Chapter 56: Big Bowl Noodles

“What a heavy rain!”

Inside the posthouse east of Kaifeng Prefecture, a postal clerk looked out at the pouring rain and sighed.

“You said it!” a colleague behind him laughed. “But this rain came just in time. A few days ago during wheat harvest, the sunny weather was perfect for cutting wheat. These days, the beans need to grow and were really short of rain.”

Postal clerks were low-level government employees with meager salaries, often needing financial support from their family’s farmland to make ends meet.

In the area east of Kaifeng Prefecture, many families grew wheat and beans. The same was true for many postal clerks’ families. A few days ago, a prolonged drought benefited wheat but made other crops and vegetables suffer, causing much anxiety.

Now seeing the heavy rain, everyone felt relieved.

As the two were chatting, they suddenly heard rhythmic sounds coming from afar. They exchanged glances, quickly stood up, and shouted inwardly, “Messengers are coming, less than ten people. Hurry up and prepare!”

Experienced clerks could instantly distinguish the sound of horse hooves and estimate the number to be ready for reception at any time.

The official road connected to the posthouse was only accessible to postal runners, officials and their families, or examination candidates with special permits from the imperial court. Postal runners usually rode alone with bells on them, ordinary officials often rode in carriages, while students mostly walked or rode donkeys, making the sounds different.

This group coming from the west had no bell sounds, few people, and fast speed, most likely being constables or martial officials from Kaifeng Prefecture on official business.

As everyone was preparing, the sound of horse hooves rapidly approached. Soon, a group of riders emerged from behind the dense forest around the corner, roughly seven or eight people.

These riders were highly skilled, unafraid of galloping in the rain. Dozens of iron hooves heavily struck the rain-filled potholes, splashing up a wave of muddy water.

In the blink of an eye, the group reached the posthouse entrance. The well-prepared staff rushed forward to help them dismount, lead the horses to the stable, and asked for official documents.

The leader was an extremely young and handsome martial official. After dismounting, he first looked back at his companions to confirm everything was in order before saying, “Xie Yu, military patrol officer of Kaifeng Prefecture, is heading to Sheng’an Town in Donghe County on official business.”

Immediately, a postal clerk noted down the information and prepared rooms according to each person’s rank.

“Please come inside and rest, hot water and ginger soup will be ready shortly. Would you also like to change clothes?”

Posthouses near the capital were considered the face of the Dali Dynasty, generally well-equipped with convenient nearby shopping, as they often hosted high-ranking officials and nobles, ensuring all daily necessities were available.

Xie Yu said, “There’s no need for clothes, but prepare plenty of hot water.”

People from Kaifeng Prefecture were accustomed to sudden departures, always keeping a ready bag in their rooms with spare clothes and essential items, so they didn’t need to rely on external supplies.

As the postal clerks were recording everything and about to leave, they saw the group removing their straw capes and bamboo hats, revealing faces, and among them was a young, pretty girl!

The clerks couldn’t help but be taken aback.

In this day and age, women were also accompanying missions?

Summer rain came quickly and went quickly. Xie Yu’s group had set out from Kaifeng Prefecture yesterday evening, riding through the night and most of the day. The rain kept stopping and starting, accompanied by strong winds, soaking everyone completely.

Without further ado, they all went to bathe and change clothes.

They were efficient, and after about two quarters of an hour, they gathered in Xie Yu’s room, sipping ginger soup while discussing the case.

The town they were heading to, Sheng’an, belonged to Donghe County. Normally, when a case occurred, the local county magistrate would handle it, either solving it or reporting to Kaifeng Prefecture if stuck. However, this time, upon discovering the body, County Magistrate Chen Wei immediately ordered a report.

Ma Bing was puzzled and asked about it.

The messenger, seeing that Xie Yu and others did not stop him, honestly replied, “Young lady, you may not know, the local situation is indeed quite complicated…”

Originally, Sheng’an Town was just a small riverside settlement. Later, many people crossed the river for livelihood and married locals, gradually spreading to the other side.

To facilitate management, the imperial court divided the area with the river as the boundary, naming the east bank Donghe County and the west bank Xihé County.

Originally planning to split Sheng’an Town, the plan was abandoned due to the deep-rooted intermarriages and daily interactions among the residents. For example, Zhang San lived on the west bank but his elderly mother resided on the east; Wang Erma’s family lived on the east but ran a shop on the west, needing to commute daily.

Dividing the town would not only require reorganizing all household registrations but also pose significant challenges in daily identity checks and checkpoints. Thus, the division never happened, and the town remained under Donghe County’s jurisdiction.

As a result, the town was split, facing each other across the river with a bridge connecting them, convenient for daily life but troublesome for officials from both counties.

Administratively belonging to Donghe County, Sheng’an Town had most of its area in Xihé County, with residents’ household registrations mixed between the two counties, making governance extremely difficult.

The unidentified male body was found in the middle of the river, with no documents indicating his identity or origin, leaving both county magistrates in a dilemma over jurisdiction.

After the Donghe County residents discovered the body and reported it, Magistrate Chen Wei, knowing his strengths in educating the people and managing agriculture but not in solving cases, decided to report it immediately.

Currently, with the critical period for soybean growth, summer flood season, and the upcoming autumn examination, the workload was heavy and complex, leaving him overwhelmed.

This case inevitably required joint investigation by both counties, but he lacked the authority to directly request cooperation from the neighboring county, making negotiations complicated.

Since murder cases needed to be reported to Kaifeng Prefecture anyway, he decided to report it immediately to free himself for fieldwork.

Ma Bing listened, suddenly understanding but also finding it amusing, “That Magistrate Chen Wei is indeed…”

At a loss for words.

Most officials cared about their reputation, usually covering up issues to look good in their performance reviews, but he openly admitted, “I’m just not good at solving cases!”

It was simply, simply refreshingly honest.

Xie Yu continued, “I know Chen Wei. He is indeed skilled in governance. Since he took office in Donghe County, river management and agriculture have greatly improved, tax revenues increased, and people’s lives have improved. The emperor has praised him many times.”

Unfortunately, no one is perfect; he just fell short in solving cases.

However, Chen Wei was straightforward, never pretending to know what he didn’t, never making arbitrary judgments, and always submitting memorials for help when encountering difficult cases, which, although often mocked by colleagues, was one of his virtues.

Although the current emperor often found him dull, he always appreciated his honesty, approving his requests whenever possible.

The clerk nodded enthusiastically, proudly saying, “That’s right, Magistrate Chen is indeed a good official. Two years ago, when his term ended, he was originally to be transferred elsewhere, but the people were reluctant to let him go, sending several ‘Ten Thousand People Umbrellas,’ following him for dozens of miles crying. The emperor was deeply moved and allowed him to stay for another term.”

Ma Bing immediately said, “That truly is a good official.”

She spoke quickly and eagerly, drawing an extra glance from Xie Yu.

Ma Bing stood her ground, “What, does Director Xie disagree?”

What the court says is good may not be good;

What the emperor says is good may not be good;

But what the people say is good, that must be good!

They say commoners are ignorant and unteachable, but they are the ones closest to the truth.

Hearts are made of flesh; who treats them well and who doesn’t, over time, they can surely tell.

Xie Yu shook his head, smiling, “Right, everything you said, Miss Ma, is correct.”

He hadn’t even said anything yet, but this girl was already like a little fighting rooster, probably having prepared a whole set of arguments to counter him.

Yuanpei secretly pulled on Ade’s sleeve beside him, asking with experience, “Do you feel like you’re extra?”

Ade was puzzled, “…No! I think I’m quite important! Look, the director takes me with him when he goes on business!”

Yuanpei: “…”

I asked for nothing!

This fool!

After discussing Magistrate Chen for a while, the conversation turned back to the case.

The deceased was possibly soaked in the river for several hours when discovered. It was said he was slightly swollen but still recognizable as a man in his early thirties.

While reporting the case, Magistrate Chen ordered an artist to draw a portrait and dispatched people to inquire about missing persons or those who had not returned home.

“Our coroner did a preliminary examination,” the clerk said. “There was mud, sand, and blood foam in his nose and mouth, but there were also several bruises on his body. It’s hard to determine whether he drowned or was murdered. Recently, the river level has dropped significantly, exposing many stones and debris on the riverbed. The body floated along, making it difficult to tell whether the injuries were inflicted by the murderer or caused by collisions when he was dying.”

Everyone nodded, acknowledging the cautious approach.

“Any personal belongings?” Xie Yu asked.

The first step in a murder case was to determine the identity of the victim. Only by knowing the identity could they infer his social interactions and find the murderer.

Besides official documents like household registration and travel permits, personal belongings were the best evidence for identifying the victim.

The clerk shook his head, “When I left, there was only the body. However, Magistrate Chen has already dispatched people to search along the river. Perhaps they have already found something.”

Xie Yu nodded, “Any other details?”

“The coroner hasn’t performed an autopsy yet. He removed the clothes, which were two layers. The inner garment was ordinary cotton cloth, while the outer robe was silk. The shoes were only covered with satin on the outside, with cotton cloth inside and socks,” the clerk said. “Additionally, the deceased’s hands, feet, and skin were very clean. Except for some fresh scratches likely caused by entering the water, there were not many old calluses or wounds. It seems he was not engaged in heavy labor.”

After hearing this, everyone had a rough idea.

No calluses or wounds, dressed in silk clothes, indicating the deceased’s life was not hard.

But only the outer layer visible to others was silk, suggesting his life was not yet affluent enough to indulge freely.

Therefore, the deceased’s family background was likely moderate.

But… these people were the most numerous!

Based solely on these clues, there was no way to start an investigation!

It seemed they would have to see the body in person and carefully examine the crime scene.

As they were thinking, someone knocked on the door outside, “Honorable officials, the noodles are ready. Should I bring them now?”

Murder cases wait for no one. Although it was still raining outside, Xie Yu and others did not plan to rest for long. They would just warm themselves up, eat some hot soup and food, and then continue their journey.

The meal was served quickly but not carelessly, each person receiving a large bowl of steaming noodles with broth, plus a bowl of meat sauce, a bowl of steamed fish, and two kinds of seasonal vegetables.

The biggest surprise was a plate of braised beef!

After traveling for most of the day, everyone was extremely hungry and immediately started eating without much ceremony.

In no time, the plates on the table were cleaner than the faces of those present.

After eating their fill and filling their water bags, everyone went out the door.