Zhao Sheng was quick-witted and sharp-minded. Upon hearing Liu Jiu’s words, he immediately spoke up: “Judge Li, I am Zhao Gengtian’s grandson, his family. I consent to the craniotomy.”
Without the craniotomy, it would mean certain death.
Moreover, for an old bastard like Zhao Gengtian, having his skull opened to deny him peace in death brought Zhao Sheng even greater satisfaction.
Yan Tongshu also urged: “Your Honor, a human life is at stake.”
Judge Li paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, then turned his gaze to Yang Dama, who was kneeling nearby.
Ever since Zhao Sheng’s arrest, Yang Dama had been kneeling outside. Her hair had turned white from kneeling, her body had weakened, and her eyesight had grown dim.
He, too, had an elderly mother.
Back when he was taking the imperial examinations, for as long as he sat for the exams, his old mother would wait outside with dry provisions, her heart weary and her spirit exhausted.
This Zhao Sheng was a troublemaker, but hadn’t he himself failed the imperial exams three times before finally passing on the fourth attempt? Hadn’t he, too, been a source of worry?
How pitiful is the heart of a parent!
Moreover, human life is of utmost importance—what in this world could be more significant than a human life?
Judge Li’s eyes suddenly cleared with resolve, and he granted permission: “Proceed with the autopsy.”
Yan Tongshu breathed a sigh of relief: “Yes, I will conduct the examination with the utmost rigor.”
With permission granted, the bailiffs went to prepare the tools for the craniotomy and autopsy.
Yan Tongshu, meanwhile, changed into the brown garments worn by coroners during autopsies, donning a dark apron and gloves.
Once dressed, he returned to the courtroom with a cloth covering his face.
Zhenzhu tugged at Yan Tongshu’s sleeve, on the verge of tears: “Young master, young master…”
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and tears welled in her eyes—she was truly struggling to hold back her sobs. She wanted to beg Yan Tongshu not to perform the autopsy, but right beside her stood Yang Dama, who looked so pitiful…
Oh dear!
She didn’t know what to do.
Yan Tongshu patted her hand: “Don’t be afraid, it’s alright.”
Zhenzhu sniffled: “Young master, when we return, I’ll go buy pomelo leaves.”
Yan Tongshu nodded with a smile: “Alright.”
The autopsy tools were already laid out. Yan Tongshu approached Zhao Gengtian.
The cloth covering his face was stuffed with ginger and garlic to mask the stench of decay.
Zhenzhu clutched Yang Dama’s hand and closed her eyes. She dared not look—she would rather die than witness it.
Yan Tongshu picked up the knife beside him. With his left hand, he steadied Zhao Gengtian’s head, while his right hand began cutting along the wound.
Zhao Sheng had craned his neck, eager to see what would happen, only to watch the young master—usually so refined and delicate—slice open Zhao Gengtian’s flesh with a knife, take up a saw, and begin sawing through Zhao Gengtian’s skull.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Like sawing through wood.
The scene was grotesque, with blood and flesh flying about.
Ugh.
Zhao Sheng turned his head away and began retching.
Yang Dama also shut her eyes.
The surrounding bailiffs uniformly averted their gazes to the outside, avoiding the horrifying sight within the room.
Judge Li glanced briefly, then quickly turned his back and closed his eyes.
A long while later, Zhao Gengtian’s skull was finally sawed open.
“Your Honor.”
Judge Li heard Yan Tongshu’s clear, cool voice from behind him.
He turned his head, glanced briefly, then hurriedly shut his eyes again.
Yan Tongshu paused for a moment: “Your Honor, you must look. How else can you determine the source of the hemorrhage?”
Judge Li had to look, and the clerk responsible for recording the proceedings also had to observe.
Seeking to improve Judge Li’s impression of him, Liu Jiu quickly handed cloth pads infused with ginger to both men.
Judge Li took the cloth pad, covered his mouth and nose, stepped forward, and leaned slightly to examine the scene.
Yan Tongshu pointed to the congealed blood inside and said, "Your Honor, please look here. There is bleeding in Zhao Gengtian's skull at this location, and the amount of blood loss is substantial, with the blood having pooled and coagulated. Moreover, this bleeding site is some distance away from the wound on the back of his head, with no connection between them.
The injury on the back of his head is very shallow, with the skull intact and no internal damage—it is merely a superficial wound. This is sufficient to prove that Zhao Gengtian's illness was the true cause of his death."
Judge Li held his breath, confirmed the condition inside the skull, and said to the clerk, "Record all of this."
The clerk dared not approach too closely and replied tremblingly, "Yes."
Judge Li tossed the cloth back onto the tray and returned to his official seat. "In that case, it appears Zhao Gengtian brought this upon himself. There is no perpetrator in this case."
This meant an acquittal was imminent.
Yang Dama was momentarily overwhelmed with emotion, and tears of joy instantly streamed from her clouded eyes.
Zhao Sheng also wore a look of delight.
Zhenzhu closed her eyes and nodded vigorously. Thank goodness, it’s finally over. Oh, how terrifying this has been.
I never want to set foot in the courtroom of Kaifeng Prefecture again.
"Your Honor."
Just before the verdict was announced, Yan Tongshu suddenly spoke up. "There is a perpetrator in this case."
Judge Li frowned. "Wasn’t Zhao Gengtian killed by illness?"
Yan Tongshu replied, "He died of illness, but there is a perpetrator in this case."
If the man died of illness, how could there be a perpetrator in the case?
Judge Li asked, "Who?"
Yan Tongshu answered, "Zhao Sheng’s second uncle, Zhao Gengtian’s second son, Zhao Li."
Judge Li questioned, "What do you mean by this?"
Yan Tongshu removed the cloth covering his face, his voice as steady as ever. "There is no perpetrator in Zhao Gengtian’s murder case, but there is one in the extortion case. Zhao Gengtian did not come up with the extortion scheme alone. It was his son, Zhao Li, who gave him the idea. The two conspired to seize the gravy recipe of the Yang family’s noodle shop."
Yan Tongshu turned to look at Yang Dama. "Yang Dama, please tell us, hasn’t Zhao Lao Er always been coveting your family’s gravy recipe?"
Yang Dama declared loudly, "Yes! Your Honor, Zhao Lao Er has repeatedly attempted to extort our family’s gravy recipe. He even tampered with our gravy in the past. He once opened a noodle stall opposite mine, but I kept a close watch on him, so he never succeeded."
Yan Tongshu pointed to Zhenzhu and said, "Zhenzhu, repeat to His Honor what you overheard Zhao Lao Er say while he was drunk."
Zhenzhu, still with her eyes closed, said, "Your Honor, about seven days ago, Zhao Lao Er was drinking with Niu Datou, a woodcutter from the village. While drunk, he boasted that in a few days, the Yang family would willingly hand over the recipe. Once he made money from it, he could repay all his debts."
Judge Li ordered the bailiffs to summon Niu Datou and Zhao Lao Er.
Judge Li asked, "Is there any other evidence?"
Yan Tongshu nodded and presented three medical prescriptions recently issued to Zhao Lao Er.
Yan Tongshu explained, "Your Honor, these three prescriptions were issued to Zhao Lao Er at the Rende Hall, where he sought treatment—one and a half months ago, one month ago, and half a month ago.
The first two prescriptions are identical, both prescribing ointments containing beech tree sap. Zhao Lao Er suffers from joint pain on rainy days, and applying a plaster made from beech tree sap relieves his pain."
However, half a month ago, Zhao Lao Er had forcefully demanded that the physician at Rende Hall change his prescription, switching it to beech tree sap. Soaking the joints with the sap would also have the same pain-relieving medicinal effect, but it was purer and more expensive. Kaifeng did not produce beech trees, making beech tree sap rare and only available for sale as medicinal material in pharmacies.
Zhao Gengtian, a man who had never been willing to spend money on medical treatment or medicine—aside from obtaining it from Zhao Lao Er, where else could he have gotten beech tree sap to fake bruises? If Zhao Lao Er was not conspiring with Zhao Gengtian, why would he suddenly force the physician to change the prescription, switching from beech tree ointment to beech tree infusion?"
Judge Li immediately dispatched a bailiff to summon the physician from Rende Hall.
Soon, Zhao Lao Er, the physician from Rende Hall, and Niu Datou arrived together.
Just as Yang Dama had trembled with fear and felt her throat tighten upon entering the Kaifeng Prefecture government office, Zhao Lao Er had never seen such a formidable scene either.
As the court's authority settled, he collapsed to the ground in terror, confessing to everything Judge Li asked.
Zhao Lao Er cried, tears and snot smeared across his face: "Your Honor, I… I didn’t want my father to die. We just wanted to extort something—I never intended for my father to lose his life! I’m wronged!"
It turned out that on the day Zhao Lao Er went to the medical clinic, he saw someone applying beech tree sap, and within moments, the area where the sap was applied turned bruised. He immediately conceived a wicked idea.
Beech tree infusion was purer than beech tree sap ointment, more effective for treating illness, and also more expensive. Zhao Lao Er had been reluctant to spend the money and had chosen the beech tree ointment instead. But now, with a money-making scheme in mind, he was willing to pay for the medicine and immediately demanded a change in prescription.
After obtaining the medicine and returning home, Zhao Lao Er and Zhao Gengtian hit it off right away.
The two had long disliked Yang Dama—why should a woman like her live a better life than two grown men?
Over drinks, they hatched a plan and came up with the idea of pretending to have been beaten to extort and blackmail.
Originally, if nothing had happened to Zhao Gengtian, the matter of the beating would have been handled at most by the village head for mediation and would never have drawn the attention of the prefectural government.
Zhao Sheng had a poor reputation to begin with and was at odds with Zhao Gengtian, so no one would doubt that he had beaten someone. The plan would have succeeded.
To keep the peace, Yang Dama would surely have handed over the gravy recipe.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Gengtian died, turning a minor family dispute into a major murder case that was handed over to Kaifeng Prefecture.
Only then did Zhao Lao Er realize how badly things had gone. Over the past few days, he had been living in constant fear, hiding at home and hoping that Zhao Sheng would be quickly beheaded so the matter could be put to rest.
"Ugh! Scoundrel!"
Zhenzhu cursed angrily with her eyes closed.
Zhao Sheng was even more furious—he had nearly lost his life! And because he refused to confess, he had received twenty lashes with the bamboo rod!
How could he swallow this anger?
Zhao Sheng rushed over, ready to strike Zhao Lao Er.
Yan Tongshu shot him a sharp glare: "Still hitting people? Have you considered that if it weren’t for your poor reputation, Zhao Lao Er wouldn’t have been so confident that no one would believe you if you said you didn’t beat anyone? Would he have dared to scheme against you like this?"
Zhao Sheng dared not move, lowering his head without daring to argue.
Since the case was now clear, Judge Li had Zhao Lao Er taken into custody. Conspiring with his own father to commit extortion was not a minor crime, and Zhao Lao Er would at least be sentenced to two years of hard labor.
Judge Li said, "Alright, Zhao Sheng, you may go."
Zhao Sheng immediately kowtowed in gratitude: "Thank you, Judge Li. Your Honor is discerning and impartial."
Judge Li shook his head: "Before you leave, I must say a few words to you. Look at your elderly mother—she knelt for days and nights for your sake, nearly losing her life. After you go out, live properly and don't let her worry anymore. Don't wait until the day your mother is no longer here, when you return home to a solitary lamp, regretting that you can no longer fulfill your filial duties!"
Zhao Sheng hurriedly agreed: "Yes, yes. After I go out, I will definitely live properly and be filial to my mother."
Judge Li struck the court gavel: "Court adjourned."
Yan Tongshu first went to wash up and change back into his own clothes before coming to fetch Zhenzhu.
Yan Tongshu tapped her head: "Wake up, you can open your eyes now?"
Zhanzhu cracked her eyes open a slit: "Really?"
Yan Tongshu smiled helplessly: "Really, court has adjourned."
Zhenzhu sobbed and hugged Yan Tongshu: "Young master, you scared me to death, scared me to death. Can we never come to Kaifeng Prefecture again?"
Yan Tongshu nodded with a smile: "What are you thinking? This was a special situation. We don't commit crimes, why would we come here?"
Zhenzhu shed tears while saying: "And don't touch those corpses anymore, they're too terrifying."
Yan Tongshu coaxed her: "Alright, alright, no more touching. Besides, where would your young master find so many corpses to handle? That's the government's business."
Zhenzhu nodded vigorously.
Yan Tongshu: "Let's go, home. We've been out so long, I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry? Let's go. We'll go home to eat."
Zhenzhu stopped crying at once, her face blooming into a bright smile: "Okay, let's go home."
As Yan Tongshu and Zhenzhu walked out of the county office, Yang Dama led Zhao Sheng to kneel before Yan Tongshu.
Author's Note: