Chapter 028: The Case of the Naked Corpse in Yunshui Lane (Part 1)
Sun Shaozong hurried out of the Jia Mansion and saw three yamen runners in green robes and black hats standing at the foot of the wall on the right side of the gate.
The head of the yamen runners saw that Sun Shaozong was sturdy and strong, and looked about 70% like the legendary one, so he hurried forward, bowed deeply, and asked cautiously: "Excuse me, are you the new criminal judge Mr. Sun?"
Sun Shaozong looked him up and down and saw that the leader was about thirty years old, with a look of uneasiness on his face and his eyes were wandering. He didn't dare to look him in the eye. He became more and more certain that there must be something fishy going on.
So he frowned and said, "I received a transfer order to take up the post after the New Year. Why did you come to my house before the New Year?"
The horse-faced squad leader knew it was the real boss, so he didn't rush to reply. Instead, he called two colleagues over. The three of them lined up in a triangle shape and bowed respectfully, "We are here to see the judge."
"Okay, stop with all this nonsense."
Sun Shaozong waved his hand and asked again: "According to the rules, I haven't officially taken office yet, so even if there is a big case, it shouldn't be my turn, right?"
The horse-faced foreman then smiled and said, "Master, I don't want to disturb your peace, but the governor has ordered that a sudden murder case during the New Year is unlucky and must be solved as soon as possible to avoid causing panic among the people. Therefore, you have been appointed to be in charge of the case."
As he spoke, he glanced at Sun Shaozong's face and saw that he was neither anxious nor slow, but his eyes were as blazing as an eagle. He did not dare to sneak a glance at him anymore and continued hurriedly: "The governor said that you solved a great case in Qianxiang Country in half a day, so this murder case is no problem at all. He also asked you to close the case before New Year's Eve."
Apart from the third-rank prefect and the fourth-rank chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, the highest-ranking official was the fifth-rank governor - and the 'Governor' was in charge of criminal litigation and was the direct superior of the Tongpan of Criminal Law, so he naturally had the right to assign tasks to Sun Shaozong.
However, it is now the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are less than three days left before the deadline for closing the case. The other party is impatient to wait for Sun Shaozong to officially take office. It is obvious that the other party’s purpose is not to solve the case, but to take the opportunity to give Sun Shaozong a warning!
"Master Zhizhong really knows how to promote people."
Sun Shaozong sneered and asked, "So, this should be an unsolved case with no clues?"
The horse-faced foreman suddenly shrank half an inch, but he didn't dare to comment, so he pretended not to hear anything and awkwardly recounted the case in general:
But this morning, someone found a bulging big hemp sack in a small alley on Yunshui Lane West Street. They thought they had found some treasure, but when they opened it, they found out that it was a naked male corpse!
There was not even a piece of cloth on the male corpse's body, and his face was scratched by a sharp weapon. In addition, all the traces nearby were covered by the snow, so there was no useful clue at all.
The bailiffs had no choice but to conduct a thorough search, but because it was New Year's Eve, every household within a few miles was very quiet, and they did not find any news about the missing person.
As a result, the case came to a stalemate.
But now is a time of universal celebration. If this case cannot be solved, we will inevitably be blamed by our superiors.
So the governor frowned and came up with a plan, so he pushed the case onto Sun Shaozong, intending to kill two birds with one stone - not only to relieve himself of the responsibility, but also to dampen Sun Shaozong's spirit and eliminate his edge in solving strange cases!
"What's so good about a male corpse? Have you ever seen a naked female corpse?"
Sun Shaozong was analyzing the case when he heard someone complaining behind him. It turned out that Jia Lian had packed up and hurried to the gate of the mansion.
What does this playboy think of a murder case?
Sun Shaozong turned around helplessly and rolled his eyes at him, but found that in addition to the three regular servants, Jia Lian also brought five strong servants with him - it was obvious that they wanted to watch the fun but were afraid of encountering danger.
Sun Shaozong was too lazy to bother with Jia Lian, so he asked the yamen runner again: "Where is the body now? Is it still at the scene?"
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The horse-faced squad leader nodded his head and said, "I have specially arranged a few brothers to guard there, and we are waiting for you to make the final decision!"
--Dividing line--
Yunshui Lane is located in the southeast of the outer city. Although the location is not very good, it is much better than the slums in the south. Most of the people living here are well-off families or branches of wealthy families that have fallen on hard times.
Although Jia Lian was very excited on the way here, when he arrived at the crime scene and saw the bloody face, his enthusiasm suddenly cooled. He just covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief from a distance and refused to move forward even a step.
The crime scene was a relatively secluded alley, only half a meter wide, but three or four hundred meters long and connected in all directions. Because the light was blocked by the mottled walls on both sides, it seemed a bit dark even in the daytime.
The body was leaning against the middle of the alley, its face covered in blood, its upper body naked and exposed, while its lower body was curled up in a sack.
According to the horse-faced foreman, the body had already been taken out, but half of it was put back on later to avoid offending the eyes of onlookers.
Sun Shaozong came to the corpse and looked at the wound on the face carefully. He found that although the wound looked scary, it was not very deep. It only scratched a layer of flesh and did not damage the skull.
According to the analysis of the amount of bleeding from the wound, it should not be the cause of death, but an act done after death.
After looking at the facial wounds, he reached out and touched the top of the corpse's head to make sure that there was no damage under the dry and split hair. He then asked the horse-faced squad leader for a piece of coarse cloth used to wrap evidence, put it on his hand, and pinched open the corpse's mouth.
It was discovered that there was some black-purple plasma in the mouth, but the upper and lower rows of teeth were still intact and clean, at least much better than those of ordinary people of the same era.
After checking the mouth, Sun Shaozong carefully searched downwards and found several pinch marks on the corpse's armpits and shoulders.
Seeing that the lower half of his body was in the sack, he ordered, "Get him out. Remember to be careful not to damage the surface marks of the body."
The horse-faced yamen runner waved his hands, and several yamen runners rushed forward and worked together to get the corpse out of the sack.
While they were fiddling with the corpse, the horse-faced squad leader came up and said with a smile, "Sir, there aren't any wounds on the lower body. If my guess is correct, he must have been poisoned to death..."
"Huh?!"
Before he could finish, he heard Sun Shaozong exclaimed, snatched the sword from his waist, squatted down without saying a word, and carefully fiddled with the object between the corpse's crotch with the scabbard, his face full of excitement, as if he had discovered something rare and beautiful.
The horse-faced squad leader's anus tightened just by looking at him, and he thought to himself, this new Lord Sun, could he have some kind of hobby? !
