Taking the Bench (1)

Chapter 11 Sitting in the Hall (1)

Amidst the sound of water and the striking of fire sticks against the ground, Le Wuya's darting eyes slowly calmed.

The gavel fell, and the entire hall fell silent.

Aunt Su stood in the hall with red eyes, her expression numb from crying so hard.

Le Wuya: "Who stands before this court, and what complaint do you lodge?"

The lawyer knew the gravity of the situation. He advised Aunt Su that it was a serious crime for a commoner to sue the government. Instead of plainly stating that the magistrate's office had desecrated her ancestor's grave, she should accuse someone unknown of excavating her son's tomb and ask the magistrate's office to provide justice.

After hearing the complaint, Le Wuya blinked, his face showing surprise: "This was an arrangement made by myself."

He turned to Sun Ru on the spot and demanded with righteousness and severity: "Magistrate Sun, did I not say that I would have a proper discussion with the Su family before having Chang Xiaohu exhumed? Why was this not done?"

Magistrate Sun: "..."

Before Magistrate Sun could get a word of defense in, Le Wuya spoke to the stunned Aunt Su in a gentle tone: "My original intention was to examine Chang Xiaohu's body and determine the cause of his death. Who could have known that those below would handle things so poorly and act on a misunderstanding. I am truly sorry."

He steadied himself and said: "Someone come — allocate five taels of silver for the repair of the Chang family's ancestral tomb."

After that, he continued to address Aunt Su cordially: "This matter was handled improperly by this magistrate, damaging the feng shui of the Cháng family tomb. If five taels are insufficient, and a water and land ritual service is needed to restore the feng shui, this magistrate can pay from his own pocket. After the case is closed, Sun County Commander and those servants who made mistakes will personally visit your home to apologize. Ms. Su, do you have anything else to complain about?"

The case moved swiftly and was resolved in the blink of an eye.

If anyone else's grave had been mistakenly dug up by the yamen and they had received such a verdict, they would have pinched their noses and accepted it.

The more cold-hearted ones might even be secretly pleased for a while at the extra money.

But Aunt Su's face showed not a trace of joy — it went livid.

"My son..." Her lips trembled slightly. "Master, tell me — Xiaohu..."

Le Wuya stopped looking at her. "Ms. Su, if you still have objections to the county's verdict, please rise from the ground first and collect your thoughts before filing another complaint. There are a great many cases to hear in this county today."

He struck the gavel and said, "Bring up those two beggars who caused injury."

The two were brought forward, both looking miserable.

Following Le Wuya's earlier instructions, the beggar with the severed arm confessed that he and his brother had gone to the morgue wanting to get some money from the corpses, and had "accidentally" injured someone in the process.

Today, the two brothers were begging around the streets with an injured young beggar they'd taken in, and many people had witnessed them.

The local morgue was primarily used to temporarily store coffins, holding the remains mostly of nameless foreigners—people without kin or connections. Any valuables were already stripped during the encoffination process.

The onlookers felt that the desecrated corpses had nothing to do with them, and moreover, believed that the two brothers were not profiting personally but were acting out of righteousness in trying to save a child. Thus they came forward one after another to testify. Even the young apprentice from the bun shop seized the opportunity in the chaos to add his voice, shouting twice that the two brothers were wronged.

Jiang He stood with his arms folded and watched. He was slightly surprised when he noticed that the magistrate listened to the commotion without moving to silence it, wearing instead an expression of perfect composure.

...As if this chaotic scene were exactly what he had wanted to see.

When the noise gradually died down, Le Wuya looked at the two in the hall: "What are your surnames, and where are you from?"

Both of them started.

Here it was.

They had worked hard for their master and willingly taken the blame. They had endured all of it for this very moment.

The one with the severed arm raised his head: "This humble one is called Hu Wu, from Hejin's Western Camp County. This one and my older brother beside me are cousins, both surnamed Hu..."

The one with the severed leg spoke softly: "This humble one is called Hu Wen."

These were not their real names.

But from this moment forward, they would be Hu Wen and Hu Wu.

Le Wuya asked further: "Do you have travel permits?"

Hu Wu's lips were more nimble, and he continued: "We brothers are of artisan status and possess some skill in lacquerwork."

"What brings you to this place?"

"There was a disaster in our hometown, and we were robbed by bandits while fleeing. We lost everything and were stabbed several times. It was only with great difficulty that we survived..."

In the past two years, there had indeed been drought followed by plague in the Hejin area, displacing countless refugees.

At these words, the crowd below inevitably sighed and murmured in sympathy.

In the hall, Jiang He's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes resting on the two men's injuries.

He thought: most blades used by bandits were sharpened at home — heavy and crude. How could they have severed human limbs so cleanly and evenly?

It looked more like the work of a well-forged military saber.

Yet he had no intention of saying so aloud.

First, he needed to keep his identity concealed.

Second, he knew he was not particularly quick-witted in speech.

For reasons he had never quite understood, whenever he spoke too much, he inevitably ended up being laughed at. Over time, he had simply grown accustomed to saying little.

Le Wuya had been quietly watching him all the while. When he saw the boy open his mouth as if to speak and then think better of it, he allowed himself a small smile, then struck the gavel, bringing the hall back to order.

Le Wuya said gravely: "If your intention was merely to steal, why would you beat a public official for no reason? Do not lie — tell the truth."

Jiang He gave a slight nod at this.

That too was a point worth questioning.

What the two brothers had wanted was money. Even if someone had walked in on them, it would have been far simpler to bolt — especially given their disabilities, since the two of them together might not have been able to overpower a single opponent.

If flight was the wisest move, why resort to violence?

Hu Wu was confident.

Le Wuya had already spoken with him privately beforehand, giving him ample time to work out what the magistrate was after.

He suddenly threw himself to the ground in a full kowtow and said tearfully: "Your Honor — I am guilty! At first we didn't know he was an official, and we thought he too had come to steal. We two brothers had hidden ourselves well. Who would have expected someone to come in, start digging, and end up touching a body that had only just been brought in? I thought: even if you're asking for money, this is going too far — pawing at a dead man's corpse is shameful, the kind of thing that damages a man's character. My brother was even more frightened. When he moved, the man heard him. He called out, 'Who's there?' and when we turned around, we saw he was holding a knife. The two of us were terrified — both of us crippled, unable to run fast. We were afraid he'd catch up and kill us, so we decided to strike first. We rushed at him without thinking. When we came to our senses, he was already on the ground. He then said that he had been sent on business by Your Excellency and was... the magistrate's coroner. Only then did we two brothers realize we had done something terribly wrong. We had no choice but to turn ourselves in. This humble one is guilty! This humble one is guilty!"

Having said all this, he was already shaking violently, kowtowing and begging for mercy, looking utterly wretched.

The crowd below erupted in murmurs.

Put in that position, if they were these two brothers and saw a man in a pile of corpses holding a sharp blade, dissecting bodies, they would surely have been frightened to death.

If they did not resist, they might well become one of those nameless corpses.

Lè Wúyá nodded: "Bring the coroner Shang up."

Magistrate Sun had his competencies. Even in such a chaotic situation, he had found time to send someone to fetch a doctor and set Coroner Shang's broken leg.

Coroner Shang had been drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain in the back hall. He had not even known why he had been beaten so badly.

But he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

He had received a letter from Magistrate Sun and gone to morgue on his own initiative. If the master asked him why he had gone to morgue, how would he explain himself?

He had tried to work out an excuse, but the pain from his wound was so overwhelming that he truly could not concentrate.

Now brought before the bench, seeing the two beggars kneeling beside him and the magistrate wearing a mysterious smile, his sense of foreboding intensified.

And yet, whatever one fears, it always comes to pass.

Le Wuya: "Coroner Shang, let me ask you — when did I instruct you to go to morgue?"

Coroner Shang: "..."

He drew a slow breath, his eyes drifting involuntarily toward Magistrate Sun.

Magistrate Sun, though inwardly bitter, met his gaze with an air of untroubled composure.

Magistrate Sun knew he had given nothing away.

He had only told Coroner Shang that the master had discovered Chang Xiaohu's body — he had never given him leave to go to morgue and tamper with it.

The moment Coroner Shang met Magistrate Sun's eyes, he understood there was no dragging the man down with him. He could only say vaguely: "I... I heard that Chang Xiaohu's body had been transported to Yizhuang, so I thought I would go take a look in advance... It was a small matter."

He hoped that Le Wuya was still that simple-headed little official, and that once he raised the banner of his duties, the magistrate would be left speechless.

But Le Wuya was not taken in at all. He seized on the most critical point and pressed hard: "These two men just said that I sent you on business. Shang Wuzuo, when exactly did I send you to the morgue? Since you are so willing to make decisions in my name, why should I still be sitting in this seat?"

Shang Wuzuo's heart lurched.

Everything had devolved into chaos, and he could no longer recall what he had shouted to avoid being beaten to death.

Using the magistrate's name to throw his weight around in private was one thing — doing it openly in court was another matter entirely.

He endured the pain and replied: "Your Honor, I said no such thing!"

After all, only three pairs of ears had been in Yizhuang at that moment. As long as both sides held to their own accounts, there was still room to maneuver.

But Hu Wu immediately looked up with an expression of bewilderment and said: "Sir, if you said nothing of the kind, how do I know your surname is Shang and your title is Coroner? If you hadn't said the grand master had sent you on business, why would two men who'd just beaten someone up bother to bring you to the yamen to surrender? We'd have simply left you in Yizhuang and ran."

The man was sharp-tongued and quick. Coroner Shang was left momentarily speechless, before retorting angrily: "Nonsense! The two of you attacked me without provocation. I identified myself when you had already laid into me. When did I ever say I was there on the magistrate's business?"

Le Wuya rested his cheek on his hand and watched Coroner Shang's face flush red and his neck bulge, then cut in unhurriedly: "Coroner Shang, what you mean to say is that these two men did not know you were an official before they struck you. Is that correct?"

Cornered, Coroner Shang had no choice but to answer: "Yes!"

Le Wuya turned to his scribe. The scribe, who had not needed to be told, had already picked up his brush, dipped it in dark ink, and was poised to record the case file.

Lè Wúyá declared aloud: "Hu Wen and Hu Wu, having secretly gone to the morgue intending to steal property from the dead, according to the Great Yu Criminal Code, shall receive fifty strokes for failing to obtain the property and be spared tattooing. For assaulting a government official and severing his limbs, they should ordinarily receive one hundred strokes and be exiled three thousand li. However, as they did not know Coroner Shang's identity, and further took the initiative to confess, their sentence is reduced by two degrees. Additionally, believing Coroner Shàng carried a blade when entering the morgue, they acted in self-defense. Thus Hu Wen and Hu Wu's actions were justified, and their sentence is reduced by two more degrees. Combining both crimes, they shall receive fifty strokes of the cane and twenty strokes of the rod. After punishment, they are permitted to register their household registration and seek their own livelihood."

He looked at the two of them and said calmly: "Do you accept the punishment?"

Coroner Shang was at a loss for words.

Why was the punishment so light?

But then he thought about it — his own tongue had tied itself in knots, and he had nothing left to say.

Just moments ago, he had insisted that he had not declared his official identity before being struck — which meant these two wretched beggars had indeed acted in ignorance, and their crimes warranted reduction.

Before Hu Wen and Hu Wu had even fully processed what they had heard, the crowd broke into loud cheers.

Jiang He also gave a quiet nod of approval.

Though there were still some doubts about these two men, they had been willing to care for the little beggar — even stealing for his sake to keep him alive. There was something genuinely chivalrous in that.

If the punishment were too severe, the people would be left dissatisfied; if too lenient, an injured official of the yamen would go without redress, and the court's authority would suffer.

The magistrate's verdict was both lawful and humane — it could not have been more fitting.

Hu Wen and Hu Wu were overjoyed.

The two of them were tough and thickset. They had been beaten and dressed down often enough in the military camp that a little physical punishment was nothing to them.

What mattered most was this: from this day forward, having come through by an open and legitimate path, they could shed their status as deserters. No more scraping together bribes for the district chief in hopes of obtaining household registration. No more living in constant dread. There was now a real chance at a peaceful life...

It was more than they had ever dared to hope for.

They readily accepted the penalty and were led away to receive their beating, barely suppressing their relief.

One case closed, and on to the next.

Le Wuya smiled and said: "Coroner Shang, it's your turn now. You..."

He looked at Coroner Shang, noting the man's pallid face, labored breathing, and the air of someone on the verge of fainting, and said considerately: "As you were so busy running errands, this county will appreciate your dedication to public duty and overlook your having used my name. Which body was it that you moved?"

Coroner Shang's breath caught in his throat. He did not dare to faint. He pressed his head to the floor and said nothing.

Le Wuya raised an eyebrow and said with a pointed edge: "Let me guess — it wouldn't happen to be Chang Xiaohu, would it?"

Not only Coroner Shang was shaken — Jiang He was too.

...How was his tone so... like the Young General?

The moment those words left his mouth, Le Wuya felt a flicker of self-consciousness.

It was no use. He was by nature a petty man. This veneer of a gentleman sat on him like a coat borrowed from someone else — it never quite fit right.

He glanced over at Jiang He and saw the boy looking downward, lost in thought, so he pressed on with his gentlemanly act and said evenly: "Come — Coroner Shang's legs are not fit for movement. Please bring Chang Xiaohu's body."

Aunt Su, who had been slumped listlessly nearby, suddenly raised her head and stared into the distance.

Chang Xiaohu was carried into the hall on a stretcher.

A sheet of white linen covered his thin, slight body.

Her little tiger had been frail and small since childhood, but this corpse looked even more desolate and pitiable than she remembered.

She had missed Chang Xiaohu so desperately. Just a short while ago, in front of the government office, she had been like a raging tigress. Now that she truly faced her son's body, it was as if some force had nailed her to the spot. She could not move forward.

Six months ago, she had sued Xiaofu Coal Mine over Chang Xiaohu's death. That night, Xiaofu Coal Mine had sent men to her home with a condolence sum that was, by the standards of such things, relatively generous — along with a few threats that mingled softness with menace.

"Aunt Su, please understand. No matter how hard the yamen pushes, Chang Xiaohu can only be ruled an accident. That is the reality."

"You know as well as anyone that Xiaofu Coal Mine is the property of Chen Dashan. Chen Dashan is a well-known figure here in Jincheng. If he was willing to take on your sickly son, he was taking a risk. Frankly speaking — if Xiaohu dies of illness in the mine, the mine still has to pay for the burial. Why would he hire a weak one rather than a strong, healthy worker? It was out of consideration for a fellow villager. Do you really have the heart to drag his name through the mud like this?"

"When people see you repaying kindness with hatred, they may think twice before taking you on for work in the future."

Without anyone to lean on, alone as she was, Aunt Su had been genuinely frightened.

She took the money, withdrew the complaint, and kept her silence no matter how loudly Scholar Ming protested later.

But she had never imagined she would see her buried son again.

Seeing that Aunt Su had gone rigid where she stood before the hall, Le Wuya ordered: "Ms. Su, please come down to the hall."

It was not appropriate for her to be watching from that position.

Aunt Su's composure crumbled and she burst into tears.

Only when the jailer pulled her did she awaken as if from a dream. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, uttering incoherent words. She merely collapsed on the floor, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, crying out confusedly: "Your Excellency, virtuous magistrate..."

The jailer, thinking she was about to make a scene in court, was just about to intervene when he heard Le Wuya issue a calm order: "If she wishes to remain and watch, let her remain."

Chang Xiaohu had died under mysterious circumstances.

Aunt Su was illiterate and timid. But she was human, and she still harbored grievances and anger, and there were things she wanted to know.

Le Wuya descended from the dais and removed the white linen cloth.

Chang Xiaohu had been buried in the earth for half a year — from summer through to winter. The body had half-dried and half-rotted, a mingling of white bone and shrunken flesh. What skin and muscle remained had blackened and pulled tight against the skeleton. When uncovered, there was no odor, yet those who had pressed forward to watch still instinctively covered their noses.

Le Wuya studied the hollow eye sockets of the skull for a moment, then looked lower.

A cut had been made across the chest of the corpse. The wound was extremely clean.

Le Wuya did not look to Shang Wuzuo. He called out coldly: "Sun Ru."

Magistrate Sun startled at being addressed so directly and replied at once: "Here."

"You were careless in your handling of this." Le Wuya pointed to the wound. "I had Chang Xiaohu's body exhumed because I was investigating an old case. You failed to inform the family, you damaged the body, and nothing was done right. What crime do you think you deserve?"

Magistrate Sun heard the cold edge in his voice and glanced at the shape of the wound. It had not been caused by the digging and moving of the body — that much was plain. Recalling a few words from the "Hu brothers'" testimony moments ago, he understood:

Ah. The master was feigning ignorance again.

He simply lowered himself to the ground: "Your Honor, how would I dare to be lax in a task you have set me? Though the office workers can be rough around the edges at times, they do take care with their hands when digging. Chang Xiaohu's body was sealed in a thin coffin. When the men took the body out, they slid a white cloth beneath it and lifted it out with care. Therefore, this wound could not have been caused during the exhumation. It appears... it appears..."

Le Wuya supplied the rest: "It appears to be a stab wound — which is consistent with the testimony of the Hu brothers."

Le Wuya's steady gaze settled on Shang Wuzuo, who was sweating profusely: "Coroner Shang's everyday coroner knife can be used for comparison. If the blade profile matches, that is physical evidence; if one of the Hu brothers witnessed it firsthand, that is testimony."

"Coroner, you crept to morgue in the dead of night and tampered with Chang Xiaohu's body. What were you trying to accomplish?"

Shang Wuzuo, knowing the ground had shifted beneath him, said nothing.

The more you say, the more you incriminate yourself.

He didn't understand enough to...

Before he could finish the thought, he heard Le Wuya's voice turn cold: "Since you are unwilling to speak and an examination is not convenient at present — shall I fulfill my duty for you and conduct the autopsy here in open court?"