Upon hearing this, everyone present was first taken aback, and then their eyes widened in surprise.

Song Xizhi quickly raised her head, staring at the solemn face of the Divine Physician Rihua. She took a few steps forward, her voice now somewhat shrill: "Master? What are you saying?"

"You mean the corpse in front of you isn't from Sun and Moon Mountain, and isn't your senior brother, my...father?"

The divine physician, Rihua, pursed his lips and nodded. He then walked to the side of the corpse, bent down and examined it: "After hearing your description, all the information matched up, so I assumed it was you."

"But the sword he carries is different from the one my senior brother carries."

Song Xizhi's head was buzzing: "But if we only rely on the sword, we cannot identify the exact identity of the corpse in front of us."

The Japanese-Chinese physician nodded, then reached for the autopsy tools and examined the corpse carefully: "It's not just the sword."

She took the autopsy knife and carefully dissected the rotting flesh clinging to the left leg of the corpse, revealing the bone at the thigh: "Look here."

"The bone spurs in the left leg indicate that the person had previously suffered a fracture in the left leg."

As the Japanese-Chinese doctor spoke, he peeled away all the rotten flesh from the corpse's thigh, and then his voice became even heavier: "It wasn't just one fracture; this person suffered multiple fractures."

Song Xizhi leaned down and looked down in the direction of the Japanese doctor's gaze, and indeed saw traces of bone hyperplasia: "So, my father's left leg has never been fractured?"

The renowned physician nodded, his expression serious as he continued the autopsy.

“My autopsy skills were taught to me by my senior, so I’m pretty sure he once said that he had never broken a bone.”

Song Xizhi nodded, staring intently at the corpse before her. Her fluctuating emotions made her heart pound.

As the renowned physician continued her autopsy, she accurately described the corpse's features:

"The deceased was a middle-aged man in his forties. His teeth were severely worn due to a long-term meat-eating diet. The deceased had a large skeleton and was about eight feet tall. Nothing matches up."

"At the same time, his stomach contained undigested dung and dried cured meat, but he must have been in a state of prolonged hunger before he died."

Qiu refers to millet, sorghum, and other grains that soldiers often eat during marches and battles, while the dried cured meat also proves that he had been on the run for some time.

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi suddenly remembered that there were some traces of life in General Zeng's tomb.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi also stepped forward, looking at the bone hyperplasia on the corpse, his voice deep and heavy:

"Judging from this person's physical characteristics, could he possibly be a powerful military general?"

The Japanese physician nodded: "Judging from the bone hyperplasia and the wear and tear on his teeth, he could possibly be a military general."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, his blood surging with excitement: "If this person isn't my father, and my father's jade pendant was left on this person's back, could we use this to deduce—"

“My father once fled with this military general for a period of time, hiding in General Zeng’s tomb to make ends meet.”

"Unexpectedly, the pursuers entered the tomb to assassinate him. This general, single-handedly, fought against a hundred men and killed all the pursuers. However, my father disappeared without a trace and his whereabouts are temporarily unknown."

Song Xizhi's words made sense, and everyone agreed with them.

Based on what the Japanese-Chinese doctor had told them, the group made their own speculations.

This military officer was likely one of the officers who escorted the late empress. To evade capture, the group lived in the tomb for a period of time.

When the assassins finally arrived, the general stopped them all, fighting against a hundred men single-handedly, allowing the late empress to escape.

It just so happens that the divine physician Bai Lizi, who was the doctor who cured the late empress after she faked her death, was also by her side at this moment. In his haste, he accidentally dropped the jade pendant and left with the late empress.

In the end, the general successfully stopped all the assassins, fought a desperate battle in the tomb, and slaughtered all the enemies, but he himself eventually died.

Everyone thought this speculation made a lot of sense.

General Zeng was a military officer, and the late Empress came from the Han family, which was also a family of military officers. Since the Han family was tragically wiped out, many officials in the capital had been speaking out for them.

Therefore, General Zeng instructed Hei Yin to hand over the Black Square Stone Seal to a loyal and patriotic person, as the Black Square Stone Seal could open the stone door of the tomb.

The ins and outs of the matter are mostly clear, so the military officer in front of us is very likely General Zeng, or he may be an insider from the Han family.

Pei Yunyi immediately ordered people to investigate. The deceased was a military officer who died more than ten years ago and was around forty years old.

After Qing Tong investigated and found out the truth, he finally narrowed it down to a few people.

Eight military officers died more than ten years ago, but they held high positions, were the emperor's most trusted, and in the end, only one of them was likely to die.

That person was also closely related to Song Xizhi.

Because He Jianzhang, the elder brother of Marquis Anding, died suddenly more than ten years ago.

Song Xizhi was quite surprised to hear this news.

She had heard that the Marquis of Anding's elder brother had died more than ten years ago. It was because of this that Madam He felt sorry for her eldest daughter-in-law and thus helped to let those parasites run rampant.

She hadn't expected that this matter could be related to the late Empress.

From then on, all the truths of that year became clear, but there was still no clue as to where the late Empress and Bai Lizi had gone.

The investigation has gone on for so long, but we still don't know the motive behind the late empress's faked death, whereabouts of the late empress, or He Jingyan's intentions.

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