How did I, a mere son-in-law lying down, become a "Fenglang Juxu" (a legendary martial art

Chapter 23 Autopsy

In order to force Liu Shan to agree, Song Bowen pretended to be annoyed and said, "Liu Shan, you must not refuse again and betray my trust!"

How could Liu Shan possibly agree to that?!

At this moment, he wished he could point his finger at Song Bowen and curse him, and there was no way he would listen to his orders.

“My lord, the responsibility of overseeing the execution is immense. I am but a lowly clerk and I fear I am not up to the task and would fail to live up to your high expectations.”

Song Bowen's face visibly darkened, and he said unhappily, "Liu Shan, don't be ungrateful!"

At this moment, Liu Xinian stood up, cupped his hands, and volunteered, saying, "My lord, I am willing to take on the role of execution supervisor."

However, Song Bowen seemed to neither see nor hear, ignoring Liu Xinian's plea and instead looking at He Qiong, asking, "Lord He, are you willing to share my burden and take charge of supervising the execution?"

Song Bowen didn't genuinely admire He Qiong and Liu Shan, nor did he want to share the credit with them; he actually wanted to drag them down with him.

Once they get involved, they'll never be able to escape unscathed, and they'll even lose their ground to oppose it.

Since they were both in charge of overseeing the execution, it proves that they agreed in principle to execute Ge Yuniang and Chen An.

He Qiong was a seasoned veteran in officialdom, shrewd and astute, and naturally saw through the sordid dealings.

He feigned embarrassment and said, "Lord Song, I have recently caught a cold and am feeling unwell. I am unable to perform my duties as the executioner. Please understand."

"Humph!"

Song Bowen snorted angrily and reluctantly handed over the duty of supervising the execution to Liu Xinian.

Seeing that he had failed to trick He Qiong and Liu Shan, Song Bowen decided to act decisively to avoid any unforeseen complications.

He directly ordered Liu Xinian to immediately execute Ge Yuniang and Chen An.

Liu Shan was filled with anxiety. He kept looking at the entrance of the county government office and sighing softly.

Why hasn't the trump card we planned appeared yet?

If they don't show up soon, it'll be too late!

He Qiong was also extremely anxious. Although Ge Yuniang and Chen An were both commoners, their lives were at stake, so it was a matter of life and death!

Seeing that his planned backup plan had not materialized, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and voice his opposition once again.

"Lord Song, according to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, death row inmates have the right to see their close relatives and the right to eat their last meal before death. Isn't it too hasty to execute them immediately?"

Song Bowen was furious. He never expected that his orders would be blocked time and time again. These two were simply pushing their luck and taking advantage of his kindness!

Where did they get the guts? Who gave them the courage?

Song Bowen slammed his fist on the table in anger, “He Qiong has been questioning his superiors repeatedly without cause. Take him down!”

He Qiong was stunned. He was prepared to be scolded, but he never expected that Song Bowen would actually have him arrested!

Although it is true that a higher-ranking official can have absolute power, how could Song Bowen dare to do that without Song Bowen having committed any substantial wrongdoing?

Song Bowen was also a ruthless man. He went all out and even had Liu Xinian take down Liu Shan as well.

Liu Xinian was excited. He hadn't been eating or sleeping well for the past two days, and he didn't even have the energy to defecate. He was relying on He Qiong and Liu Shan!

Now that he has a legitimate opportunity for revenge, he is naturally eager and proactive.

But when he looked up, he found that only He Qiong was in the hall, and Liu Shan, the clerk, was nowhere to be found.

"Lord He, where is Liu Shan?"

He Qiong was also taken aback and asked in return, "Right, where is Liu Shan?"

Liu Xinian asked the constables in a fit of rage, "Where is Liu Shan? Has anyone seen him?"

The constable hurriedly replied, "Sir, Liu Shangang has just gone out."

Liu Xinian was even angrier. "Why didn't you stop him?"

The constables were helpless; no one had told them to stop them.

Liu Xinian slammed his fist on the table. "Aren't you going to arrest them?"

All the constables: "Yes, sir!"

The constables, carrying knives, rushed out of the hall, shouting, "Arrest Liu Shan!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out—

"Do not bother!"

Song Bowen and Liu Xinian immediately had a bad feeling.

He Qiong was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so excited. He even felt a kind of youthful exuberance in his old age.

Liu Shan, leading several fully armed guards, slowly entered the county government hall, pressuring the constables step by step.

Song Bowen asked through gritted teeth, "Liu Shan, are you planning a rebellion?"

Liu Xinian's expression was fierce, but when he saw the person behind Liu Shan, his face turned deathly pale, and he exclaimed, "Tian...Tian Fugui?"

Tian Fugui's eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could devour Liu Xinian alive. "It is indeed me! You're disappointed that I'm not dead, aren't you?!"

Liu Xinian's expression changed several times before he finally snorted coldly, "With your abilities, you can't stir up any trouble."

With a friendly smile on his face, Liu Shan turned to the side and introduced, "Lord Song, Lord Liu, you may not know these two people beside me. Please let me introduce them to you."

"These two are coroners from the Cangzhou Prefectural Government. They have come here on the orders of Prefect Yin to examine Wang Pinlian's body again."

Liu Xinian's face turned ashen instantly, and his whole body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Compared to Liu Xinian, Song Bowen was much more composed. "I know both of you. What are the results of the autopsy?"

The two coroners from Cangzhou immediately looked much uglier. The implication of what Song Tongzhi meant was that he could deal with them at any time, so they had better think twice before speaking.

However, the two coroners had anticipated this situation before they arrived, so they said firmly, "Your Honor, Wang Pinlian died of natural causes, not from poisoning."

Hearing this, Liu Xinian breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Pinlian's cause of death had been overturned, and he would at most bear the responsibility for negligence, which was not a major oversight.

Moreover, even if Tian Fugui utters some "crazy talk," it's not a big deal. As long as he denies it to the death, no one can convict him based on just one testimony.

Sure enough, when Tian Fugui accused Liu Xinian of forcing him and Ding Lu to falsify the autopsy, Song Bowen immediately denied it.

"The testimonies of those involved in the forgery are not credible! This official hereby declares them unacceptable!"

Just as Liu Xinian revealed a smug expression, Tian Fugui pulled out a letter and loudly proclaimed, "Ding Lu was forced to death by the county magistrate. This is the indictment he signed with his fingerprint before his death!"

Liu Xinian roared in exasperation, "Nonsense! Guards, snatch the letter away...!"

Tian Fugui interrupted Liu Xinian and asked, "Where's my father? What did you do to him?"

Liu Xinian was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily, "I'm afraid you'll never see him again!"

Tian Fugui's eyes immediately reddened. Although his father had done many bad things, he had been genuinely good to him!

He pulled out another letter and said in a mournful voice, "This is my father's indictment, and evidence of the county magistrate's years of corruption and abuse of power!"

Liu Xinian panicked completely and ordered the yamen runners to destroy both letters.

However, ordinary yamen runners were no match for Yin Nantian's personal guards, and were subdued as soon as they engaged in combat.