Chapter 122 Three Victims, A Shared Wound
Glancing at the magistrate's aggrieved face, Li Jin snapped the book shut, tucked it into the magistrate's chest, patted it gently, and said nothing.
He strode into Wang Guixiang's room with his hands behind his back and his sleeves twirling, letting out a long breath.
This sight greatly alarmed the magistrate, who reached out and tugged at Jin Shu behind Li Jin, asking in a low voice, "My lord, what is the Prince doing...?"
He pursed his lips and cast an anxious glance at Jin Shu.
"It's alright." Jin Shu frowned slightly. "Don't worry, my lord."
She knew that even if Li Jin was angry, he couldn't vent it.
The lack of coroners is a common occurrence in various county governments. If one had to pin the blame on someone, the one who would take the fall would be the Six Doors, which had inadequate staffing.
At least Tangxia Village still has a clerk, while there are many government offices outside that only have a piece of paper.
Wang Guixiang's courtyard was not large, a two-section siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), and it looked somewhat dilapidated.
In the center of the courtyard stood a large, round water vat with two lotus flowers in bloom and fish swimming among the leaves. However, the surrounding area had fallen into disrepair over the years, with peeling paint on the window frames and doors, leaving them mottled and worn.
Only the bronze compass hanging in the main hall was exceptionally shiny.
At this moment, Wang Guixiang sat alone at the square table in the main hall, her brows furrowed and sighing.
She had thought that after digging up those two trees, her family would be safe and sound, but now, upon hearing the news of her nephew's death, her heart sank.
Upon seeing the magistrate and the head constable approaching, tears immediately welled up and streamed down her face like broken beads.
"What sins has our Wang family committed?!" She suddenly knelt down in front of the group. "How could such a thing happen? How can I face my father and mother now?!"
Although the deceased was a nephew, he was actually Wang Guixiang's younger brother, who had been adopted by his uncle.
Furthermore, since her family only has daughters left, she is effectively childless. She truly has no words to face this situation.
Once she had calmed down a bit, she brought two cups of cool tea and respectfully handed them to Li Jin and the magistrate, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief; her eyes were red and swollen.
"My nephew, though mischievous, didn't study properly, and caused trouble everywhere, no one could have imagined that he would be gone at the young age of sixteen!"
At this point, she choked up for a moment and could not speak.
Li Jin glanced at the iced tea in his hand, remained silent for a while, and then asked, "You just said that Wang Bin is a troublemaker. Was the wound under his left armpit caused by a fight?"
Wang Guixiang nodded and bit her lip: "The day before yesterday, he was fighting for a spot at a stall in Xiangji Temple when he got into an argument with some thugs, and one of them slashed him with a knife, leaving this long gash."
"But the wound wasn't deep. The thug left two pieces of silver, and that was the end of it."
Have you seen a doctor?
After speaking, Li Jin took a sip of her cold tea and looked at Wang Guixiang's face.
She glanced at the magistrate with surprise and said somewhat strangely, "My husband is an apprentice at the clinic. The cut wasn't deep; he bandaged it himself."
"Your husband?" Li Jin looked up and put down his teacup.
Wang Guixiang nodded and said, "My husband, Su Sheng, has been an apprentice at the clinic for more than ten years. He can handle these minor injuries. If any neighbors have a bump or bruise, they will come to him."
The antihistamine, the strychnine, the thick, airtight bandage, the well-bandaged wound, and the more than ten years of apprenticeship at the medical clinic.
The fragments of the case, in Li Jin's mind, transformed into different perspectives, were connected by different clues, and combined into different scenes.
His fingers tapped lightly on the somewhat dilapidated square table beside him. After a long while, he asked, "Where is your husband now?"
But Wang Guixiang was holding a handkerchief in her hand and said hesitantly, "After he finished bandaging yesterday, he went to the next village to see a doctor with the old doctor from the clinic. He said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest."
She sighed, "He probably doesn't know that his nephew has suffered such a misfortune, alas..."
Outside, as dusk approached, the golden glow of the setting sun gradually appeared.
In the height of summer, night always arrives late. Li Jin glanced at the sky outside, his fingertips lightly tapping the lid of his teacup, and slowly said, "Does Madam mind if I ask you a few questions about your parents?"
To Wang Guixiang, she only heard the words "this king".
She was so frightened that her face froze, her legs trembled, and she hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "It's actually Your Highness! I was blind and neglected Your Highness. Please forgive me."
Li Jin frowned slightly and repeated his question: "May I ask you a few questions about your parents?"
Wang Guixiang paused, looked up, and exclaimed, "Huh?"
The account of her parents' deaths that she heard was largely the same as the magistrate's description.
“My mother wanted to eat the porridge she cooked herself, so she went to the kitchen. The firewood was half-burned when I suddenly heard a loud crash.” She pursed her lips. “When I ran over, she was already lying on the ground, convulsing, her eyes wide open, her hands wrapped around her neck, as if she wanted to say something.”
At this point, Wang Guixiang took a deep breath.
"After that, my father had an accident. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard from several uncles who went up the mountain with my father that he and my mother died in exactly the same way."
After saying that, she shook her head and sighed, "I even moved my ancestral graves and dug up trees for this, but I never expected it would still end like this."
Sitting next to her, Li Jin stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Please think carefully, Madam, were you injured in the days before your parents suddenly passed away?"
Wang Guixiang paused for a moment, blinked her already swollen eyes, and nodded vigorously, pursing her lips: "I am indeed injured."
She said, "Before my mother passed away, she was hit by a rich young man's carriage on her way to Xiangji Temple, and her knee was badly scraped."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Dad cut his leg on a piece of wood while he was chopping firewood on the mountain."
A shared wound.
The crucial, previously obscured link in the case was now laid bare before Li Jin.
Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly: "Bandaging..."
"Was it the same person who bandaged you?"
He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Jin Shu, who had asked the question before he could finish speaking.
All her attention was focused on Wang Guixiang's face, and she looked very serious.
Wang Guixiang nodded in confusion: "It's the same person, they're both my husbands."
Then, she hesitated for a moment, touching her earlobe, and asked, "What's the connection between these things?"
Just as Jin Shu was about to speak, Li Jin raised his hand and stopped her.
He said to Wang Guixiang in a deep voice, "Madam, your parents did not die because of any feng shui or ancestral graves, but because they were poisoned."
At this point, Wang Guixiang was stunned: "What?"
Li Jin lowered his eyes, looking at her surprised expression, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "If Madam wishes to clear her name, may I allow her to open the coffin and examine the body?"
The room was completely quiet, and the blood-red sunset dyed the clouds a large expanse of red.
Wang Guixiang stood there in shock, her breath caught in her throat, and it took her a long time to realize that what she was seeing was not a dream.
She pursed her lips, frowned, and looked at the imposing Prince Jing, Li Jin, sitting in the center, before stammering in response:
"This... I'm afraid I can't make the decision on this matter alone."
Exhuming a body for examination is no small matter, and Wang Guixiang alone cannot bear the criticism behind it.
But Li Jin had anticipated this moment. He crossed his arms, nodded knowingly, and said understandingly, "How about this?"
He glanced at her face: "You three sisters, why don't you discuss it together before making a decision?"
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