Chapter 198 The Uninvited Guest in the Grand Tutor's Residence
Su Yu, the Grand Tutor of the Great Wei Dynasty, is a first-rank official and the teacher of Crown Prince Li Jing.
However, the position of Grand Tutor was actually a nominal title. Compared with other first-rank officials, the actual power was very small, basically only covering the Imperial Academy and the schools directly under the jurisdiction of local governments.
There's nothing else we can do.
Two days ago, Li Jin came out of the Imperial Study and handed a letter to the Grand Tutor, saying that he would personally visit him in a few days.
Unexpectedly, the Grand Tutor replied very quickly, almost urging Li Jin to do it as soon as possible.
Inside the carriage, Li Jin crossed his arms, tapping his arm with a fan as he closed his eyes to rest, while pondering how to sever the connection between the Grand Tutor and the Crown Prince.
But as if by divine intervention, just as Li Jin reached the door, Su Hang hurriedly ran over, lifting the hem of his coat, and his words startled the three of them.
"Your Highness Prince Jing, a male corpse has just been pulled from the lotus pond in our manor."
Li Jin didn't quite understand what he meant for a moment.
Su Hang disregarded etiquette and pushed Li Jin inside, saying, "He has a large stone tied around his waist, and the mansion is in complete chaos right now!"
Grand Tutor Su Yu had two sons and three daughters, yet no one in the entire household recognized the deceased.
It was as if it had appeared out of nowhere, and the entire mansion was immediately in an uproar.
Before the group even reached the body, they saw an old woman standing in front of it, shaking her head and clicking her tongue: "It's all because they insisted on inviting that Prince Jing. Wherever he and his coroner go, people die. They're practically living Yama."
As he spoke, he gestured animatedly: "I heard that Prince Jing scared away 10,000 Northern Liang soldiers in the Battle of Ningyuan just by his face! He probably has the face of a butcher."
Li Jin frowned, glancing sideways at Su Hang, who looked embarrassed: "Is my face so repulsive?"
Su Hang raised his hand and coughed twice, but before he could speak, Jin Shu interrupted him, saying, "Not only are they repulsive, they are downright outrageous."
As she spoke, she gave Li Jin a wry look.
Upon hearing this, Li Jin pursed his lips and said, "Hey Mr. Jin, you're taking revenge for personal reasons."
Before he could finish speaking, Jin Shu took out a red string from her bosom and tied it around her wrist, completely ignoring him.
The scene before him left Su Hang stunned.
It was said that the junior coroner who served Prince Jing had a special status and was treated differently from ordinary constables.
There were even rumors that Prince Jing had a penchant for homosexuality.
He had always thought it was a smokescreen made up by Li Jin to avoid being seen, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he actually felt that it made some sense.
"Lord Su, do you also think so?" Seeing that he was slightly stunned, Li Jin asked with a smile, "Do you also think that I am a living Yama?"
Su Hang paused for a moment, then quickly said, "These are just a woman's words, Your Highness, please don't take them to heart. The question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, cannot be viewed so one-sidedly."
These words made Li Jin's eyes light up: "As expected of a genius young man from the Menxia Province, he has such insight. I admire him."
After saying that, he took two steps forward, pushed through the crowd, and walked to the corpse.
The dead man had a handsome face, was six and a half feet tall, and had a rope tied around his waist, one end of which had been cut off.
"Where's the stone?" Li Jin looked up and glanced at everyone.
Su Hang hurriedly stepped forward and said to the servants who were looking at each other, "This is His Highness Prince Jing of the Six Doors. You must not hide anything from His Highness when he asks questions."
A commotion broke out in the crowd.
The old woman who had just been saying he had the "face of a butcher" stretched her neck the longest and looked the most surprised.
Li Jin's gaze remained fixed on the servant's face, whose clothes were still dripping wet.
He frowned, looking troubled: "It's still down there, a really heavy rock. We've been trying to lift it out for ages, but the two of us just can't."
Li Jin turned around and glanced at Zhou Zheng.
He put down the sword at his waist and, without saying a word, jumped into the lake.
"It's right under the pavilion!" the servant said, pointing to the pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Seeing that Prince Jing's mind was entirely on the case and he seemed to have completely forgotten the purpose of coming to the Grand Tutor's residence, Su Hang became a little anxious. He leaned close to Li Jin and whispered, "Your Highness, my father is still waiting."
Li Jin raised his hand to stop him: "Human life is at stake. Grand Tutor, you don't need to wait for me. I can come another day."
These words made Su Hang hesitate for a long time before nodding in agreement: "Then I will go and tell Father, and have the other people in the mansion come over to identify it."
Li Jin nodded and replied, "Thank you."
In the lake, beside the pavilion, after several ups and downs, Zhou Zheng poked his head out and looked at the people on the shore: "Come down and help."
That stone was indeed heavy.
It took the four of them about half an incense stick's time to finally push the stone ashore.
Zhou Zheng was soaked to the bone, but he didn't care at all. He picked up his sword and stood aside, waiting expressionlessly.
The remaining three were so exhausted that they slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
The stone was about the size of a commoner's pickle jar. Li Jin glanced at the rope still tied to it and lifted it a few times himself.
It is indeed heavy, but on the shore, an adult male can easily lift it up.
With the stones being brought to the surface, Jin Shu had already obtained a preliminary result from the initial examination of the body.
She gripped the corpse's jaw and, amidst gasps of alarm, leaned close to him, using the light to examine the contents of his nostrils.
Then he opened his lips and examined them carefully.
"The time of death was about two days ago. The corneas are cloudy, rigor mortis has completely subsided, the body is swollen all over, there are signs of skin peeling, and there is thick foam in the mouth and nose, but..." Jin Shu carefully examined the ears and eyeballs, then shook his head, "They are not there."
"No?" Li Jin frowned, took two steps forward, and squatted down beside her.
Having worked on so many cases with Jin Shu, Li Jin had become thoroughly familiar with the physical characteristics of corpses caused by different methods of death.
The absence of certain features found in the body in the water indicates the presence of traces of green algae.
“Nothing was found near the mouth or nose.” Jin Shu shook his head. “This means that after death, he was tied to a stone and thrown in.”
After saying that, she glanced around and said, "The rest may have to be taken back."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin nodded.
It was indeed inconvenient to use a knife in the Grand Tutor's residence.
Just then, Su Hang returned, and Grand Tutor Su Yu came along as well. Li Jin stood up, about to exchange a few pleasantries, when he noticed an uninvited guest following behind the two of them.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Li Jin bowed respectfully.
Crown Prince Li Jing stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at him, and then his gaze fell directly on Jin Shu, who was standing next to the corpse.
He bypassed Li Jin and squatted directly opposite Jin Shu. He glanced at the corpse on the ground and asked in an unusually gentle tone, "Can you figure out how he died?"
Jin Shu shook her head solemnly, "I can't tell."
Li Jing raised an eyebrow: "There's someone Mr. Jin couldn't see?"
To everyone's surprise, Jin Shu waved his hand and said, "Jin Shu is no better than Your Highness. If Your Highness didn't notice, how could I?"
She didn't say which prince it was.
But the crown prince was very satisfied with this answer.
Mr. Jin is indeed a smart man; it's a loss to keep him by Li Jin's side.
"So, sir, what do you think is the best next step in this case?"
"That depends on how the Ministry of Justice arranges it," Jin Shu said, looking into the Crown Prince's eyes without the slightest panic.
After a long while, Li Jing pondered for a moment, then stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Let's hand this case over to the Six Doors."
He turned to face Li Jin, his demeanor seemingly transformed, and coldly said, "Third Brother finds it easy to handle cases that have nothing to do with me."
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