Town.

Later, I heard that the deceased was Miss Qi from the city.

Does Your Honor know that Miss Qi was a prostitute who worked part-time?”

Magistrate Luo turned sharply, glaring at Lu Hepeng. “Do you know that Miss Qi was a prostitute?”

“Your Honor, this has nothing to do with the case of Miss Qi’s murder,” Lu Hepeng replied curtly and rudely, his patience long exhausted.

Magistrate Luo squinted at Lu Hepeng, sneering repeatedly, “A whore who sleeps with anyone—the fewer prostitutes like her in Linhuan County, the better the local customs will be—a blessing for all!

Thank you for making this trip, Lord Wang. This case is clear now. A prostitute brought it upon herself, and someone dumped her outside Liuzi Town. Hmph, such a despicable woman, deserving of divine punishment, only sullies the soil of Liuzi Town!”

Li Sangrou did not want to listen anymore and called to Lu Hepeng, “Master Lu, let’s go.”

Lu Hepeng quickly turned around and, together with Zou Wang, followed Li Sangrou and Hei Ma out.

Only when Li Sangrou spoke did Magistrate Luo notice her. He glared at her back and spat, “Neither man nor woman, what kind of behavior is this? A monster! A whore! Immoral! Shameless!”

Li Sangrou ignored him.

Lu Hepeng and Hei Ma ignored him. Zou Wang turned back and gave Magistrate Luo a cold glance.

“What do we do? I will go back and find Master Wen…” Lu Hepeng quickened his pace to catch up with Li Sangrou and asked in a low voice.

“We do not need him. Have you ever seen torture? Are you afraid?” Li Sangrou asked Lu Hepeng as they walked towards the inn.

“I have; I am not afraid. What do we do?” Lu Hepeng was stunned. Torture? Torture whom?

“Hmm, that’s good. Let’s have lunch first, then we will leave the city before dawn.” Li Sangrou’s voice was calm.

Zou Wang’s heart skipped a beat. Sister Qi had left the city around dawn, heading to Liuzi Town, never to return.