It was almost dark when we arrived in the prefectural city.
Lady Li sent people to wait for them at the city gate.
First, we went to the Li residence.
Xue Qianyu, seeing that people had arrived, said, "I have already asked Lord Su. The coroner's autopsy results this morning indicate that Xu Fangshi's cause of death was a blow to the back of her head from a heavy object. Xu Changfeng and the Xu family coachman both stated that Aunt Lian knocked Xu Fangshi's head to the ground, causing her to bleed profusely."
Lu Zheng: "What did Second Uncle and Aunt Lian say?"
Xue Qianyu: "Aunt Lian said no. She only slapped her because Xu Fangshi headbutted her, so Aunt Lian kicked her head. Aunt Lian's kick didn't hit the back of her head."
Gu Nian: "Then how should Lord Su rule?"
Xue Qianyu shook his head: "Neither side has any other witnesses, so Lord Su has no choice but to put it aside. However, Xu Changfeng contacted the students of his academy to write many articles, which have already been distributed throughout the prefectural city this afternoon. The articles criticize Lord Su, saying that he is biased because Lord Su's brother-in-law and Madam Li are siblings, and Aunt Lian is a friend of Madam Li. Therefore, the students all say that Lord Su is protecting Aunt Lian because of this relationship."
Gu Xin: "This is outrageous! These students have wasted their time studying the classics! Why are they accusing people for no reason! If my mother could kick someone to death, she wouldn't be bullied in the village!"
Lu Zheng patted her shoulder: "Xin Xin, don't rush, calm down, let's think about it carefully."
Gu Nian also said, "Xin Xin, Brother Yuan is right, there's no use in being anxious."
Grandpa Gu: "Qianyu, go ask Lord Su if we can go and see the body?"
Xue Qianyu nodded: "Of course, Lord Su... Hmm? Grandpa Gu, what do you want to see? A corpse?"
Everyone stared at Grandpa Gu in surprise. Shouldn't they be looking at Gu Shouxin and Cai Xiaolian? Why are they looking at the corpses?
Grandpa Gu: "Yes, let's look at the body. Let's see what Xu Fangshi's injuries are like."
Empress Dowager Jiang gave Grandpa Gu a deep look and suddenly said, "The body is currently in the yamen; you can go and see it."
...
Grandpa Gu, Grandma Gu, Gu Xin and her sister, along with Lu Zheng, Xue Qianyu, and Madam Li, arrived at the yamen after dark.
None of them wanted Gu Xin to come along, since it was hot and the deceased was injured. If he had passed away in the morning, it would be very inappropriate to go and see him now.
However, Gu Xin insisted on going to see it. She wanted to do something, even though she didn't know what her grandfather could do by asking to see the corpse.
Lord Su personally led the group to the room where the body was kept. He knew Xue Qianyu's identity and dared not be negligent!
The coroner moved the body around for the group, showed them the injuries, and explained the situation.
Gu Xin was initially frightened, but she still endured the pain and looked closely. Suddenly, she noticed that the wounds on the corpse's face were a bit strange: "Uncle Coroner, my father whipped her face, but the end of this wound is a bit round, as if there were other injuries."
Upon closer inspection, Grandpa Gu remarked, "It looks like the flesh has been ripped out by some sharp instrument."
After speaking, he looked at Lord Su.
Lord Su wiped his brow: "Old Liu, what's going on? Didn't you write it down before?"
The coroner, surnamed Liu, leaned closer to look: "Huh, I didn't look closely just now and thought she was covered in blood and had been whipped. But now it seems that this spot is definitely not from a whip, and it's different from this long welt."
Gu Nian said coldly, "As a coroner, do you need someone else to point out the wounds on the deceased's body? These aren't injuries on other parts of the body, but on the face."
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