Jinting Han people

Chapter 160 Xue Xing's Autopsy to Solve the Case (4k)

When Xue Xing arrived, it was almost noon. The only people present were Liu Xian, Hu Mogen, He Ganlin, the families of Hu Molan and He Ganran, and the headman and clerk of Taoqu Pavilion.

He was accompanied by Zhang Gu and dozens of county soldiers who were there to prevent riots, but they did not expect that the scene had already been controlled by Liu Xian.

When Liu Xian saw Xue Xing coming, he immediately smiled and pointed at him and said to everyone, "Zhao Guanghan from Xiayang is here!"

Xue Xing had just dismounted. Upon hearing this, he quickly declined, saying, "My Lord, you are too kind. I am only a minor official."

Zhao Guanghan was a renowned official during the Former Han Dynasty. He was said to be a master judge, having adjudicated thousands of cases throughout his life, earning him the respect of the people. He was later highly valued by Emperor Xuan of Han and briefly served as the Prefect of Jingzhao. Meanwhile, Xue Xing was merely a county prison official. In an era when it was difficult for humble families to ascend to high positions, his greatest ambition was to become a prefect. How could he compare himself to such renowned officials of the Former Han Dynasty?

But Liu Xian encouraged him, "Hey, don't give up on yourself. Wasn't Zhao Guanghan just a county official back then? You'll definitely rise to great heights in the future."

After that, he turned to the Hu people involved in the case and said, "You must tell the truth about the case. My prison official has eyes as sharp as a torch. No lie can deceive him."

Xue Xing was amused and touched by this. After a year of getting along, he had truly come to know the Prince of Anle. Liu Xian was not only a talented man, but also a straightforward and demanding one. Earning his approval was quite a feat. Therefore, he also believed that there was nothing fishy about Xue Yong's death; it was fair and aboveboard, devoid of any conspiracy. He felt fortunate to be able to work with such a noble man, and he should cherish it.

But he still said verbally: "I'll do my best."

Then Xue Xing began his investigation.

Back to this case, the cause, time and process of the case are actually very clear.

Humolan and He Ganran had a long-standing feud, and on the day of the incident, both were chopping wood in the back mountain, a fact even He Ganran admitted. That night, Humolan's sons, noticing their father hadn't returned home for a long time, went up the mountain to look for him. They found Humolan lying on the ground with a bloodied head, already dead, and a bloodstained stick beside him.

According to common sense, no matter how you look at it, He Ganran is the only suspect. After all, he has both the motive and the ability to commit the crime, and he was also present at the crime scene, so there is almost no other suspect.

But Xue Xing still adhered to the spirit of seeking truth from facts and did not make a conclusion first. Instead, he said: "Take me to the place where the dead people died first."

The place where Hu Molan was killed was on a hillside. Because it was autumn, the ground was covered with fallen leaves, and when people stepped on them, they made a rustling sound.

Humolan's son, Humotian, pointed to a half-chopped cypress tree and said, "I found my father here. He was lying at the foot of the tree, his head covered in blood. Apparently, while they were chopping the tree, He Ganran caught him off guard and struck him dead."

As soon as Hu Motian finished speaking, the brothers who accompanied him all said yes.

He Ganran flatly denied it and said that he had never been here.

Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel, Liu Xian quickly stepped forward to stop them. Then he turned to Xue Xing and asked, "Jida, did you see anything?"

Xue Xing was strolling around the cut cypress trees. After hearing Liu Xian's question, he did not answer immediately, but lowered his head in thought.

Seeing this, many people present showed annoyed expressions. They didn't know what this Yu Sikong could see, nor did they believe he could do it. They just felt that it was a waste of time.

Unexpectedly, a moment later, Xue Xing suddenly raised his head and asked Hu Motian, "How is your father's hearing? Is he deaf?"

Humotian was puzzled. What did this case have to do with hearing? He was also a little angry because it involved a warrior's honor. However, in front of everyone, Humotian couldn't get angry. He replied in a muffled voice, "My father has excellent hearing. He can clearly hear even the falling dewdrops within a radius of fifty steps."

But what he didn't expect was that this answer immediately brought trouble.

Xue Xing immediately retorted, "That's strange. There are fallen leaves everywhere here. If someone walks on them, it will definitely make quite a noise. If someone wants to sneak up behind your father and attack him, how could he not notice it, given his good hearing?"

The Hu people present were stunned when these words were spoken. Really? When they first climbed the mountain, they had heard the rustling of leaves. How could Humolan, with his excellent hearing, not notice that?
Xue Xing continued, "And logically speaking, this He Ganjun came to chop wood, so he should have had a hatchet in his hand that day. Why didn't he use a hatchet to kill people instead of a stick? What if he missed or couldn't kill the person, and Hu Molan retaliated with the hatchet, wouldn't he be harmed?"

"And since he killed someone, why didn't he deal with the body? If he had buried it somewhere, it wouldn't even be found now!"

"Based on all these doubts, I believe He Ganjun is not suspected of murder."

The Hu people were simple and straightforward by nature, and they basically only considered things from the perspective of love, hate, and vengeance. Xue Xing's way of reconstructing the circumstances and conditions of the crime was something they had never seen before. After hearing the various doubts Xue Xing mentioned, they all looked at each other in bewilderment, and then suddenly realized what was going on.

At this time, He Ganran felt that his injustice had been vindicated and his face was full of joy, while Hu Motian was sweating profusely and questioned:
"Xue Sikong, who else would kill my father besides him? No one else!"

Xue Xing said, "There's no such thing as absolutes in this world. How can there be such certainty? Is there something else you know?"

After he said this, Hu Motian shut up.

Then Xue Xing said, "Some things may not be told truthfully by the living, but the dead will never lie. Has Humo-kun's body been buried yet?"

"No."

"Then let's go to the funeral hall. I'll take a look at the bones. Maybe the truth will come out."

His words left everyone present baffled. What did it mean that the dead wouldn't lie? Could he be a spirit?

But after hearing what had just been said, no one would question Xue Xing anymore. So the group immediately descended the mountain and headed for Humolan's home.

After arriving at the mourning hall, Xue Xing had no scruples and immediately opened the coffin to check Hu Molan's body.

After looking at the sunken back of the deceased's head, Xue Xing pulled out a short knife from his waist. Without paying attention to the protests of the deceased's family, he immediately slashed at the sunken area, cutting through the flesh on the skull, and then repeatedly scraped it with the blade. Amid the foul smell, the scraping sound was really chilling.

But facing such a horrific scene, Xue Xing's expression remained unchanged. After a moment, he had an answer in his mind. He put away the dagger and borrowed a basin of water from the owner. He first cleaned the blade, then washed his hands. Finally, he wiped his hands with a silk cloth and said to Liu Xian, who was waiting nearby, "County Master, you can arrest the man now."

"Oh?" Liu Xian asked with a smile, "Do you know who the murderer is?"

Xue Xing replied, "There is no murderer. This Humolan died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and his son Humotian took the opportunity to falsely accuse the neighbor."

As soon as they finished speaking, Hu Motian and the others turned around and tried to run. However, the county guards led by Zhang Gu reacted faster. As soon as they made a move, the county guards immediately blocked the door with swords and surrounded the brothers.

Faced with such a bright sword light, the leader Hu Mogen's face also changed. After all, in terms of close relationship, Hu Molan was his cousin, and these people were also his nephews. It was not reasonable for him to sit idly by, so he immediately stood up and defended them:
"Xue Sikong, is there some misunderstanding? These children have always been filial, how could they do such a thing?"

His expression changed, but Xue Xing's remained unchanged. He confidently walked over to the corpse, pointed at the freshly cut flesh, and said slowly, "Chief Humo, this is the truth. Come here and let me see." "Generally speaking, if someone is beaten to death with a blunt object, the wound will appear bruised, with purple-black blood clots in the flesh."

"But this Humolan had a dent on the back of his head from being hit, but there was no bruise. When the skin was cut open, there was only clotted blood from natural death, but no bruises from being beaten."

"What does this mean?"

"This means the deceased did not die from blunt force trauma, but rather someone struck him with a stick after his death, which is why he showed this behavior."

"When I looked at this Humo-kun, I found that his face was yellow, his mouth and eyes were closed, his hair was tightly tied, and there was saliva in his mouth. There were no other injuries on his body, and his body was swollen."

"These are very typical causes of death from stroke and cerebral hemorrhage."

Having said this, Xue Xing paused for a moment, paced slightly among the noisy crowd, and then began to deduce the development and course of the case.

"Combining the circumstances of the deceased's death and the scene at the time, it seems that the deceased had gone up the mountain to chop firewood five days ago and had chosen a large tree. He exerted too much force while chopping wood, which led to a sudden attack and a stroke, resulting in his death."

"That night, a few hours after the deceased's death, his sons discovered the body."

"They were heartbroken and wanted to take this opportunity to settle their old feud with He Ganran's family, perhaps even extorting more land. They found a wooden stick and struck the head of their father's corpse, falsely accusing He Ganran of murder."

"But He Ganran didn't kill anyone at all, so of course he's unwilling to admit it. So in the end, the two families refused to give in, so they started calling in their friends, which led to the situation we have today, and caused many people to be injured."

"Look, is there something wrong with what I said?"

After these words, everyone present was speechless. Xue Xing's reasoning was not only logical but also supported by evidence, leaving no room for rebuttal. Hu Mogen turned to look at his cousins. Seeing their faces ashen and their heads bowed in silence, he knew this was the truth. So, with a deep sigh, he said nothing more and retreated back to the crowd.

Seeing this, Liu Xian couldn't help but stroke his sword and smile. He asked Xue Xing, "Xue Sikong, what crime should these prisoners be sentenced for according to the law? How should they be dealt with?"

Xue Xing replied, "To commit a crime knowingly is called intentional, to take what is not yours is called theft, and to injure one's father is called unfilial. These three crimes should be punished together, and they should be thrown into the open."

"However, considering that these barbarians have not been civilized, and therefore act recklessly, we should be a little lenient with them to show the king's great grace."

"Therefore, I believe these three should be exiled to the Iron Court for hard labor for five years."

Liu Xian said, "I feel this isn't enough. This case started with that one acre of paddy field, and I think it should end with that one acre of paddy field. Humolan took advantage of He Ganran, and that was enough. But now his son is trying to continue blackmailing him, which is really wrong."

"As punishment, this acre of paddy field will be returned to He Ganran."

"And Humotian and his two companions deceived Humogen and his tribesmen. Not only did they cause many injuries, but they may also cause a feud between the two tribes, leading to future trouble. In my opinion, we should take out half of their property and distribute it to the tribesmen as compensation."

"This way, not only will all parties be given an explanation, but it will also serve as a moral education, warning people not to lose the greater good for the sake of small gains, and not to deceive relatives and friends."

In fact, according to the prior agreement, Liu Xian had already fulfilled his promise after Xue Xing investigated the case. The subsequent punishment should be left to the Hu people themselves.

However, Liu Xian and Xue Xing echoed this sentiment and decided on the punishment for the case in front of everyone. For the first time ever, they even directly transferred the criminal to the Iron Court, which was under the jurisdiction of the county government.

When Hu Morgan and He Ganlin heard this, they not only did not feel it was presumptuous, but were also convinced of such a treatment.

This was no wonder; if they had been left to handle the matter on their own, not only would they have been unable to uncover the truth of the case, they would have never imagined such a solution. This made them feel both ashamed and a bit admiring.

After Liu Xian informed the two departments of the outcome of the case, they immediately invited Liu Xian and others to stay as guests in the department, and praised Liu Xian and Xue Xing, saying:
"Lord Liu is fair in his dealings, and Lord Xue has a divine eye, even more powerful than Lord Hao in the north!"

The Lord Hao they were referring to was Hao Duyuan, the leader of the Tiele tribe of the Xiongnu people. He was active on the northern Shaanxi Plateau and was quite famous among the Hu people.

Liu Xian smiled and said, "Don't say such strange things. Since you and I have settled in Xiayang, we are both from Xiayang and fellow villagers!"

"If there's any trouble in the department in the future, you can come to the county to find me, Xue Sikong. I won't refuse you!"

At this point, the Hu people were naturally grateful and treated Liu Xian like their own parents.

The conversation lasted for a long time. When Liu Xian and others escorted Hu Motian and others back to the county, it was already a moonlit night.

After returning to the county government office, Liu Xian said to Xue Xing with emotion, "Jida, thanks to you, we have one less turmoil in Xiayang."

Xue Xingze humbly declined, saying, "My Lord, your praise is unmerited. This is merely my duty."

"Even when doing your job, there are distinctions between high and low. I see your efforts. Based on your current achievements, you can become a court official this year."

"Thank you, County Lord!"

"Hey, it's still a waste of talent. Next year, I'll build a good relationship with the Lord of the Mansion, and maybe I can recommend you as a filial and honest official!"

As Liu Xian said this, he took out a large bag of herbs that Lu Zhu had prepared long ago from the study, walked up to Xue Xing and said, "I heard that your master is about to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. Here are some tonic herbs like deer antlers as a token of my appreciation."

After saying that, without waiting for Xue Xing to refuse, he forced the herbs on Xue Xing and patted him on the shoulder: "Rest early!"

Xue Xing watched Liu Xian's figure gradually disappear into the distance, then, carrying the herbs, he slowly walked back to his official residence. After a quick wash, he lay down on the bed, tossing and turning for a while, unable to fall asleep.

According to his original life plan, his life was nothing more than a routine of gaining experience as an official. But in Xiayang County, thinking about his experiences over the past year, he felt as if he had strayed from his original trajectory and entered a different path. But where would the future lead him? He was unsure.

He just had a premonition that this road must be dangerous, so he felt very melancholy.

Fortunately, if you can't figure something out, thinking too much will only make you confused. Xue Xing listened to the wind outside the house, thought for a while, and gradually his consciousness became blurred, and finally he fell into a coma.

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(End of this chapter)