The first work of the imperial prison

The bugs on the corpse had been cleaned up, but the visual effect was still unsatisfactory. The entire abdominal cavity was open, and the internal organs were basically invisible. The exposed ribs were white and exuded an unpleasant smell.

Ye Baiting didn't seem to be affected, the scalpel in his hand was glowing coldly, it seemed to be more terrifying than the corpse itself, he was as proficient as before, gently scratching everything...

Bai Sensen's ribs opened.

Shen Jiang didn't see anything else, but immediately saw the scratch on the inside of the third rib on the left!

How hard is the bone, what will leave marks here must be a harder sharp object, definitely not as simple as a branch!

Sure enough, the next moment, the young master squeezed out a slender arrow from the organ that couldn't tell if it was the heart or the lungs.

It’s not too long, less than three inches. It’s about the same thickness as a human’s ribcage. The arrow on the front end is sharp. It’s obvious that the marks on the inside of the ribs were made by it. The back end is broken, and the marks look old. , I think it's been a long time...

This piece of wood has been in the human body for an unknown period of time, and its color has changed, but an expert can tell at a glance that its texture is not very good, and it is not a good arrow.

Looking at the existence of the arrow in the front and the broken tail in the back, the arrow must have entered from the back. I am afraid that it penetrated the heart and lungs at that time, pierced the ribs, and killed the deceased on the spot. However, the quality of the arrow itself is not very good. When the corpse fell or was transferred, it was broken, and the tail did not know where it fell, so it was not found at the wharf. However, after the corpse was thrown, the broken arrow in the body had a certain shift and deflection, so when the corpse was found, although the abdominal cavity was open , the chest was gnawed and there was no meat left, and the arrow was not seen at the first time.

"The back of the dead..."

Ye Baiting turned the corpse on its side. Unfortunately, due to the severe corruption, the shape of the wound on the back was no longer recognizable, so it can only be judged based on the restoration of the internal organs and arrow parts, as well as the stab marks on the inside of the ribs: "The angles are from top to bottom. Possibly, the position of the murderer is much higher than that of the deceased."

Shen Jiang took a deep breath at the time: "This dead man, doesn't he look a bit like Fan Moyu?"

The same shot from behind, the same angle, the same arrow quality, and the depth and strength of the arrow entering the body...

"Could it be that Tang Gui also died on the flower boat!"

Once thinking in this direction, they couldn't stop guessing. The two of them observed carefully again. This time, Ye Baiting's gaze still fell on the clothes of the deceased.

He frowned slightly: "This material...seems somewhat familiar."

The clothes on the deceased's body had been worn for many days, soaked in menstrual blood and exposed to the sun, so the color and luster had deteriorated a lot, but he looked for a small piece of clothes and carefully identified them. The flower boat last night?

He narrowed his eyes: "It's impossible for the guests on the flower boat to wear the same thing, but there are some situations that seem unavoidable?"

"When I vomited, got dirty, and after having fun with the girls, when I want to refill the round of wine, and when I don't want to wear the previous clothes..." Shen Jiang looked serious, "But in places like buildings and flower boats, you are the only one. There are unexpected tricks, there is no money-making flower work that they can't do, Lady Yao's flower boat has many pieces of men's clothing, in all sizes, and they are 'given' for guests to wear at this time!"

The one worn by the deceased is mostly the style of flying at night. The sleeves are made very large and the waist is made very wide. It is comfortable to wear and looks coquettish!

"I'll just say it." After thinking about it, Shen Jiang thought of something again, "Isn't Jin Yiwei investigating Tang Gui? Although he is not fat, he is very afraid of heat. In summer, he likes to wear a kind of The fine cotton and linen material is breathable and sweat-absorbing, and it is also very thin, but this kind of material is delicate and will break after two days of wearing. He is not afraid, anyway, he has a lot of money, but what he is wearing now is obviously not that kind. It is really the day of death. Went to the flower boat!"

Ye Baiting pondered for a moment: "When did Tang Gui disappear? The commander said that the last time he appeared in public was a flower boat. When was it?"

"It was half a month ago!" Shen Jiang said, "It's easy to find out when he finally appeared in front of people, because there are witnesses, but when he disappeared in the end, no one knows. His family is not here, and the house in the capital is his own. I don’t go back very much, I get on the flower boat when I’m free, and when I’m busy, I go everywhere because of business. I don’t have a fixed place to stay, so it’s hard to say... Could it be that he died on the flower boat that night? ? There is no missing, or going elsewhere, he didn't even get off the boat at all?"

"It's possible," Ye Baiting reminded, "Don't forget the structure of the flower boat. There is a section of horizontal grid protruding from the side of the boat. If it can catch Fan Moyu, why can't it catch Tang Gui?"

Maybe the murderer was very lucky at that time, and the matter was not discovered or revealed.

"The corpse just followed to the pier..." Shen Jiang's eyes shook, "Could it be that the boat just hit the wooden railing of the pier lightly, and the corpse rolled down and landed right there?"

Ye Baiting still has doubts: "But why is it so good? If the hull is docked, shouldn't the bow be in front and the stern behind?"

If it is as they guessed, the two murders were committed by the same murderer, and the murderer's killing pattern has been practiced, and the planned location should still be at the stern, where there is no disturbance, so it is easy to operate, then the ship will shake a lot , the body is most likely to fall into the moat, how did it get stuck on the wooden fence by the pier?

Shen Jiang just laughed: "This young master doesn't know. The flower boat is different from other boats. It travels the same route every day. It is just to pick up different guests. It doesn't always walk in the river itself. It will be on the river. When docking by the river, sometimes when you meet a particularly important person, you will turn a corner in the middle. When you dock at the pier, naturally you will not be in the same prescribed posture, and you will be more casual. Whether the bow or the stern, the direction when docking is not the same. uncertain."

It was only then that Ye Baiting remembered that he went to the flower boat with Qiu Xunqing last night, not at the pier, but by the bustling river bank. The flower boat was really docked there at that time, and then it swayed slowly, and it didn't go very far. Far, the speed has been very slow.

If so, then such a coincidence is not impossible.

Shen Jiang punched his palm: "So that's what happened! Tang Gui also died in the same way. He was invited to the stern of the boat, but the murderer didn't go. He was still condescending and shot him with an arrow in the back, killing him on the spot! The murderer played This is so simple and neat, and it will take less time to do things again. None of the suspects on the third floor last night could escape, and they all have time to commit crimes!"

Ye Baiting was thoughtful: "If this soup is expensive, isn't it the murderer's first time?"

Shen Jiang shivered: "Then this is a serious matter... What kind of wine party, flower boat, and fun, all have to be in the back, and killing people is the top priority! Could this person be doing this exclusively? Let's do it!"

"It's not like a professional killer or a dead man..." Ye Baiting pondered, "Maybe there are some things that we see on the surface and think it's obvious, but it's the real cover. It seems that we have to dig a little deeper."

Shen Jiang picked up the pen and scribbled in his little notebook: "...don't worry young master, I will definitely check it later!"

Next, we still have to continue to look at the corpse.

It doesn't matter if the corpse is corrupted, there are always places that can't be corrupted, traces that can be found, such as teeth, at least the age can be seen through the wear and tear...

Ye Baiting opened the mouth of the deceased, and was stunned.

Shen Jiang came over: "What's wrong?"

Ye Baiting stepped aside: "Come and see."

"Is this... a rotten root? It's still a little black?" Shen Jiang almost couldn't help but backed up again, "It still smells so disgusting... No, there's something wrong with this black rotten root, isn't it Wuxiang!"

As the young master said, this thing erodes the human body, even the hardest teeth can't withstand it, if you take too much, it will look like this!

Ye Baiting nodded: "It should be."

"It's the same again... Isn't the same with the first Fan Moyu! Could it be that Tang Gui was also invited to the stern by the murderer because of his addiction?" Shen Jiang's scalp was numb, and while thinking, "This dead person People who are deeply poisoned by Wuxiang, the murderer can’t kill anyone, they must be caught and killed, do you hate this thing and punish these people?”

He touched his chin: "Didn't the young master also say before that the act of condescending and shooting from the back more or less carries the meaning of dissatisfaction or punishment? Does the murderer feel that they are doing something wrong and is judging them?"

Ye Baiting: "It's not impossible, but everything depends on the evidence and whether the final logical chain is closed."

"Of course!"

Shen Jiang continued flipping through his little notebook, and wrote a string of words: "I will pay more attention to Wuxiang when I visit later!"

Ye Baiting continued to look at the corpse. There was basically no need to distinguish the gender. It was obvious that the hairstyle and body shape alone could tell that there were no completely corrupted organs. It is the identity of the deceased.

Although there is a jade pendant, more and more accurate evidence is needed.

Ye Baiting tried to do a bone test to see if there was anything definite from the exposed part.

He had been lucky a few times before, but this time it was no good. There were very few bone traces exposed on the corpse, no obvious calluses, no obvious injuries...

He had to be more careful.

Slowly, I discovered two points that need special attention.

"The palm of the deceased seems to be too wide," Ye Baiting turned over the hand of the deceased. This hand was incomplete, and the flesh and skin were equally corrupted. The bones were seen at the end of the fingers, but it could still be seen that its width was different from that of ordinary people. "The only remaining skin is very smooth. The deceased must have worked very hard in the early years. He had done heavy manual labor for a long time, which caused such changes in the internal bones, and there were signs of excessive development and strain. This work not only It needs a lot of strength, the frequency is very high, and you have to take into account certain directional skills..."

Ye Baiting has been watching for a long time, and found some familiarity, remembering that he has encountered such examples: "It seems that there are boatmen who pull fiber?"

He immediately went down and observed the dead man's feet carefully: "Generally, those with such marks on their hands will also have very wide soles..."

"It's really wide!"

Shen Jiang looked at it, and suddenly remembered: "Then this is Tang Gui, that's right! Jin Yiwei checked his life files, and said that Tang Gui was not in business for generations, and his ancestors were very poor. Well, I have never studied. In the early years, I did all kinds of work in order to survive, and I did work as a boatman for several years. There are many people outside who complain behind his back that he will not enjoy himself when he is rich. The boat didn't pull enough..."

Ye Baiting nodded, continued to look while listening, and quickly stopped at one spot: "Then did you mention in your file that Tang Gui injured his toe many years ago?"

"toe?"

"Right foot, third."

"It seems... there is really a saying, saying that he offended the nobleman and was punished?" Shen Jiang's eyes lit up, "Did the young master find out again!"

Ye Baiting pointed to the right foot of the deceased: "Look carefully at this bone."

Shen Jiang swore that he looked carefully, but he didn't see anything: "The skin and flesh are all broken, and the exposed bones... shouldn't be like this?"

"The knuckles are not long enough, according to common sense and body proportions." Ye Baiting shook his head, pointing to the top of the bone. "There are signs of damage here, and it's very old. This level is not considered a disability, and it won't even affect walking. But if it’s missing, it’s missing.”

Such special traces are the most important weapon to identify the identity of the corpse.

"I'll go back and look at the dossier, it should be right!" Shen Jiang looked at the small bone carefully, and now he didn't think about whether it was smelly or not, and his mind was all about determining the identity of the deceased. If he is dead, the case will be easier to investigate!"

Ye Baiting nodded: "If it doesn't work, I can still do skull restoration, but it will take a little longer."

"I don't think it's really necessary, it's just a matter of adjusting the file." Shen Jiang couldn't wait anymore, wrote down all the points just now in a small notebook and ran out, "It's hard work here, young master, I'm going to dig things out now! "

Ye Baiting: "You need to rest..."

"Just turn it out and take a look, make sure, it doesn't take much trouble, and then transfer these points to the commander, and go and squint for a while!" Shen Jiang had already run away while speaking.

Ye Baiting didn't stop him either.

He didn't know how long Shen Jiang slept and when he left. After finishing all the autopsy work by himself, filing the results and key points respectively and sending out two copies, it was already dark.

Changed clothes, took a shower, and returned to the room. There were already a dozen rice papers on the table, all of which were feedback from Qiu Yiqing and Shen Jiang outside. Among them, the most conspicuous one was placed in the middle of the table, with the largest characters He shouldn't see it too clearly—the identity of the deceased was confirmed this time, and it was Tang Gui!

Today's time is not bad, Ye Baiting didn't forget to eat, brought some cakes from the kitchen, slowly biting into them, while flipping through the files on the table that were almost stacked into a hill.

There is a lot of news and it is very complicated. He wants to try to see if he can sort out a direction.For example, with regard to Wuxiang, the two deceased in this case had used Wuxiang, and they obviously seemed to be very addicted. What about other related people, are there any traces of this?

Qiu Xunqing seemed to have thought of something with him, and specifically tried to find a way to investigate this matter. As a result, the people involved in these cases on the third floor were all clean. I have never touched anything related to Wuxiang. He is trying to expand the scope, and wants to see if there are similar traces in the relatives and people who are close to the person involved in the case.

Chou Yiqing did not particularly question Shen Jiang's guess direction, because everything needs evidence, but another direction, such as exposure, cannot be ruled out.What if the murderer didn't hate others using Wuxiang, but hated the person who used Wuxiang for being careless and exposed?

He quickly found out something. Those who were alive did not have clues related to Wuxiang, but the two who were dead had been seen by others.

Ordinary people may not be able to tell the reason for these 'wrongness', but once it is spread and known to those who care, the word 'Wuxiang' can no longer be concealed.

In the eyes of many people, the 'Wuxiang' chain is still very secretive, hidden in the dark, and not known. However, Jin Yiwei has already known about several cases and has made great efforts to investigate and block them, even forcing the criminal team to keep clawing at other people. Sheng, keep a low profile everywhere in order to accumulate power, and if it explodes at this time, the situation will be unstoppable, what should I do?

For those who 'revealed' their secrets, do they need to be punished to warn others?

Ye Baiting's slender fingers slid across the lines, and the corners of his eyes narrowed slightly.

So what the other party really taboo is this?Is it Jin Yiwei, or Beizhen Fusi?

The flower boat is obviously operated by Mrs. Yao, and the case happened on her boat, vaguely implying the Wuxiang transaction, and even Yan Rouman chased after it. There is no doubt that Mrs. Yao must be related to the Wuxiang chain, but the third prince Such a shrewd person, cunning rabbit and three caves, multi-pronged approach, dedicated person to handle special tasks, will let Mrs. Yao be responsible for killing people?

Ye Baiting guessed not, if Mrs. Yao did it herself, it must not be out of orders, but because she made some serious mistakes and must be dealt with.

Then check her direction. What troubles does she have recently? Is it urgent and difficult to deal with?Has the mentality collapsed, such as getting angry, has there been any change in behavior habits, such as Tang Gui, this is very strange, she obviously no longer accepts customers, and has other status, why does she start to have guests again?

If the bureaucrats kill people, there must be something more urgent than face, so they can't take face into account, they have to make a choice immediately, some things can be undone in the future, and some can't... Then this accident , may be unpredictable, otherwise they can arrange another time.

Ye Baiting tapped the rice paper with her fingertips, and remembered what Pan Lu said, saying that there is no amount of information. This person actually said a lot. He said that there is an amount of information, because the words are too much, covering up many possible directions, and need to be seriously thought about. tidy……

After thinking about it for a long time, he didn't get anything. He always felt that there was something in front of him, but he just couldn't grasp it.

He simply changed the direction, put aside the things related to the case, and found out everyone's life and past experiences from the pile of files, to see if he found anything...

Then something happened.

All these people, from the two deceased, to Pan Lu, to the three members of the bureaucracy, and even the two factory owners in the palace, did not go smoothly, they were supported along the way, and those who had a family background had hardships in their growth process. But also because he is too good, he has reached this position step by step.

Tang Gui just had an inspection this afternoon, and now he is a rich businessman, an imperial merchant, and the people who talk and eat with him are noble people, rich in money, and have everything, but he worked as a boatman for a long time when he was young, and he was bullied and stared at countless times. His widowed mother brought him up. It is very hard work, business is his opportunity, if he has not discovered this talent and soared to the sky, no one knows what his future will be.

Fan Moyu's family was involved in lawsuits when he was young, and he didn't know much about the world since he was a child, but he was ruthless. If he wasn't the neighbor next door when he was young, the girl from his childhood was with him, and later married him as his wife. He is very likely to grow crooked. , fortunately, I was lucky, I was selected as an official in the imperial examination, and then it went smoothly. Everyone should politely call 'Master Fan'.

Mrs. Yao is said to be a child born privately by a prostitute in a brothel. It is conceivable what kind of environment this child grew up in. If she hadn't gritted her teeth and worked hard all the way to her current position, she and her mother None survived.

Wei Shili said that the mother who would present the birthday gift was not his own mother, but his step-son. He was sent out by his mother when he was a child, and later regretted that he wanted to come back. The adoptive mother has a tough temper, treats him well, blocks all difficulties, gives him a good environment, good education, he can't get to this point... the hardships and sufferings, I'm afraid only he knows.

Fang Zhizhu is a foster child sent to his uncle's house from the old family. No matter how good the uncle is, it is not his own home. The aunt is mean, and the cousins ​​are not easy to get along with. Can wink, considerate temperament, not particularly hard-hearted, will not climb all the way to this position.

Jiang Jihong seems to have liked a little widow in his early years. His love has been hurt for a long time, and his personality has changed drastically. Even today, he can't let go completely. Where the person is, no one knows.

Pan Lufa's wife died early, leaving him with a frail and sickly daughter. He has not dared to remarry until now, and the journey has been very difficult.

The same goes for the two factory owners in the palace. Of course they have real skills, but even if there is a little way to survive at that time, which man would be willing to castrate and enter the palace?There are too many bitternesses in their lives that are not known to the public, but now that they are in high positions and powerful, they have been covered up for a long time, and ordinary people don't know about it.

Everyone seems to encounter difficulties on the road of life, and then rely on their own ability to get up slowly...

But what can this explain?It can only show that everyone works hard and is excellent, which is not uncommon in officialdom.What must be lurking in the dark to connect all these people?Wuxiang?But Qiu Xunqing checked it, and none of the related people who were alive had touched it, and they seemed to understand that there was a problem with this thing.

Thinking about it, I don't know when I fell asleep, these things are all in my dream.

There was a warm breath around him, and when he was picked up by a pair of big hands and put on the bed, his mind was in chaos. The first reaction was not that the smell of medicine was too bitter, but that Qiu Yiqing said today, Not coming back at night?

He couldn't open his eyes, rubbed his head against Qiu Yiqing's shoulder, and said in a daze, "...to sleep together?"

"You sleep, I have other things."

Qiu Xunqing really couldn't sleep. I don't know if it was because he took the medicine, but even when he was next to Xiao Zuo Zuo, he didn't feel sleepy at all. He simply brought the documents and files over and read them on the small table beside the bed.

Of course, he also saw what the little clerk dug up. All these people in all the cases seem to be...

"It's hard to come by?"

not easy...

easy……

Ye Baiting suddenly woke up from the chaotic drowsiness, "You're right, that's the word!"