Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In Yichuan County, there lived a talented scholar named Liu Danqing. Born into poverty and orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his elder sister, Liu Ruyun. Liu Danqing was intelligent and studious; he passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and topped the local examination at twenty. Remarkably handsome and possessing an extraordinary demeanor, he had already become the object of admiration for many young women.
However, this talented scholar committed a heinous act on a dark and stormy night. In a fit of jealousy, he brutally murdered his lover, Mei Erjie, from the Mei family.
The story of Liu Danqing and Mei Erjie began a year prior, reminiscent of countless romantic tales. They met at a temple fair and fell in love at first sight. Mei Erjie was renowned in Yichuan County for her beauty, often compared to the legendary beauties of history. Unfortunately, I never had the fortune to see her.
Like many stories of star-crossed lovers, Liu Danqing came from humble beginnings while Sister Mei hailed from a wealthy family, which naturally opposed their union. Despite her protests, Sister Mei's parents ultimately arranged for her to marry someone else.
Yet, this tale took a turn unlike typical romantic tragedies. Just three days before her wedding, Liu Danqing stealthily entered the Mei residence at night and attacked Sister Mei in her chamber with a sharp knife, leaving her gravely injured. Her maid, Spring Orchid, returned with water only to find her mistress covered in blood. Terrified, she fled without uttering a word, but not before witnessing Liu Danqing standing motionless by the door, pale and holding the bloody knife.
After what felt like an eternity—perhaps half a minute—Spring Orchid let out a piercing scream, dropped the water basin, and rushed to alert her master and mistress. At that moment, Liu Danqing's knife clattered to the ground as he hurried after Sister Mei's fleeing figure.
When Sister Mei was found, it was too late; she lay dead beside a secluded lotus pond, her clothes in disarray and her body completely exposed. When the authorities apprehended Liu Danqing, he sat dazed in the garden as if entranced.
Brought before the officials, Liu Danqing confessed to killing Mei Erjie without hesitation. He recounted how love turned to hatred and how he had entered the Mei residence with a knife to stab Sister Mei. He signed his confession willingly. The former County Magistrate sentenced him to death by beheading and placed him in custody to await execution.
However, while he admitted to murder, Liu Danqing adamantly denied stripping Sister Mei of her clothing. Logically speaking, if he confessed to murder, such details would seem trivial; yet perhaps after committing such an atrocious act, he felt shame for further degrading her memory.
"Zhenzhen, what do you think?" Night Phantom asked with a smile after recounting the case.
His question immediately reminded me of the famous line from "Detective Di Renjie," "Yuan Fang, what do you think?" I felt a surge of frustration.
"What else can I think? Based on this alone, what can I deduce? Liu Danqing wielded the knife; someone saw him do it; he confessed—so the evidence is quite solid!" I replied tersely. If they sought my opinion on this case, surely there must be more to it than mere surface details!
Night Phantom didn’t carry a bag but somehow produced a large stack of old case files along with a sharp knife that he placed on the table. I scrutinized him; no matter how I looked at it, there seemed to be no way for him to conceal so many items on his person. Truly worthy of being called an ancient thief—always full of surprises.
"After reviewing these old case files," he said with intrigue, "you might discover something interesting."
Because the incident happened six months ago, the body had long been buried, and it was impossible to see the original scene. Therefore, the Old Case File was all I could rely on.
As I opened the Old Case File, I was taken aback. Inside, besides the Criminal's testimony, there were even the Crime Scene Investigation Report and the Autopsy Report, which greatly exceeded my expectations. The more I read, the more astonished I became. Setting aside the peculiarities of the case itself, this Old Case File was surprising in its own right.
After going through the Old Case File, an hour had already passed. During this time, Night had remained silent. When I looked up, he was quietly watching me from the side. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that a plate of Candied Fruit had already been finished by him.
"Do you like sweets?" I suddenly found it quite amusing.
"Is that a problem?" Hero replied.
"Not really. I can make all kinds of desserts; consider yourself lucky."
Night's lips curled slightly: "Then I should come by for more."
"Seriously though, who compiled this Old Case File? The person who took these notes is definitely talented. You should find an opportunity to mention this to Nie Qiuyuan and get this person promoted to your side."
The note-taker in this era without cameras was quite remarkable. Their records meticulously described everything visible to the naked eye, even emphasizing areas they felt were incorrect. Parts that were difficult to convey in words were illustrated with drawings.
If it weren't for this Old Case File's accurate documentation of the case from six months ago, it could have easily turned into a miscarriage of justice.
Night sipped his tea thoughtfully: "This person has already been brought on as an aide by Qiu. He's quite young—only nineteen this year—and has great potential. You will likely meet him soon."
Nie Qiuyuan's thoughts aligned perfectly with mine; I wasn't particularly surprised. After spending some time together, I began to understand him better and realized that his intellect and abilities were indeed as impressive as I had imagined.
Seeing that I had no further comments, Night Phantom continued: "You've seen the Old Case File; here are the discrepancies. First, when Liu Danqing was arrested, he was wearing white clothes that had very little blood on them. If he had stabbed someone so many times as indicated at the scene and then proceeded to strip the victim's clothes with intent to assault, how could there be so little blood on him?"
I nodded. Indeed, if the scene was as described in the Old Case File, it would be nearly impossible to kill someone without getting a lot of blood on oneself.
"The second doubt is that Liu Danqing is just a scholar with no strength to harm a chicken. If he were to sneak into Mei Residence at night with a knife, the main gate would be tightly locked and the guards vigilant. Without an insider, how could he get in? Did he climb over the wall? But if one has seen Yagyu in person and then looked at the walls of Mei Residence, it’s hard to believe that."
"The third point is that Qiu Yuan had reviewed Liu Danqing after looking at the Old Case File. This person appeared indifferent, showing no will to survive. Qiu Yuan showed him over ten knives, and he pointed out this one." Night pointed to the knife on the table. "But this is not the one from the scene. Moreover, look here in the Old Case File."
The Old Case File creatively illustrated all the wounds on the deceased's body, including their locations, shapes, and sizes. This was one of the reasons I particularly appreciated the record keeper's work. It practically replaced the need for photographs.
The shape of the wound was triangular, meaning one edge was dull while the other was sharp—this is a typical characteristic of a single-edged weapon being thrust in. Looking at the weapon Liu Danqing pointed out, it was a double-edged dagger, and its blade width was clearly larger than those wounds; it couldn't possibly create such injuries as depicted.
So even though Liu Danqing held that knife at the scene, he couldn’t remember what it looked like; it was clear that it wasn’t the knife he claimed but one he had brought from his home.
"The fourth doubt is that not only did the deceased have stab wounds, but also had their jugular cut. However, when interrogating Liu Danqing, it was clear that he was not left-handed."
I understood Night Phantom's implication well. Since the cut on the neck was on the right jugular vein, a right-handed person would typically cut on the left side of the deceased's neck. To cut on the right side would either require an awkward grip or an unusual direction of force.
"So under what circumstances would one cut on the right side? Since Witness did not see anyone else at the scene, then the most likely possibility is..."
"Suicide!" We both exclaimed in unison.
Comment 0 Comment Count