Chapter 53 Someone's Dead

Zhao Wenyuan is dead.

He was hanged on the beam of the study with a skipping rope.

When the teachers and students who heard the news rushed to the scene, walked through the open door of the study and saw a pair of embroidered cloth shoes hanging in the air, many of them screamed in fright.

Ouyang Ye immediately sent someone to report the case to the county government, and then ordered the Longchang Academy to be blocked, with no one allowed to enter or leave.

Soon, the detectives from the county government arrived.

"The detectives are investigating the case, please get out of the way!"

With a loud shout, the students who had been surrounding Qingya Garden made way for them, and Captain Zhuang strode in with seven or eight of his men.

Among the crowd, Chang Yunxiao saw the figure of Zhang the coroner at the end of the team.

Captain Zhuang stopped at the door of the study, waved his hand, and went into the house first. The others waited outside the door for the time being.

He raised his head and walked around Zhao Wenyuan's body.

Zhao Wenyuan was wearing the academy uniform, his face was blue and purple, and his body was stiff. It was obvious that he had been dead for some time.

Captain Zhuang took another look at the situation in the study.

Clean and tidy, with no signs of a fight.

He thought about it and asked who was the first to discover the body.

A female student from Class C stood up with a nervous look on her face.

"I was not feeling well at the time, so two friends walked me back to the entrance of Qingyayuan. On my way back to my room, I saw that the door of this book house was not closed properly, so I wanted to knock on the door to remind them.

As soon as I got closer, through the crack in the door, I saw, saw a pair of..."

The female student recalled what had just happened and her expression became terrified.

"And then, what did you do?"

The female student said that when she pushed open the door, she was frightened by the corpse that suddenly appeared in front of her. She screamed and then fainted.

Captain Zhuang called the two female students who had sent her back to Qingyayuan, and they confirmed her words.

Captain Zhuang called in two constables, placed Zhao Wenyuan's body on the ground, and gave a look to Coroner Zhang who was waiting outside the door.

"Hey, here they come." Coroner Zhang lowered his head and led another constable into the house and opened the toolbox.

The students watching outside tried to look inside the house and were talking about it.

Xue Mei and Zhu Qingyan both looked very bad.

Someone suddenly died in the study. How could they dare to continue living there?

Not long after, Coroner Zhang and the assisting constable came out of the house.

"Sir, he committed suicide by hanging." Coroner Zhang handed a piece of paper to Captain Zhuang, which recorded the autopsy results.

Zhang, the coroner, explained:

"The deceased died about one and a half hours to two hours ago. Apart from the marks on his neck, there were no other external injuries.

There was only one strangulation mark on the neck, extending from the chin to both sides to behind the ears, which was consistent with the characteristics of a corpse that died of suicide by hanging.

The most important point is that the toes of the deceased are drooping, only when they are alive..."

Coroner Zhang was about to continue explaining when Captain Zhuang interrupted him impatiently.

"Just tell me if you are sure it was suicide."

Coroner Zhang hesitated for a moment and nodded: "It is basically certain."

Captain Zhuang smiled with a hint of satisfaction.

Suicide is good, it saves a lot of trouble.

Notify the family and report to the government, and the case will be almost closed.

Anyway, he is already very content as he can live out his life in his current position as a police chief.

Solving cases and catching thieves are the dreams of those young people. They don't seek to achieve anything great, but only to avoid making mistakes.

After a few years, when he retires, he will receive a salary from the court every year, which will be considered as a fulfillment of his merits.

Why take such a big risk in investigating the case?

Captain Zhuang said to Ouyang Ye:

"Dean Ouyang, since the autopsy results have confirmed that this student committed suicide, there is nothing left for us to do. Please notify the deceased's family to come and identify the body."

After saying that, he prepared to take people away.

Among the teachers and students who were watching were Cen Songbai and the purple-robed man named Zhong Maoqing.

The two men watched what was happening in front of them calmly. Seeing that the captain was about to close the case hastily, Zhong Maoqing's face darkened and he wanted to say something.

Cen Songbai glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and said calmly, "Don't be impatient."

"Teacher..." Zhong Maoqing showed a look of disapproval, but still held back and said nothing.

Indeed, he left Beijing secretly and came to Jiangzhou City.

If one's identity is exposed due to such a small matter, it will inevitably cause some disturbance.

The teacher is indeed thoughtful.

At this time, Ouyang Ye had already spoken to Captain Zhuang.

"Sir, the death of this female student is indeed somewhat strange. Isn't it a bit hasty to close the case like this?"

Although the words were polite, Ouyang Ye's expression was not looking good.

How can we treat matters involving human life so lightly?

Ouyang Ye was of high status, so Captain Zhuang naturally had to be polite to him. He patiently asked the coroner Zhang to explain why Zhao Wenyuan committed suicide.

After listening to this, Ouyang Ye frowned and did not comment.

Although Zhang's judgment was reasonable and well-founded, as the dean of the academy, he always felt that something was wrong.

Zhao Wenyuan had personally agreed to return to the academy some time ago. She wanted to study in the academy and pass the imperial examinations in exchange for better conditions for marriage and strive to marry into a higher family status.

Although her grades were not very good, she was not so desperate as to commit suicide.

Moreover, many people in the academy knew that Zhao Wenyuan was the legitimate daughter of Censor Zhao, and most people did not dare to provoke her.

Zhao Wenyuan has always been arrogant and domineering. What could have made her so desperate that she couldn't live anymore?

"If Captain Zhuang insists on this judgment, please stay for a moment and wait for Censor Zhao to come and explain it to him in person." Ouyang Ye said.

“Imperial Censor Zhao?” Captain Zhuang’s smile froze. The dead girl was actually the censor’s daughter?

"The censor has arrived!"

Upon hearing the news, Censor Zhao and his wife hurried over. At this time, Zhao Wenyuan's body was covered with white cloth and placed on the open space in Qingya Garden.

The couple trembled as they uncovered the white cloth. Not only them, but the students around them also finally saw the circumstances of Zhao Wenyuan's death.

Her face was purple and her eyes were wide open.

It was the first time for many students to see a dead person, and suppressed exclamations broke out in the crowd.

Xiao Wan subconsciously leaned into Zhao Sicheng's arms, and suddenly caught a glimpse of Chang Yunxiao beside Zhao Sicheng.

He remained calm and even took two steps forward as if he was afraid that he couldn't see clearly.

Zhao Wenyuan's mother fainted from crying on the spot.

"My daughter is cheerful and lively by nature, how could she commit suicide? Your academy must give me an explanation today!" Censor Zhao asked excitedly.

Captain Zhuang advised: "Sir, I know you feel bad, but your daughter is indeed--"

“This is not suicide.”

Chang Yunxiao's voice sounded particularly abrupt from the crowd of onlookers.