Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 223 Sun Weixian was sent to beg Haiyue
"We originally thought that Madam Sheng was a traitor of the Liyuan Society, which is why we wanted to use the influence of the nobles to oppose her..."

"I never imagined that what Madam Sheng called a perfect marriage would turn out to be like this!"

Along the way, Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua honestly recounted the entire process.

Initially, it wasn't complicated. After investigating the scene, the two realized that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had intervened and that they were unable to resist. However, they wanted to claim credit, so they brought in a third party.

Back then, Madam Sheng acted as matchmaker for Madam Xu, bringing together Shen Yanqing, the "Jade Mountain Gentleman," who was most popular among the noble ladies of the capital. At the time, the Shen family hesitated, as marrying into a noble family was not their first choice. It was Madam Sheng who mediated and negotiated several times before the marriage was finally arranged. The old Duke of Dingguo was very pleased to have such a fine son-in-law and personally inscribed a plaque for Madam Sheng, which was hung on the gate of the Sheng residence to express his gratitude.

From that time on, Madam Sheng officially earned the reputation of being the top official matchmaker in the capital, and thereafter, high-ranking and powerful families flocked to her to act as matchmakers.

Yan and Zhao hadn't originally planned to use this as a breakthrough point, but because the Duke of Dingguo was a big name and the young Duke was a fiery and easy-going person, they were surprised to find that Xu was constantly in tears. The deeper they dug, the more shocking the story became.

"We tried to stop the young Duke from storming the Northern Garrison Command, since we haven't figured out whether it was Li Yuanshe's doing or a trap set by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But we couldn't stop him, and now things have gotten out of control..."

After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he thought of the evaluation of the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix just now, and suddenly felt that he could not keep running away. He raised his head and said, "That's good. Let's expose this matter completely and not give the villains a chance to cover it up!"

Zhao Wenhua added, "This kind of thing is probably not an isolated incident. After Sheng was murdered, her belongings have not been found to this day. If it is not investigated, it may cause an even bigger uproar!"

Haiyue nodded, went to the teahouse diagonally opposite the North Town Commandery, found a seat by the window, and asked the waiter to send over a note.

About the time it takes to drink two cups of tea later, Lu Bing hurried upstairs. Upon seeing the three of them, he said bitterly, "Please excuse my poor appearance..."

This statement was tantamount to a direct admission that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was involved in the matter, rather than a mere denial. Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua exchanged a glance and secretly admired his integrity.

Haiyue then said, "Wenfu, there's no need to blame yourself. There are bad apples everywhere. This matter is not your fault."

"It's indeed none of my business, but what's the use?"

Lu Bing sighed: "We are all in this together, whether we prosper or suffer. Besides, such evil deeds are too outrageous. Outsiders will only point fingers at us and condemn us together!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had a notorious reputation, was hated by officials and feared by the people. But as Wang Zuo said, none of them were good people. It was just that the pen was in the hands of the gentry, who could beautify their behavior. The atrocities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were exposed nakedly. Lu Bing often comforted himself with this thought. As long as he fulfilled his duty as the emperor's sharp blade, monitored all officials, and exposed traitors like Li Yuanshe, he didn't need to care too much about his reputation.

However, this practice of deliberately marrying the daughter of a duke to a eunuch for personal gain has nothing to do with oversight; it is purely driven by selfish desires and is utterly despicable.

Lu Bing had just finished the martial arts examination and ranked among the top in his class based on his true talent and learning. He had also witnessed Yu Dayou, whom he admired, winning the title of martial arts champion. He should have been happy, but unexpectedly, this incident occurred, and his face turned extremely ugly.

He sat down, took a sip of tea, looked at his close friend across from him, hesitated, and then decided not to say anything.

Haiyue, however, understood perfectly: "Does Wenfu want my help to investigate the inside story of this case?"

"Mingwei is now a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, so he shouldn't get involved in this mess; it won't do his reputation any good!"

Lu Bing smiled wryly and said, "Besides, there's not much to investigate. That matchmaker, Sheng, is indeed a spy for the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We've already found it in the case files. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has to admit what she did!"

“Madam Sheng was an agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but that doesn’t mean everything she did was entirely at their behest. Besides, now that she has died unexpectedly, there is even more reason to investigate…”

Haiyue asked seriously, "Is there any progress in the case?"

Lu Bingdao said, "According to the investigation by the Shuntian Prefecture, the death of Madam Sheng was committed by her eldest disciple, Qin, in collusion with her personal maid."

"Have they confessed?"

"The personal maid confessed, but Qin Shi cried out that she was innocent, but it was too late to deny it..."

"Where's the motive?"

Lu Bing had already read the case file: "The motive was that Madam Sheng wanted to pass on the family business to her youngest disciple, Gu Shi. So Qin Shi bribed a maid and conspired to poison Madam Sheng and make it known that she died suddenly from a serious illness. Since Madam Sheng had no other family members or children, Qin Shi, as the eldest disciple, could inherit the family business in a reasonable way."

"But Qin did not expect that the other two disciples had also planted spies in Madam Sheng's house long ago. As soon as they heard that Madam Sheng had been murdered, they immediately gathered at the Sheng family, all vying for the family property."

"During this time, the second disciple, Feng, seemed to have discovered evidence. The eldest disciple, Qin, stabbed her in the chest with a sharp weapon and died on the spot."

From this perspective, the cause and effect seem quite complete, but Haiyue points out one point: "It is said that the murder weapon used to kill Madam Feng was the hairpin in Madam Sheng's hair. When the servants found the body, they were holding it firmly in Madam Sheng's hand and never took it off. Is there such a detail?"

“This…” Lu Bing frowned: “The case file does record that the murder weapon was a hairpin, but there is no detail that it was held in the corpse’s hand. Is that important?”

"Important! This involves 'rigidity'!"

Haiyue said, "For a period of time after a person dies, their neck and back will be stiff and their limbs will be difficult to bend. The roughest classification is called 'half-day stiffness' or 'overnight stiffness.' Experienced coroners can also use this to determine the approximate time of death..."

The ancient term "rigidity" is what later generations referred to as "corpse rigor mortis."

Rigor mortis is caused by the fact that after death, muscles stiffen due to the formation of permanent cross-bridges between actin and myosin. This manifests as a loss of elasticity and extensibility, making the body unable to bend.

Rigor mortis forms approximately one to three hours after death, reaches its hardest point around twelve hours, then gradually softens. It takes two to three days for the rigor mortis to gradually subside and soften again.

Ambient temperature, pre-death movement, and cause of death can all accelerate or slow down the process, but the approximate time difference will not be significant.

Lady Sheng died the night before last and was discovered the next morning. Her hairpin had been held in her hand ever since, until the afternoon of the following day, which was precisely when rigor mortis was at its worst.

Is this physical stiffness really that extreme?

Lu Bing was quite surprised: "You can't even pull out a hairpin that you're holding in your hand?"

"It's certainly possible to pull it out of your grasp, but why bother?"

Haiyue said, "The servants in the Sheng family would not dare to touch the corpse after seeing it, and would let the hairpin be held by them. This is the norm. If the murderer really wanted to fight for the family property, why would he pull out the hairpin? Besides, the hairpin is not a suitable murder weapon. It would not be so easy for a woman to stab her in the chest and kill her."

Lu Bing's expression changed.

In fact, aside from not understanding rigor mortis, he might not have been unable to discover the suspicious points about the murder weapon. However, he was currently preoccupied with the matter of the Duke of Dingguo and had no time to think about it. When he saw the report from the Shuntian Prefecture and found that it was a family property dispute, he quickly ignored it. Now it seems that there is another hidden story behind Madam Sheng's death.
Seeing his uncertain expression, Haiyue continued, "Since Madam Sheng is a spy, who is she directly under? Is it also Xiao Zhen?"

The former commander Xiao Zhen has been secretly executed. The secret book was found, which recorded a lot of information about the Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies, including Sun Liu, the former night watchman at the Imperial Examination Hall.

Lu Bing also hoped it was Xiao Zhen, but after a moment of silence, he shook his head: "Sheng Niangzi is not in Xiao Zhen's private register..."

Is it possible that it was deliberately omitted from the record?

"A mere matchmaker wouldn't need to be so secretive."

"Could it be that Madam Sheng's command is..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing's expression immediately changed: "Commander Wang would never do such a thing!"

In his heart, Commander Wang Zuo was his mentor. Since he joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wang Zuo had personally taught him how to write case files, interrogation records, and handover documents, and warned him that as a commander, he must be proficient in writing, showing his earnest expectations.

Lu Bing's respect for Wang Zuo was comparable to that for his own father. In fact, because his father was often unwell and stayed at home to recuperate, they did not have the close relationship that Lu Bing had with his master. Based on his understanding, Wang Zuo would never instruct Madam Sheng to do such despicable things!

"The high-ranking officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are not limited to Commander Wang and Vice Commander Xiao. Madam Sheng could very well belong to someone else!"

Lu Bing composed himself and said sternly, "I will find this person and see if he is related to Madam Sheng's death, and whether he is hiding any more unspeakable secrets!"

At this point, he looked at Haiyue and said earnestly, "Mingwei, your words have already been of great help to me. There's no need for you to get involved in the case! Given our friendship, if you were to investigate this case personally, even if the truth came to light, it might not be enough to silence public opinion. If this were to damage your reputation, I would truly be..."

"If investigations are conducted with such timidity and hesitation, won't all the truths of the world simply disappear without a trace?"

Hai Yue, equally serious, smiled and said, "Besides, we have a relationship, and I don't know any of the other members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I used to have some reputation within the Imperial Academy. It's normal for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be in such a mess right now and seeking help from outside, isn't it?"

"what?"

Lu Bing's eyes flickered, as if touched, and he slowly said, "There is indeed such a person, who was recently transferred from Jinling. He is a low-key and respectful person, and he also likes poetry and literature. It is said that he enjoys associating with scholars in Jinling. It would be quite suitable for him to handle this..."

"Who?"

"This man is named Sun Weixian. He succeeds Xiao Zhen as the new deputy commander."

(End of this chapter)