The woman's finger joints were severely deformed. Jiang Yuzhu raised one hand to examine it carefully and said to Zhang Song, "Coroner Zhang, have you found any clues?"

Zhang Song's gaze shifted downward, and after a pause he replied, "The deceased must have come from a poor farming family. Her palms are heavily calloused; she's definitely not someone who's never had to deal with women."

The two were discussing when Xie Zhao pushed the door open and walked in. He held a coat in his hand and put it on Jiang Yuzhu: "Madam, the temperature in the cold storage is a bit low. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Jiang Yuzhu didn't notice anything wrong and accepted it with a clear conscience. She turned to Zhang Song and said, "Coroner Zhang, the deceased's clothes were patched and fitted well, so they likely hadn't been altered. She was also spotted near the farmland, so determining her identity shouldn't be difficult."

Most of the farmland around the outskirts of Beijing is owned by someone else, and most villagers are tenants, relying entirely on farming to produce very little. During the slack season, they have to leave the village to do hard labor.

"Look at her fingers, the skin is shrunken, as if she's been soaked in water for years. The joints are swollen and deformed. She must be a washerwoman near the docks."

Jiang Yuzhu lowered her eyelids and gave Zhang Song instructions.

The head was not found before. Their people investigated and no one in the surrounding area had reported missing, so the case was stalled.

Zhang Song didn't expect that Jiang Yuzhu could easily guess the identity of the deceased based on just a few points.

"Ma'am, how do you know it's near the dock?"

Zhang Song's family has been coroners for generations. If he had not seen Jiang Yuzhu performing an autopsy on Lu Qingxue before, he would never have brought her into the cold storage.

It was simply ridiculous for the lady of a noble family to go and see the corpse just for the thrill of it.

However, at this moment, Zhang Song was convinced and took notes seriously, and was even more respectful when asking questions.

Xie Zhao lowered his eyes to examine the dead man's hands. After a long moment, he raised his eyes and spoke in a clear voice, "Coroner Zhang, the washerwomen who work year-round in the capital are all at the docks. This is one reason. Secondly, poor families don't have carriages or ox carts. They can't go far pushing a cart after killing someone and dumping the body."

Xie Zhao had already determined that the murderer was hiding in a village not far from the farmland.

Having more specific clues about the deceased will make it easier to find the real culprit.

A few days later, the case of the headless female corpse that had caused panic among the people in the capital was solved, and the Jingzhao Yin Yamen specially posted a notice.

The young woman who died was not from the capital, but married into the Qian family in the suburbs of Beijing.

Because of an argument, she was killed by her husband, Boss Qian, who chopped off her head and dumped her body.

Boss Qian worked as a waiter in an ice storage in the capital. He hid the head in the ice storage and announced to the outside world that his wife had returned to her parents' home, so no one was suspicious.

The human head was originally hidden in the box at the bottom, but it was unexpectedly sent to Xie's house as shrimps and crabs. By chance, the case was soon solved.

By the beginning of the fifth lunar month, the struggle between the Jiang and Wei families had reached a fever pitch.

After Madam Wei became ill from anger, the two families completely broke off relations without any mercy, and it became a matter of either me or you.

Civil and military officials each took sides. Prime Minister Wei had many disciples, and Jiang Fulu was at a disadvantage and was busy forming cliques.

Jiang Yuzhu continued to sleep until she woke up naturally every day and took her maid to wander around looking for business opportunities. Her show was far less ostentatious than before, but her deterrent power remained the same.

Seeing the Jiang Mansion’s steward out shopping, Jiang Yuzhu asked, “When will my father return home soon?”

When Jiang Fulu was busy, Chen Shi also had no free time.

After careful calculation, Jiang Yuzhu hadn't seen her parents for several days, and she was preparing to return to the Jiang Mansion to stay for a few days.

The Jiang family steward replied respectfully, "Miss, the master has been very busy with official business. He has been returning home only after dark lately and has gone to bed before even having dinner."

Jiang Yuzhu frowned slightly and asked, "How can that be possible?"

Jiang Fulu is now middle-aged and his physical strength is naturally not as good as that of young people.

With Zhang Hanlin as her aide at home, Jiang Yuzhu just wants to reduce her father's burden.

Seeing that no one was around, Manager Jiang whispered, "Miss, it's not easy for the master to be an official in the court."

"As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Emperor is in the mood to lead all officials in offering sacrifices to the river gods and having dragon boat races. The Chief Minister of Wei has formed a team and issued a challenge to the Master."

In the past few days, Jiang Fulu has been running around and sighing about this matter after leaving the government office.

Jiang Yuzhu raised an eyebrow and asked, "I know about the dragon boat race, but why is my father worried?"

Manager Jiang's eyes flickered, and he spoke vaguely. Under Jiang Yuzhu's questioning, he finally revealed the truth: "The dragon boat can accommodate 22 people. Wei Shoufu has many disciples, so it's easy to gather enough people. But the master..."

There were at most five or six officials from the Ministry of Personnel. In addition, there were Censor Lu, Li De, and the newly joined Yu Jijiu. Including Jiang Fulu himself, there were only a little over ten people, still half the number missing.

"This dragon boat race requires officials of the seventh rank and above to participate. Censor Lu's brother-in-law, Lord Li De, has just been promoted. Otherwise, the number of participants would be even smaller."

Jiang Fulu was very concerned about his reputation and said a lot of harsh words. He was extremely anxious as he saw that he had not yet gathered enough people for the Dragon Boat Festival.

After learning the whole story, Jiang Yuzhu raised her eyelids slightly and said calmly, "What's so difficult about this?"

"Uncle Jiang, after you finish shopping, go directly to the Jingzhao Yin Yamen and look for Xie Zhao."

Jiang Yuzhu has only one goal, which is to find Xie Zhao when she encounters difficulties.

It would be so tiring and time-consuming to solve the problem by herself. She performed the autopsy and solved the case, and Xie Zhao happened to owe her a favor.

Manager Jiang asked awkwardly, "I'm afraid this will cause trouble for my son-in-law."

In the past, when the Jiang family had problems, they mostly had to handle it on their own.

"We are all family, why should we be afraid of trouble?"

Jiang Yuzhu had no psychological burden. At least in name she was Xie Zhao's legal wife. With this status, the two families were in-laws and closer.

In the afternoon, Jiang Yuzhu prepared gifts and returned to her parents' home, only to find the atmosphere at home somewhat depressing.

In the side hall, the eldest sister-in-law, Xiao Chen, shed tears silently with red eyes, while the mother Chen kept silent and fiddled with a feather duster in her hand.

"Mom, sister-in-law, what happened at home?"

Jiang Yuzhu sat next to Xiao Chen and handed her a handkerchief.

Xiao Chen is weak-willed and has no sense of self-determination. If she marries into a powerful family, she will easily be eaten alive.

In the Jiang family, with her aunt as her mother-in-law, Xiao Chen lived a very comfortable life.

Faced with the concern, Xiao Chen sniffed and stammered, unable to speak. She hated her own weakness and burst into tears again after a while.

Chen's forehead ached slightly, her brows knitted into the shape of a "川" character, and she angrily said, "It's not your fault, why are you crying?"

Chen was very disappointed with her niece and wanted to scold her, but she was worried that little Chen would be upset.

"Mother, little sister, my husband thinks I'm petty and is in a cold war with me."

Speaking of matters between husband and wife, Xiao Chen felt a little sad. Jiang Huaida stayed in the study last night, and Xiao Chen cried all night.

The cause of the incident is not complicated.

Back then, Jiang Huaida had fallen in love with Lin Xinyue, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. At that time, Jiang Fulu was only a fourth-rank official. Jiang Huaida was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and had no achievements. The Lin family looked down on the Jiang family.

Not long after, Lin Xinyue married far away, and Jiang Huaida also married his cousin Xiao Chen.

Many years had passed since the incident and no one mentioned it again.

"Two days ago, my husband ran into Lin Xinyue on the street. He learned that Miss Lin had a hard time after getting married and had divorced because they had no children. The two of them were drinking tea in a teahouse and reminiscing about the past..."

Before Xiao Chen could finish, a servant came back and reported, "Madam, Miss Lin's carriage is waiting at the gate of the mansion. She sent someone to deliver a letter to pay her respects to you."