The white cloth was lifted up to the air, and the dirty blood stains on it were exposed in the sunlight, like a kite with a broken string falling to the ground. The corpse that had been covered up before suddenly revealed its true appearance, which made people gasp.
Jiu Niang was the most beautiful lady in Wenxianglou. With her fair skin and red lips, she had attracted many nobles to her feet. No one had expected that she would die so hard one day.
She just lay quietly on the stretcher, her eyes were cloudy and staring at the sky. The muscles on her face had collapsed due to decay, and were covered with irregular green spots of various sizes. Her abdomen was bloody and although it had been treated, it still attracted flies and insects flying around her body, and the stench was overwhelming.
The wide-sleeved skirt with peony green pattern was soaked in blood and was in tatters.
There were bursts of exclamations from all around, and some of the timid ones were too scared to dare to move, but they still couldn't help but peek through the gaps between their fingers. Humans are such contradictory creatures, curiosity overcomes fear, and they can face many cruel things.
Even Chu Jiaoping turned his head away because of the horrific death of the corpse.
Chu Xinian was the calmest. In order to observe the corpse, he lifted the hem of his robe and squatted beside it. While observing it carefully, he said, "Master Mei, if you need me to do anything, please do it here in front of everyone. The threshold of your Lianjing Division is too high, and I'm afraid I can't get in."
Chu Xinian's identity was different from that of an ordinary commoner. Mei Fengchen could not summon him to court for interrogation according to the usual procedures. That was the business of Jingzhao Prefecture. The Lianjing Division was so resolute in its style of action that whenever a case involving the lives of powerful people was involved, it would be handled directly, with special permission from the emperor.
Seeing that he was not scared to death but was so calm, Mei Fengchen could not help but feel a little bit of respect for him. With a blank expression, he ordered someone to bring a tray with a bloodstained gentleman's pendant on it: "This jade pendant is engraved with your name. When Jiu Niang's body was found, it was held in her hand. How do you explain it?"
No wonder Mei Fengchen dared to come to the military mansion like this, it turned out that he had "ironclad evidence".
Women wear flowers in their hair and men wear jade pendants. People from prominent families all have jade pendants with their names engraved on them to show their status. When Quyang Hou Nian had two sons, he spent a lot of money to find a fine piece of jade and asked a skilled craftsman to carve two gentleman pendants. Chu Jiaoping and Chu Xi Nian each had one.
Chu Jiaoping's jade is still tied to his body, but Chu Xinian's jade was accidentally dropped and broken during a horse race in the suburbs of Beijing. This matter is kept secret and no outsiders know about it.
Chu Jiaoping frowned, and felt that this matter was not simple. He said to Mei Fengchen, "Master Mei, my second brother has always been naughty. He broke the jade pendant several months ago. I don't know where it is. If we only use this as evidence, is it too rash?"
"Rash?" Mei Fengchen said in an old voice, "If he feels rash, he should come with me to the Lianjing Division to investigate the matter. Besides, I did not say that Chu Xinian is the murderer, but now he is the most suspicious, so I am investigating."
Chu Jiaoping wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Mei Fengchen, who said sternly: "This matter has nothing to do with you. There is no point in saying more. Go away!"
Chu Jiaoping is a newcomer in the court, so he has to be courteous in front of the old man Mei Fengchen.
The "central figure" Chu Xinian did not say a word the whole time. He was like a serious coroner, looking down carefully at the corpse, not missing any corner.
There were many sword wounds on the body, a total of 34, about four inches long. The fatal wound was on the neck, where someone had cut his throat with a sword. The initial judgment was that he died of excessive blood loss.
Her hair was disheveled, her mouth was slightly open, and there were unknown bloodstains on it. Her hair was originally waist-length, but there were many cut marks, as if it was injured by a sword.
Xiong is famous for his swordsmanship.
Chu Xinian did not change his expression as he opened Jiu Niang's clothes and continued to check. He found that there were no special kiss marks on her body except corpse spots, and her jade hairpin and other belongings were all there, thus ruling out the possibility of murder for lust or money.
Jiu Niang slowly pulled up her sleeves. There were sword wounds on both her arms. The sword wound on her right arm was tilted inward, while the sword wound on her left arm was tilted inward. The positions, lengths, and depths were all the same, as if they were caused at the same time.
Xiong may be famous for being good at using two swords.
Chu Xinian held Jiu Niang and pried open her fingertips one by one, discovering that the joints were thick and covered with thick calluses, which made people feel that this pair must have been very strong in life.
Jiu Niang is definitely not an ordinary weak woman in a brothel.
Chu Xinian passed by her slightly swollen belly filled with corrupt gas and touched the sole of her shoe, which was stained with a little yellow mud and light brown seeds of the white-flecked thorny flower.
The yellow mud fields outside the capital were not uncommon. However, the wuhua was an extremely rare species. Only a few were sent as tribute from the Western Regions. The number of princes and nobles who had such flowers in the capital could be counted on one hand. Even the Quyang Marquisate did not have any, let alone the brothel.
Xie Jingyuan did have some, but he didn't like flowers, so he didn't plant them at home.
Before Jiu Niang's death, she must have visited the home of some powerful person in addition to the suburbs of Beijing.
Chu Xinian finally got up from the ground, and then wiped himself slowly with a handkerchief. He said nothing, but made a series of strange movements, which only made people who didn't know the truth think he was pretending.
Mei Fengchen waited patiently for him to finish the inspection. Seeing this, he said with a sullen look, "How is it? Is it finished?"
Chu Xinian smiled faintly: "That's it, sir, just let me know what you want, I will tell you everything I know."
Xie Jingyuan appeared at the door without knowing when, his eyes were worried about Chu Xinian. However, he was standing far away, and everyone's attention was on the body, so no one noticed him at the time.
Mei Fengchen said hello and looked directly at Chu Xinian: "Do you know this woman?"
Chu Xinian closed his eyes calmly, his expression was calm, but his words made people feel that he was extremely arrogant: "I am afraid that I will disappoint you. I accidentally hurt my head a few days ago, and I can't remember many things clearly. If you don't believe me, you can go to the palace doctor."
Upon hearing this, Mei Fengchen pushed aside the yamen runner who was supporting him and walked down the stairs quickly. Although he was over fifty years old, his eyes were full of brilliance. "Are you making fun of me? Or are you trying to get away with it by pretending to have lost your memory?"
Chu Xinian said in a gentle tone: "I just want to remind Master Mei not to ask useless questions. Whether I know Jiu Niang or not, she is already dead. Master, why don't you tell me why you suspect me?"
"You are so rude!"
Mei Fengchen gritted his teeth and spat out these words, then waved his sleeves heavily: "My lord, where were you on the seventh day of March?!"
The seventh day of March was exactly the day when Chu Xi ran away from her marriage.
Chu Xinian flicked his fingertips lightly, still calm and unhurried: "March 7th, I've been to too many places, why don't you be more specific, sir, is it early morning, noon or night?"
Mei Fengchen said: "Of course it is at night."
Chu Xinian suddenly realized: "I don't remember, but if it was at night, the guards in the mansion said that I might have this woman with me."
There was another uproar around them, and the people were whispering to each other, could it be that the murderer was really Chu Xinian?! What was wrong with this guy, that he actually admitted that he was the one behind Wan Jiu Niang?!
Mei Fengchen looked at Chu Xinian in a strange way when he heard this. He probably didn't expect Chu Xinian to admit it so straightforwardly. "You two, a single man and a single woman, should avoid suspicion. Why are you hanging out together at night? And as far as I know, March 7th is the day for your general Xie to get married."
Chu Xinian could only follow Mei's initial excuse and continue: "Master Mei, although I can't remember what happened that night, my mother said that I was kidnapped by criminals in the suburbs and was rescued and brought back to the mansion by the guards in the early morning."
Mei Fengchen obviously had the same idea as Xie Jingyuan, and snorted coldly, "Master Chu, what you mean is that you, a seven-foot-tall man, were kidnapped to the outskirts of the city by a weak brothel girl?"
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but laugh out loud, thinking that Chu Xinian's lie was too fake.
"Why not?" Chu Xinian asked back.
He shook his sleeves, stood up from the steps, and regardless of the dirt, he used a square handkerchief as a cover and directly grabbed Jiu Niang's right wrist: "Master Mei, you'd better be closer. This woman has thick calluses on her knuckles and palms. The joints of her right first finger are deformed, but her left is clean. Her body is lean and thin, and it is obvious that she is good at using the right sword. I can't even tie a chicken, so it shouldn't be difficult for me to take her out of the city."
When Chu Xinian lifted the white cloth covering the corpse, he keenly discovered the callus on Jiu Niang's upper right part. He remembered that Xie Jingyuan also had thick calluses on the same part of his body. In addition, although Jiu Niang had been dead for a long time and her muscles were loose, it was still not difficult to see signs of martial arts training.
Mei Shichu lied unintentionally, but it turned out to be a blind cat catching a dead mouse
Modern autopsy experience embodies the wisdom of countless ancestors, so doctors can deduce the truth based on many traces. However, the art of coroner in the Great Yan Dynasty has just started, and it only stays at the stage of "why did he die" and "what was the murder weapon".
Mei Fengchen's face changed slightly when he heard this. He ignored the dirt and personally went forward to pry open Jiu Niang's left and right sides to compare them. As a result, he found that it was exactly as Chu Xinian said, but he still had doubts in his heart and frowned, "She is a prostitute, so can't the thick calluses be left by playing musical instruments?"
Chu Xinian shook his head: "The thick calluses left by playing musical instruments are different from the thick calluses left by practicing swordsmanship. If you don't believe it, Master Mei, go find a famous swordsman and then a famous brothel musician, and then you will know by comparing the two of them."
Mei Fengchen's expression was mixed with anger and joy when he heard this: "Okay, I'll let you off the hook for this one. How are you going to explain this jade pendant?"
Chu Xinian took the jade pendant from the tray and held it up to the sunlight. Although it was stained with blood, it was flawless and of the highest quality. It was engraved with the words "Chu Xinian".
The original jade pendant had been accidentally broken under the horse's hoof while horse racing in the suburbs of Beijing. Naturally, it was impossible for another piece of jade to appear, so this piece of jade must be fake.
Since it is fake, there must be traces to be found.
Chu Xinian remembered something and walked up to Chu Jiaoping: "Brother, lend me your jade."
Chu Jiaoping frowned imperceptibly, always feeling that his brother's behavior was not the same as before, and he seemed a little strange. But now was obviously not the time to be entangled, so he quickly took off the jade pendant and handed it to him.
Chu Xinian carefully observed the two pieces of jade, rubbed them with his fingertips for a while, and finally found the question. He held the two jade pendants in front of Mei Fengchen and said with a smile: "Master Mei, do you know three things?"
Mei Fengchen frowned: "No need to be mysterious, which three?"
Chu Xinian: "First, this piece of jade on my body was carved by a skilled craftsman at my father's request. I have been wearing it since I was born, and it has been more than 20 years now."
Mei Fengchen: "What about the second one?"
Chu Xinian seemed to be deliberately trying to trick him: "Second, my jade was broken a few months ago, so this piece of jade was deliberately counterfeited by someone to frame me."
Mei Fengchen waved his sleeves and said, "Your brother has just mentioned this matter. It's just words without any evidence. How can you prove it's false? What about the third thing?"
Chu Xinian said: "Don't worry, sir, I want to talk about this last thing."
He handed two jade pendants to Mei Fengchen and said bluntly, "Although these two pieces of jade are both high-quality white jade, I have worn my piece for more than 20 years, and the edges of the carvings and inscriptions are warm and smooth, while this fake jade has very fresh carvings, which is obviously a deliberate imitation."
"Also, Lord Mei may have forgotten something. The late Empress Dowager Liu was named Chu Ping. Not long after she passed away, Your Majesty was heartbroken and expressed his grief to the fullest. He ordered that no matter whether they were nobles or common people, they should use fewer strokes when pronouncing the word "Chu Ping". Therefore, the character Chu on my jade pendant is written with fewer strokes. The person who forged the jade pendant obviously forgot this."
Chu Xinian said, in order to make it easier for Mei Fengchen to understand, he passed the two jade pendants in front of him and said meaningfully: "The word "Chu" on my brother's jade pendant is missing a stroke, but this fake jade is a complete "Chu"."
Chu Xinian had already read the History of Yan before he traveled here. He had an excellent memory, and when he was checking the jade pendant just now, a light bulb went off in his mind, and he suddenly remembered this incident.
Mei Fengchen was reminded by him, and then he remembered that Empress Dowager Zhaohui's maiden name was indeed "Liu Chuping". He frowned and took the jade pendant to examine it carefully, and found that it was just as Chu Xinian said. His fingertips tightened and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Mei Fengchen still had a hard time dispelling his doubts: "You may not be able to kill Jiu Niang with your martial arts skills, but what if you instruct the guards to kill her?"
Xie Jingyuan was watching from behind, narrowing his eyes coldly, thinking, is this old man Mei Fengchen going to stop?! He couldn't help but cough twice, but frowned and held it back. He walked out the door, ready to have someone drive away the crazy dogs of Lianjingsi, but Chu Xinian said four words: "Absolutely not—"
For some reason, Mei Fengchen's attitude became much more gentle than before: "Tell me, I would like to hear the details."
Chu Xinian leaned forward and rolled up Jiu Niang's sleeve, revealing the sword wound on her arm. Mei Fengchen refuted the hypothesis: "Jiu Niang has a total of 34 sword wounds on her body, all about four inches, with very small errors, and the depth is very accurate. It is obvious that she was killed by a famous swordsman with extremely high martial arts skills. Do you agree?"
These coroners also found out, but they were not as detailed as Chu Xinian's, and they did not allow people to imagine so much. Mei Fengchen pondered secretly: "Go on."
"Killing a weak person only requires a sword, and Jiu Niang was stabbed by thirty-four swords, which means she had been fighting for a long time, and she herself is also a person with strong martial arts skills. To be honest, although my Quyang Marquis Mansion has two or three guards, their martial arts skills are mediocre and they are not strong enough to kill her. If Lord Mei doesn't believe me, just go and test it yourself."
Chu San and Chu Si were standing nearby, and lowered their heads in shame when they heard what was said.
Chu Xinian deliberately concealed some things. For example, the murderer was a pair of swords, and the person behind the scenes was of high status. A brothel girl with strong martial arts skills eloped overnight, and when she died, she was clutching a fake jade pendant. Everything was confusing.
Although Chu Xinian's remarks could not completely prove that he had nothing to do with the matter, they also cleared most of the suspicion. Mei Fengchen's face turned half black and half blue, trying to find loopholes, but to no avail. Finally, he angrily waved his sleeves and scolded: "Damn it!"
Chu Xinian raised his eyelids and felt that this old man was really ungraceful and actually swore.
However, Mei Fengchen didn't know whether he understood what he was thinking or not, he glared at him in anger: "What? It's not you I'm scolding!"
He cursed fiercely!
Chu Xinian smiled, like a ball of fog, making it hard to understand: "Since it has been confirmed that I have nothing to do with this matter, please bring back Master Mei's body. My army is weak and sick, and cannot stand seeing these bloody things."
Mei Fengchen was brave enough to admit what he did. Everyone saw him shaking his sleeves and hesitating for a long time. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and bowed to Chu Xinian: "Today, I was rude. Now it is confirmed that you have nothing to do with it. It couldn't be better. It also saves me from having my reputation ruined here. But if you have any doubts in the future, please feel free to enlighten me."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and left without waiting for Chu Xinian's reply. The yamen runners saw him and hurriedly carried the body to follow. The outside of the military mansion became empty again.
Chu Xinian saw them leave, turned around and walked up the stairs, but saw Xie Jingyuan walked out at some point, raised his eyebrows and said, "Jun?"
Xie Jingyuan heard this expressionlessly and pulled his dark yellow wind cloak closer, without answering. He remembered what Chu Xinian had just said, snorted coldly, and turned to go into the mansion.
When Chu Xinian was confused, Chu Jiaoping, who had been watching for a long time, came forward and said, "Second brother."
His expression was complicated, because of Chu Xinian's unusual behavior, and because of the other party's words "my family army". There were rumors that Chu Xinian and Xie Jingyuan would not get along well after their marriage. In fact, not only the people, but also Chu Jiaoping thought so.
Judging from the way the two of them behaved today, Chu Jiaoping didn't seem to be at all "unfriendly".