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=The Imperial Coroner=

=Episode 1=

In the middle and late Tang Dynasty,

eunuchs set Emperor Xuanzong on the throne.

To please them,

Emperor Xuanzong let them take charge of Imperial Armies

to keep the Imperial Palace safe.

Meanwhile,

he established Three Judicial Offices,

making Commandery Prince An, Xiao Jinyu

managing all criminal cases.

Three Judicial Offices value coroners.

The Coroner Qualification Test is held

in the capital city ever year,

without any restriction.

Talented people will be recruited.

(Jinguang Gate) During the test season,

coroners from different towns come to the capital.

Here you are.

See you. See you.

Welcome again.

Have a look at the hairpins.

Miss, have a look.

What’s this?

It’s food.

(Chu Chu)

I’m in Chang’an at last.

I will pass the test for a coroner.

Handsome Judge,

wait for me.

Stop.

Show me your pass.

(Pass)

(Approved)

You can go.

Come and have a look.

Make way, please.

Come and have a look!

Come and have a look!

(Jing Yi, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review)

Sir,

what happened to you?

The old man was hit.

Are you alright?

I’m terribly sorry.

Shall I take you to see a doctor?

I don’t want to waste your time.

It doesn’t matter.

I’m old already.

The bruise looks weird.

But now that I’m hurt,

I can’t work in the fields for months.

Why is it red, but not swollen?

I don’t have money to see a doctor.

If you don’t mind,

could you give me a bit money for medical expenses?

All right.

I should do that.

He certainly should.

The old man was hit so badly.

Wait!

Thank you.

Here you are.

-Sir, here you are. -Thank you.

Thank you.

You lied! The bruise is fake!

What’s she talking about?

Lied?

You faked the bruise to deceive people.

It feels a bit hot,

but it’s not swollen at all.

Everyone, take a look,

the bruise has one color.

The edge is clear, too.

Obviously,

it’s made of burned beech.

Also,

he isn’t an old man.

He’s got the white of the eye.

Now that it’s the white of the eye,

it must be white. Or can it be black?

It can’t be black. But it should be yellow.

When people get old, the white of the eye turns yellow.

The older they are,

(No turbidity. Over 35 years old.) the more turbid it turns.

That’s how we describe old men.

But look at him.

The white of his eyes doesn’t change at all.

People can fake their appearance and even voice.

But they can’t

fake the white of the eye!

Look at his eyes.

Go to hell!

Fraud, don’t run!

The Court of Judicial Review!

Fraud!

Take him back.

All right. Don’t crowd here.

Don’t block the traffic!

Go, go, go.

What a fraud!

He even gave the fraud some money.

Chu Chu?

Yes. You’re an official of the Court of Judicial Review?

I’m Jing Yi, Vice Minister

of the Court of Judicial Review.

Greetings, Lord Jing.

Stand up, please.

This isn’t what ordinary people use.

Tell me. Why did you come to Chang’an?

I’m not a businesswoman.

I got a lift with travelling merchants.

I’m a coroner.

These are my working tools.

Go away! Go away!

Commandery Prince An?

Who dared to kick me off!

(Wu Jiang, Chief Guardsman)

(Sun Mingde, Palace Eunuch) Wu Jiang,

were you blind?

Let me show you who’s blind?

You!

Greetings, Your Highness!

I’m so sorry.

I didn’t know you were here, Your Highness.

According to Tang laws,

who rides a horse in the downtown will be flogged 50 times.

Wu Jiang.

Here.

Your Highness,

I came out to check the accounts of Shence Army,

under the command of Eunuch Qin!

He’s waiting for me...!

Why are you so nagging?

Lord Wu, Lord Wu,

it’s for the toilet thing.

That’s what I want.

It’s for the toilet thing.

He does strict enforcement with no fear for nobilities.

Legal and illegal people all obey him.

You said you came here to be a coroner.

Do you mean taking the Coroner Qualification Test?

Yes.

After I pass the test,

I’ll be an official coroner.

Is there really no restriction

for the Coroner Qualification Test

and any can take part in it?

Yes.

(Court of Judicial Review) Go to the test with this

and no one will stop you.

Really?

Thank you, Lord Jing.

(Court of Judicial Review)

(Three Judicial Offices)

(Two Merits Hall)

Excuse me,

didn’t we pass the test yesterday?

Why is there a test again?

Did anyone help you to come?

Why don’t you even know this?

It was the Qualification Test yesterday.

Now it’s the selection test Commandery Prince An holds.

If anyone passes it,

he can be admitted to Three Judicial Offices

and work for Xiao Jinyu.

Small Goldfish?

The name sounds so odd.

What Small Goldfish?

You don’t even know Commandery Prince An?

Everyone in Three Judicial Offices

fears him.

Small Goldfish?

(Two Merits Hall)

Commandery Prince An?

What Small Goldfish?

Don’t talk nonsense.

When you hear your name,

come in with me.

Chu Chu from Qianzhou.

I am.

I’m Chu Chu.

Hold it steadily. Watch your steps!

Be quick!

Senior Jing,

-why don’t we see your son today? -Be smart.

(Jing Zhi, Grand Preceptor) Commandery Prince An summoned him.

His Majesty asked them to solve Assistant Wu’s case

(Wang Jun, Minister of Revenue) within a time limit.

As estimated,

it’s the deadline.

(Han Ji, Minister of Justice) But His Highness still works on the test.

He’s so calm.

How arrogant he is!

Watch your language, Lord Han.

His Highness is your superior.

You mustn’t disrespect him.

What superior!

Since Tang Dynasty was founded,

the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate

do their duties separately

and solve criminal cases together.

I wonder what His Majesty thinks of.

He established Three Judicial Offices for Commandery Prince An,

overriding these three ministries.

Officials like us must take orders

from such a young man.

He’s too young and ignorant!

(Xiao Jinyu, Commandery Prince An)

I’m Chu Chu.

What’s your family name?

Chu.

Chu Chu is my name.

It means a lovely girl.

It’s simple and easy to be remembered.

Candidate Chu Chu,

there’re two parts for the autopsy test.

Give correct inspections and you’ll pass it.

You’ll have a high score for offering extra clues.

The final paper

subjects to my record.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Then get started, please.

Wait. What are these?

(Yin-yang Pestle) These are autopsy tools I made.

This is Yin-yang Pestle.

It’s made of hardwood.

It has a cone-shape with one thick end and one thin end.

Two ends are wrapped with cotton.

The thin end is for checking the nose

while the thick end is for the throat.

Yin-yang Pestle?

He was burned

and also soaked in water.

On his arms and neck are

lightly bronzing dendritic patterns.

Finger bones of his right hand have pale osseous pearls.

The yellow grease on the dead body

isn’t all solidified grease.

It’s...

The smell of sesame oil.

Man,

over 35 years old.

Around 1.7 meters tall.

His corpse is burned

and curled up.

He died nearly half a month ago.

What’s the cause of his death?

It’s in his mouth and nose, I guess.

I knew it!

There’s soot in his mouth and nose.

So, he was burned to death.

What a useful tool!

What’s the nature of this case?

Nature?

Was he suicided

or was he killed?

He wasn’t suicided or killed.

He died of accident.

Accident?

His skull was fractured with a crack.

He was burned badly.

After cleaning his neck,

I saw some dendritic patterns.

He was struck by lightning.

Also, he was soaked in water

after he was burned.

So, he was struck by lightning

before it rained.

It was midsummer half a month ago,

when there were the most thunderstorms.

How could he be burned like this if he was simply struck by lightning?

I think this is how he was dead.

He was possibly walking in the rain

with a lantern in his hand.

By the way,

he was carrying some sesame oil, too.

When the lightning hit the tree,

he was putting his right hand against the tree.

What are you doing?

Stand up and talk normally!

I’m imitating how he died.

Interesting.

Unluckily, he was struck by lightning

and passed out immediately.

He got the tinder

and flammable sesame oil.

The tinder burned the oil

and burned him to death

when he was in a coma.

He was badly burned,

but I could feel that

he had fractures

in his ribs, arms and shanks

more than once or twice.

He wounded

such vulnerable parts

when he risked his life fighting.

If he weren’t so badly burned,

we could have seen his scars.

No matter what a bad temper he had,

he wouldn’t fight people desperately

almost every day,

unless that was his job!

What else do you know?

That’s all.

My Lord, may I check the next body?

Check her background carefully.

(Test sheet, Chu Chu, female)

Senior Jing, you have no idea.

The two corpses Commandery Prince An use

for the test are from unsolved cases

in the capital.

One of the corpses is

Assistant Yan Ming in the Palace Library.

Yan Ming?

Man,

over 40 years old.

His corpse has the bruises all over.

Some flesh of his mouth, nose, chest and ribs became putrid.

He died half a month ago, I guess.

His heart was stabbed through by a sharp thing.

It was the only wound

and mortal wound.

The sharp thing

has a spike,

is as thin as wheat straw,

and as long as one meter.

What exactly is the thing

as thin as wheat straw, as long as one meter

and with a spike?

I don’t know.

You even managed to guess the shape.

Can’t you know what it is?

I didn’t guess.

I figured it out.

I was taught.

A coroner’s duty is to honestly record

what he sees,

smells,

hears of,

and touches.

He knows when he sees, smells, hears of and touches.

Otherwise, he doesn’t know.

Deducing or judging isn’t a coroner’s duty.

We can’t talk without evidence.

How does she know that?

What?

I mean I told you what I figured out.

I can only tell you what I know.

Without enough evidence,

I can’t talk nonsense.

I... I also know one thing.

I know he was murdered

and he knew the murderer.

You don’t say!

What?

You want to wake him up and ask him?

I don’t mean that.

I mean he knows the murderer

and the murderer knows him, too.

All right.

Go to the wing hall for injury inspection.

Thank you, My Lord.

She even knows rules for coroners,

deodorizing the smell by vinegar steaming.

Your Highness.

She’s the female coroner

Vice Minister Jing asked you to take care of?

Yes.

Please understand, Your Highness.

If it weren’t for his sake,

we wouldn’t have let a girl do the autopsy.

(Jiangshan Hall) You’re not qualified to get in.

(Jiangshan Hall) Please wait here.

(Emperor Xuanzong) Your Majesty, Academician Xue is here.

(Xue Rucheng, Academician) Greetings, Your Majesty.

Many officials have been complaining

about Commandery Prince An.

You’re his teacher.

Don’t you defend him?

Your Majesty, you think highly of him

and let him take charge of Three Judicial Offices.

(Qin Luan, Acting Chief Eunuch) You have your own decision.

I don’t need to defend him.

I let him take charge of Three Judicial Office,

for the sake that

he’s as upright

as his father Xiao Heng.

But being an official and solving cases are different things.

Qin Luan.

Yes.

I remember

when Xiao Heng checked the rebel case in the Southwest,

you went there to help him, right?

Yes. You have a good memory, Your Majesty.

At the behest of His Majesty,

Military Commissioner Chen Ying of Jiannan

and Prince Consort Xiao Heng rebelled.

They’ll be executed right here!

Your Grace!

Chen Ying!

Your Grace, go!

You’ll have to

vindicate our soldiers!

Unfortunately, I was too weak

to live up to Emperor Wenzong’s trust.

I failed to bring him back alive.

I’m guilty, Your Majesty!

I forgot the manner. Please punish me, Your Majesty.

I noticed you were limping.

Were you flogged?

Who flogged you?

For your information, Your Majesty,

when I was going out of town under your command,

I disturbed Commandery Prince An.

His Highness then punished me

and had me flogged!

You may both rise.

Xue,

didn’t you teach Xiao Jinyu

to be loyal and considerate?

I neglected my duty to instruct him.

Please punish me, Your Majesty.

As for Sun Mingde...

The Palace Domestic Service decides

how he should be punished.

Today, Xiao Jinyu didn’t tell me before he flogged my eunuch.

Will he dare to kill people without telling me?

Don’t be angry, Your Majesty.

His Highness was simply so young

that he lost his temper.

Now that he has a temper,

you should instruct him.

He even uses the corpse of an official

for the coroner test.

If he can’t solve the case,

other officials will impeach him!

By then, I’ll punish you, too!

Yes.

Your Highness,

Jing Yi is so useless.

He’s checking Yan Ming’s case for half a month,

but he has figured out nothing.

As soon as you take care of the case, you’ve found new clues.

This case is difficult for him.

Your Highness, you think highly of the female coroner?

No.

Jing Yi wants me to notice her.

Vice Minister Jing,

the next candidate is waiting out there.

How’s the testing body? Has he come?

No.

He’s in the latrine,

because of diarrhea.

Diarrhea might be a big problem.

Have someone check on him.

Ask the next candidate to wait for a moment.

Yes.

Stay here and wait.

Don’t run about,

make a noise

or look around.

When the testing body comes, you can start.

Yes.

-Your Highness. -Your Highness.

Is that a girl taking the test?

Yes, Your Highness.

She has been in for a while.

He’s got a bruise on his forehead.

He must be the testing body for me.

You’re the testing body, right?

What took you so long?

I’ve been waiting for a while.

My Lord, he has come.

May I start now?

How dare you!

You can.

Vice Minister Jing.

Lord Jing.

The candidate and the testing body have come.

Testing body?

All right, then.

Now that you’re both here,

let’s get started.

Man,

around 1.8 meters tall.

There’s a bruise on his forehead.

Get down.

Get down, or I can’t see clearly.

Just do it.

Now that you agree to be the testing body,

you should cooperate.

It was hit by something hard.

No medicine has been applied yet.

He was possibly hurt last night.

Besides blood stasis,

there’re slight scratches.

I think he was hit

by a flat and roughly polished weapon,

made of hardwood.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

There’s a bruise as wide as palm on the back of your left hand.

It was pressed by something heavy.

I guess

someone stepped on your hand.

A man.

You wounded the end of your palms

by putting them against a smooth hard thing.

You nearly got the wounds at the same time.

Go away.

All right. Take off your clothes.

Go on.

No.

You were right.

You guessed right, too.

I’ve got a bruise on my tailbone.

But you don’t need to check that.

You can stop now.

No way!

This isn’t over yet.

I can’t even fill half of the sheet.

If I stop now,

I won’t get a good score.

You’re the testing body.

You can’t decide if I continue.

If you don’t want to take off your clothes,

let me help you.

What does she want to do?

What does he want to do?

What does she want to do?

What does she want to do?

When did I say I was the testing body?

You said that

outside the room.

I did?

No. No.

You said that!

I only said you could start the test.

Jing Yi.

Yes, Your Highness. What do you want?

Sorry for the offense. Please forgive me, Your Highness.

Your...

Your Highness?

You... you’re Commandery Prince An, Small Goldfish?

Shut up! Don’t take nonsense!

Salute to His Highness and say sorry!

Are you superior to a prefect?

What do you think you’re doing?

I never met such an important official before.

But I met a prefect.

When the Prefect of Qianzhou

visited our town,

our magistrate taught us.

When we met the Prefect,

we should knee and kowtow.

I kowtowed once to him.

Now that you’re superior,

I kowtowed a few more times.

Is that enough?

Master, it was so wise of you!

His Majesty appreciates Xiao Jinyu for his justness.

How were you sure that

he would defend me today?

Han Ji is the Minister of Personnel,

but he has to take orders from Xiao Jinyu.

He can’t be feeling good.

When he knows

Xiao Jinyu used Yan Ming’s corpse for the test,

he would certainly impeach him.

Those who Xiao Jinyu has offended

are happy to help, too.

Xiao Jinyu was punished to repent.

Today, it was also possible

even if I wanted him

to be flogged 50 times too.

Xiao Jinyu is known to be smart.

As far as I see,

you’re much smarter.

Not to mention Xiao Jinyu,

even if his father were still alive...

I’m sorry.

Don’t get angry, Master.

His Majesty mentioned it today.

Xiao Heng ran away! After him!

Be quick!

If Xiao Heng were still alive,

we would be dead!

Yes.

Think more and talk less.

Or you can’t survive!

Yes.

Greetings, Eunuch Qin.

General Zhou,

may I have a word with you?

(Zhou Han, Commandant of Shence Army)

Find an excuse and check

what happened in Three Judicial Offices.

Yes.

Your Highness, the previous tests are over.

Check carefully

if there’s anything wrong information on the sheet.

(Test sheet, Chu Chu, female)

I filled it myself.

Nothing is wrong.

You came from Pingle Town, Guanling County, Qianzhou?

You’re from an official family,

and a literary family.

And all your families are loyal?

Yes.

Nonsense!

You’re obviously from a coroner family.

Your grandfather is still alive.

Your father doesn’t have any brother,

but you have one.

Your brother even has a dog.

How do you even know that?

You wear big clothes

and they’re nearly new.

They are altered, but not tailored.

It means you borrowed them.

On your wristbands and hems,

there’re old and new dog scratches.

Considering your age,

they can’t be your father’s.

They’re very likely to be your brother’s.

He can even see that?

There’s the smell of honey locust and atractylodes on your clothes.

Now that you wash clothes with them,

it means the clothes belong to someone

who is a coroner, too.

He’s awesome!

Coroner is usually a family job.

As far as I see your autopsy,

you’re quite proficient

in some unpopular skills.

Such skills have a conflict with Tang Laws.

They weren’t invented in recent years.

You know such skills.

It means your ancestors were coroners

before the reign of Emperor Taizong.

You’re right about everything!

You look handsome,

sound perspicacious and take care of criminal cases.

You... you’re Handsome Judge?

Handsome Judge?

The chief of Six Gates!

Chief of Six Gates?

He’s untraceable.

It’s always hard to trace him down.

Nine Constables all take his orders.

He’s the chief of Six Gates, taking care of all criminal cases,

known as Handsome Judge.

A constable with great martial arts

follows him,

named Soul-chasing Sword.

I’ve never heard of him.

I’m not Handsome Judge, either.

You get the wrong man.

But...

You’re as awesome as him.

Stop talking nonsense.

Now that I’m right about everything,

you admit that

you filled fake information on the test sheet

and lied about your family condition?

But I told the truth.

My families are coroners for generations

and work in Yamen.

Aren’t we an official family?

My families can also read.

We have a lot of books.

Aren’t we a literary family?

Also, we’re good people

who have done nothing bad.

Aren’t we loyal?

Kind of.

I heard what you said

during the autopsy.

I want you to explain more

about something.

When you checked the dead man

who was stabbed by a sharp thing,

you said he knew the murderer

and the murderer knew him, too.

Do you mean

they’re acquainted?

Yes, you’re right.

How did you know that?

I...

I’m afraid I can’t explain clearly.

Can I gesture?

Yes.

Judged from his wound,

when he was killed,

he was facing the murderer.

Just like...

this.

What are you doing?

I’m trying to show you.

Wu Jiang.

He was offensive.

I apologize on his behalf.

It doesn’t matter.

I...

I was offensive, too.

Even if this was how he died,

why did it mean

he knew the murderer?

If he didn’t know the murderer,

he would have reacted

just like he did.

As long as he had struggled,

he wouldn’t have had such a smooth wound.

The brush is simply 20cm long.

But the weapon was a meter long.

He had much more time

to respond.

However strong the murderer was,

he could have time to seize the weapon

when he was stabbed in his face.

But within such a long time,

he didn’t struggle at all.

It means he never expected that man

to kill him.

He didn’t want to believe that even when he was dying.

You know clearly what a dead man thinks.

Sure.

Dead men are different from living people.

You can learn from their corpse

about they thought and did before death.

It’s much easier to understand them than living people.

What else can you see from his corpse?

One more thing.

But I haven’t seen

where he was killed.

I can’t talk without evidence.

I can show you that place.

Do you want to do this for me?

Yes. Of course!

(Two Merits Hall)

Your Highness.

You really don’t know Six Gates?

It’s a wonderful place.

There’re even female constables.

I thought

Six Gates was the only place

where women could work.

You’re sure she wasn’t lying?

Why do I think she keeps talking nonsense?

I work for His Highness

by judging if someone’s lying.

Even if you don’t trust me,

you should trust my ancestral skill.

I hear you got her back from the street.

Yes.

What do you mean got her back?

I did that for the sake of her fate with His Highness.

See? His Highness noticed her.

I’m serious.

(Three Judicial Offices)

Greetings, Your Highness.

Who are you?

You may rise.

I’m a waiter at Fusheng Inn.

The girl...

It’s already bad luck

when a female coroner like her lives in our inn.

She eve ran away without paying for the bill!

She left a stone pendant,

saying she would take the test here

-Why does she have the pendant? -and buy the pendant back afterwards.

-Who exactly is she? -I think

she simply wants to repudiate the bill!

No, no.

I don’t mean that!

When I woke up this morning, I found my purse missing.

I was in a hurry for the test.

Then I left the pendant as a pledge

and left a note on the table.

I even put my thumb print on it.

As soon as I make money, I’ll go pay the bill

and buy back my pendant.

Buy back such a useless stone.

Who are you trying to fool?

It’s not a useless stone!

You’re obviously trying to repudiate the bill!

I’m not!

How much does she owe you?

Please understand, Your Highness.

Taking accommodation, lamp-oil and candle

into consideration,

the bill is 37 copper coins.

I’m telling the truth!

Jing Yi.

Thank you. Thank you.

Your Highness, there’s another bill.

She’s a coroner...

How dare you push it!

Sir...

What sir? Vice Minister!

Vice Minister, think about it.

If it were you,

would you like to sleep on a bed a coroner once slept on

or use the tableware she used?

I would.

Wu Jiang, go back with him

and tell the manager of inn that

I’ll rent the room Miss Chu lived in

for a long term.

No one shall change anything

in that room.

I’ll go live there whenever I’m free.

Yes.

I’ll see

what an inn it is

that even a waiter can bully a customer

in my place.

Don’t get angry, Your Highness!

I don’t mean that.

I won’t ask for the money. I won’t!

I’m leaving, Your Highness.

Come back.

Her pendant!

And the note she wrote.

Go!

Spare me, Sir!

I won’t do that again, Sir!

Thank you, Your Highness.

I paid.

Thank you, too, Lord Jing.

When I make money,

I’ll pay you back.

Don’t bother.

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♪Nothing can♪

♪Stop me♪

♪From missing you♪

♪All the time♪

♪It’s cold at night♪

♪Everything changes in the world♪

♪I have affection for nothing♪

♪But your hug♪

♪Close the eyes♪

♪Meet again♪

♪By your side♪

♪I brush your hair gently♪

♪Life is long but love isn’t♪

♪There’s regret in the world♪

♪Only with you around♪

♪We’ll never lose contact♪

♪The moment♪

♪You smile♪

♪Let me cherish it for good♪

♪Because of you♪

♪I care about my life♪

♪I’m not old yet♪

♪I still love you♪

♪At last I settle down for you♪

♪I can rely on you all my life♪

♪Hope we’ll spend our lives sweetly♪