Chapter 7171 Cheng Mansion
"Cen Da died of suffocation. There were clear finger marks on his neck and several knife wounds on his face, which showed the murderer's hatred for the deceased. In addition, the silver needle was taken out from the same place as the imperial physician and the chief, but there was no silver needle behind Cheng Jian's head."
Liang Yi was happy about his victory, "See, I was right!"
Shi Er asked: "There is no silver needle in the back of Cheng Jian's head, so why did Cen Da have it? According to our previous inference, the murderer should have got what he wanted."
Liang Yi: "Hey, can you hear me?"
Su Yan said, "We have already decided that we need to continue the investigation. Mr. Cen's body must also be taken back to the morgue for examination."
"What else is there to do?"
Liang Yi: “Hey, hey, hey!”
Su Yan looked at Cen Da's body and thought, "Cen Da is often entangled with women, this aspect must also be investigated."
Shi Er said, "I understand. Take the body back to the morgue first."
Liang Yi: “Hello!”
Shi Er called several subordinates.
Su Yan turned around and continued to survey the riverside.
Yan Zheng: “…”
Is it appropriate to ignore the little prince?
The young prince is also an impatient person. Who wouldn’t be annoyed in this situation?
It seems that he cannot escape death today, he...
Liang Yi waved his fist and said, "I won't let you go!"
Yan Zheng: “!”
Sure enough, the little prince was angry!
Liang Yi said: "Just wait until I find a clue..."
Yan Zheng: “!!”
The young prince was indeed angry. He was indeed...
Liang Yi: "I will hide secretly, you have to beg me!"
Yan Zheng: “…”
*
The Imperial Medical Bureau is outside the palace, and this is Liang Yi’s first time here.
In the past, whenever he was injured or sick, he would summon the imperial physician to the palace and never paid attention to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Liao Zhui, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was a fifth-rank official and had long been employed by Zhao Mingde. Liang Yi had a very bad relationship with him.
Liao Zhui's attitude was also very cold. "The death of Imperial Doctor Liu has not yet been determined. The Ministry of Justice will give an explanation. There is no need to trouble Your Highness to intervene in this case."
Liang Yi just pretended not to hear, "Who was on duty that day? Who was he close to when he was alive? Has anything strange happened in the Imperial Hospital in the past two months?"
Liao Zhui: “…”
He suppressed his anger and summoned the imperial physician Chang Kang. "Chang Kang is on good terms with Imperial Physician Liu. If you have any questions, please ask him. I am busy with official duties and will not accompany you."
Liao Zhui left in a huff.
Chang Kang bowed to Liang Yi and said, "Your Highness, the court envoy..."
"Don't worry about it," Liang Yi said, "Tell me, has there been any strange incidents in the Imperial Hospital recently?"
*
"Although Liang Yi is a prince, he is not taken seriously and has only seen the emperor a few times. He is straightforward and has been bullied a lot, especially by Zhao Mingde's men. He may seem reckless, but he has integrity in his heart and is able to bend and stretch. It is not easy for him to develop his current character. We must protect him."
Shi Yangui looked at the man sitting in the shadows.
The man laughed softly, "Young prince, is it important? Overthrow Zhao Mingde, support the prince, whether the young prince lives or dies..."
Shi Yangui glanced over with a cold gaze.
The man shrugged. "If we can protect him, of course we will, but how many times has he offended Zhao Mingde? If we really can't protect him, then... I know, I know. I'll do my best."
*
The cause of Cen Da’s death was very clear, he was strangled to death.
In addition to the fatal wound, he had several other scars on his body, all of which were posthumous injuries.
Su Yan needed to record the length and width of each wound, and also to guess the weapon used to injure the person. She filled out the report quickly while performing the autopsy.
Shi Er looked at it for a long time before stepping forward. "It's really hard for one person to do all this. Why don't I send someone over... You probably don't trust my people, so you can ask the young prince to send someone to assist you."
The criminal law of the Zhou Dynasty stipulated that at least two people must be present at the autopsy. The coroner was only responsible for the autopsy, and there was also a clerk who was responsible for recording.
Su Yan didn't care about that. She answered casually, "It's enough for Minister Shi to be present. He can testify that I didn't tamper with the inquest."
Shi Er hurriedly said, "Of course I believe you."
He stepped back and looked at Su Yan.
Su Yan numbered each wound and recorded every injury carefully, which was an extremely tedious task.
Shi Er thought of the days when he studied hard.
His father told him that his family was in a special situation and he had to make a name for himself to save his family. His father said a lot to him, but he didn't tell him about the current situation in the court.
Officials are just sitting there doing nothing and the people are displaced. It is very difficult to find an official who is really doing anything.
The walking dead in the court are not even half as good as Su Yan.
After a while, Su Yan stood up with a sore back and walked towards Shi Er with the medical report. "I counted carefully. There are 32 wounds on Cen Da's body. His cheeks, legs, abdomen, and arms are all bruised. And they were all inflicted after his death. After his death, the murderer beat him. The murderer had a strong hatred for him."
Shi Er said: "Maybe he had contact with Cheng Jian and got what the murderer wanted, or knew something?"
Su Yan shook his head, "In fact, Cheng Jian's death is not exactly the same as the previous two murders. Judging from the modus operandi... Never mind, I still have a clue that I can check."
"Just tell me."
Su Yan took out the handkerchief and said, "I found this on Cen Da's body."
There were white porcelain fragments in the handkerchief.
Shi Er asked: "Did the murderer hit him with porcelain?"
Su Yan said: "This was found inside his clothes. There was no debris on his wound."
"Is this a clue?"
"It smells like rouge," Su Yan said, "It might be a woman's item."
"No wonder you asked me to check for women who are close to Mr. Cen," Shi Er said, "I have already found four women who are close to Mr. Cen. I will bring them here."
Su Yan instructed: "Bring the rouge and powder they use."
Cen Da often frequented brothels, and the women found by the Ministry of Justice were all from brothels of all sizes in the capital.
They are of different ages, the youngest is only eighteen years old, and the oldest is already in her thirties.
The four had never seen a high-ranking official before, so they instinctively moved closer to each other, not daring to look up at Shi Er.
Su Yan stepped forward and asked, "Regarding Mr. Cen, when did you sisters see him for the last time?"
"…Two days ago."
"He hasn't seen me for half a month."
"He said that he was short of money recently and didn't contact me often. We met seven days ago."
"I have known him recently, and he seldom came to see me in the past year. I was so angry that I went to his doorstep to block him, but he only used nice words to fool me. There is no good man in the world!"
Shi Er said coldly: "I'm asking when you met him."
"Yesterday..."
Su Yan asked again: "Besides you, has he taken a fancy to other women recently?"
The four of them shook their heads one after another.
The younger woman said, "Although he has some money, it's not much. We have seen many powerful people, so we didn't take him seriously. It's just that he is quite generous, so we are willing to look at him. He is a playboy. He likes girls when he sees them. As long as he is willing to pay attention to him, he will get close to them. As far as I know, he will never lack girls around him."
The others nodded in agreement, "Indeed, he would actively approach any girl who caught his eye, and he would always like new girls."
Shi Er frowned, "Such a filthy person is not only sorry for the child, but also sorry for his wife."
Su Yan's eyes were slightly frightened.
Shi Er: "What's wrong?"
Horror turned to flattery.
Su Yan said: "Minister Shi is absolutely right!"
After the words fell, Shi Er looked at Su Yan's admiring eyes, and heard the slow voice again: Men, not just like that, Minister, also just like that.
Shi Er: “…”
Su Yan took out their rouge and powder and arranged them.
The four girls looked at her curiously.
Su Yan opened the lid of the rouge and smelled them one by one.
After a moment, she frowned and shook her head, "No."
"None?"
Su Yan affirmed: "It's not the same taste."
Shi Er said, "You are a woman, you should be very familiar with rouge and powder, you may be able to smell which shop sells it, so I can go find it."
Su Yan said righteously: "I am a coroner. Smell is crucial when performing an autopsy. Using rouge and powder will affect my judgment."
Shi Er was about to praise her when he heard another voice: Minister, you are so stupid. I am naturally beautiful, do I need rouge and powder?
Shi Er: “…”
After hearing what the two said, the older woman said, "As for rouge, we are already familiar with it. We know a thing or two about it. I wonder what kind of rouge the Minister is looking for?"
Without waiting for Shi Er to speak, Su Yan took out his handkerchief.
Shi Er frowned and said, "Isn't that inappropriate?"
"Sure, sure," Su Yan said, "Professional things should be done by professionals."
She handed the handkerchief to the woman and said, "Sister, can you help me smell it? Which shop does this rouge come from?"
The four looked at Shi Er hesitantly.
None of them dared to answer until the minister spoke.
Shi Er said: "That makes sense, come and have a look."
There was surprise in the woman's eyes.
They all knew that Su Yan was a coroner, and they had also heard people from the Ministry of Justice mention Shi Er's status. How could a lackey... a minister listen to the words of a little coroner? It was really strange.
When the four saw the small thing in the handkerchief, their faces twitched.
To smell the odor from this little thing, only a coroner can do this job.
They looked at the porcelain fragments with worried faces, "Miss Su, I thought you would at least show us the rouge, this...what can you smell from this?"
"Good sister, just try it, maybe it's a familiar taste." Su Yan tried to flatter her, "I can tell at a glance that you are a kind-hearted person, look at your eyebrows, look at your temperament..."
Shi Er's brows were furrowed again and again.
These people are just prostitutes. What do you want them to do? To put it bluntly, is there any need to make them happy?
The four of them were so flattered by Su Yan's praise that they took turns taking the handkerchief and putting it under their noses to sniff it.
At first, the four of them frowned and turned their handkerchiefs around several times before one of them said uncertainly, "This rouge... doesn't seem too expensive."
"Cheap stuff?" another woman said disdainfully, "I use good stuff, you can smell it."
The three of them looked at him with disdain, "Bah!"
They discussed, "A few days ago, the shop on West Street said that they had created a new product at a low price. Do you remember it? It tastes very similar."
"It seems to be this one! I went to see it, the fragrance was very strong, I really didn't like it, so I didn't buy it."
"Yes, yes, that's the one!"
With the help of the four people, Shi Er ordered someone to find the box of rouge.
Su Yan opened the lid and said without getting close, "Indeed, but it doesn't seem to be exactly the same."
Shi Er said, "I'll pass them back so they can continue smelling."
Su Yan said: "Don't bother them. The extra smell may be mixed with other things. They may not know it."
Shi Er didn't care. "They are just some prostitutes. What's wrong with asking them to run again?"
Su Yan maintained a decent smile.
Shi Er then heard a voice: Running dog...
Shi Er: “Isn’t it?!”
Su Yan didn't want to answer, but Shi Er looked at her anxiously, so she had to say: "I was taught that everyone is equal. How can I look down on them just because they are prostitutes?"
Putting aside the weird idea that everyone is equal, can't we show a little contempt for the girls in brothels?
Shi Er said: "They are unwilling to earn their own living and just want to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor."
"This is not a peaceful and prosperous age. It's a patriarchal society... well, it's a place where you men have the final say. How do you know that they weren't sold to brothels by their families, or that they are desperate? You don't want to see them sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor, so why don't you provide them with some jobs to make a living?"
Shi Er: “…”
Of course he couldn't provide it.
For the first time, Shi Er seriously thought about how the prostitutes ended up in brothels.
The Zhou Dynasty was in turmoil, and the people were displaced. They had no land or houses, and at this time, they could still exchange for silver...
Shi Er silently called his subordinates and said, "Let's check their backgrounds carefully."
Su Yan was still staring at Yanzhi in a daze.
The white porcelain fragments on Cen Da's body did have a smell, a very refreshing smell that Su Yan seemed to have smelled before.
She was more sensitive to smells and was able to tell it apart; others would only smell the strong scent of rouge.
But what was the refreshing fragrance she asked?
Looking back at the past three cases, they...
Su Yan suddenly turned around and said, "Minister, we have to catch someone."
Shi Er was still immersed in his thoughts about the brothel girl. He looked at Su Yan in confusion, "Ah? Arrest someone? Who? The one who sold his daughter?"
Su Yan's voice was resounding, "No, it's the owner of the teahouse, Manager Xu."
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