Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Fu Jiu and several Yulin guards acted quickly, and in just a moment, they dug out Li Ba Wa's body, which was wrapped in a roll of torn bamboo mat.

The corpse was almost completely decayed, and as the bamboo mat unfolded, maggots rolled out of the unrotten parts.

Fu Jiu and Yu Linwei had seen many corpses, but this was the first time they had seen such a rotten corpse with a foul smell and maggots. The double impact of vision and smell made Fu Jiu and Yu Linwei couldn't help but step back a few steps and bend over to retch.

Chan Yi was a little disdainful at first. He took a few steps forward, and when he saw the corpse in the pit for the first time, his stomach churned and he began to retch.

The same is true for Li Da and Li Er.

Only Chen Shao took out a handkerchief to cover his nose as usual, then walked to the front of the pit, squatted down, and carefully observed Li Bawa's corpse.

The corpse was buried in the mud without any protection. When it decayed, it came into contact with various trace elements in the soil. Whether it was judged by silver needles or the color of the bones, there would be a big deviation. But due to the conditions, even if there was a deviation, Chen Shao could only tolerate the existence of the deviation and try his best to find possible evidence.

Li Ba Wa's body was intact, mostly white, with no fractures or other injuries. The lost teeth and pelvic bones were consistent with his identity. After removing the remaining flesh and exposing the skeleton, it was seen that the spine from the throat to the abdomen had a slight blackening. This blackening was obviously different from the blackening caused by the decay of the flesh and internal organs.

Judging from the case records of 17 cases that occurred earlier and the autopsy results of Tao A-mei, it is possible that the murderer poisoned her.

Therefore, the black silk on Li Bawawa's spine was most likely caused by poisoning.

Standing up and stepping aside, Chen Shao ordered: "Bury it."

Fu Jiu and Yu Linwei suppressed their nausea and swiftly buried the excavated soil back into the ground.

After taking a quick glance around the cemetery, Chen Shao took out the knot that Lao Zhou had tied.

Xu Guang took two steps forward and looked at the knot in her hand. "In the eight cases in the 13th year of Yuanhe, the victims all had their hands tied with this knot. In the nine cases in the 6th year of Yuanhe... Since Old Zhou said that Zhao Erwa used this knot, the others should be similar. But whether it was the 6th year of Yuanhe or the 13th year of Yuanhe, Lord Li didn't seem to have paid attention to these."

Lao Zhou said: "It's just an ordinary hemp rope. If the adults hadn't asked us, we wouldn't have noticed the knot."

Knowing that he was speaking for them, Xu Guang nodded gratefully to him, and Lao Zhou also nodded in response.

Chen Shao put away the knot and asked Lao Zhou: "Where were the bodies of Zhao Erwa and Li Lan found?"

"Li Lan's body was also found where Li Ba Wa was found. Zhao Er Wa's body..." Old Zhou pointed to the mountain across the way, "It's at Tang Wu Mountain over there."

Chen Shao then asked: "Who discovered them?"

Old Zhou said, "I also found Li Lan, and Zhao Erwa was found by Huang Daxing when he was driving chickens and ducks up the mountain."

The murderer dumped the body on the small slope twice... Chen Shao went back to the place where Li Bawa's body was found. After walking around for nearly ten times and not seeing anything special, she went to the top of the mountain again. Standing on the top of the mountain and looking towards the other side, there were no houses at the foot of the mountain, the mountain was not as gentle as this side, and the road was more tortuous. After giving up the idea that the murderer dumped the body from this side, Chen Shao returned to the small slope.

After walking around twice more, Chen Shao suddenly remembered the thatched cottage behind Tangwu Mountain. He asked tentatively, "Are there any other thatched cottages similar to the one behind Tangwu Mountain nearby?"

Lao Zhou shook his head: "I haven't seen it."

Chen Shao continued to ask, "After the flood season of Dafeng River, are there any beaches or pebbles in the Tangwu Mountain area?"

"Yes." Old Zhou said, "Before Huang Zhiyi got into trouble, the kids in the village would go there to play in the water from time to time."

Chen Shao planned to go to the place where Zhao Erwa dumped the body. On the way down the mountain, she asked Lao Zhou: "Did Zhao Erwa's family and Li Lan's family also have conflicts with many people in the village?"

Lao Zhou replied: "We quarrel frequently."

Chen Shao: "What are you arguing about?"

Old Zhou was not a gossiper, but he admired her for being a clean-looking, handsome young man who investigated cases seriously and was not afraid of the dirt and stench, so he made an exception and said, "It's not a big deal, just some..."

Chan Yi suddenly spoke up: "Huang Zhiyi's two brothers are here."

Chen Shao followed his words and looked over to see two men about the same age as Lao Zhou running towards her, followed by a young man in his twenties. Judging from the young man's clothes, he should be a student of the Imperial College.

Chen Shao stopped and waited for them to come over.

The three men rushed over and immediately knelt on the ground.

The young man kowtowed and said, "I beg you to make a decision for my uncle!"

Sure enough, they were students from the Imperial College. Chen Shao glanced at the two older people and asked, "Uncle?"

The young man said respectfully, "Huang Zhiyi is my uncle. He was murdered by a villain a few years ago. My father and uncle have been trying to redress his grievances, but they have been unable to do so. Today, I heard that you came to Xiaochang Village, so I asked for leave from you and hurried back to beg you to do justice. I hope you will help me."

"Get up." Chen Shao said.

The young man helped the two older men to their feet.

The young man's name is Huang Fuming.

His father, Huang Zhiyi's eldest brother, was named Huang Shangcai, and his second brother was named Huang Yiwen.

Without waiting for them to speak, Chen Shao said, "The two murderers who killed your brother have been found and are now imprisoned in the prison of the prefectural governor's mansion."

After briefly recounting the circumstances of Huang Zhiyi's murder, Chen Shao added, "We need to wait until the case is fully investigated before deciding on the subsequent verdict."

The two brothers, with red eyes, thanked him profusely, "Just find out, just find out. We have waited for so many years, so we don't care about one or two days."

Huang Fuming knelt on the ground again and kowtowed to her to express his gratitude.

Seeing him like this, Huang Shangcai and Huang Yiwen also quickly knelt on the ground.

Chen Shao called them up and asked, "Did Huang Zhiyi tell you about the thatched cottage before he died?"

The two brothers looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time. Huang Fuming replied: "My uncle hasn't spoken to us since he moved into that thatched cottage."

Although it was obvious that they were not lying, Chen Shao still said, "If nothing unexpected happened, the eight cases in the 13th year of Yuanhe happened in that thatched cottage."

Huang Shangcai and Huang Yiwen turned pale instantly, and Huang Fuming also panicked. The three of them instinctively wanted to argue that the murderer was definitely not Huang Zhiyi. But then, Huang Shangcai and Huang Yiwen remembered that when their parents were still alive, they doted on their youngest son Huang Zhiyi the most. Although the two older brothers knew that he was lazy and often stole things, they did not dare to control him at all. Every time they opened their mouths, their parents would scold them, saying that it was their lack of ability that led him to steal things. After a long time, they were unwilling to say it. After their parents passed away, they originally wanted to drive him out and let him suffer without food and water so that he could turn over a new leaf. Unexpectedly, he left home without looking back and moved to a thatched cottage, and as soon as he left...

Thinking that he was killed because he was a thief and gambler, Huang Shangcai and Huang Yiwen could not guarantee that he was not the murderer.

Huang Fuming thought more. If the murderer in those cases was Huang Zhiyi, then he would not be able to continue his studies or take the imperial examinations. His life...