Chapter 53 Virtue and Talent
These marks...are way too high up!
And the direction of the groove on the back of the neck... is a bit strange!
In people who commit suicide by hanging, the ligature marks on their necks are usually slanted upwards, crossing or separating behind the neck or ears.
But Xiao Quanzi's... mark on the back of his neck is deep and straight, it looks like... he was suddenly strangled from behind with a rope or strap and dragged backward!
Desheng's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes instantly turned deep and unfathomable.
He glanced discreetly at his apprentice, Decai, who stood beside him with his hands at his sides, his face still deathly pale.
“De Cai,” De Sheng’s voice was calm and even, as if he were having a casual conversation, “you came and... you saw him hanging here? Was anyone else here at the time?”
De Cai kept his head down, and upon hearing this, his body seemed to stiffen almost imperceptibly. His voice was a little tense: "Replying to Master, I saw Xiao Quanzi like this as soon as I arrived."
"The house was dilapidated at the time, and he was the only one there... I didn't see anyone else."
As soon as De Cai said this, De Sheng's last bit of doubt was instantly dispelled.
He was almost 100% certain: this little Quanzi was definitely not the young lady's person!
So who did it?
Desheng's mind raced: Who else could it be? It must have been the mole who actually passed on the message but was afraid of being implicated!
That kid's quick and ruthless!
They found a scapegoat and even staged the scene!
The technique is just a bit too green; it might fool others, but it can't fool my own old eyes.
Desheng's eyes darted around, and he sneered inwardly: Fine! Since the person hiding in the shadows has gone this far and prepared the body to take the blame, what am I still hesitating for?
Let's go with the flow and help him make this play a complete success!
Isn't this exactly the result I wanted?
"Sigh..." Desheng sighed deeply, a hint of sorrow and regret appearing on his face. "How foolish! For a little money, he did such a treacherous and ungrateful thing! Now... he's committed suicide out of guilt, which is... well, he deserves it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, De Cai, who had been hanging his head, suddenly looked up!
Those eyes clearly showed: unbelievable astonishment!
Master... you just believed that?!
Those marks are so obvious, has Master's eagle eyes gone blind?!
Was my master really that stupid?
De Cai's mind was in turmoil.
He came here with the determination to die!
He killed Xiao Quanzi because the kid somehow found out he was the young lady's man. In order to silence him and find a scapegoat, he took the risk and killed him.
He had thought that if his master saw through his trick, he would definitely be finished today, and might even implicate his master's important affairs.
When the time comes, I can only close my eyes and go to the underworld with Xiao Quanzi to avoid suffering that torment.
But to everyone's surprise! The master didn't even notice?!
Good heavens!
His master is so stupid!
De Cai mentally cursed, but then a surge of joy at surviving a disaster rushed to his head. Who cares if he's stupid or not, at least his head is safe for now!
"De Cai, go and invite Coroner Jiang here."
Oh no!
De Cai's heart skipped a beat; the relief he had just felt was now in his throat again!
Coroner! That's someone who specializes in examining corpses!
My crude disguise might fool my old master's failing eyesight, but could it fool a professional coroner's sharp eyes?
"Yes, Master!"
De Cai answered quickly, but his voice was a little unsteady.
He turned and walked out, his steps steady, but his heart was pounding.
I just took a detour and accidentally tripped over the Imperial Guards!
"Eunuch Decai!" The imperial guard was startled and quickly steadied him. "Are you alright? You must be careful!"
De Cai seized the opportunity to grab the guard's hand and shoved the item into it.
He steadied himself, patted his chest, and, still looking shaken, gasped, "Oh my god... that scared me to death! It's all because I saw that hanged Xiao Quanzi earlier... his appearance was too creepy!"
He looked distressed and sighed, "You know, with my stupid brain, if I get scared out of my wits one day and don't watch where I'm going, and I bump into some important person... I'm afraid my brain will have to move!"
Upon hearing this, the imperial guard laughed and said, "So that's how it is... There's no need to worry, sir. My mother always said that no matter how stupid someone is, the one with a good head is the real deal. Take care on your journey, sir."
Upon hearing this, De Cai felt a sudden sense of relief.
He looked at the imperial guard, gave a grateful yet slightly fearful smile, and nodded: "Oh, thank you for your kind words! Thank you very much, young man!"
After saying that, he composed himself and continued walking towards the coroner's office.
When De Cai brought Jiang the coroner back to the house, he found his master, De Sheng, sitting at a broken table next to the corpse, drinking tea.
Master is indeed worthy of being called master!
When Desheng saw Jiang the coroner arrive, he quickly put down his teacup.
"De Cai, you can go out first."
De Cai responded with a "Yes," stepped out of the door, and closed it behind him.
His back was pressed tightly against the cold wall, and he felt that his inner clothes were completely soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his body stickily and making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
This job...it's fucking mind-numbing!
"It's more tiring than sweeping the floor for a year!" De Cai lamented inwardly.
Several times he thought he might as well just slit his own throat and end it all!
But the young lady's ironclad rules still echoed in my ears.
He strained his ears, trying desperately to hear what was happening inside, but it was completely silent, and he couldn't hear anything.
De Cai was extremely anxious.
I don't know how long I endured this torment, it felt like a hundred years, when the broken door creaked open.
Desheng and Jiang, the coroner, came out one after the other.
De Cai's calves trembled, and he almost lost his balance.
Now he knew whether his head was still on his neck.
Desheng smiled and said, "Lord Jiang, you see... the person who hanged himself died an unsightly death, and his spirit is heavy with filth. If His Majesty were to see him like this, it would only make things worse. You have more experience, so in your opinion... how should this matter be handled properly?"
Jiang, the coroner, stroked his sparse beard and nodded with deep agreement: "What you say is absolutely right, sir. Such a self-inflicted death, especially in such a defiled place, likely carries an unclean aura and is indeed unsuitable to disturb Your Majesty's sight. In my opinion..."
He paused for a moment: "Let's burn it. That would be the best course of action. It would end the matter once and for all, and also prevent the foul air from disturbing the palace."
It burned... burned?!
What?
Upon hearing this, De Cai was completely stunned.
Could it be... that I, Decai, am actually a genius at committing crimes?!
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