Pont de l'impuissance

Chapitre 4

"Huh? What are you asking me for? Does even the most brilliant judge of the Qing Dynasty have cases he can't solve?"

"I have already identified the murderers. They are a notorious couple of assassins in the martial arts world, known as Crimson Flame and Purple Flame, and their martial arts skills are extremely formidable. Even with the manpower of my Dali Temple, plus the Shuntian Prefecture and the patrol battalion, we may not be able to capture them. The Prince and the Emperor are brothers from the same mother, and the Emperor values you highly. Therefore, I would like to request that you borrow a few top-notch imperial guards from the Emperor..."

“That’s easy to say.” Yonglin sat in his chair, fanning himself with a fan. “Back then, you helped me solve the Twelfth Prince’s case. Not only did I not reward you, but I also forced you to resign from your official post and become my advisor for a year and a half. This time, I must help you with this favor. However—you have to tell me, I’m really curious, you’ve only been in the capital for half a month, how did you find out so quickly that it was Chi Huo Zi Yan who committed the case?”

"There's one detail from the crime scene that I've always remembered. In his final moments, Mu Qingyi swiftly dodged the fatal stab from behind, managing to get it into his right lung. But he couldn't avoid the sword aimed at his throat from the front. To avoid sudden danger from behind, one should duck, kick, and lunge forward with all their might, as evidenced by the position and posture of Mu Qingyi's body. There were also traces of him jumping and falling at the scene. But under such circumstances, it would have been impossible for the assassin to have stabbed him in the throat. Yet the fatal wound was right there. Why was that?"

“The two assassins attacked with their knives and swords at the same time, which is why Mu Qingyi had two wounds, one in the front and one in the back,” Yonglin speculated.

"But if they attacked simultaneously, Mu Qingyi wouldn't have dodged by lunging forward. Wouldn't that have given the assassin in front an opening to easily stab him in the chest? Besides, a person's first reaction is to the danger in front, not behind. When something happens suddenly, everyone can only think about avoiding the danger they see first, ignoring what's behind them; it's never the other way around. That is to say, if the assassins attacked simultaneously from the front and back, Mu Qingyi would either have reacted too slowly and failed to dodge, suffering fatal blows to his back and throat at the same time; or he would have only dodged the sword in front but failed to dodge the knife behind. This situation at the scene would never have occurred."

"Was it the assassin who struck first?" Yonglin said, then shook his head and said, "No, if that were the case, Mu Qingyi wouldn't have used a forward leap but a backward leap to avoid the danger. Was it that Mu Qingyi was first stabbed but didn't fall, and then the sword came straight at her throat?"

"Although the second stab wasn't fatal, the assassin used a precious sword, and the blade penetrated five inches deep, splitting his right lung in two. With such a severe injury, how could Mu Qingyi straighten his back? Moreover, the first stab pierced his throat and exited through his neck, indicating that he was suddenly attacked while leaping forward. Therefore, it's impossible that the two assassins attacked one after the other."

"I don't understand. If they didn't attack simultaneously or sequentially, how did the assassins manage to do it? And why did Mu Qingyi only dodge the assassins behind her, yet willingly take a sword strike from the assassin in front?"

"At the time, I didn't understand the reason, nor did I delve into the issue. A few days ago, when I was serving as the prefect of Suzhou in Gansu, I recalled this detail again and, after careful consideration, finally understood the reason."

"What's the reason?"

The Sixteen Divine Judgments of the Great Qing Dynasty

On the fifteenth of August, at the Prince Cheng's Mansion on Qianhai West Street, on the west bank of Shichahai Lake.

The former owner of this mansion, Heshen, has passed away, and the new owner, Prince Cheng, has lost all his power. The street in front of the mansion, which used to be bustling with carriages and people for many years, is now deserted and silent, with only a few crows pacing back and forth looking for food.

The moonlight, like water, poured into the back garden of Prince Cheng's mansion. It reflected the water of the pond like a mirror; the pavilions and corridors were arranged in a harmonious and orderly fashion; the verdant hills of Yuguan stretched endlessly. A Taihu stone, about eighteen feet high, stood in the garden, behind which flowed a babbling brook. A bridge, called "Sea Crossing Crane Bridge," spanned the stream. On the other side of the bridge was a spacious hall, above which hung a plaque with the words "Anshan Hall" in gold lettering on a black background. From within Anshan Hall, the tinkling sound of a guqin drifted out, accompanied by the mournful singing of a middle-aged man:

The clouds and mountains are full of longing, but my official robes are powerless; the west wind blows away my tears of ambition. Let us not speak of it again! The green mountains are all designed to intoxicate, and all gains and losses are ultimately just the natural order. Gain is his fate; loss is ours.

The song was filled with sorrow, like the rustling of autumn birds; the melody was like the desolation of the west wind, like the falling of paulownia leaves. When the song ended, there was silence for a long time, as if the lingering sound still echoed. The evening breeze swept by, and one could feel a few places of tranquility and a few places of sadness.

After a long while, a man said, "Although I often played this tune before, I never understood the meaning of this ancient melody of 'Wutong Leaves Dancing in the Autumn Wind.' Today, under the bright moon, I heard it again and finally understood the taste of the vicissitudes of life within it."

“Your Highness,” a young woman in elegant attire replied, “Feasts of joy are fleeting and must eventually end; dreams are fleeting and must eventually fade. There is nothing to lament. Chi Huo Zi Yan has already been captured by Zhang Wen Tao and Prince Jin Hui and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. You should send me to the Dali Temple as soon as possible and tell them that you know nothing about my background. Only then can we avoid this calamity.”

“Your Highness, we have been together for many years, treating each other with utmost respect and affection. How could I disregard our marital bond and sacrifice you to save myself?”

"This is the only way to escape this calamity. I can only blame myself, a mere crow, for forcibly alighting on the paulownia tree." The princess's voice was filled with sorrow.

Prince Cheng sneered a few times and said, "Zhang Wentao is indeed seeking revenge, but do you think Yongyan really let Zhang Wentao thoroughly investigate this case just to uncover your background? What he really wants to uncover is not your background, but to expose my shame."

Prince Cheng walked to Lady Guarjia's side, took her hand, and whispered softly, "Actually, I knew long ago that Emperor Gaozong had a secret conversation with Yongyan before his death. Gaozong told Yongyan that your background must forever remain a royal secret, and no one was allowed to touch this case again. The day after this secret conversation, all the files on Mu Qingyi's case were destroyed. Although Yongyan has brought up the old case again this time, he would never dare to disobey Gaozong's last will. He will not reveal your background again; he wants me to bear the stigma of assassinating a Beijing official, to be disgraced, and to never be able to recover!"

"This case has nothing to do with you. I'll take full responsibility and see how the Emperor handles it."

"You're oversimplifying things. My grudge against Yongyan is as deep as three feet of ice, not something that developed overnight. Back when Emperor Gaozong was on the throne, I received far more favor than him. If it weren't for his treacherous facade and his manipulation of the court officials, Gaozong would have passed the throne to me. Later, when Gaozong became the retired emperor, I shared power with him, and we often clashed. Yongyan has long been jealous and resentful of me. Now that he has finally assumed power, he first dismissed me from my positions as head of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, then stripped me of my military power, and finally expelled me from the Grand Council. Everyone knows how malicious he is. How could he let me off so easily?"

"Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

"Rather than sit and wait to die, it's better to take a risk."

"What's your idea?"

“Kill him to silence him,” Prince Cheng said through gritted teeth.

"Will this method work?"

"I have the ability to get through the Heavenly Prison and secretly eliminate the Crimson Flame and Purple Flame."

"But Zhang Wentao is not easily fooled. Whether you report Chi Huo Zi Yan as having committed suicide out of fear of punishment or died suddenly from illness, Zhang Wentao will probably be able to tell the difference. If he follows the clues and finds out that you are the mastermind, wouldn't that be even worse?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have another person in my hands, whose talent is no less than Zhang Wentao's. Although he does not know martial arts, he can kill people without them even realizing it."

Great Qing Shen Duan Seventeen

August 25th.

The interrogation has been going on for almost a month, and Chi Huo and Zi Yan still haven't given a single confession. These two assassins weren't particularly loyal to Prince Cheng, but Chi Huo repeatedly insisted that he would only testify against the mastermind and produce irrefutable evidence if his wife, Zi Yan, was released; while Zi Yan demanded that Zhang Wentao obtain a pardon for her husband before she would confess.

However, these two were exceptionally fierce. Last month, even amidst an attack by several top imperial guards, Zi Yan still managed to kill a third-rank, first-class imperial guard, while Chi Huo severely injured two fourth-rank, second-class imperial guards. How could such serious crimes be allowed to go unpunished? If Zi Yan were released from prison, how could we explain this to the Emperor? How could we explain it to the imperial guards? Wouldn't that be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, leaving a hidden danger for the capital? Perhaps one day, another high-ranking official would be assassinated on the streets of the capital, just like Mu Qingyi.

The request for Chi Huo to be spared death is utterly absurd! Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has never been such a precedent among famous ministers, generals, and imperial relatives. For a commoner, a serious criminal in the imperial prison, to ask the emperor to personally issue an edict to spare his life is truly wishful thinking!

Zhang Wentao, who rarely used torture, finally decided to inflict severe punishment on these two men!

That morning, in the main hall of the Dali Temple, the shout of "Court is here!" rang out. The yamen runners and clerks stood in two rows, each with a fierce expression, like malevolent demons. Below the hall, a row of instruments of torture—including clubs, clamps, skull pins, branding irons, a "letter of torture," a "rat-slinging zither," a "horse-stopping stick," and a "swallow-flying" torture device—were laid out. A large furnace sat in the center of the hall, blazing fiercely. The entire hall was filled with an aura of menace and terror.

Although Prince Yonglin of Jinhui was also the presiding judge, this time he had a table and chairs moved aside, brewed a pot of Da Hong Pao tea, and was served by others. He watched Zhang Wentao hear the case while sipping tea.

Zhang Wentao shouted from the hall, "Have the Crimson Flame and Purple Flame been brought out of the Heavenly Prison? Bring them to the hall."

A bailiff agreed and left the courtroom. Less than a quarter of an hour later, the bailiff returned in a panic, accompanied by the prison warden. As soon as the warden entered the courtroom, he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, crying, "My lord, I am incompetent. I failed to keep a close watch on them, and Chi Huo and Zi Yan committed suicide."

"Ah!" Zhang Wentao exclaimed in shock, "Both of them committed suicide? When did you find out?"

Yonglin was also startled and put down his teacup, asking, "Did you see clearly? Is it really dead?"

"Reporting to the Prince and Your Excellency, they are indeed dead. About three-quarters of an hour ago, I personally led men into the secret prison to summon the two prisoners. Upon entering the cell, I saw Chi Huo sitting cross-legged with his back to the cell door and his face against the wall, his head drooping. I called out to him several times, but he did not respond. I went over to check and found that he was already dead. I hurriedly ordered someone to check on Zi Yan in the secret women's prison, and Zi Yan had died in the same way."

"Let's go! Go to the site immediately for inspection."

The Great Qing Dynasty's Divine Judgment of Eighteen

Ordinary prisons are divided into four levels inside the Anbi Gate. The first level, near the shrine of the prison god, is the soft prison; the second level, slightly further in, is the outer prison; the third level, even further in, is the inner prison, the cell for serious offenders; the fourth level, the deepest, is the dark prison, the most secure and tightly guarded place. The Heavenly Prison is divided into six levels: soft prison, outer prison, inner prison, serious prison, dark prison, and black prison. The further down the level, the more important the prisoner and the tighter the guard. The prison cells are not numbered with numbers, but rather in the order of the Thousand Character Classic. The sequence is: Heaven and Earth, Primordial Yellow; Universe, Vast and Untamed; Sun and Moon, Waxing and Declining; Stars and Constellations, etc. Chi Huo's cell is located on the west side of the Chen-numbered cell in the dark prison.

The jailer led Yonglin and Zhang Wentao to cell number Chen. The cell door was still locked, and two jailers were guarding the door, even more closely than when Chi Huo was alive.

"Your Highness, Lord Zhang, to prevent people from entering and leaving at will and disturbing the crime scene, I have specially assigned two people to guard this place." As he spoke, the jailer opened the cell door and let the two men in.

The cell was small, five steps deep and four steps wide, only seven or eight feet high, but the walls, reaching from floor to ceiling, were made of large bluestone slabs or glutinous rice mortar. The plaster of straw and mud had peeled away, revealing the original color of the stone stained with alkali, seemingly telling the prisoner that even with wings, escape would be difficult. Inside, besides a wooden plank bed against the wall and a wooden table for a lamp, there was nothing else. Chi Huo's corpse remained seated cross-legged on the bed, facing the wall, but his head drooped, and his body was motionless.

Zhang Wentao walked over, felt Chi Huo's pulse, and then lifted his head with his left hand. After examining him carefully, he shook his head and said to Yonglin, "His tongue, lips, and fingernails are cyanotic, so he may have died of suffocation. However, there are no rope marks on his neck, no other injuries on his body, his clothes are intact, there are no signs of struggle, and he was not violently attacked before his death; there is no bleeding from his mouth or nose, no vomit, and his skin is elastic without blood spots, so it doesn't seem like he died of poisoning."

Yonglin asked, puzzled, "Since he died of suffocation, and he didn't hang himself, did Chihuo suffocate himself by covering his mouth and nose?" He turned to the warden behind him and said, "What makes you say he committed suicide?"

"Your Highness, I have been guarding the prison for a long time and have seen several people commit suicide like this. Anyone who knows martial arts knows qigong, and these people all have a good way of committing suicide. They first use qigong to weaken their breathing, and gradually they stop breathing and eventually die of breathlessness."

"I've heard of people who can hold their breath for an hour and not die. Could it be that they're just faking it?"

"I used a needle to prick his yang vein (artery), but I couldn't even get a drop of blood out of him. He is indeed dead. Their tricks are no match for us old prison wardens."

“His pupils have dilated; he is indeed dead,” Zhang Wentao sighed.

"So it really was suicide? Just a few days ago, this couple said they were willing to sacrifice themselves to save each other's lives. How could they be so quick to give up their lives? If they were willing to testify against the person behind it all, the worst they could face was beheading. They were going to die sooner or later anyway, so why kill themselves so early? You know, serious offenders who commit suicide out of fear of punishment are not allowed to have their bodies intact. What good would it do them?"

“Your Highness’s analysis is correct. I find this matter very strange. But apart from suicide by holding one’s breath, I really can’t find any other cause of death. It’s truly a strange thing.”

Yonglin sneered, "According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, if a serious criminal who has not yet been convicted commits suicide, the prison guards responsible for guarding him, as well as their superiors—the jailer, the clerk, and the prison official—must all be punished. Guards!"

The guards standing outside the prison gate responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

"Tie up all the jailers, female guards, jailers, and prison clerks responsible for watching over Chi Huo Zi Yan, and take them to the Prison God Temple to await their fate. I think the Prison God Temple is the only relatively clean place; we can't just let them all die there at once. And you," Yong Lin pointed at the prison officer, "I'll strip you of your official rank for now, but you'll remain in your original position. However, you must diligently investigate the cause of Chi Huo Zi Yan's death and report any news immediately. If you solve this case, I will not only restore your official rank, but there will also be a reward. If you mess things up, I'll skin you alive!"

"This servant understands, this servant understands! This servant will do his best to perform his duties and inquire to the best of his ability."

Nineteen

"Was Chi Huo Zi Yan's suicide or murder?" Inside the Prince of Jin Hui's residence, Yong Lin was still puzzled by Chi Huo Zi Yan's suicide.

Zhang Wentao pondered for a moment before saying, "The autopsy results indicate suicide; however, logically speaking, neither of them had any reason to commit suicide! We cannot draw any conclusions at this time."

“I think those jailers and the official mediators are definitely not immune to suspicion. We should arrest them, bring them to court a few times, torture them a few times, and see if they will talk.”

"Without any evidence, to conduct a trial out of thin air, wouldn't that mean resorting to torture to extract confessions? What use would such confessions be? If these people make wild confessions and implicate innocent people, it will only lead to a huge prison and give Prince Cheng a pretext to attack them."

"What can we do then? We can't just close the case here and let the eleventh prince get away with it." (Prince Cheng was the eleventh in his family)

"The key right now is to find evidence of homicide. With that, we can follow the clues and not worry about Prince Cheng hiding even more deeply."

"How do I find it?"

"Your Highness, please grant me a few more days. Of all the cases I have ever encountered in my life, this is the most difficult one."

Twenty

For three consecutive days, Zhang Wentao refused to see any guests and did not leave his house. His desk was covered with books on forensic medicine and case handling, such as *Collection of Doubtful Cases*, *Collection of Wrongful Convictions*, *Inner Forgiveness Record*, *Record of No Torture*, *Comparative Cases of Tangyin*, and *Mirror of Judgment*, but he still could not find the true cause of Chi Huo Zi Yan's death. The midday sun shone directly in through the window, illuminating the desk and reflecting on Zhang Wentao's face. It made him feel extremely uneasy. He sighed, walked to the window to close it, and saw his personal clerk, Fu Lin, hurrying towards him.

"Sir, a guest has arrived."

"Didn't I already give the order? He's not seeing anyone for the next few days. If it's official business, tell him to go to the Court of Judicial Review and see Lord Wang, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review; if it's private business, tell him to come back in a few days."

“Zhongye, although this is a private matter, it concerns human life.” At this moment, an old man walked in from the moon gate opposite. He was over seventy years old, with white hair and a youthful face. He wore a robe embroidered with nine pythons and five claws, and a brand-new brocade pheasant-patterned robe over it. A coral-patterned hat with a double-eyed peacock feather trailing behind it was on his head. Although a young servant followed behind him, he did not need to be helped by him. He strode up to Zhang Wentao.

“So it’s Lord Ji.” Zhang Wentao was about to bow when the old man stopped him, saying, “Don’t bother me. I have urgent business with you. I know you’re too busy with Mu Qingyi’s case to receive guests. But I have no choice but to ask for your help. Please don’t refuse.”

The old man was none other than Ji Xiaolan, a seventy-three-year-old First-Rank Minister of Rites, Associate Grand Secretary, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and concurrently Supervisor of the Imperial Academy. After Zhang Wentao led Ji Xiaolan into the study and they sat down as host and guest, Ji Xiaolan continued, “My steward in the outer courtyard is named Ji Fu. A few days ago, he asked me for leave, saying that a friend in the capital region named Cheng Dong had borrowed three hundred taels of silver from him, and now the debt was due, so he was going to collect it. After collecting the debt, he was going to return to his hometown in Shandong. But a few days later, news came that while he was staying at Cheng Dong's house, the house caught fire, and he was burned to death. The local officials reported that it was an accidental death, but I suspect it was murder for money. However, I had the local authorities investigate several times, and they all said that there were no injuries on the body, and no signs of homicide. Lord Zhang is wise and decisive, so I ask you to help me investigate this case. Ji Fu has been with me for over thirty years. Although we are master and servant, our relationship is like that of father and son. I cannot let him die unjustly, and not find peace even in the afterlife.”

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will certainly investigate this case thoroughly. Where is Ji Fu's body now?"

"The body is still lying in state in Wanping County, Xilu Hall, awaiting burial."

“Wanping County is only about forty li away from here. We can set off now and use fast horses to pull the carriage. We can get there in an hour.”

The Great Qing Divine Judgment Twenty-One

Twenty-one

Upon arriving in Wanping County with Ji Xiaolan, Zhang Wentao immediately summoned the county magistrate to exhume the body for examination. The corpse was charred black and indeed showed no signs of injury. However, after examining it for only a short while, Zhang Wentao declared, "It was murder. Ji Fuxian was killed, and then the murderer set fire to the house, attempting to cover it up as a fire."

The magistrate of Wanping County asked in surprise, "Lord Zhang, how could you tell at a glance that Ji Fu was killed first and then burned?"

"That's not difficult, but I'll need you to send someone to buy two live pigs first. Then send someone to arrest Cheng Dong. I want to explain things in court and bring Cheng Dong to justice."

Within half an hour, the two live pigs had been bought, and Cheng Dong was brought to the main hall. Zhang Wentao then ordered two loads of firewood to be brought and lit in the county government courtyard in front of the main hall. By this time, it was already dark, and the sun had just set. Half a day of evening glow, half a day of clear blue sky. The blazing firelight reddened everyone's faces, and the burning firewood crackled and popped.

Zhang asked Tao Ming, "Bring Cheng Dong to the campfire."