This is the best result Xu Qing could get from the autopsy. If he really wanted to go further, he would have to open the skull and examine the brain.
But based on Xu Qing's experience, there is no need to open the deceased's skull, as safflower poison should be the cause of his death.
The coroner presented the autopsy procedures and explained them in detail, and the officials present understood them.
Jiang Lingyao said thoughtfully, "According to Uncle Xu's standards, the deceased should only have safflower poison in his blood. If there were no subsequent actions, what would the deceased look like?"
Xu Qing's eyes lit up: "If there were no follow-up, no hanging from the pagoda with a curved ruler through the throat, the deceased would have died suddenly like a heart attack, and would have struggled for a while before dying. To be honest, if I were the murderer, I would never have done such a fuss and let the government intervene to investigate his cause of death."
Jiang Lingyao nodded and exchanged a glance with Yao Yuan. Lord Yao said, "If it is a normal sudden death, if it is a person who has been in poor health for many years or who drinks and has fun, no one will be suspicious. Just like this Rong Jingui, according to his apprentice, he probably drank all year round. If he died suddenly, no government would care."
When the prefect said this, Zheng Feng, the captain of the army, frowned and said, "How can you be so frivolous in handling your duties? You must do your best in every suspicious case."
Yao Yuan wiped the sweat off his face, smiling: "Captain Zheng, do you know how many people there are in Shuntian Prefecture? How many criminal cases happen every day? How many people die?"
Zheng Feng's face froze, but he stopped talking.
Fortunately, Captain Zheng is not good at speaking and has a straightforward temper. If other Jinyiwei came, I don’t know how they would deal with Lord Yao’s weird temper.
Seeing Yao Yuan heaving a sigh of relief, Jiang Lingyao spoke up at the right time: "As Uncle Xu said, can I boldly guess that the poison in the deceased's body is only in the blood? Then do we have an answer to why he was poisoned?"
Jiang Lingyao's words drew everyone's attention back to the autopsy criteria.
Jiang Lingyao paused and continued, "If you prick the blood with a poison needle, you only need to insert the needle into the vein at the wrist or neck. The needle will only enter the blood vessel, and the safflower poison will only be in the blood, right?"
After she finished her speculation, the room suddenly fell silent. But a moment later, Xu Qing suddenly stood up and said quickly, "Great, great, I'll go and search carefully to see if his blood is contaminated with poison."
Coroner Xu became so focused that he paid no attention to anyone else. He didn't even say goodbye to the adults before slamming the door and leaving.
Yao Yuan smiled and changed the subject: "Judge Qiao is indeed a talented disciple. He has some unique insights into solving cases. This inference should be the latest truth."
Zheng Feng just listened to their comments without saying a word.
Yao Yuan and Jiang Lingyao looked at each other, and then looked at Zheng Feng: "Master Zheng, can you tell me your testimony?"
Zheng Feng then answered each question in a serious tone, "As soon as we found out the identity of the deceased last night, our town counselor asked Wei Zhangyin to inquire about the deceased's relationship. Wei Zhangyin was very familiar with the Yu Yong prison and directly told us about the situation of several craftsmen in the Yu Yong prison."
It seemed as if Zheng Feng had memorized what he said long ago, and he could say it exactly without even looking at the testimony.
"You two should know the identity of the deceased. He was the head of the Yuyong Supervisor. He was the best in gilding, carving and inlaying gems. His skills were inherited from his father and passed down to his generation. Because he was quite good at manipulating others, he had some connections with Yuyong Supervisor and even had dealings with Wei Zhangyin and even Gu Changgong."
"That is why he was naturally chosen to lead the mission of consecrating the pagoda. His Majesty also summoned him and said that if he did a good job, he would be given wealth and honor."
The craftsmen in the Yuyongjian were all registered as craftsmen, and this had not changed for generations. However, His Majesty today likes to bestow titles on people close to him, so as long as he likes someone, he will give him a position as a messenger.
As long as he became a messenger, he could get rid of the craftsman status and return to being a good citizen.
In this case, who would not be tempted?
Jiang Lingyao and Yao Yuan understood as soon as they heard it. There were only three to five days left. As long as Rong Jingui presented the gilded pagoda and allowed His Majesty to hold a grand birthday celebration for the Empress Dowager, he might even be able to enter the Wensi Academy of the Ministry of Works and at least become a deputy envoy of the ninth rank.
The Wensiyuan of the Ministry of Works actually had similar duties to the Yuyongjian, but the Yuyongjian was only responsible for making items used by the royal family, while the Wensiyuan also made other palace utensils, sacrificial utensils, and utensils used by various government offices in the capital. The Wensiyuan generally had only one ambassador and two deputy ambassadors, all of whom were low-ranking officials. ①
Now that His Majesty has been pleased to promote the craftsman to the position of Deputy Envoy of the Wensi Academy, the number of Deputy Envoys of the Wensi Academy is no longer a fixed number of two, but has become an indefinite number.
Jiang Lingyao pinched her fingers and said, "No wonder Rong Jingui's apprentice Feng Shuanzi said that he has been drinking a lot recently. It turns out that good things are about to happen and he can't control himself."
Zheng Feng did not comment on her words, but continued, "Based on this clue, the governor quickly identified the suspected craftsman and interrogated him."
"The last person we interrogated was Xu Baocai, who was the second-ranked craftsman in the Yuyong Supervisory Team and also worked on the pagoda."
Zheng Feng said so.
When a person dies, the person most likely to kill him is the one who hated him.
Jiang Lingyao listened attentively, and Yao Yuan also flipped through the testimony page by page, neither of them said a word.
Zheng Feng didn't seem to need anyone's praise. He said, "Xu Baocai is forty years old, a few years older than Rong Jingui. Before Rong Jingui became an apprentice, he was the head of the Yu Yongjian. But Rong Jingui was so talented that he quickly overshadowed him. For more than ten years, he has always been inferior to Rong Jingui."
"Through the testimonies of other inmates, Xu Baocai and Rong Jingui had always been at odds. The two argued many times over how to design the pagoda. The final plan was based on Rong Jingui's. In order to show his skill in inlaying gems, a statue of Guanyin sitting on a lotus was specially carved on the front of the pagoda. Because this was the most difficult Buddha statue to carve, the inmates worked day and night for a month before it was finally completed."
In other words, Rong Jingui used the entire manpower of the Yuyongjian to pave the way for his position as deputy envoy of the Wensiyuan.
If it really succeeds, all the honors and wealth will go to heaven, but the rest of the people can only be rewarded with gold and silver, nothing more.
Zheng Feng did not judge the testimony too much. He continued, "Xu Baocai said that he and the third child, Chen Shuangxi, went on duty last night. The two of them first ate a bowl of vegetarian noodles, and then went to the market to buy some mosquito coils. It's late spring and summer, and the work of the prison is very busy. There are too many mosquitoes at night, which is very annoying."
Zheng Feng paused at this point and said, "Today's investigation found that the two had indeed eaten noodles at Song Wu Niang's Noodle House at around sunset in the evening."
Jiang Lingyao asked, "They got off work so early?"
The days in spring are longer and do not come as early as the starry nights in winter. The sky is bright before the hour of You, and it is only dark in the evening between the hour of You and the hour of Xu.
If it was true as Yu Yongjian said, he had been working day and night on the pagoda project, so why did he leave work so early?
Zheng Feng had not expected Jiang Lingyao to ask this question out of the blue. He paused for a moment, as if he did not know how to answer. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Because only the finishing touch is left, you can relax for a few days."
Jiang Lingyao understood what he meant. Only the finishing touches of the Buddha statue were left on the pagoda, so the others could relax a little.
Zheng Feng quickly ignored the question and continued, "After they returned to the prison, they never left. Because they were old masters, they lived in different places. There was no evidence to prove that they did not go out after they returned, but there was no other evidence either, so they were just allowed to go back to their respective places and not go out during the period."
Anyway, the three entrances to the prison are guarded by captains of the Jinyiwei, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. There is no need to worry about these craftsmen running away, and there is no need to rush to arrest them before finding out anything.
From this point of view, this town governor still has some humanity, and is several times better than the previous North Town Governor, Lord Cen, who abused cruel methods and tortured people into confessions.
Zheng Feng continued, "Another suspect is the third-ranked Chen Shuangxi. He is thirty years old and is considered a rising star in the Yuyong Prison. However, he is timid and cowardly, and is not very good at flattering others. He did not even nod to Wei Zhangyin. His testimony is the same as Xu Baocai's. The two of them had the same actions when they returned to the Yuyong Prison at the hour of You."
But there were no more witnesses after that.
"As for the motive for the murder, it was because Rong Jingui was arrogant and domineering. He loved to bully him. He usually just made fun of him and even deliberately stole several of his inferior items, so that his evaluations could only rank third."
Jiang Lingyao said, "If that's the case, then the suspicion on these two people is even deeper. Apart from these two people, is there anyone else who has a grudge against Rong Jingui?"
Zheng Feng paused and said, "Yesterday, the East Office had already roughly interrogated all the people in charge of the guards. The young apprentices have not yet learned the craft, so it is impossible for them to have the intention of betraying their master and ancestors. Most of the older craftsmen have witnesses, and they have nothing to do with Rong Jingui. It's just an everyday quarrel, not worth killing."
"From the perspective of the Chuanfeng officials, only Xu Baocai and Chen Shuangxi had the intention to kill him, but there is no evidence, so for now we can only investigate further."
"Oh, by the way, Shuntian Prefecture also sent Rong Jingui's apprentice Feng Shuanzi last night."
Zheng Feng said, "Rong Jingui has never been married, and he has no children. He has long been looking for someone in Yuyong Prison who is willing to be his adopted son and take care of him until his old age. He will teach that person his craft. However, although there are many craftsmen in Yuyong Prison, not everyone is really suitable for this job. Among these people, he chose Feng Shuanzi, who has no parents."
"Everyone in the prison said that Rong Jingui loved this disciple very much. He taught him everything carefully and was inseparable from him. Whenever he received a reward, he would give most of it to his disciple. He really loved him like his own son. Maybe Feng Shuanzi accidentally entered the scene last night because he couldn't find his master, and that's why you found him."
"After it was delivered to the west chamber last night, he confessed without any interrogation. He sneaked out with a few apprentices of similar age to watch the Southern Opera after finishing his work last night. They didn't come back until after the night curfew. There were dozens of witnesses. The Southern Opera Theater was in the Glass Workshop. The young craftsman was very brave and was not afraid."
In other words, Feng Shuanzi not only had no motive, but he was also in the theater at the time of the death, and there were witnesses.
Having said this, all the facts of Yu Yongjian's case were sorted out.
But when all the clues are put together, there is no clear clue.
Jiang Lingyao frowned slightly and said, "After investigation, we can roughly know the following points."
"First, the victim died of safflower poisoning. Second, there were two obvious suspects in the prison, both of whom had murderous intent on the victim. Third, for some unknown reason, the murderer could have done it quietly, but he placed the victim in a weird position."
When Jiang Lingyao got to this point, she suddenly wondered, "If the pagoda is desecrated by a corpse, can it still be used as a memorial?"
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