Chapter 95: Bramble Tally

The murder case that occurred in Willow Tree Hamlet on the eighth day of the seventh month was initially jointly investigated by the Revenue Officer and the Constable of Zhuoshui Township, with an Ordinance Clerk dispatched by the county assisting. The focus of the investigation fell on the husband of the deceased "Reed Blossom," a hunter. Constable Shu Wu believed that the hunter must have returned home, discovered his wife in an adulterous affair, and killed the two in a fit of rage.

The authorities therefore urgently ordered the local Hamlet Chief and Neighborhood Head to arrest the hunter. A day later, his trail was found in the mountain forest where he hunted…

The hunter was named Diao, a man in his thirties. When the Township Hamlet Chief and his men found him, he was crouching on the ground setting a beast trap, still unaware of what had happened. Suddenly pinned to the ground, he could only instinctively cry out that he was wronged!

"Crying injustice now? Too late!"

Diao was immediately taken to the Township Revenue Officer's office. Before his wife's corpse, he felt as if struck by lightning. Upon hearing that she had been killed while committing adultery with another man, he was momentarily unable to accept it. His legs gave way beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground.

Constable Shu Wu was convinced the hunter was the murderer and interrogated him repeatedly, but the hunter denied everything, insisting he had killed no one!

"Even if my wife betrayed me, I would not have gone so far as to kill her!"

Shu Wu was furious and was already preparing to apply torture, but was barely stopped by Ordinance Clerk Nu.

"Constable, the statutes say that obtaining a confession without flogging is best; flogging is a last resort. Let me question him first."

In Nu's view, Diao, as the primary suspect, did indeed have a motive. But that was on the premise that he knew of his wife's adultery beforehand. Judging by the man's reaction, it seemed he had never known before—ah, truly a dull and honest fellow.

Moreover, when Diao was captured, he was still setting hunting traps at his hunting ground. Unless he had killed the person first, then calmly returned to the hunting spot and pretended nothing had happened—but was that possible? Generally speaking, after committing murder, one should immediately flee for one's life.

Nu summoned several woodcutters who had been living with Diao over the past few days. They could testify that at the time of the crime, Diao was still in the mountains and could not have suddenly flown over ten li of mountain paths to return home and kill.

With this, Diao's suspicion of murder was essentially cleared, and the Constable had no choice but to release him, albeit reluctantly.

When Diao returned to Willow Tree Hamlet carrying the game he had hunted over those days, he looked at his house still surrounded by ropes and white ash, and the pools of long-dried bloodstains. He felt dizzy and disoriented, at a complete loss…

…

And the investigation of the case, having eliminated the possibility of a crime of passion, was forced to search for a new direction.

Unfortunately, the murderer had left very little evidence at the scene. Apart from a very common short knife, there was only that bramble tally found in the grass outside the door…

It was extremely common for men in Qin to wear swords and knives, so relying on a single blade to identify the murderer was like searching for a needle in the ocean. Thus, Shu Wu was inclined to start the investigation from the bramble tally.

A bramble tally was a contract used by merchants for trade, so named because the notches carved on it resembled the thorns on a bramble branch. Qin law stipulated that any transaction exceeding one hundred coins required a tally, as the saying goes: "The purpose of separating the tally is to serve as proof." After a deal was struck, the seller would write the traded goods and price on a wooden board, which was then sawed in half, with buyer and seller each keeping one part.

Furthermore, the material used for the tally varied according to the goods traded—some were bamboo, some mulberry wood. As for which material corresponded to which goods, only the officials specially managing the market and those merchants could distinguish them.

Shu Wu immediately sent men to the township market to find the Market Clerk and inquire about the use of this bramble tally: which trade it belonged to, and what its value was.

The answer came quickly. The Market Clerk replied that this was a bramble tally used in the silk trade. The bamboo tally had eleven notches. According to the customs of the silk trade, each bolt of silk was worth one hundred and eighty coins, so each notch corresponded to one hundred and eighty coins. Thus, the value of this bamboo tally was equivalent to one thousand nine hundred and eighty coins…

"The murderer must be a merchant!" Shu Wu declared with shining eyes and certainty, as if he had found a new direction.

Nu, however, was somewhat hesitant: "Why would he drop this bramble tally in the grass by the ditch outside the door?"

A bramble tally was a very important token. If a merchant's sold goods, money, and tallies did not match up, they would be punished by the market officials, so merchants protected them with extreme care, let alone carelessly discarding them.

"Perhaps the murderer left in a hurry and the tally in his bosom fell out."

Although this scenario was far too coincidental, the stubborn Shu Wu had already set a new tone for the case and would brook no doubt from others.

So, over the next few days, he dispatched all the men under the Township Hamlet to conduct a sweeping search of the township market and find those registered as market residents, with silk traders in particular becoming the primary suspects.

Unfortunately, after three or four days of turmoil, nothing was found. Almost all the silk merchants had alibis, and the Market Clerk, having searched through the trade records of the past year, could not find the right half of this bramble tally…

Not only that, but the once bustling township market had also become desolate and quiet due to the investigation.

The case had been open for several days, yet the Township Constable in charge of the investigation had achieved nothing. Not only were the common people panicked by this murder, but the normal trade of the township market had also been disrupted, which drew the displeasure of the County Magistrate and the County Commandant.

…

"That worthless brat, dragging me down with him!"

County Right Commandant Du Xian was the most furious. According to news from above, he might be transferred away from Anlu at the end of the year, and whether it was a promotion or a demotion depended on this year's performance evaluation.

This year, Anlu had successively cracked cases of tomb raiding and human trafficking, standing out brilliantly among the eighteen counties of Nan Commandery. But if this brazen murder case could not be solved quickly and word reached the commandery, Du Xian's performance evaluation this year would likely be greatly discounted.

Thus, the Right Commandant issued a stern written order to the township: since the Constable was incompetent and unable to solve the case, the case should be promptly transferred to the county, where the county would organize some capable Ordinance Clerks to jointly investigate…

Constable Shu Wu had now tried to steal a chicken only to lose the bait. What he thought was a simple case had turned into a difficult one, leading him into a dead end.

At this point, he knew that with his own abilities, he could not solve the case. He had no choice but to go to the county seat to admit his fault, kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic before the County Commandant, begging for forgiveness.

"I should never have trusted a mediocre good-for-nothing like you!"

County Right Commandant Du Xian hurled his brush holder to the ground before Shu Wu and said angrily, "Fine, since you yourself admit you are powerless to solve the case, then I shall replace you with someone who can!"

With that, Du Xian loudly called out, "Let the Huyang Hamlet Chief enter!"

"The County Commandant summons the Huyang Hamlet Chief!" the Commandant Clerk immediately relayed.

"Huyang Hamlet Chief… Hei Fu?"

Shu Wu was greatly startled. He turned his head and saw Hei Fu already striding in, bowing with clasped hands to the County Right Commandant: "Your subordinate pays respects to the County Commandant."

Du Xian stroked his beard and said, "Hei Fu, Ordinance Clerk Nu strongly recommended you to me, saying that not only were you the first official to arrive at the crime scene, but you are also deeply versed in the methods of an Ordinance Clerk, meticulous in thought, and extremely skilled at deduction. He suggested that you participate in solving the case. What do you think?"

"When a superior gives an order, a subordinate carries it out. Hei Fu dares not have any thoughts. Since the Ordinance Clerk trusts me and the County Commandant appoints me, I shall naturally do my utmost."

"Doing your utmost alone is not enough."

Du Xian said with a stern face, "As long as the murderer remains at large for a single day, the people will be in a state of panic. Time is pressing. I can only give you all half a month. If you succeed in capturing the murderer, I will certainly request commendation from the County Magistrate and the Commandery Office. If you cannot, all of you involved in solving this case will be punished!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Shu Wu, using him as a negative example to warn Hei Fu: "You will be impeached just like him, receiving an evaluation of dereliction of duty and incompetence. When the annual accounting ends in the tenth month, the position of Constable will likely be lost!"

Shu Wu broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, but Hei Fu merely smiled and said, "Please rest assured, County Commandant. I have not been idle these past days. Every night, I have been deducing this case on my own, and I already have a plan in mind…"

Du Xian was immediately overjoyed: "Oh, tell me about it!"

Hei Fu hesitated, glancing at Shu Wu. The meaning was clear: since this man no longer had anything to do with the case, it was best not to let him listen.

Du Xian impatiently waved his sleeve: "Shu Wu, you are dismissed."

Though Shu Wu was cursing furiously in his heart, he was helpless and could only mutely take his leave, his expression desolate as he walked out.

After he had left the hall, Hei Fu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "In my view, the direction of this case was wrong from the very start! We should not have begun with the bramble tally. That bramble tally was very likely left deliberately by the murderer to mislead us!"

(End of chapter)