Chapter 77: Opening the Coffin
When Cui Fufeng and Ling Tianshui arrived at Qiandeng's beckoning, the sun had already set behind the western hills. Inside the mourning hall, only a dim yellow hue remained, making it difficult to see clearly.
She stood in the plain white mourning hall, blew out the tinder, and lit the candles around her one by one.
Hundreds of candles were lit, illuminating everything in the room, making every detail visible, and also illuminating her slender body and straight back.
She stood before the bright firelight, but her expression was filled with a darkness that was difficult to illuminate. "Mr. Ling, have you examined Shi Jingning's body?"
Ling Tianshui's voice remained clear and steady, betraying no emotion. "We've examined him. Although his face, mouth, and hands were burned and corroded by the drugs, it's definitely Shi Jingning."
Qian Deng suppressed his pain and asked, "Can you tell who attacked him in Jianfu Temple?"
"The man was very strong and his move was swift and decisive. He slit the throat with one blow, avoiding the blood vessels in the neck to prevent blood from splattering. He was clearly an experienced master. The knife he used was also very sharp, clearly someone he was used to using."
Ling Tianshui stopped there, but this statement said it all.
Qiandeng lowered his eyes, staring at the flickering candlelight. "Today, Her Majesty the Queen is offering incense at Jianfu Temple. The palace guards are keeping a tight watch. Who can enter with weapons?"
Cui Fufeng hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Princess Gao."
Ling Tianshui glanced at him thoughtfully: "The Queen and the Crown Prince are offering incense, so will Princess Gao be accompanied by sword-wielding guards?"
"Today, she tampered with the guards at Jianfu Temple in order to murder the county lady. Therefore, there are people among the Jianfu Temple guards that she can mobilize." Cui Fufeng knew that Ling Tianshui must have known what happened in Jianfu Temple, so there was no need for further explanation. "I later made inquiries and confirmed that Princess Gaoguo and the Princess Changyi were still in Jianfu Temple at the time, and they lingered near the place where Shi Jingning was murdered."
Ling Tianshui naturally didn't hesitate to assume the worst of them. "It's not impossible. After all, Shi Jingning murdered Yang Huaijiang, causing their plan to fail. Plus, when Shi Jingning was pretending to be Yang Huaijiang, he might have had something on them. He certainly had reason to be killed."
"However, when Shi Jingning was dying, he didn't reveal his murderer, but..." Qian Deng's voice trembled slightly, like a candle flame trembling in the night wind, "the cause of my mother's death."
Cui Fufeng naturally remembered the situation at that time and nodded silently.
Ling Tianshui folded his arms and looked through the white banner at the black lacquer coffin parked in the back hall, thinking, "Could it be that the feud between Princess Gao's Mansion and your Changhua Palace has already begun?"
"Whether it is related to her is still unknown, but there are doubts about my mother's death. There is no doubt about this." Qiandeng looked at the memorial tablet behind the cigarette for a long time, stood up solemnly, and motioned them to follow him in.
Cui Fufeng raised his hand to adjust the soul silk draped over the coffin and whispered to her, "County Lady, there are so many mysteries right now, but the lady's funeral is approaching a hundred days from now. Her Majesty the Queen has repeatedly issued ultimatums, demanding that the County Lady quickly select a husband for the harem to ensure the funeral ceremony proceeds as planned. I wonder if the County Lady... has chosen someone to hold the soul silk?"
Qian Deng shook his head silently. "My mother's death remains a mystery, and Shi Jingning's experience only confirms it. If I choose the wrong murderer in my haste and give myself to the thief, not only will I suffer pain and regret in the future, but how will I face my mother in the afterlife?"
Ling Tianshui asked, "But your mother has been dead for over three months, and the funeral is only two or three days away. Where are you going to look for clues to find the murderer?"
"I want to seize this last chance to confirm whether my guess is correct and whether there is any hidden reason behind my mother's death. Ideally, I can find some clues that will allow me to glimpse the murderer."
Ling Tianshui stared at her, his usually stern and resolute eyes flickering uncontrollably: "But, your mother passed away a long time ago."
Qiandeng said nothing, but turned his head silently to look at the back hall where his mother's coffin was placed, biting his lower lip tightly.
At this moment, even Cui Fufeng instantly understood what she meant and blurted out, "Could it be that you want..."
Qiandeng bit her lower lip and took a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes. But even so, she nodded firmly without hesitation.
Even though she knew that she was going to commit a serious crime that was unforgivable to human beings and would be condemned by the world, she was still willing to do it.
Cui Fufeng felt his throat tighten. He looked at her and then at the coffin at the back of the mourning hall. His face was pale under the light.
Ling Tianshui, however, was much calmer than he was. He examined Qian Deng and saw that although she looked grief-stricken, her eyes remained fixed on her mother's memorial tablet, her gaze never wavering.
He stood up and asked loudly, "Have you made up your mind?"
Qiandeng clenched her fists tightly, letting her nails dig deep into her palms, stubbornly staying awake. Her voice was low, but without a trace of hesitation, "Yes, or I will die with my eyes open."
Hearing this, Ling Tianshui no longer hesitated and turned to leave the mourning hall.
Soon, he carried the autopsy box and strode towards the coffin in the back hall.
Cui Fufeng looked at Qiandeng and wanted to say something but held back.
Qian Deng had followed Ling Tianshui to the coffin.
Ling Tianshui opened the lid of the box and accurately took out a dagger from the densely arranged tools. He placed the tip of the dagger against the gap in the coffin that was sealed with tung oil.
His palms were extremely powerful. He gripped the dagger tightly and exerted a little force. The tip of the knife penetrated the tung oil and quickly got stuck in the seam between the coffin body and the coffin lid.
However, after the tip of the knife went in, he stopped and turned to look at Qiandeng.
He questioned her one last time, leaving her with a last resort: "Are you sure? Are you really going to reopen this coffin and reveal your mother's body once again?"
Qiandeng gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the grief surging in his heart.
She knelt before the coffin, kowtowed heavily to the ground, her voice deep and calm.
"Open the coffin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dagger in Ling Tianshui's hand had been completely inserted into the gap of the coffin. He held the dagger with both hands and slid forward.
With a slight cracking sound of paint, the thick layer of tung oil paint quickly broke open. He moved steadily and fiercely, and quickly circled around the coffin.
After putting away the dagger, Ling Tianshui could already smell the stench of corruption escaping from the coffin.
He took out three masks from the box and asked each of them to put one on. He then picked up a crowbar from the box and motioned Cui Fufeng to go to the opposite side of the coffin and insert one into the gap at the same time with him.
The two crowbars pressed down hard at the same time. With a sudden cracking sound, the copper nails that were nailed in were forcibly pulled out, and a crack suddenly appeared in the coffin lid above. Then, the stench of the corpse inside enveloped the entire mourning hall.
It had been over three months since Lady Qi's death. She had died in the early autumn, in scorching weather, and her body had already decomposed upon burial. Now, after three months of suffocating in the coffin, her decaying remains were even more horrifying than Yu Guangling's corpse, which had been ventilated in the cemetery.
Cui Fufeng covered his mask tightly and looked at Qiandeng again.
Qian Deng stared at the coffin, his eyes filled with grief and sorrow, but he supported himself with great courage and walked closer step by step.
Cui Fufeng gripped the crowbar tightly in his hand, and together with Ling Tianshui, they pushed the coffin lid upwards.
Although the black lacquer coffin was strong, it could not withstand the combined efforts of the two of them and was soon completely opened.
Ling Tianshui and Cui Fufeng looked at each other, then lifted the coffin lid with copper nails and placed it aside. Then they carried out the brocade quilt inside along with the corpse and placed them on the ground.
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