Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 254 For any headless corpse or charred corpse from a fire, first check its identity!

'Bringing Yan Shifan out, an unexpected incident indeed occurred!'

'Two charred corpses, Guo Xun and Wang Zuo...'

Haiyue was also surprised when she learned of this.

Although these two did not have layers of guards like Jiajing, they still had servants attending to them. Although the fire was serious last night, they were discovered and evacuated in time. How could they have perished in the fire?

The fact that the emperor specifically sought him out suggests that he had some doubts.

With that done, Haiyue accepted the imperial order and headed directly to the courtyard where the Embroidered Uniform Guards resided.

From afar, one could see Lu Bingmo standing motionless outside a charred house.

"Wenfu... Wenfu! Wenfu!!"

Haiyue stepped forward and called out.

After three consecutive calls, Lu Bing slowly turned his head, staring at him in surprise, his eyes regaining their light: "Mingwei..."

Haiyue knew that the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had taken Lu Bing under his wing since he was fourteen. Regardless of whether it was initially because of his brother's background, ten years of teaching was enough to cultivate a deep bond between master and disciple. She said softly, "Please accept my condolences."

Lu Bing's eyes didn't redden, but his expression was numb and his voice was hoarse: "This fire is suspicious. Sir was murdered. Mingwei, you've come at the right time. Help me find the murderer. I want to tear him to pieces!"

Haiyue didn't say much and went straight into the room filled with ashes and soot.

The house where Wang Zuo lived should have been spacious and bright, but now, apart from the remaining beams supporting the roof, there was collapsed furniture everywhere, and the original lacquer paintings on the walls had been blurred by smoke. Only one window frame that had not been burned through could vaguely reveal its former splendor.

Haiyue bypassed the screen that had been burned to charcoal and entered the inner room, where she saw a white cloth covering a large nanmu table.

Lifting the white sheet, a charred corpse, its face unrecognizable, came into view.

The corpse was curled up in a twisted position, the outline of the body still vaguely discernible, but the face was completely charred, leaving only empty eye sockets and cracked teeth, which looked particularly gruesome under the charred skin.

Haiyue bent down, carefully examined the corpse's nostrils and charred skin, then looked around before walking out of the house: "Has the initial point of ignition been determined?"

"It must have started in the kitchen, and then, with the help of the wind, it spread all the way here..."

Lu Bing answered.

"That's not right!"

Haiyue didn't have much professional knowledge about firefighting, but she did know a little about the methods used in later generations to determine the origin of a fire.

First, there's the analysis of on-site traces, such as the severity of the burning; the ignition point is usually the most severely burned, showing traces of charring and melting. There's also the direction of the smoke; the opposite end of the smoke marks often indicates the ignition point. Furthermore, there's the orientation of the heated surface; the side of the object facing the fire source burns more severely…

In addition to the points mentioned above, there is the identification of physical evidence. For example, in electrical fires, one can examine short-circuit molten beads, wire remnants, etc., while in fires caused by chemicals, one can detect the residue of accelerants.

Finally, there are the direct testimonies of eyewitnesses.

In this day and age, when electrical malfunctions are resolved, the accelerant is usually kerosene. However, due to the dense structure of wood, even if a single candle collapses, it can easily ignite a continuous fire if one is unlucky, so it is not easy to determine the cause.

However, one thing remains unchanged.

That's where the fire is most intense at the ignition point!

As Haiyue walked along, she discovered that among the surrounding Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) quarters, the one where Wang Zuo lived was the most badly burned.

If the fire had started in the kitchen and spread with the wind, it wouldn't be in this state.

"Hmm? So that's how it is..."

After hearing this, Lu Bing's previously expressionless face suddenly twisted, and his knuckles cracked with a terrifying sound: "So there really are thieves who dare to set fire to the palace?"

Haiyue didn't give a definitive answer, but instead asked, "Where are the people on duty last night? Commander Wang is sleeping here; there couldn't possibly be no one guarding outside, could there?"

"We've already sent people to arrest him!"

Lu Bing's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and a chilling aura seeped from between his teeth: "Whether it's dereliction of duty or treason—I will make them pay for the master's blood!"

"Still haven't found them?"

Haiyue had a vague feeling that things weren't that simple.

If the thief had a deep-seated hatred for Wang Zuo, whether by bribing the guards or by luring him away from the mountain, since he had already managed to sneak into the palace at night, why not just kill him with a single blow?

As for the idea of ​​using arson to disguise it as an accident, even if the suspicious origin of the fire could fool people, the unexplained disappearance of the guards would always be a flaw.

Going through such a long and complicated process is not only superfluous, but also only attracts attention.

'Furthermore, the body was discovered from more than one person!'

Hai Yue's eyes flickered slightly, and she asked directly, "Wen Fu, do you know that Marquis Wuding was also murdered last night?"

"Marquis Wuding...Guo Xun?"

Lu Bing's eyes widened: "He was killed by thieves?"

Haiyue said, "Whether it was caused by thieves or not is still unknown, but a charred corpse was also found in his room."

Lu Bing frowned: "Was Guo Xun burned to death? Or was he murdered? I originally thought..."

He swallowed the rest of his words halfway through, utterly perplexed: "How could there be such a coincidence?" Haiyue didn't just speculate; she simply said, "Wenfu, would you like to come with me there and take a look?"

"go!"

The two arrived at the courtyard where the nobles lived, and were greeted by Duke Dingguo, Xu Yande, directing his servants to move things.

Seeing Haiyue and Lu Bing approach, Xu Yande nodded to the former but gave the latter a cold look, snorted, and turned away.

Lu Bing ignored the other party and barged into the house, where he saw a charred corpse lying on the bed.

No one covered Guo Xun's body with a white sheet; it lay there naked, emitting a burnt smell.

Lu Bing stepped forward, staring intently at the charred corpse. Looking at the equally disfigured face, his eyes were filled with both confusion and sorrow: "Is this Guo Xun?"

Haiyue did not rush in, but instead greeted Xu Yande and asked a similar question.

Xu Yande replied, "The attendants around the old Marquis have been identified; their figures, postures, and everyday clothes and accessories all match."

'That's not enough...'

Haiyue then asked, "Why didn't those servants rescue Lord Guo?"

Xu Yande sighed: "It's fate, I suppose. The old Marquis deliberately kept them away, but who knew there would be a fire last night!"

"Not allowing servants to approach? Is Guo Xun doing something he's ashamed of?"

Lu Bing came out of the room and said coldly.

Even without the previous conflict with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Xu Yande, as a nobleman, was now united against a common enemy. Upon hearing this, his face immediately darkened: "Commander Lu, what do you mean by that? The deceased is gone, are you trying to tarnish the posthumous reputation of Marquis Wuding?"

"Clear your name?"

Lu Bing sneered: "What a joke! When has Guo Xun ever had a clean reputation?"

Putting aside the argument between the two, Haiyue went inside and looked at the corpse.

He glanced at it and his eyebrows involuntarily rose: "This corpse... wasn't burned to death!"

The body inside Wang Zuo's house was in a fighting posture, with all four limbs bent in a defensive position and the flexor muscles contracting more strongly than the extensor muscles, similar to the posture of a boxer. This is a typical characteristic of someone who was burned to death before death.

Another state is curled up; if someone dies in their sleep, they may be curled up like a fetus.

But in any case, it would not be like this, lying supine in the brocade quilt, with hands folded in front of the chest, in a normal sleeping posture.

At the same time, Haiyue leaned closer to examine the nostrils.

This is evidence from the respiratory tract.

People who are burned to death before their death will have soot and charcoal deposits in their respiratory tract, meaning that soot can be seen in the mouth, nose, trachea and bronchi. They will also suffer from heat damage, with congestion, edema or diphtheria-like pseudomembrane forming in the respiratory mucosa.

If the body is cremated after death, only a small amount of soot will remain around the mouth and nose.

Although visual observation is not as clear as later anatomical examinations, it is still possible to make some judgments.

In addition, there are characteristics of burns on the body surface, and whether or not there is any active response.

In just a quarter of an hour, Haiyue circled the corpse and made a definitive judgment: the person had been cremated after death.

The arguing outside had stopped, and only the angry footsteps of the Duke of Dingguo could be heard fading away. Lu Bing then turned back into the room, his breathing becoming heavy.

When a true loved one passes away, it is impossible for a person to remain calm and composed. If one can calm down quickly and remain unmoved, that is not rationality, but indifference.

Although Lu Bing did not wail or lose his composure at this moment, a fierce aura surged between his brows, like a thunderbolt filled with gunpowder, ready to explode at any moment.

Haiyue looked at him, and then, at this very moment, asked a question: "Wenfu, how did you determine that the charred corpse was commanded by the capital?"

Lu Bing gritted his teeth and said, "The jade pendant at your waist is a gift from the Emperor, which you never take off. And you also have the congratulatory gift I gave you last year in your pocket..."

"But this still doesn't prove that the deceased was the commander of the capital!"

Hai Yue shook her head directly: "Just like this corpse in front of us, he was wearing the outer robe of the Marquis of Wuding, and his ornaments were also similar to those of the Marquis of Wuding. But wouldn't it be possible to find such a person, kill him, change his clothes, and then set a fire, and the Marquis of Wuding would die in a fire?"

Lu Bing was stunned.

After a moment, his voice trembled: "So...sir might not be dead...the body in the house...is not him?"

Haiyue said, "That's not impossible."

He said he had two purposes in making these remarks.

Firstly, whenever encountering headless corpses or charred corpses from fires, one must first determine the identity of the deceased to avoid going astray.

Secondly, it was also to help Lu Bing break free from his intense hatred, otherwise, his current state of mind, consumed by revenge, could easily disrupt the investigation.

Now that her words had rekindled the other party's hope, Haiyue explained in simple terms the method for distinguishing between those burned alive and those burned after death. She concluded by saying, "Based on my preliminary deduction, the charred corpse in Commander Wang's room is consistent with those burned alive, while the charred corpse here is a case of being burned after death! The two corpses are burned in very different ways, and this strangeness may be the key to this case!"

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this, the hatred in Lu Bing's eyes finally dissipated, and he straightened his back: "With Mingwei in charge, this case will surely be solved and the truth revealed. Just give the orders, and I will listen to you!"

(End of this chapter)