The dead man he had met only once

Shen Shixu hurriedly dressed and followed the clerk who had come to fetch him to the place where the body had been found.

It was a dark, secluded alley. The dead man lay facedown, a wound running across his back from his right shoulder blade to the left side of his waist. Blood surrounded his body, its color already darkening to a deep red.

He had clearly died from excessive blood loss. Shen Shixu crouched and turned the body over to check for wounds on the front, but when the torches held by those around him illuminated the dead man's face, his eyes narrowed. He had not expected to recognize him.

The dead man was none other than the drunk who had tried to molest the Top Courtesan at Ten-Mile Home that afternoon. Shen Shixu could not help connecting the two incidents.

Had someone taken offense at his attempt to molest Shaoyao during the day and come looking for trouble in the middle of the night? But wasn't killing him a little excessive?

Still, this was not the time to dwell on that. Whether his death had anything to do with the afternoon's incident would require further investigation. First, they needed to establish his identity.

Shen Shixu beckoned over Zhang Ming, who had been at his side all along. "Zhang Ming, go to Ten-Mile Home and ask whether they know who the drunk who caused trouble there at noon was, and where he lived."

Zhang Ming bowed and withdrew, carrying a lantern to knock on the doors of Ten-Mile Home in the middle of the night.

The waiter watching the premises had only just gone to bed when he heard someone banging on the door. Furious, he went to open it, ready to curse whatever idiot had come knocking at this hour, only to find an official dressed in dark blue-black robes, holding a lantern bearing the words "Court of Judicial Review."

He swallowed the curses he had been about to unleash and forced an ingratiating smile. Clasping his hands together, he rubbed them nervously. "S-sir, what brings you here in the middle of the night? Our boss isn't here!"

The waiter was in a panic, thinking their boss must have committed some offense.

Zhang Ming took no particular notice of the waiter's trembling legs. Ordinary people were afraid of officials to begin with, and the Court of Judicial Review inspired even greater fear. Not only commoners but officials, too, were afraid of them.

Every official in Great Qian knew that any case the Court of Judicial Review took up was a murder case. What respectable person would willingly get mixed up in a murder?

"I'm not looking for your boss. I only came to ask about something. A drunk caused trouble in your restaurant at noon today. Do you know who he was and where he lived?"

Hearing that he had only come to ask for information, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief. At noon, he had not been serving out front but carrying dishes to guests in the private rooms upstairs.

Although he had not seen the man himself, he had heard about him from his fellow workers. "Oh, that man. I know him. He's something of a regular here. He came on our very first day of business, and he's been coming every single day since.

"I remember his name was Guo Yongshun. As for where he lived, I think it was Springwater Alley. I heard him mention the place once when he was drunk and talking to the people at his table."

Having obtained the information, Zhang Ming left with his lantern. Before leaving, he made sure to thank the waiter. "Thank you!"

The waiter had never imagined that an official would one day thank him. He was dumbstruck, then broke into a broad grin once he recovered. As he closed the door, he resolved to boast about it to everyone else tomorrow.

Shen Shixu had already had the body carried back to the examination room at the Court of Judicial Review. The coroner had arrived and began his examination as soon as the body was brought in.

Just as Shen Shixu had suspected, the man had died from excessive blood loss. The fatal wound was the long gash across his back, which looked as though it had been made by a butcher's cleaver. There were also numerous bruises on his body, especially one across his neck that appeared to have been caused by someone pressing an arm against it. He must have fought with someone earlier, and that person was most likely the killer.

After hearing the coroner's findings, Shen Shixu gave an awkward dry cough. "Well... I inflicted that injury on his back. I went out to eat at noon and happened to catch him drunkenly harassing a woman, so I stepped in and subdued him."

The coroner gave an embarrassed chuckle. He had only been speculating, never expecting his conclusions to implicate the deputy chief himself. Fortunately, the deputy chief was generous enough not to hold it against him. Otherwise, he would have been packing his things and heading home by now.

Shen Shixu recalled what he had seen and heard at Ten-Mile Home that afternoon. The man had gripped Shaoyao's hand and refused to let go, puckering his foul mouth to kiss her. When Shaoyao tearfully begged for help, everyone around her had turned away.

That was rather strange. Any normal man would hardly have refused a beautiful woman pleading for help with tears streaming down her face.

Especially when she was a beauty they longed for but could not have. Who would pass up such a perfect chance to play the hero and rescue her? Yet no one had gone to Shaoyao's aid. Why had no one helped her?

They had been wary of someone: Guo Yongshun, the man harassing Shaoyao.

Shen Shixu grew curious about the man's identity. There were only a few kinds of people who could frighten ordinary folk: the wealthy, those with authority, those with powerful connections, and, finally, thugs and petty scoundrels.

Compared with the first three, the last was the sort ordinary people least wanted to cross. The harm they caused might not be great, but it persisted, and they were also the kind people were most likely to encounter.

A habitual troublemaker clung to you like a stubborn medicinal plaster, like lice breeding in a wound. He might not kill you in the short term, but he made your skin crawl, and over time, he could still cost you your life.

Judging by Guo Yongshun's clothes, Shen Shixu leaned toward the last possibility: a petty thug.

He wore the sort of clothes ordinary commoners wore, though slightly better: a cotton-padded robe.

While Shen Shixu was considering this, Zhang Ming returned carrying his things and reported what he had learned from the waiter.

"Sir, this is all the rather uncertain information we have so far. We can confirm his name, but not his address. Before coming back, I sent men to Springwater Alley."

Shen Shixu was pleased with his arrangements. "Good!"

Despite the praise, Zhang Ming did not grow conceited. He stood respectfully to one side, his eyes lowered, awaiting Shen Shixu's next instructions.

Progress was slow at night, with so many people already asleep. By the time they had found the place, woken people up, and questioned them, dawn had broken.

With a case to handle, Shen Shixu did not attend morning court that day.

When Xiao Jinyi did not see Shen Shixu at morning court, he grew worried. Shen Shixu hasn't come today. Is he feeling unwell?

But Emperor Wu'an had already arrived, so Xiao Jinyi could no longer slip out to find Shen Shixu. He could only pray that nothing much would happen today and that court would end early.