Subcutaneous hemorrhaging, no skull fracture.
“I don’t know, I really don’t know what happened.” Zhao Sheng wept, tears and snot mingling on his face. “I thought I was just going to the yamen to answer a few questions. Passing by my mother’s noodle stall, I even told her to save me a bowl of noodles for when I got back. But after the yamen finished the autopsy, they twisted everything…”
“How dare you!”
The bailiff beside him shouted, “Show some respect for Kaifeng Prefecture!”
Zhao Sheng trembled violently, shrinking his neck and stammering, “After the yamen finished the autopsy, they said I beat my grandfather, that I covered him in bruises and beat him to death. The fatal injury was the wound on his head. But I never laid a hand on him! The gash on my grandfather’s head was from him hitting the cabinet himself.”
This made it even stranger.
Yan Tongshu was utterly perplexed. “Did your grandfather have any conflicts with anyone in the past two days? Could the injuries on his body have been inflicted by someone else?”
Zhao Sheng shook his head.
The bailiff who had just reprimanded Zhao Sheng stepped forward, cupping his hands respectfully. “Lord Yan, I know about this matter.”
The bailiff spoke earnestly, “Lord Yan, my name is Xu Qiu, a native of the capital. That day, Assistant Prefect Li sent me and my duty partner, Zhou Zheng, to investigate the nearby area. I visited several households in the vicinity and also questioned Zhao Lao Er. It was confirmed that Zhao Gengtian had not been involved in any disputes with anyone in the past seven days. Not even a physical fight—not even a single argument.”
Yan Tongshu frowned. “Not even an argument?”
“Indeed, none,” Xu Qiu said firmly, then glanced at Zhao Sheng kneeling on the ground and lowered his voice. “Lord Yan, you mustn’t be fooled by the smooth talk of this kind of scoundrel. This kid is nothing but a petty troublemaker. People like him never speak a word of truth.”
Yan Tongshu nodded slightly. “Brother.”
Xu Qiu quickly bowed. “I dare not, I dare not.”
Yan Tongshu said politely, “Thank you for the reminder.”
Seeing that Yan Tongshu seemed convinced, Zhao Sheng panicked and cried out hoarsely, “Lord Yan, I’m truly innocent! I really didn’t kill anyone!”
Yan Tongshu raised a hand to calm him. “Don’t rush. Let me ask you a few more questions.”
Zhao Sheng nodded repeatedly.
Yan Tongshu asked, “What was Zhao Gengtian’s usual temperament like?”
“That old crow—that old man!” Having just been scolded by the bailiff, Zhao Sheng, fearful, corrected himself in time and said indignantly, “His mouth was filthier than a cesspit, always cursing at people. He loved taking advantage of others and snatching things. If you were walking down the road eating a flatbread and a sesame seed fell into his field, he’d never let you pick it up. He’d insist that since it fell into his field, it belonged to him.”
Yan Tongshu asked again, “Has Zhao Gengtian ever been this quiet for so long without getting into conflicts before?”
Zhao Sheng was taken aback by the question. After thinking carefully, he shook his head in confusion. “I never kept track of time, but he was always causing trouble.”
Hearing this, Yan Tongshu’s suspicions deepened.
A person who was always stirring up trouble and cursing nonstop had remained peaceful for seven consecutive days.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Yan Tongshu continued, “When Zhao Gengtian told you to steal your mother’s sauce recipe and you refused, what did he say when he hit you? Was it something like, ‘If you don’t go, I’ll beat you to death’?”
Zhao Sheng shook his head.
Yan Tongshu narrowed his eyes. “He didn’t say that?”
"He said… 'I'll beat you to death, you damned bastard.'" Zhao Sheng's voice lowered, tinged with an unmistakable bitterness. "My grandfather never liked me. He believed that if my mother hadn’t given birth to me, our house would have gone to my second uncle. In his heart, my mother and I were outsiders, so he always called me a bastard."
Zhao Gengtian had come for the recipe of the topping, yet he wasn’t particularly insistent about it. Strange.
As these thoughts crossed Yan Tongshu’s mind, he asked, "Did your grandfather come to you and your mother for the topping recipe because your second uncle also opened a noodle stall?"
Zhao Sheng curled his lip, his face full of disgust. "Not only did they open one, but they also tried to steal my mother’s business. Unfortunately, they’re as stupid as pigs and have no luck. The toppings they make are salty and disgusting, and the portions are small. After a month, not only did they fail to make any money, but they also lost everything."
Yan Tongshu said, "Alright, I understand."
Yan Tongshu had someone take Zhao Sheng away, then stood up and turned to Xu Qiu. "Brother Xu."
Xu Qiu hurriedly bowed, waving his hands repeatedly. "Ah, Lord Yan, you’re a fourth-rank official. There’s no need to be so polite to people like us. Just call me Little Xu."
Despite his words, Xu Qiu couldn’t hide the pleasure in his eyes at receiving such respect.
He proactively asked, "Does Lord Yan have further instructions?"
"Brother Xu," Yan Tongshu said with a serious expression, "could you take me to examine Zhao Gengtian’s body?"
Before Xu Qiu could respond, Zhenzhu let out a loud "Ah!" and exclaimed, "Young master, you’re going to look at a corpse!"
Her face instantly turned pale, and she grabbed Yan Tongshu’s sleeve. "Young master, don’t go. Let’s not go. That corpse is terrifying. What if there’s a ghost that follows us back to the mansion, haunting us endlessly…"
"You silly girl."
Yan Tongshu lightly tapped Zhenzhu’s forehead with his knuckle. "Stop talking nonsense. There are no ghosts in this world."
Zhenzhu was terrified. "But what if there are?"
Yan Tongshu smiled. "Alright, silly girl. Wait for me at the entrance later. I’ll go with Brother Xu."
Zhenzhu opened her mouth but said nothing. She was worried about Yan Tongshu, but she was truly too afraid to offer to go with him.
Xu Qiu laughed heartily. "Don’t be afraid, Miss Zhenzhu. If any ghost dares to come out and scare people, I’ll cut it down with my blade."
Yan Tongshu turned to Xu Qiu. "Then I’ll trouble you, Brother Xu."
Xu Qiu led the way, taking Yan Tongshu and the trembling Zhenzhu to the place where the body was kept—Shenming Pavilion.
The closer they got to Shenming Pavilion, the paler Zhenzhu’s face became.
By the time they reached the eerie gate, all color had drained from her face, and even her lips were trembling slightly.
She was truly, utterly terrified.
After Xu Qiu communicated with the guard of Shenming Pavilion, they were allowed to enter.
Zhenzhu clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, rooted to the spot, too afraid to take another step forward.
Yan Tongshu patted her shoulder and followed Xu Qiu into Shenming Pavilion.
Shenming Pavilion was a low, single-story building located in the backyard, housing many bodies.
To facilitate the storage of corpses and slow down decay, Shenming Pavilion had been specially treated, making the temperature inside much lower than outside.
As soon as Yan Tongshu stepped inside, he felt a piercing chill.
Xu Qiu led Yan Tongshu past rows of bodies covered with white cloth, stopping before Zhao Gengtian laid in the center. He lifted the cloth and said, "Lord Yan, this is Zhao Gengtian, who died five days ago."
Yan Tongshu nodded and stepped closer to Zhao Gengtian.
Having been dead for five days, even though the temperature in Shenming Pavilion was lower than usual and Kaifeng Prefecture had preserved the body well, signs of decay had still begun to appear.
Fortunately, it was only slight and did not hinder examination.
Yan Tongshu asked, "Is there any record from the coroner's examination?"
Xu Qiu thought for a moment. "Are you referring to the inspection report?"
Yan Tongshu wasn’t sure what autopsy records were called in this era, but the term "inspection report" sounded like it could be one, so she nodded.
Xu Qiu pointed at the wall. "Inspection reports are usually copied in triplicate. One copy is posted where the body is stored for easy reference. The other two—one is kept on file for records, and the other is submitted as part of the case documents. Zhao Gengtian’s should be… right here…"
Xu Qiu walked to the head of Zhao Gengtian’s body, took a report from the wall, and handed it to Yan Tongshu. "Lord Yan, here you go."
Yan Tongshu opened it and began reading slowly.
The report was very… formal… following the fixed format required by the authorities. It clearly marked the locations and colors of the bruises and injuries on Zhao Gengtian’s body caused by the beating.
However, it couldn’t be said to be particularly thorough.
The description of the fatal wound on the back of Zhao Gengtian’s head was vague. For example, it mentioned "skin broken and bleeding," but there was no clear definition of the extent of the bleeding.
Yan Tongshu held the report and compared each recorded injury with the actual wounds on Zhao Gengtian’s body.
Just as the report noted, Zhao Gengtian’s body was covered in bruises, clearly the result of a beating.
Xu Qiu said, "Lord Yan, I told you, you can’t trust the words of murderers. Which of them doesn’t cry injustice when they’re thrown into prison? A few years back, there was a man who killed someone in broad daylight, was caught on the spot, and still cried injustice after being locked up."
Yan Tongshu didn’t argue, only replying, "Yes, Brother Xu makes a fair point. But without a thorough investigation, Yang Dama won’t be able to accept it."
Hearing this, Xu Qiu sighed.
He knew about Yang Dama—she had knelt at the entrance of the yamen holding a sign pleading for justice for a long time.
He also had an elderly mother at home and sympathized with Yang Dama’s deep maternal love. However, murder was murder. It wasn’t that Zhao Gengtian deserved to be beaten to death just because he was a bad person, nor did it mean the killer shouldn’t pay with their life.
Yan Tongshu returned the report to its place, bent down, and leaned over to examine the wound on the back of Zhao Gengtian’s head.
According to Zhao Sheng, Zhao Gengtian had fallen on his own, hitting his head on a cabinet.
The coroner’s judgment in the report was the same, though the coroner speculated that Zhao Gengtian had been pushed onto the cabinet, resulting in his death.
Yan Tongshu used her hand to part Zhao Gengtian’s hair.
There was subcutaneous bleeding, but no fracture in the skull.
Yan Tongshu crouched down for a closer look.
At the moment, she couldn’t cut open Zhao Gengtian’s head for an autopsy to examine the condition of the dura mater inside. However, since there was no skull fracture and the bleeding wasn’t extensive, it was highly possible that this wasn’t the fatal injury.
If it truly wasn’t the fatal injury, how did Zhao Gengtian die?
Yan Tongshu lowered her gaze in thought. "If only I could cut open the head…"
Lost in her thoughts, Yan Tongshu didn’t notice that Xu Qiu, beside her, had been staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed in shock ever since she started parting the corpse’s hair with her hands, rendered utterly speechless.
Good heavens, this young master who looked so noble and delicate, with fair and tender skin, actually went straight to touching the corpse with his bare hands.
He hadn't dared to do that even after a whole year at Kaifeng Prefecture.
Yan Tongshu pulled open Zhao Gengtian's clothes.
There were many wounds, scattered irregularly.
The deepest-colored bruises were dark black, with bluish-red edges.
Yan Tongshu pressed a finger against one of the bruises—there was no swelling.
Yan Tongshu's eye twitched slightly. "So that's how it is."
Xu Qiu was startled and quickly asked, "Has Lord Yan reached a conclusion?"
Author's note: