Xu Qing twisted his body and stood steadily on the crossbar. He entered the back door and bent his body to feel around inside.
After drinking a cup of tea, Xu Qing took a half step back and fanned his mouth and nose.
"The smell of blood is not good," he said, "Just looking at the surface, he was indeed stabbed by the demon-subduing pestle, which caused his internal organs to rupture and he died of excessive blood loss. The demon-subduing pestle is extremely sharp, with pointed ends and a thick and heavy middle, about the size of a bowl. You can see that the wounds on his waist and abdomen are clotted with blood, and the color is very dark, probably because of excessive bleeding."
Xu Qing first gave the results, and then described the symptoms of the corpse in detail: "This is one of the symptoms of stabbing before death, so I said that the deceased was stabbed to death directly by the demon-subduing pestle. According to his current movements, I guess the deceased was kneeling on the ground, and the demon-subduing pestle was at his waist and abdomen. He leaned forward and died on the spot."
Jiang Lingyao looked carefully and saw that the dead man's eyes and mouth were open, and his arms hanging by his side were slightly bent, with his fingers clenched into fists, as if he was trying to pick up something.
But Jiang Lingyao knew that this was not because of the desire to take something, but was caused by the natural curling up of the body after death.
Xu Qing continued to touch the body of the deceased, and finally said: "He should have been dead for no more than three hours, and at least two hours. His upper body is already stiff, but his lower body is still soft. In fact, because of the kneeling posture, the blood stasis of the deceased is even more obvious. His blood will continue to flow out until it disperses."
All of Xu Qing's autopsy experience comes not only from "Xi Yuan Ji Lu", but also from his decades of experience.
With years of experience accumulated, he has become the coroner Xu that all the government offices in Yanjing want to get.
What he said was clear and logical, with solid evidence, and people could understand it at once.
Hearing this, Yao Yuan asked sincerely, "Uncle Xu, was this suicide or was it him who killed him?"
Only one person can enter and exit such a small pagoda. Now if they want to check the body of the deceased, they can only stand outside the door and look inside. Even someone as thin as Xu Qing can only stick his head in.
In this case, if he was the murderer, how did the murderer exert his strength, and how did he push Chen Shuangxi onto the demon-subduing pestle?
But if it was suicide... then why did Chen Shuangxi go to so much trouble to get out of his single room, run to the front yard where people would patrol from time to time, sneak into the pagoda, and then stab himself to death with the demon-subduing pestle?
This way of dying is really chilling and unbelievable.
Jiang Lingyao couldn't answer, and Xu Qing didn't say anything either. He examined it for a while and said, "Sir, I don't know."
Lord Yao was like a deflated water bag, and said with a droopy face: "Alas, what kind of fate is this for me?"
Xu Qing ignored him and said, "Sir, we have to take the body out first and do a detailed autopsy. We may get new autopsy results."
His words brought Yao Yuan back to life.
While directing everyone to avoid the bloodstains and take out the dead body, he said, "Be careful, Xiao Zhao, have you finished drawing the scene map?"
At this time, as everyone approached, the lantern moved closer, and Jiang Lingyao suddenly saw that there were a lot of thin linen ropes scattered around the body.
Jiang Lingyao said sternly: "Don't move!"
The yamen runners froze in place, not daring to move.
Jiang Lingyao bent down, looked carefully, and asked Li Da beside her: "Brother Li, is this a hemp rope?"
Li Da also came over and said, "Yes! Lots of hemp ropes."
Jiang Lingyao hummed and said, "Brothers, be careful when moving the body and don't mess up the hemp rope on the ground."
Several yamen runners had expressions of pain on their faces. Not only was the corpse heavy, but it was also squeezed into this cramped pagoda, making it very difficult to get it out.
The judge Xiao Qiao next to him also tried to prevent the hemp rope below from being messed up, which made it even more difficult.
After great efforts, everyone finally took out Chen Shuangxi's body.
Xu Qing went to check the body, while Jiang Lingyao chose a location without blood and went into the pagoda.
As soon as she entered, the smell of blood hit her nose, making her want to do something evil.
Jiang Lingyao suppressed the revulsion that was surging in her heart, held the glass lamp in her hand, and examined the pagoda inch by inch.
The base of the pagoda was covered with the fine linen ropes she had just seen, placed in a disorderly manner, some tied in knots, some rolled into a ball, and apart from being stained with blood, nothing could be seen of them.
Suddenly, Jiang Lingyao's eyes fixed.
She saw a blood-stained note at the innermost part of the pagoda.
————
The piece of paper was not big, about the width of a regular wooden ruler and the length of a palm, and it was very conspicuous at the bottom of the mess.
Jiang Lingyao stretched her hand back, and Shen Suning immediately handed her a long bamboo tweezers.
After picking up the piece of paper, Jiang Lingyao walked out of the pagoda and took a deep breath.
“It’s really stinking.”
Jiang Lingyao placed the note on the cotton cloth held by Shen Suning and leaned over to examine it carefully.
With the help of the lamp, Jiang Lingyao saw several wear marks on the paper. Because it had been soaked in blood for a long time, the words on it had become blurred and only the word "Nan" could be vaguely recognized.
As for what South it is, no one knows.
Jiang Lingyao frowned: "If it weren't all blood inside, maybe I could still see the handwriting clearly. Now this is all I can do."
Shen Suning said: "Don't worry, sir, let's look for other clues."
Jiang Lingyao nodded, then looked at the note carefully, and suddenly reached out and turned it over.
On the back of the paper, there is a very clear crease, which seems to have been pressed into by something, leaving a mark.
That's all.
Jiang Lingyao turned around thoughtfully and looked at the hemp ropes inside the pagoda. She felt as if something flashed through her mind.
"Do you think he--"
Before Jiang Lingyao finished her words, she suddenly felt dizzy and her slender figure swayed slightly on the wooden crossbar. If Shen Suning had not been quick, she would have almost fallen down.
"Sir, what's wrong?" Shen Suning was a little anxious.
Jiang Lingyao took a breath and said, "I held my breath too hard just now. I feel a little dizzy now. I'll sit down for a while."
She took a sip of water, changed her clothes for a while, then put on her veil and continued to go into the pagoda.
Because she couldn't step on the hemp rope at the bottom, Jiang Lingyao leaned sideways to look in, and her posture was very strange.
Jiang Lingyao didn't care about that much, so after checking the bottom, she looked at the top of the pagoda.
The pagoda is pointed at the top and wide at the bottom. From the inside, it looks like a long, thin bamboo shoot that becomes narrower as it goes up. No matter how luxurious the outside is, the inside is still simple and tidy without any other decorations.
Jiang Lingyao suddenly noticed a hanging ring on each of the four corners inside. She reached out and touched it, and it was also wet, as if stained with water.
Jiang Lingyao's eyes flashed. She checked all four walls of the pagoda and found that there were water stains on the inner sides of the four corner rings. Because the entire pagoda was very humid, the water had not dried up.
But when it came to the place where the sutra box could be placed, which was the part where Chen Shuangxi curled up after his death, there were no water stains on the four walls. In other words, there was water only in the upper and bottom parts of the pagoda.
Jiang Lingyao checked it carefully again, and when she saw that there was nothing more to find, she withdrew.
This time she stayed in there longer, and when she came out she felt dizzy and weak.
Shen Suning was very worried: "Sir, why don't you take a rest first before checking?"
Jiang Lingyao wiped her hands with a towel, took off her mask, asked Shen Suning to write down the case first, and then took a breath: "I suspect there is ice in the pagoda."
It was clearly late spring, and even though it was a little chilly after sunset, it wasn't so cold that the entire pagoda was damp. It was damp and cold inside, much like the state of melted ice.
Jiang Lingyao did not hold back her voice. On the other side of the pagoda, Xu Qing vaguely heard her words and immediately said, "In that case, everything is clear now."
Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up: "Uncle Xu, have you found out the cause of death?"
Xu Qing's cold voice also had a hint of smile because he found out the cause of death: "Girl, come here."
Jiang Lingyao held Shen Suning's hand and stood up. She stood there for a while before moving forward step by step.
After coming out of the pagoda, the feeling of suffocation was much relieved. Except for the bloating in the head and sore hands and feet, there were no other symptoms.
When she arrived at the body, she found that Xu Qing had already taken off the top of the body, exposing the back of the body.
In the bright lights, Jiang Lingyao saw the obvious scar on the deceased's back at a glance.
The blood clot scar looked like blood about to seep out of the skin, so red and glaring.
At the very edge of the blood clot, there was a circle of mottled purple edges like petals. Even though Jiang Lingyao was not familiar with the art of forensics, she knew that this was the blood clot left by someone hitting the deceased's back hard before his death.
Jiang Lingyao heaved a sigh of relief: "If that's the case, then the deceased should have been hit on the back by... an ice cube? Then he was not paying attention and fell on the demon-subduing pestle, and was stabbed to death?"
Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction and praised: "That's right. Look at the places with the most blood stasis on the deceased's body. One is the back, and the other is the knees. This proves that the deceased was hit in these two places before death."
Xu Qing looked at Lord Yao, who was no longer sweating, and said, "Therefore, I think your inference is almost correct."
He was always reluctant to make final decisions, and since the body had not been exhumed yet, the final cause of death could not be determined, so Xu Qing could only give a vague answer.
Jiang Lingyao nodded and said, "But where did this ice come from? If the murderer really wanted to kill Chen Shuangxi, why would he go to so much trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just stab him to death?"
"There's the pagoda and the pestle. It feels like the same thing as when Rong Jingui died. They're all supernatural and are just for scaring people."
As Jiang Lingyao was talking like this, she suddenly had an idea: "Could it be that the murderer wanted to scare people?"
Yao Yuan took over the conversation: "There are only two possible scenarios for the murderer's crime scene. One is reckless, and the other is carefully planned. If it is carefully planned, there must be other intentions. Otherwise, everyone is dead, so why bother?"
"In this case, the murderer arranged all these traps just to let Chen Shuangxi sneak into the pagoda by himself and kill him when he was not paying attention. He also wanted people to be shocked by the scene again and ignore the truth of his death."
Ultimately, it's all about escaping guilt.
Jiang Lingyao nodded, having some guesses in her mind.
Yao Yuan said: "Yu Yongjian has his own ice cellar, but I don't know where it is. I have to ask Yu Yongjian's father-in-law."
This time, none of the eunuchs in the prison left. The young eunuch who had met Jiang Lingyao once was also waiting in the front yard. When asked by the yamen runner, he immediately said, "I'll take Master Qiao with me."
He was woken up late at night, and his face was full of fatigue. He rubbed his eyes and his voice was a little hoarse: "Oh, it's really unlucky. Our Wei Zhangyin has not slept well these few days. He has blisters in his mouth."
Probably because he had a good impression of Jiang Lingyao the day before, the young eunuch was more youthful today and talked a lot more.
Although Jiang Lingyao was still a little dizzy, it did not affect her investigation. She said, "Young eunuch, according to the rules, all the prisoners in the prison should be evacuated after such a serious case. Why are there still more than 20 craftsmen left?"
The young eunuch looked up and said helplessly, "A pagoda cannot be used as a birthday gift. Another birthday gift must be made. Master Wei has no choice but to leave a few craftsmen to see if they can quickly make a glazed pagoda."
"In fact, the temple often has items for offerings that have not been presented. The most exquisite one is selected and a gilded Buddha statue is made and placed inside. It immediately has the meaning of the Buddha's return to the East. It is really beautiful."
The production of colored glaze requires slow cooling, otherwise the colored glaze will crack. Therefore, Wei Gou changed it to a colored glaze pagoda, not because he could rush the work, but because he had a stock of superior workmanship in the warehouse.
But the gilded statue of Sitting Guanyin was out of stock, which was one of the reasons why the twenty or so craftsmen were still under custody.
Use whoever does the best.
Jiang Lingyao really didn't understand the various techniques used in the production of the monitors, but this young eunuch was very clear about them and explained them one by one clearly.
The young eunuch asked, "Why does the master want to go to the ice cellar?"
Jiang Lingyao did not hide it, but just said: "It may be related to the case."
The young eunuch sighed again, "Alas, it used to be so good to be a prisoner here, clean and with few problems, how come it has become like this now?"
As the young eunuch spoke, he led her through many twists and turns until they arrived at the most secluded chamber on the west side of the prison. It was a cellar of medium size, far away from the kiln, so the two sides would not interfere with each other.
As soon as Jiang Lingyao stepped into the side courtyard, she saw the entrance to the cellar at a glance. The cellar had an iron door and a copper lock on the latch.
Without Jiang Lingyao asking, the young eunuch knew everything: "There is a fixed amount of ice in the cellar. If we use too much, the eunuchs will have to buy more. But Eunuch Wei also knows to turn a blind eye. Occasionally in the summer when there is a big job, he will give the keys to everyone so that they can do the work in this side yard, which saves everyone trouble."
Just taking one or two more pieces of ice can make the craftsmen grateful. This is really a good trick by Wei Gou.
Jiang Lingyao asked: "How many keys are there in this ice cellar now, and who has them?"
The young eunuch said, "The ice cellar is not as secure as the warehouse, and the ice is not easy to move or carry. It is only used to cool down the heat. Eunuch Wei doesn't care much about it. Usually, we Huangmen take one, the craftsmen take one, and there is another one in the office. We can take it when we need it."
Jiang Lingyao frowned, but asked, "Master craftsman?"
The eunuch was also stunned.
Yes, of the top three craftsmen in the industry, two are now dead, and the other one is the murderer who has been arrested by the Royal Guards. So who should have the key?
The young eunuch also had a bitter face: "Alas, I have been focusing on the new birthday gift these days, and Eunuch Wei has forgotten about it. I have to ask where the key is, but I guess it should be in Master Zhao's hands."
Jiang Lingyao asked, "Master Zhao?"
The young eunuch nodded and said, "Master Zhao is the fourth in line. His name is Zhao Cheng. He is only 27 or 28 years old this year. He is very young. But when Rong Jingui died, he went home to attend the funeral and was no longer in prison. This time, in order to speed up the preparation of the birthday ceremony, he was temporarily called back by Eunuch Wei."
In other words, this young Master Zhao had nothing to do with Rong Jingui’s case.
But what about Chen Shuangxi?
Jiang Lingyao asked thoughtfully, "Little eunuch, do you need ice recently?"
When talking about this, the eunuch immediately frowned: "Gold plating requires the use of ice. If the case is really related to the ice cellar, it will be difficult to investigate."
The young eunuch said, "Because among the twenty or so craftsmen who stayed, more than half are experts in gilding. Each of them can get up and get the ice."
Jiang Lingyao also sighed.
That is to say, there are still more than a dozen or twenty people that the Royal Guards need to interrogate one by one tonight.
Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but worry about Yao Yuan.
What kind of luck is this, Lord Yao?
Even if the Royal Guards were to urgently interrogate the suspect, it would still take a lot of time. It was almost the second day, and with only a whole day's time, could the case really be solved?
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