Chapter 32: Charity Cemetery
Qian Deng thought of the cramped little house where Madam Meng lived, and then thought of such a beautiful widow living outside with her young son. He also thought of how Meng Lanxi had drugged Jin Tang in revenge for the word "give him up for adoption" during the selection process. How could he not understand the contradiction that Cui Fufeng had omitted?
It must be that Meng Lanxi's uncle had evil intentions towards Madam Meng, and therefore was not tolerated by her aunt. The mother and son had to live in a difficult situation outside and no longer had any contact with the Meng family.
"If that's the case, why was Meng Lanxi chosen as a candidate given her background?"
After all, those who were selected were those with good family backgrounds and positions in the court. Meng Lanxi's situation should not have made her eligible.
"Actually, the one chosen originally was another Meng family member from the Imperial College, his cousin. But because..." Cui Fufeng paused, swallowing back the words "County Lady, you have a bad reputation," he continued, "Anyway, he injured his leg and couldn't participate in the selection process, so his cousin pulled Meng Lanxi, who had been the adoption clerk, out as a replacement candidate and brought him here."
Qian Deng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was Meng Lanxi's cousin in the Imperial College on the day the incident happened?"
"No, his leg disease flares up on rainy days, and he has been bedridden for a while now."
Qian Deng didn't care about these irrelevant people. He just asked, "Based on the clues we found last time in the Imperial College, what do you think is the chance of Meng Lanxi clearing her name?"
"It's hard to say. After all, there is no conclusive evidence. And the suspicion he carries is too great." Cui Fufeng said, and handed all the files of the last Imperial College to Ling Tianshui. Qiandeng also described the details of that time in detail.
The carriage was bumpy, but Ling Tianshui's hands and eyes were steady. He quickly read through the files and arrived at the charity cemetery ahead.
He closed the file and handed it back to Cui Fufeng, then pushed the door open and got out of the car. "Right now, everything is just speculation, with no facts to back it up. Let's go see Yu Guangling's body first."
Chang'an Yizhuang is located at the foot of a damp mountain, with thick walls, dense tiles, and dense ancient trees. Even in summer and autumn, there are gusts of cold wind.
As Qiandeng stepped in, she felt a strange smell coming towards her, which made her feel creepy and she subconsciously covered her mouth and nose.
Cui Fufeng was also a little hesitant and looked uncomfortable.
Ling Tianshui calmly took out a mask from the box and gave one to each of them. "The decaying corpse, coupled with the rainy weather, must have rotted and smelled terrible. The bodies in this charity cemetery are generally well-preserved."
Qian Deng's hand gripping the mask trembled upon hearing his words. He looked at the calm man in front of him in disbelief: "The corpse... is rotting?"
Cui Fufeng also had an ugly expression on his face and looked at Qiandeng worriedly.
Ling Tianshui, however, took out his mask and put it on as if discussing the weather, covering it tightly. He said, "I hope it's not Yu Guangling's body that's rotten. At least, the wounds won't turn into mud and hinder the inspection of the traces."
Ominous premonitions always come true.
After showing the order from the Dali Temple, the three were led into the west wing, where they were almost knocked over by the stench that could not be covered by their masks.
The old soldier guarding the cemetery lifted the sheet covering a corpse and said, "This is the body sent by the Dali Temple five days ago. It's the one with a knife in the chest. The one next to it is the one who died from a severe blow to the head."
Qiandeng saw the body under the white cloth at a glance. As Ling Tianshui said, it had begun to decay.
The young man who a few days ago stood shyly in the rain and smiled at her, like an innocent deer beside a spring in the forest, now looked horrifyingly pale, and his blood vessels were rotting due to corruption, leaving his body covered with blisters and dripping with rotten water.
She subconsciously turned around, covered her mouth with the mask, staggered to the eaves, and held onto the pillar to prevent herself from vomiting.
However, what appeared before his eyes was not only Yu Guangling's decaying body, but also his father's body trampled into mud on the cloud steps and his mother's decomposed remains in the manor.
The relatives she loved the most and whom she was most reluctant to leave had all rotted away and their bones had turned to mud.
She pressed her trembling hands against the mask and gasped for breath as if she was dying.
The wound on her right eyebrow was throbbing. She held it down tightly, but felt a splitting headache and stomach cramps. Finally, she couldn't control herself anymore, pulled off the mask and vomited until her vision went black and her face was covered with tears.
Seeing that she was weak, Cui Fufeng was afraid that she would fall down the stairs, so he held her with one hand and patted her back with the other to soothe her trembling body.
Ling Tianshui stood inside the door and watched coldly, his eyes falling on Cui Fufeng's gently stroking hand, with a hint of amusement in his cold eyes.
Only when there was nothing left in his stomach and his throat and lungs ached as if they were torn apart did Qian Deng barely stand up, leaning against a pillar and trying his best to suppress his breathing.
Cui Fufeng stuffed some money into the old soldier's hand and asked him to clean up the mess. He then went to the kitchen to find a soup pot and poured her a bowl of warm water.
Qiandeng thanked him, rinsed out the bitter taste in his mouth bit by bit, took two more sips, breathed slowly, and held the bowl to calm himself down.
"Are you done?" Ling Tianshui's voice came from behind, without a trace of sympathy. "Come over and record the autopsy file when you're done."
Cui Fufeng frowned slightly, turned around and said to him, "Let me record it."
In fact, he was born into one of the most famous families in the Tang Dynasty. He had been accompanied by pine and bamboo since childhood, burning incense and meditating every day, and never touched by filth. Now, when he smelled this rotten odor, coupled with the old chest injury that had not healed, he felt nauseous and even had a dull pain in his heart. He was afraid that when he suppressed his nausea, even the wound was affected.
Ling Tianshui didn't agree, but only asked, "I still need someone to help me. Is Cui Shaoqing sure you want to select the recording file?"
Cui Fufeng looked at Qiandeng. Qiandeng bit her lower lip, put the bowl on the windowsill, raised her hand and pressed her palm against her right eyebrow. Her body and arms were trembling slightly.
"Perhaps, we can ask the people at the charity cemetery for help. I think the county lady is feeling unwell..."
Cui Fufeng hesitated to speak, but Ling Tianshui interrupted him, her cold voice devoid of emotion: "So, County Lady, you still insist on participating in this case? You say you hope the truth will be revealed, that the deceased can rest in peace in the afterlife. But to uncover the truth, you have to search through a rotting corpse, search within its filthy organs, and unravel its damaged meridians. You, a pampered noblewoman—"
His eyes, darker than those of an ordinary person, were fixed on her, as if the abyss was staring into her: "Do you still dare to come and face the truth? Will you still swear to redress the dead?"
Qiandeng did not answer. She just took two deep breaths, then slowly and with difficulty turned her head, forcing herself to look at Yu Guangling's body again.
Qiandeng, don’t be afraid.
Yu Guangling was a very kind and gentle man, just like her grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother. Even in the afterlife, they would protect her and help her find the murderer, dispel all mysteries, and let her walk on her own path without any doubt or fear.
As she thought about this, her breathing finally calmed down and her trembling hands also slowed down.
Biting her pale and trembling lips tightly, she took out the mask tucked into her sleeve and put it on. She even nodded at Ling Tianshui before stepping into the inner room where the morgue was kept.
Ling Tianshui raised an eyebrow and looked at her, then took out a folded book and some writing materials from the alley and gave them to her.
She took the paper and pen, dipped them in ink, and held the album in her hands. In the strange stench of decay, her hand hovered over it, and although it was still trembling slightly, she was already waiting for his words.
Ling Tianshui signaled Cui Fufeng to check the tools in the box, and he took out a pair of extremely thin and soft tanned sheepskin gloves and put them on.
His hands were larger than average, so the gloves didn't fit him well, being very tight around his fingers and palms. Fortunately, the sheepskin was scraped very thinly and had a certain degree of ductility, so it was barely usable.
He glanced at the wooden box, motioned Cui Fufeng to hand him one of the rulers, and started measuring.
"Examination: The deceased is approximately five feet six or seven inches tall, having been dead for more than five days. Traces of sand, mud, and dirt can be seen on his clothes, hair, and body, as well as signs of being submerged in sewage..."
He spoke slowly and clearly, giving Qiandeng enough time and strength to record the condition of Yu Guangling's body.
He was also slow to act, after all, he was not very skilled. He mostly watched things like this and rarely did them himself.
Growing up in conspiracy and bloodshed, he had stood beside the coroner thousands of times, watching them cut open throats, split chests, boil heads, and search abdomens. All kinds of bizarre ways of death had appeared before him.
His relatives, his friends, his subordinates...
Envoys sent by the imperial court, spies instigated by his relatives, soldiers killed by poison and conspiracy... For more than twenty years of his life, he has been experiencing various kinds of death.
The only thing he lacked was the proficiency in using these tools.
After all, he is better at turning people into corpses than performing autopsies.
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