Chapter 1651: Opening the Coffin for Autopsy

"Done by a woman? How is that possible!"

Li Tou denied it subconsciously; he shook his head repeatedly, unable to imagine a woman abusing another woman in that way.

Chen Guanlou frowned. "So, you are not sure whether Miss Mei was actually insulted?"

"With the body in that state, how could she not have been insulted?" Li Tou immediately retorted.

Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue. "Preconceived notions. Because she was discovered on the bed, with the man Zhu San beside her, you preconceived that she must have been insulted. The Mei family and the Marquis's Mansion want to save face, so to cover it up, they refused an autopsy. They took the body back and buried it that very day. Now, there is one way to determine whether the murderer was a man or a woman: dig up the grave and open the coffin. While the body hasn't completely rotted, perform an autopsy as soon as possible."

"This, this, this..."

Li Tou was stunned, looking completely shocked.

"Prison Warden Chen, you really dare to think! How could you think of a woman?"

"I am being rigorous; one must rule out a possibility before reaching a conclusion. You all, on the other hand, reached a conclusion without an autopsy. And you dare say I dare to think? It is you who think too little. What makes you certain a woman couldn't do it? You have worked in criminal justice for so many years; haven't you seen women with black hearts and ruthless hands?"

"I have seen them. But..."

Li Tou didn't know how to retort for a moment.

His expression was very troubled. "But, that is the Marquis's Mansion after all. The young ladies and daughters-in-law of the mansion, the female guests that day, they are all respectable people. How could they do such a deranged thing?"

"The men of the Marquis's Mansion and the male guests that day are also respectable people. You think respectable women couldn't do it, yet you are certain respectable men could do such a thing." Chen Guanlou smiled half-heartedly. "Even if a female murderer is a low-probability event, without an autopsy, you cannot directly rule out their suspicion."

Li Tou wiped his face, looking slightly irritable and anxious.

He thought he had done quite well, but he didn't expect to have his preliminary conclusion overturned by a single question.

For a moment, his mind was in turmoil, and he even began to doubt his own ability to solve cases.

"Do we really have to dig up the grave? This doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"

He was hesitant, his mood fluctuating, nervous and worried. However, his professional training told him that Chen Guanlou was right; without an autopsy, any conclusion was open to question.

Especially given that the Marquis's Mansion intended to cover it up.

To date, they could only obtain the testimony of servants. The testimony of the guests of the Marquis's Mansion and the testimony of the Marquis's Mansion family itself were still only fragments.

Was the case difficult?

Actually, it wasn't!

If they could obtain everyone's testimony and peel back the layers, the truth would come to light.

With so many people and so many pairs of eyes, Miss Mei's ordeal and the movement of the body—any link could have been seen by one or several pairs of eyes.

It was just that these witnesses couldn't come forward to testify. Or they couldn't tell the truth!

They had been gagged!

Experienced criminal justice personnel, as long as they could obtain testimony, even false testimony, could peel back the layers and find the doubts within.

As long as there were doubts, they were one step closer to the truth.

Since they couldn't get the testimony, they had to perform an autopsy!

"You don't want to perform an autopsy?" Chen Guanlou looked at the other party with a half-smile.

Cold sweat broke out on Li Tou's forehead.

As a criminal justice officer, he certainly wanted to perform an autopsy; he dreamed of it. But this kind of thing couldn't just rely on wanting.

"Do we really have to perform an autopsy? What if we get discovered? The Marquis's Mansion and the Mei family won't let us off. Besides, with a ready-made murderer like Zhu San, no one will agree to an autopsy."

"Who said we need their agreement? You are also stupid. Don't you know how to perform a secret autopsy?"

"There is a grave keeper at the cemetery." Li Tou had to remind him.

Miss Mei was unmarried and died young, so she couldn't be buried in the ancestral grave. The Mei family chose another burial site.

"This matter is simple; I will find a way. At that time, we can just use the grave keeper's hut to perform the autopsy. We will get it done without alerting outsiders. The coroner will come from the Heavenly Prison, the physician will come from the Heavenly Prison, and you only need to be present to cooperate and ensure the investigation direction doesn't go astray. How about it?"

Chen Guanlou asked solemnly.

If the other party refused, he would have to weigh when this cooperation would end.

If the other party cooperated, well, they were like-minded, and they could cooperate long-term in the future.

Li Tou struggled.

He was a small person with no deep background and no remarkable backer. Initially, he worked as a yamen runner, then as a constable. Because he showed talent in criminal justice, he started working in criminal law and was transferred from the county yamen to the Ministry of Justice. Along the way, he had suffered much bitterness and endured much hardship.

He had also learned that when investigating cases, one must know when to stop and how to fathom the intentions of superiors.

Investigating cases was just the simplest work; the aftermath was the hardest.

But he still hid a heart seeking the truth, which was why he could be transferred to the Six Shanmen to specialize in investigating cases.

He took a deep breath. "If there is any mishap..."

"If the sky falls, I will hold it up; it won't implicate you. If the Ministry of Justice wants to punish you, I will exonerate you. I won't dare say anything else, but keeping your job is definitely no problem. As for the salary deduction, whatever the Ministry of Justice fines you, I will compensate you tenfold. How about it?"

Chen Guanlou knew exactly what the other party was worried about, and he made the promise as expected.

Li Tou knew Chen Guanlou kept his promises; whatever he agreed to, he would definitely do.

Immediately, he felt relieved.

"Alright! With your guarantee, I'll do it! Open the coffin for an autopsy, quietly."

"Of course, it must be quiet."

They agreed on the plan.

The autopsy matter should be done sooner rather than later.

That very day, Chen Guanlou led Physician Mu, the coroner, and several handymen. Li Tou brought his apprentice, who was also his own nephew, and headed to the cemetery outside the city.

The cemetery was rarely visited and quite remote.

Nearby villagers would avoid this place, finding it unlucky.

Along the way, they didn't even encounter a single living person.

The grave keeper didn't see them, as he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Finding Miss Mei's grave, the handymen picked up their shovels and began to dig.

Because it was buried in a hurry, the grave wasn't deep, and it was easy to dig up the coffin. Opening the coffin, they saw there weren't even any burial items prepared.

Physician Mu explained this situation: "The Mei family are not locals of the capital. If nothing goes wrong, after this matter is forgotten and three years have passed, they will move the grave back to their hometown.

Many people in the capital are handled this way after death. First buried in the cemetery, and after a few years, the grave is moved back to the hometown. Therefore, there are no burial items in the grave. This is to prevent grave robbing. Grave robbers also know the situation here, so they won't run to this cemetery to rob graves; both sides are at peace."

Chen Guanlou indicated he understood.

Taking advantage of the fact that the sky hadn't darkened, they lifted Miss Mei's body out; the smell was already quite strong, and the body had begun to decompose. Wrapping it in a shroud, they carried it directly into the grave keeper's hut.

Before the autopsy, they took out the paper money and incense candles produced by the Jade Spring Palace to burn, and then began the autopsy! ===== CHAPTER 1652 =====