Chapter 1652: A Clown

Physician Mu's mood was very complicated.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen could always refresh his understanding time and time again.

He asked softly, "For Zhu San, you are really going all out. Is it worth going to this extent?"

"Aren't you curious?" Chen Guanlou countered.

Physician Mu looked at the body on the door panel and sighed. "The shady dealings in big mansions have never been a rare thing, nor have they ever been eradicated."

"Then have you ever seen an official's daughter so young, who died so miserably? She had status and should have had a bright future, yet she couldn't avoid falling into this state. You tell me, what are ordinary girls supposed to do? Watch helplessly as the murderer continues to abuse and kill? Can you bear it?"

Chen Guanlou's words immediately stumped everyone.

Indeed!

Miss Mei died, and at least there was a murderer brought to justice.

If a girl from an ordinary family died, it would probably just be left unsettled; if she died, she died. There would be no murderer, no one to speak up, and they might even turn around and insult the deceased for being unchaste and seducing men, splashing dirty water on the deceased.

After all, the deceased was the weak one, and bullying the weak required no cost.

Physician Mu nodded, indicating he understood.

He made a preliminary judgment: "Miss Mei should have died from excessive blood loss. There were no fatal wounds on her body, but there were too many wounds. Especially these two knife wounds on her thighs; they clearly severed the blood vessels, causing massive blood loss."

"You mean, these two knife wounds on her thighs were the last ones cut?"

"They should be. These wounds were made within a short time of each other, so it's hard to be precise."

"Was she insulted?" Chen Guanlou asked the key question.

The coroner shook his head and then nodded.

"What do you mean?" Chen Guanlou frowned.

The coroner was silent for a while before saying, "Her body had been washed, so no extra traces were left. However, observing the wounds, she was definitely insulted."

"The murderer is a man, right?" Chen Guanlou scanned the few people present.

Li Tou nodded first. "I knew it must have been done by a man."

The coroner nodded; the preliminary conclusion was that it was done by a man.

Chen Guanlou looked at Physician Mu, who had been silent all along. "Did you see any problem?"

Physician Mu frowned tightly, holding an unsharpened dagger in his hand, comparing it to the knife wounds on the body. "Is it possible that there was more than one murderer?"

"What do you mean?" Li Tou asked first, his expression nervous and eager. "More than one person? You mean, Miss Mei, she..."

The rest of the words didn't need to be spoken.

The coroner was shocked and began to doubt his own professional training, burying his head in the autopsy again.

"What are you basing your judgment on that there was more than one person?" Chen Guanlou asked Physician Mu.

Physician Mu was silent for a moment before saying, "The wounds on the torso are easy to understand. However, I don't quite understand the wounds on the limbs. A man who gains pleasure from abuse, and in the process of insulting her, under the premise that he has already controlled Miss Mei's actions, why are there so many wounds on her limbs?

The marks on her wrists prove she was bound and restrained, and her ankles have similar marks. May I ask, under what circumstances, when she was restrained, would her limbs have so many wounds?"

"The knife cuts are consistent; the torso and limbs should be the same murder weapon." The coroner affirmed.

"You all hurry up and perform the autopsy again; I want a definitive autopsy report."

After saying this, Chen Guanlou walked out of the hut.

At this moment, he needed to do something to relieve his mood.

The mountain wind carried a chill, much cooler than at the foot of the mountain. Everything around was quiet, and even birds were scarce. Animals seemed to know this place was unlucky and refused to step in.

As the sun set in the west, the sunset was so beautiful that one wanted to stay in this moment forever.

Finally, there was a conclusion in the hut.

"The murderer is a male, but before Miss Mei was insulted, there was another person helping, responsible for binding Miss Mei. The wounds on the limbs were intended to make Miss Mei lose the ability to resist. We judge that this person could be the murderer's servant, or it could be a maid. In short, it must be someone serving by the murderer's side. And it wasn't the first time they had done such a thing. They are an old hand! It's just that this time they killed an official's daughter, and the case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice."

Chen Guanlou nodded in understanding. After thinking for a while, he said to Li Tou: "Investigate whether there have been similar cases in the capital area in recent years, women who died after being abused. In addition, find an opportunity to interrogate the Marchioness Zhang. She brought Third Miss Mei to the Marquis's Mansion for the banquet; she must know something. I will find out Marchioness Zhang's whereabouts, and you will be responsible for the interrogation."

Afterward, he instructed the handymen to put Miss Mei back into the coffin and bury her, eliminating all traces, and left ten taels of silver for the grave keeper before leaving.

When the grave keeper woke up the next morning and saw two ingots of silver on the table, he was stunned.

Looking around and checking everywhere, he confirmed no one was there and secretly hid the silver. He acted as if nothing had happened, and everything went on as usual. As for the abnormal soil around a certain grave, he pretended not to see it.

Marchioness Zhang's whereabouts were easy to track.

Ever since Third Miss Mei passed away, Marchioness Zhang had been restless day and night, visibly haggard.

She inquired every three days about when Zhu San would be sentenced. If he wasn't sentenced for a day, she couldn't sleep in peace for a day.

Seeking peace of mind, she went to the Baoguo Temple to burn incense, and then she was blocked in a side room, with all the serving maids and matrons falling into a deep sleep. She was panicked. Especially when two big men appeared in the room.

"Marchioness Zhang, meeting you is truly not easy." Chen Guanlou looked at her with a smile.

"Who are you? What do you want to do? This is Baoguo Temple, and I am..."

Chen Guanlou scoffed, sitting on a chair, speaking unhurriedly: "Enough, stop spouting that. You come from the Marquis's Mansion, the second among the sisters. When you were young, you fell in love with Master Mei the Eldest at first sight, loving him to death, and insisted on marrying him. You didn't hesitate to destroy Master Mei the Eldest's proper marriage. Afterward, you got your wish and married into the Mei family, relying on the power of the Marquis's Mansion to act tyrannically in the Mei family.

A few days ago, you brought the Third Miss from the Mei family's second branch to the Marquis's Mansion for a banquet, and the Third Miss died. On the surface, Zhu San is the murderer, but looking closely, guess what? There are loopholes everywhere, and doubts everywhere. Marchioness Zhang, please clear up our confusion."

Marchioness Zhang was shocked and angry, roaring sharply, "Which yamen are you from? What qualifications do you have to interrogate me? I want to see your superiors. If you are sensible, get out immediately, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite."

Chen Guanlou smiled half-heartedly. "Marchioness Zhang, you don't seem to realize the seriousness of the problem. Let me introduce myself first: my surname is Chen, Chen Guanlou, currently serving as a Jiang Jiang Yucheng in the Heavenly Prison."

The room went quiet instantly, and only Marchioness Zhang's rapid breathing could be heard.

It was a long while before she spoke: "You are Chen Guanlou? What right do you have to meddle in other people's business? How much money did you take? I will double it for you."

"Double it to one hundred thousand taels; can you afford it?" Chen Guanlou looked at the other party leisurely, as if looking at a clown. ===== CHAPTER 1653 =====