Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 699 Clues
The burlap sack was slowly lifted, gradually exposing the two charred corpses to the bright sunlight.

Both men died in equally gruesome circumstances, their limbs curled up against their torsos, their fists clenched tightly, as if frozen in a moment of intense fire. The clothing that had covered their bodies had long since burned away, their skin charred and cracked, revealing dark red or grayish-white tissue beneath. Facial features were no longer discernible; even the outlines of their features were only vaguely recognizable. The only obvious difference was that one body was more robust, while the other was relatively slender.

Lu Wenzhao's gaze fell on the waist and abdomen of the relatively slender corpse. There, a metal waist badge, blackened by smoke and with slightly melted edges, was half-embedded in the charred flesh. He immediately recognized it as the waist badge of a low-ranking officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. On the waist and abdomen of another, slightly more robust corpse, there was also a different-shaped iron waist badge. Lu Wenzhao looked closer and confirmed that it was the standard badge of a Ming Dynasty officer.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Lu Wenzhao's eyes. But in the end, he still knelt down himself and peeled the metal waist tag off the thin, charred corpse.

Human tissue was stuck to the waist tag. Lu Wenzhao scraped it several times with the knife he carried with him before he could make out the deceased's name—Gao Su.

There was no shock, no grief; only a deep, icy coldness settled over Lu Wenzhao. A Jinyiwei captain, dead in such a place… A complex, indescribable emotion swept through him, but more than anything, he felt annoyed by the troubles he was dealing with. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he was completely back to normal.

“Gao Su.” Lu Wenzhao stood up and showed Lu Jianxing the name on his waist tag. “Do you know him?”

“If I remember correctly,” Lu Jianxing thought carefully, “this person should have been transferred from the elephant training center.”

"Do you have any connection with him?" Lu Wenzhao nodded.

Lu Jianxing was taken aback, but quickly understood what Lu Wenzhao meant. "He must have come alone."

"Take it. Take it back." Lu Wenzhao tossed out the waist token, then turned and looked around: "Where is the coroner?"

“Yes! Yes! I’m here!” A thin man, about forty years old and dressed in a coroner’s uniform, hurriedly ran out from the shadows beside the courtyard gate. He stopped behind Kim Moo-hyun, bowing deeply and not daring to look up.

"What about that one?" Lu Jianxing caught the waist tag steadily and pointed to the waist tag still stuck to another corpse.

"That's not one of ours. Let's wait for Admiral Shen to send someone to verify." It's hardly a glorious thing for a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be burned to death in a foreign brothel. If news of this reaches the capital, not only Luo Yangxing, but even Luo Sigong will likely be relentlessly criticized by the censors. But with the military sharing the blame, the questioning will probably be lighter.

"Yes." Lu Jianxing nodded and then put away the waist tag that still had a lot of cooked meat stuck to it.

"Have you examined these two bodies?" Lu Wenzhao then turned to look at the coroner behind Kim Moo-hyun.

"Not yet." The coroner shrank back, glancing at Kim Moo-hyun almost unconsciously.

“Then let’s do the tests. I need to know how they died,” Lu Wenzhao said.

"Yes." The coroner quickly stepped forward and, under Kim Moo-hyun's tense gaze, cautiously approached the two charred corpses. Having worked in the field for many years, the coroner was highly experienced and immediately got into the zone upon squatting down. He first carefully examined the posture of the corpses, especially the mouth and nose, and then carefully used a thin wooden stick to pry open the slightly open mouth of one of the corpses to observe the inside of the oral cavity.

The autopsy lasted for more than fifteen minutes. During this time, several more bodies in different positions were brought in.

"Finished the examination?" As soon as the coroner stood up, Lu Wenzhao turned his gaze towards him.

"Reporting to you, sir, I have completed the examination." The coroner looked back, his voice filled with obvious reverence.

"explain."

"In my humble opinion, these two soldiers also died in the fire. There are no other unusual signs." The coroner raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Explain in more detail," Lu Wenzhao asked calmly.

"Reporting to you, sir," the coroner said, composing himself slightly, pointing to the corpses, "both officers were in a 'fist-fighting' posture, caused by the violent contraction of muscles when a living person is burned alive. Looking inside their mouths and noses, there are traces of inhaled soot and charcoal. Although their skin and flesh are charred black, the deeper muscle tissue still shows signs of solidification, unlike cremation after death. Furthermore, neither officer had any external injuries. Therefore, it can be generally concluded that both officers died from burning."

"Alright, you can go ahead and do your work." Lu Wenzhao nodded slightly. Just as he was about to give Jin Wuxuan some other instructions, he saw another coroner, dressed in the same uniform but slightly younger, running over from the other end of the courtyard with a solemn expression.

"Master, Master! Please come and take a look." The young coroner held a wooden board for recording, his voice not loud, but filled with obvious surprise and doubt.

"Why are you making such a fuss!" The old coroner's heart skipped a beat, and goosebumps rose all over his body. "Can't you see the men talking here?"

"Oh!" The young coroner shuddered and quickly bowed. "This humble servant greets all the esteemed gentlemen."

Lu Wenzhao waved his hand impatiently. "What did you find?"

"Reporting to you, sir." The young coroner, still filled with shock and doubt, breathed rapidly. "I...I was examining a female corpse over there just now and found what appears to be a sharp object piercing her chest, beneath the charred remains!"

"What?!" Kim Moo-hyun exclaimed in shock, his face turning even paler than the ashes on the ground. He instinctively looked at Lu Wenzhao.

Lu Wenzhao's pupils suddenly contracted, and his sharp, eagle-like gaze instantly fixed on the young coroner: "A sharp instrument pierced you? Are you sure?"

“I’m not sure yet,” the young coroner replied cautiously. “That’s why I’ve come to ask you, Master, to examine me in detail.”

"Where?" Lu Wenzhao asked.

"Over there!" the young coroner pointed back.

"Let's go! Let's go take a look." Lu Wenzhao shouted in a low voice and was the first to take a step.

--------

In the main hall of the Uijinfu, Luo Yangxing, the deputy director of the Korean branch of the Imperial Guard, was wearing his fourth-rank official robe and sitting lazily in the main seat with his eyes closed, resting.

On the large table in front of him lay a stack of documents that were neither thin nor too thick. They were the latest compiled confessions.

Scandium bell. Scandium bell.
A series of footsteps dragging on iron chains slowly approached from afar. The moment the sound of the chains scraping against the stone slabs stopped, Luo Yangxing opened his eyes.

“Untie him,” Luo Yangxing said, looking out the door. “Remove the shackles and fetters.”

"Yes." The Imperial Guard in charge of escorting the prisoner immediately took out a key and unlocked the shackles binding the criminal. "Come in." Luo Yangxing gently beckoned to the criminal with his finger.

The restraints were removed, but the criminal's steps remained as slow and heavy as before. He approached Luo Yangxing with a pause at each step, first lowering his right knee, then his left knee, and finally touching his forehead to the ground: "The criminal Jiang Hongli pays his respects to Your Excellency."

Kneeling before Luo Yangxing, Jiang Hongli resembled a soulless shell. His prison uniform was filthy and hung loosely over his noticeably emaciated body.

Days of interrogation and imprisonment had etched deep marks on his face; his eyes were sunken, surrounded by thick, dark circles, like indelible ink stains; his cheekbones protruded high beneath his dull, ashen, and sagging skin. His dry, chapped lips trembled slightly, and tiny blood vessels could even be seen in the cracks. His hair was disheveled and matted, hanging lifelessly, with a few strands clinging to his sweat-dampened forehead.

Even with the shackles removed, the heavy weariness and deep-seated fear still weighed him down, making it impossible for him to lift his head. He exuded an aura of decay and wasting away, his eyes staring blankly at the cold ground, lifeless, like a living corpse.

"Please sit down." Luo Yangxing turned to the side and gestured for a seat for Jiang Hongli.

Jiang Hongli was somewhat surprised, not expecting that he could actually sit and talk. He looked in the direction indicated and was even more surprised. Because a tea set had already been set up on the coffee table next to the chair.

Seemingly sensing that the other party intended to refuse, Luo Yangxing repeated his previous words as Jiang Hongli turned around: "Please sit down!"

"Thank you for the seat, Your Excellency." Jiang Hongli slowly kowtowed, slowly rose, and walked unsteadily over to sit down.

"Let me give you a brief introduction," Luo Yangxing said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at Jiang Hongli. "My name is Luo Yangxing. I'm in charge of all the Imperial Guards within Korea."

"So it's Lord Luo." Jiang Hongli was about to stand up and bow again, but Luo Yangxing pressed him down with two fingers. "You're injured, just sit down and talk."

"Thank you for your consideration, sir." Jiang Hongli relaxed his leg muscles, but still clenched his fists and gave a slight bow.

“We’ve interrogated you six times these past few days. I was present during the first and fourth interrogations.” Luo Yangxing picked up his cool tea and took a small sip.

"Why haven't I seen the master?" Luo Yangxing's casual tone seemed to genuinely put Jiang Hongli at ease. He also picked up his teacup and took a large gulp.

“You’re in the light, I’m in the shadows, it’s normal that you can’t see me.” Luo Yangxing put down his teacup and nodded to a Jinyiwei guard standing in the shadows in the corner. “Fill his cup.”

"Yes." Only after the Imperial Guard stepped out of the shadows did Jiang Hongli notice for the first time that there was actually another person standing in that corner.

"I'll do it myself." The teapot was right next to Jiang Hongli, and he could easily pour it himself. But the Imperial Guard ignored him completely, and instead snatched the teapot from his hand, assuming a posture as if to pour tea.

"Hehe." Jiang Hongli shook his head with a wry smile. That's how it is when you're at someone's mercy; you can't refuse malice, nor can you refuse "good intentions." Jiang Hongli could only put down the lid of the teacup, pick it up, and place the rim against the spout of the teapot. "Thank you for your trouble."

The Imperial Guard put down the teapot and retreated into the shadows. From beginning to end, the Imperial Guard never looked directly at Jiang Hongli, as if he didn't exist.

"Marshal Jiang, this is your latest confession." Luo Yangxing held up the confession in front of him and shook it gently a few times. "What do you have to say about this?"

"I have nothing to say. I plead guilty." Jiang Hongli's body was hunched over, and his tone was as weary as ever.

"Didn't you ever think of defending yourself?" Luo Yangxing put down the confession and examined Jiang Hongli with great interest.

"What good would it do to defend myself?" Jiang Hongli took another sip of tea, then picked up the teapot and refilled the shallowly leveled tea. "Does it mean I can escape punishment and avoid death?"

"Hehe," Luo Yangxing chuckled. "Of course, getting rid of him is out of the question. But are you really willing to take all the blame for someone else and die alone?"

Jiang Hongli's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. "I've said the same thing more than once. I haven't taken any blame for anyone. I was the only one secretly receiving instruction from the esoteric sect in the rear garden of Changdeok Palace that day, and there was no one else listening. Not even a eunuch. As for whether Your Highness gave any esoteric instruction to others at other times, I have no idea."

"Hmm," Luo Yangxing leaned forward slightly, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the confession. "Marshal Jiang's father, Jiang Shen, passed away in the winter of the forty-third year of the Wanli reign?"

Jiang Hongli was visibly taken aback, his pupils contracting slightly. "Why does Lord Luo ask such a question?"

"If Marshal Jiang's father passed away in the winter of the 43rd year of the Wanli reign, then your return to office after the mourning period should have been at least in the 46th year of the Wanli reign."

“You’re right,” Jiang Hongli secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When Luo Yangxing raised this question, his first reaction was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was going to dig up his family’s ancestral graves. “I was indeed reinstated in the intercalary fourth month of the forty-sixth year of the Wanli reign.”

"Is he the military governor of Ping'an Road?" Luo Yangxing casually flicked a piece of paper filled with information and held it out in front of him.

Jiang Hongli nodded and said, "That's right. It's the Ping An Military Commissioner."

"But you didn't go to Ping'an Road, you didn't even leave Hanyang, and in less than ten days you were promoted to the position of Director of the Border Defense Command, and began to advise on national military affairs. Is that right?" Luo Yangxing's fingertip swiped across the next message.

Jiang Hongli stared at Luo Yangxing with a look of surprise for a moment. "Yes."

"After you, the person who succeeded as the commander of Ping'an Army was Kim Gyeong-seo, right?" Luo Yangxing continued to ask.

"Correct."

“As far as I know, according to the rules of your Korea, only the head of the Border Defense Office can serve as the Grand Marshal, while the Military Governor of Pyongan Province usually serves as the Deputy Grand Marshal when waging war against the North.” Luo Yangxing raised his head. “In other words, as early as the intercalary fourth month of the 46th year of Wanli, shortly after your mourning period ended, the situation of you as the commander-in-chief and Kim Gyeong-seo as the deputy commander-in-chief had already been formed?”

"Probably," Jiang Hongli nodded, "Is that right?"

"Why?" Luo Yangxing asked.

"Why what?" Jiang Hongli didn't quite understand.

"You observed three years of mourning, and upon your reinstatement, you were immediately promoted to Military Commissioner of Ping'an and Director of the Border Defense Division. Don't even mention Director of the Border Defense Division; Military Commissioner of Ping'an alone is far higher than your previous rank!" Luo Yangxing stared intently at Jiang Hongli. "I want to know why you rose so quickly? Whose connections did you use?"

(End of this chapter)