Duan Nanqi seemed to be greeting Qian Zhixian, but in fact, every word he said was a warning to him.
However, except for Jiang Lingyao who was right behind the two of them, most of the others could not hear the three low and hoarse words "Yang Ge Lao".
Qian Zhixian was almost shaken like chaff in a sieve.
However, Duan Nanqi seemed to be just trying to scare him. After a series of beatings, he smiled warmly as if nothing had happened. He slowly let go of Qian Zhixian and said, "Qian Zhixian, why don't we go to the lobby to discuss this?"
Qian Zhixian took a long time to come back to his senses, and quickly said, "Please, please, everyone."
After everyone was seated in the lobby, Pei Yu came forward to explain the case, and Duan Nanqi said, "County Magistrate Qian, I happened to come to Wanping this time to accompany my newlywed wife to enjoy the scenery and the lanterns. As soon as I arrived in Wanping City, I heard that someone had reported a murder. As a court official, I cannot ignore human life, so I hurriedly took the case."
He smiled slightly, his eyes deep: "If I have offended you, please forgive me, County Magistrate Qian."
Who dares to snatch the case that the Royal Guard wants to handle?
Qian Zhixian naturally didn't dare to do so. He quickly said, "It is also the good fortune of Wanping that the Jinyiwei were present when a major case happened. If it was only the Wanping County Court that relied on it, it would be very difficult to solve the case. In this way, we are also grateful for the presence of Lord Lao Qiao and Coroner Zheng. It brings glory to Wanping."
Qian Zhixian forced a happy smile and said, "With the presence of several superiors, this case will surely be solved soon."
Duan Nanqi chuckled at the right time and said, "It is the duty of the Jinyiwei to share the worries of colleagues, solve problems for the people, uphold justice, and clear up grievances. Since Lord Qian is so sincere in asking the Beizhen Fusi to assist in handling the case, then this official will of course not refuse."
"In this case, I will trouble you, Master Qiao, and I, the coroner, for this."
After a few people exchanged official words and squeezed Qian Zhixian for a while, Duan Nanqi finally got to the point: "Mr. Qian, since this case has been taken over by the Beizhen Fusi, and the Shuntianfu prosecutor and coroner are cooperating, you don't need to worry about it anymore."
With just one sentence, he kicked Qian Zhixian out of the detective team.
Then he said, "After our investigation, we found that this case is related to an old case from fourteen years ago, so we need to retrieve all the records from the Wanping County Office. I hope Mr. Qian Zhi can help us."
If an official who is eager to make progress is treated with such neglect, he will definitely be very angry. However, Qian Zhixian was actually somewhat happy to hear this, and his green eyes were shining.
"It all depends on the superiors. I will do my best to cooperate."
Duan Nanzhi glanced at him, but was too lazy to talk to him anymore.
There is a library in the county government that is specifically used to store old files. Wanping is not a big county, and the past files are much fewer than those of Shuntian Prefecture. Even so, there is an entire library filled with old files.
In addition, there is a library used to store county chronicles. It would take a lot of time to check all of them.
Several people entered the library and found the cabinet containing the criminal records, where they searched one by one according to the year.
The library had an old, moldy smell, but Jiang Lingyao didn't even frown as she and Duan Nanqi found the same bookshelf from fifteen years ago.
Both of them looked at the bookshelf and reached out their hands at the same time, one after the other, to the volume on Tianyou Year 6.
The two people's hands overlapped unexpectedly.
Jiang Lingyao's hand was covered by another hotter palm. She was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to react.
Duan Nanqi was also stunned.
He lowered his eyes and looked at their folded hands. Then he inadvertently withdrew his hand, apologized, and then said, "Judge Qiao is also interested in this year's files?"
Jiang Lingyao stood there motionless. She was half a head shorter than Duan Nanzhuo. At this moment, she leaned slightly and nodded her head. The dark library could not let in any light and could not illuminate her face.
The two people are so close, yet they seem so far away.
Duan Nanqi couldn't see through her expression, nor could he see through her heart.
Jiang Lingyao's voice rang out faintly: "I thought that since the crime happened fourteen years ago, I might be able to find some clues if I counted back one year. I didn't expect that Mr. Duan was as experienced as I am in investigating crimes."
These words praised both of them, and the atmosphere instantly eased. Duan Nanqiao chuckled, turned his wrist, and decisively reached out for the file of Tianyou's seventh year.
"Master Qiao is a detective that Master Yao admires. Please ask Master Qiao to check the Tianyou Six Years File first."
Jiang Lingyao smiled faintly and said, "There are a lot of files here. We still need more people to check them. My deputy should be here soon."
So the two of them quickly separated. Duan Nanqi asked Jinyi Wei Tiqi to assist Jiang Lingyao to sort out the files of the sixth year of Tianyou, and then led people to check the files of the seventh year of Tianyou.
Before they came to the county government, they had already discussed that they would first briefly go through all the criminal files, and look for cases that were similar, related, or had similar details to this case. It would be even better if they could find out Rong Niang's identity.
If nothing can be found, check the population files one by one, and roughly estimate the ages of several deceased persons and then check the identity files.
If it comes to this, the case will be difficult to handle.
Jiang Lingyao actually wanted to check for Li Hong's whereabouts together. She declined Duan Nanqi's offer to ask the captain to help search, and sat alone at the table by the window and began to search patiently.
Duan Nanqi sat in front of another window, with his Deli Ti riders beside him. For a while, the only sound in the library was the sound of rummaging.
In front of outsiders, the two of them were more frivolous and vain than each other. They were so artificial that people would stay away from them and dare not praise them.
But at this moment, they were all calm and composed, and were able to concentrate on looking through the files page by page for clues, without feeling bored at all.
This look lasted for an hour.
When the sun was at its highest point and shining brightly, Jiang Lingyao felt her mouth dry. She was so engrossed in the fun that she even forgot to drink water or tea.
Jiang Lingyao took the water bag from her waist, she tilted her head back and took a sip, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Duan Nanqi's silent eyes.
Duan Nanqi was extremely handsome, especially his beautiful peach blossom eyes. When he smiled, his eyes seemed to carry the whole spring day, making people feel like they were bathed in the spring breeze and filled with joy.
But at this moment, his eyebrows drooped slightly, the smile in his eyes disappeared, and only the deep pool of peach blossoms remained.
Deep, lonely and boundless.
Jiang Lingyao only glanced at it quickly and didn't look at it any more. Duan Nanqi was immersed in the files and didn't notice her gaze.
Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door. Duan Nanqi looked back with a sharp gaze.
The captain of the Jinyiwei went to open the door, but found a young yamen runner standing outside.
The police said, "Sir, Coroner Zheng asks you to go to the morgue. He has finished the autopsy."
Jiang Lingyao perked up. She quickly put the sachet she carried with her into the pages of the book, stood up and followed everyone out of the room.
As soon as I came out, the scorching sun fell all over me. I squinted my eyes and looked up at the sky: "It's already this late."
Duan Nanqi glanced at him calmly, with a slight smile on his lips. He said, "Master Qiao, you haven't had a good look around Wanping City yet, right? After you finish reading the autopsy, I wonder if I could have the honor of treating Master Qiao to lunch?"
It would have been better if he didn't say it. As soon as he said the word "lunch", Jiang Lingyao felt her stomach growling. She had been busy since morning and was really a little hungry.
Duan Nanqi's eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles. He said, "It seems that Master Qiao's stomach has agreed to Master Qiao's request."
Jiang Lingyao raised her eyebrows and glanced at him: "Then we have Master Lao Duan."
After making many turns, the group arrived at the most remote mortuary. At this moment, the door of the mortuary was closed, and only the door of the side room was open.
Zheng Sanji was instructing his apprentice to write the autopsy form, muttering something to himself. When he heard footsteps, he raised his head and called out, "Master Duan, Master Qiao, please come in."
After they entered the private room, Zheng Sanji said, "The body has been examined. I will first tell you about the deceased's condition."
"Based on the face and bones of the deceased, she was about 16 or 17 years old, younger than the previous two victims. She was unmarried and her skin was rough and dark brown, so she was not a girl from a noble family. She should be the daughter of an ordinary farmer's family."
Zheng Sanji's voice was choked as he spoke, and he coughed with difficulty to prevent himself from losing his temper too much.
Jiang Lingyao could understand why he was like this. If the real murderer could have been caught back then, this beautiful girl would not have died young and suffered such an unexpected accident.
Zheng Sanji took a deep breath and continued, "I found thick ropes on her hands and feet. Based on the daily life of the people in Wanping and other places, I think the deceased should be a fisherwoman."
Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up, and Duan Nanqi also said, "Wanping is close to Baihe River. You can follow the official road heading north all the way to Baihe Ferry. There is a small market near Baihe Ferry. As more and more fishermen come here, more and more people live there, and gradually Baihe Village is formed. Can we assume that the deceased is from Baihe Village?"
There are a hundred households in Baihe Village. Counting the adult population, there are at least six or seven hundred people, young and old. Fishing is a way of making a living, so many families, including men, women, old and young, go fishing together. There are also many families where their daughters go fishing together.
Zheng Sanji nodded and said, "I thought so too. There is still half a scale in the fingernail of the deceased. It should have been left when he was grabbed. I just don't know whether it was left before he was imprisoned or when he asked for help while imprisoned."
Jiang Lingyao frowned slightly: "Imprisonment?"
Zheng Sanji's tone became deeper and deeper: "That's right. The deceased is the same as the two deceased that year. She is hungry and weak. She looks like she has been hungry for a long time. I think she was also imprisoned. The wounds on her back are crisscrossed and none of them are very deep. Long-term hunger and blood loss, even if the wounds are on her back, she can't be saved."
Jiang Lingyao nodded and asked, "Are there any other clues?"
Zheng Sanji said: "The white cotton cloth wrapped around the body was dyed and bleached, and it is much whiter than the original cloth. The method of wrapping the cloth seems to be the same as it was back then. However, because it has been many years and I was not the one who witnessed it back then, I cannot be sure whether it was the same method. However, there is a reed leaf in the shroud."
The reason why Zheng Sanji could become one of the best coroners in Yanjing was because of his meticulousness. He would not miss any clues about the deceased Shi Zhoushe and would record them one by one in the autopsy form.
The autopsy form was made in triplicate, and because the Jinyiwei intervened in the investigation, an extra copy was made. Zheng Sanji asked Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi to pick up the autopsy form and put it on that page of the album. They saw that Zheng Sanji had marked the reed leaves at the foot position of the corpse shape.
Jiang Lingyao was about to speak when she heard someone screaming in the prison next to her: "I'm not the murderer, I'm not the murderer!"
"I am innocent!"
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