Chapter 145: Autopsy (part two) “The victim’s feet are very dirty. There are sludge and grass on them. Excluding how dried the sludge is, the flesh on her bound feet is even harder. These are clear signs that before her death she was running for her life. She must have been chased at that time or… she was doing her best to escape from somewhere.”
“Unfortunately, the road must have been slippery and with her whole attention focused on escaping, she wasn’t careful and might have stumbled on something. As she lost her balance, her body fell backward and her head landed on a sharp rock, dying on the spot.” Without dragging on with her words, she clearly voiced her conjecture.
Although the governor heard her explanations, he still didn’t say anything as he was busy forcing himself not to throw up. As for Jing Rong, he stood upright, showing no doubt towards Ji Yunshu’s words. What’s more, he even wanted her to continue her explanations.
Only the coroner thought that she was speaking nonsense. Moreover, he was ferociously glaring at her. In a cynical tone, he said, “Tell me, are you a coroner? Stop spouting nonsense. All you’re doing is just guessing. I have more than ten years of experience in this line of work. As if my autopsy is wrong. What I said is correct!”
“Oh? Fine, then I’ll let you truly be convinced.” Determination was written all over Ji Yunshu’s face. She pointed at the corpse’s feet and solemnly spoke, “First of all, although there is sludge on the victim’s soles, you can see the mark of an object imprinted on it. From this, it’s possible to conclude that she might have step on a root or stump and fell.” Simultaneously, she walked back to the victim’s head and slowly parted the tangled hair, revealing a wound caused by the impalement of a sharp object. The wound was very deep and cracked open the skull. It was clear that the gravity of the wound would result in instant death.
“Now, do you have anything else to say?” asked Ji Yunshu.
The coroner’s complexion turned green as his hands clenched into fists and lowered his head. This was a slap to his face. Despite the facts being pointed out, he trembled slightly, unwilling to admit otherwise. He turned around to leave, not without giving a few glances at Ji Yunshu with his squinted eyes. His appearance felt as if he had a guilty conscience.
Ji Yunshu remained stoic and even scolded him severely, “Not only you weren’t careful with your examination, you even rushed to finish your work. This is a homicide case, not a child’s play! Your job is to find the evidence left behind by the victim and clear her grievances. As a coroner, if you only know how to goof around, I advise you to change your profession as to prevent the yamen to be plagued by more grieving ghosts.”
‘Huh?’ The coroner didn’t anticipate that Ji Yunshu would be so fierce. Despite his thick skin, at this moment, the coroner was turning red from embarrassment. His appearance showed his unwillingness to admit his fault. He looked as if he wanted to escape. He stammered, “I… I will not!”
“I hope so.” Since she taught the coroner a lesson, she turned back to the capital governor and inquired, “Governor, at the time when the body was discovered, was there a suspicious object at the scene? Or any sharp stone that could lead to the victim’s death?”
The capital governor tried to remember before shaking his head.
“Then, who found the body?”
“A woodcutter. He found the body when he went to the mountain to cut some trees. As soon as I received the news, I immediately took people and brought the body back here.”
“So, where is the woodcutter?”
“He must have returned home.” The reply given was very quick, but it caused Ji Yunshu’s expression to turn grim in an instant.
Jing Rong looked with calm and swept a cold glance at the governor. “What are you waiting for? Hurry and bring that woodcutter immediately!”
The governor hurried to accomplish his task. It should be said that without Jing Rong’s overbearing tone, his brain would have remained preoccupied with the sole thought of not vomiting. He bowed and rushed out while shouting, “You and you, hurry and bring that woodcutter here. Be fast!”
“Yes, milord!” A few subordinates replied in clear voice.
At this moment, Ji Yunshu had taken off her gloves and opened her sandalwood box. Next, she unrolled the paper she brought with her and spread it on a table.
This action caused the returning governor and the coroner to gawk at her in surprise. ‘What does he want to do?’ They only saw Ji Yunshu dip her brush in water and then in paint before starting to draw something. After what seemed like the time for almost a joss stick to burn, the portrait of a beautiful girl gradually took form on the white paper. Her beauty is such that the coroner became stunned.
A single question left his mouth. “Teacher, this… what is this?”
“A portrait.”
‘Obviously, this is a portrait.’ However, this wasn’t the meaning of his question. His mouth twisted in unhappiness.
After the ink dried, Ji Yunshu rolled the portrait and gave it to the governor. She didn’t forget to say, “This is the portrait of the victim. Take it and ask around if anyone can recognize her.”
The capital governor was extremely shocked. He took the portrait while asking, “This is really what the victim looks like? She was mutilated to this point, but Teacher can still draw her portrait? As expected from a talented person. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have never believed it.”
The governor began to worship Ji Yunshu. The past two days, he had heard numerous rumours about the ability of this talented person. However, hearing is not the same as seeing. At this moment, this teacher’s skill had widened his horizon!
“Hurry and go!”
“Yes.”
Finally, the governor took the portrait and brought the runners to go door-to-door and inquired about the identity of the deceased. He also summoned a painter to quickly replicate the portrait and posted it with a notice. After tidying up, Ji Yunshu covered the corpse and went out of the room. Jing Rong, who walked beside her, whispered, “After looking at that kind of corpse, you really don’t feel effect at all?”
“Of course not.” She replied with confidence. She gave him a sideways glance. “To tell the truth, this corpse is one of the most mutilated I’ve seen. However, if your heart truly wants to redress the dead’s grievance, even when you look at it, you will not feel sick.”
“You really give me many surprises.”
“Likewise, your highness also gives me many surprises.”
After hearing her words, Jing Rong became surprised. His lips suddenly curled up. “Then, tell me, what did this Prince do to surprise you?”
“The princess said that when she was young, she was betrothed. If you didn’t break her leg, she would have already been married. Although your Highness didn’t say anything and your action surprised people, the end result is good.”
Jing Rong felt as if he received a candy and started to grin. Wasn’t that the first time he was praised by Ji Yunshu? Jing Rong was happy like a blooming flower. However, at this time, Jing Xuan who was done emptying her stomach came back. Her expression was somewhat discomfited. She pulled Jing Rong and said, “Imperial brother, I really regret coming here. I want to go home.”
Jing Rong glanced at her. “Didn’t you say that even if you die you will still follow us? Now, you want to return? No way! But if you want to insist, go back yourself.”
‘Go back myself?’ She was a pretty princess. Telling her to go back herself… Was he joking with her? Jing Xuan was about to argue back, but several people timely rushed through the memorial hall entrance.
Surprisingly, it was Madame Jiang. She walked in supported by several maidservants. Beside her stood Li Zhao. Seeing her here, Ji Yunshu suddenly understood – the deceased was none other than Shuiqing!