Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Su Wen hurriedly returned to Youzhou City and went straight to the county government office in Luxian County.

Upon seeing Cui Wuyi, Su Wen hurriedly asked, "Magistrate Cui, I'd like to ask, did you temporarily transfer Wei Nanzi, the coroner from Ningshui County, last December?"

Cui Wuyi frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded and replied, "It seems there is such a thing. However, I remember that we were only responsible for borrowing the people. The specific arrangements were handled by Xue Ne, the Grand General of Youzhou, and Xue Song, the Judicial Advisor of Youzhou. I only know that it was about suppressing bandits. After October last year, bandits ran rampant, robbing and killing, causing the deaths of many civilians. As a result, the Emperor was angered and ordered Xue Ne, the Grand General of Youzhou, to send troops to suppress the bandits!"

Su Wen hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Magistrate Cui. I have to go now, but I will definitely host a banquet for you when I'm done!"

Cui Wuyi smiled slightly as she watched Su Wen leave in a hurry before he had even finished speaking.

Before long, Su Wen arrived at the Grand Governor's Mansion of Youzhou. Previously, Su Wen needed to report his arrival here, but now he didn't need to at all and could go in directly.

Whenever it comes to any case, those four phrases, "as if I were personally present," are the greatest source of confidence.

Upon meeting Xue Song, the Judicial Advisor of Youzhou, Su Wen bowed and said, "Su Wen greets Advisor Xue!"

"Director Su, what brings you here today?" Xue Song asked with a hint of teasing.

Su Wen looked around and, finding no one nearby, whispered, "There's a new lead in the strange case in Youzhou, so I've come to ask General Xue Song for help!"

Xue Song frowned and said, "What?" Then, with a hint of doubt, he asked, "Didn't you say that case was solved? How come there are new leads?"

Su Wendao said, "At the time, there were many people around, which was just to mislead the real killer!"

Xue Song took a deep breath and said, "You mean that case isn't that simple?"

Su Wen responded.

Upon hearing this, Xue Song went to a drawer and took out a box. From the box, he took out a tattered book and handed it to Su Wen, saying, "Back then, when Father heard you mention something about the Twelve Zodiac Formation, he ordered people to investigate. As a result, we found this tattered book. This book contains a secret Buddhist technique. Legend has it that it can use a special barrier to bring a person's soul from the underworld to the mortal realm and possess a designated person. Within this book, there is an ancient formation called the Twelve Zodiac Formation. It involves sacrificing twelve people to offer their lives and souls, thereby allowing one person to possess the lives of twelve sacrificed individuals!"

"At the time, my father thought that the murderer might have wanted to use this method to resurrect someone and give that person the lifespan of the other twelve, thus gaining a lifespan of several hundred years!"

"However, after hearing that you had solved the case, Father stopped investigating!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "It seems this case is not so simple!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Song frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Su Wen said softly, "If it's about resurrecting someone, he and the already dead He Yan can't possibly reach an agreement. After all, only one person can be resurrected. Besides, He Yan is the Registrar of Household Registration. Although his official rank is low, he still has a path to promotion. So he definitely won't agree, unless..."

Xue Song asked, "Unless what?"

Su Wendao said, "Unless, the person they want to resurrect is not an ordinary person!"

Xue Song asked, "What do you mean?"

Su Wen said, "When I was looking through the household registers earlier, I discovered that He Yan had once been a retainer of the Grand Princess Zhenguo, Princess Taiping, right? He also briefly served as the Chief Attendant of the Ministry of Revenue in Chang'an. Later, Princess Taiping was executed for treason, and He Yan was demoted to Youzhou to serve as this minor household register clerk!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Song's eyes widened in shock, his face filled with fear. He swallowed hard and stammered, "Chief Su, do you mean they want to resurrect the Grand Princess Taiping, the Princess Who Protects the Nation?"

The moment he said that, Su Wen nodded: "That's the most likely possibility!"

"This matter is of utmost importance. It should be immediately dispatched by express courier, covering 800 li, to inform His Majesty. This matter requires a thorough investigation!"

Su Wen stopped him, saying, "This is just speculation. We must not do this before the murderer is caught, otherwise we will alert the mastermind behind it all, and then this case will truly be difficult to solve!"

"So what should we do now?"

Su Wendao said, "Let's investigate step by step!"

Xue Song said, "What if they change the location and succeed? If they really resurrect the Grand Princess Zhenguo, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

Su Wen sighed, wanting to say that this was utter nonsense. If people could really be resurrected, would Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han still be alive?

This is blatant feudal superstition!

Alas, feudal superstition is deadly!

But Su Wen couldn't say that. He pondered for a moment and said, "It's alright. I've already tracked down other clues. I believe the real culprit in this case will soon have to get restless. No one can remain indifferent to this game while continuously losing pieces!"

Hearing this, Xue Song calmed down a bit and then asked, "What's the new clue?"

Su Wen looked at Xue Song and said, "This is why I came to find you. In December, I heard that you went to suppress bandits and many people died. I would like to ask where you buried the bodies of those bandits and fallen soldiers?"

Xue Song said, "It's located halfway up Dafeng Mountain, forty li west of Youzhou City!"

Su Wen said, "Come on, take me there!"

Xue Song asked, "What are we going there for?"

"Exhume and examine the body!"

"Exhume and examine the body?" Xue Song asked in shock.

Su Wen continued, "I suspect that the murderer responsible for harvesting the internal organs used these corpses as practice!"

Xue Song was so shocked by Su Wen that he was speechless, because this case had exceeded his expectations!

In fact, not only him, but even Su Wen felt a slight ripple in his heart. This case was very likely to involve the deceased Grand Princess Taiping.

During Princess Taiping's lifetime, she wielded immense power in the court and had a large number of officials, retainers, and extraordinary figures from the martial arts world who were loyal to her.

Some of these people were killed by Li Longji, some were exiled, and many more officials were transferred away from Chang'an to remote areas to serve as minor officials.

However, although these minor officials hold low-ranking positions, as the saying goes: "When the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, even monkeys can rule as kings."

Who knows how many of Princess Taiping's people are in Youzhou City, orchestrating this case!

Su Wen looked at Xue Song and said, "For this matter, you must only bring your trusted confidants; you absolutely cannot bring anyone who has had any connection with Princess Taiping!"

......

Halfway up Dafeng Mountain.

Su Wen, Xue Song, and more than ten soldiers stood to one side. After everyone saluted, Su Wen spoke, "Fellow soldiers, I apologize for disturbing your rest, but this matter is of great importance, and we have no choice but to exhume your bodies for examination. Please forgive us!"

After Su Wen finished speaking, he said, "Exhume the body and examine it!"

All the soldiers responded and stepped forward to begin digging up the grave and exhuming the coffin!