745

Translator: Iris, Editor: Aruthea

She slid on her gloves and began the autopsy.

There were impact injuries at the top and the back of the victim’s head, likely caused when the victim was thrown down the well. She turned the victim’s head to its side, parted the messy hair and examined the neck from the front to the back; nothing seemed amiss.

However, she found something in the victim’s right ear, a black substance that had the consistency similar to bubblegum. She carefully removed it, pinched it between her fingers before taking a sniff. The substance smelled faintly of medicinal herbs. But there was no sign of injury on the victim’s ear. She placed that black substance on a clean handkerchief and folded it neatly.

Ji Yunshu turned her attention to the victim’s arms. There was a large black spot on the victim’s sleeve that looked like it had been smoked by fire. She held up the victim’s hand, his fingers were rough and calloused, with yellowed nails that were and packed with dirt and debris. She pried open the victim’s hand and spread his palm open. She wrinkled her nose as she took a sniff and frowned. This was the distinct odor of tiger skin. Gao Meng did trade with tiger skins, there was no surprise that the smell would have stayed on his hands.

Then, she removed the victim’s clothing and revealed the mortal wound: a stab straight to the heart. The wound was deep, the exposed flesh had turned slightly purple and had begun to decompose, while the edge of the wound was still stained with blood. This was the only open wound she found on the victim.

Once Ji Yunshu had learned what she could from the autopsy, she moved on to the assembled sets of skeletons.

Two hours later, she washed her hands and stepped out of the examination room. Jing Rong glanced inside the room and asked, “How did it go?”

“Let’s talk after we get back.”

He nodded, then told the minister, “Keep an eye on the body and the skeletons in there, Lord Li. We might come back later.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure guards will be stationed here,” said Lord Li amiably

With that, Jing Rong and the team left the Ministry of Justice.

On the carriage back to the Rong estate, Ji Yunshu lifted the curtain at the side of the carriage and passed the wrapped handkerchief to Lang Po. “Lang-dage, could you send someone to Yuhua Pavilion and pass this to Mo-gongzi? He might know what kind of herbs this substance is made up of.”

“Yes, right away. Leave this to us, Teacher Ji.” He took the handkerchief carefully, called one of the younger guards and instructed him. The young guard soon left in a hurry on horseback.

Then, Ji Yunshu turned to Jing Rong, “Let’s stop by the inn first.”

“The inn?”

“Xianghe Inn.”

“You want to talk to those traveling merchants?”

“You truly know me best.” Their eyes met and they both smiled.

They arrived at the Xianghe Inn after a short ride. Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu stepped out of the carriage, and at Jing Rong’s orders, his guards were to wait outside for them. Then, the pair entered the inn. Immediately, the waiter at the inn greeted them warmly, “Would the two Sirs like to eat or…”

Jing Rong cut off the waiter mid-sentence with a piercing glare, “We’re from the Ministry of Justice.”

Ugh! The waiter’s face paled with shock and fear as he hunched his shoulders.

“So you’re here on official business…” The waiter recovered with a polite, courteous smile.

The innkeeper, who had been managing the cashier behind the counter, rushed over and pushed the waiter aside when he heard that. “Oh, sorry for the delay, we didn’t know that government officials would be here. But we run an upstanding business here. Absolutely no lawbreaking, nothing of that sort, so just what in the world brought the two Sirs here?”

The slight quiver in the innkeeper’s voice betrayed his nervousness, but it was understandable. Any ordinary person would be terrified by the presence of officers from the Ministry of Justice. Jing Rong scanned the second floor of the inn, and his stern face stiffened further, “Is a group of travelling merchants staying here?”

“Hm?” The innkeeper flinched and mumbled under his breath, “Why are there so many people asking for them?”

“What did you say?”

“No, nothing, Sir. I was saying we do have a group of travelling merchants staying here.”

“Show us to their rooms.”

“Of course, they all live upstairs, right this way, Sirs.” The innkeeper led them up the stairs.

Everyone has an ear for gossip, and the innkeeper was no exception.

On the way to the rooms, he asked, “I heard that one of the merchants died a few days ago, in this empty well underneath a giant Buddha. How did he end up there? And, apparently his body was not the only thing in that well, there were a lot of bones and skeletons in there too. Everyone in the capital is horrified, some people even say that it’s the work of otherworldly forces. Is there any truth to that?”

“How has your investigation been so far?”

Jing Rong remained silent, his cold face unchanged. The innkeeper stopped talking in the awkward silence.

They stopped in front of a room.

“Sirs, the merchants are inside.” The innkeeper knocked on the door of the room.

A short pause later, someone opened the door. It was one of the travelling merchants. “Who are you people?”

Before the innkeeper could introduce them, Jing Rong answered, “We’re from the Ministry of Justice, and we would like to ask you a few questions.”

“Didn’t someone else just come by? Why are you guys back here again?”

Hm? The previous group must have been Jing Yi, they had already come here.

Jing Rong did not explain, he merely said, “This concerns someone’s death, we would like to be thorough.”

“Oh.” The merchant accepted his words at face value, “Then… Come in, I guess.”

The innkeeper completed his task and returned downstairs as Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu stepped into the merchants’ room.

There were another seven or eight more merchants in the room, all tense with worry and uncertainty. Their leader was gone. Without him, all they could do was bump around aimlessly like headless chickens. The merchants ceased their discussion when they noticed Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu looked at everyone in the room and clarified, “Please don’t be alarmed, we just wanted to know more about the victim.”

Suddenly, one of the merchants pointed at her, “I remember you.”

“A few days ago, when we first arrived in the capital, you’re the one who helped us with our frightened horse.”

She smiled, “Yes, that was me.”

“We didn't expect you to be a minister from the Ministry of Justice. Mister, you have to find out what happened to our leader!”

“The victim was your leader?”

“Yeah, he led all of us here to the capital, said that there would be good business for all of us, but to think…” The man swallowed a sob.

She asked, “What exactly happened that night?”

One of the merchants shook his head with a sigh, “We have no idea. That night we all retreated to our rooms after dinner. The next day, we went to find the leader, but no one answered the door no matter how long we waited. So we went into his room and found out he wasn’t in his room at all. Soon after that, a government official showed up at the inn. Only then did we learn that the leader had died.”

The merchants all sighed, some even wiped their eyes.

Jing Rong continued the interview, “Then, did you all notice anything strange about your leader that night? Or did anyone come looking for him?”

“No, we don’t know anyone else here in the capital.”

Ji Yunshu chimed in, “Do you still have those tiger skins?”

“Yes.”

“Did your leader open the chest that contained those skins? Or did he touch those skins at all?”

One of the merchants shook his head, “He never opened those chests. I would know as I was in charge of guarding them. The leader never opened those chests at any point during our journey to the capital.”

That’s strange. If he had never touched those tiger skins, how did that odor get onto his hands?

Ji Yunshu did not dwell on that and continued the interview, but they didn’t learn anything of importance; only small, inconsequential bits of information.

Translator: Iris, Editor: Aruthea

She slid on her gloves and began the autopsy.

There were impact injuries at the top and the back of the victim’s head, likely caused when the victim was thrown down the well. She turned the victim’s head to its side, parted the messy hair and examined the neck from the front to the back; nothing seemed amiss.

However, she found something in the victim’s right ear, a black substance that had the consistency similar to bubblegum. She carefully removed it, pinched it between her fingers before taking a sniff. The substance smelled faintly of medicinal herbs. But there was no sign of injury on the victim’s ear. She placed that black substance on a clean handkerchief and folded it neatly.

Ji Yunshu turned her attention to the victim’s arms. There was a large black spot on the victim’s sleeve that looked like it had been smoked by fire. She held up the victim’s hand, his fingers were rough and calloused, with yellowed nails that were and packed with dirt and debris. She pried open the victim’s hand and spread his palm open. She wrinkled her nose as she took a sniff and frowned. This was the distinct odor of tiger skin. Gao Meng did trade with tiger skins, there was no surprise that the smell would have stayed on his hands.

Then, she removed the victim’s clothing and revealed the mortal wound: a stab straight to the heart. The wound was deep, the exposed flesh had turned slightly purple and had begun to decompose, while the edge of the wound was still stained with blood. This was the only open wound she found on the victim.

Once Ji Yunshu had learned what she could from the autopsy, she moved on to the assembled sets of skeletons.

Two hours later, she washed her hands and stepped out of the examination room. Jing Rong glanced inside the room and asked, “How did it go?”

“Let’s talk after we get back.”

He nodded, then told the minister, “Keep an eye on the body and the skeletons in there, Lord Li. We might come back later.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure guards will be stationed here,” said Lord Li amiably

With that, Jing Rong and the team left the Ministry of Justice.

On the carriage back to the Rong estate, Ji Yunshu lifted the curtain at the side of the carriage and passed the wrapped handkerchief to Lang Po. “Lang-dage, could you send someone to Yuhua Pavilion and pass this to Mo-gongzi? He might know what kind of herbs this substance is made up of.”

“Yes, right away. Leave this to us, Teacher Ji.” He took the handkerchief carefully, called one of the younger guards and instructed him. The young guard soon left in a hurry on horseback.

Then, Ji Yunshu turned to Jing Rong, “Let’s stop by the inn first.”

“The inn?”

“Xianghe Inn.”

“You want to talk to those traveling merchants?”

“You truly know me best.” Their eyes met and they both smiled.

They arrived at the Xianghe Inn after a short ride. Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu stepped out of the carriage, and at Jing Rong’s orders, his guards were to wait outside for them. Then, the pair entered the inn. Immediately, the waiter at the inn greeted them warmly, “Would the two Sirs like to eat or…”

Jing Rong cut off the waiter mid-sentence with a piercing glare, “We’re from the Ministry of Justice.”

Ugh! The waiter’s face paled with shock and fear as he hunched his shoulders.

“So you’re here on official business…” The waiter recovered with a polite, courteous smile.

The innkeeper, who had been managing the cashier behind the counter, rushed over and pushed the waiter aside when he heard that. “Oh, sorry for the delay, we didn’t know that government officials would be here. But we run an upstanding business here. Absolutely no lawbreaking, nothing of that sort, so just what in the world brought the two Sirs here?”

The slight quiver in the innkeeper’s voice betrayed his nervousness, but it was understandable. Any ordinary person would be terrified by the presence of officers from the Ministry of Justice. Jing Rong scanned the second floor of the inn, and his stern face stiffened further, “Is a group of travelling merchants staying here?”

“Hm?” The innkeeper flinched and mumbled under his breath, “Why are there so many people asking for them?”

“What did you say?”

“No, nothing, Sir. I was saying we do have a group of travelling merchants staying here.”

“Show us to their rooms.”

“Of course, they all live upstairs, right this way, Sirs.” The innkeeper led them up the stairs.

Everyone has an ear for gossip, and the innkeeper was no exception.

On the way to the rooms, he asked, “I heard that one of the merchants died a few days ago, in this empty well underneath a giant Buddha. How did he end up there? And, apparently his body was not the only thing in that well, there were a lot of bones and skeletons in there too. Everyone in the capital is horrified, some people even say that it’s the work of otherworldly forces. Is there any truth to that?”

“How has your investigation been so far?”

Jing Rong remained silent, his cold face unchanged. The innkeeper stopped talking in the awkward silence.

They stopped in front of a room.

“Sirs, the merchants are inside.” The innkeeper knocked on the door of the room.

A short pause later, someone opened the door. It was one of the travelling merchants. “Who are you people?”

Before the innkeeper could introduce them, Jing Rong answered, “We’re from the Ministry of Justice, and we would like to ask you a few questions.”

“Didn’t someone else just come by? Why are you guys back here again?”

Hm? The previous group must have been Jing Yi, they had already come here.

Jing Rong did not explain, he merely said, “This concerns someone’s death, we would like to be thorough.”

“Oh.” The merchant accepted his words at face value, “Then… Come in, I guess.”

The innkeeper completed his task and returned downstairs as Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu stepped into the merchants’ room.

There were another seven or eight more merchants in the room, all tense with worry and uncertainty. Their leader was gone. Without him, all they could do was bump around aimlessly like headless chickens. The merchants ceased their discussion when they noticed Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu looked at everyone in the room and clarified, “Please don’t be alarmed, we just wanted to know more about the victim.”

Suddenly, one of the merchants pointed at her, “I remember you.”

“A few days ago, when we first arrived in the capital, you’re the one who helped us with our frightened horse.”

She smiled, “Yes, that was me.”

“We didn't expect you to be a minister from the Ministry of Justice. Mister, you have to find out what happened to our leader!”

“The victim was your leader?”

“Yeah, he led all of us here to the capital, said that there would be good business for all of us, but to think…” The man swallowed a sob.

She asked, “What exactly happened that night?”

One of the merchants shook his head with a sigh, “We have no idea. That night we all retreated to our rooms after dinner. The next day, we went to find the leader, but no one answered the door no matter how long we waited. So we went into his room and found out he wasn’t in his room at all. Soon after that, a government official showed up at the inn. Only then did we learn that the leader had died.”

The merchants all sighed, some even wiped their eyes.

Jing Rong continued the interview, “Then, did you all notice anything strange about your leader that night? Or did anyone come looking for him?”

“No, we don’t know anyone else here in the capital.”

Ji Yunshu chimed in, “Do you still have those tiger skins?”

“Yes.”

“Did your leader open the chest that contained those skins? Or did he touch those skins at all?”

One of the merchants shook his head, “He never opened those chests. I would know as I was in charge of guarding them. The leader never opened those chests at any point during our journey to the capital.”

That’s strange. If he had never touched those tiger skins, how did that odor get onto his hands?

Ji Yunshu did not dwell on that and continued the interview, but they didn’t learn anything of importance; only small, inconsequential bits of information.