frightfiction Chapter 18 Torture
Chapter 18 Torture
Liu Shan felt oppressed. Putting aside the other two forms of torture, just the finger-crushing torture, the moment the wooden stick tightened... that's like ten fingers being connected to the heart, just thinking about it made his hair stand on end.
Liu Shan felt a deep sense of sympathy, but he also knew that sympathy could not clear Ge Yuniang's name, since it was only her side of the story and could not serve as evidence.
From the start of the interrogation, Chief He remained silent.
At this moment, he turned to a page in the file and handed it to Liu Shan.
Liu Shan was stunned for a moment, then he saw the record in the file:
"Ge Yuniang, whose original name is unknown, is nineteen years old. She was a courtesan who redeemed herself two years ago and married Wang Pinlian. She makes a living by selling noodles on the street..."
"Chen An, 24 years old, militia instructor in Jinhua County, a frequent visitor to brothels, and his old ways remain unchanged even after marrying Yang Lian'er..."
Ge Yuniang's status as a courtesan was extremely disadvantageous, especially since Chen An was a regular at the brothel, making it possible that the two of them were having an affair...
Thinking of this, Liu Shan couldn't help but sigh.
The high-ranking officials and nobles of the Xia Dynasty loved to visit brothels, but they looked down on these girls from the bottom of their hearts. This was the reason why Liu Xinian dared to openly use torture on Ge Yuniang.
A woman with no background and a bad reputation—isn't she someone that this county magistrate can manipulate and control at will?!
At the same time, Liu Shan keenly noticed the key point of the case: Wang Pinlian suddenly felt weak all over, went home and drank a tonic soup made with longan, wolfberry, jujube, ginseng and other ingredients, then slept on a heated kang bed and covered himself with a cotton quilt to sweat it out... The next day his face turned blue and he died with blood coming from his mouth and nose.
Although he wasn't a medical student, he still had basic medical knowledge.
In the context of traditional Chinese medicine, general weakness may be caused by heat syndrome. At this time, the body is too weak to be nourished. Taking tonics, sleeping on a heated bed, or covering oneself with a quilt will only have the opposite effect and may even endanger life in severe cases.
It's just unknown whether people who die from fever will have bluish faces and bleed from their mouths and noses.
It seems……
By this time, Ge Yuniang had regained her composure, and Liu Shan asked, "Ge Yuniang, is there anything else you'd like to add?"
“Your Excellency, I…” Ge Yuniang hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted her teeth and revealed a secret that had been buried in her heart for a long time.
"Half a month ago, Ding Lu came to my house after drinking. He... he tried to touch me inappropriately, attempting to... to do something immoral. When I refused, he became enraged and asked, 'Everyone else can touch me, why can't I? I can pay you!' I slapped him and told him that since I had redeemed myself and married, I was a respectable woman, and asked him to have some self-respect..."
He Qiong stroked her chin and asked, "You mean, Ding Lu held a grudge because of this and deliberately retaliated against you when he examined Wang Pinlian's body?"
Liu Shan said in a low voice, "Sir, we cannot rule out that possibility."
After a moment's thought, He Qiong said, "In that case, Ding Lu is the first key figure in this case, and Tian Fugui is the second key figure!"
He ordered the captain of his personal guards: "Bring Ding Lu and Tian Fugui back immediately for trial."
"Yes, sir." The captain of the personal guards led his men away to carry out the order.
Half an hour later, the captain of the personal guards hurriedly returned.
Seeing that he was alone, He Qiong asked, "Where are Ding Lu and Tian Fugui? Why weren't they brought along?"
The captain of the personal guards hurriedly reported: "Sir, when I arrived at Ding Lu's house, I found that the county government was dealing with his body. The yamen runners told me that the autopsy results showed that he committed suicide by hanging."
Liu Shan sighed slightly. The county government knew that He Qiong was investigating Wang Pinlian's case, yet they still dared to conclude that Ding Lu had committed suicide by hanging. So, this conclusion of death was most likely true.
It's unclear why Ding Lu hanged himself, but if we were to investigate further, it would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but there's also no guarantee of finding anything.
At this moment, He Qiong asked again, "Ding Lu is dead, but what about Tian Fugui? Is he dead too?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, Tian Fugui is not dead, he has simply gone missing."
disappeared?
Liu Shan was stunned again. At the same time as Ding Lu's death, Tian Fugui also disappeared?
Was it a coincidence? Or was it done intentionally?
Or is someone trying to mislead them?
"Snapped!"
He Qiong slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Send people to search! We must find Tian Fugui, even if it means digging three feet into the ground!"
The captain of the personal guards clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.
Liu Shan whispered a reminder: "Sir, we should re-examine Wang Pinlian's body as soon as possible."
He Qiong said in a deep voice, "An autopsy is definitely necessary, but we can't hire the coroner from Jinhua County. Liu Xinian has been the county magistrate for over twenty years, and I'm afraid he has managed the entire county government like an iron barrel, impenetrable to any interference."
“I’ll write to my father-in-law right away and ask him to arrange for two coroners to come over.”
He Qiong stopped Liu Shan, saying, "I have already sent someone to secretly return to the Cangzhou government office to dispatch a coroner. This matter must be kept secret and must not be publicized. If it attracts the attention of Liu Xinian, it will definitely cause complications."
Liu Shan nodded and said solemnly, "Don't worry, sir, I will be careful with my words and actions."
"So good."
"Sir, shall we proceed with the interrogation of Chen An?"
He Qiong nodded and immediately ordered the jailer to lead the way to the men's prison.
Although the women's prison was damp and cold, it was generally clean and didn't have any strange smells, so it was probably safe for people not to die there.
However, the situation did not go as Liu Shan expected.
The damp and cold atmosphere was negligible here; as soon as Liu Shan stepped into the men's prison, tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily.
What kind of hellish stench is this?
Foot odor, body odor, urine odor, feces odor...
These flavors were mixed together, and Liu Shan didn't even know what words to use to describe them.
However, to his utter bewilderment, He Qiong showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever, not even a slight frown.
Could it be that he...
You have rhinitis?!
Maybe, perhaps, whatever—in any case, Liu Shan couldn't think of any other reason.
Despite his discomfort, Liu Shan accompanied He Qiong to interrogate Chen An.
Although Chen An also suffered torture, he was a militia instructor and was much stronger than Ge Yuniang. Despite being covered in wounds, he was still in good spirits.
At first, Chen An knelt on the ground without saying a word, assuming that the men before him were in cahoots with Liu Xinian, until Liu Shan said, "We interrogated Ge Yuniang and learned that Magistrate Liu used torture to extract confessions..."
Chen An straightened his back noticeably a little, but soon his back hunched over again as he asked softly, "Lian'er... is she alright?"
Liu Shan's heart trembled. He didn't dare to tell the truth, but instead told a white lie, "She's fine."
Chen An's eyes lit up, and he muttered softly, "Blood... I shouldn't have given her that. It will bring her trouble..."
Liu Shan sighed inwardly. It was more than just a disaster; Yang Lian'er had already lost her life.
At the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief at an inopportune moment. It seemed that the "blood letter" was indeed written by Chen An. Although he was willing to believe Jiang Ruolan and Xiao Yue with the utmost sincerity, the necessary verification was still required for the trial.