Persuasion

According to the law of the day, all criminal cases were to be dealt with strictly. Autopsy reports and investigation records had to be checked and signed by the higher-ups. As the local magistrate, Wen Yuansi had to be responsible for all the cases that went through his hands.

Cutting a body open was a grave matter, so even though Song Caitang had convinced him personally, he didn’t dare to decide if she could do it or not. He had to report this to his superior.

And his direct superior was the man in front of him. Prefectural Governor Zhang Gushen.

Governor Zhang stroked his beard and rejected the idea with great gusto, “Dissection of the body? And by a woman too? Neither of these things would be allowed, and putting them together is even worse. Magistrate Wen, I know you are young and full of valiant ideas, but this is not your first day in government. You should know what can and cannot be done.”

He looked intently at Wen Yuansi as though he suspected that Wen Yuansi had been possessed by some spirit and was making foolish decisions as a result.

“Sir, please allow me to explain the logic of the matter to you.” Wen Yuansi had a relaxed expression and a smile on his face. His speech carried a comfortable rhythm that helped to soothe the atmosphere, “Initially, I didn’t agree with the idea either…”

He proceeded to repeat Song Caitang’s words in his own words.

Including the special characteristics of the meal the men ate the night before, the way food was digested, how the date of death would affect future investigations, and so on. This was a special case because the victim’s face had been completely destroyed. If they took food out from the stomach, they would be able to identify who this man was.

“Sir, you know that this case involves three brothers who are not local. They don’t have any friends or relatives here, so it’s really hard to identify the body. Two of the three brothers have gone missing, and the youngest one, An Pengyi, is very ill. The cook said it was Ximen Gang, while An Pengyi was too delirious. It took him so much effort even to come to see the body. First, he said it looked like Ximen Gang, then said it looked a little like Shi Qun…”

Wen Yuansi did a quick round-up of the case. His eyes lit up, “The difficult part about this case is identifying who the victim is. Once we know who he is, it won’t be hard to confirm who the killer is!”

“If you put it that way…you are not wrong to say that…”

Governor Zhang narrowed his eyes as he tapped his fingertips against the table several times, “But it’s still a no from me.”

“Cutting a body open sounds terrifying in itself, and furthermore, you’re getting a woman to do it…if it doesn’t work out, neither of us will be able to bear the consequences.”

Wen Yuansi held up his tea, and Song Caitang’s face came to mind…he sighed to himself.

He had to make use of the same trick she had used on him after all.

She had guessed it right.

“There’s one more thing I thought I’d point out as well.”

Now that Wen Yuansi had moved on from the topic of dissection, Governor Zhang started smiling and looked more relaxed, “What is it?”

Wen Yuansi’s gaze flickered slightly, “There’s more than one case revolving around Tianhua Temple…don’t you want to get the credit for cracking this case?”

Governor Zhang froze. He slowly turned and stared at Wen Yuansi with a gleam in his eye, “You mean…”

“An aristocrat has been killed in the temple, and the authorities have prioritized this case. Even the provincial governor is here to investigate personally, so he has already summoned the best coroners and inspectors, yet they have not made any progress…” Wen Yuansi slowly scraped the bubbles on his tea aside, “And even if this case is cracked…you’ve contributed a lot of manpower to the case, but you might not get any credit in the end. And if the case can’t be solved, then…you’re on the losing end. Unlike the governor, you don’t have a powerful uncle to rely on.”

“And judging from their progress so far…I’m not trying to be negative, but the chances of them not cracking the case are higher.”

Of course, Governor Zhang knew that.

The provincial governor was a rank higher than his, and this particular one had a powerful person to rely on, so he often got the credit for things he didn’t do. Thankfully, Governor Zhang was quite capable himself, so he didn’t suffer too badly. This time, however…that aristocrat had died in his territory. If nothing came out of the case, others could blame him for it, but he had no one to blame. His future looked pretty bleak now.

And because of this matter, he had been very careful and did not dare to do anything that might create unnecessary trouble.

But Wen Yuansi’s words had given him some ideas.

“You’re saying that if this woman is really capable, then we could even recommend her for that case…”

Wen Yuansi nodded slightly and smiled, “That’s right.”

Governor Zhang began to waver.

The provincial governor had taken away all his coroners, and these were his best subordinates. A woman out of nowhere would never get approval from the governor, and the governor would want nothing to do with her. That meant that this woman would remain as one of Governor Zhang’s. And if this female coroner ended up cracking the big case, then nobody would be able to steal the credit from him since she was his subordinate.

But…

He sighed, “It’s still a no.”

Nobody had ever heard of a woman dissecting a dead body. It was too risky. Besides, even if he highly recommended her for the big case, she might not be allowed to be part of the investigation team either.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

Wen Yuansi put his tea down, “Just take it that I didn’t talk to you about any of this. Song Caitang dissecting the body is all my own idea, my own decision based on my own judgment. If everything goes well, I will recommend her to you. If it fails…I will bear the full responsibility for it. I just hope that you could put in a couple of good words for me so that I don’t end up in the lowest of ranks.”

Governor Zhang stroked his beard. He closed his eyes slightly to cover the gleam in his gaze. This was a good deal!

“Also…” Wen Yuansi smiled. He had the face of a clean-cut, honest man, but his words carried a lot of other implications, “As long as you dare to recommend Song Caitang, I dare to guarantee that the provincial governor won’t be able to stop her from becoming part of the team.”

“Oh?” Governor Zhang opened his eyes and leaned forward, “Why do you say that?”

“A surveillance commissioner is coming to Luanze. Have you heard about that?”

Wen Yuansi dragged his words out slightly to emphasize the syllables. Governor Zhang paused to think and nearly slapped his own thigh.

Of course, he knew about that!

He knew about that young man who caused chaos everywhere he went! The commander of the royal guard who was so well-loved by the emperor! Zhao Zhi!

He had heard that Wen Yuansi’s grandmother, Old Madam Li, had met with Zhao Zhi several times and was acquainted with him…

Governor Zhang sighed to himself. Everyone had someone to fall back on except him! How pitiful he was!

But on the outside, he quickly put a big smile on, “My dear junior, you shouldn’t be saying things like taking on full responsibility! That sounds terrible to me! I’m your superior, so your business is my business too! Alright! What was her name again? Song Caitang, was it? If she wants to dissect the corpse, let her go ahead! Your brother here will bear full responsibility! If it goes well, then…please help to put in a good word for me when you speak to your grandmother, I’ll recommend the girl to the governor personally…”

Nobody was going to snatch the credit away from him this time!

And even if nothing came out of it…he didn’t mind getting acquainted with someone like Zhao Zhi.

Wen Yuansi smiled brightly as he placed a palm over his fist and complimented his superior, “Good choice, sir!”

“Ohoho…” Governor Zhang looked at his tea and sighed slowly, “I’m old, after all, and I can’t see things as clearly as you can. Yuansi, your future is bright, so don’t do anything to destroy it.”

Wen Yuansi smiled warmly. He looked so sweet, “I still have to depend on you to train me and teach me.”

Song Caitang had no idea that Wen Yuansi had used such methods to convince his superior. She was still admiring the moon.

Qingqiao was terribly worried, “Young Mistress, you keep waking up in the middle of the night like that. I’m afraid your body won’t be able to take it…do you want to see a doctor about it?”

“No need,” Song Caitang shook her head.

She wasn’t the sort that needed a lot of sleep. Five or six hours a day was enough for her. She slept early here, so waking up in the middle of the night was about right. She didn’t feel unwell either, so her body was fine.

Qingqiao was still worried, but her Young Mistress’ words were the law for her. She didn’t dare to say anymore and decided that if Song Caitang continued to be like this, she would secretly tell Guan Qing about it. Guan Qing was so fierce, so she was sure that Song Caitang wouldn’t dare to disobey her.

She put those thoughts aside and started worrying about something else, “I wonder if Magistrate Wen has managed to convince his superior…will we be able to dissect the body tomorrow morning?”

When she heard her Young Mistress talk about cutting a body open, she was afraid. But she was more afraid of the reactions of the people.

Just like what Song Caitang had said before, the dead aren’t able to hurt you. The person was already dead, after all. But the living… Song Caitang was a woman, and she was going to dissect a body? Wasn’t she afraid that she’d drown in the saliva of other people’s nasty words? That would be terrible.

“Indeed…the feeling of being discriminated against is terrible.”

Song Caitang let out a long sigh. Because she was a woman, there were a million and one things she couldn’t do, including examining dead bodies and being part of an investigation. There were many things that nobody would tell her about and many places that she wasn’t allowed to enter.

She knew that Wen Yuansi must have gone to discuss this matter with his superior, but she wished she was the one talking to his superior about it instead.

This was her line of work, and they were talking about her capabilities, so she knew what she could do best.

But she couldn’t be the one negotiating.

Because she was a woman and she wasn’t qualified as a result.

Song Caitang closed her eyes slightly and pulled her coat around her more tightly.

Never mind, she told herself. This is only the first time. As long as I get the chance, I’ll slowly make my way up and show those prideful people!

Once that happened, the cases she handled and the things she did…would slowly follow her rules instead.

“Young Mistress, won’t you sleep a little more? You have to dissect a body tomorrow.”

Song Caitang hesitated for a moment, “Alright then.”

The next morning, the sun shone brightly. The air was refreshing.

Shortly after breakfast, one of Wen Yuansi’s subordinates came to see Song Caitang. He said that everything had been arranged and that she could go ahead with the dissection.

Song Caitang immediately got Qingqiao to carry the box they had prepared beforehand and got ready to leave.

But before stepping out, Song Caitang stopped in her tracks, took out a pill from a pouch hanging from her belt, and looked at Qingqiao, “Open your mouth.”

Qingqiao stared at her in confusion.

“If you don’t want to end up vomiting in some ugly fashion, then swallow this thing.”

Qingqiao…quickly swallowed the pill.

“Young Mistress, aren’t you eating one too?”

“I don’t need it.”

“Wha-?”

“I’m already used to it.”

Qingqiao was even more confused. Already used to it? After just one night in the coffin home, she…was used to it?

Then again, her Young Mistress was too smart for her ever to understand. It was easier to just focus on doing her work well.

She carried the box and followed Song Caitang toward the same room they went to the night before, the room where the body was kept.