A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 3 The Strange Crime Scene

"That's really strange!" Xu Chunshan couldn't help but express his opinion first. "Usually, after killing someone, the murderer is afraid of being discovered and will try every means to hide the body! But in this case, the murderer not only disposed of the body in a blatant manner, but also hung the body on the gate of Yuntai Temple. Was this a deliberate provocation of the government, or did he have a grudge against Yuntai Temple and deliberately defile the Buddhist community?"

Mu Qingcheng corrected, "Whether this case is a homicide still needs to be confirmed by an autopsy. But what is certain is that someone else disposed of the body, and the motive of that person is puzzling."

"The knife is already stuck in his stomach, how could it be suicide?" Xu Chunshan was stunned, clearly not believing it.

Mu Qingcheng explained calmly, "It's not rigorous enough to draw conclusions based on appearances alone; it's easy to make mistakes. If the death was a homicide, why didn't the murderer directly drive the copper nails into the victim's limbs and chest cavity? That way, only five or six copper nails would be needed to hang the victim, saving effort and time to avoid being seen. The result was that three times the number of copper nails were used, driven into the victim's clothes, without causing any harm to the victim's body!"

Xu Chunshan frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over the corpse from head to toe. "That makes sense."

Despite being terrified, Song Shuyu was driven by curiosity and peeked through half-closed eyes. As he looked, he casually remarked, "Arranging the dead like this, and linking it to Buddhism, could it be some kind of Buddhist formation?"

Mu Qingcheng's eyes lit up. "Your Excellency is wise!"

"Really? I guessed right?" Song Shuyu was overjoyed.

Mu Qingcheng shook her head. "I'm not sure. But the adults' guess gave me some inspiration. I want to find an artist to record this scene in a painting so I can study it carefully later."

Song Shuyu immediately instructed Xu Chunshan, "Go and find a painter quickly."

"Yes, my lord!"

Xu Chunshan acted decisively, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he found Master Yuansong, who was skilled in painting at Yuntai Temple.

Before long, the painting was finished, and Xu Chunshan personally put it into the evidence box.

Mu Qingcheng pulled out the copper nail that was embedded in the deceased's left ankle and presented it to Song Shuyu. "Sir, you see, the quality and purity of this copper should not be found in the common people."

Song Shuyu examined it for a moment, his face ashen. "This is a floating nail."

"Floating nails?" Mu Qingcheng was taken aback.

Song Shuyu's tone was unusually serious. "Floating nails are also called door nails. They are used for palace gates, city gates, mansion gates, and temple gates. Palace gates are decorated with gold nails, altars and temples are decorated with vermilion doors and gold nails, and the gates of princes and dukes are decorated with copper nails. Judging from the size of this copper nail, it should belong to the mansion gate."

Could the person who disposed of the body be from a noble family of royalty or duke? This case, though not yet thoroughly investigated, has already sent chills down everyone's spines. The identity of the deceased is likely no small matter!
"Coroner Mu, perhaps..." Song Shuyu could no longer care about his fear. He swallowed hard and pointed his large hand tremblingly at the face of the deceased, which was covered by hair.

Xu Chunshan held his breath!

Mu Qingcheng retrieved the autopsy toolbox, which contained a folding hoe and shovel for digging graves, strips of cloth, garlic, ginger, and vinegar to combat the stench of corpses, and a leather saddlebag containing various small knives, hammers, awls, measuring rulers, and other tools made of fine iron.

Mu Qingcheng took two wooden rulers and, under everyone's gaze, split the hair hanging in front of the deceased's face in the middle and lifted it to both sides at the same time, revealing the entire face!
"This, this is..." Xu Chunshan exclaimed, startled and backing away.

Mu Qingcheng did not recognize the deceased. Although she had lived in the capital for three years and frequently visited the homes of high-ranking officials, she was engaged in the work of preparing corpses, a lowly job that meant she would never encounter anyone of importance.

Song Shuyu grabbed Xu Chunshan's arm and said urgently, "Who is it? Explain yourself clearly and mind your manners!"

Xu Chunshan's face turned pale, his lips trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes. "My lord, she... she is my cousin, Li Yunyao!"

“Cousin?” Song Shuyu stared in astonishment. “Which family is she from?” “Li Mu, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, is my cousin. He has only one daughter, named Yunyao, who married Liu Pei, the eldest son of the Ningyuan General’s Mansion, two and a half years ago.”

As Xu Chunshan reached this point, he was about to touch the deceased's face when Mu Qingcheng raised a wooden ruler to stop him, saying gently, "Lord Xu, please accept my condolences! The autopsy has not yet been performed, so you must not touch it."

Song Shuyu said, "Xu Shaoyin, because you are related to the deceased, you must recuse yourself from this case. I grant you three days' leave so you can go home and rest."

"Thank you for your consideration!"

Xu Chunshan's eyes were red at the corners, and his sorrow was touching.

Song Shuyu sent his personal attendant Song Li to escort Xu Chunshan back to the capital. On the return trip, he also invited Li Mu, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, and the Ningyuan General's Mansion, whose head also needed to come to identify the body and sign documents to cooperate with the investigation.

As Xu Chunshan passed by the crowd of people, he vaguely heard someone muttering, "Why hasn't Madam Li, who is supposed to give alms today, arrived yet? Her family is still waiting for rice to cook!"

"Madam Li?" Xu Chunshan paused, staring blankly at the woman who had spoken. "Which Madam Li?"

The woman hurriedly replied, "Reporting to your question, sir, I heard that the person who came to Yuntai Temple to make donations today is Madam Li from the Ningyuan General's Mansion."

Xu Chunshan immediately returned and reported the woman's words to Song Shuyu.

Song Shuyu immediately asked Abbot Huiming, "Master, is this really true?"

"Yes. Those who wish to donate must register with the temple three months in advance. The donation that Benefactor Li made with the temple was today." After Abbot Huiming finished speaking, he bowed to the deceased again. "So it turns out that Benefactor Li did not break his promise without reason, but rather encountered misfortune. Well done, well done!"

Upon hearing this, Song Shuyu felt even more somber. "Let's inform the people of the news, lest they wait in vain."

If it were just an ordinary person who had died, people would feel sympathy but wouldn't be too agitated. However, when they learned that the deceased who was nailed to the temple door was the kind-hearted Madam Li, the flames of anger were instantly ignited!

Denunciation, curses, grief... the crowd was in a frenzy, urging the Jingzhao Prefecture to execute the murderer and avenge Li Yunyao!
With tears streaming down his face, Xu Chunshan bowed deeply to the people before descending the mountain.

Constable Liu sent men to bring the four servants from the Ningyuan General's Mansion outside the Guanyin Temple back to the yamen for questioning. He confiscated the donated rice, cloth, and carriage, waiting for the people from the General's Mansion to come and inspect them on the spot.

Song Shuyu reassured the people, but the overwhelming pressure made him solemn. "Coroner Mu, this case has a wide impact. You must examine it carefully and make no mistakes!"

"Yes!" Mu Qingcheng bowed, his expression extremely calm. "My lord, setting up such a complex body disposal scene requires ample time and manpower. Therefore, I deduce that the perpetrator was not a single person, but rather a group of two or more. One person controlled the body, another used a hammer or similar tool to drive copper nails, and there might have been another person acting as a lookout, or preventing the monks from appearing here at the normal time. Otherwise, it's impossible to explain why no one in the temple heard the sound of the copper nails being driven in until the young novice monk witnessed it while fetching water."

Song Shuyu nodded repeatedly. “You’re right. Here’s what we’ll do: you conduct a preliminary examination of the body, and I’ll send men to search Yuntai Temple.”

Lin Fu, the clerk, prepared paper and pen and was responsible for reading and recording the autopsy reports. Two clerks laid out bamboo mats in a well-lit open space.

Mu Qingcheng bowed three times to the deceased and whispered, "A corpse is the only proof that a person once lived in this world. Madam Li, no matter how you passed away, your life story should not be buried, and the story you left on your corpse should be known to the world. With me here, you can rest assured."

See you in the next chapter!

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(End of this chapter)