Chapter 14: The Power of Money!
When Zhou Zheng and Yang An arrived, Li Jin and Jin Shu looked utterly dejected after listening to a dull and trivial story worth only five coins.
The lantern vendor, on the other hand, was very talkative and chattered on and on for a full quarter of an hour.
If Yang An hadn't shouted and interrupted this solo performance, the vendor would probably have continued his frantic chatter for another hour.
On the way back, Jin Shu walked behind, carrying a tiger lantern in her hand, and felt a probing gaze beside her.
She looked back and saw Zhou Zheng, his arm tucked with her knives, staring at the lantern in her hand with a surprised expression: "How did you know that the person who made the lantern could tell stories?"
"Heh." Jin Shu gave a dry laugh, glancing resentfully at Li Jin's retreating figure. "Money talks, huh!"
After saying that, he curled his lips and complained with dissatisfaction: "You're so generous when exchanging intelligence, but you just won't settle the bill at that restaurant the other day."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Jin suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at her "very kindly," chuckled, and took out five coins from his sleeve pocket: "What? Did you not hear the ending of the story just now, sir? Are you still not satisfied?"
Jin Shu paused, then waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, Your Highness has misunderstood."
But then Li Jin lifted his foot and walked straight towards Jin Shu, grabbed her wrist, opened his palm, and stuffed the five coins into her hand: "Sir, you've been working tirelessly, and you're still working even though you're exhausted tonight, so you still need to be paid the full amount."
His smile was more dazzling than the Buddha statues enshrined in temples, so bright it hurt Jin Shu's eyes.
This guy is settling a personal score on his behalf!
Seeing her standing there dumbfounded, Li Jin was extremely satisfied. Her brain, which had been filled with useless nagging, seemed to be relieved as if she had smelled a refreshing flower fragrance, and she felt exceptionally comfortable.
Only Jin Shu, who couldn't quite grasp the meaning of "burning the midnight oil," looked pitifully at the five coins in her hand, her suffering unspeakable.
Forced to accept the overtime pay, she'll have to work through the night to finish the autopsy.
At this moment, Magistrate Lin Yang, who had been very low-profile, suddenly stepped forward and bowed very solemnly: "Your Highness Prince Jing, this is inappropriate."
Yang An glanced at Jin Shu and said, "I saw that this Mr. Jin was using a knife and saw on the corpse. At night, unlike during the day, such activity may attract evil spirits."
Li Jin had heard these kinds of words countless times ever since he became the head of the Six Doors.
The Great Wei Dynasty has existed for 210 years since its founding, and the rule that coroners cannot dissect corpses has been in place for 204 years.
In the case of the late Crown Prince Li Mu's alleged plot to rebel, the inability to perform an autopsy on the body led to numerous possibilities arising in the crucial step that could directly determine the nature of the case.
Even if Emperor Li Yi wanted to protect Li Mu, he was pushed around by various forces because of those inexplicable "possibilities".
In the end, in order to save his life, they had no choice but to depose Crown Prince Li Mu, exile him to the northwest, and banish Consort Xiao to the cold palace—a terrible move.
Even so, it couldn't save Li Mu's life.
Therefore, the first rule Li Jin issued after taking over the Six Doors was that the families of murder victims could not obstruct the coroner's autopsy without a legitimate reason. After the autopsy, the coroner must make detailed records and keep a copy for use in solving the case.
Now, Yang An stood in front of him, speaking seriously and eloquently. Li Jin was displeased, but remained outwardly calm.
She looked up at the star-studded sky, then flicked her fan open, giving him a half-smile: "Lord Yang, what wrong have you done? Are you so ashamed that you're afraid of ghosts knocking on your door?"
One sentence made Yang An's face turn pale and a layer of cold sweat break out on his back. He quickly shook his head and pursed his lips: "This humble official only... Your Highness arrived here at noon and immediately plunged into the case. Now that it is completely dark, you really should rest."
Li Jin slowly swayed his fan in his hand, looking the middle-aged man in front of him up and down, his eyes narrowing slightly: "...Under such circumstances, how can Lord Yang still sleep soundly?"
He closed his fan, tapped it twice, knocked on Yang An's shoulder, and with a contemptuous sneer, strode forward and entered the gate of Linyang County Government Office.
After a long while, Yang An straightened up, turned his head, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, lifted his clothes, and hurriedly followed.
It was the same small house as during the day. Jin Shu lit the lamp, tied her hands, covered herself with a veil, and put on gloves. She looked at the corpse in front of her and slowly ran the knife she had just bought that day over the tip of the lamp's flame.
With all the tools at her disposal, it was as if Jin Shu had wings. From the moment she bent down to wield her knife, this small space became her stage to showcase her skills.
Whether it's day or night, with the attitude of "being responsible for every once brilliant life," Jin Shu focused all her attention on everything that was slowly unfolding before her eyes.
At that moment, she was the whisperer of the dead, the spokesperson for the deceased. Everything she did was to seek justice for the dead, to demand fairness for lives that should not have been lost.
As the blade moved forward, various details gradually connected in her mind.
"The deceased was around forty years old, and the time of death was around twenty days ago. There were ligature marks on the neck, with horizontal, even, and closed grooves that were relatively narrow and dark brown and leathery. The ligature marks intersected at the back of the neck, and there were small ridges and pinpoint bleeding on the skin. There was a fracture of the thyroid cartilage and a fracture of the hyoid bone." She stood up, replaced the knife in her hand with a boning knife, took two steps forward, and raised her hand to turn the head of the corpse.
"The skull is fractured and partially broken, presumably caused by blunt force trauma. The wound is fresh, but not fatal."
After saying that, she went to the other side and squeezed her thigh and calf hard.
"The leg fracture and dislocation is an old injury that doesn't usually affect mobility much, meaning that the patient still has a certain ability to resist."
After she finished speaking, she took off her gloves and looked at Li Jin: "Does Your Highness have a rope?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jin handed her the thin rope that bound his hands.
Jin Shu looked at it carefully, comparing it to the shape of Le Gu, and then raised her hand and said, "One more."
She twisted the two ropes together and pulled them with both hands: "How about Lord Zhou cooperates?"
Zhou Zheng paused, his gaze falling on Li Jin's profile.
But then Li Jin raised his hand, grabbed Yang An's arm, pulled him in front of Jin Shu, and said with a smile, "Lord Yang, thank you for your trouble."
Looking at Yang An in front of him, Jin Shu swallowed hard, braced himself, and said in a low voice, "Lord Yang, please forgive me."
Then, he raised his hand and wrapped the rope around Yang An's neck from back to front.
"Your Highness! This...this..." Yang An turned pale with fright, raised his hand to Li Jin, and stared at his smiling face in terror.
"It's alright, Lord Yang, don't worry. If Mr. Jin makes a mistake, it's all for the sake of solving the case, and it's not directed at you personally."
Looking at Li Jin, whose resolute spirit was tinged with righteous indignation, Yang An's heart leaped into his throat:
"This... Mr. Jin, there's still a risk of you making a mistake?"
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