The pines and cypresses cast a large shade on the ground, and under the dim light and shadow, goosebumps appeared on Wu Xiang's arms, "Are you sure? If he was really pierced by a sharp weapon and died, wouldn't it be the same as Ye Fei's death?" ?”
Bo Ruoyou took out a small knife from the box, scraped off the dirt on the skull bit by bit, and then scrubbed it with a bristle brush and a coarse cloth kerchief. After a while, two cracks sealed with dirt appeared on the skull. mouth.
If the deceased was burnt to death, the skull should be complete, but now not only the bone cracks are obvious, but there are also gaps. Wu Xiang felt that Bo Ruoyou's deduction was indistinguishable from the first glance, and the skull showed its original shape. Bo Ruoyou's appearance also gave Bo Ruoyou more evidence.
"If it's a complete skull, the parietal bone, frontal bone, occipital bone, temporal bone and facial bone should be perfectly stitched together, and they are all complete. But right now, there is an obvious wound in the temporal fossa of the deceased's skull. Catch the head and see—"
"The so-called temporal fossa is where the frontal bone, parietal bone, temporal bone and the great wing of the sphenoid bone gather in one place. It is the place where the bone of the skull is the thinnest, that is, the temple of a person. When Ye Fei died, the murderer used the coffin The nail pierced Ye Fei's right temple, and pierced the left temple, passing through the temporal fossa on both sides."
"In this temporal fossa, there are the most important blood vessels in the brain. Not to mention passing through the brain, any injury, fracture or bone crack in the temporal fossa is very likely to cause the blood vessels in the brain to rupture, which will make people Quick death."
Bo Ruoyou pointed to the crack on the skull in his hand, "There are wounds on both the left and right temporal fossa of the deceased's skull, the wound on the right side is large, while the wound on the left side is small, and the cracks on the parietal bone and frontal bone are also larger on the right side than on the left side. The side wound is hole-shaped with a depressed fracture. It is certain that the method used to kill Leader Zhao is almost exactly the same as the method used to kill Ye Fei. Left temple protruded."
Bo Ruoyou pondered for a moment and then said: "The case back then was settled by fire death. If a person suffered such trauma, but pulled out the murder weapon, and was burned into a scorched corpse in the fire, the scene of the investigation It’s justifiable that the local government officials didn’t find out, and there was no autopsy report left in this case, so I suspect that the person who handled the case didn’t pay attention to it, and probably didn’t ask Wu Zuo for an autopsy.”
Huo Weilou said that the chief official of the Jingzhaoyi Yamen was convicted of corruption more than ten years ago, and he is still in prison today. It is conceivable that the Jingzhaoyi Yamen at that time was not as diligent and caring as it is now. Many people, if the head arresters at that time wanted to do things hastily, it would not be impossible to determine the murder as an accident.
Wu Xiang's face became gloomy, "This happened twelve years ago, but the killing method is exactly the same. Team leader Zhao was killed like this. It is impossible for Ye Fei and the others to be killed by the same person today."
Bo Ruoyou looked at the skull in his hand, "Not only is it not the same person, but I also suspect that someone knew how Leader Zhao died back then, but killing Ye Fei now is just for revenge."
"Using his own way to treat his own body?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, and turned her gaze to the other graves, "Whether you treat him in the same way as you did, you only need to examine the other bones to find out."
Wu Xiang's expression brightened, and he quickly told the other officials to continue digging the grave. At this moment, the sky was getting dark, and Bo Ruoyou took advantage of the last ray of skylight to examine the bones of Team Leader Zhao.
"In addition to the injuries on the skull, the deceased's left arm and wrist had fractures, as if they were bound or beaten, and the fatal injury was a puncture wound in the temporal fossa." Bo Ruoyou put the skull Return to the original place.
Wu Xiang couldn't help cursing in a low voice, and said: "Killing a person, and then setting fire to destroy the corpse, the murderer is really ruthless, if the murderer used the same method to come back to revenge, then the person who killed Team Leader Zhao back then , could it be Ye Fei and the others?"
Wu Xiang made some calculations, "This is the seventeenth year of Jianhe. At that time, none of them were ten years old, but they were all half-grown children. Would they do such a heinous thing?"
Bo Ruoyou shook his head, "Don't be preconceived. Judging from the results of the bone test so far, plus Liu Qing and the others have concealed so much, it will indeed make people guess like this. Ordinary children are indeed innocent, kind and innocent, but they can't. underestimate."
Wu Xiang responded and went to dig graves with other people. Not long after, the night fell, and the officials lit torches under the tree again. If someone passed by from a distance at this time and saw the The fireflies lit up, and there was a figure flickering again, I'm afraid I thought I saw a ghost.
Bo Ruoyou stood aside, she couldn't help with her strength, so she also lit a torch and shone into the pit, and after a while, skeletons were seen in the mud.
The yamen guards carefully pulled out the soil, and soon, another skeleton was completely revealed. The coffin had already rotted into pieces of wood, and the body was buried in the soil, showing the appearance of being packed in a coffin. Standing on top of the pit, looking down at the bones at the bottom of the pit, he suddenly realized that he had missed something just now.
"Xiao Bo, come down from there, it's easy to go over there—"
Wu Xiang pointed to the gentle slope on the west side of the pit, but Bo Ruoyou didn't move. Looking down from her position, she could see the whole skeleton at a glance. Unlike the corpse of Team Leader Zhao, this skeleton was not neatly arranged. Judging from the arrangement of the two leg bones and ribs, the deceased was curled up when he died, and he maintained that posture when he was buried in the soil.
"The deceased was burned to death." Bo Ruoyou walked down the gentle west slope after all, "People who were burned to death by the fire will most likely curl up subconsciously. The leg bones of the deceased are bent, and the spine The arrangement of the bones and ribs also indicated that the person had a hunched back, and I suspect that no one cleaned up the remains of the deceased after his death, and he was put into a coffin and buried here not long after."
Bo Ruoyou took another look at the soil here, "The soil at the foot of the mountain is moist, and the wood of the coffin is also soft. It may rot within a year after being buried here, and the corpse retains its original posture when the soil collapses. The surface of the corpse is not perishable, but after so many years, the charred part has decayed, leaving only the ash and mud of flesh and blood sticking to the bones."
Although Bo Ruoyou had determined the cause of death, she still had to check whether there were any injuries on the bones. She squatted down and continued to clean the ashes from the bones, while the others went all out to dig the remaining three graves.
The night in the early winter was quite cold, and the wind howled and whimpered in the barren mountains and fields, which was particularly scary. While digging graves, the yamen servants felt uneasy. Occasionally, birds came out of the forest, which made their hearts jump suddenly, thin Ruoyou Squatting in the grave to examine the bones, he was calm and calm.
The bones that have been buried for many years are not easy to clean up. When Bo Ruoyou inspected the second bone, two more graves had been dug out. She came out and said, "The deceased was a woman, five feet long, and she should have been at the age when she died. At about forty, there are signs of bone fractures on the calf, but there are no other wounds."
Wu Xiang understood, "The name of Zhao Yue is engraved on the tombstone of this tomb. Presumably, it is the wife of Leader Zhao. Then she may have been beaten before she died, so she left wounds on her legs, but the cause of death was still burned to death."
Bo Ruoyou responded, and went to see the other two graves dug out.
Compared with the previous two skeletons, the skeletons that appeared in these two graves gave people a sense of thinness at first glance. The bones were slender and the stature was much shorter. They were the corpses of young children.
The handwriting on the tombstone was already mottled, Wu Xiang said: "The rest of the corpses are the three people who were burned to death with Leader Zhao and his wife. Judging from their figures, they should be their apprentices."
Bo Ruoyou moved the torch closer, and went down to the pit to examine the bones. The appearance of this skeleton was very ordinary, similar to that of Team Leader Zhao's, which made Bo Ruoyou frowned at the beginning.
Soon, she discovered, "The deceased was male, and the length of the body was three feet four inches, plus the height of the body surface of one and a half inches. At the time of death, his height was about three feet six inches, and his age should be around nine feet. He was about 10 years old, and he was not burned to death, there were no other bone injuries, but there were signs of fracture on the horn of the hyoid bone—”
Wu Xiang's eyelids twitched, "He was strangled to death?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head, "No, it's not strangulation, it's hanging."
"Hang yourself?" Wu Xiang was startled, "How could someone commit suicide?"
"It's not necessarily a suicide." Bo Ruoyou frowned and analyzed: "The five deceased all died in the fire scene of Zhao's class, which means they died in the same courtyard. The leader of Zhao was murdered, and the Zhao Yue family was killed. Burned to death, it is unlikely that anyone would hang himself."
"Could it be forced? Or the murderer hung him up?"
The deceased was only eight or nine years old when he died. He was persecuted or hung up by a rope by the murderer. The scars looked like hanging himself, but it was actually murder.
"It's possible." After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, she looked at Wu Xiang with bright eyes, "Yu Xun was hanged to death."
Wu Xiang felt her scalp go numb for a while, "In other words, the way this person died is the same as the way Yu Xun was murdered?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, "That's right."
Wu Xiang hurriedly turned around twice, "That is to say, as you said, the murderer is going to kill Liu Qing and the others in the same way that Team Leader Zhao killed fourteen years ago?"
If Shicai was only suspicious, now that there are two identical ways of death, it is almost certain.
Wu Xiang's eyelids twitched, "If that's true, then there was also someone who was drowned back then?"
Wu Xiang walked to another grave, and Bo Ruoyou followed. The corpses in this grave were also very small. Looking at the arrangement of the corpses, Bo Ruoyou could even imagine how the corpses were placed in the coffin At the same time, she went to the bottom of the pit to examine the bones, but she did not find any scars of fractures and fractures on the bones, and because the corpses had been buried in the wet soil for many years, unless the bone steaming method was used, even the bleeding spots on the bones were difficult to detect. identified.
Wu Xiang heard what she said, so she didn't have to worry. After the last grave was dug up, she was asked to inspect the last set of bones. Bo Ruoyou waited for a while, and the last set of bones was cleaned up by the Yamen. out.
It was already late at night, Bo Ruoyou's body was thin and her hands and feet were numb from the cold, but when she walked down to the grave and looked inside with a torch, she still felt a chill hit her.
Because she saw that the upper body of the skeleton was intact, but the lower half of the skeleton was covered with dense cracks all the way from the thigh bone to the ankle, as if the person's legs had been carefully beaten with a heavy hammer.
Her expression changed, and she leaned forward to inspect it carefully, and raised her eyes after a while: "The deceased was also a boy, and he was also about nine years old when he died. There was no obvious bone injury on his upper body, but it started from the hip bone, the lower ischium, pubic bone, As well as the femur, there are extremely serious bone cracks and scars, especially the patella, which has been completely shattered. When the corpse was not completely decomposed, there were still soft tendons connected, but now the corpse is completely ossified, and the shattered patella has already fallen apart. .”
"Both the tibia and fibula below the patella were fragmented to varying degrees. These bone spurs pierced into the flesh and blood after the fracture, which was enough to cause serious trauma. There were also obvious fractures in the foot bones of the deceased. Three pieces Especially over the cuneiform and phalanges."
Bo Ruoyou said in detail, Wu Xiang's legs felt a little weak when he heard it, "This..."
"The wounds on the femur and ischium were left like sticking, but on the femur of the thigh and tibia of the calf, they were completely tortured, and the shattered injuries on the patella and foot bones were even more severe. Tortured and killed."
Bo Ruoyou couldn't bear the words, "It's very likely that they were injured during his lifetime. Such a severe injury would cause the injured person to bleed to death. He was tortured to death."
Wu Xiang thought about what would happen if the injury fell on her body. As soon as the thought came out, she was shocked, "This... what a hatred this is, why do you want to do it like this?!"
Bo Ruoyou didn't speak, she looked in the direction of several other tombs, she died from a sharp weapon piercing her skull, she was burned alive in a fire, she was hanged by a rope, and there was also an uncertain death that was very likely to be drowning, and the hell in front of her. The inhuman massacre, the five people who seemed to have died in the fire, all died in different ways, and died so tragically and painfully.
The murderer used these methods to kill people. Is it because of hatred, or because of something else
But no matter what the reason was, it made Bo Ruoyou chill all over her body. With such torture, Bo Ruoyou seemed to think that they would struggle, get angry, beg, and then despair. The murderer wanted them to experience extreme pain and fear, And seeing them dying, what kind of weird and frightening mood would the murderer feel in his heart
Bo Ruoyou was suffocating, Wu Xiang couldn't help but cursed, "It's a good thing we came for a bone test, otherwise we wouldn't know how wronged and tragic their deaths were fourteen years ago!"
He clenched the waist knife on his side again, "I'd like to go back and ask this Liu Qing to see what he's hiding!"
Bo Ruoyou said: "Captor, can these corpses be sent back to the city? I want to use the method of steaming the bones for a closer examination."
Wu Xiang hurriedly said: "Of course! Now that this old case is involved again, I must bring the evidence back."
It was already late at night, the light of the lit torch was getting darker and dimmed, and it could not last long, and the servants were all exhausted. Seeing that it was too late, Wu Xiang left a few people to look at the corpse, and lit again. They asked Hou Yang a few, "You send Xiaobo back to the city, I'm afraid it will be dawn when you go back, and you can rest after reporting this matter to your lord, I will go to Qianjia Town to find a chariot and horse to bring the body back. "
Hou Yang and the others took orders, Bo Ruoyou packed the box and went to the nearby shallow stream to wash his hands before getting into the carriage and leaving.
Shicai has been standing all the time, only feeling tired all over, now sitting down, feeling extremely tired and tight, not to mention the cold legs and feet, the drowsiness can't resist the attack, but traveling at night, Bo Ruoyou is a little worried, I dare not really fall asleep.
Fortunately, the official roads outside the capital are well-developed, and the officials inside and outside the city have been well-governed these years. With Hou Yang and others protecting them, they rushed towards the capital without a trace. When she came out, Bo Ruoyou could already see the majestic gates and towers of the city.
A group of people hurried to the gate of the city, and soon they had to let go. After entering the capital, Bo Ruoyou finally calmed down, bid farewell to Hou Yang, they went back to the Yamen, and she went to Changshoufang.
Walking on the road, Bo Ruoyou felt that her eyelids were heavy. Not long after, she leaned against the wall of the carriage and fell into a drowsy sleep. When the carriage stopped slowly and Zhou Liang knocked on the door again, she suddenly woke up. Looking at the curtain, it turned out to be home.
Zhou Liang went to call for the door, and soon someone opened the door. Bo Ruoyou thought it was Aunt Liang, but when she raised her eyes, she was a familiar servant. Here?"
The attendant said respectfully: "Master Hou knew that the county lord was out of the city, so he ordered the little people to wait in the house. If the county lord came back safely, he would go back and report—"
Suddenly, Bo Ruoyou said, "I'm back fine, you go back and tell him."
The attendant said yes, and then he left after paying another salute. Bo Ruoyou looked at his leaving back. Although he didn't see Huo Weilou, he felt that he was cared about by others. For a moment, the exhaustion from staying up all night was swept away. Went a lot.
Cheng Yunzhi probably also slept restlessly, at this moment it was not bright yet, he got up when he heard the commotion outside, saw that Bo Ruoyou came back half covered in dust, he was quite distressed, and asked Aunt Liang to bring her soup.
Bo Ruoyou was really hungry, so she used some soup before she went to take a bath. Aunt Liang came to wait on her, and while wiping her hair, she said: "A lot of people came yesterday, including the master and wife of the Lin family, and the second bedroom. The master and wife came together, the girl is now the county head, and she has a marriage gift, so it is different after all."
Bo Ruoyou was dozing off on the edge of the bathtub, and she only listened to half of what she said. She answered vaguely, dried herself up, and lay down on the couch. Aunt Liang went out lightly, and closed the door again. superior.
Bo Ruoyou was extremely sleepy, and she had a very deep sleep. When she woke up, the sun was hanging high outside the window, and the bright light was shining brightly. The sound made her suspicious, she got up and walked towards the door, and opened the door, Bao Ruoyou saw a figure that should not appear in her courtyard.
Huo Weilou was standing in her small courtyard, looking at the orchids planted on the porch. Aunt Liang was standing beside Huo Weilou, telling him nervously how to take care of these flowers and plants when they were thin and quiet, when they heard the door open, the two The people looked over together.
Seeing Bo Ruoyou woke up, Aunt Liang seemed to be pardoned, "Miss, Master Hou has been here for a while, Master went to Lin's house to visit Mrs. Lin, and I'm afraid he will come back later."
Bo Ruoyou ordered Aunt Liang to retreat, and Huo Weilou walked towards her, "Are you awake?"
Bo Ruoyou's hair was still disheveled, and her face was still full of sleepiness. She looked at Huo Weilou strangely, "Why is Lord Hou here?"
Huo Weilou stood still at the door, "I heard that there is another big case in the yamen, let me ask Bo Yuzuo what kind of case it is."
There was a smile in his eyes, and Bo Ruoyou thought he was just looking for an excuse, and pulled his lips to let him into the house. It was the first time for him to visit her boudoir in the new house, although it was a bit more spacious than the old house, But it was still arranged elegantly and neatly. When she turned her head, she saw Bo Ruoyou pulling her hair in front of the dressing table.
Her slender knuckles are wrapped around her satin-like black hair, her waist is graceful and slender, and the warm sun of early winter pours in from the window lattice, bringing out her beautiful and delicate profile. Scenes.
Bo Ruoyou quickly cleaned up, turned around and met his tender eyes, her heart skipped a beat, Huo Weilou came forward at this moment, "Go to eat, I will go to the Yamen with you later, His Majesty knows about Zhao Yue , His Majesty sent someone to ask today."
Bo Ruoyou was surprised, "Master Hou really wants to ask questions?"
Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, "Isn't it good?"
Of course it's good, Bo Ruoyou couldn't stop nodding, went to the main hall to have lunch, then left home with Huo Weilou.
On the carriage, Bo Ruoyou told Huo Weilou about the results of the autopsy last night, and then said his own deduction. After hearing this, Huo Weilou frowned. Five people died, and the means were so cruel. This was a sensational incident even ten years ago. However, after such a long time now, it was not revealed until another case was discovered. One can imagine how inactive the Jingzhaoyi Yamen was at that time.
He lowered his phoenix eyes, "If this is the case, the murderer must have known the inside story back then. Three people survived the fire at that time, one was the juggler surnamed Qian, and the other two were apprentices of the old troupe master. Most suspect."
Having said this, Huo Weilou said again: "They were injured in the fire scene back then, so it's not hard to find them."
If the burn is serious, it will definitely leave scars that cannot be concealed. Bo Ruoyou knows that this is an extremely important clue, and hurriedly said: "Exactly, based on this, I think I can get something by searching in the garden!"
Her eyes were bright and her complexion was radiant, and she seemed to be eager to go to the Bird Garden to ask questions. Huo Weilou held her hand and touched the thin calluses on her fingertips inadvertently, and said with deep eyes: "These things make Wu Xiang Do it, you went out of the city yesterday afternoon, and you were busy all night, you should also rest today, the method of steaming bones you want to use is the method used in Luozhou."
Bo Ruoyou answered, Huo Weilou sighed, and raised his hand to stroke her hair.
Bo Ruoyou only felt that he had something to say, and the fox asked, "What's wrong?"
Huo Weilou had mixed feelings in her heart, but she didn't feel it, she couldn't help but said: "What's wrong? It makes my heart hurt."
Bo Ruoyou suddenly felt a numb warmth spread in her heart, she couldn't help but leaned into his arms, and teased softly: "Didn't Hou Ye like the hardworking subordinates most in the past? "
Huo Weilou thought that she dared to block him with such words, and could not help hugging her on his knees, "Not only did I like it before, I still like it now, but who are you now?"
He suddenly approached, Bo Ruoyou's cheeks were flushed, "I... I am the clerk of the yamen..."
Huo Weilou's brows were raised high, but they were pressed down in the next moment, and he took her soft lips in his mouth, and went all the way to absorb her fragrance. After the airtight kiss was over, she was out of breath, her long eyelashes were even more wet, and she lay on his chest, unable to recover for a long time.
Huo Weilou rubbed against her hair, also controlling himself, "Don't hesitate to lose yourself, I can't spare—"
Bo Ruoyou looked up at him, and Huo Weilou's exit was: "—I can't spare Sun Zhao!"
Her wet eyes bent into crescent moons, Jiang couldn't help laughing, and said angrily, "What's the matter with Mrs. Sun..."
The carriage galloped all the way to the Yamen, Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou got out of the carriage, before she noticed anything, Huo Weilou looked at the yamen servants inside the door and frowned, she took a closer look and found that the expressions of everyone were quite strange serious.
The two entered the yamen, Sun Zhao learned that Huo Weilou was coming, so he rushed out to greet him, Huo Weilou asked him, "What's the matter?"
Sun Zhao frowned and said: "The people who stayed in the Bird Garden just now reported that there was another dead bird in the garden! And the two Liu Qing who were imprisoned were desperate to get out of the prison! "