Chapter 485: The Deceased is Suspected to be a Grave Robber!

Chen Yan's face instantly sank like cold iron, his eyebrows twisted into a deep ravine, his eyes filled with an indelible sinister gloom, like a cold pool in midwinter tempered with cold light, a low reprimand rolling from his throat: "Damn it!"

"In the territory of Wannian, someone was beaten to death alive?"

"And dared to dump the corpse on the street?"

At that moment, Chen Yan was very unhappy, extremely unhappy...

This was a naked provocation against him!

They didn't put him in their eyes at all!

"Simply lawless!"

Feng Xiao Yan's face turned red, the knotted blue veins on his temples jumping, his usually composed gaze now filled with scorching anger. He slapped the pillar beside him heavily with one palm and shouted in a low voice: "Disregarding the law!"

Even if it were powerful officials or aristocratic children who beat someone to death, they would know to cover it up and destroy the evidence...

Who would dare to be so arrogant?

"This is being fearless because of support..."

After Liu Mu Zhi finished listening, his pupils were bottomless, as if hiding dark currents in a cold pool. His lips did not move, but deep in his heart, he had already begun to ponder: "Or is it intentional?"

Chen Yan took a deep breath, the arc of his chest heaving violently gradually calming down, yet cold, sharp anger still lingered on his eyebrows. His gaze was sharp as a knife as he looked at Gao Jiong and ordered: "County Magistrate Gao, send someone to bring the deceased's corpse back to the county yamen!"

Since the murderer dared to move earth on the head of Tai Sui, he would personally inquire...

After catching them, he would let them try properly what the punishment of the Mingjing Si was!

And the reason he didn't go directly to the scene was because of the heavy snow...

Even if there were traces before, they had been buried after a night of accumulated snow.

"The subordinate has already sent yamen runners to handle it..."

Gao Jiong heard this, cupped his hands, and replied respectfully: "I imagine they are already on their way back to the yamen!"

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Chen Yan's tense jawline relaxed slightly, the fierce aura between his brows fading a little, and he slowly nodded.

His gaze turned to Feng Xiao Yan, who was still angry on the side, his tone growing a bit hurried: "Send someone else to invite Coroner Chu over!"

"Yes." Feng Xiao Yan hurriedly responded.

Having said this, he turned to the outside of the hall and shouted loudly: "Someone! Go quickly to Coroner Chu's house, invite him to come to the county yamen immediately to examine the corpse, do not delay!"

Two yamen runners outside the hall entered upon hearing the sound, cupping their hands and bowing: "The subordinate obeys!"

Turning around, they stepped on the accumulated snow and left hurriedly.

Chen Yan's gaze swept over the outside, the icicles hanging from the eaves reflecting the sky full of flying snow, fine snow foam being rolled by the cold wind and hitting the window lattices, rustling.

He withdrew his gaze, his fingertips tapping on the desk, pondering for a moment, and said in a low voice: "The corpse should be brought back in a while..."

Before his voice faded, he raised his eyes to look at Gao Jiong, "Bring the reporting commoner here!"

"As you command!" Gao Jiong cupped his hands and responded, not daring to delay, turning and striding out of the hall.

Before long, the wind and snow had not stopped, and hurried footsteps had already come from outside the hall, and a thin figure was led in.

The person who came had a hunched figure, less than five feet tall, wrapped in a tattered cotton jacket covered in patches, the collar and cuffs worn shiny, white hair and beard still stained with unmelted snow foam, his cheeks frozen purple and flushed with a touch of tide.

As soon as he raised his eyes and saw Chen Yan standing there, his turbid eyeballs suddenly lit up. He was stunned in place, then his whole body trembled slightly, ecstatic, his voice hoarse from excitement, carrying a difficult-to-mask tremor: "Lord Chen Yan!"

"It's Lord Chen Yan!"

"This old man has never seen Lord Chen Yan so close!"

"Truly heroic!"

Saying this, tears even welled up in his turbid eye sockets, and he couldn't stop bowing his body.

Seeing this, Gao Jiong frowned and reminded: "Do not be rude!"

The old man was awakened by this light reprimand, hurriedly restrained his excited expression, nodded repeatedly, his voice carrying a touch of panic: "Yes... yes... this old man lost his manners!"

Having said this, he took a deep breath, tremblingly tidied up his tattered cotton jacket, and bowed respectfully: "This old man has seen Lord Chen Yan!"

Chen Yan's mouth curled into a faint smile, and he patted the old man's shoulder lightly, "Old man, no need for formalities!"

Immediately, he walked to the fire stove, scooped a full bowl of steaming mutton soup, handed it to the old man, and said: "It's freezing cold, you've worked hard to make this trip, drink a bowl of mutton soup first to warm your body!"

The old man was stunned in place, looking at the soup bowl handed to him, his eyes instantly filled with emotion, hurriedly taking it with both hands, his fingertips touching the warmth of the porcelain bowl, unable to stop trembling slightly.

He held the soup bowl, his voice choking: "Th-thank you, Lord Chen Yan!"

He paused, looking down at the rolling steam in the bowl, his nose sour, murmuring with emotion: "You are even better than the rumors..."

It is said that Lord Chen Yan is a blue-sky official who makes decisions for the people and can keep the people in his heart...

Who would have thought that he didn't even have any airs?

So approachable!

Chen Yan blinked, his pupils filled with probing color, and asked calmly: "Tell this office, how did you discover that corpse..."

The old man held the soup bowl, tilted his head, and drank the hot mutton soup in a few gulps. The warm soup slid down his throat, his frozen body gradually warming up, and even his speech became more fluent.

He put down the bowl, wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, his expression immediately becoming solemn, and he bowed and replied: "Returning to the Lord's words, this old man's pushcart was in that alley..."

"At dawn this morning, the snow was a little smaller. This old man thought the weather was cold and the road was slippery, fearing the cart would be crushed by the accumulated snow, so he hurried to get the cart." He raised his hand to wipe his face, his tone carrying a touch of lingering fear, "Who knew that as soon as the cart moved two steps, the wheel seemed to be stuck by something, and no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn't move!"

"This old man was anxious, bent down and looked forward, good fellow! There was actually a person buried under the snow pile!"

"After digging away the accumulated snow and looking, it was a man, lying straight there, already without breath, his face and body covered in injuries, it was terrifying!"

Chen Yan's eyebrows furrowed slightly, his gaze fixed on the old man, and he asked another question: "What age does he look like?"

Upon hearing this, the old man raised his hand and scratched his white hair, narrowed his eyes and recalled carefully, his lips moving a few times, before he said certainly: "Returning to the Lord, that man's face looks young, estimated to be around twenty-one or twenty-two, his eyebrows and eyes look decent, similar to your age, my Lord!"

As soon as the words fell, the expression on his face sank, and he sighed heavily, his voice full of sympathy: "It's a pity for this age... This old man saw clearly when digging the snow, the blue and purple bruises on his body were dense, his arms and legs looked a bit deformed..."

"I imagine he suffered a lot of crimes before death to end up in such a state!"

Having said this, he shook his head, his eyes full of intolerance.

Just at this moment, two yamen runners walked in, still stained with the cold air of wind and snow, cupping their hands and bowing to Chen Yan, their voices resonant and respectful: "My Lord, the deceased's corpse has been transported back properly, and is now waiting in the courtyard for examination!"

Chen Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, "Go!"

Fine little snow scattered like catkins in the sky, falling on the stone slabs of the county yamen, accumulating a thin layer of white frost.

In the center of the courtyard, on a temporarily built wooden board, Cao Qing's corpse lay quietly.

He was dressed in a tattered cotton jacket, the fabric so thin it could barely cover his thin torso, accumulated snow congealing in the folds of the clothes, frozen together with the dark purple blood stains seeping from the collar and cuffs, forming mottled ice stains.

The corpse was curled up, its limbs twisted unnaturally, the exposed skin covered in blue and purple bruises, and un-melted blood scabs still congealed at the corners of its mouth.

Beside the wooden board, Coroner Chu had long been waiting here.

A brown cloth belt was tied around his waist, and he was carrying a toolbox in his hand.

Seeing a group of people walking over, Coroner Chu hurriedly stepped forward two steps, bowed and cupped his hands, his voice steady: "Seen all the Lords!"

Chen Yan raised his hand and waved, his gaze falling on the corpse, his eyebrows sinking slightly: "Coroner Chu, no need for formalities."

Immediately, he reached out and pointed to the wooden board, "Start quickly, examine the injuries and cause of death carefully, do not miss any details!"

"As you command!"

After Coroner Chu responded, he immediately picked up the toolbox and stepped forward quickly, squatting beside the wooden board.

He first took out a piece of coarse cloth and spread it on his knees, his fingertips lifting Cao Qing's tattered cotton jacket covered in ice stains, his movements light but neat.

He first used a wooden ruler to measure the size of the bruises all over the corpse, marking them one by one on paper with a charcoal pen.

Then he picked up a silver needle and probed into the corpse's mouth, nose, fingernails, and wounds in turn, holding his breath to feel the touch of the needle, and then quickly marked it on the autopsy grid.

The time of an incense stick passed in a flash, and snow foam was still flying in the courtyard.

When Coroner Chu stood up, he patted the accumulated snow on his knees, put the examination tools into the toolbox, and walked quickly to Chen Yan, bowing.

Seeing this, Chen Yan immediately asked: "How is it? What is the fatal injury of the deceased?"

Coroner Chu frowned slightly, his voice steady and organized: "My Lord, due to the accumulated snow and cold freezing last night, the corpse's decay is temporarily slowed, and the injuries are preserved extremely completely."

He raised his eyes to look at the crowd, his tone certain, "The left side of the deceased's skull has an obvious depression, about three points deep, the edge showing an irregular arc..."

"Three ribs in the chest cavity are broken, the fracture is sharp, caused by heavy external force; there are bruises all over the subcutaneous tissue of the whole body, all of which are purple-black bruises, some of which are strip-shaped, about one inch wide, and of varying lengths..."

"Based on this, the murder weapon should be a hard stick-like object, mixed with traces of being beaten by fists and feet."

He paused and deliberately emphasized his tone: "What is particularly critical is that there is no snow blockage in the deceased's mouth and nose, and there are no signs of frostbite or freezing in them. The stagnation of Qi and blood in the body is all caused by external injuries, which is completely different from the symptoms of freezing to death in severe cold!"

"The deceased was definitely not frozen to death, but was beaten repeatedly with sticks, injuring the skull and internal organs and dying!"

Chen Yan's gaze darkened, his gaze locked on Coroner Chu, and he asked: "Can the time of death be verified?"

Coroner Chu bowed and replied: "Returning to the Lord, although the corpse's freezing affects the judgment of the time, observing the position of the corpse spots, the degree of corpse stiffness, combined with the thickness of the accumulated snow cover, the time the deceased was harmed should be between the Zi hour and the Chou hour today..."

"Hmm."

Chen Yan responded, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the collar of the fox fur, his gaze falling on the corpse in the courtyard, his pupils bottomless, as if thinking about something.

Just at this moment, Coroner Chu hesitated and took half a step forward, his face carrying a touch of hesitation, bowing and cupping his hands: "My Lord, when I examined the corpse, I had another discovery, but..."

"I don't know if I should say it or not!"

Chen Yan suddenly came back to his senses, his eyebrows raised, and he said in a low voice: "Speak!"

Coroner Chu took a deep breath, glanced at the corpse, lowered his voice, and reported in a low voice: "The deceased is suspected to be a grave robber...!" ===== CHAPTER 486 =====