Chapter 92
Seeing that Shuntian Prefecture Governor was so anxious that his butt was about to catch fire, Chu Huan didn't want to let Shuntian Prefecture Governor follow her back to the Chu family.
If we talk about it in the carriage, passers-by will hear it as soon as the system eats the melon.
It's okay to share some ordinary emotional gossip, but forget about this kind of case that threatens life and may cause panic.
Chu Huan was about to knock on the door of the merchant's shop when Shang Lu inside heard the system's voice and knew something big was happening, so he invited them in.
The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture knew Shang Lu's identity and was in someone else's home, so he didn't think about whether to avoid suspicion.
As soon as the three of them sat down, he started talking about recent events: "Miss Chu, you don't know, I thought the serial murder case was over. I saw that the people in Beijing loved going out, no longer worried about losing their lives. Who knew that today someone was found digging out eyes again!"
If I were to use four words to describe the mood of the Shuntian Prefecture Governor, it would be: I saw a ghost!
The system wanted to shout "What the hell!": [How could this happen? ]
Chu Huan and Shang Lu were very surprised. The system had never failed in eating melons.
Moreover, after Su Shou, Wang Lin and Yang Si were arrested, there were witnesses and evidence, their confessions matched, their signatures were complete, and their sentences were determined. How come a murderer has appeared now?
The governor of Shuntian Prefecture had been feeling dizzy and confused these days, and he almost blurted out, "I don't know either!"
Fortunately, he bit the tip of his tongue before answering. The faint smell of blood in his mouth kept reminding him: no matter how anxious he was, there were some things he couldn't say.
It’s okay. Once the system finishes eating the melon, you’ll know what’s going on with this eye-gouging maniac.
We can solve the problem by arresting people all night tonight. Don't worry, there's no point in worrying!
The Shuntian prefect successfully convinced himself and continued, "The bodies in this case were exhumed from a mass grave. I figured it would be a convenient place to dispose of bodies and bury evidence, so I sent my subordinates to investigate in a few days to see if there were any unusual findings."
"Everything was fine a few days ago, but today a body was found with its eyes gouged out. The serial murder case was only solved half a month ago. If the people knew about this, they would definitely think that the murderer from half a month ago was wrongly accused and that Shuntian Prefecture was taking human life lightly and sentencing people arbitrarily."
To put it simply, it is a matter of Shuntian Prefecture. To put it more broadly, it may involve the entire imperial court.
If it gets out of hand, the impact will be quite serious.
After all, this matter has something to do with Chu Huan and the system, so I still have to help clean up the mess.
Chu Hua: "Are the symptoms of the corpse the same as before?"
The Shuntian prefect specially brought files and autopsy reports, and spread them all out on the desk for easy reading.
Chu Huan had already heard the system explain the part about the serial murder case. She read through it quickly, focusing on the newly discovered bodies.
The autopsy report showed that the body's eyes were gouged out, which was a post-mortem injury, and there were two stab wounds in the heart, which were fatal.
Chu Huan went to look at the autopsy reports of the serial murder case. Due to the large number of victims, there were dozens of autopsy reports, and most of them showed: the eyes of the corpses were gouged out, which was a fatal wound, and the heads were chopped off, which was a post-mortem injury.
She already had a vague idea in her mind, but she had no evidence: [Tong'er?]
The system's childish voice sounded angrily: [I told you it's impossible for the system to make mistakes. This isn't my fault, I won't take it!]
Chu Hua: [Is it a copycat crime?]
System: [That must be the case, but you definitely can't imagine who is behind this.]
Chu Huan was unsure at first, but the system's tone made her completely certain: [It must be Xu Tao.]
Phytolacca: ???
Shuntian Prefecture Governor: ???
How could you think of her? She can hardly see, how could she kill someone?
Unexpectedly, the system was so shocked that it uttered a tenor voice: [!!! How did you know? ]
Phytolacca: “…”
Shuntian Prefecture Governor: “…”
Is it really Xu Tao? How did she do that? This is so strange.
Chu Huan flipped through the autopsy report and calmly replied, "I'm just guessing. Go ahead."
The system wasn't busy clarifying itself, but instead kept dwelling on this point: [Sister Huan, how did you guess that? Tell me.]
"Look, I always tell you what kind of melon you want to eat. You can't just refuse to satisfy this little request, right? Sister Huan~"
Chu Huan was still waiting for the details, unwilling to waste time arguing with the system, and quickly replied: "If it was done by a completely unrelated stranger, you would immediately move on."
Only when someone appears to have nothing to do with murder, or even appears incapable of doing it, would you say, "You'll never guess who's behind it."
[You used the term "the person behind the scenes" instead of "murderer" to describe Xu Tao, which means that the person who committed the murder was not Xu Tao. She must have hired someone or ordered the murder.]
Considering she was a boudoir lady with poor eyesight and few outside contacts, she wouldn't have known any desperate criminals. And since Xu San wouldn't be arrested until all the evidence was gathered, it was either Xu San who did the killing, or Xu San helped hire someone to do it.
Shang Lu and Shuntian Prefecture Governor nodded secretly. Their analysis made sense, but there was one thing that didn't make sense: Why did Xu Tao want to kill?
Didn’t the system say before that Xu Tao saw the seriously injured Xu San, sent Xu San to the hospital, and paid for the medicine?
What could have happened to such a kind girl that made her want to kill?
The system was shocked by Chu Huan's ability to guess the truth from just a few words, and was speechless for a long time. Its host was like a seasoned detective!
Awesome! She's worthy of being the future empress!
The system applauded like a seal: [Sister Huan is amazing! You've reasoned this far, why not try a little further?]
Chu Huan didn't have much evidence, so it would be more accurate to say that she was guessing rather than reasoning.
She wanted the system to finish speaking quickly so she could go home and sleep, but since it was a rare opportunity to verify her reasoning ability, she decided to give it a try.
Chu Huan put the autopsy reports together and said, "Please read this, Your Excellency."
The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was listening intently while enjoying the meal. He was stunned for a moment when he heard Chu Huan calling him. He leaned over to take a look. It was the autopsy report that he had read over and over again.
"What's the problem?"
Chu Hua: "The nerves in the human eye are connected to the brain. Su Shou lacked the expertise in this area and handled the situation improperly, which is why the victim died. The eye was the fatal wound, the injury that caused her death."
"To ensure the experimental process was not disturbed, Su Shou used drugs or anesthetic powder on the victims. This is also the reason why the victims in the serial murder cases do not have many external injuries, mortal wounds, or resistance wounds."
"The fatal wound on the new corpse was to the heart, and the eyes were gouged out after death, suggesting the murderer couldn't bear to have the victim's eyes gouged out while still alive."
The Shuntian Prefecture Governor had also done the same analysis, but he still had a question: "Does resistance injury refer to the injury caused by the resistance process?"
Chu Hua hesitated for a moment, not using any professional forensic terms. She grabbed the brush from the table and handed it to Shang Lu: "Sir, pretend it's a dagger and stab me with your help."
Business was important, so Shang Lu didn't refuse and stabbed Chu Huan with his brush.
Chu Hua grabbed Shang Lu's hand that was thrusting out the brush with one hand, and reached for the brush with the other. "If someone were to kill me with a weapon, I would definitely stop him out of my desire to survive. And he would also try to stop me, or even go one step further and kill me."
Shang Lu understood and used the hand that wasn't holding the brush to push Chu Hua: "The wound caused by the pushing and shoving between the murderer and the victim is called a resistance wound?"
After the explanation, Chu Huan and Shang Lu stopped.
Chu Hua: "Yes, the presence of resistance wounds means this is a homicide. If we can find a corresponding connection between the murderer and the victim, it will be key evidence to identify the murderer."
"For example, teeth marks and scratches that may have been made during resistance, skin scrapings and blood stains left under the victim's teeth or fingernails, etc., all of these can be matched."
In modern times, we can check DNA and find the murderer through DNA identification. In ancient times, there was no such advanced technology, so it would be much more troublesome.
Chu Huan wasn't sure how Shuntian Prefecture handled the case, so since it was mentioned, she just mentioned it.
The Shuntian Prefecture Governor's eyes lit up when he heard this. What Chu Huan said were things that only experienced yamen runners and coroners knew, and they would be used in the process of handling cases, but unlike Chu Huan, they did not have a specific term for it.
Chu Huan returned to the case, "There are no fresh wounds on the hands or neck of the new corpse, and the heart wasn't stabbed in the heart, leaving no time for reaction. So, the victim must have been knocked unconscious before being killed."
"The autopsy report shows that the marks on the new corpse's eyes are very similar to those left by Su Shou. In order to dig out the eyes more completely, Su Shou spent a long time creating a tool shaped like half an eyeball, constantly improving and experimenting, and only then was he able to dig out the eyes without damaging the eyelids."
"The fact that he can imitate her so closely suggests that he knows the details of Su Shou's crime. He must be someone Su Shou knows, or someone in Shuntian Prefecture leaked the information."
The Shuntian prefect's hair stood on end.
He had already learned from Chu Huan's conversation with the system that Xu Tao was behind the incident, ruling out the previous possibility. But how could Xu Tao know the details of Su Shou's crime? Could it be that someone in Shuntian Prefecture had leaked the case?
The system clapped happily: [Pa pa pa—Sister Huan, you're awesome! Any more?]
Chu Huan: "..." Her and the system's roles are reversed, right?
"What is the purpose of the copycat crime?"
She had intended to ask her own question and answer it, leading to the following statement, but the Shuntian prefect quickly responded: "Perhaps he is trying to rid himself of suspicion and pin the blame of the murder on the real murderer."
That is, hitchhiking murder.
Shang Lu felt that the other two people at the scene were trying to solve the case, and it seemed that he was not sociable if he did not join in. So he thought about it and said, "Maybe they are trying to prove that the real murderer is someone else and exonerate the original murderer."
"Su Shou lives in a remote place for her research and doesn't have any close friends. So the reason you gave is probably not valid. It might be the reason given by the prefect." Chu Hua looked at the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. "Prefect, who is the deceased?"
What she actually wanted to ask was: What is the relationship between the deceased and Xu Tao?
Fortunately, Shuntian Prefecture Governor knew what she really wanted to ask and replied, "The coroner just finished the autopsy and I came to see you. The man's identity has not yet been confirmed."
They just checked the clothes on the deceased to see if there was anything that could easily identify the identity and simply checked the cause of death. There was no need to open the abdomen or obtain the consent of the family. That's why it was carried out so quickly.
Chu Huan had no choice.
The identity has not been confirmed, so there is no way he is related to Xu Tao.
The system really wanted to put its hands on its hips for a moment: [It seems you still can't do without me. ]
Chu Huan followed the system: [Yes, Tong'er is very important. Tell me what's going on.]
System: [Xu San and Xu Tao are implicated in this serial murder case. Their confessions are essential to complete the entire case, so they have been summoned to Shuntian Prefecture for questioning.]
Xu San was questioned about gouging out his eyes, poison, and so on. Su Shou had previously asked him about some things, including how he came up with the idea of replacing his eyes. So even if Xu San didn't know all the details, he still knew most of it.
After the incident, a lot of gossip spread throughout the Xu residence, including, but not limited to, "If it weren't for Xu Tao, how could so many people have died?", "Xu Tao is a disaster!", and "Xu Tao is a murderer!" Xu Tao and Xu San heard a lot of it.
Xu Tao, due to her childhood experiences and her own flaws, was sensitive and fragile. She often heard servants in the Xu residence gossiping about her behind her back. This particular maid went too far, and in anger, Xu Tao ordered Xu San to kill her.
After the maid died, Xu Tao calmed down and panicked. Xu San comforted her, saying that everything was fine. He went to where Su Shou had been, stole a tool, gouged out the maid's eyes, and buried her in a mass grave.
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