The first work of the imperial prison

"There is one more thing to pay attention to."

Shen Jiang, who was suspicious of Qing Dynasty, waved: "Map."

While Shen Jiang followed his boss to send Li Yao home, he paid attention to receiving the latest news from the Jin Yiwei below. He couldn't leave anywhere. It was called keeping an eye on six roads and listening to all directions. When he heard the commander's call, he immediately responded: " I'm coming--"

He had just seen the scene of the crime, and immediately deployed a surrounding search. In order to ensure that he did not miss any details, he happened to find the map, which is now on his body.

Qiu Yiqing took the map, unfolded it, and signaled Ye Baiting to get closer: "Come and see—"

He pointed out a few points on the map with his slender fingers: "This is the scene of the crime, this is Lou Kai's house, Prince Lu's mansion, Sheng's house, Yan's class..."

This is where the people involved in this case, Li Yao, Zhu Yue, Zheng Baiwei, Sheng Long, and Yan Rouman lived last night.

"Because of the length of the streets and alleys, and the different orientations, some roads seem to be very far away, and it takes a long time to walk, but the distance in a straight line is not too far." Qiu Xunqing connected several points into a circle, "If you go honestly , Some people need half an hour to an hour, and the tools used are not counted. If there is a shortcut, some people only need a quarter of an hour to two quarters of an hour to walk back to their residence from the crime scene, seemingly without suspicion. "

Ye Baiting narrowed his eyes: "The precise time of death is very important..."

Shen Jiang also saw something: "Isn't Ma Xianglan the least suspicious? I asked about her dowry shop, and it's the farthest away from here, but it's very close to Rong Ningyu's residence."

Qiu Xunqing: "If it is an individual case, the suspicion will indeed be small."

Ye Baiting: "But we are not dealing with individual cases."

The confessions of the previous women are already very ambiguous, and now I have to add Ma Xianglan... There is too little time, so it may not be impossible, maybe someone has helpers!

Qiu Yiqing had already ordered Shen Jiang: "Immediately visit and investigate, ask relevant people for their statements, and determine the suspect's timeline from yesterday afternoon to this morning!"

The alibi can be falsified, and the suspect's confession will be obscured, but the real timeline does not have to be known by the person's confession. Evidence can be obtained from any traces of the environment. It just so happens that the time for this case to occur is still short, which is favorable for evidence collection!

"Yes!"

Having handled several cases under the command of Young Master Jiao, Shen Jiang is now a mature householder, and there is no need to ask some small questions anymore. She fully knows what to do next, what to focus on, and what needs to be paid attention to.

"This subordinate is going!" Before turning around to leave, he thought of a piece of news he had heard before, and said again, "Because of refusing an autopsy, our people should have invited Ma Xianglan to go to the department to go through the formalities, and this subordinate is too late Alright, if the commander and the young master have time, they can go and ask for a confession."

Ye Baiting nodded: "The other things will be arranged by the commander, so you can do things with peace of mind."

"Okay—" Shen Jiang cupped his hands and left.

The scene was instantly quiet, the streets were long and the leaves fell silently.

Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing: "Let's go?"

Qiu Xunqing glanced at the young man's reddish nose and white wrist, put away the map, embraced the young man in his arms, and instantly jumped up——

Ye Baiting was startled, and subconsciously put her arms around Chou Yiqing's neck, fearing that she would be thrown from the wall, this man didn't follow the right path, and used light work to climb over the wall and the eaves!

"This is faster."

The commander is majestic and serious, his voice is steady, and his expression is very serious. If the hand clasping the boy's waist is not so strong, and the posture is not so tight, he doesn't want the person in his arms to be seen at all... maybe Can be trusted somewhat.

However, Ye Baiting was in the midst of flying to a high altitude and falling freely to the wall, always startled at any time, afraid of accidentally falling to his death, he didn't realize that there was something wrong with this man at all, and even couldn't help it...Holding his hands even tighter.

In Beizhen Fusi, Ma Xianglan had already gone through the formalities, but was delayed by Jin Yiwei for various reasons, and she has not left yet.

"The commander is back!"

"The young master is back too!"

Following the sound from the courtyard, Ma Xianglan saw Qiu Yiqing and Ye Baiting coming in from the courtyard gate, got up and took two steps to greet her, and saluted: "I am Mrs. Ma, I have seen the commander."

She was wearing a plain white dress, with her hair in a bun, combed neatly without any mess, and white cotton flowers on her sideburns. She looked very quiet, from the expression of her eyebrows and eyes to her body language, there was no trace of fear. There was no tension at all, and the whole person was extremely calm.

Qiu Yiqing crossed the hall and pointed to the lower head casually: "Sit."

Ma Xianglan got up, there was no problem, and she didn't think it was strange, she was very cooperative, and went to sit down quietly.

But that's the problem.

It's not that Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing have never seen Ma Xianglan before. They saw a lot of pictures and people in the Lu Palace yesterday. Ma Xianglan was one of them. She may have been wronged by her husband's majesty, but she was not quiet. Comparing to Li Yao and Sheng Long, she is a more obedient person. She dares to express her disapproval, and it is not impossible to make trouble with her authoritative husband...

Why is it so quiet today?

Qiu Yiqing: "You were not at home last night."

Ma Xianglan lowered her head: "Yes."

"Not often?"

"No, it's just occasionally," Ma Xianglan explained slowly, "Your Excellency should have seen what happened in Prince Lu's mansion yesterday? Husband suffered all those secret losses during the day, but he didn't get over his face. They were going to hit someone, and I was afraid, so I hid in my dowry shop."

"Does this happen often?"

"Yes."

Qiu Xun tapped his knuckles on the table lightly, as if he was thinking about whether the next words would be appropriate, and finally said: "Yesterday in Lu Wang's mansion, I didn't see Madam scared."

Ma Xianglan lowered her eyes: "Men have a good face, there are many people outside, so you have to take care of it, and it won't happen at home. It's useless if I play tricks, it will only fuel his arrogance, and the more fierce the attack, the more I resist. , the more excited he is, the more he can hide, of course it's better to hide."

"The scar on the corner of your eyebrow, is it from him?"

Ma Xianglan subconsciously raised her hand and touched it: "Yes."

Qiu Xunqing: "Madam's business seems to be doing well, since you have a heart, why don't you get along with each other?"

Ma Xianglan lowered her eyes, and for the first time fluctuated in her expression: "Xiaowei's surname is Zheng, if I get along with Li, I can't take her away... My husband is not good-for-nothing, and there is no one around him. Who could it be? I can't let my daughter suffer like this."

"Zheng Baiwei, seems to have reached the age to leave the court?"

"Yes, I have prepared a dowry for her, and I am visiting her. As long as this important event is certain, I don't have to be afraid of anything when she is out of the door! Two or three years, I only need to endure for another two or three years at most. !"

Ma Xianglan raised her head and looked at Qiu Yiqing: "The commanders and envoys understand it, and they should be able to see it clearly. I don't need to kill my husband. No matter how much he fights around him, he can't kill me. I have money, a shop, food and clothing. Worry-free, as long as my daughter gets married smoothly, I will be able to live a happy life without looking at anyone, why should I involve myself? Is he Zheng Hongchun worthy!"

"You're not guilty, why don't you want an autopsy? You don't want your husband's murderer to be found?"

"No..." Ma Xianglan paused, and Fang said, "It's because it's unknown."

unknown?This statement is strange.

Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing looked at each other: "Why?"

Ma Xianglan lowered her eyes: "The men of their Zheng family have this fate. They can die young or die violently, but they must live in peace. If they are disrespectful to the corpse, the family will be disturbed at least, and their luck will be damaged at worst. They will never be able to get up again. Potential."

"It's all... this fate?"

"I don't know how early it was, I heard people say it, but the old man in the family is like this, he is considered dead, because the funeral of the two brothers was not well arranged, the coffin was a bit thin, and it was accidentally dropped when it was sent up the mountain , the old man stretched out his hand and broke one of his fingers. With this little injury, the family was in bad luck. In the next two or three years, the luck would be bad. Still missing."

Ma Xianglan's voice was slow: "They said they were missing, but everyone said they were dead. They died tragically, and they didn't know where they were. They couldn't take them home and have a proper burial. The family was even more unlucky. The luck was getting worse day by day. No matter what my husband does, he can't do anything. He scolds people every day, scolds his ancestors, scolds his elder brother. Xu will be unlucky, now that all the men of the Zheng family are dead, I am not afraid, but I am afraid that my daughter will be implicated."

"Her uncle? Zheng Hongchun's brother?"

Ye Baiting recalled that when Zheng Hongchun lost his temper yesterday at Prince Lu's Mansion, he also mentioned this person, saying, "If my brother hadn't passed away, I wouldn't have to work so hard to support you girls"...

It's not a big deal, but he somehow couldn't ignore it: "Is this person very good at making money?"

Ma Xianglan was stunned for a moment, and then slowly said: "Well, his name is Zheng Hongfang, and he has a mole between his eyebrows. He has been said to be blessed since he was a child, and he can prosper the family. Later, he was indeed the most capable in this family. At most, the whole family depends on him. When he was there, my husband basically didn’t have to worry about anything. When he was gone, life went from bad to worse, and my husband lost everything he could. The only few shops, ah, run It's not as good as me, and I don't know where the confidence comes from, thinking that without me, his life will be better..."

Ye Baiting: "The commander asked you just now. You said you thought your husband was going to beat you, so you hid in your shop. When did you go? Did you ever go out? Do you have any witnesses?"

"My husband is probably tired. He took a break at noon when he got home, and he didn't get up until late in the evening. I took care of some things. When I saw him wake up with a bad face and picky words, I knew that nothing good would happen later. It happened that Xiaowei Zhu Yue, who was worried about the palace, passed by before evening, so I didn't have any worries, so I went to the shop."

"This shop is a bit far away. Even if my husband wanted to chase after him, I probably wouldn't be bothered to walk such a long way. I chose it on purpose. When I arrived, it was just dark, and the shopkeepers in the shop could attest that it happened to be Chinese New Year. I Called the accountant over to check the account. It was past midnight when I fell asleep. After midnight, there was no witness. There is a night vigil with lights, if I have come out among them, there is no way that there is no trace, if you don’t believe me, you can send someone to ask.”

Ma Xianglan's expression was very calm: "I also know the place where my husband died. It's my business. The small courtyard is too far away. Even if I really cheated and went out, I don't have time to go there to kill people. "

Ye Baiting didn't continue to talk about whether this distance is suspicious, but talked about another distance: "This dowry shop of yours seems to be very close to the Rong family class. Have you ever seen Rong Ningyu?"

Ma Xianglan glanced at him and sneered: "She is a big celebrity, how many people are waiting in line for her business, even if she lives nearby one day, how could she easily have the opportunity to see her?"

Ye Baiting didn't let go of this question, staring at her: "You hate Rong Ningyu?"

Ma Xianglan: "Young Master, what do you mean by that?"

"Yesterday in Prince Lu's Mansion, Rong Ningyu wanted to help you, but you said loudly, 'Don't touch me', and your attitude was rather blunt." Ye Baiting smiled lightly, "Don't say that, you treat everyone like this."

Ma Xianglan's lips moved: "Oh, I don't like that kind of woman."

Ye Baiting: "Why? Because of her business?"

"I don't care what other people do or what money they earn. There are so many prostitutes in the world, and I hate them all? I can't do it, and I don't think so much," Ma Xianglan looked outside being swept up by the north wind and fell heavily. A dead branch on the ground, "But she is a woman, she doesn't like little girls, and she finds them troublesome, so I can't look down on her."

"Little girl?"

"Yes, a girl who is one, two, or three years old, who can't speak well, and can't walk well, people think that she will suffer anyway when she grows up, so she won't give her any pity, and she won't throw it away. "

Ye Baiting felt that these words were a bit extreme: "Have you seen it?"

Ma Xianglan seemed to have slipped her tongue, and coughed: "I don't need to see? How did the people in her Rong's class get here? I think Jin Yiwei must have checked it out a long time ago. Look at the children she picked up, although most of them are girls. , but they were only picked up when they were six or seven years old. Although they grow up, they have to suffer. After all, they are sensible, obedient, and usable. Is there a girl under five years old in her place?"

People's emotional feedback to the outside world often comes from their own experiences and emotional projections. Ye Baiting thought of Zheng Baiwei. She is Ma Xianglan's daughter and had a childhood...

"Rong Ningyu is very dissatisfied with your daughter?" But as far as they met in the palace yesterday, Zheng Baiwei and Rong Ningyu have a good relationship, and the scene of the two sitting and chatting together is very harmonious.

"No." Ma Xianglan's eyes were a little stiff, "My daughter is so good, who would be dissatisfied? Even if she is a high-ranking class leader in other people's circles, she still likes my daughter very much."

"What about when you were young?" Ye Baiting narrowed his eyes, "Have they met before?"

Ma Xianglan sneered: "I don't know what the young master is secretly thinking? We women are sometimes narrow-minded, unlike you great men who can walk on the street openly, see a lot, see a lot, and think openly, but they are not so dark. I It’s true that I don’t like people surnamed Rong very much, but it’s just my personal likes and dislikes, and it has nothing to do with the case. My husband has a bad temper, and I’m afraid that he will touch my daughter’s mind. I watch it very strictly every day. A few times."

It seemed that this questioning process made her extremely unhappy, so she got up straight away: "It's getting late, can I leave and go pick up my daughter? If Jin Yiwei has anything to ask, or suspects that I have killed someone, he can come to the door at any time Catch me."

Qiu Xunqing asked the following sentence: "Has the process been completed?"

"Return to Commander, it's over."

Qiu Yiqing looked at Ma Xianglan: "Madam, do as you please."

Ma Xianglan made a final salute, then turned and left.

As soon as she walked out of the courtyard from her back, Ye Baiting saw the deputy general Zheng Ying holding a thick book of official documents, waiting in profile, it seemed that there was something urgent that needed Qiu Xinqing's approval.

"The commander is busy first, I will go to the autopsy."

Qiu Xunqing didn't stop him this time, but just took a deep look at him: "If you have any questions, report them in time."

"Yes."

Ye Baiting withdrew and went back to his room, thinking about the case all the way, Ma Xianglan's behavior was a little bit out of line...

The Wuzuo room was as usual, quiet and cold, and the third victim of this case, Zheng Hongchun, was placed on the mortuary table.

Compared with the previous two murders, the murderer was obviously anxious this time. The scenes of the three crimes were very similar. The murderer did not deliberately hide himself, so what he has to do now is to find the difference.

What is so special this time, why is the murderer so anxious, what mistakes did they make, is there any evidence that already existed but was not found?

According to the circle drawn by Qiu Suiqing at the scene of the crime and the distance between the suspects, there is a very important question now, which is the exact time of death.

There are no various identification instruments in the modern forensic laboratory, and the body of the deceased cannot be dissected, and the stomach can be taken out to see the contents of the stomach. What other methods can be used to conduct more forensic identification and obtain definite results?

Is there really no way?

Ye Baiting shook his head, no, yes.

For a qualified forensic doctor, knowledge and instruments are of course the biggest killers, but observation skills are also very important!

He quickly fetched the map and checked the environment of the crime scene. There were many routes from the deceased's home to here, which one did the deceased walk through?The plants on the side of the road, the smell that may remain, the characteristics of the environment at the special intersection... There is no one in the night, there may be no witnesses to see Zheng Hongchun, but how could his route track not be reflected at all!

Ye Baiting found the clothes that the deceased had taken off in the room and checked them carefully.

First of all, he found wet traces on the soles of the deceased's shoes and the soles of his right feet. A charcoal basin was burned at the scene of the crime, but these traces have not yet dried up. Over the water.And the water was not much, maybe it was just a shallow depression. Immediately after stepping on the water, the deceased found that the next step was a big step, so he jumped over it directly, because he didn't have a left foot.

Given the temper of the deceased, perhaps he even cursed at that time.

Ye Baiting stretched out his hand to touch it, rubbed it lightly with his fingertips, there were very inconspicuous oil stains, and when he smelled it closely, there was a smell of dirty water after cleaning the tables and chairs.

The shops on the street are open for business. Before closing, it is normal to wash your hands and wipe something. Anyway, it is about to close, and it is normal to sprinkle water outside.But in this kind of weather, the water would probably freeze, but the deceased stepped on water, so this shop... must close very late.

Tavern?

Ye Baiting lowered his head and sniffed again, and he really smelled a faint smell of alcohol.

Where there are taverns... He circled a few locations on the map.No matter how late it closes, there are plenty of shopkeepers in the store. If you go over and ask, don't you have time?

Next, examine the clothes of the deceased carefully. The sleeves are relatively wide, and there seems to be something rolled inside... Dried vegetable leaves?

In the middle of the night, the wind is strong and the weather is cold. The strong wind will blow up the light weight leaves and other things on the side of the road and fall to the sleeves of passers-by. When the weather is cold, passers-by will subconsciously wrap their clothes tightly. No matter how tight, things will follow. Rolled into the sleeves.

Now that the New Year’s Eve is approaching, the people are busy shopping. Sometimes there are too many things to put in the yard and house, and they will be temporarily piled up in places such as window sills and stone steps at the door. If the deceased passes by, and there is a strong wind, he will wrap his clothes tightly ...and probably will bring it with me.

Ye Baiting took a closer look. In the cold winter months, it is difficult for ordinary people in the capital to eat fresh vegetables, and the ones grown in other people's villages are too expensive, so they can't usually afford them, so they often dry some vegetables in the autumn and use them in winter. Blister hair to use.

What he had seen the most before was Chinese cabbage, or things like long beans, but he had never seen this kind of vegetable before, like a kind of... yellow flower?

Looking for evidence, you are not afraid that you are not unique, but you are not special. The rarer you are, the more you can help you find clues. This thing must be asked.

Ye Baiting carefully kept this light yellow, flower-like dried vegetable aside, and continued to check the clothes of the deceased. Although it was a little inconspicuous, he still recognized the wax oil on the lapel, near the back of the collar.

Red wax oil.

He turned around and walked to the mortuary table, and carefully inspected the body of the deceased. Probably this time, the time was more urgent, and the murderer had no time to play the candle game. There is a little stain on the hair, at the back of the head, very little, because the deceased was active during his lifetime, the traces have shifted, and the hair needs to be pulled to see.

Also red wax oil.

Where did it come from?

Ye Baiting closed his eyes, carefully recalling the streets of the capital he had seen. If it was night, what kind of scene would it be?

The Chinese New Year is approaching, and the streets and alleys have a New Year's flavor. The red lanterns at the door of many people have to be lit for one night. The texture of the red lanterns is different because of different home conditions, and the choice is different. The same is true for candles. Some people have less requirements High, the lantern is not so strict, the candle is likely to drip oil, if anyone passes by, it will fall on the body...

The same thing, Ye Baiting carefully screened, found the things left on the deceased as much as possible, recorded, sketched, followed the possible route of the murderer on the map, cooperated well, and asked people to ask, there will be gains!

In the process of doing these things, he also found something, a birthmark behind the ear of the deceased.

The shape is a bit special, like an axe, which is not common, but it is this uncommon thing that makes him have a sense of memory... Why?

Solving a case is different from doing other things. You can't let go of any details. In many cases, they may be the key. Now that Ye Baiting has discovered it, he will not just think that he is sensitive and think too much.

He closed his eyes and thought about it carefully, where on earth had he seen something similar?Where... Think hard!

Got it!

Ye Baiting suddenly opened his eyes, his brows were sharp, he remembered that after drinking last time, he experienced a large-scale social death scene, in order to refuse to think of Gouzi's little car and Qiu Xunqing's meaningful eyes, he locked himself in the I set up a room for office work.

At that time, there was no case in hand, so he casually flipped through the autopsy grid of Wu Zuofang. It was a thick book, most of which were Shang Lu's usual work. In the last few pages, the word 'axe' seemed to appear!

Ye Baiting immediately went to the cabinet, took out the bound autopsy grid, and turned to the last few pages, there was indeed a corpse with a birthmark like an ax on the back of the ear!

He immediately turned to look for Shanglu, pointing to this page: "Where is this corpse?"

Shanglu looked at it: "It has been a month since it was delivered... because no one claimed it, it is still stored in the morgue next to it for the time being."

"Take it out and show me!"

"I wanted to show you, but this corpse is a little different. Seeing that you've been really busy recently, I thought I'd talk about it later." Shang Lu opened the side door, numbered them in sequence, and found the corpse, " Here, young master, look, this corpse is interesting to me when I look at it, it looks like it has been dead for ten years, but it has not decayed, and it is quite intact, isn't it amazing?"