80 — I Will Not Cut Him Open

Lu Shen had used the word “please”, but his expression was not relaxed at all and filled with wariness instead. He was clearly prepared to fight if Song Caitang tried to persuade him.

But Song Caitang wasn’t going to persuade him. She quietly looked straight into his eyes and said, “According to the law of the land, if a murder has occurred, the scene of the crime will be cordoned off and the body of the victim will be in the care of the authorities immediately after the body has been discovered. There is a period of time in which the authorities will use for their investigations, so during this time, the victim’s family cannot take the body home and cannot conduct a funeral. Do you know about this?”

Lu Shen was an official and he had to study the laws, so he did know about this one, “Yes, I’m aware.”

Song Caitang went on, “Even though both yourself and your father were officials, the same law applies. Depending on the situation, the earliest you can take the body back will be at least two weeks later. Do you understand that?”

“I do,” Lu Shen gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, “I know what the procedures are and I’m willing to wait. But nobody is allowed to cut my father’s body open!”

“Like you said, we can still conduct investigations even without cutting the body open. The officials in Luanze have proved that they are capable of doing that. I believe the surveillance commissioner, provincial governor, prefectural governor and prefectural magistrate will definitely be able to crack this case!”

Song Caitang looked at Lu Shen with her long brows relaxed and her black eyes shining like glass, “But if we don’t get to cut the body open, we will not be able to get the most important of clues and we will be missing a set of essential clues. The investigation process might end up taking a very long time. Evidence from inside the body is connected directly to the case and will help with gathering other clues, so we might be able to crack the case very soon and you can take your father’s body back for burial within a few days even. You’re still not agreeable despite knowing these things?”

Lu Shen refused, “That’s right, I am not going to agree to it!”

“Very well, the authorities will take the wishes of the family into consideration, and Magistrate Wen won’t force you since he loves his people very dearly. I’m not the type who likes to boast and make myself look good at the expense of other people as well,” Song Caitang’s voice and expression were equally calm and quiet, “I will not cut your father’s body open.”

With that, she took a step back, “That’s all I wanted to say. Young Mr. Lu, don’t worry, I will keep my word.”

She then turned and walked away without trying to persuade him further or even wait for a response. Lu Shen was also a bit stunned by the fact that she hadn’t attempted to convince him.

It felt like…he had lost something. He felt a little empty inside.

The remaining crowd felt the same way, “Oh no, the case is going to take a longer time to solve.”

“Oh no, the older coroner can’t learn from her anymore.”

“Oh no, I was looking forward to watching…”

“Oh no, looks like Commissioner Lu’s wrongful death will remain unsolved and he won’t be able to rest in peace.”

“Oh no, if he doesn’t agree to it now, he’d have to beg her if he changes his mind.”

“Oh no, Young Mr. Lu still hasn’t come to his senses. He’s definitely going to end up begging Miss Song on his knees with gifts, and Miss Song will turn him down like he did.”

Wen Yuansi came forward to control the crowd at an appropriate time and coordinated the work well with Governor Zhang. Governor Zhang helped to scatter the crowd and retrieve the body, while Wen Yuansi confirmed with Lu Shen one last time, “Since you have made your decision, then from now on, this area will be cordoned off and your father’s body will be in our care. In order to carry out investigations properly, you and your family cannot come and pay respects and all that. You understand?”

Lu Shen looked toward the body inside the pigsty some distance away. Tears rolled down his eyes and he turned away as he replied in a choked voice, “Yes, I understand.”

Wen Yuansi’s voice sounded like a sigh in the spring wind, “If you change your mind, you can talk to me.”

Lu Shen responded, “I will not change my decision. My father’s body must not be cut open.”

“Alright then,” Wen Yuansi had nothing more to say to that, “If there are any advancements in the case that I can reveal, I will let you know. If we need to ask you any questions, I hope you will be cooperative.”

That part was perfectly fine with Lu Shen, “Magistrate Wen, don’t worry. My entire family wants this case to be cracked as soon as possible and for the murderer to be found so that my father’s death can be avenged. We will definitely cooperate in any way we can!”

Once that was all settled, Wen Yuansi walked into the crowd and began asking the residents if they had any clues to offer.

The runners helped to either maintain order or to ask questions.

Zhao Zhi folded his arms and stood where he was without helping at all. He did not ask anybody questions or try to talk to any of the parties arguing earlier. His eagle eyes scanned the entire area very thoroughly, as if there was no movement that escaped his eye.

Governor Li smiled ingratiatingly as he approached Zhao Zhi, “How about you take charge of this case?”

Zhao Zhi did not flinch, “You take care of it.”

Governor Li could barely keep the smile on his face on. If you’re not taking the case, then why are you making such keen observations? Are you waiting to corner me and snatch the case from me again?!

I’m not falling for that again!

Governor Li looked very relaxed as he stood to one side with his hands folded behind him. He smiled merrily as he looked around, as though he didn’t care much for the case.

The streets in this neighborhood were many and complicated, and many people lived here. But the victim had appeared in the pigsty very late at night, so everyone was sleeping and there were no eyewitnesses.

Nobody knew how the victim got here and what time it iwas.

But the power of the crowd was great and Wen Yuansi was good at asking gently and patiently. In no time, someone suddenly remembered that he might have seen the victim at a small pub in the evening.

“It’s the one nearby run by the Wangs, and Fourth Missy Gan sells her braised stuff just outside! A corner of their alcohol banner’s missing after the wind blew it away (pubs sold alcohol, so they would put up a banner that literally just read ALCOHOL on it so that passersby would notice from afar and come), that one! Commissioner Lu’s clothes were so dirty and crumpled, and his hair and beard were a mess, which was why I hadn’t recognized him. Come to think of it now, I think that was him…”

As he spoke, he elbowed the person next to him, “Weren’t you there too? You must have seen him!”

This was a small and dense neighborhood, so everyone knew where he was talking about. Once he brought it up, another person recalled seeing someone like that too.

“Now that you mention it, yes, I saw him too. I thought he was from out of town or something. So, that was Commissioner Lu?”

“It’s little wonder we didn’t recognize him – he was very different from the Commissioner Lu we know!”

“You’re right! You’re right! Now that I think about it more carefully, it was really him! It was definitely him!”

If only one person said so, it might not be a reliable clue. But since so many people chimed in, then this might really be true. Wen Yuansi immediately exchanged glances with Zhao Zhi. They had to head for that pub next!

But it was going to take a while to finish up the work here.

Lu Guangzong’s reputation was excellent among the people, so even though very little time had passed, many people had started discussing when they wanted to pay their respects.

This was a murder case, so the body had to be kept with the authorities for the time being and the Lus could not have a funeral yet. But the white flags to indicate a death in the family had to be raised, friends and family had to be informed, and the ceremony had to be performed even with an empty casket. The actual burial and all that could be decided later.

The people started thinking about what they wanted to send to the Lu residence. Even if their social status was too lowly to enter the residence, they felt that even just bowing outside as a show of respect would do too. They just had to do something.

In no time, some people had already bought candles and started lighting them nearby, hoping it would lead the victim’s spirit home.

Song Caitang did not bother herself with any of this. She and Wu Bo carried the body away from the pigsty and sent it to the corpse examination room.

After that, they started washing the body.

After using a large amount of clean water to wash the body, the body could be examined more clearly now. Song Caitang and Wu Bo examined the body one more time, but unfortunately, the conclusions they reached were the same as the ones at the pigsty. Besides finding a few more wounds hidden by the clothes, they didn’t find anything new.

The victim had suffered a lot of injuries that were positioned close to each other, while the nails were damaged from scratching at something. His injuries were of varying degrees, with some as old as two weeks old, and some as recent as one or two days ago. But there were none that had only appeared the day before.

His injuries matched the conjecture that he had put up a struggle after being imprisoned. He had probably been kidnapped and locked up, so he had been trying to escape and his body turned up the day before either because he had successfully escaped, or someone had purposely let him get away.

After he got away, he walked a long way and he must have been very anxious. But instead of heading home, he went to a small pub in a residential neighborhood…

Something smelled fishy.

Song Caitang and Wu Bo exchanged their observations and their conclusions were the same. There was no disagreement.

Because they could not dissect the body, the examination ended here.

“Let’s preserve the body in ice,” Song Caitang suggested before leaving with a slight gleam in her eyes.

Making ice was already possible in this era. It was not difficult and not expensive, so the courts would probably agree to get some.

If the body could not be dissected, then preserving the current state of the body would make it easier for future examinations if they were needed. And if the family changed their minds about cutting the body open, it would become even more important for them to preserve the body.

Wu Bo nodded. “I’ll apply for some from the officials.”

Song Caitang nodded.

Since there was nothing else for her to do here, she got ready to leave. But just before she stepped out, Wen Yuansi’s head maid, Liuhong, came with a message from her employer. She told Song Caitang that the bones from the body found in the mountain were being dug up and they would be sent over by 1pm or so. It was noon, so if Song Caitang didn’t mind, she could follow Liuhong back to the Wen residence to have lunch with Old Madam L.

To make it easier for Wen Yuansi to go to work, the Wens had a house near the courthouse. Old Madam Li was at that house today.

Song Caitang did not say no and smiled as she replied, “I’ll go over and visit Old Madam Li then.”

Spending time with Old Madam Li was always enjoyable. Song Caitang made the old lady laugh merrily, and even though she did not tell Song Caitang about what happened the day before after they parted ways, it was clear that this incident had not frightened her or burdened her at all.

Everyone had their own secrets and Song Caitang did not want to pry. The old lady was in good health, and that was all that mattered.

After having lunch and drinking tea, it was time for Old Madam Li to take her afternoon nap. Song Caitang took her leave and returned to the courthouse. She got there just as the bones were delivered.

She immediately picked up her skirt and walked to the corpse examining room to examine the bones.

Firstly, she looked at the pelvis to determine the sex. Then, she determined the age by checking the skull and other bones that could show the age of the person. After that, she moved on to other details…

She had no other distractions and her expression was serious as she continued working and forgot the time…

Meanwhile, at the Guan family residence, in Qingyi Court, inside Madam Zhang’s meeting room. The atmosphere in the room was depressing.

The cup that Madam Zhang had been holding had been dropped onto the floor. The yellow tea inside was slowly spreading, leaving an ugly stain on the carpet.

But she didn’t notice it at all. Her eyes were wide and she was in a daze. Her voice was stiff as she muttered, “D-dead? He’s…dead…? How could that be? If Lu Guangzong is dead, how are we going to move ahead with this deal?”

“No, no, the problem isn’t whether the deal will work out or not, the problem is that someone has died…”

Because she supported this deal, Manager Liu had been waiting for a chance to blackmail Lu Guangzong.

Did Lu Guangzong’s death have anything to do with this?

Had Manager Liu successfully blackmailed Lu Guangzong?

And if he did…what was she going to do?!