Chapter 80: Inexplicable Change

"Wait," Linlang opened her eyes wide, as if she had thought of something, "If the murderer is Hai Yifan, he naturally won't find anything."

"That's right!" Du Yunzhang slapped his thigh. "How can we possibly catch a thief crying 'stop thief'? And his wife is dead, yet he seems to be completely unconcerned – he's a big suspect!"

Yin Chuan nodded slightly. "We can't rule out the possibility that he's the murderer, but he's only a suspicion. There's no definitive evidence, and his motive is unclear. Old Bao, did you find anything else unusual during the autopsy?"

Baohan, who was walking at the end, seemed to be lost in thought and didn't hear Yin Chuan's question for a moment. It was not until Du Yunzhang slapped him that he suddenly woke up.

"Ah? Oh, you're asking about the autopsy?" He blinked. "The cause of death was pure poisoning."

"Nonsense, we already knew it. Tell me something we don't know." Du Yunzhang was a little impatient.

"Then where did the snake bite her and poison her?" Yin Chuan asked in more detail.

"No, there was no snake bite anywhere on her body, not a single scar."

"She wasn't bitten? Could it be that she died of poison?"

"It's more accurate to say he died from poisoning than taking poison."

"Poisoned?"

"That's right. The deceased had venom not only in her mouth, but also in her nose, ears, and even her genitals. Think about it, isn't this the result of her entire body being soaked in toxins? But there's something strange. I'm well aware of the lethal dose of fire snake venom, and the toxin in her nostrils, ears, and genitals shouldn't be fatal. The highest concentrations are in her mouth and throat. So, it's clear that she did ingest poison..."

"So you were wondering, since you took poison, where the toxins from other parts of your body came from, right?"

"Yes, I really can't figure it out."

Yin Chuan chuckled, "No, that's easy to explain. Judging from the poisoned teapot next to the body, as long as you know the exact technique of 'Dragon Palace Water Play', one of the three Lu family skills, Lu Shuixian's death is not surprising. But how did the murderer manage to get Lu Shuixian into the water tank?"

"Hey, there are plenty of ways. Use drugs to knock the person out, or hit him with a stick and throw him in." Du Yunzhang waved his hand.

"No," Baohan retorted, "Apart from the lethal snake venom, no other drugs were found on the body, and there were no percussion wounds."

Du Yunzhang scratched his head, "Then...what happened?"

"This means that the murderer has a way to make Lu Shuixian get into the water tank on her own initiative." Yin Chuan said with certainty.

The next day, Yin Chuan and Lin Lang arrived at Lu's residence early in the morning, and Hai Yifan was the one who greeted them. But what surprised them was that Hai Yifan, who had been nonchalant the day before, appeared before them in mourning clothes, with a look of grief on his face.

"Please come in, both of you." He wiped the non-existent tears from his face and respectfully let Yin Chuan and Lin Lang into the Lu family's house.

"Is the Lu family preparing for the lady's funeral?" Du Yunzhang asked.

"That's right!" Hai Yifan said mournfully, "The coffin is now in the back hall, where he used to practice martial arts. My father-in-law is there now. Please come in, both of you."

"Has the lady's body been buried?"

"Yes, I plan to rest in the Lu family's ancestral tomb after seven days of prayers."

Linlang was a little anxious, "The body is buried so soon, what should we do with the case?"

"Didn't Mr. Bao from the Cao Gang examine the body yesterday? My father-in-law couldn't bear to see his daughter's body exposed, so he ordered a coffin overnight. They placed the coffin and set up the memorial tablet early this morning."

As they spoke, the three of them had already arrived at the mourning hall. While the Lu family's mourning hall wasn't as extravagant as those held by wealthy families, it still had the basic customary etiquette. On either side were white banners and offerings, with an altar and incense burner in the center. In the center of the main hall sat a half-open red leather coffin, with a pair of mourning couplets adorning the left and right horizontal bars.

The first couplet reads: The butterfly transformation turns into a dream of passing away

The second line of the couplet: The crane's cry is like the sound of walking in the void

At this time, the head of the Lu family, Lu Changhua, and his wife Gao were sitting aside. They both looked solemn, but they did not seem to be very sad.

"Father-in-law, the two people from the Cao Gang are here." Hai Yifan brought Yin Chuan and Linlang to the Lu couple and said.

"Mr. Liu, Ms. Lin, I'm sorry for neglecting you. Yifan, go and do your own thing." Lu Changhua said.

Hai Yifan agreed and turned to leave.

"Master Lu, our investigation has just begun. Why are you so anxious to arrange funeral for your daughter?" Yin Chuan asked Lu Changhua after paying his respects to the deceased.

"When something like this happens, we old folks are the most heartbroken. We're losing a loved one! But what can we do? Find the murderer who killed Narcissus and seek revenge? The person is already dead, can revenge bring him back to life? Mr. Liu, since Doctor Bao from the Cao Gang already examined the body yesterday, can we bury our daughter without hindering your continued investigation?"

"But……"

Linlang was about to say something when Yin Chuan stopped her. "In that case, we won't embarrass you. Please accept my condolences."

"My husband and I have been keeping vigil for Narcissus for quite some time. We are a little tired and cannot accompany you any longer. Please bear with us. You are welcome to conduct the subsequent investigation as you wish. If you need any help, please ask Yifan to come."

After saying that, Lu Changhua and Mrs. Gao also left the mourning hall.

"Brother Yin, why are the Lu family members so weird? It seems like they don't care about the truth behind Lu Shuixian's murder at all." Linlang said hesitantly.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. Let's see what the other members of the Lu family think."

When Hai Yifan reappeared, Yin Chuan said he wanted to investigate the other members of the Lu family. Hai Yifan seemed a little embarrassed, "You two don't know, because my wife got into trouble, my father-in-law asked the Lu family to stay at home and not cause trouble outside. So, from my uncle to us younger generations, we all stay in our rooms. Except for gathering together for three meals a day, we basically don't visit each other. So, if you two want to investigate, I can't guarantee that everyone else will cooperate."

"Don't worry about that, we will handle it ourselves." Yin Chuan said, "Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I want to ask you."

"Please go ahead."

"When Lu Jiye passed away, did the Lu family hold a funeral with the same pomp and ceremony as they do now?"

"Oh, that was a grand ceremony. After all, he was my father-in-law's only son. His actions at the time shocked most of Linqing Prefecture. Even the prefect sent someone to offer condolences."

"Did the prefect give orders to apprehend the murderer?"

"Of course. But in the end, nothing was achieved, so the matter was left unresolved."

"Did your Lu family just let it go like that?"

"What else can we do? Officially, there's nothing we can do. My father-in-law pressed the issue several times, and finally the prefect simply refused to see us. Later, during the Republic of China, the officials in Linqing were the same kind of people. Lu Jiye's affairs even became a taboo. It's fine if the Lu family doesn't mention it, but once they do, they immediately turn against us."

Now I understand why the officials acted as if it had nothing to do with Lu Shuixian's corpse being found in public.