There is a god in the sky

Chapter 41 The Murder of a Wealthy Family in Jianzhou (Part 4)

Xiao Ji pressed down on Fu Qingyan's shoulder, "You should rest at home today and not run around."

A serial killer has emerged in Jianzhou City, and Fu Qingyan is known for being a busybody. He should be careful not to be targeted by the murderer when he goes out.

Shen Lan gave him a task: "Young Master Fu, why don't you stay home and take care of the patient? The little monk you rescued still needs to take his medicine on time today, and you need to keep an eye on his temperature."

Xiao Ji added, "Most importantly, don't let the patient get away."

"Alright, then I'll stay home and you can come back and tell me about the progress of the case."

Under Fu Qingyan's reluctant gaze, Shen Lan followed Xiao Ji out to work.

This time, Xiao Ji did not ride a horse, but instead rode in a carriage with Shen Lan.

Shen Lan's gaze fell on him; a man in official robes could indeed reach new heights of handsomeness.

Perhaps it was because her gaze was too direct, but Xiao Ji's ears burned, and he dared not meet her eyes.

However, he also noticed that Shen Lan was wearing new clothes today, no longer the dull gray color. She wore a beige round-necked narrow-sleeved robe on top and a light green silk skirt on the bottom, with a wide belt that accentuated her slender waist.

Although her hair was simply styled, she wore a jade hairpin with a gourd pendant, making her look much prettier than before.

"you……"

"you……"

They both spoke at the same time.

Their eyes met, and for some reason, Shen Lan's heart suddenly raced.

She quickly adjusted her posture, suppressed the smile on her lips, and said in a serious tone, "Lord Xiao, today I would like to examine Wu Zhongjin's body more carefully."

"Okay." Xiao Ji then told her some things about the Criminal Investigation Department so that she wouldn't be unfamiliar with the procedures.

Shen Lan listened attentively. In officialdom, no matter is insignificant, and as a woman, she could not afford to make the slightest mistake.

"My lord, we have arrived at the mortuary."

The carriage stopped, and Shen Lan jumped down first, only to be met with a sea of ​​dark heads.

"Greetings..." The officials bowed in unison, but when they caught a glimpse of a young woman coming down, they quickly swallowed the rest of their words and straightened their backs.

Shen Lan quickly stepped aside to avoid making things awkward for everyone.

Many people attended the autopsy at the mortuary.

Xiao Ji was not the only official in the prefectural judicial office; there were also many judges and magistrates under him.

Shen Lan met the other two coroners, both quite old men, who were scrutinizing her with stern faces.

I heard that Lord Xiao brought back a young female coroner from outside, and they are inseparable.

They all thought this was just an excuse for Lord Xiao to keep people by his side; what kind of woman would act as a coroner?

It wasn't until they met Shen Lan that they suddenly realized: So that's how it is, even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman.

Lei Dajiang was also there, looking like he was watching a good show.

He waited for those two old geezers to make their move, and also waited to see them make a fool of themselves.

Despite their low social status, coroners are a rare breed in this profession.

These two coroners, whom Lord Xiao had previously treated like treasures, had developed an arrogant and haughty personality.

"Lord Xiao." Everyone bowed to Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji waved his hand and walked straight into the mortuary.

Looking around, rows of corpses were laid out, which made his face look rather grim.

He had been in Jianzhou Prefecture for three years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a case of annihilation.

"Lord Xiao, how should we assign tasks today?" Coroner Wang asked anxiously.

Xiao Ji instructed Sui Feng to distribute a stack of papers to the two of them, saying, "You two will start examining the body from the left and right respectively. Carefully examine each element on the paper, making sure nothing is missing."

This is the autopsy report form that Xiao Ji drew up overnight. Based on the key elements pointed out by Shen Lan in her previous report, it includes the deceased's name, gender, age, cause of death, and so on.

It's clear at a glance.

Shen Lan also received several forms, each one neatly written out, clearly outlining all the required information.

She had to admire Xiao Ji's efficiency; after working with him for only a few days, he was already able to learn from his experience.

He truly deserves to be the youngest top scholar in the Great Xi Dynasty.

Xiao Ji led Shen Lan directly to Wu Zhongjin's corpse and appointed a clerk to take notes.

The others were quite surprised to see that Lord Xiao valued this female coroner so much.

The coroner said with displeasure, "Don't let a young girl be frightened by seeing a corpse."

Another person chimed in, "Yes, Lord Xiao, Wu Zhongjin's death was gruesome. Why don't we examine him ourselves?"

Everyone knows that Wu Zhongjin is the key to this case.

Xiao Ji did not agree to his request, but said, "Coroner Shen is a junior, so let her examine the body first today. If her examination is not thorough enough, then we will ask the two of you to step in."

Shen Lan understood that this was her chance to publicly demonstrate her abilities; whether she could gain a foothold in the Criminal Investigation Department depended on today.

She put on her mask and gloves and glanced at the governor.

The other person paused for a moment, then quickly took out a pen and ink, preparing to take notes.

He thought this girl was just there to observe, but how did she actually start doing it?

Lord Xiao was standing to the side; was he going to teach him step by step?

But it's always been the case that one keeps a concubine by one's side for company and enjoyment, not that one brings a person to be examined for an autopsy.

Shen Lan didn't give him a chance to overthink things. She first told him the basic information about the deceased, followed by the cause of death that had been determined yesterday and the injuries on his body.

She spoke at a moderate pace and in a loud voice, so that everyone around her could hear her clearly.

Coroner Wang scoffed, "Anyone can memorize documents."

He assumed that Lord Xiao had told Shen Lan this information, and immediately began to look down on him.

Ignoring the stares around her, Shen Lan began to examine the body inch by inch.

The body was completely naked, and many people thought the girl wouldn't dare to look down, but she not only looked, she looked at every part of it very carefully.

"The victim's injuries were mainly concentrated on his upper body, with ligature marks on his wrists, indicating that he was likely tied to a chair by the murderer."

Shen Lan recalled that she hadn't seen any ropes or anything like that in the study, so she asked Officer Lei, who was standing next to her, "Are the deceased's clothes still there?"

Lei Dajiang nodded: "Yes, does Counselor Shen want to see it?"

"Is the belt still there?"

Lei Dajiang rummaged through the room and found a crumpled belt.

A constable stepped forward and said, "I took off Master Wu's clothes. His belt was tied crookedly, as if it was tied on haphazardly."

Shen Lan tilted her head and said to the magistrate, "The examination suggests that the deceased's hands were bound with a belt before his death."

The governor asked, puzzled, "Does this need to be recorded?"

Xiao Ji coughed once, "Listen to what Coun Shen did."

"Yes, yes." The governor hurriedly lowered his head and wrote it down.

Shen Lan continued her examination, "The deceased's left hand had three fingers broken and nails broken, which should have been caused by struggling in great pain before death."

“He had small, round marks on his left wrist, which suggests he may have been wearing a beaded necklace.”

Lei Dajiang took out a string of Buddhist prayer beads from the clothes basket. "This is it."

Shen Lan suddenly remembered the bead she had picked up yesterday. At the time, she didn't know what the bead was for, but now it seemed that it should also be one of the Buddhist prayer beads.

"The deceased was a Buddhist?"

Lei Dajiang had already investigated Wu Zhongjin's life and deeds to a near certain extent, and nodded, saying, "Yes, Master Wu is a Buddhist and goes to Fayin Temple to offer incense on the first day of every month."

Does Fayin Temple have martial monks?

Shen Lan felt as if she had grasped something, but she wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Probably, but the monks at Fayin Temple are all compassionate, so even if there are martial monks, they would never kill anyone."

Xiao Ji took the string of Buddhist beads.

It is top-quality jade, each bead is the same size, with a uniform color, and engraved with an entire Diamond Sutra.

"Oh, by the way, three months ago, Madam Wu passed away. Mr. Wu invited the abbot of Fayin Temple to perform a 49-day Buddhist ceremony. Afterwards, he also formed a connection with Master Liaochen of Fayin Temple and invited him to his residence every three days to study Buddhism together."

Dust has settled?

Shen Lan and Xiao Ji exchanged a glance.

How could it be him?

Fearing they might misunderstand, Lei Dajiang hurriedly said, "However, Master Liaochen did not come on the day the incident occurred at the Wu residence."

Xiao Ji instructed him: "Go and find out where Liao Chen went that day and who he met."

Lei Dajiang agreed and left with his men.