Sun San called a few constables to investigate the situation, and Su Yan finished the autopsy. Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd.
A man dressed in a scarlet official robe entered the scene, surrounded by officials of all ranks from the county government.
Guo Huan followed the man in the red official robe, behaving obsequiously and fawningly, which left Su Yan and Sun San speechless and staring at each other in disbelief.
"What's going on?" Su Yan secretly gestured to Sun San to ask what was happening.
Sun San pointed to the sky, his implied meaning quite clear.
Su Yan lowered her voice and asked, "Sent down from above?"
Sun San nodded. "Four murders in four days. Guo the Bald originally wanted to use that little beggar to appease the higher-ups, but who would have thought another murder would occur? This time, he can't hide it anymore. As a result, Guo the Bald has lost his official hat and is here today with the people sent from above to temporarily take over as county magistrate."
While listening to Sun San's complaints, Su Yan's attention was drawn to the man in the lead. "Who is the leader? I don't think I've ever seen him before."
Although she is currently in a lowly position and rarely sees powerful officials, she is still working in the county government and is quite familiar with officials of the fifth or sixth rank. However, this is the first time she has ever seen such a spirited sixth-rank official.
He not only stood out among a group of greasy, pot-bellied officials, but also had a menacing aura in his eyes.
Sun San seemed surprised that Su Yan didn't recognize the leading official. "He...you don't even know him?"
Su Yan shook her head. "Is he very famous?"
Sun San nodded. "He's a favorite of the Crown Prince, rising from a frontier scout to a lieutenant general. He's the famous Shen Yao!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yan suddenly understood and replied with a faint "Oh~", showing an expression of "I see".
In fact, she had heard of Shen Yao's reputation. He was a military general, nicknamed "Shen the One-Sword." Not only was his swordsmanship superb, but he was also tough and domineering. He would draw his sword at the slightest disagreement and believed that if something could be resolved with one strike, he would never use a second.
Seeing Guo Huan's attitude towards him, he was filled with fear and dread. Just standing ten meters away, he could feel the murderous aura emanating from him.
Su Yan secretly observed Shen Yao talking with a group of officials. Just then, Shen Yao's gaze also met hers.
Unexpectedly caught peeking, Su Yan turned her face away in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact.
It's unclear what Guo Huan and Shen Yao talked about, but a moment later Guo Huan waved to her. Su Yan didn't dare to delay, quickly straightened her clothes, and ran to the two of them.
Guo Huan enthusiastically introduced Su Yan, "Su Yan, this is Lord Shen Yao."
Su Yan gave an awkward but polite smile, clasped her hands in greeting, and said, "This subordinate greets Lord Shen."
As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Huan immediately chimed in, "Lord Shen, this is Su Yan. Don't let his young age fool you; his autopsy skills are far superior to those of ordinary coroners."
Shen Yao's gaze swept over the slender boy before him, his thin lips remaining silent as he said, "Oh? Is that so?"
"Of course it's true. Not only is he handsome, but he's also very intelligent and persistent. Many cases in the county government wouldn't have been solved in a short time without him. Of course, he examined the bodies in all four of these cases. Your Excellency's choice of him is definitely the right one."
Amid Guo Huan's continuous boasting, Su Yan calmly met Shen Yao's wolf-like gaze.
Shen Yao scrutinized the handsome but somewhat aloof man before him.
He was clearly just a young man in the prime of his life, yet his eyes held a maturity beyond his years, and his calm gaze seemed to conceal unfathomable secrets.
This was Shen Yao's first impression of Su Yan.
However, Shen Yao had no interest in prying into other people's thoughts. Since Guo Huan had strongly recommended him, he couldn't refuse. So he smiled at Guo Huan and said, "In that case, I will choose him."
Caught between the two, Su Yan felt like a commodity, her deal settled in a few words, and she stared at them in utter bewilderment.
Seeing that Su Yan was still in a daze, Guo Huan stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, smiling brightly, "Su Yan, if you work hard for Lord Shen, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits."
As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Huan leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance to enter the Dali Temple. In officialdom, there are some things you have to know whether to say them or not..."
Su Yan wasn't stupid; she naturally understood the meaning behind Guo Huan's words. She looked at him with a half-smile, "This subordinate understands, Lord Guo..."
Shen Yao was indeed sent down from above to investigate four murder cases, but being new to the area, he was not clear about the details of many cases, so he decided to select a yamen runner who knew about the cases, and Guo Huan naturally did not miss this opportunity.
The reason for choosing Su Yan was twofold: firstly, everyone else in the county government knew him well, and if they were to take the opportunity to file a complaint against him, not only would he lose his official hat, but he would also lose his life, leaving him with nowhere to turn for help.
Secondly, given Su Yan's abilities, it's only a matter of time before he enters the Dali Temple, so it's better to let him do a favor.
After the handover, Su Yan led Shen Yao to the scene and recounted to him the details of the three cases, including the confrontation with the murderer at Baima Temple, word for word.
Watching Su Yan recount the case in such detail, as if she were a seasoned detective, without the slightest hint of fear, Shen Yao couldn't help but feel a little curious about the young man before him. "How was the corpse investigation?"
Su Yan dared not offend her superior and quickly handed the completed autopsy report to Shen Yao.
Shen Yao scrutinized the autopsy report with a subtle expression, his eyebrows slightly raised in surprise.
The document not only details the time and process of the victim's death, but also includes a drawing of the murder weapon.
The deceased died from a dagger that was two inches wide and four inches long, with a blade curved like a ram's horn and capable of cutting through iron like mud.
This style of dagger is most favored by the people of the Western Regions, who use it to carve meat from tough bones. It is also easy to find in the market.
"Are you sure this is the kind of dagger that killed the victim?"
Su Yan nodded. "The wounds on the deceased's body were crescent-shaped, and only the ram's horn knife commonly used by the Hu people could leave such a wound shape."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yao squatted down, lifted a corner of the deceased's clothes, and frowned as he looked. Sure enough, as Su Yan had said, the body was crescent-shaped.
Being able to draw the murder weapon based on the wound is something few coroners in the Great Liang can do, and Su Yan is only in her early twenties, which shows her extraordinary talent. No wonder Shen Yao no longer doubts her abilities this time.
"Identity confirmed."
"Still under investigation..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the yamen runner that Sun San had sent to the Wan Hua Lou quickly brought back the news.
Sun San, who was the first to hear the news, came over leaning on his cane. "Reporting to you, sir, the manager of Wan Hua Lou has reported that the proprietress, Xin Yunniang, did not return home last night."
"Xin Yunniang? What does she have to do with the case?" Shen Yao looked at Su Yan with confusion.
Su Yan continued, "Reporting to Lord Shen, we suspect the deceased is Xin Yunniang, the owner of Wan Hua Lou, so we sent people to investigate."
"In that case, let the people from Wan Hua Lou come and identify the body to confirm the deceased's identity."
"yes……"
Yingliu was among the people who came to Wanhua Tower to identify the body. When she saw the corpse, she was so frightened that she fainted.
Only the boldest steward dared to identify the body. When he saw the hibiscus tattoo on the back of the corpse, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground. He pointed at the corpse and insisted that the deceased was Xin Yunniang.
"Yes...it's our boss's wife...it's her."
Although her identity was confirmed, Su Yan still felt uneasy, thinking that all of this was too much of an unexpected coincidence.
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