Qiu Yizhi sighed, "My brother is definitely not a reckless man. I wonder how many Hanlin scholars in the court can match his insight."
Yuchi Jiming did not respond, and continued to speak to himself: "But my father said that he did this, firstly for the brotherhood between him and his uncle, but more importantly for the consideration of the people of the Han Dynasty. He said that although he was praised as the 'leader of the alliance' by the heroes of the world, he was always a warrior who would never enter the temple, and he only relied on his skills. However, the Han Dynasty is now ruled by wolves and beasts, and only when a wise ruler like Prince Youyan ascends the throne can the people of the world live a good life. Therefore, he stained his hands with blood for the sake of the country and the people, and for the words of the ancient sages, 'The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man.'"
"What a great saying 'Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country'! If one tenth of the world's inhabitants could have this insight, the world would have been at peace long ago. My brother - your father, is truly a hero!" Qiu Yizi praised sincerely.
But Yuchi Jiming continued, "That's what I told my father at the time. But he still felt guilty and asked countless people to find out the names of the people he killed in the past few months. He also asked the court to give them generous compensation. He also built a small temple next to my Yuchi family temple to commemorate them."
Qiu Yizhi was filled with emotion after hearing this. After thinking for a long time, he said to Yuchi Jiming, "I didn't expect that your father, a man who loves fighting, could have such a compassionate heart. If I have the chance to visit your home, I will definitely visit here and burn some incense in person."
Yuchi Jiming said a few polite words, and then continued to talk to himself: "My father said that in troubled times, when people are suffering, it is often that either I kill you or you kill me. If you want to survive, you have to risk your life. This is the same as the principle of 'Once you are in the rivers and lakes, you have no choice'. But this is Jiangnan, where food and wealth are gathered from all over the world. This Miaozhen demon has no worries about food and drink, and has no grudges with those dead. He wants to kill so many people just for the illusory hope of becoming an immortal and living forever. I can't understand this, and I'm afraid..."
Qiu Yizhi listened and thought at the same time, and then continued: "This is actually not hard to understand. Not to mention becoming an immortal or a god, there are many cases of killing people for just a penny or two. As for people, except for a few saints in ancient times, everyone has some desires. But when faced with desires, one can either control it with one's own cultivation or rely on the court's laws to deter it. It just so happens that this Miaozhen layman is highly skilled in martial arts, and it seems that he has some connection with the old magistrate Li Shenshi, so he can kill more than a dozen people without any law, and the crime was not exposed until yesterday."
At this point, Qiu Yizi suddenly became enlightened, and stopped talking to Yuchi Jiming. He walked back to his desk with his head down, tore off the manuscript paper that had been spread on the table, picked up his pen again, and began to write on a piece of rice paper like a dragon.
Yuchi Jiming was curious, so he leaned over to watch.
Qiu Yizi started with a few pleasantries, then went straight to the point, explaining the whole story of a case clearly. He also briefly wrote about the circumstances of the case and how Miaozhen was captured. Finally, he wrote a paragraph of discussion and emotion:
"Miao Zhen is a demon who killed 13 people in a few years but was never reported. Why? It is probably because the former Shanyin County Magistrate Li Shenshi neglected his duties and was just sitting there doing nothing. Or there may be other hidden reasons that are difficult to explain. We have to wait until the future to get to the bottom of it.
"How could such a mediocre official like Li Shenshi hold the post of county magistrate for many years without being impeached? It was because Emperor Muzong neglected government affairs and the fake emperor Zheng Yao was absurd and rebellious, so that his superiors followed suit.
"The current emperor is wise and powerful. After ascending the throne, he repeatedly rectified the administration of officials and turned the tide. The Han people were in awe. Therefore, the solution of this "Thirteen Lives Case" was due to the power of heaven and was accomplished smoothly.
"After Miao Zhen's case was exposed, he confessed to all his crimes without any regret. Such a wicked person should be punished by the law and executed by slow slicing. Otherwise, it will not be enough to respond to the people's sincere filial piety, nor will it be enough to deter the bureaucrats from being lazy and incompetent. It will not be enough to report the emperor's intention to rectify the situation. The crimes of the Jiangnan bureaucrats are the same as Miao Zhen's!"
Qiu Yizhi finished writing the document in one go, read it over with great satisfaction, slightly revised a few words, and then put down the pen with satisfaction. He smiled and asked Yuchi Jiming: "My dear niece, how is my article?"
Yuchi Jiming said, "I can only recognize a few words. Uncle is a Jinshi, so his writing must be good. Especially the last paragraph, with such a big hat put on it, I'm sure the officials above him wouldn't dare to deal with it casually, right?"
Qiu Yizhi finally relaxed and said, "Yes, that's what I meant. Just wait for Wang Laowu to have the coroner come over and examine the other twelve bodies. Then I'll attach Yang Ying'er's confession, Miao Zhen's confession, the confessions of the other nuns, and the coroner's autopsy report, and send this document to the higher authorities. Then the case will be closed."
Although Qiu Yizi was eager to solve the case, the two coroners from Yuezhou City were late. They did not arrive in Shanyin County until noon of the next day. After a hearty meal and a good sleep, it was not until the morning of the third day that they followed Wang Laowu to the "Liaochen Palace" to examine the body.
He worked like this for a whole day and spent another whole day writing the report. It was not until the fifth day that the autopsy report was delivered to Qiu Yizi.
After Qiu Yizi took the report and read it, he realized that these bodies had been dead for a long time and had been buried in fertile soil for a long time. They had already rotted away and only a pile of bones remained. There were several bodies whose complete skeletons could not even be pieced together, let alone their identities. It could only be seen that these twelve people were all men.
The skeleton that was barely put together had no external injuries, so he didn't die from an external force or poisoning. Only Bi Xiuwen's cause of death was obvious, which was due to his daily and nightly indulgence in sexual activities, which drained his vital energy and caused his internal organs to fail.
Qiu Yizhi knew that the previous twelve people were no exception. It was reasonable that the cause of their death could not be found by examining their bones alone. So he signed and sealed several documents himself, sealed the copies together, and sent Wang Laowu to deliver them to Cai Min, the governor of Yuezhou.
Who would have thought that once the stack of documents were gone, there was no further response for a month.
Qiu Yizhi was anxious and sent several documents to urge the higher authorities. However, even these documents received few replies; the only two replies were just empty excuses such as "the matter is of great importance, the case is complicated, and it is being carefully examined."
It was early summer now. Shanyin County was located in the southern basin. After being scorched by the sun for two or three days, the entire county became like a steamer, making it unbearable.
Bi Xiuwen and the other twelve bodies were placed in the "Liaochen Palace". Under such high temperature, the stench was unbearable.
Qiu Yizi thought that Bi Xiuwen's wife, the victim Yang Ying'er, was still looking forward to the day when her husband's injustice would be redressed and he would be buried in peace. Bi Xiuwen's body should not be exposed to the public anymore, so he wrote another document and sent it together with his own business card, asking Wang Laowu to go to Yuezhou Prefecture again and hand it over to the prefect Cai Min in person.
Yuezhou Prefecture was only fifty or sixty miles away from Shanyin County, and Wang Laowu was a well-known "speedster". He set out in the morning before the sun rose and made the round trip in less than a day.
When Wang Laowu returned to the county government to report, Qiu Yizi was eating watermelon with Yuchi Jiming, Zhao Chengxiao and Yang Qiaoer in the courtyard of the county government.
Yang Qiaoer was smart and thoughtful and careful. She specially soaked a watermelon in the well of the county government garden overnight to freeze it in ice. By the time she brought it out, it was already cold and mouth-watering.
Wang Laowu was running with sweat all over his forehead. When he saw such a watermelon, he even forgot to save his life. Without waiting for Qiu Yizhi's attention, he picked up a piece and started to eat it voraciously.
Qiu Yizhi knew that he had worked hard, so he didn't scold him. He waited until he finished eating, then handed him another piece and said to him, "Eat slowly, no one here will snatch your food away. Let me ask you first, did you listen to my instructions today and hand the document to Cai Zhizhou in person?"
Wang Laowu heard this and then remembered his duty. He threw the melon peel away and cursed, "Those officials in the prefectural government are such bastards! I handed over your name card and asked to see the prefect, but they said that Mr. Cai had gone out to inspect the people's sentiments early this morning. Your words were clear that he wanted to hand the letter to Mr. Cai in person. How could I dare to neglect it? Anyway, I had plenty of time, so I waited at the gate of the prefectural government."
Wang Laowu took a bite of melon and continued vaguely, "I waited for less than half a pack of cigarettes before I saw the side door of the yamen opened and the prefect walked away with his guard of honor. Aren't these people trying to fool me? I went up to ask for an explanation, but these yamen runners smiled and said that if I had been allowed in, I would have talked to Master Cai for a long time and Master Cai would not have been able to inspect the people's sentiments. Although what they said was not true, it was not a lie to me either."
"What kind of perverse logic is this?" Qiu Yizhi cursed softly, "What happened next?"
Wang Laowu spat out a few watermelon seeds and replied, "I am an honest man, and I only had one thought in mind - to wait! At noon, I finally saw the prefect returning to the yamen. So I went forward to ask for an audience, but the yamen runners said that Master Cai was still outside and had not returned yet. Isn't this just empty talk? I started arguing with them at the time. This group of people relied on their numbers and wanted to hit me with sticks. Fortunately, I was fast, otherwise I would have suffered a lot!"
Wang Laowu was talking until his mouth was dry. He took a big bite of watermelon, spit out the seeds, and continued, "In this way, I naturally can't see Lord Cai, so I have to come here in a hurry to report. Lord, do you think these yamen runners are all bastards?" After saying that, he threw a piece of watermelon rind that had been bitten until all the red flesh was gone on the ground.
His throwing of the watermelon rinds angered Yang Qiaoer, who scolded him, "You are such a bachelor. It's fine if you can't do what the master asked you to do. But how can you be so rude and throw the watermelon rinds around? Don't you know how hard it is for me to clean up?"
Qiu Yizi knew that Yang Qiao'er said this because she was worried about her sister and brother-in-law, so she quickly spoke to smooth things over, "Qiao'er, you've wrongly blamed Lao Wu. Although Lao Wu is unkempt, he's quite hardworking. It's just that those yamen runners are abominable!"
"Oh, that's not right!" Qiu Yizi said again, "How dare these lackeys be so disrespectful without instructions from above? In my opinion, it is Cai Min who doesn't want to see Lao Wu!"
Zhao Chengxiao's wounds had healed half way after Yang Qiao'er's careful care over the past few days. He sat on the edge of a flower bed and sighed, "Alas! I used to think that officials were all very impressive, but I didn't expect that you are such a coward. It would be better to follow the emperor in his battles!" (To be continued)