Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Chang San was practically dragged and carried by two constables to the eerie mortuary. The moment he entered, the stench of lime, herbs, and a faint, rotten smell made his legs go weak. When he saw the corpse on the straw mat—a body that, though initially cleaned by Old Man Huang, was still horribly decomposed and barely retained its human form—he trembled violently, almost unable to stand.

Old Man Huang gestured for the constables to release him, pointed to the faintly discernible iron plaque at the waist of the corpse, and several areas where the flesh was decaying but the skeletal features were still clearly visible, and said in a deep voice, "Take a closer look, is this your elder brother Chang Er?"

Chang San approached with trembling hands. Although the corpse was unrecognizable and disgusting, he knew his second brother all too well.

"Second...Second Brother—!" Chang San let out a heart-wrenching wail, collapsing to his knees beside the corpse with a thud, tears streaming down his face. He wanted to touch it but dared not, waving his hands in vain in the air. "It's all my fault, Second Brother! Waaah...Second Brother, you died so tragically!"

After the wailing subsided, Old Man Huang pointed to the chest cavity of the corpse with his wooden stick and said to the scribe beside him, "Record: Although the body is severely decomposed and most of the soft tissue has liquefied, the ribcage is intact with no obvious violent injury. There are no cracks in the skull. However, upon dissecting the remaining pleura, it can be seen that although the lung tissue is decomposed, the remaining structure shows typical 'watery emphysema,' with enlarged alveoli and a large amount of residual drowning foam in the interstitium. Combined with the presence of mushroom-shaped foam in the mouth and nose, it can be preliminarily determined that the cause of death is drowning."

Qian Ming, who was standing nearby, was astonished and exclaimed in admiration, "Wow, my old man Huang! Even though it was rotten like this, you were still able to tell that it was drowning? This skill is truly worthy of our Celestial Empire... no, our Gaoyang's number one coroner!"

Old Huang wiped his hands and glared at Qian Ming with annoyance: "Stop flattering me! All you know is how to talk. This is what I do for a living. As for you, you have to take good care of Lord Zhang. I heard he vomited quite a bit after seeing the corpse? Sigh, young man, you have a good heart, but your body and courage... you need to work on them. Liang'er said that after he went back, he vomited everything he ate. If he keeps vomiting like this, even an iron stomach can't take it. He'll definitely develop a chronic illness in the long run."

Qian Ming nodded quickly, his face showing genuine concern: "Yes, it's heartbreaking to see. I'll have to ask the kitchen to prepare more mild and stomach-friendly food later."

……

The atmosphere was heavy in the magistrate's study. Zhang Jingwei, still somewhat pale, was wrapped in a thick outer robe, with Old Man Huang's freshly completed autopsy report spread out before him. Clerk Zhao Peixin and Registrar Huang Liang sat on either side of him.

Zhang Jingwei's finger traced the words "drowning and suffocation," his brow furrowing: "Drowning... So, Chang Er wasn't beaten to death by Chang San. At least, the direct fatal injury wasn't caused by the beating."

Zhao Peixin nodded in agreement: "That's right. The record clearly states that although there were some old bruises and minor bone fractures on the body, which should have been caused by a fight with someone before death, none of them were fatal. The real cause of death was drowning."

Zhang Jingwei rubbed his still somewhat throbbing temples: "And what about Chang Da? He's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. Chang Er was hidden in a hidden compartment in Hu Sheng's coffin, so where... could Chang Da be hidden?" He had a vague, uneasy premonition. Hu Sheng's coffin being a hiding place for a corpse—did that mean Hu Sheng, or someone related to him, was inextricably linked to the disappearance and even death of the Chang brothers?

Zhao Peixin proposed a simple and direct but rather disturbing method: "Sir, why don't I take men and inspect all the new graves buried in Gaoyang City and the surrounding villages within the last month, opening the coffins for examination? Since Chang Er was able to hide in Hu Sheng's coffin, it's hard to guarantee that Chang Da won't be hidden in other coffins."

Zhang Jingwei immediately shook his head and rejected the idea: "This method is too clumsy and could easily incite public anger. It is unreasonable and illogical to dig up people's ancestral graves and open coffins for examination. It would cause great chaos. It should not be done unless absolutely necessary."

Huang Liang stroked his beard and said in a low voice, "My lord, what Clerk Zhao said is straightforward, but it is not entirely without reason. Burial in the ground is indeed an excellent way to hide a corpse and delay its discovery. I also think that we cannot completely rule out this possibility. Perhaps... Chang Da is really in some tomb under Gaoyang."

“No, no.” Zhang Jingwei shook his head again, his tone resolute. “Breaking the ground and opening the coffin is a last resort. The clues are still in order; how can we rashly take such a disturbing action? Once we set this precedent, what will become of the government's authority? How will the people view us?”

Huang Liang glanced at Zhang Jingwei's pale face, then at the pile of case files on the table. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice even further, with a hint of persuasion and helplessness: "Sir... you see, this case is becoming increasingly complicated. The Hu Sheng case is still unresolved, and now the Chang brothers' murder case has been dragged into it, involving a Taoist temple, disguise, drugging... it's all very complex. And right now, Sir... you're not feeling well. In my humble opinion, perhaps... we should close the case here?"

Seeing Zhang Jingwei look up at him, he continued cautiously, “In the case file, we’ll write that Chang San did indeed get into a fight, but his brother Chang Er died by accidental drowning, unrelated to the fight. Chang San did injure someone, so he should be detained for a few months as punishment, and then released. As for Chang Da… let’s just say he… went out to make a living and hasn’t returned yet, and keep that record for now. In this way, Chang San will escape the death penalty, public anger will be appeased, and you, sir, won’t have to worry so much…”

Zhang Jingwei listened silently, without immediately rebuking him. He understood, of course, that Huang Liang was concerned for his health and wanted to quell the matter as quickly as possible. But the string of "truth" in his heart remained taut. He slowly said, "Registration Officer Huang, I understand your intentions. But... Heaven is watching. If officials, due to numerous difficulties or physical discomfort, fabricate documents and perfunctorily handle cases, how can they face the heavens above and those who have suffered injustice? Their conscience... cannot bear it."

He sighed, his gaze unfocused, and murmured repeatedly, "Heaven is watching... Heaven... Heaven and Earth..." Suddenly, a scene flashed through his mind like lightning—the white-haired fortune teller's elusive prophecy at the street fortune-telling stall that day: "Heaven and Earth, but not in the human world."

At the time, he thought it referred to the object or person he was looking for. But now, in a state of extreme distress and heightened mental activity, this prophecy has strangely collided with the problem of "hiding a corpse" right in front of him!

"The sky? How can a dead person go to the sky!" He was amused by his own absurd association, and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, a helpless self-mockery showing on his pale face.

Zhao Peixin, who was standing next to him, didn't hear what he had muttered earlier, but only heard "ascend to heaven," so he jokingly replied, "Sir, what if he turns into a wisp of smoke? Wouldn't that be ascending to heaven? Haha... Uh, I misspoke." Seeing that Zhang Jingwei's expression was not right, he quickly stopped talking.

However, the speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart!

"cigarette?!"

Zhang Jingwei and Yuan Liang, who had just rushed into the study and clearly had something urgent to report, shouted almost in unison.

"Coal leaching workshop!"

The two looked at each other and saw shock and sudden enlightenment in each other's eyes!

Yuan Liang, disregarding the formalities, strode to the table, his breath slightly short, but his voice exceptionally clear: "My lord! We've overlooked one place! A most conspicuous, yet most easily overlooked, perfect spot for disposing of corpses!"

Zhang Jingwei abruptly stood up. Although his complexion was still poor, a burning light had appeared in his eyes. He took over Yuan Liang's words, speaking decisively:

"Coal leaching workshop! It's the coal leaching workshop! Hu Sheng left something there!"

Zhang Jingwei immediately shouted to the door, "Quickly! Assemble the men! Set off immediately and surround the Huzhuang coal leaching workshop! Especially those largest coal drying furnaces! Search carefully, don't miss an inch!"