A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 2 A Female Coroner Arrives at the Capital Prefecture

The common people were too far away to see clearly, but Song Shuyu was only about ten steps away. When this scene came into clear view, his eyes rolled back and he immediately fainted!

"grown ups!"

Constable Liu and Xu Chunshan, the Junior Magistrate of the Capital, each extended an arm to help Song Shuyu up in time.

The girl in green who had come with them, who had been focused on the female corpse, calmly said upon hearing the commotion, "Pinch the philtrum and feed the master some water when he wakes up."

"Coroner Mu, how about..." Xu Chunshan frowned and hesitated, "How about you pinch him instead? You're a woman, so the master shouldn't kick you a few times after he wakes up."

Mu Qingcheng was speechless. Looking at Song Shuyu, who was much taller than her, she stretched out her slender fingers, lifted his eyelids, looked at his pupils, and then pinched his philtrum.

"Hiss—" Song Shuyu was very delicate and woke up at the slightest pain. Just as he was about to curse, Mu Qingcheng took the sheepskin water bottle from Lin Fu, the clerk, unscrewed the lid, and held it to his lips.

Song Shuyu's anger was forced back. He drank a few sips of water, rubbed his dizzy head, and said in a very aggrieved tone, "Is there no other way besides pinching the philtrum? Counselor Mu, if you... if you dare to lay a hand on me again, I will deduct your monthly salary!"

However, this threat and warning did not elicit any pleading from Mu Qingcheng. Instead, he advised him, "Sir, you have already examined the crime scene. Why don't you return to the yamen first? There are many people here, and the condition of the body is complicated. It is not appropriate to conduct a public autopsy. I will conduct a preliminary examination first, and a detailed examination will be carried out after the body is transported back to the yamen."

Song Shuyu couldn't help but glance at the deceased again, but only for a moment before quickly turning his face away, trying his best to remain calm. He ordered, "Captain Liu, seal off Yuntai Temple. Confine all monks to their quarters and cooperate with the investigation! Registrar Zhang, register everyone who entered or left Yuntai Mountain today, clearly recording their names, household registration, and addresses. Then send them home and order them not to leave the capital until the case is solved!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"in addition……"

Song Shuyu straightened up, put his hands behind his back, and glanced at Mu Qingcheng intentionally or unintentionally, with an upright expression. "I am not from a criminal law background, so it is normal for me to be a little afraid when I see a corpse. But it is my duty, so how can I back down so easily?"

His words, intended to save face, made several subordinates want to laugh but dare not. Only Mu Qingcheng raised the corners of her lips and replied softly, "Yes, sir, you are right."

Song Shuyu gave a light snort, quite arrogant, then turned to face the onlookers and announced in a clear voice: "This young lady's surname is Mu, given name Qingcheng. She is a first-class coroner of the Jingzhao Prefecture, a young talent personally selected by this official!"

"What? The coroner is a woman?"

"Women working as clerks? I've never heard of such a thing before!"

"Lord Song has only been in office for a little over a month, yet he has taken the audacious step of recruiting women as coroners. It seems that Lord Song's reputation for 'eccentric behavior' is indeed true!"

"..."

The people were shocked when they heard this, and immediately there was much discussion!

The officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture, however, remained calm.

Mu Qingcheng was recruited through rigorous examinations by the Jingzhao Prefecture; faced with absolute strength, none of them dared to challenge her. Just as Song Shuyu said, would the deceased care whether the person who uncovered the murderer was male or female? The deceased would only grieve that no one had sought justice for them.

The people's reaction was exactly what Song Shuyu had expected. He raised his voice slightly and calmly advised, "Mu Qingcheng is indeed the first female coroner of our Great Zhou Dynasty! I only value ability, not gender. If there is no precedent, I will set one. What's wrong with that? Today's deceased happens to be a woman, so it's easier for a female coroner to examine her, isn't it? I believe the deceased would be pleased if she had a spirit in heaven. Now, please cooperate with Registrar Zhang's questioning and refrain from making a fuss!"

Throughout, Mu Qingcheng remained neither arrogant nor humble, unperturbed by praise or criticism.

After Song Shuyu finished explaining to the people, she leaned close to Zhang, the registrar, and whispered a suggestion: "When questioning, ask more questions about whether anyone saw anything strange from last night to this morning. Don't limit yourself to Yuntai Mountain; talk about anything in or around the capital that seems illogical." Zhang, the registrar, was puzzled. "Does Counselor Mu mean..."

“High-class families and noble households keep the news of the upper class, while common people can witness the affairs of the lowest classes. If you gather these together, you might be able to find clues related to the case,” Mu Qingcheng explained gently.

Zhang, the registrar, realized, "Coroner Mu is truly insightful!"

Mu Qingcheng then gestured for Constable Liu to come over, pointed to the mountain road leading here, and said, "If this is the primary crime scene, and the deceased is a woman, it would be difficult to go up the mountain, so most people would take a horse-drawn carriage; if the body was dumped at Yuntai Temple after death, then even more tools would be needed to transport the body. Therefore, I have ordered the constables to look for wheel tracks and to focus on checking horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and even farm carts going up and down the mountain."

"Thank you for your guidance, Coroner Mu!" Constable Liu clasped his hands in a fist salute, expressing his deep admiration for Mu Qingcheng's meticulous actions.

Mu Qingcheng nodded slightly, then turned around abruptly and caught Song Shuyu red-handed while she was eavesdropping!

"Ahem." Song Shuyu coughed to cover his embarrassment. Seeing that Mu Qingcheng was unmoved, he simply spread his hands and said defiantly, "What, as your superior, can't I listen to this?"

"Your subordinates dare not, please calm your anger, sir!" Constable Liu and Registrar Zhang hurriedly apologized.

Mu Qingcheng didn't want to waste time dealing with Song Shuyu, so she flattered him, saying, "Your Excellency is discerning and wise. If there is anything inappropriate in our discussions, please give us your guidance!"

Upon hearing this, Song Shuyu's mood improved noticeably. "Coroner Mu's arrangements weren't too wrong, let's do it that way!"

"Yes!"

Constable Liu and Registrar Zhang immediately went off to carry out their tasks separately.

Mu Qingcheng began preparations for the autopsy.

She, along with two officials, measured and recorded the location of the body at the intersection of the walls around the temple gate and the shape of the body nailed to the temple gate.

"grown ups!"

Upon hearing Mu Qingcheng's sudden call, Xu Chunshan, the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao, was about to move when he slowed down and looked at Song Shuyu. He was afraid of overshadowing his superior, but also afraid that his superior was genuinely frightened and had no intention of observing.

Song Shuyu rolled her eyes at Xu Chunshan, then avoided his gaze and approached Mu Qingcheng, "What is it?"

Seeing this, Mu Qingcheng did not expose Song Shuyu's cowardice, but simply stated: "Sir, there are a total of eighteen copper nails used by the person who disposed of the body to fix the deceased. They do not seem to be from the common people."

"Huh?" Song Shuyu was taken aback and naturally looked at the corpse, but then immediately closed her eyes, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down, her tone tinged with tension, "Could you remove the copper nails before we look at it?"

"Please wait a moment, sir."

Mu Qingcheng did not remove the nails immediately. She carefully observed the depth and position of each copper nail embedded in the door panel before asking, "Don't you two think this body disposal scene is very strange?"

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(End of this chapter)