Chapter 83: Unexpected Discovery (3)

Inner room

Lv Jin stared at the man turning over the victim in front of the bed and asked coldly: "Who are you?"

Minister Wu, as an official of the Ministry of Justice, naturally knew the principle that the crime scene should not be destroyed by outsiders. Except for the people from the Tixing Mansion, the only person in the whole room was Minister Wu, who was already shocked and unable to move in the middle hall. Who was this person?

The man turned his head, cupped his hands slightly, and replied: "I am Jiang Xin, the coroner of the Ministry of Justice. Minister Wu called me here."

So it was the coroner. Waving his hand at him, the man nodded and retreated to the side knowingly.

When Zhuo Qing entered the inner room, she happened to see Lv Jin performing an autopsy and didn't go up to disturb him. Zhuo Qing squatted halfway and checked the blood that hadn't completely coagulated. The inner room wasn't big, and the victim had lost a lot of blood. From the edge of the bed to the screen, there were bloodstains everywhere. The victim was still completely naked, the inner room was very tidy, and there were no signs of struggle or fighting.

Zhuo Qing's sudden appearance and her touching the bloodstains shocked Jiang Xin, who was standing on the side, and he called out in a low voice: "What are you doing?"

Lv Jin turned his head, saw the person behind him, and quickly cupped his hands respectfully: "Madam."

Zhuo Qing stood up and asked in a deep voice: "How is the situation?"

Lv Jin didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless and immediately reported the situation he had just discovered truthfully: "The victim died between the Chou and Yin hours today. Similarly, there was no other damage to her body. There was only one knife wound on her heart, and her heart was also removed, but there was no terrified expression on her face."

Zhuo Qing walked close to his side and glanced at the female corpse on the bed. The victim's skin was slightly wrinkled and pale, having died from blood loss, but the expression on her face was indeed very calm, as if she were asleep.

Jiang Xin stared in surprise at Zhuo Qing, who was flipping through the corpse with a calm expression. Who was this woman?! Facing such a terrifying female corpse, she was still so calm. Lv Jin called her Madam. Could it be that she was Minister Dan's family member?!

When Zhuo Qing was checking carefully, her hand stopped when she stroked the victim's abdomen. Pressing gently, Zhuo Qing's eyes darkened, and she suddenly asked in a clear voice: "Minister Wu, is your daughter married?"

The clear female voice came from the room. Minister Wu Zhigang, who had almost been knocked down by the sudden news of death, finally recovered his senses and replied after a long time: "No, Xu'er and the third son of Minister of Rites Wu were engaged since childhood, and the wedding date was set for three months later. Both of our families were preparing for the wedding, who knew, we would encounter such a thing."

He never thought that such a thing would happen to his daughter!

Walking to the end of the bed, Zhuo Qing wanted to separate the woman's legs, but because the corpse was already stiff, she could only say to Lv Jin beside her: "Help me lift her feet a little."

Lv Jin nodded embarrassedly. It wasn't that he hadn't examined the private parts of female corpses, but it was the first time he had examined one together with a woman. Lowering his head slightly, Lv Jin gently lifted the victim's feet.

After checking with difficulty for a while, Zhuo Qing asked in a clear voice: "Does Miss Xu'er have any other lovers?"

As soon as the words fell, there was dead silence outside the room, followed by Minister Wu Zhigang's roar from outside the screen: "What nonsense are you talking about! Although my daughter has passed away, you cannot question her innocence!"

Zhuo Qing's expression remained as usual, unmoved, and she just replied coldly: "She is pregnant, and it has been almost four months."

"What?!" Minister Wu Zhigang stood up from his chair abruptly, rushed to the screen, pointed at Zhuo Qing, and roared angrily: "This is impossible. My daughter was well-behaved and innocent, it is absolutely impossible for her to be pregnant! You... what do you base your conclusion on that she is pregnant?"

Zhuo Qing's expression remained as usual, facing Minister Wu Zhigang's accusing eyes, and she replied coldly: "The victim's abdomen is obviously bulging, and she is not a virgin."

"Is a bulging abdomen necessarily pregnancy? It's simply absurd!" Unfortunately, before Zhuo Qing finished speaking, Minister Wu Zhigang had already roared, unable to listen anymore: "Xu'er often said she had abdominal pain before she died. Perhaps, perhaps it was some illness, in short, it is absolutely impossible to be pregnant!" An unmarried girl, actually pregnant, this was simply a disgrace to the family. If this were true, how could he explain it to the Wu family?! Impossible, Xu'er absolutely couldn't be pregnant!

Jiang Xin, who had been standing on the side, quickly supported Minister Wu Zhigang, who was breathing rapidly due to grief and anger, frowned at Zhuo Qing, and said in a heavy tone: "Madam, an abdominal bulge and swelling could also be due to illness in the abdomen, caused by a sarcoma, not necessarily pregnancy. You making such a hasty conclusion is really damaging to the young lady's reputation."

Zhuo Qing glanced at him without saying anything, turned to look at Lv Jin, and asked: "Lv Jin, what do you think?"

Lv Jin walked close to the victim again and pressed on her abdomen for a long while. The abdomen was indeed swollen and solid. Was it really a child? He hadn't examined a corpse with a sarcoma in the abdomen, so he had no way to compare and didn't dare to draw a conclusion. He could only reply in a low voice: "To prove whether Miss Wu is pregnant, it is best to dissect the corpse to verify it. Seeing is believing."

Seeing is believing, his rigorous attitude was not bad. Nodding with satisfaction, Zhuo Qing turned to look at the furious Minister Wu Zhigang and explained in a deep voice: "After the victim dies, the organs will all show varying degrees of autolysis. If it were a sarcoma, it would soften after death. But because it is a fetus in her abdomen, and it is basically formed, with blood, flesh, and bones, even if it has been dead for a long time, the abdomen will still be bulging and solid. But what Lv Jin said is the best proof. An abdominal dissection will show whether there is a child in her belly."

"This... how is this possible?" Zhuo Qing spoke with certainty. Minister Wu Zhigang retreated dejectedly. Yes, dissecting the abdomen would show whether there was a child. Why would she lie to frame Xu'er? But how could Xu'er be pregnant?! What was going on? A series of blows made Minister Wu Zhigang's eyes go dark, and he was about to fall to the ground.

"Minister, are you alright?" Jiang Xin quickly supported his body that was falling backward. After shaking for a while, Minister Wu Zhigang opened his eyes again, but his face was as pale as paper and his eyes were scattered.

Dan Yulan shook his head and said: "Jiang Xin, you send the Minister out to rest first."

"Yes." Supporting Minister Wu Zhigang as he left the inner room, he almost bumped into Gu Yun, who was leaning against the screen and watching coldly. Meeting her eyes, Jiang Xin couldn't help but be stunned. This woman in black had such cold eyes, which were extremely inconsistent with her face. Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Xin supported Minister Wu Zhigang and went out.

Gu Yun walked into the inner room and only glanced at the female corpse on the bed without checking carefully. With Zhuo Qing there, she didn't need to worry about the corpse. Walking to the window, she checked the reverse-buckled window bolt, which was very sturdy. It seemed that this was really a sealed room. Squatting on the ground, Gu Yun narrowed her eyes, hoping to find some useful footprints. Unfortunately, the inner room was covered with thick carpets, and no suspicious footprints could be seen at all.

Helplessly preparing to stand up, she unexpectedly found a dark black stain on the red wood where the shoes were placed under the bed. Walking closer, it was a blurry circular mark with some strange patterns on it. What was this? Beside the mark was a pair of embroidered shoes and a large pool of blood dripping from the edge of the bed. Looking around, she didn't find anything else that matched this mark. Was this left by the murderer?!

After thinking for a while, Gu Yun said in a low voice: "Paper and pen."

"Coming." Just as her words fell, Cheng Hang ran over with paper and pen, squatting beside her. He also saw the dark red circular mark hidden beside the embroidered shoes.

"What is this?" After looking for a long time, Cheng Hang didn't see what it was.

The brush was really too hard to use. Gu Yun frowned and said to Cheng Hang beside her: "You draw it."

Cheng Hang took the paper and pen blankly and sighed. This woman had a power that made people unable to resist. It was amazing; he would involuntarily do what she said.

After checking the inner room again and finding no useful clues, Gu Yun looked at Dan Yulan and said: "Minister Dan, I want to see the case files of the first three cases to facilitate the discussion of the case in the afternoon."

Although her eyes were still clear, they were already bloodshot. After all, she was still a woman; how could her body withstand such suffering! Dan Yulan sighed in a low voice: "Miss Qing, take a good rest, it won't be too late to talk tomorrow morning."

Gu Yun was stubbornly unmoved and said coldly: "I'm fine, three o'clock in the afternoon—Shen hour, I'll wait for you at the Tixing Mansion." After speaking, Gu Yun looked at Cheng Hang, who was still lying on the ground, and asked: "Is it drawn?"

Cheng Hang compared it for a long time before turning back and saying: "It's done."

"Take me to see the case files."

Cheng Hang looked at Dan Yulan embarrassedly. Dan Yulan pondered for a while before nodding slowly. Cheng Hang climbed up from the ground, put away the paper and pen, and replied: "Follow me."

Before going out, Gu Yun asked Zhuo Qing, who was examining the corpse with her back to her: "Give me the autopsy report in the afternoon, any problem?"

Her attention was on the victim's knife wound. Zhuo Qing replied subsequently: "No problem."

The answer was very natural, just like the proficiency after countless drills when they worked together before. Gu Yun walked out of the inner room with satisfaction. Lou Xiyan watched their tacit interaction quietly, a light that was difficult to fathom flashing shallowly in his eyes, but he never said a word.

Gu Yun walked out of the house. When she passed the tall black shadow, her hand hurt, her wrist was tightly gripped by a palm like iron pliers, and the scorching body temperature made her frown. What rang in her ear was a hoarse cold snort that was several degrees colder than ice: "Do you want to die that much?"

Five days and five nights, she only closed her eyes to rest for an hour every night at the Zi hour, and didn't rest at all on the way. He had been marching and fighting for more than ten years and had experienced many marches and battles. These few days of suffering were too much for him. She was a woman, what was she trying to be strong for?!

Did he want to break her wrist?! He almost succeeded. A spicy stinging pain came from her wrist, but Gu Yun just frowned. A mocking cold smile appeared on her face. Meeting those furious cold eyes, Gu Yun sneered in a low voice: "I didn't know that the generals of Qiongyue were so idle. Don't you have anything else to do?"

Just as her words fell, Cheng Hang, who was standing beside her, swallowed a mouthful of saliva and retreated involuntarily. God, this Miss Qing didn't want her life, right? General Su was almost smoking with anger, and she was adding fuel to the fire. Her fragile figure, which didn't even reach General Su's chest, wasn't afraid that he would crush her matchstick-thin arm in a fit of rage.

Cheng Hang was worried about Gu Yun, while Lou Xiyan was completely in the mood to watch a good show. He hadn't heard when Su Ling would hold a woman's hand so "thoughtfully" and advise her to rest.

Gu Yun cursed in her heart. She was already very tired. If he didn't let go, she wouldn't mind having a fight to refresh her mind!

Just as Gu Yun was about to make a move, Su Ling's hand gripping her suddenly loosened. His black eyes stared coldly at Gu Yun. Except for the chill, Gu Yun couldn't see what he wanted to do. She wanted to ask him what he wanted, but Su Ling left the Wu Mansion without looking back.

On her white wrist, the red five-finger print showed Su Ling's roughness just now. What did he mean?! This man was crazy! Unaccountable!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 84 =====