In a world of ice and snow, Lu Ke took the embroiderers to dig up the bones in Wang Qingfu's old house. The bones were in the lotus pond that had dried up in the backyard. extremely slow.
On a straw mat on the shore, there were several excavated human bones. Although the bones could be identified as human bones, it was impossible to determine whether the deceased was a man or a woman, nor could he determine the age. And know.
Huo Weilou was standing on the bank wearing a black cloak, and after a while Lu Ke returned to the bank, "Master, I'm afraid it will take a whole day to dig everything."
In the distance, an embroidered envoy brought a pot of charcoal ash and poured it on the frozen ground, Huo Weilou said in a low voice, "Don't worry, the background of that longevity has been found out?"
Lu Ke nodded, "The records in the palace are clear, and with the addition of Sun Lu's remarks, it is clear that they all entered the palace at the age of seven or eight, and they lived in the palace for forty years. Longevity is not bad in the palace. , Others say that he is diligent and honest, and because of this, he has not made any mistakes in these years, and he has been in charge of a moderate amount."
"He is a few years younger than Sun Lu. He left the palace early and begged for grace. He asked the chief manager Fuquan about this matter. He still remembers this matter, and he finally gave him favor. Otherwise, he would probably have to stay for a few more years. to get out."
Huo Weilou asked again: "Is there any relatives in other clans?"
"There is a cousin who visited him in Beijing many times later. The cousin passed away the year before last, leaving only his nephew and his family. In fact, it stands to reason that a eunuch with such status as him would be considered a poor eunuch if he stayed in the palace." Destination, although the family has a cousin, but he is not close to him, and I don't know what he thinks—"
Huo Weilou stared and said: "If there is something that does not dare to stay in the palace, it would make sense to ask for retirement from the palace early."
Lu Ke looked at the human bones on the straw mat, "Master Hou, do you want to invite the county magistrate to examine the bones? With the county magistrate's skills, he will definitely be able to help us determine the identity of the deceased."
If it was in the past, Huo Weilou would have responded naturally, but now that Bo Ruoyou felt unwell, he was hesitant, but at this moment, an embroidered envoy ran over here in large strides, "Master Fu, Mr. Fu and The magistrate is here—”
Huo Weilou raised his sword-like eyebrows, his frosty expression from earlier suddenly came alive, he stepped forward and walked outside, after a few steps, he saw Eunuch Fu and Bo Ruoyou walking in, Bo Ruoyou was wearing a snow-colored jacket The cloak, walking between the ice and snow, is especially lined with icy muscles and bones, and looks beautiful.
Huo Weilou's footsteps were faster, and he walked up to him and said, "Why are you here?"
In front of so many people, Bo Ruoyou was blessed, and Huo Weilou grabbed her, and Bo Ruoyou just smiled and said: "I heard that the body was found, I guess Hou Ye will wait for someone to come for a bone test, so I will come gone."
Huo Weilou glanced at Eunuch Fu coldly, Eunuch Fu pursed his lips, feeling very wronged.
"It's freezing cold, I didn't want you to come." Huo Weilou led Bo Ruoyou to the bank of the lotus pond.
Bo Ruoyou smiled and said: "I guessed it, luckily I'm here, otherwise Master Hou would probably leave this job to someone else."
Huo Weilou shook his head helplessly, and pointed to the straw mats on the bank, "Now only these are dug up, and the others are still buried under the ground. The embroiderer found another old steward in Wang Qingfu's house, and asked about how long he lived back then. Regarding the time when the eunuch left the capital, the old steward said that the mansion had not been touched in those few days, so the people from the bottom searched for the cellars, wells and ponds in the mansion."
"After the mansion was confiscated, there was no new owner. The lotus pond had already dried up. In addition, the summer rain washed away the silt on the surface, exposing the bones underneath, so the search was quick."
Bo Ruoyou also felt that the search was fast, and she understood after hearing this. She squatted down and looked at the bones, "It's a human bone. It looks like a calf bone and a fibula. It's hard to tell whether a man or a woman is a man. You can see more in the pubic bone."
"The soil underneath is very frozen. You should be able to find it after a while." After saying this, Huo Weilou glanced around, looked at a room not far away, and told Lu Ke, "Go and put some charcoal in that room." pot."
Lu Ke responded and hurried away, and soon, Huo Weilou took Bao Ruoyou to the room to wait.
The house was already empty, the door was closed and a charcoal basin was placed, it was much warmer than the outside, the two sat down on the open chair brought in, Huo Weilou held her cold hand and said: "Did you sleep well last night?"
Bo Ruoyou didn't hide it from him, "Last night I had a nightmare in the middle of the night, and it was very strange. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't control my hands and feet."
Huo Weilou felt distressed, "But you thought about Lan Zhou's case again?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head, "I didn't think too much about it, and I usually don't remember any dreams when I woke up, but I vaguely remembered last night. In my dream, I heard the sound of Sanqingling and saw a forest. Thinking about it, that scene couldn't have come out of nowhere, could it be the place where my brother and I were taken away?"
At this point, an unexplained panic came to her heart again, she held Huo Weilou's hand instead, feeling a little uneasy, Huo Weilou saw it, and held both of her hands in his palm, "Don't think about it anymore, So as not to suffer."
Bo Ruoyou calmed down, "If I think about it, I always feel that I'm sick. If I say I'm crazy, but I'm like an ordinary person, and the symptoms don't show any symptoms. After the nightmare last night When I woke up, I even felt that someone was urging me to hide in the closet, if I didn't believe it, I would feel that I was possessed by evil spirits."
Huo Weilou is well aware of Bo Ruoyou's temperament, no matter how frightened she is, she will never escape because of it, not to mention that this disease is a hidden danger, she is not afraid, so he can't stop her, "Someone urged you to hide in the cabinet? "
"I just felt that my hands and feet were suddenly disobedient, as if I was going to hide in the cabinet instinctively, as if I was very scared, but I couldn't figure out why—"
Bo Ruoyou is used to the scrambling when investigating cases, and now she also wants to know where the strange behavior happened to her, Huo Weilou comforted her: "Mr. Cheng doesn't even know what happened to him, how can you figure it out by yourself? "
Bo Ruoyou shook her head again, "My illness is related to what happened back then, and I may have seen the scene in my dream, but I can't remember it. The previous few times I woke up from sleep and suddenly fell ill, so most likely It has something to do with the dream I had, and I was thinking that since I was afraid, was it because I had the same experience when it happened back then?"
Bo Ruoyou's words raised Huo Weilou's mind, "Have you been hiding somewhere?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, "When my brother and I were taken away, I wondered if I hid somewhere after I escaped..."
At this point, Bo Ruoyou's eyes suddenly fixed, "I want to go to the yamen to see Li Shen's testimony."
Knowing that Li Shen's guilt has been determined, Bo Ruoyou didn't plan to investigate it carefully, so as not to cause serious symptoms, but thinking about last night made her feel chills down her spine, she understood that it was not enough for this matter to fade away with time.
Huo Weilou began to hesitate again. Hearing Li Shen's confession that day, Bo Ruoyou felt very uncomfortable, but now seeing the confession, what if it caused her to get sick
Bo Ruoyou saw his hesitation, so she said firmly: "Master Hou, if my strange illness is caused by a heart disease, maybe I will recover when I remember what happened that night. Gentleman's testimony comes to mind."
Her eyes were firm, and her deep black pupils looked at him without blinking, Huo Weilou thought for a long time before saying hello.
Although she was accepted to see the evidence, the bone examination was still the most important thing right now. The two waited in the room for a full hour, and the skull and other bones of the deceased were dug out by the embroiderer.
Bo Ruoyou put on the gauntlet and went out, cleaned the skull in the ice and snow, then spliced the found corpses together, and started the bone examination, "The deceased's skull was thicker, and the cranial cavity was also large. The forehead and top were curved, and the eye sockets were similar Square shape, blunt supraorbital rim, and thick topline... It is certain that the deceased was a man."
Bo Ruoyou carefully inspected the skull, and then went to check the pubic bone found, "The surface of the pubic bone is smooth, with small holes, the front edge is raised, and the periphery is blunt. The deceased should be between forty-five and fifty-five years old when he died. between."
"According to the estimation of the body bones, the deceased's stature is more than five and a half feet. As for how long the deceased has been dead, it is difficult to estimate for the time being. The corpse will completely disintegrate after one year of death. This place used to be a lotus pond. If the corpse sinks in the water, it will rot. The speed will be faster. It is difficult to determine that the deceased has a long life just based on stature, age and gender."
The words fell, and more bones were found. They had been buried in the soil for many years, and the mud was thick on them. Bo Ruoyou cleaned them up first, and then examined them carefully. At this moment, she saw a rib with There was an obvious trace of bone callus. She cleaned up the place again, and quickly concluded, "The deceased's left three ribs were fractured, and it should have been fractured four or five years before his death. Due to his age, Although broken bones can grow back, they won't recover without a trace like a young man."
Huo Weilou looked at Lu Ke, Lu Ke immediately said: "Your subordinate will go to the palace! Check it carefully!"
Huo Weilou nodded, and Bo Ruoyou put down the rib and said: "There is no fatal injury from the skeleton, it is very likely that he died of drowning, the injury on this rib is not old, and such an injury needs to be bedridden for at least two days." It will take three months to recover, if it is really a long life, most people in the palace will remember it, and if this matter is also closed, the identity of the deceased can be determined."
She inspected for a long time, but her hands were so cold that she was unconscious. When she took off the gauntlet, her fingers were all red. Huo Weilou put her hand in his palm and covered it, "It's almost there. Wait for Lu Ke's news. It will take some time before the bones are laid, I will accompany you to the Yamen."
Bo Ruoyou had done his best, so he didn't want to stay here any longer. After getting into the carriage, Huo Weilou grabbed Bo Ruoyou's hand and put it into his lapel. Naturally, his hands were not as warm as his body.
It's fine if it's through the inner robe, but Huo Weilou actually let her hand touch his chest, which made Bo Ruoyou's face quickly glow red, "Hou Ye—"
"Don't move." He pressed her hand on his chest, "It will be warm in a while."
Bo Ruoyou's ears were also dripping red, "There's no need for this..."
"I just warmed your hands, where do you want to go?"
Bo Ruoyou felt even more embarrassed, she regained her senses with her fingertips, and could feel his hard texture, after all, the two of them were not married yet, and they seemed to be on skin at this moment, how could she treat him normally
A smile appeared in Huo Weilou's eyes, and when he felt that her hands were warm, he mercifully released her hands, and then let his head hang down on her palms, the hot breath instantly made Bo Ruoyou shudder.
He straightened his clothes slowly, as if it was a matter of course, the red tide on Bo Ruoyou's face barely receded when the carriage stopped in front of the yamen.
Li Shen's case has been handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Fortunately, there are still original evidence in the yamen. Wu Xiang found the evidence and handed it to Bo Ruoyou with some concern, "Why do you want to see the evidence all of a sudden?"
"I seem to have remembered something." Bo Ruoyou said.
Huo Weilou was by Bo Ruoyou's side, seeing that she hadn't read the testimony once enough, she actually read it a second time, and her brows became tighter and tighter, after repeated confirmation, she raised her eyes to look at the two of them.
She said coldly: "Li Shen's testimony is a little weird—"