Placid Chang’an Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Gatekeeper

Song Jiancheng was momentarily taken aback by Su Cen’s boldness. It was only after Su Cen left the front courtyard that he regained his senses and began to stomp his feet in anger. “You dare to act like this during court hours? Where are you going?!”

Su Cen paid no attention to him and walked straight out of the Dali Hall. After some thought, he headed towards Guiyi Lane.

Wu Deshui was the gatekeeper on duty at the East Market on the night of Lu Liang’s case. The next morning, Lu Liang was found dead in the East Market, and Wu Deshui’s whereabouts were unknown, leaving only his keys on the table in the courtyard.

Su Cen could almost confirm that Wu Deshui was connected to the person who brought Lu Liang into the East Market. It was the only lead he had left in his hands.

Chang’an City had a well-organized layout, with about 108 symmetrical neighborhoods. The Imperial City and the Palace faced north, while the main axis, Zhuque Street, extended to the south. Overlooking everything from Longshou Yuan, the outer city was also divided into layers from north to south. The northern residents were mostly high-ranking officials and nobles, while conditions became progressively worse towards the south. Guiyi Lane, located in the southwestern corner, was practically a refugee area.

Chang’an City had two extremes, with its bright side being dazzling and its dark side being decrepit.

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Perhaps they already knew that Wu Deshui had died. With several shacks between them, the stench had spread, and the rotting corpse was right under their noses. But no one reported it. It had nothing to do with them, and they turned a blind eye.

Suddenly, Su Cen felt that the mud and water on the ground were mixed with the smell of death. Along this journey, he had traced the indescribable foul smell back to its source. In the eyes of these people, there was only cold indifference, as if they were all walking corpses!

Su Cen forced himself to stand up and scanned the crowd. He spoke up, “Go and report to the authorities.”

“Someone died, go and report to the authorities! I remember each and every one of your faces. Everyone standing here is the murderer!”

Finally, someone in the crowd moved, cursing “madman” and walking away.

Su Cen grabbed the child who had led him there, “Go and report to the authorities. They are all heartless walking corpses. You’re still young, don’t imitate them.”

The scared child pulled his hand back forcefully and ran a few steps away. He glanced back at Su Cen and nodded timidly.

As the large Dali Temple was far away, the child reported the situation to the local Chang’an government. Su Cen finally breathed a sigh of relief when officials from the Chang’an Prefecture arrived. He approached them to negotiate and arranged for the body to be sent to the Hall.

The officials from Chang’an Prefecture were happy to comply. After all, the deceased person was Minister Liu’s nephew and had some connection to the recent incident involving the new scholars in the capital. If they mishandled the situation, it could lead to trouble. Now, they could conveniently pass this hot potato to the Dali Hall.

“How did the person die?” Su Cen asked.

The official who came was an official several ranks higher than Su Cen, but he still patiently replied, “The coroner’s preliminary examination suggests that the person seems to have… died from drinking alcohol.”

“Died from drinking alcohol?” Su Cen frowned and glanced into the dark shack, where he noticed several large wine jars in the corner.

“The deceased had no injuries and showed no signs of poisoning. His skin was flushed, his tongue was pale, his pupils were dilated, and his eyes were congested. These are symptoms of alcohol intoxication.”

“Wait,” just as the body was being carried out of the shack, Su Cen raised his hand to stop them, enduring the strong stench as he approached to examine it.

Initially, he had only run out in disgust and didn’t take a close look. Now, upon closer inspection, he discovered a problem.

The body was swollen, but it had only been three days since Wu Deshui was last seen in the East Market on the evening of April 8. Even in the peak of summer, a body couldn’t swell like this in such a short time.

Pressing his hand against the body’s belly, Su Cen furrowed his brows and thought deeply. He had assumed the swelling was due to the corpse bloating from internal qi or gases during decomposition, but now it seemed otherwise. Bloated bodies would cause the chest and abdomen to swell, but Wu Deshui’s chest was flat, and his abdomen felt full, with noticeable accumulation of fluid.

So, the contents of Wu Deshui’s body were not gas but alcohol.

The alcohol in Wu Deshui’s body evaporated, causing organ failure and decomposition. Although the surface of the body showed postmortem lividity, the internal organs had already deteriorated. This explained the rapid decay and strong odor.

However, normal people wouldn’t drink themselves to this extent. Wu Deshui died from drinking alcohol, but the exact method and circumstances of his drinking required further investigation.

“Nothing.” Su Cen withdrew his hand and said, “Carry him away.”

Together with Wu Deshui’s corpse, Su Cen returned to the Dali Hall. It was the time when the government office was ending for the day, and people were coming out of the building one after another. They curiously glanced at Su Cen, covering their noses as they walked around.

Despite staying with the body all the way, Su Cen couldn’t smell anything now.

As he entered the main hall, Song Jiancheng had just changed into his regular attire and was planning to return home when Su Cen stopped him at the door, preventing his exit.

Helpless, Song Jiancheng stepped back two steps and stood by the window, pinching his nose teasingly. “Oh, did you go out for a day of digging manure pits?”

Su Cen pointed outside the door. “It’s the body of Wu Deshui, the gatekeeper of Dongshi Gate.”

Song Jiancheng furrowed his brows. “Why did you bring him back?”

“On that day, he was the one who opened the city gate for Lu Liang and the murderer.”

Glancing outside the window, Song Jiancheng shook his head. “He’s already so rotten. Let’s discuss this tomorrow.”

“Why wait until tomorrow?” Su Cen straightened his body. “Weren’t you eager to solve the case? Now that I’ve brought you a clue, why do you want to wait until tomorrow?”

“I was eager before, but I’m not anymore,” Song Jiancheng smiled at him. “Gao Miao has confessed.”

“What?!” Su Cen’s body stiffened abruptly.

“He admitted to everything. He killed those people because he was jealous of their success in the imperial examination,” Song Jiancheng glanced at Su Cen. “Your help in solving this case was indispensable. Your contributions will not go unrewarded.”

“What have you done to him?” Su Cen took a firm step forward, his eyes blazing red as he stared at Song Jiancheng.

“I don’t need you to meddle in my affairs.” Song Jiancheng avoided Su Cen and walked straight towards the door.

Just as he took a couple of steps, his clothes were forcefully pulled from behind. He turned around to meet Su Cen’s icy gaze. “You said Gao Miao confessed, then let me ask you, how did he manage to enter the East Market during curfew?”

“Lü Liang’s death after curfew is just your word against mine.”

“What about him?” Su Cen pointed outside the window. “He was on duty at the East Market on the night of the 8th, and then he was murdered at home. Now his body is lying there. Is that also just my word against yours?”

“Su Cen, don’t push your luck!” Song Jiancheng yanked his sleeve. “You are merely a seventh-rank clerk. Do you really think you are someone important? If it weren’t for someone protecting you from above, you would be in a cell with Gao Miao right now. Don’t think you can act so arrogantly in front of me.”

With his brow furrowed, Song Jiancheng brushed his sleeve and left.

Su Cen had no time to delve into the meaning behind Song Jiancheng’s words. He had only one thought in mind – he couldn’t let Song Jiancheng leave. He reached out again to grab Song Jiancheng’s sleeve.

However, this time, he missed. Song Jiancheng didn’t actively avoid him; he just slightly lifted his arm forward. With a thud from behind, Song Jiancheng turned back to find that Su Cen was now lying unconscious on the ground.

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Translator’s note: This should have been posted yesterday. 

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