The mind-reading coroner drove the court crazy

Being interrupted for the second time, Shi Xinzhe was a little unhappy, frowning slightly, with a hint of impatience in his tone: "Princess, what's the matter with you?"

Lu Shiya said seriously, "I heard that asking Qin the Coroner for help requires payment. I wonder if Lord Shi has paid the money in advance?"

Shi Xinzhe was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied: "Princess, this case is related to you. Qin the coroner came to the crime scene to help, so let's forget about the money!"

Ye Lingrong nodded in agreement, saying innocently, "Well, Sister Qin, I'll give you money, and I won't let you help me in vain."

Lu Shiya took a deep breath, her forehead throbbing, the urge to hit someone was about to burst out. She turned around and warned, "Shut up!"

After she finished speaking, she immediately looked at Shi Xinzhe, her tone somewhat forceful: "Master Shi, I am not a suspect, nor am I the murderer. It's okay if Qin the coroner doesn't help. Master Shi, am I right?"

"..."

Shi Xinzhe coughed twice, his tone a little awkward: "What does the princess mean?"

"It's meaningless. Let's talk about the murderer after we have agreed on the wages, right?" Lu Shiya smiled, but her words carried an irresistible authority, as if if Shi Xinzhe showed any sign of refusal, she would immediately take Qin Miaoxi away.

Shi Xinzhe grumbled inwardly: "He said that outsiders couldn't be at the scene of the investigation. You see, delaying things is a minor matter, but wasting money is the real pain!"

Qin Miaoxi couldn't help but raise her eyebrows when she heard this, thinking that she couldn't just rely on Lu Shiya to help her out, she should also show her support.

So she said, "Master Shi, this time..."

Before she could finish her words, Shi Xinzhe couldn't wait to interrupt, "Mr. Qin, we are so familiar with each other, how could this be so unfamiliar?"

He was playing the emotional card with a flattering attitude. The money was not paid by the government, but had to come out of his pocket. Having worked with Qin Miaoxi before, he naturally knew that she was not cheap.

And there was one thing he couldn't understand: Qin Miaoxi was already the Marquis's wife, so why did she still have to work to earn money? Didn't the young Marquis give her the treasury of the Marquis's mansion before they got married?

Qin Miaoxi was naturally unhappy. She had an incomprehensible obsession with money and had become skilled at bargaining with the system over the years. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Lu Shiya sneer.

There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone: "Freeloader? Come on, let's go back and find a teahouse to have some tea, wouldn't it be nice?"

As he spoke, he pulled Qin Miaoxi away.

"and many more!"

Shi Xinzhe called a halt urgently, his tone filled with helplessness and anxiety.

He knew that if he didn't stop them, they would really leave!

He held up two fingers and said through gritted teeth, "Coroner Qin, this is the number."

Qin Miaoxi's eyes lit up and she was about to nod, but was stopped by Lu Shiya.

Lu Shiya sneered, her tone tinged with sarcasm. "Two thousand taels? You're hiring not just a coroner, but also a constable and a marquis' wife. Are you sure you can get rid of them for two thousand taels?"

Shi Xinzhe almost vomited blood.

He originally asked for two hundred taels. How could he possibly spend several months' salary to hire someone to investigate the case? This princess really dared to ask for such a high price!

"What's the matter, Lord Shi, do you think it's too much? Then let's go. It's a business deal, both parties have the right to choose." Lu Shiya said lightly, secretly tightening her grip on Qin Miaoxi's hand.

Qin Miaoxi understood and stood still, then said seriously, "Princess, what you said is wrong. Lord Shi would certainly not give just this little money. After all, this involves a murder case involving a whole family. He would definitely want to find the murderer as soon as possible and give the deceased justice."

Shi Xinzhe gritted his teeth, weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and finally made up his mind: "Three hundred taels! Qin, this is all the silver I can come up with."

Qin Miaoxi immediately put on a righteous demeanor and said solemnly, "Okay, it doesn't matter whether it's money or not. I just want to catch the murderer, bring him to justice, and give justice to the deceased."

Shi Xinzhe: “…”

Before he could feel moved, Qin Miaoxi snatched the three banknotes from his hand with a quick and decisive move without any delay.

Shi Xinzhe's mouth twitched, and he was speechless: [If you hadn't snatched the banknote away, I would have believed it!]

His heart ached a few times, and he quickly asked, "Coroner Qin, can you tell me about the murderer now?"

Qin Miaoxi nodded, her tone steady. "Based on the footprints left in the yard, the murderer was an eight-foot-tall man with great strength. Therefore, he was able to easily grasp the old woman's chin, restrain her, and force the arsenic into her mouth. There were few signs of a struggle at the scene, which shows that the murderer had planned it. He restrained the other two and killed them one by one."

"However, since the murderer has such strength, yet still chooses such a roundabout method as poisoning, I'm afraid the murderer has a grudge against the deceased's family, or is being instructed by someone."

Because if there is no deep hatred, there is no need to kill the whole family, only the person with whom you have an enemy will be killed; but if you don’t kill him with one knife, you will use a poison that kills instantly when it comes into contact with blood, and waste money on buying poison for the enemy, which seems very suspicious.

Shi Xinzhe listened thoughtfully and turned to ask the yamen runner in charge of investigating the deceased's relationship: "Did you find out?"

"Sir, we've found out." The yamen runner organized the recorded investigation materials and reported respectfully, "The old woman has a very bad reputation in the village. She likes to take advantage of others and often steals eggs from the villagers. In particular, she has had conflicts with several other women in the village, and even had violent fights."

Shi Xinzhe frowned and asked, "What's the reason?"

The yamen runner continued, "The deceased stole their chickens and ducks, and also killed one of their piglets."

Shi Xinzhe pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are there any eight-foot-tall men among the relatives of these families?"

The yamen runner shook his head: "No. Their families are all elderly people working in the fields, and they don't have any particularly tall children."

Shi Xinzhe nodded and motioned him to continue.

The yamen runner flipped through a page of records and continued, "We also found out that the deceased had a son and a daughter. However, it seems that they sold her daughter, and no one knows where she was sold to."

Shi Xinzhe frowned, his tone heavy: "Selling my daughter? This family is really... ruthless!"

Qin Miaoxi frowned slightly and continued to ask, "You said the deceased once killed a piglet of a human being. Do you know how he did it?"

The yamen runner nodded and replied, "I heard they were jealous of the family that made a lot of money selling piglets, so they put croton seeds in the pigs' food. Later, the piglets got diarrhea, and none of them survived."

"Why don't you report this to the police?" Qin Miaoxi just finished speaking, and suddenly paused, realizing that her question was a bit naive.

She thought that such incidents would usually be suppressed by the village chief, as a big uproar would affect the reputation of the entire village. A bad reputation would directly affect the marriage of young people in the village.

So she changed the subject and asked, "So how did you deal with it later?"

The bailiff replied, "It was settled with compensation. However, the deceased's family kept causing trouble for them, and they later bought a house in the city and moved away."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xinzhe immediately excluded the family and said to himself, "Since they have already moved away and have a compensation agreement with the deceased's family, they shouldn't come back for revenge."

He turned to look at the yamen runner and continued, "Didn't you say the deceased was a frequent swindler? It's clear she'd done this many times. Did she have any enemies in this area? For example, people she'd cheated or deceived?"

The yamen runner flipped through the records in his hand and nodded, "Indeed, there are quite a few. The deceased's family had a very bad reputation in the village. Almost every household had been taken advantage of by them. Especially those villagers who ran small businesses, they often had credits and refused to pay back, and even forced purchases and sales."

Shi Xinzhe frowned, his tone filled with helplessness: "It seems that the deceased's family has offended quite a few people. This means the range of suspects is very large."

Qin Miaoxi pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Although the deceased's family has offended many people, there are not many people who are capable of such a cruel act. We need to focus on those who have a deep hatred for the deceased and have the conditions to commit the crime."

Shi Xinzhe nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Let's start by investigating those who had violent conflicts with the deceased, especially those who suffered heavy losses at the hands of the deceased."

The yamen runner immediately responded, "Yes, sir! I'll go check it out right away."

Qin Miaoxi added: "Also, don't forget to check the whereabouts of the deceased's daughter. Although she was sold, if there are any clues, perhaps we can find some connection."

Shi Xinzhe nodded: "Okay, two-pronged approach, find a breakthrough as soon as possible!"