Chapter 15: Coroner's autopsy, accidental death

The village chief led Liu Ming'an into the crowd. Liu Ming'an was tall, and he could see the body by the pond through the crowd. Although the distance was a bit far and he couldn't see clearly, Liu Ming'an always felt that it looked familiar.

"Everyone is here, everyone just wait here, wait for the official to come and speak." The village chief scanned the crowd and spoke solemnly.

Everyone was waiting three feet away from the body. This was also the village chief's instructions, in order to protect the scene and facilitate the official to investigate the case.

"Brother Ming'an."

The crisp voice of a girl rang beside him, not as cheerful as before, and the tone was a little low.

Liu Ming'an heard the sound and looked over. Sure enough, it was He Yiyi. Behind her was a half-year-old boy, her younger brother He Dong, who looked a little pale.

"Brother Ming'an." He Dong also shouted after his sister. The boy was in the stage of changing his voice and his voice was rough and unpleasant, so he didn't like to talk much.

Liu Ming'an nodded to the two siblings and asked casually: "Did you just arrive?"

The reason why he asked this was because He Yiyi's family lived in a relatively remote area, and it was further away than Liu Ming'an.

Unexpectedly, He Yiyi shook her head, and then said: "Xiaodong discovered it first. Then he called me when he went home, and I went to find the village chief."

Liu Ming'an looked at the boy next to him and understood the reason for his pale face.

"Who died?" Liu Ming'an asked again.

He Yiyi didn't answer, but quietly reached out and pointed to a certain place. Liu Ming'an looked in the direction she pointed, and saw a woman kneeling on the ground, covering her face and sobbing.

It was He Wen's mother. Next to her, He Wen's brother He Wu was sitting on the ground, looking at the body with a complicated expression.

Liu Ming'an looked at the body carefully again, and he knew.

The dead one was He Wen!

Liu Ming'an suddenly felt a sharp pain in the scalp where his head hit the stone.

Things are so unpredictable. The person who was so arrogant and domineering a few hours ago turned into a dead body in the blink of an eye.

"Yiyi, come here!"

Liu Ming'an, who was sighing, was interrupted by this scolding. He turned around and saw He Yiyi's mother staring at this place with a bad face, and there was a lot of blame in her eyes.

It was the first time in her life that He Yiyi saw a dead person. She was frightened and wanted to stay with Liu Mingan, so she pretended not to hear her mother's call.

But her mother was impatient. Seeing that her daughter did not move, she squeezed through the crowd and wanted to take He Yiyi to another place.

Liu Mingan saw He Yiyi's mother dragging He Yiyi to stagger a few steps, and she scolded him, "Girl, you stick to men all day long, you have no shame!"

He Yiyi retorted, "Mom, I just talked to Brother Mingan."

"Do you think I don't know your tricks? I tell you, no way!"

...

The mother and daughter's voices faded away, but Liu Mingan breathed a sigh of relief. Heaven and earth can see that he has always had only brotherly feelings for He Yiyi, but it's a pity that her mother was guarding against him like a thief.

Liu Ming'an touched the aching back of his head, stepped out of the crowd, found a tree to lean against, rubbed his temples gently, and waited quietly for the officials to come.

After a while, Liu Ming'an always felt that someone was looking at him. He raised his eyes and looked around, and found that the person looking at him was the dumb daughter-in-law of He Zhao's family.

Liu Ming'an had seen that woman several times, and she was always timid and rarely looked at people. Today, he didn't know why she was looking at him, and she covered her face with a piece of cloth, leaving only her eyes exposed.

Although Liu Ming'an felt strange, he still smiled at her gently.

The people in the whole village waited until the sun was about to set, and finally heard the sound of the official's horse hooves.

"Sir, this is it. I have gathered all the villagers here so that you can ask questions. No one has touched the body during this period." The village chief saw the official and immediately went up to him and said respectfully.

There were four people from the government office, two detectives, a coroner, and a clerk who was in charge of recording.

The coroner smiled when he heard what the village chief said: "Thank you for your consideration, old man."

The village chief nodded repeatedly and replied: "It should be, it should be."

The crowd automatically parted to let the four officials walk to the body.

Liu Mingan watched the coroner squat beside the body and carefully check it from head to toe, nails, mouth, nose, ears, and even the hair. Then he took out a silver needle and stabbed it into the base of He Wen's tongue, throat, and stomach.

During this process, the coroner was muttering something, and the clerk kept writing on the paper.

At the same time, the two constables surrounded the body and began to check it out inch by inch, especially the footprints around it, and they touched their chins while thinking.

Everyone in the village was silent, staring at their movements, with a little curiosity on their faces. Only the village chief was worried. He was afraid that a murder would really happen and the village would be in turmoil.

About half an hour later, the four officials stopped what they were doing, and they gathered together to discuss in a low voice.

Liu Mingan saw what the coroner asked, and the constable shook his head. Then the constable asked something in return, and the coroner shook his head.

It seems that the matter has come to a conclusion.

As soon as Liu Mingan had this idea, the next moment, one of the constables shouted.

"Fellow villagers, after our investigation, this man walked to the pond after being drunk and fell down, and accidentally drowned. It was an accidental death, not a murder case. Don't worry."

The village chief sighed, and the worry between his brows disappeared. He clasped his fists and bowed to the four people, saying: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

The coroner waved his hands at him and smiled, "Old man, you are too polite. It's our job. We have completed our mission and are going back to the government office."

After that, the four people mounted their horses, whipped their horses, and disappeared in a moment.

After watching the four officials leave, the village chief turned around and looked at everyone with a clear smile on his face: "It's okay, it's okay, go home and eat, it's okay."

If it was someone else who died, the village chief would definitely not be able to laugh, but the one who died was He Wen, this evil creature, who had been causing trouble for the village for many years. The village chief just felt that evil people would get their comeuppance, and he couldn't wait to set off two strings of firecrackers to celebrate.

Most of the villagers had the same idea as the village chief, and they also had more or less smiles on their faces. They dispersed in groups of three or two, went home to cook and rest.

In a moment, most people had left, and He Wen's mother and He Wu maintained the same posture as at the beginning, both of them seemed to be in a daze.

Liu Mingan saw the village chief approaching the mother and son, and said earnestly: "He Wu's mother, don't blame the old man for saying something unpleasant. He Wen's death should be a good thing for your family."

When the woman heard this, tears fell from her eyes again.

The village chief continued: "You know better than me how He Wen has been struggling these years. The family assets left by his father were enough for the three of you to eat and drink for a lifetime, but what happened? He spent it all on eating, drinking, and gambling!"

When the village chief said this, he thought of He Wen's messy deeds before his death, and his tone was a little angry. He pointed at He Wu and said: "Let's not talk about anything else, just Xiao Wu, such a diligent and honest child, but he still hasn't found a wife today. You know why."

"Uncle Zhong, stop talking, stop talking, I understand everything." He Wu's mother cried, "I didn't teach my son well and gave birth to a beast. He hurt myself, Xiao Wu, and the villagers. To be honest, I used to hope for his death every day, but he really died today, and I still feel sad. I can't control it. My heart..."

Liu Ming'an looked at the woman with gray hair and a haggard face, and felt bad. If his mother hadn't died, she should be about the same age as her.

"Alas!" The village chief patted He Wu on the shoulder and said to them, "After all, blood is thicker than water. You bury him and end their relationship in this life. From now on, mother and son will live in peace. No one will ask you for money anymore, and no one will beat or scold you. Life will get better day by day."

Hearing this, Liu Ming'an felt a little blocked in his heart, and even his steps were heavy on the way home.