Chapter 368
Although Lord Yao and Lord Zheng were far away in Longzhou Prefecture and had no direct involvement in military matters, one was the Provincial Administration Commissioner of the Longyou Circuit and the other was the Deputy Commissioner of the Surveillance Circuit. Since they were both in official circles, they were bound to have some influence and connections.
“My Lord, this subordinate is more inclined to believe that Prefect Zhang committed suicide. However, I fail to understand why Prefect Zhang had always thought highly of Pang Xian’an. Even if it was a tactic to advance by retreating, he wouldn’t have used death to frame Pang Xian’an.” Since Lord Yao had revealed the secret information he had uncovered, Lord Zheng reciprocated by sharing his true speculation about the case.
Prefect Zhang’s actions clearly indicated deep hatred for Pang Xian’an, wanting to drag him down even in death. Yet, according to the current investigation, there was no apparent enmity between them. In handling the affairs of Suzhou Prefecture, Pang Xian’an had always followed Prefect Zhang’s lead.
Lord Zheng pondered with a frown, and after a long while, he said again, “Earlier, I sounded out Zhang Minxian, and he was equally clueless.”
If there had been deep hatred, Prefect Zhang would not have kept it from Zhang Minxian, his eldest son. After all, Prefect Zhang was advanced in age and was about to retire. The Zhang family’s future would be handed over to Zhang Minxian. His ignorance made Lord Zheng suspect that Prefect Zhang had acted on impulse.
“Previously, someone in the capital had been trying to win over Prefect Zhang. He privately met with a young girl named Zhan Feiyu, likely intending to seek refuge with Scholar Gu.” Even though Lord Yao was a confidant of the Emperor, in terms of being favored by the Emperor, he was still far behind Scholar Gu.
Prefect Zhang, and the Zhang family, were not considered first- or second-rate families in the capital, but they were local powers in the Longyou Circuit. Prefect Zhang had been an official for many years, and he knew that gaining merit by serving the Emperor was not easy. It was likely that pressure from the palace had forced Prefect Zhang to choose to seek refuge with Scholar Gu.
Unfortunately, Scholar Gu had always been a solitary official and would absolutely not get involved with local aristocratic families. Prefect Zhang’s attempt to seek refuge failed, but he was unwilling to be involved with the palace. He could only resort to this step of using death as a tactic to advance, and with Zhang Minxian needing to observe a three-year mourning period, he had temporarily avoided trouble.
However, what Lord Yao and Lord Zheng could not understand was why Prefect Zhang would drag Pang Xian’an down with him in death. Logically, if Pang Xian’an were to succeed Prefect Zhang as the Prefect of Suzhou, he would be able to support Zhang Minxian in the officialdom when he returned to office after three years.
“Enough, the person is already dead, and moreover, Pang Xian’an will not speak,” Lord Yao decided not to investigate further. If His Majesty truly intended to investigate, the Imperial Dragon Guards would surely be dispatched. By then, would Pang Xian’an still be able to keep his mouth shut?
Just then, hurried footsteps were heard from the courtyard. It seemed the matter was urgent, as Constable Hu had forgotten to pay his respects. “My Lords, something has happened…”
Lord Yao and Lord Zheng stood up abruptly. They exchanged glances, their expressions grave. The case of Prefect Zhang had not yet been resolved, and now another murder had occurred.
…
Two quarters of an hour later, Pang Residence.
“My Lords.” The constables and yamen runners guarding the Pang Residence immediately paid their respects as several official carriages arrived.
Lord Yao, who alighted from his carriage, did not even glance at the surrounding constables and walked quickly towards the main gate. Lord Zheng and Investigator Chu followed closely behind, with Vice Prefect Zhao trailing at the rear.
The group hurried through the main courtyard and headed straight for the rear residence. It was evident that the murder had occurred in the rear residence of the Pang family.
“My Lords.” The constables guarding the area immediately came forward. “This is Yusheng Residence, where Madam Pang resides.”
The Pang Residence was a three-courtyard house. Yusheng Residence, where Madam Pang lived, was the main building of the rear residence. It had five bays in width, with the central bay serving as the main hall for receiving guests. As they approached, a strong smell of blood assailed their nostrils.
Lord Yao strode into the hall. The main hall was somewhat in disarray. There were shattered teacups on the floor, and a blue-and-white porcelain vase with a design of bamboo, rocks, and banana leaves had rolled to the center of the hall.
Two chairs were overturned, and the table had been moved. An incense burner made of bronze, shaped like a mythical beast with coiled dragons and inlaid with gold and silver, which was placed in the corner, had also fallen, scattering incense ash on the ground.
Looking at the body lying in a pool of blood, Lord Yao’s expression grew even more grim.
“This was a killing with multiple stab wounds?” Investigator Chu frowned, looking at the corpse, which was almost unrecognizable, with disgust. No wonder so much blood had been spilled. Tsk, there was even a wound on the head.
Lord Zheng did not speak, merely glancing at Coroner Huang, who was standing outside the door, as Lord Yao was in charge.
“Is this Qian Shipeng?” Zhao Tongzhi, who was also standing outside the door, exclaimed in shock. He had only known that something had happened at the Pang Residence on the way, but he had not known that the person killed was Qian Shipeng, and that he had died so miserably.
“Coroner Huang…” Lord Yao spoke, asking the coroner to examine the body. He himself did not step out but retreated to a corner to stand, intending to know the results of the autopsy immediately.
Since Lord Yao did not leave, Lord Zheng and Investigator Chu also could not leave. They also stepped to Lord Yao’s side to await the examination.
Coroner Huang carefully avoided the bloodstains on the ground before squatting down in front of Qian Shipeng’s body. “Reporting to my Lords, the deceased sustained eight stab wounds. Preliminary judgment is that death was caused by excessive blood loss. The fatal blow was to the neck…”
The coroner slightly lifted Qian Shipeng’s neck, revealing a deep, bone-cutting wound across his right neck, extending from the shoulder blade to behind the ear.
However, what surprised Coroner Huang was the knife wound on Qian Shipeng’s face. Logically, with the fatal wound on his neck, Qian Shipeng would have been close to death. There was no need to inflict another stab wound on his face, which looked like an act of venting anger.
“How do you know which wound was inflicted first and which was later?” Investigator Chu asked provocatively. Perhaps the wound on the face was inflicted first. Although painful, it was not fatal. Then another stab was made to the neck, killing the person.
Coroner Huang replied, “Reporting to my Lords, the knife wound on the deceased’s face is incomplete. The wound extends from the left eyebrow to the right side of the nasal wing.”
Coroner Huang gently placed the body down, stood up, cupped his hands in salute to Lord Yao, and then raised his hand to gesture the knife wound on his own face. “Since this knife was swung down, logically, the wound should have extended to the right cheek. The reason there is no wound below the nose must be that something blocked it.”
After speaking, Coroner Huang lifted Qian Shipeng’s left hand and pointed to a wound on his arm. “After the deceased received a blow to his right neck, he must have raised his left hand to cover the wound.”
Lord Yao, Lord Zheng, and the fault-finding Investigator Chu all looked at Qian Shipeng’s left hand. Indeed, there were dried bloodstains on his palm.
As he covered the wound on his neck with his left hand, he was stabbed again on the face. The reason his cheek was not wounded was that it was blocked by his left arm.
…
Lord Zheng did not speak, merely glancing at Coroner Huang, who was standing outside the door, as Lord Yao was in charge.
“Is this Qian Shipeng?” Zhao Tongzhi, who was also standing outside the door, exclaimed in shock. He had only known that something had happened at the Pang Residence on the way, but he had not known that the person killed was Qian Shipeng, and that he had died so miserably.
“Coroner Huang…” Lord Yao spoke, asking the coroner to examine the body. He himself did not step out but retreated to a corner to stand, intending to know the results of the autopsy immediately.
Since Lord Yao did not leave, Lord Zheng and Investigator Chu also could not leave. They also stepped to Lord Yao’s side to await the examination.
Coroner Huang carefully avoided the bloodstains on the ground before squatting down in front of Qian Shipeng’s body. “Reporting to my Lords, the deceased sustained eight stab wounds. Preliminary judgment is that death was caused by excessive blood loss. The fatal blow was to the neck…”
The coroner slightly lifted Qian Shipeng’s neck, revealing a deep, bone-cutting wound across his right neck, extending from the shoulder blade to behind the ear.
However, what surprised Coroner Huang was the knife wound on Qian Shipeng’s face. Logically, with the fatal wound on his neck, Qian Shipeng would have been close to death. There was no need to inflict another stab wound on his face, which looked like an act of venting anger.
“How do you know which wound was inflicted first and which was later?” Investigator Chu asked provocatively. Perhaps the wound on the face was inflicted first. Although painful, it was not fatal. Then another stab was made to the neck, killing the person.
Coroner Huang replied, “Reporting to my Lords, the knife wound on the deceased’s face is incomplete. The wound extends from the left eyebrow to the right side of the nasal wing.”
Coroner Huang gently placed the body down, stood up, cupped his hands in salute to Lord Yao, and then raised his hand to gesture the knife wound on his own face. “Since this knife was swung down, logically, the wound should have extended to the right cheek. The reason there is no wound below the nose must be that something blocked it.”
After speaking, Coroner Huang lifted Qian Shipeng’s left hand and pointed to a wound on his arm. “After the deceased received a blow to his right neck, he must have raised his left hand to cover the wound.”
Lord Yao, Lord Zheng, and the fault-finding Investigator Chu all looked at Qian Shipeng’s left hand. Indeed, there were dried bloodstains on his palm.
As he covered the wound on his neck with his left hand, he was stabbed again on the face. The reason his cheek was not wounded was that it was blocked by his left arm.
…