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墨書 Inktalez
"Fox Demon is quite remarkable. Murderers often have a peculiar psychological tendency to avoid the places where they committed their crimes. Even notorious bandits, who kill without hesitation, will instinctively take a detour when passing by the scene of their own wrongdoing."
A familiar voice came from behind. Xing Ruyi turned around and saw Chang Tai holding Yin Yuan. He looked slightly fatigued, suggesting that he had been through more hardships during their time apart.
"Fox Demon Mother!" Yin Yuan exclaimed upon seeing Xing Ruyi, wriggling free from Chang Tai's arms.
The atmosphere in the courtyard became subtly tense, especially for Su Jingliang. He first glanced at Xing Ruyi, then at Chang Tai, and finally his gaze settled on the boy in her arms.
The boy was very handsome, almost excessively so, making it hard for anyone to resist liking him at first sight.
"Let me introduce you. This is my son, Yin Yuan. This is the first Constable of the capital's office, Chang Tai. By the way, Brother Chang, what brings you here?" Xing Ruyi noticed that several Yard Officers were following behind Chang Tai, dressed in what appeared to be local county attire.
"After receiving a letter from Li Mao, I brought Yin Yuan along and chased after it. I didn't expect to miss our lodging place. With no other choice, I had to seek shelter at the county office. The county magistrate and I have met several times before, so disturbing him late at night was not an issue. When the Su family sent someone to report the case, I happened to be talking with the magistrate and was invited over. I didn't expect to run into you here; it saves me from rushing."
"It’s great that Brother Chang could come!" Xing Ruyi said as she stepped aside, focusing her attention on Yin Yuan.
Naturally, this murder case should be handled by those in the office, so she felt it appropriate to step back and let them take charge.
After exchanging pleasantries with Su Jingliang, Chang Tai began inspecting the scene while instructing the accompanying Coroner to collect evidence. At this point, the work of the Coroner was quite basic—such as estimating the victim's age, gender, and cause of death.
While talking with Yin Yuan, Xing Ruyi kept a close eye on the condition of the body. She initially thought that the corpse had been carelessly nailed to the wall by the murderer. However, upon seeing the measurements taken by the Coroner, she realized that the murderer had put some thought into it. The killer had intentionally laid bricks directly beneath the feet of the corpse, artificially raising the "ground" inside the wall. As a result, measuring from the soles of the feet to the bricks yielded exactly six inches—a dimension that could bind a soul eternally to that spot.
However, it was clear that this clever trick had no substantial effect since the ghost of the Nursemaid not only left that spot but could also move around in the room where her body was hidden.
"The deceased is a female, approximately 40-50 years old. From her clothing, she does not appear to be a commoner or a servant doing rough work. As you can see, both her inner and outer garments are made of fine materials. Additionally, we found a bent silver hairpin in her head; based on its style and material, it belongs to a mid-range quality—ordinary servants wouldn’t possess such valuable accessories."
"What about the cause of death?" Xing Ruyi casually asked.
The Coroner first glanced at Chang Tai, then at Xing Ruyi, before responding: "Due to signs of decomposition on the body and having been sealed in the wall for quite some time, we cannot make an accurate judgment based solely on external appearances."
"Perhaps you should take a look too? You know that what our office's Coroner usually does is quite basic work; your skills in examining corpses surpass his," Chang Tai praised without regard for how it might affect the feelings of the Coroner.
"Brother Chang, you truly are one of us; always finding ways to praise Fox Demon. In truth, Fox Demon only understands a little bit—perhaps because those involved can become confused; as an outsider, she might notice things others overlook." As she approached the body of the Nursemaid, she continued, "The wife of Su family's former steward has also gone missing without a trace; she is likely to be related to Su Qianqian's missing Nursemaid. Based on age, clothing, and accessories, it's highly probable that this deceased woman is indeed Su Qianqian's nursemaid; however, we will need her family to come for identification. As for cause of death, I suspect it occurred here."
Xing Ruyi pointed at the throat area of the Nursemaid: "The murderer likely used this cloth tied around her body to strangle her. Strangulation refers to death caused by tightening a rope or similar object around one's neck through manual force or mechanical means leading to asphyxiation; thus it is also known as hanging. The characteristics are quite evident: strangulation marks typically form a horizontal loop around the neck; apart from where pressure is applied by knots, other areas show relatively uniform depth and there may be some swelling on the face."
Although the deceased had been dead for a long time and there were signs of decay on the body, the murderer was eager to hide the corpse, even choosing to conceal it within the wall, which left us with some clues. Look at the neck of the deceased; although the flesh has decayed, there are still signs of having been strangled, especially at the back of the neck where the hair covers.
Xing Ruyi broke a branch and gently parted the deceased's hair, allowing Chang Tai and the Coroner to examine her neck features.
"As for why I believe this strip of cloth is the murder weapon, the reason is quite simple. You see, there are still some bruises on the skin of the deceased's jaw. These bruises were left by the Criminal during the act, and due to death, these marks have become more pronounced. Of course, if we had discovered this two years later when all that remained were bones, we would have found nothing.
In addition, some strands of hair from the deceased are stuck to this strip of cloth. You might think these hairs fell out after death and landed on it. However, Brother Chang and this Coroner should note that beneath these strands of hair are some deep brown spots that have adhered the hair to the cloth."
"This is blood left by the deceased before death!" the Coroner spoke up.
"It may not necessarily be from the deceased. If we assume that the deceased was strangled by the Criminal, then she must have struggled during the attack, at least attempting to pull away the cloth or strike back at the Criminal.
Nails do not immediately disappear upon death; in fact, they continue to grow for a considerable time after death. We can observe that although the deceased's nails have grown significantly longer, their tips show varying degrees of damage. These are marks left from her struggles before dying.
As for her hair, it was certainly disheveled during that time. The silver hairpin is relatively soft, and while the Criminal took advantage of her unawareness to strangle her from behind with this cloth, external force caused it to bend but not break due to the short duration of the attack.
Now, let's return to those brown spots. Since the deceased struggled before dying, these bloodstains might not belong to her but rather to the Criminal. However, discussing this further is unnecessary because even if we knew that the Criminal was injured during his capture, so much time has passed that any wounds would have healed by now. The only purpose these bloodstains serve is to connect with the deceased's hair and clarify what our 'murder weapon' is."
Chang Tai nodded and shifted his gaze to Su Jingliang. Su Jingliang had initially stood at a distance but was drawn closer by Xing Ruyi's analysis. Now he squatted beside Xing Ruyi, closely examining the strip of cloth.
"You must be Young Master Su from the Su family?"
"That's correct; I'm Jingliang, second in line in my family. Lord Chang need not be formal; just call me Jingliang."
"Brother Jingliang!" Chang Tai addressed him accordingly. "Do you know if that missing Nursemaid has any family left?"
"Su Butler here was our previous steward and is also Nursemaid's husband. He is currently out with my Third Brother collecting debts. Nursemaid's daughter is already married; calling her back will likely take another two or three days. There is still a son at home; however, he was underage when Nursemaid went missing and I’m not sure how much help he can be."
"How old was that child when Nursemaid went missing?"
"He was thirteen years old."
"A thirteen-year-old child in a poor family would already be quite capable. Brother Su might as well send someone to fetch him; after all, he is her son and should be able to recognize his own mother."
Xing Ruyi stood up, took a step back, and said to the Coroner, "Could you please tidy up this body a bit? I wouldn't want her child to see their mother in such a disheveled state and feel sad."
The Coroner nodded and didn't hesitate, quickly getting to work.
"I heard from the people at the Su residence that this body was found in the room where Si Niang and Lingzhang were staying. Are they alright? Were they scared?"
Chang Tai often visited Sister Si's Family Tavern to drink and was quite familiar with both Si Niang and Lingzhang. At one point, Xing Ruyi had considered trying to matchmake Si Niang and Chang Tai, but unfortunately, the two just didn't click. Later, Si Niang made it clear that she wished to live her life at the Tavern as a widow, which made Xing Ruyi abandon the idea.
As for Chang Tai, while he appeared close to Si Niang, there was actually a sense of distance between them; their relationship was only slightly better than that of strangers and much less intimate than friends. Considering Si Niang's status as a widow, Xing Ruyi could understand Chang Tai's aloofness, but it also meant she would have to find him a new partner soon.
Hearing Chang Tai's concerned inquiry stirred something in Xing Ruyi's heart that had long since gone cold. Unfortunately, her thoughts were quickly dispelled by Yin Yuan.
"Uncle Chang is just concerned about Si Niang and Lingzhang. You shouldn't overthink it, Fox Demon mother. You're just lucky to have encountered my Father Fox. Otherwise, your own fate would probably be tangled up too. You wouldn't even have the talent to help others with their connections. By the way, why haven't I seen my Father Fox? It's rare for him to let you stay alone with another man in the same courtyard."
"Did your eyes see me alone? There are people in this courtyard," Xing Ruyi shot Yin Yuan a glare. "If you're bored, go look for your Father Fox. I sent him to take Lingzhang to get medicine. Also, Si Niang is over there; if Brother Chang is worried, he can go check on them too."
"With you around, what could happen to Si Niang?" Chang Tai smiled and added, "Actually, I wanted to ask if you were scared. But thinking about your usual toughness, this corpse in the wall doesn't seem like much."
"Brother Chang understands me well!" Xing Ruyi replied with a smile. The two of them laughed together, which felt somewhat out of place in the courtyard filled with the stench of decay.
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