A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 423 Ending (92)

"On the surface, he resigned from his official post and went into seclusion, but in secret, he hid in Jiangnan. He investigated cases, searched for evidence, raised his daughter alone, and endured until today, waiting for an opportunity to overturn the case..."

Jealousy, like weeds, entangled Song Zi's heart. "Mu Yan, you've mastered the 'blind spot under the lamp' tactic! Bai Li really made a good deal marrying you!"

Mu Yan retorted coldly, "Bai Li's friendship with the Empress Dowager is so risky, she's even risking her life!"

Song Zi blushed, a rare occurrence for her.

Mu Yan, not being a saint, had no intention of reforming a monster as inhuman as Song Zi. He shifted his gaze to Song Yan's face and said, "Now that I think about it, the 'Shuiyunjian' case happened in Jiangnan, and I was also demoted to Jiangnan. Such a coincidence must have involved the Duke's scheming, right?"

Song Zi acted solely on her impulses, regardless of Song Yan's attitude towards her. Driven by the desire to protect Song Yan, she urgently said, "Mu Yan, you should thank your brother. It was he who reminded you to avoid disaster and protected you and your father. Otherwise, I..."

"Yes, it was all part of my plan."

Song Yan's answer nearly made Song Zi bite her tongue in shock. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. "Brother, what are you saying? How can you say that? You can't have a single stain on your body, not even the slightest one!"

Song Yan finally turned around and looked at Song Zi.

That one look revealed nothing but coldness, indifference, and the oppressive feeling of ordering her to shut up!

Song Zi choked up, tears welling up in her beautiful eyes, but her pitiful appearance only earned her Song Yan's deeper disgust.

"Lord Song, the person being interrogated has been interrupting repeatedly without permission. What should be done according to the law?"

Receiving his father's verbal hint, Song Shuyu immediately straightened his back and said sternly, "Before the law of the land, everyone is treated equally! Guards, silence the Empress Dowager!" The entire room was stunned!
Even the emperor was hesitant, fearing the stigma of being unfilial, and dared not do anything openly to the Empress Dowager. Yet Song Yan and Song Shuyu actually dared to do it.
Even more surprisingly, the constable was truly obedient. Without the slightest hesitation, he took a cloth, and in full view of everyone, lifted Song Zi's chin, pinched her cheeks, and stuffed the cloth into her mouth!

All of this happened so fast that by the time Song Zi realized what was happening, she felt as if she had been deeply humiliated, and was both furious and aggrieved!

However, Song Yan wouldn't budge, so she could only obediently endure it, letting her dignity be trampled on and her face completely lost!

Without any interference, Mu Yan was able to continue, "So, for the past ten years or so, the Duke has been fully aware of my every move in Jiangnan. Even four years ago, when I was able to disguise myself and sneak back to the capital to investigate the source of the drugs, it was also thanks to the Duke's help behind the scenes?"

He used a questioning tone, but his expression was one of certainty.

Intelligent people don't need lengthy explanations or explicit statements; a few words are enough for them to understand each other.

Song Yan nodded again, "Yes."

Mu Qing clearly saw Song Shuyu's secret relief and joy, and her worries also disappeared.

Only Song Zi's eyes flushed red. She couldn't believe that Song Yan's scheming and wariness towards her had really lasted for more than a decade. He had truly stood on the opposite side of her and regarded her as an enemy!
Song Yan's frankness made Mu Yan's expression complicated. Just how great was the grudge that could make Song Yan disregard brotherly affection, abandon family interests, and personally take the lead in this scheme for so many years?
Song Shuyu asked impatiently, "Uncle Mu, have you identified the source of the poison? Have you obtained any evidence?"

Mu Yan's expression darkened. He said, "The poison came from that madwoman. The Empress Dowager didn't just target Bai Li; she also sent people to find the madwoman. Unfortunately, after the madwoman regained her appearance, her memory became disordered, causing her brain to become increasingly abnormal, and she completely turned into a fool, forgetting all the beauty recipes recorded in medical classics. In a fit of rage, the Empress Dowager mixed up the various medicines left by the madwoman and fed them to her, unexpectedly obtaining a poison that could kill invisibly."

"But the Empress Dowager would never have imagined that before the poison took effect, the madwoman's mind gradually cleared. She recorded the process of her murder and the Empress Dowager's creation of the poison, hid it in an oil paper package, and swallowed it. Four years ago, I overheard a familiar coroner talking about how someone in Ningxi Village, below Broken Back Cliff on the outskirts of Beijing, unearthed a corpse that had not decomposed while digging to build a house. I immediately thought that the place where Bai Li was imprisoned by the madwoman was also near Broken Back Cliff, so I decided to return to Beijing to investigate."

"After finding the zombie, I discovered a foreign object in the victim's stomach, so I conducted an autopsy. After the dissection and examination, I determined that the zombie died of poisoning. I found an oil paper packet in the zombie's stomach, and then I found a handwritten confession left by the madwoman!"