Chapter 37 Exhumation and Autopsy

The mass grave was on the outskirts of the city. The group walked a long way to get there. Yunxi found a solitary grave without any mistakes. The tombstone was inscribed with "Tomb of my sworn sister Yunxi".

Yunxi brought out the offerings she had prepared beforehand and began to make offerings, burn incense, and burn paper money. The onlookers watched all this quietly, with only Yunxi's voice echoing in the room.

"Sister, I hope you're not angry that you've been all alone in this desolate graveyard for so long. The reason I didn't move your grave before was because I was also unmarried and had nowhere to place your coffin."

Now that I have entered the Yong Prince's mansion and am serving by Lord Gu's side, I have specially secured an auspicious burial site for you, where you will be moved for your final resting. May your spirit in heaven protect the people of Great Yan and bring them peace and happiness.

If a dead woman were to protect the people of Great Yan, such a thing would surely be ridiculed if it happened to anyone else, but no one would question it when it happened to Miss Yunxi.

At this moment, some of the women and children present began to sob, including the orphans and abandoned elderly adopted by Yunxi.

There were also some impoverished people who had been saved by receiving clothes and medicine on credit from Yunxi. They were all sincerely mourning the departed souls.

Even Shi Qingchen temporarily put aside his chaotic thoughts and stood aside, concentrating on mourning Yunxi.

After a solemn ceremony, Yunxi ordered people to start digging and exhuming the coffin. Several strong, burly men began to dig at the grave, wielding picks and shovels. They quickly lifted the coffin out of the burial pit.

Just when everyone thought that Miss Zhao was going to carry the coffin to a feng shui treasure land for burial, she ordered people to open the coffin and let the coroner examine the body.

Only then did the people remember that the case at the Dali Temple was still unresolved. The bloody handprint and the indenture remained a mystery.

Although some people disagreed with the autopsy, upon further reflection, they thought that while burial is the best way to ensure peace, Yunxi would probably not want to die unjustly.

Only one person present objected: "Stop! Who gave you the right to desecrate Yunxi's body? I am Yunxi's husband. Without my permission, none of you can perform an autopsy!"

Shi Qingchen was held firmly by two Imperial Guards and couldn't get any closer. He saw the coroner already in front of the open coffin, beginning to examine Yunxi's body. He could only try to stop them with a combination of threats and warnings.

Upon hearing Shi Qingchen claim to be Yunxi's husband, Yunxi immediately glared at him with eyes like knives. Just as she was about to order someone to gag him,

A thin boy nearby picked up two pieces of horse manure from somewhere and deftly stuffed them into Shi Qingchen's mouth. Then he found a tattered strip of cloth and tightly gagged him.

Shi Qingchen was so overwhelmed by the stench of horse manure that he almost vomited, but his mouth was tied with a strip of cloth, so he couldn't spit it out. Soon, he was so choked up that snot and tears streamed down his face.

Upon seeing this scene, Yunxi forgot to be angry, only feeling nauseous and her cheeks sore.

She avoided Shi Qingchen's gaze and glanced at the thin boy who had made the move. She waved to him, and the boy immediately jogged over. Seeing that Miss Zhao didn't intend to give any instructions, he stood silently behind her.

After a brief interlude, everyone's attention returned to the coroner performing the autopsy.

Yunxi's body was actually brought out by Feng Xun. Then, Qi Jinxiu bought a fine nanmu coffin and sealed it with wax before the burial.

His original intention was to prevent Yunxi's body from being exposed to rain after burial, but it inadvertently protected the body, so that Yunxi's body did not show obvious signs of decomposition.

About half an hour later, the coroner's autopsy results came out. "It was confirmed that the deceased died from smoke inhalation, and there were no signs of poisoning in the body."

Just as everyone was lamenting that such a good person had died unexpectedly in the fire, the coroner continued to point out suspicious details about the body.

"Yunxi's stomach and intestines were completely empty, which indicates that she had not eaten for at least two days before her death."

Her hands and feet showed obvious signs of being bound by ropes, and based on the area of ​​bruising, it could be determined that her hands and feet had been bound for more than two days.

Furthermore, both of Yunxi's shoulder bones were dislocated, and the angle of the dislocation indicated that she had struggled violently before her death.

The coroner's autopsy results have already explained everything: Yunxi's death was not an accident, but probably a deliberate act by the Shi family.

After the truth came to light, everyone turned their attention to Shi Qingchen. Seeing him dressed in his wedding attire, holding the memorial tablet of his beloved wife Yunxi, was incredibly ironic.

At Yunxi's signal, the two Imperial Guards handed the man over to the Dali Temple constables.

At that moment, someone in the crowd threw a rotten egg, which hit Shi Qingchen squarely on the head. Immediately afterwards, countless rotten eggs were thrown at him.

The two constables from the Dali Temple, who were unjustly implicated, gritted their teeth and increased the force in their hands, braving the rain of rotten eggs, and quickly dragged the man back to the government office.

Yunxi didn't watch the commotion. She had already ordered people to tidy up the body's appearance, then sealed the coffin and carried it away.

This time, the people didn't follow her anymore; after all, the commotion on Shi Qingchen's side was much more interesting. With the matter settled, Yunxi only took the young boy with her.

When the servants of the mansion found Shi Qingchen, who had just been intimate with his mistress, in the outer residence, Shi Qingchen had already been imprisoned in the dungeon of the Dali Temple.

When the Grand Secretary heard what had happened, he was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could tear Zhao Yunxi, who had stirred up the storm, to pieces.

But at this sensitive juncture, there was nothing he could do. If something were to happen to Zhao Yunxi at this time, everyone would associate it with the Shi family.

Although he had long since given up on dealing with Shi Qingchen, this useless piece of trash, he couldn't allow the label of murder to be pinned on the younger generation of the Shi family.

What's happening now is not just a stain on Shi Qingchen's reputation, but also a stain on the entire Shi family.

Therefore, the Grand Secretary quickly put forward a servant to take the blame for Shi Qingchen.

The servant confessed in court that he had coveted Yunxi's beauty and secretly tied her up in a side room with the intention of committing adultery. However, he accidentally knocked over a candle, causing a fire that burned her to death.

Two maids from the Shi household also came to turn themselves in. They claimed to know about the young master's secret engagement to Yunxi. They swore that the two had a very good relationship and that the young master would welcome Yunxi into the family as his concubine once the principal wife was married.

Meanwhile, many servants of the Shi family testified in court that Shi Qingchen was focused on preparing for the wedding and had not met with Miss Yunxi before the wedding.

Therefore, Shi Qingchen was never involved in the death of Yunxi.

Because there was insufficient evidence to prove that Shi Qingchen had committed the murder, and he had so many alibis, the Dali Temple ultimately closed the case and sentenced the servant who claimed to have kidnapped Yunxi to exile.

Apart from that, no one else in the Shi family was implicated, and Shi Qingchen was released without charge after only two hours in the dungeon.