“Ah, is this something unusual?”
Ma Bing stood up, clapped her tender palms together, and splattered oil droplets flew out like golden stars.
Her expression and tone were extremely light-hearted, as if this were indeed something as simple as eating or drinking. For a moment, the people from the Kaifeng Prefecture opposite felt an absurd emotion:
We truly don’t deserve the trust of the court for not being skilled in this.
The constable who usually investigated crime scenes was the first to recover his senses. “Young lady, you’re mistaken. Identifying footprints is an extremely profound discipline that cannot be mastered without years of accumulated experience…”
By the end of his words, his heart was filled with bitterness.
He had apprenticed as a youth, serving his master with tea, water, laundry, and back rubs like a son serving his parents for five or six years before the master was willing to teach him the techniques. Another five or six years passed, during which he secretly practiced hard, before he could finally stand on his own.
Seeing his somewhat pained expression, Ma Bing felt a little reluctant to continue, but after thinking for a moment, she couldn’t help but say, “Well, without going into details, hunters and herbalists who make their living off the mountains are quite skilled at tracking signs.”
In the mountains, with many wild beasts, everyone was literally risking their lives for food, so they naturally had to try to avoid them. Therefore, deducing what kind of beast it was, its size, when it came, and where it went based on footprints, bite marks, or even feces were all means of survival for these people.
Ma Bing’s words immediately plunged everyone into silence.
Although she spoke without intention, Xie Yu listened with attention, and suddenly gained insight.
Indeed, not only the Kaifeng Prefecture, but all government offices needed many talented individuals. In the past, they were either recommended by seniors or inherited the profession from their fathers. Ordinary people who wanted to serve the government had no way to do so.
But how many talented people were there among the common people? Letting them go to waste was truly a crime against nature.
Hmm, after returning, he would mention this to the superior.
Xie Yu signaled the coroner to step forward for the autopsy and asked Ma Bing, “Miss Ma, do you have any further insights?”
Ma Bing first looked at the constable.
The constable, however, had a straightforward personality. “Please speak freely, young lady.”
He was old enough to be her father, so he wouldn’t be petty about such things. Moreover, it was rare for someone to be skilled in this field, and it would be good to exchange ideas and techniques.
Ma Bing was not a shy person. Seeing that the constable himself didn’t mind, she relaxed.
“That should be the murder weapon,” she pointed to a bloodstained stone not far away. “The murderer is undoubtedly a man, and he should be a strong and powerful man.”
She looked at Xie Yu, who slightly nodded, seemingly urging her to continue.
“When the murderer used the stone, blood splattered out. Some directly stained the stone, while some was blocked by his hand holding the stone.” Ma Bing used a stick to move the stone, revealing a clear finger-shaped area without blood.
This was a right hand.
“This stone weighs at least three or four jin, and Lao Liu was six chi tall.” She spread her own hand. “My hands are not small among women, but I couldn’t hold it in one hand and strike multiple times. It would be even harder for ordinary women.”
If it had to be a woman, then she must be extremely tall and strong.
But that was very rare, and wouldn’t be the primary consideration in the investigation.
“Also, Lao Liu had bruises on his neck and wrists, and his clothes were quite disheveled,” Ma Bing said rapidly. “Presumably, the first blow didn’t kill him, and he began to struggle or tried to fight back, so the murderer pressed him down. Being able to subdue an adult man with one hand shows his strength.”
Her words were clear and crisp, and when she abruptly stopped, everyone felt a sense of unfinished longing.
Yuan Pei nudged Huo Ping with his elbow and whispered, “She actually has some real skills.”
Huo Ping hummed in agreement.
But how did a young girl know so much?
Was being a doctor really this difficult nowadays?
Shortly after, the coroner completed the preliminary examination and nodded at Xie Yu. “What this young lady said is entirely accurate.”
Ma Bing instinctively lifted her chin, her eyes sparkling with a bit of pride.
Xie Yu couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
But since someone had just died, it wasn’t quite appropriate, so he turned to Lao Liu’s several friends nearby and asked, “What is his real name, where does he live, what is his usual occupation, and why did he come to the graveyard?”
He didn’t raise his voice, but those people inexplicably felt as if he were a cloud in the sky while they were mud on the ground, and even looking up was an offense, so they hurriedly lowered their heads and answered obediently, “We only know he surnamed Li, and he didn’t have a proper name either. Since he was the sixth child in the family, we just called him Lao Liu…”
As he was speaking, a constable who usually patrolled the streets stepped forward and whispered to Yuan Pei, “My lord, this person is named Fang Youtian. I know them. They are a gang of ruffians from the west end of Zhuque Street. They never had any proper occupation, just wandering around causing trouble every day. We’ve caught them several times, but they never change.”
Yuan Pei hummed and then relayed the information to Xie Yu.
Fang Youtian continued, “We usually just run errands for people on the street to earn some pocket money. Lao Liu was always fond of showing off and fighting, and yesterday…” He suddenly lifted his eyes, quickly stole a glance at Xie Yu, then quickly looked away as if burned, stuttering, “Yesterday we, uh, made a bet…”
Xie Yu suddenly looked over, “Before the bet, where were you?”
Fang Youtian stiffened, still stubbornly saying, “No, nowhere in particular.”
Xie Yu didn’t speak, just stared at him.
He came from a noble background and had been trained in the imperial guards since the age of fifteen. His aura was genuine. When he looked at someone expressionlessly, the pressure was overwhelming.
In no time, Fang Youtian collapsed, knelt down, and kowtowed several times, trembling, “I deserve to die. It was… an underground gambling den.”
The constables frowned.
The Great Lu Dynasty had banned gambling, yet these people dared to break the law!
Xie Yu looked at Fang Youtian and others with some disdain and signaled to Huo Ping, “You take someone who knows the way and raid that gambling den.”
Huo Ping immediately obeyed, grabbed one of Fang Youtian’s group at random, lifted him like a chicken, and rode back to the Kaifeng Prefecture.
Because of this incident, Fang Youtian completely collapsed and detailed everything about yesterday.
Yesterday, they were a group of idle people with nothing to do, so they squatted on the street watching young women pass by and making jokes.
No one knew how it happened, but they started comparing courage. One said he could go up the mountain and capture a tiger, another claimed he could go down to the sea and catch a turtle, with no end to their boasts.
Suddenly, Lao Liu stood up and said, “I dare to explore the graveyard at night. Do you dare?”
Everyone laughed, “You’re just bragging again.”
They had heard that the graveyard was filled with many vicious criminals who, after death, couldn’t reincarnate and became vengeful ghosts howling. It was already cold and eerie during the day, and there were ghost fires at night. Perhaps there really were ghosts! Who would dare go?
If Lao Liu originally had only half the intention to go, after being provoked, his blood boiled, and his determination became twelvefold.
“Just watch me show you my skills,” Lao Liu’s face turned red, spitting as he spoke. “I’ll go tonight, and I don’t care if you believe me.” He pointed at the sachet tied around his waist. “I’ll choose a grave deep inside, place this sachet on it, and tomorrow you’ll see.”
At this point, Fang Youtian also pointed to a piece of the sachet protruding from under Lao Liu’s body. “It’s that one.”
Everyone didn’t really believe him at the time, but seeing Lao Liu actually leave the city before nightfall, they became somewhat anxious.
Could that guy really go?
They waited all night but didn’t see Lao Liu return. They went to his usual sleeping place to look for him but couldn’t find him, so they became afraid something had happened and bravely came together to search.
After listening, Xie Yu pondered for a moment, his face slightly showing a bit of confusion. “Why did they make the bet?”
Ma Bing was also curious. Yeah, why make the bet?
Unexpectedly, Fang Youtian was also confused.
Right, why make the bet?
He blinked his eyes blankly. “Just… making a bet.”
It’s just that they wanted to make a bet. Who cares why?
Xie Yu really didn’t understand.
Back in the imperial guards, it was the same. Soldiers often suddenly started quarrels, shouting that they wanted to prove who was better, and many people would gather around to watch.
But he couldn’t understand why. Ordinary sparring and practice were fine, but what was the point of these bets where they had to determine a winner? What did winning accomplish?
Thinking about this, a slight confusion appeared on his face.
Ma Bing couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s like some people want to eat, some want to play, and some want to bet. It’s not strange, everyone has their own preferences.”
Was it really like that?
Xie Yu also felt that he was being a bit silly to dwell on this. He shook his head and decided to let it go.
So, the fact was: Lao Liu went to prove his bravery by exploring the graveyard at night and was then murdered.
Why?
Why did the other party kill him?
Lao Liu didn’t have much savings, his clothes were not neat, and the dozens of copper coins in his sleeve were not stolen. It was definitely not for money.
For love? For revenge?
These all needed careful investigation.
After ordering a thorough inspection of the scene, Xie Yu had Fang Youtian and others taken back to the Kaifeng Prefecture for questioning.
The thugs usually avoided the yamen like the plague, but now they had no choice but to trudge there in dejection.
“Miss Ma,” Xie Yu turned around. “Let’s go.”
“Me too?!” Ma Bing, who was preparing to sneak away, exclaimed in surprise.
Xie Yu nodded seriously. “Yes.”
Seeing Ma Bing’s dejected look, Yuan Pei smiled. “Look at Miss Ma. Yesterday I said something, as I expected today, you should have just come back to the Kaifeng Prefecture with us from the start.”
Ma Bing huffed at him.
Like many other government offices, the Kaifeng Prefecture was located in the central-southern part of the city, with the imperial palace just across the street to the north.
Where there are government offices, there are people, and where there are people, there is a need to eat. Therefore, many high-end restaurants gathered here, frequented by officials.
As Ma Bing walked along, she looked around. Passing one of the restaurants, she saw a quarrel at a window table.
She heard one person pointing at the other’s nose, angrily shouting, “Xie Xian, don’t get too cocky. How long can you last by relying on your looks?”
The person across was wearing the robe of a censor. Upon hearing this, he didn’t seem embarrassed or angry. Instead, he raised his hand to touch his face and said seriously, “Hmm, probably another twenty or thirty years at least.”
“You!” The other person was so angry he almost fell over.
Ma Bing burst out laughing.
Her laughter actually drew the attention of the “beauty,” who turned around. Indeed, it was a handsome man.
Although already middle-aged, he was charming and charismatic. In her opinion, even if he were old and feeble, he would still be handsome.
The middle-aged handsome man first smiled and nodded at her, then his eyes swept forward and instantly lit up, waving energetically downstairs.
Following his line of sight, Ma Bing saw Xie Yu, who was now frowning darkly.
(Back then, learning from a master was truly not easy. You really had to serve your master like your own parents. The traditional respect for heaven, emperor, ruler, parents, and teachers was no joke. Most masters put on airs, made you run errands and endure all sorts of trials, calling it “training and tempering your character.” The most frustrating part was that they often held back, and sometimes didn’t even teach you the real skills in the end.)
Regarding this bet, especially among men, it was often inexplicable. Frequently, you’d be walking on the road when someone would suddenly say, “Bet you I can jump and reach the top branch!”
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