Chapter 157 Assassination Attempt Fails, Prince Jing Injured
The next morning, Jin Shu woke up slowly, looked at everything in front of her, and was stunned for a moment.
Li Jin is not here.
I sat on the bed, the long couch empty, and my drowsy state was quickly dispelled.
This room looks different during the day compared to last night.
The tables and chairs are still there, and the furnishings are the same, but for some reason, I feel that something has changed, and it doesn't feel like the same room.
Looking at the bright sunshine outside, Jin Shu's thoughts went blank. She hadn't expected that yesterday's long journey would have allowed her to sleep until late morning.
She was a little flustered and didn't notice the subtle difference. She grabbed the coat that was folded aside, quickly changed, poured herself a glass of water to fill her stomach, picked up the wooden box she carried with her, and walked quickly outside.
When I came out, I realized that the sun was not only high in the sky, but it was already past noon!
Jin Shu was filled with trepidation. Halfway there, she grabbed a minor yamen runner and asked him to lead her to the back hall of the county government office.
“This room has hardly ever been opened since the last coroner resigned four years ago,” the junior yamen runner said respectfully. “In Shengzhou, although the pay is quite high, it requires dealing with corpses all year round, so not many people are willing to do the job of a coroner, and we have been unable to hire a decent one.”
Upon arriving at the courtyard behind the main hall, Jin Shu nodded knowingly as she tied her hands.
I used to hear Feng Chao complain occasionally that there was a severe shortage of coroners.
After working at the Six Doors for half a year, Jin Shu realized that it wasn't just the Jingzhao Prefecture; it seemed that every government office was short of coroners.
In this situation, the coroner's office of the Six Doors is more like a fire brigade, going wherever it is needed.
“I see that you have brought some tools with you, sir. Our yamen also has some large tools, all of which are in this small side cabinet. You can use them as needed.” After saying this, the yamen runner stood at the door with a smile. “Well, I won’t go in. If you have any orders, sir, just call me.”
Jin Shu nodded: "Thank you."
She peeked into the room, glanced at the scene before her, and frowned slightly.
Shengzhou was indeed far inferior to the capital, with conditions far worse. The entire morgue was empty, with only two beds, so the two bodies had to be temporarily placed on the floor at the foot of the beds.
The sun was shining brightly during the day, but the windows inside were tightly closed, making the room quite gloomy.
She opened the sunny window, letting the golden sunlight stream into the room. By the light, she looked at the victim lying on the single bed and silently put on her gloves.
What was unclear last night is now revealed to Jin Shu.
She raised her hand and pressed down a little; the rigor mortis of the male victim had subsided, and the knife wound on his chest was exposed in the sunlight.
She looked at the clear "death" character on the victim's body, noticing the red paint was already dehydrated and shriveled, with some peeling paint marks, and pursed her lips.
The characters were all written crookedly, with the character for "death" in "death is well deserved" being the most crooked.
She pondered for a moment, then spread out her brush and ink while simultaneously branding the knife in her hand over the candlelight.
Once the temperature had cooled down, she bent down and watched intently as the blade tip moved.
The stab wound is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, a typical characteristic of a single-edged dagger. It is about 4 to 5 inches long, with sharp and clean edges, indicating that it was stabbed into the victim's body from a low angle using a flat blade.
The final cause of death differed somewhat from Jin Shu's initial speculation. Asphyxiation was only one factor; the truly fatal cause was the stab wound aimed directly at the heart, which ruptured the victim's heart.
In the sunlight, Jin Shu suddenly noticed something unusual about the wound.
She put down the sharp knife in her hand and took out the saw and axe that the constable had mentioned from the side cabinet.
Seeing that she actually used the item in the side cabinet, the young yamen runner from Shengzhou curiously turned around and peeked over.
Although she was just a background figure, the young yamen runner was so frightened by her ruthless axe strike that he went limp, broke out in a cold sweat, and tremblingly clutched his ceremonial sword. He deliberately moved into the sun to wipe away his cold sweat.
The coroner from the Six Doors of the capital was indeed extraordinary. That one glance would likely be unforgettable for him for the rest of his life.
Li Jin, who had just arrived here, looked at the appearance of the young yamen runner and roughly guessed what had happened inside. He glanced at Yun Jianlin beside him and stopped outside the courtyard.
"As for those people from last night, I'll trouble Lord Yun to make preparations. I will arrange for someone to personally escort them back to the Six Doors." He paused. "Those are all martial arts masters. The constables in Lord Yun's yamen are no match for them."
Seeing how easily Li Jin spoke, Yun Jianlin frowned: "Escorting is a minor matter; I will certainly cooperate fully, but..."
He glanced at Li Jin's waist, his face filled with self-reproach: "It's only because His Highness was injured here that I feel so bad!"
Last night, just as Li Jin had predicted, five assassins dressed in black arrived in the middle of the night. They first blew sleeping powder into the room before heading straight for the bed.
"It has nothing to do with Lord Yun, and besides, it's just a superficial injury, nothing to brag about." He lowered his voice and pointed inside. "This matter should not be mentioned to Mr. Jin."
Hearing this, Yun Jianlin's expression became even more troubled.
It's true that the prince, without a sword or knife, knocked down five people with just a fan, but he didn't gain any advantage. He still took a knife to the waist and bled quite a bit.
He looked up at Mr. Jin inside, who had been drugged with sleeping powder the night before and was fast asleep, and sighed, "This humble official understands."
After saying that, he still asked in a low voice, still puzzled, "Who is this Mr. Jin? Why would the other side send five assassins to kill him?"
Li Jin swung his fan open and took a deep breath: "It wasn't an assassination attempt; it was more of a test."
If it's an assassination, there's no need to use any sleeping gas. Just rush in and poke around on the bed. It's simple, brutal, and very effective.
But the assassins last night acted with obvious hesitation and inefficiency, much like the methods commonly used by the Ministry of Justice.
"Does Your Highness mean that you're just here to harass us?" Yun Jianlin asked, puzzled.
Li Jin shook his head and smiled slightly: "If we can beat them, we'll kill them; if we can't, we'll just dampen their spirits. In short, we'll definitely add some trouble."
The Ministry of Justice will not actually harm Jin Shu.
With Song Zhen vouching for her, the assassination attempt last night seemed less like an attempt and more like a test.
To test how important Jin Shu really is to Li Jin.
Fortunately, Li Jin did not reveal his injury until he had dealt with the assassins; otherwise, the assassination attempts in Shengzhou would have continued indefinitely.
"Then these five people..." Yun Jianlin said, "Should we spread the word?"
After a moment's thought, Li Jin said decisively, "Release them and say that they were all dealt with by the Shadow of the Six Doors."
At this point, he looked towards the door and emphasized again, "We must keep it away from Mr. Kim's ears." He paused, "She'd better never know about this."
As long as he can still protect her, he hopes for a peaceful and stable world, which is the picture of the world as she sees it.
He lowered his eyes, looking at the blooming roses beside him, and the smile on his face faded slightly.
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