Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 703 A detailed investigation, but not a thorough examination

Yuan Keli stood up, handed the autopsy knife back to Lu Wenzhao, and then used her relatively clean little finger to hook out a plain handkerchief and slowly wipe the dirt off her hands.

His face remained calm as he glanced at the two corpses half-covered in burlap before turning to Shen Yourong. "Admiral Shen, you should go back now. I'll ask you a few more questions."

"Go back?" Shen Yourong was clearly taken aback, a hint of doubt flashing across her eyes.

“Just now at Qingyun Palace, didn’t Admiral Shen say that he had summoned the officers of each battalion to the city for questioning? I think they should be arriving soon,” Yuan Keli said.

"Oh, yes." Shen Yourong nodded in relief, then looked at the charred corpse that Yuan Keli had examined earlier. "Then this corpse..."

"The wound was long and narrow, penetrating deep into the heart." Yuan Keli didn't explain much. "He was indeed assassinated before his death."

Shen Yourong breathed a soft sigh of relief. "Then I'll leave things here to you, my husband."

Yuan Keli nodded slightly and said, "After you go back, you need to find all the officers who stayed overnight in Yinchunfang last night, especially near Zuiyuelou. Find out when they arrived, what they did, when they left, and whether they saw or heard anything. Also, confirm the identities of those two people as soon as possible, whether they are dead or alive."

"Your humble servant understands!" Shen Yourong clasped her hands in a fist salute.

Yuan Keli looked at him and added, "Let's put aside the matter of military discipline for now, and deal with it separately after the matter is investigated."

"Go ahead," Yuan Keli said, bowing slightly.

"This humble official takes his leave!" Shen Yourong turned and strode away.

Yuan Keli watched him disappear through the courtyard gate before turning to Lu Wenzhao, who stood solemnly, and pointing to the corpses, said, "Deputy Commander Lu, those two charred corpses are burned beyond recognition. How can you be sure that these are Madam Lin and Pimp Li from Zuiyue Tower?"

“Return to the guard post.” Lu Wenzhao said solemnly, “Several survivors recognized the charred corpse’s physical characteristics. And until now, we have indeed not found Lin the brothel madam and Li the pimp alive.”

"Where are those people?" Yuan Keli asked.

“Keep him detained nearby. We can summon him for questioning now,” Lu Wenzhao said.

"Bring it over," Yuan Keli said.

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao turned and winked at Lu Jianxing, who was standing a short distance away. Lu Jianxing clasped his hands in acceptance and turned to walk quickly towards a dilapidated doorway guarded by the Imperial Guards. Several Koreans were huddled there. Lu Jianxing spoke a few words briefly in Korean, and the men immediately turned pale. One of the old servants even collapsed, his legs giving way.

Lu Jianxing stepped forward, grabbed the old servant's arm, and half-dragged them through the courtyard full of corpses to Yuan Keli.

The pungent smell of burning and the sight of death made them tremble violently.

The old servant and the wealthy-looking regular customer shrank back and knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the cold mud, not daring to raise their heads. Only the middle-aged scholar dressed as a literati managed to stand, but his face was still deathly pale, his lips tightly pressed together, and his eyes fixed on the ground.

Lu Wenzhao spoke in Korean, beginning with a deep voice: "This gentleman is the Imperial Envoy and Minister in Charge of Korean Affairs, Yuan Gongkeli. He has questions for you now, and you must answer truthfully!"

Upon hearing this, the three of them shuddered. None of them had expected to see such a king-like figure in a place littered with corpses.

Yuan Keli's gaze swept over the two kneeling men, finally settling on the scholar who was barely standing. His voice was not loud: "Who was the first to recognize those two corpses?"

Lu Wenzhao pointed to the old servant kneeling on the ground: "It's him."

Yuan Keli shifted his gaze to the old handyman and asked in Korean dialect, "What's your name?"

“Reporting to Your Excellency, this humble servant…” The old handyman’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “This humble servant’s name is Quan Quan Shunshi.”

"Quan Shunshi, I have a question for you," Yuan Keli asked, pointing at the female corpse. "How did you recognize this female corpse as Lin Jinhua?"

"Reporting to Master," Quan Shunshi dared not look up at Yuan Keli, nor turn his head to look at the corpse, "Linlin's mother's left earlobe is missing, a piece of flesh is missing."

Yuan Keli walked to the woman's corpse and, sure enough, saw a clearly visible notch on her left earlobe, even after the fire. "How did this wound happen?"

“Mother Lin’s earrings were forcibly pulled off by a customer,” Quan Shunshi said.

"When?"

“This is an old injury, it’s been there for over ten years. Back then, Lin’s mother was still a prostitute.”

"More than ten years," Yuan Keli hesitated for a moment, then walked to the male corpse. "Where is the male corpse? How did you recognize this male corpse as Li Jing?" Yuan Keli couldn't recall the man's full name for a moment, so he simply swallowed the last word.

Fortunately, this didn't prevent Quan Shunshi from understanding what he meant: "Li Guigong's right hand... his right little finger was cut off."

At this moment, the wealthy merchant who was kneeling beside him suddenly spoke up, trembling: "Mother Lin's earlobes are thin, and Master Li's little finger is missing a joint; all the regulars in the brothel know that! Sir, I really just came to Zuiyue Tower to drink; I truly don't know why they were treated like this."

"Did I ask you a question?" Yuan Keli frowned, and immediately a member of the Imperial Guard went up and kicked the regular customer.

"Shut up!" the Imperial Guard shouted.

Yuan Keli glanced at the Imperial Guard, who then smiled back at him as if seeking praise.

"What's your name?" Yuan Keli turned his gaze to the wealthy-looking regular customer.

The kick from the Imperial Guard wasn't hard, but it still terrified the regular customer. He lay on the ground trembling, unaware that Yuan Keli was talking to him.

"I'm asking you! What's your name?" The imperial guard kicked him again.

"My name is..." the regular customer quickly replied. "My name is Fang Dayuan!"

“Fang Dayuan, why did you say that the regulars in this building all know that Madam Lin’s earlobes are thin and that Pimp Li’s little finger is missing a joint?” Yuan Keli asked.

"Why?" Fang Dayuan paused for a moment. "Because, because they have to come out to greet guests. When I came yesterday, I saw Li Guigong greeting people in the front hall. You could see that his little finger was shorter when he waved his hand."

Yuan Keli walked to the male corpse and further removed the burlap covering it. Because the Imperial Guards had already pried open the corpse's curled right hand during the previous examination, Yuan Keli easily found the noticeably shorter little finger. "Why is it shorter?"

"This..." Fang Dayuan was stumped. "This humble one does not know." "You should know, Quan Shunshi." Yuan Keli turned to look at Quan Shunshi.

Kwon Soon-seok shuddered. "I heard that when he was young, he couldn't pay off his gambling debts, so he was killed by debt collectors."

"I heard?" Yuan Keli uttered two words. "Haven't you been working here for over ten years?"

“Li Guigong arrived even earlier!” Quan Shunshi quickly explained. “He was like this when I arrived. Back then, he was even selling his body to pay off his debts.”

Yuan Keli's eye twitched involuntarily, and he turned his gaze to the scholar: "And you? Your name."

The scholar took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He bowed and replied in heavily accented but still relatively clear Chinese, "Your Excellency, my name is Kim Myung-soo."

"You can speak Chinese?" Yuan Keli raised an eyebrow and switched to Chinese as well.

“Yes, guardian.” Kim Myung-soo bowed deeply and replied in Chinese.

"Are you a scholar?" Yuan Keli asked again.

"Yes," Kim Myung-soo hesitated for a moment, then added, "The student attends Sungkyunkwan University."

Yuan Keli nodded slightly and returned to the main topic: "You also know that they have thin ears and missing joints on their fingers?"

“I know, they’re all obvious at a glance,” Kim Myung-soo replied cautiously, “but I haven’t looked into it closely.”

“In your opinion,” Yuan Keli asked, switching to Korean, “why did those two people suffer such misfortune?”

"I'm just here at Zuiyue Tower to spend money and have a good time. I have no close relationship with Lin and Li, and I know nothing about their private affairs." Kim Myung-soo first distanced himself from them, then said as if deliberately showing off, "However, I think that this place of pleasure is a mixed bag, full of grudges and disputes. Their misfortune may be due to old grudges, or perhaps financial disputes. Or even..." Kim Myung-soo paused, "...it's possible that they learned some secrets they shouldn't have known, which led to their deaths."

"What do you mean by 'secrets that shouldn't be known'?" Yuan Keli pressed for an answer.

“Guardian.” Kim Myung-soo adopted a mysterious air. “This Drunken Moon Pavilion is the top brothel in Hidden Springs and even the entire Hanyang. The patrons who come here to enjoy the pleasures of the flowers and willows are all people of some importance.”

"What's your background?" Yuan Keli continued to press.

Kim Myung-soo was startled and quickly said, "This student only knows the general outline; I don't know the more detailed things."

Yuan Keli's gaze then swept over the two kneeling figures: "And you two?"

Quan Shunshi simply prostrated himself on the ground, trembling: "I only know that a fire broke out in the backyard for no reason. As for anything else, I... I don't know anything either! Master."

Park Dae-won kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Sir, I am just a merchant from out of town who came here to drink and listen to music. I really don't know anything about those grudges and grievances!"

"Hoo," Yuan Keli sighed and waved to Lu Jianxing, "Take him away."

"Yes!" Lu Jianxing immediately led the other Jinyiwei guards to take the three Koreans, who had different expressions but were all still in shock, away from the suffocating courtyard.

Yuan Keli watched the Koreans' departing figures until they disappeared from sight, then turned to Lu Wenzhao. "How exactly did this fire start? Besides the commotion in the front hall, what other explanation is there?" Yuan Keli's voice was extremely low, barely audible to the two of them.

Lu Wenzhao also lowered his voice: "Return to the supervisory office. According to the current inquiries, the kitchen, woodshed, servants' dormitory, and the small courtyard belonging to Lin and Li—a total of four places—almost simultaneously burst into flames, and the fires were extremely fierce. It is very likely that the perpetrators poured oil beforehand." He paused, "As for the small fire in the front hall, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that it was extinguished and did not become a significant fire."

"Have you found the person who put out the fire?" Yuan Keli asked.

"Uh..." Lu Wenzhao's pupils contracted, suppressing the urge to look back instinctively. "Didn't Vice Commissioner Luo tell you?"

"What did you say?" Yuan Keli asked back.

Lu Wenzhao immediately understood that Luo Yangxing had not revealed that Lu Jianxing was also present. "There are no updates on the situation at the scene. What he told you is pretty much everything."

"So you didn't find it?" Yuan Keli frowned slightly.

"Sigh." Lu Wenzhao lowered his head and sighed.

Yuan Keli didn't think too much about it. After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze to the charred ruins outside the courtyard: "What about the news? How much has been sent out?"

Lu Wenzhao leaned close to Yuan Keli's ear, his voice lower but exceptionally clear: "The fire destroyed half the workshop, killing and injuring over a hundred people. This matter cannot be covered up. However, the exact number and identities of those who died inside the fire are still unknown to the outside world. The cause of death of those two unusual corpses has also been strictly sealed off. Currently, all witnesses, including officials and coroners from the Hancheng Prefecture and the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, have been apprehended by us."

After listening, Yuan Keli's face remained expressionless; he only nodded very slightly.

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The official sedan chair came to a steady stop in front of the heavily guarded gates of the Yijin Mansion. The intense afternoon sunlight was cut off by the low wall, casting large, heavy shadows. The curtain was lifted, and Yuan Keli stepped out, bowing, a deep, unyielding melancholy etched on his brow.

Yuan Keli walked alone up the sun-warmed stone steps without any attendants. His steps were slow and deliberate, and the sound of his boots striking the stone slabs was particularly clear in the empty courtyard.

Inside the main hall of the Yijin Prefecture, Luo Yangxing leaned back in his seat, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table covered with documents. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on his bright fourth-rank military officer's uniform. When Yuan Keli's figure appeared in the doorway, his silhouette outlined against the light, a glint flashed in Luo Yangxing's eyes, and he almost sprang to his feet.

"Lord Yuan!" Luo Yangxing quickly descended the steps to greet him, clasped his hands and bowed respectfully, "I am so sorry for not welcoming you properly, Lord Yuan."

"No need for such formalities, Vice Minister Luo." Yuan Keli raised his hand in a gesture of support, his voice calm and even, and walked straight to the guest seats in the hall to take his seat.

Luo Yangxing followed closely behind, not returning to the main seat, but sitting down slightly to the side of Yuan Keli. He leaned forward slightly, with a deliberate concern: "Sir, did you just return from Yinchunfang? How was the situation there?" He took the initiative to start the conversation, but his gaze fell on the corner of Yuan Keli's robe, which was covered with a lot of dust.

Yuan Keli picked up the cool tea offered by his personal guard, took a small sip, and slightly dispelled the lingering burnt taste in his throat. "Hasn't Vice Commissioner Luo been there yet?"

“As you know, I’ve been very busy,” Luo Yangxing said, pointing to the pile of files on his desk. “If it weren’t for the fact that my Ming soldiers hadn’t been dragged into this undeserved calamity, I really wouldn’t want to get involved in the filthy affairs of brothels. What do you say, Lord Yuan?”

"We have to deal with it whether we want to or not!" Yuan Keli glanced at the desk. "No matter what, Hanyang is now under our control. A fire killed sixty or seventy people. If we don't get to the bottom of this and find out who's behind it, it will be hard to give the world an explanation. If the capital sends people to investigate, those minor details that don't need to be mentioned will probably come out."

(End of this chapter)