Autopsy

“They look like they’re competing and at loggerheads, but they’re actually helping each other?”

Zhao Zhi was very surprised to hear what Song Caitang had to say, so much so he had forgotten about the water outside that reflected the moon, and stared straight into Song Caitang’s eyes.

Wenxiang and Yuetao were both Miaoyin Court’s courtesans and were constantly watched by others. Almost everybody they asked were certain that these two hated each other’s guts and saw each other as rivals.

Was it possible for them to be secretly good friends who cared for one another? How could it be?

These were two girls who kept snatching each other’s customers, kept trying to make each other look bad, bragged to each other about how much money, jewelry and clothes they had received, mocked each other in every way possible, never spoke nicely to each other and kept saying they wished the other person was dead. Could such people be friends?

Song Caitang was facing the moon, so her eyes shone brightly. “Sometimes, a person’s speech can be nasty, but it doesn’t mean they hate the other person. That’s why we have phrases like ‘The heart and mouth are not consistent’, or ‘Hitting someone is a kiss, scolding someone is love’.”

Zhao Zhi threw her a dirty stare, and Song Caitang realized that her words were a little inappropriate.

It was not appropriate for a woman to talk to a man about something like hitting was kissing and scolding was love.

“Uh,” Song Caitang cleared her throat, “it was just a random example…”

She quickly reorganized her thoughts and focused again. “Sometimes, it’s hard to fully understand the way women think, and it’s probably hard for men to notice too. I just felt really strange about it, so I couldn’t help but sit down and think about it very carefully.”

Zhao Zhi leaned against the window toward her. “Go on.”

“Do you want to come in?”

Song Caitang felt that the windowsill was quite small. Zhao Zhi was a large sized man who was also afraid of water, so this looked like a very bad place to be in.

Zhao Zhi casually glanced into the room, then looked away as though he got scalded.

“No.”

No?

Then again, the blankets on her bed were a mess and the clothing on her rack were a mess too. She didn’t have to clear it up if he wasn’t coming in, which was a good thing.

She continued with what she was saying, “I feel… real enemies wouldn’t be like this. Wenxiang and Yuetao were competing so fiercely and snatching each other’s customers very openly. Yet, both of them made it to this age, became top courtesans who earned a lot and rose in status, but neither really went down.”

“They saw each other as enemies and tried to hurt each other, but all that happened was a few bouts of diarrhea, some torn clothes and broken jewelry. Those are very small and petty methods, and would not really hurt the other person… Was it really because the boss didn’t allow them to hurt each other, and they would be badly disciplined for doing something like that? Would all women working in such places really obediently follow every rule they’re given?”

Song Caitang wasn’t sure about the culture in the brothels here, but where there were people, there was trouble. The more people stood to benefit, the harder people fought. A place like a brothel was definitely much harsher than elsewhere.

Song Caitang was just making a guess and she had no evidence, but this guess had not come from nowhere.

Zhao Zhi slowly narrowed his eyes. “Based on how they turned out, you’re right to say that those methods seem a little too gentle.”

Song Caitang went on, “Would a truly gentle person become the best in their league and remain on top without decline for years?”

Besides school exams that were based purely on getting the right answer, it wasn’t easy to be number one for a long time in any field. You needed skills, but you also needed EQ.

It would be impossible for Wenxiang and Yuetao to climb the ladder and remain in this position for so long if they were pure and kind girls.

Regardless of what they went through in their lives and whether it was a pity that they were dead now, the fact that they managed to get this far proved that they were no ordinary people.

Song Caitang told Zhao Zhi everything that she had thought about and analyzed.

For example, Wenxiang’s reaction when the boss wanted Yuetao to start selling herself at a young age, how Wenxiang had stopped it from happening and when she did what.

Or what happened when they snatched each other’s customers.

Or what happened with their special customer, Mi Gaojie.

Or how Wenxiang got the Double Seventh Festival event and her attitude at that event.

It was hard to point out any issue with the things that each person did in isolation, but when put together according to the timeline, things got a little more complicated. It made more sense to look at it from the opposite perspective.

Zhao Zhi could not help but nod along.

There was definitely something fishy here.

Even if they weren’t true friends, there had to be a reason why they were behaving like this.

“I will investigate further.”

Song Caitang reminded him, “Love between people does not exist for no rhyme or reason. If they are really this close, then there must be something deep inside that ties them together. You have to look out for something like that.”

They had to find out more about Wenxiang and Yuetao’s past and understand it in greater detail. As long as they looked through the details carefully, they would definitely find out if these two girls were real enemies or real friends.

And if they couldn’t find anything in recent history, they’d have to find out more about what happened to them before they were sold to the brothels.

“I agree,” Zhao Zhi responded. For a long time after that, he didn’t say anything and just frowned as he stared at the moon reflected in the river, as though he was in deep thought.

Song Caitang turned to look at him. “Do you feel tired?”

She felt like Zhao Zhi was handling a lot of matters, and not just this one case.

Like the treason attempts in the Yun Nianyao case, the pieces of gold in the Lu Guangzong case… even if this serial murder were resolved, those questions would still be left behind and needed answers too.

Song Caitang had a feeling that Zhao Zhi had come to Luanze in the first place because of these matters.

Any of the matters mentioned were tiring to investigate by themselves, and he had to also take care of these other cases that cropped up along the way. Did he even have enough time to do everything?

Zhao Zhi looked at her and his gaze seemed to flicker slightly. “You’re concerned about me?”

“Why not?” Song Caitang felt that he had just asked a dumb question. “We’re friends, after all. Besides…”

She chuckled as she recalled something else, “Didn’t you say you wanted to find me someone nice?”

Zhao Zhi’s eyebrows shot up immediately as he gritted his teeth. “You’re right.”

Song Caitang smiled so brightly, her eyes became two curved lines and only her teeth could be seen. “Uh huh!”

It was as though he had something stuck in his throat and he simply couldn’t get it out. He didn’t want to continue talking about this and turned his face away as he changed the topic, “Lu Guangzong’s gold was transported via water routes, via the Green Gang’s routes, but Cao Zhang doesn’t know about it, and the previous leader who passed away didn’t know everything either.”

Song Caitang grew curious. “They were so tight lipped about it?”

Anyone who could use the water routes without the Green Gang knowing about it had to be someone pretty incredible.

“He put them into the boxes for salt,” Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “The shipment of salt is supervised by an official, so even if they use the Green Gang’s routes, the Green Gang would not be allowed to check or oversee the shipments.”

It hit Song Caitang immediately. “So, there’s someone in this case you need to keep tabs on.”

Zheng Kanghui, the grandson of the Salt and Metals Vice Commissioner.

Zhao Zhi nodded.

“Have you found any clues?”

Zhao Zhi shook his head. “Nope. It seems he’s just like any other son of an influential family. He’s gotten closer to Liu Zhenghao and Fan Zishi lately.”

Song Caitang paused to think, then chuckled. “They’re afraid that some others would get close to him, isn’t it?”

After all, Zheng Kanghui’s status and position were pretty high up.

Zhao Zhi knew Song Caitang was an intelligent woman, so since she had guessed as much, he added, “It’s almost time to give out next year’s salt shipping license.”

This was an industry that was definitely profitable, so if there was a way to get a foot in the door, anyone would be willing to give it their best shot.

Song Caitang smiled, but she did not continue thinking about this matter. Instead, she recalled another person.

Another person who was already dead and was in contact with Wenxiang before she died. The one who got Zhao Zhi concerned, the one who made him return to Luanze.

“Is the especially important thing in Qinglian’s hands… evidence?”

As in, evidence that Lu Guangzong’s gold was hidden in salt shipments.

The fact that she had instantly connected the two matters surprised Zhao Zhi for a moment. “Yes.”

Song Caitang’s guesses didn’t stop there. “She was a courtesan too?”

Both Wenxiang and Yuetao were courtesans. If the murderer had a thing for them, Qinglian must have been one too.

“She was one.”

Qinglian had already gotten married and had deliberately buried her past. Zhao Zhi had been in a great hurry then and didn’t bother too much about this fact. Now that he thought about it, he realized this was an important point.

“Qinglian had never been to Luanze before, so she probably got to know Wenxiang before Wenxiang got here…”

The transportation of gold and the Salt Commissioner might have nothing to do with this serial murder, but they had coincided somehow and any connections could not be ignored.

Song Caitang could understand where he was coming from.

Zhao Zhi lowered his gaze slightly to look at the ripples nearby. “Men often talk about stuff at brothels and the like. Courtesans are very well connected and well informed. If they want to become popular, if they want to earn lots of money, if they want to become a concubine or a mistress to a man who’s reliable, they’ve got to be alert and look out for opportunities. Sometimes, they might agree to becoming the middleman for certain transactions.”

“My guess is that Wenxiang and Yuetao knew something classified like that. That Yu Mingzhi might have his eye on them because of this too. Every courtesan wants to get their hands on classified information.”

Anything to do with salt shipments was helpful to solving the mystery on Zhao Zhi’s hands, but it wasn’t helpful to the serial murder.

Then again, not quite. It was helpful in a way.

After all, it was only because they had found a third body with similar signs of abuse to the first two that they were able to conclude that they were dealing with a serial murder.

Song Caitang patted his shoulder. “You’ve got to investigate really thoroughly then. I hope everything will go smoothly.”

Zhao Zhi raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“If not?” Song Caitang smiled faintly and waved her right arm. “But my arm is all healed up now and I can conduct an autopsy on the body and see if I can get you some useful clues.”

Zhao Zhi said, “Be careful then.”

Song Caitang was confused. She was going to cut up a dead body. What did she have to be careful of?

“I’ll be busy elsewhere tomorrow, so I won’t be around during the autopsy…” Zhao Zhi paused to think, then said, “Never mind, I’ll get Governor Zhang to go over and help you. I’ve confirmed several pieces of information recently, so I might be able to send you some things tomorrow.”

Song Caitang was speechless.

Governor Zhang was the provincial governor after all and had so many matters to attend to every day. She was only going to conduct an autopsy. Why would she need to be careful? Why did he need to make such a big fuss?

But there was nothing she could do to change his mind or go against what he had arranged. When she arrived early the next morning to conduct the autopsy, Governor Zhang was already waiting for her.

“You’re here, Miss Song.”

Song Caitang bowed. “I didn’t know you were already here. Am I late?”

“Not at all, not at all! I just got here too!” Governor Zhang stroked his beard with a bright smile on his face, as though he thoroughly enjoyed inspecting corpses with Song Caitang. “Surveillance Commissioner Zhao isn’t around today, Magistrate Wen is busy with the Mi family case, while Governor Li is ill. I happen to have time today, so I get the honor of watching you conduct another autopsy!”

“Thank you for putting in the time, Governor Zhang. I will do my best.”

Song Caitang had no idea how Zhao Zhi did it. But since Governor Zhang didn’t look the least unwilling, she didn’t have to worry about anything and led Qingqiao into the autopsy room.

The body they were inspecting today was the one they found first, Yuetao’s body.

Hers was also the freshest body that had decomposed the least out of the bodies found.

Ice had been used to preserve the body and it had been done very well.

She put on her gloves and protective suit, lit the necessary herbs and got herself ready before walking over to the body.

It had been a long time since she died, so the victim was already past rigor mortis. Livor mortis were pooled at the bottom of the body, so the signs of abuse on the body had become a lot more obvious, and a lot more frightening to look at.

Qingqiao was a little afraid of looking at the body. She bit her lip and took a few steps backward.

Governor Zhang picked up a brush to help with writing the report. He was also upset by the sight of the body and furrowed his brows as he sighed several times.

Song Caitang had only seen the body once by the river with Wu Bo, and she had not been able to inspect the body in great detail. Now that she had the chance, she was going to do a thorough inspection.

“Victim is a female, time of death is late at night on the 15th day of the 7th month. Cause of death is a stab to the heart.”

The abuse and wounds were inflicted while Yuetao was still alive. The killer had not held back and made sure she really suffered, and might have even enjoyed the torturing process. The more she struggled, the more excited the killer got.

And finally, when the victim could no longer struggle, the killer “mercifully” used a dagger to end her life.

Starting from the head, Song Caitang carefully used her fingers to comb through the victim’s hair inch by inch. Besides a swelling at the back of her head from knocking against something, Song Caitang didn’t find any other injury.

The victim was battered all over, and her vaginal area had the most wounds. But her face remained as exquisite as ever. There wasn’t even a single scratch on her face.

Song Caitang used a hand to hold the victim’s jaw and opened the mouth to take a look.

“The victim has no wounds in her mouth.”

After such a long period of time, it was normal for autolysis to occur. But this was a natural part of decay and was not caused by external injuries. If she suffered any external injuries, traces of it would be left behind.

The victim’s mouth cavity, inner cheek and tongue were perfectly fine.

Not even signs of being kissed too hard.

Did the killer… especially like her face?

The killer enjoyed abusing their victims but did not like to kiss?

Song Caitang moved on.

The wound in her left chest was obviously created by a short dagger of sorts. There was nothing special about the length or width of the dagger that had probably been used, and there were no other traces left behind on the victim’s body…

It was going to be quite difficult to find the weapon.

To make matters worse, Wenxiang’s body was so badly decomposed, so Song Caitang didn’t have anything else to compare Yuetao’s wounds to. She couldn’t be sure if this was the only weapon used for all victims or if the killer used different weapons.

“It’s alright, Miss Song, keep going,” said Governor Zhang.

Even if they couldn’t locate the weapon right now, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t be able to crack the case. This young lady here was the expert at dissecting bodies. So what if they couldn’t find that dagger?

“Alright.” Song Caitang nodded.

Any bodies that passed through her hands had to be cut open, but before doing that, she had to make observations about the exterior of the body first.

She didn’t think her surface observations would yield anything, and was certain that she would need to cut the body open to get any clues. But to her surprise, it didn’t take long for her hands to feel something.

When they saw the sudden change in Song Caitang’s expression, both Qingqiao and Governor Zhang frowned.

“What’s wrong? You found something?”

Song Caitang shut her eyes and exhaled. “Yes, I did.”

“There’s something inside her lower body.”