A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 41 Internal strife
Song Shuyu pondered for a moment and said, "Finding the primary crime scene is crucial to solving the case. Coroner Mu, do you have any leads?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, according to the old steward of the Li family, Li Mu disappeared in his bedroom. Before disappearing, Li Mu spent two hours alone in the study, and returned to his bedroom to rest around midnight. The old steward and the maid Qing Shu helped Li Mu to sleep before leaving, but he was nowhere to be found the next morning. The Li family is certain that Li Mu did not leave the mansion, so I had the constables seal off the bedroom and study."

At this point, Mu Qingcheng bowed and said, "My lord, these clues were obtained yesterday by me and Lin Shuban when we questioned the old steward. No statements were recorded, and only Lin Shuban knows the details best. I request your permission, my lord, for Lin Shuban to interrogate the servants of the Li household so that we can cross-reference their statements with those of the old steward and verify their authenticity. Perhaps we can uncover even more clues."

"Secretary Lin's office?"

Song Shuyu was slightly surprised, then instructed: "Start the interrogation today. Be careful with the interrogation methods and do not force a confession."

"Yes, sir!" Lin, the clerk, suppressed his excitement and loudly accepted the order.

In this case, everyone wanted to make a contribution, because making a contribution would bring rewards and even promotions. For these low-level officials struggling at the bottom, it was too difficult to get an opportunity to climb up the ranks.

Mu Qingcheng's concern was that, as a newcomer with no connections, she could rely on the superiors' favor to overstep her bounds in investigating cases, but she couldn't take on too much and display individual heroism, completely stealing others' jobs. Otherwise, the trust and praise her colleagues had today would turn into exclusion and abuse tomorrow.

A person's ability to establish themselves requires not only hard skills that command respect, but also soft skills that win people's hearts.

Song Shuyu took a sip of tea and continued, "Coroner Mu, do you have any doubts about where Li Yunyao died?"

Mu Qingcheng shook her head. "Not yet. But I believe the crime scene isn't too far from where the body was dumped, because the time of death is close to the time when Yuanbao and Yuanqing died, and the bloodstains left in front of the temple were fresh." Saying this, she turned to Liu Heng and asked, "Officer Liu, what are the results of your search?"

"I'm ashamed. By checking the nine cart tracks leading up and down the mountain, we traced back the carriages and donkey carts that belonged to them. Among them, there were only three vehicles that could carry people: one horse-drawn carriage and two simple donkey carts. However, after verification and comparison, we found no trace of Li Yunyao." Liu, the head constable, looked ashamed. Because he had not accomplished his task, his voice was also a little weak.

Mu Qingcheng paused, "What about the carriage from General Ningyuan's residence? Are there any clues?"

"We've checked. The carriage has no hidden compartments; it's carrying only goods." Officer Liu's face grew even uglier.

Mu Qingcheng's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed unconsciously. "No, we must have overlooked something! Li Yunyao is frail and pregnant; it's highly unlikely she would walk up the mountain!"

Upon hearing this, Officer Liu immediately became furious with frustration. "Coroner Mu, what do you mean by this? It was your suggestion to check the car. My brothers and I have been searching for two days, practically turning Yuntai Mountain upside down. We've made sure we haven't missed anything, and we've checked everything that needs to be checked, and more than once!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean I didn't believe you, it's just..."

"It's just that I, Liu Heng, am incompetent, and I shouldn't have listened to a coroner to tell me how to investigate a case!"

Updated! Thank you for your support, everyone. See you in the next chapter!
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(End of this chapter)