Bone Painting Coroner

Jing Rong and Mo Ruo were equally surprised, “The murderer’s been apprehended? Who was it?”

“Yun Tongyang!”

Hmm?

“Lord Fang personally went to capture him. Both Yun Tongyang and Li Mingzhou have been brought back to the yamen, and are awaiting interrogation in court.”

“Explain yourself more clearly.”

“In fact, there were two secret passages in Li Mingzhou’s study – one led outside the estate, and the other to Li Yuan’s house. Yun Tongyang entered the study from the front door, then walked through the secret passage to Li Yuan’s house to kill him. Li Mingzhou already had a pretty good idea as to what happened, so he left his estate via the other secret passage and went to confront Yun Tongyang at Longyang Escort Agency. Lord Fang brought his men there and heard Yun Tongyang confess to the murder, thus leading to this arrest.”

Mo Ruo scratched his chin, “When did Lord Fang become so astute?”

Shi Ziran scoffed, “How is that silly official astute? It was Teacher Ji’s plan.”

Hmm? Mo Ruo turned back towards the room Ji Yunshu was in, realisation dawning upon him, “Oh! So this was what Teacher Ji whispered to Fang Mingsan!” He was then confused, “But how would she know that Li Mingzhou would pay Yun Tongyang a visit and how could she be sure that Yun Tongyang was the killer?”

Shi Ziran shrugged his shoulders in defeat; this wasn’t information he was privy to either. The two of them turned to Jing Rong expectantly, only to have him shake his head coldly, “I don’t know either.”

Tsk! Mo Ruo waved him away.

Very soon, a yamen runner appeared with news that Lord Fang had requested Teacher Ji’s presence, and made his way to enter Ji Yunshu’s room. He was stopped by Jing Rong, “Don’t disturb Teacher Ji. When she’s finished, she’ll head there.”

“But, the court’s…” already in session!

“Tell your Lord Fang to do what he needs to do, to ask the questions that need to be asked.”

“Under… Understood!” The yamen runner backed away quickly, still bent over at his waist in his bow.

……

Ji Yunshu had overheard everything from where she was inside the room; it was enough that the men were arrested! She rolled up the scroll in her hands and returned it to its original position. She then walked over to the study and quickly scribbled down four sentences on some paper, folding it up when the ink was dried. She finally exited the room after tucking that paper into her sleeve…

In court.

Yun Tongyang and Li Mingzhou were on their knees; one was still overflowing with confidence, while the other hung his head low in regret and sadness.

Bang! The unpleasant sound of Fang Mingsan slamming his gavel into his desk resonated across the quiet court. He looked at the two men below sternly, questioning, “Yun Tongyang, how did you murder the victim? Speak the truth!”

Yun Tongyang was eerily calm; he was not at all nervous nor flustered, instead refuting, “Lord Fang, have you made a mistake? Why would this Mr. Yun kill? I’m an upright civilian!”

Ptooey! Shameless! “Are you still trying to deny your wrongdoings? This official clearly heard every word you said to Li Mingzhou – you personally confessed to Li Yuan’s murder, don’t think about trying to get out of it!”

“That was this Mr. Yun spouting rubbish, Lord Fang need not take me seriously.”

“Yun Tongyang, this official knows of your capabilities, as well as the influence your Longyang Escort Agency holds. But don’t forget, Yuzhou City lies within this official’s jurisdiction – it’s not your playground! If you’ve committed a crime, you’ll pay for your sins!” Fang Mingsan raised his voice. In reality, it was common for court officials to be bought over by civilians. For example, there were some districts where the officials were at the beck and call of the rich; catering to their every whim while accepting bribes! How disgusting! Luckily, Fang Mingsan was one of the rare honest officials!

Yun Tongyang laughed, raising his innocent eyes, “Lord, you don’t have any evidence proving that I’m the murderer. If word were to spread that Lord Fang passed this verdict based on those few words that you heard, nobody in Yuzhou City would believe it – unless, Lord Fang can support what you said with cold, hard evidence!” He was not the least bit afraid!

Fang Mingsan was enraged, slamming his gavel down again before speaking. “This official’s two ears are the proof that you need! Everyone present heard Li Mingzhou question you, everyone heard you confess – you killed that man!”

“Oh? So if I said that I killed His Majesty, Lord Fang would also believe me?”

Ugh! He was attacking this loophole! “Yun Tongyang, don’t force this official to use harsher means. Torture would do you no good.”

“Is that how the yamen gets people to confess to their crimes?”

Fang Mingsan’s face turned green at his accusation! He was at a loss; he and his men heard Yun Tongyang’s confession, but, they did not have material evidence! Teacher Ji, oh Teacher Ji, pease appear soon – this official can’t hold this scene any longer!

Yun Tongyang pulled Li Mingzhou up from his knees, brushing his robes as he raised his arrogant chin. He narrowed his eyes at Fang Mingsan, who sat above at his bench, “Lord Fang, you should know what kind of man this Mr. Yun is. I’ve always been a man of my words – I would never deny what I had done, but nobody can blame this Mr. Yun for something I did not do!” His charismatic voice reverberated around the room, as powerful as if he were the County Magistrate!

“Dawn is breaking. If Lord Fang cannot produce any evidence, then this Mr. Yun will take my leave. When Lord Fang has solid proof, then bring this Mr. Yun here again.” He pulled the stunned Li Mingzhou away with him without a second glance backwards.

Fang Mingsan stood up from his chair. He wanted to stop those two from leaving, but Yun Tongyang was right – he did not have evidence connecting him to those murders! So what if he heard it? He could only watch them leave… but they were fortunately stopped by someone at the door – it was Ji Yunshu, Jing Rong and Mo Ruo.

Yun Tongyang was startled, a cloud washing over his confident gaze. Ji Yunshu met his gaze, calmly asking, “Where is Chief Yun heading to?”

He did not speak.

“Weren’t you looking for evidence? Here, I’ll give you what you want, so that you can sit in prison where you belong.” She took several strides into the court.

Fang Mingsan was immediately bolstered by Ji Yunshu’s statement, waving his hands at his subordinates, “Bring the men in.” Yun Tongyang and Li Mingzhou were pushed back into court, with Jing Rong and Mo Ruo moving to one side of the hall, waiting for the epic showdown to commence!

Ji Yunshu spoke, “Chief Yun, you should know who this one is, no? When you were rushing back into Yuzhou City and causing a ruckus on the streets, you almost knocked this one over – do you recall?”

“I remember. So, you’re that Teacher Ji – who knew that we’d have such an affinity.”

“This one does not have an affinity with you, only with cases. More specifically, this one only has affinity with corpses and murderers.”

Ugh! The corners of Yun Tongyang’s mouth twitched, but he maintained his calm demeanour.

Ji Yunshu walked towards him with an icy cold face. She lifted her hand and gently waved it forward.Two yamen runners came in with Li Yuan’s corpse, placing it in the middle of the court before backing away. Ji Yunshu squatted down and unveiled it, revealing the long dead Li Yuan. The whites of his eyes were popping out, almost blue, and his mouth was turned downwards.

Li Mingzhou collapsed, crawling over to Li Yuan’s dead body as he cried out, “Ah Yuan!” He began to tremble as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Ji Yunshu gestured for someone to pull him away, lest he obstruct her work.

…

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