Zhao Sheng was quick-witted and sharp-minded. As soon as he heard Liu Hun's words, he immediately said, "Your Honor, I am Zhao Gengtian's grandson. I am his family member. I agree to the skull opening."
If they didn't open the skull, he would die anyway.
What’s more, Zhao Gengtian was an old bastard like that—opening him up to disturb his peace even after death made Zhao Sheng feel even more relieved.
Yan Tongshu also urged, "Magistrate Li, a human life is at stake."
Magistrate Li paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, glancing at Aunt Yang, who was kneeling to the side.
Ever since Zhao Sheng got into trouble, Aunt Yang had been kneeling outside, her hair turning white from the strain, her body collapsing from exhaustion, her eyes so blurred she could barely see.
He, too, had an aging mother.
Back when he took the imperial exams, for as long as he sat for the tests, his mother would wait outside with dried provisions, her heart worn thin with worry.
This Zhao Sheng was a troublesome one. When Magistrate Li himself took the exams, he failed three times in a row and only passed on the fourth attempt—was he any less of a headache?
A mother’s love deserves pity, after all.
And besides, a human life concerns the heavens—what could be more important than that?
Magistrate Li’s gaze suddenly became clear. He gave his permission: "Proceed with the examination."
Yan Tongshu breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, I will conduct the investigation with the utmost rigor."
With the approval granted, the constables went to prepare the tools for the skull opening and autopsy.
Yan Tongshu changed into the brown robe of a coroner, donning a dark apron and gloves.
Once dressed, Yan Tongshu covered his face with a cloth and returned to the courtroom.
Pearl tugged at Yan Tongshu’s sleeve, on the verge of tears. "Young Master, Young Master…"
Sweat beaded on her forehead, tears welled in her eyes, and she was barely holding back from crying. She wanted to beg Yan Tongshu to stop the autopsy, but standing right beside her was Aunt Yang, who looked so pitiful…
Oh, dear!
She had no idea what to do.
Yan Tongshu patted her hand. "Don’t be afraid. It’s fine."
Pearl sobbed, "Young Master, once we get home, I’m going to buy some pomelo leaves."
Yan Tongshu smiled and nodded. "Alright."
The autopsy tools were already laid out. Yan Tongshu approached Zhao Gengtian.
The cloth covering Yan Tongshu’s face was stuffed with ginger and garlic to mask the smell of the corpse.
Pearl grabbed Aunt Yang’s hand and shut her eyes. She dared not look—would rather die than look.
Yan Tongshu picked up the knife beside him, gripping Zhao Gengtian’s head with his left hand, and began cutting along the wound with his right.
Zhao Sheng craned his neck, eager to see what was happening, only to watch the precious, pampered Young Master slice open Zhao Gengtian’s skin with a knife, then pick up a saw and start sawing through Zhao Gengtian’s skull.
Whir, whir, whir.
Like sawing wood.
The scene was eerie, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.
Ugh.
Zhao Sheng turned away and started dry heaving.
Aunt Yang also closed her eyes.
The constables around them all looked away toward the outside of the room, avoiding the horrifying sight inside.
Magistrate Li glanced over, then quickly turned his back and shut his eyes.
After a long while, Zhao Gengtian’s skull was finally sawed open.
"Magistrate Li."
A clear voice came from behind Magistrate Li—Yan Tongshu’s voice.
He turned his head, took a peek, and immediately closed his eyes again.
Yan Tongshu paused for a moment. "Magistrate Li, you need to look. If you don’t look, how can we determine the bleeding point?"
Magistrate Li had to look. The clerk, who was recording everything, also had to see.
To salvage a bit of his standing with Magistrate Li, Liu Hun quickly handed both of them cloth pads filled with ginger.
Magistrate Li lifted the cloth to cover his nose and mouth, stepped forward a few paces, and leaned slightly to examine the area.
Yan Tongshu pointed at the coagulated blood inside. "Magistrate Li, please see here. There is bleeding in this part of Zhao Gengtian’s skull, and the amount is substantial. The blood has pooled and clotted. Moreover, this bleeding site is some distance from the wound on the back of his head, with no connection between them.
As for the wound on the back of the head, it is very shallow. The skull is intact, with no damage to the inside—it’s just an external injury. This is enough to prove that Zhao Gengtian’s illness was the true cause of his death."
Magistrate Li held his breath, confirmed the condition inside the skull, and said to the clerk, "Record it all."
The clerk, hesitant to get too close, replied nervously, "Yes, sir."
Magistrate Li tossed the cloth back into the tray and returned to his official seat. "From this, it seems Zhao Gengtian brought this upon himself. There is no murderer in this case."
That meant an acquittal was coming.
Aunt Yang, overcome with emotion, let tears of joy stream from her clouded eyes.
Zhao Sheng’s face also lit up with delight.
Pearl, still with her eyes shut, nodded frantically. Great, it’s finally over. Boohoo, that scared me to death.
She never wanted to step foot in Kaifeng’s courtroom again.
"Magistrate Li."
Just before the verdict was announced, Yan Tongshu suddenly spoke up. "There is a murderer in this case."
Magistrate Li frowned. "Didn’t Zhao Gengtian die of illness?"
Yan Tongshu replied, "He died of illness, yes, but this case still has a murderer."
If the man died of illness, then why was there a murderer?
Magistrate Li asked, "Who?"
Yan Tongshu said, "Zhao Sheng’s second uncle, Zhao Gengtian’s second son, Zhao Li."
Magistrate Li pressed, "What do you mean by that?"
Yan Tongshu removed the cloth covering his face, his voice steady as ever. "There is no murderer in the case of Zhao Gengtian’s death, but there is one in the extortion case. Zhao Gengtian didn’t come up with the extortion scheme on his own. It was his son, Zhao Li, who gave him the idea. The two plotted together to steal the recipe for Aunt Yang’s noodle toppings."
Yan Tongshu turned back to Aunt Yang. "Aunt Yang, tell us, hasn’t Zhao the Second been coveting your family’s topping recipe all along?"
Aunt Yang shouted loudly, "Yes! Your Honor, Zhao the Second has repeatedly tried to extort my topping recipe. He even once tampered with my toppings before. He also set up a noodle stall across from mine, but I guarded against him so tightly that he never succeeded."
Yan Tongshu nodded to Pearl. "Pearl, repeat what you overheard Zhao the Second say when he was drunk to Magistrate Li."
Pearl still had her eyes shut. "Your Honor, about seven days ago, Zhao the Second was drinking with Niu Datou, a woodcutter from the village. In his drunken stupor, he said that within a few days, Aunt Yang would willingly hand over the recipe. Once he made money, he could pay off all his debts."
Magistrate Li ordered the constables to summon Niu Datou and Zhao the Second.
Magistrate Li asked, "Is there any other evidence?"
Yan Tongshu nodded and presented three prescription slips that Zhao the Second had recently obtained.
Yan Tongshu said, "Magistrate Li, these three prescriptions were written by Zhao the Second at Rende Pharmacy—one from a month and a half ago, one from a month ago, and one from half a month ago.
The first two prescriptions are identical, both for plasters made with sap from the elm tree. Every time it rained, Zhao the Second’s joints would ache, and applying a plaster made with elm sap would ease the pain.
However, half a month ago, Zhao the Second insisted that the doctor at Rende Pharmacy change his prescription to one using pure elm sap. Soaking the joints in pure sap would have a similar pain-relieving effect, but the concentration is higher and the cost is steep. Kaifeng doesn’t produce elm trees; elm sap is rare and only sold in pharmacies as a medicinal ingredient.
Zhao Gengtian never spent money on medical treatment or medicine. Where else could he have gotten elm sap to fake his bruises, if not from Zhao the Second? And why would Zhao the Second suddenly force the doctor to change his prescription, swapping the elm plaster for elm soaking liquid, unless he was in cahoots with Zhao Gengtian?"
Magistrate Li immediately dispatched constables to summon the doctor from Rende Pharmacy.
Soon after, Zhao the Second, a doctor from Rende Hall, and Niu Datou arrived together.
Just as Aunt Yang’s legs had trembled and her throat had tightened the moment she entered the Kaifeng prefectural office, Zhao the Second was equally overwhelmed by such a grand scene.
As the courtroom shouts faded, he collapsed to the ground in terror, confessing to everything Magistrate Li questioned him about.
Zhao the Second wept so hard that tears and snot smeared his face. "Your Honor, I... I never meant for my father to die. We just wanted to extort something—I didn’t want his life! I’m innocent!"
It turned out that day when Zhao the Second went to the clinic for treatment, he saw someone applying birch sap. In no time, the area smeared with birch sap turned deep purple, and he immediately hatched a crooked scheme.
Birch sap infusion was purer than birch sap ointment, more effective for healing, and significantly more expensive. Zhao the Second had been unwilling to spend the money, which was why he had chosen the birch sap plaster. Now that he saw a way to make money, he was willing to pay for the medicine and promptly demanded to switch prescriptions.
After getting the medicine and returning home, Zhao the Second and Zhao Gengtian reached an agreement at once.
The two had long resented Aunt Yang. Why should she, a woman, live a better life than two grown men like them?
As they drank wine together, they plotted, eventually coming up with this scheme to fake a beating and extort money.
If Zhao Gengtian hadn’t died, the beating incident would have been settled at most by the village head, never drawing the attention of the prefectural office.
Zhao Sheng already had a bad reputation and didn’t get along with Zhao Gengtian; no one would suspect him of the beating, so the plan would surely succeed.
To smooth things over, Aunt Yang would have to hand over the recipe for the braised sauce.
But no one expected Zhao Gengtian to die, turning a minor family scuffle into a murder case, which then ended up in the hands of the Kaifeng office.
Only then did Zhao the Second realize things had gone terribly wrong. In the following days, he lived in constant fear, hiding at home, hoping Zhao Sheng would be executed quickly and the matter would blow over.
"Bah! You dog!"
Pearl cursed with her eyes shut, fuming.
Zhao Sheng, on the other hand, was furious—he had nearly lost his life over this and had even been given twenty lashes for refusing to confess.
How could he swallow this anger?
Zhao Sheng rushed over to hit Zhao the Second.
Yan Tongshu shot him a sharp glare. "Still trying to hit people? Have you forgotten that if not for your bad reputation, Zhao the Second wouldn’t have dared to set you up, counting on the fact that no one would believe you didn’t hit anyone?"
Zhao Sheng dared not move further, lowering his head without a word of rebuttal.
With the case now clear, Magistrate Li ordered Zhao the Second to be taken into custody. Conspiring with his own father to extort was not a heavy crime, but it was no trivial matter either. Zhao the Second would face at least two years of hard labor.
Magistrate Li said, "Very well, Zhao Sheng, you may leave."
Zhao Sheng immediately kowtowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Honor. You have seen clearly and acted justly."
Magistrate Li shook his head. "Before you go, I must say a few words. Look at your old mother—she knelt for days and nights for you and nearly lost her life. Once you’re out, live properly and don’t let her worry anymore. Don’t wait until she’s gone, and you return home to a solitary lamp, with no chance left to fulfill your filial duties—only regret."
Zhao Sheng quickly replied, "Yes, yes. Once I’m out, I swear to live right and be filial to my mother."
Magistrate Li struck the gavel. "Court adjourned."
Yan Tongshu first went to wash and change back into his own clothes before coming to fetch Pearl.
He tapped her on the head. "Wake up. Open your eyes now?"
Pearl cracked her eyes open a slit. "Really?"
Yan Tongshu smiled helplessly. "Really. Court is over."
Pearl wailed and hugged Yan Tongshu. "Young Master, I was scared to death, scared to death. Let’s never come to the Kaifeng office again, okay?"
Yan Tongshu laughed and nodded. "What are you thinking? This was a special case. We’re not criminals, so why would we come here?"
Pearl, tears streaming down her face, said, "And don’t touch those corpses anymore—it’s too terrifying."
Yan Tongshu coaxed her, "Alright, alright, I won't touch them again. Besides, how many corpses does your Young Master get to touch? That's the authorities' business."
Pearl nodded emphatically.
Yan Tongshu said, "Come on, let’s go home. We’ve been out so long, and I’m hungry. Aren’t you? Let’s go home and eat."
Pearl stopped crying at once, her face blooming with a radiant smile. "Alright, let’s go home."
As Yan Tongshu and Pearl walked out of the county office, Aunt Yang and Zhao Sheng knelt before Yan Tongshu.
