There is a god in the sky

Chapter 114 The Strange Case of Fuchunju 12

"The other case was also a murder."

The magistrate of Tongren County was murdered at home, and the murderer was eventually identified as the magistrate's son.

His son was an uneducated and incompetent man who became addicted to gambling. He not only stole from his home but also used his position as county magistrate to amass wealth outside the county.

When the magistrate learned of this, he broke his legs and imprisoned him in his home.

On the night the magistrate died, his son fled his home and was found in a gambling den, thus becoming the murderer of his father.

Judging from the timeline, Xiao Ji concluded that the magistrate's son had no opportunity to commit the crime, and the real murderer might still be at large.

Coincidentally, the magistrate's daughter was also the concubine of the young prince.

Shen Lan peeked out and saw that the county magistrate's surname was Mu, and there was indeed a concubine with the surname Mu in the Prince's mansion.

Shen Lan also included the case she had just reviewed.

"My lord, I also find this case suspicious."

Xiao Ji read it quickly, his brows furrowed, as if he were displeased.

"This case isn't just suspicious, it's blatant lying!" He slammed the case file onto the table.

After he calmed down, he still said, "Although this young master Yang is a scholar, he has no stable property and I'm afraid he has no ability to avenge him."

Shen Lan didn't know why she found the case suspicious; she probably just couldn't bear to see such a promising young man bear the stigma of murder.

"This case is easy to overturn, and Lord Xiao may be able to gain a good reputation among the students because of it."

Despite being just a scholar, Yang Shuo was a kind-hearted man who made many friends and had a good reputation in Tanzhou City.

The case file contained petitions from his friends seeking justice for him, but unfortunately, the young prince did not listen to any of them.

Shen Lan was curious to know what the officials below felt when they encountered such a superior.

"Alright, let's start with these three cases and hopefully we can get some results." Xiao Ji didn't want to linger in Tanzhou any longer.

Since the mastermind behind this cannot be found, King Zheng will certainly not let him leave.

Xiao Ji went to Fuchun Residence to ask the young prince for permission to have Sui Feng and Sui Ying take turns keeping watch at night, so that he could know their every move immediately if they were there.

But the young prince refused.

He probably felt that with so many people around him, if he couldn't even keep an eye on a suspect, he would be too ashamed to face anyone.

Therefore, Xiao Ji didn't concern himself with the safety of Constable Ma. After finishing organizing the files, he led his men back to rest.

In the middle of the night, someone was banging on the door.

Shen Lan covered her head with the blanket and thought to herself: No one comes to the temple without a reason; a knock on the door in the middle of the night must mean something big has happened.

Xiao Ji stood outside her door and said, "Miss Shen, you don't need to get up. I'll go take a look."

Shen Lan was fast asleep, so she answered and went to sleep.

Xiao Ji, sporting dark circles under his eyes, led Sui Feng and Sui Ying to Fu Chun Ju.

Fuchun Residence was brightly lit and heavily guarded.

"Lord Xiao has arrived. Ma Long is dead."

A surprising yet not entirely unexpected piece of news.

Xiao Ji went straight to the woodshed, which was surrounded by officials and constables. Prefect Dou had arrived a step earlier than him.

Upon seeing Xiao Ji, Prefect Dou, his eyes red, questioned, "Lord Xiao, Ma Long is not the murderer. Shouldn't you take responsibility for this?"

Xiao Ji pushed him away and stood at the door of the woodshed, glancing around inside.

The body lay face down on the ground, an arrow wound in its back; the arrowhead was small and delicate, not an ordinary bow and arrow.

"Has anyone gone in?" he asked.

The guard at the gate shook his head: "No, I immediately guarded this place after discovering the dead person, and no one has gone in."

Xiao Ji turned around and his gaze fell on the young prince sitting to the side.

He was dejected and clearly did not understand why people could still die despite the heavy guard.

He said with a wry smile, "This must be some kind of vicious curse!"

Xiao Ji ignored him and asked, "After Constable Ma was imprisoned today, who has come here?"

"Besides the guards, there were only servants who came to deliver food, and none of them went inside."

"In other words, the murderer is among the guards." Xiao Ji gathered the guards together. "Don't blame me for suspecting you all. Only by searching yourselves can we eliminate any suspicion. Please cooperate."

The guards looked at each other, their expressions of humiliation evident, but they did not refuse to be searched.

People died right under their noses; they bear responsibility for their lax oversight.

The search was conducted by Sui Feng and Sui Ying; Xiao Ji didn't trust anyone else.

He was already certain that the mastermind behind this case was not a single person.

He either holds a high position of power and has enough people to do things for him.

Either there was more than one perpetrator, or several people worked together to commit the crime.

Xiao Ji first checked the doors and windows of the woodshed. Based on the location of Ma Long's injury, he deduced that the culprit must have shot the arrow through the crack in the door.

It's so small, it's probably a hidden arrow that can be concealed in a sleeve.

The door was locked, but a gentle push created a crack large enough for an arrow to slip through.

"Lord Xiao, won't you examine the body first?" Prefect Dou asked anxiously.

"No rush, my coroner hasn't arrived yet."

"Then why haven't you sent someone to invite them yet?"

Xiao Ji said unhurriedly, "The external environment is easily damaged and needs to be inspected first. Prefect Dou may wish to ask the young prince if he has discovered any suspicious persons."

He simply wanted Shen Lan to sleep a little longer, why was that so difficult?

After checking the doors and windows, Xiao Ji went into the woodshed.

He had been here in the afternoon. It was supposed to be a woodshed, but it had actually been emptied. The spot where Ma Long fell was right in front of the door.

The doors and windows were locked from the outside, and apart from the cracks in the doors, there was no other place where an arrow could get in.

At first glance, the murderer must be outside without a doubt.

"My lord, I've come to examine the body," Shen Lan said, standing outside the door with a box in her hand.

She did dream of the Duke of Zhou, but unfortunately, the Duke of Zhou kicked her awake.

When he woke up and found that Xiao Ji and the others had not returned, he knew that someone else had died at Fuchun Residence.

Regardless of who died, as the coroner, she had to come and work overtime.

"Come in." Xiao Ji nodded helplessly to her.

Shen Lan tidied herself up step by step, and then placed a few candles next to the corpse to increase the brightness.

The deceased was lying face down on the ground, with one hand outstretched and the other pressed under his chest, and a thin arrow stuck in his back.

Shen Lan first pulled out the arrow and examined the arrowhead and the wound.

"The murder weapon was half a foot long and two-tenths of an inch thinner than a little finger. It was half-inserted into the body. The arrowhead was not poisoned. The arrowhead had a groove. The launcher should have had a spring device."

Prefect Dou was completely baffled. How could he possibly deduce what kind of bow was used from such a small arrow?

Shen Lan used scissors to cut open the deceased's upper garment. "Apart from the arrow wound, there were no other wounds on the back...and no wounds on the lower limbs either..."

She turned the body over and met Ma Long's unseeing eyes.

Prefect Dou was frightened away after just one glance.

He finally understood why Xiao Ji could confidently say that Shen the coroner was amazing; that courage alone was not that of an ordinary woman.

"Huh, the deceased didn't die from an arrow wound."

"What?" Xiao Ji squatted down and looked over as Shen Lan pointed.

“Sir, look, there is very little blood under the body. If he died from an arrow wound, there would not have been so little blood.”

"So, he was shot in the back with an arrow after he died?"

"Probably."

"No, if he was already dead, he would have been lying face down. How could the murderer have shot him in the back?"

Xiao Ji looked up and saw that the roof was intact. He had gone up to check and there were no signs of anyone stepping on it.

Shen Lan re-examined the wound on his back and said with certainty, "He was already dead when he was shot, or perhaps the two happened at the same time."

"Then what was the real cause of his death?"

Shen Lan continued the examination, placing his right hand on his chest, right where his heart was.

Shen Lan moved his hand away and saw the handprint on his chest.

"He must have died from having his heart meridian shattered by a single palm strike."

Prefect Dou leaned forward and asked suspiciously, "Why would he commit suicide? Did he know he was going to die anyway and didn't want to die at someone else's hands?"

Shen Lan didn't know.