After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Using nails to commit murder is rare in criminal cases. The reason is simple: murder is about taking a life, and nails are small, difficult to handle, and the outcome cannot be guaranteed. Most people need a hammer to use nails; if you have a hammer, why use a nail? Just hammer it in!

Killing someone with a nail is either an accident, like the one Lu Zhiyuan just mentioned, or it's a carefully planned scheme, like that minor official in the Ministry of War.

"Couldn't the coroner detect that a murder was committed using iron nails?"

"An experienced or meticulous coroner can do it; the coroners in the county government office usually can't find out."

"If you're a coroner, why couldn't you find out the cause of death? What kind of coroner is someone who can't find out the cause of death?" Lu Yun was often in the capital and didn't know much about things in the local area.

Lu Zhiyuan patiently explained.

Unlike in the capital, there are fewer murder cases in the county. The cases investigated are mostly trivial matters, such as someone encroaching on my land or someone demolishing my wall. Even assault is considered a serious matter, let alone murder.

Unlike the coroners in the Ministry of Personnel, the coroners in the county government were mostly part-time; they were either caretakers of mortuaries or owners of paper craft shops or coffin shops. Investigating murder cases required experience, and they lacked experience, so they could only follow routine procedures, examining external injuries or whether the deceased had been poisoned.

Furthermore, since the body and hair are gifts from one's parents, when examining the head of the deceased, the coroner often observes whether the head is deformed, whether there are obvious dents or protrusions, and whether there are obvious external injuries. A nail embedded in the scalp can be easily obscured by hair, and if it is further concealed by someone with malicious intent, it becomes even more difficult to examine.

For example, in the case mentioned above, the husband accidentally fell, causing a nail driven into the back of his head. He didn't die instantly; instead, his wife instinctively covered his mouth with a pillow when he cried for help.

Lu Yun: "So this husband died of suffocation?"

Lu Zhiyuan shook her head: "If he had died of suffocation, I believe the coroner would have been able to tell. The deceased was simply suffocated, and the pain from the nail in his brain prolonged the unconsciousness. While he was unconscious, his wife and her lover removed him along with the nail, and then drove the nail into his brain by hammering it. The deceased died while unconscious, with the nail driven into his brain. His face was calm, and his features did not appear particularly grotesque, so his wife used the excuse of a sudden death to cover it up."

Lu Yun nodded repeatedly: "This kind of death is indeed rare, requiring the right time, place, and people. If the nail had been a little off, a little shallower, or if the husband had cried out in time, this matter would not have been easily covered up. Fortunately, that person was meticulous, otherwise the husband would have really died unjustly."

Han Ting: "The death of the minor official in the Ministry of War is no coincidence, is it?"

Lu Zhiyuan: "It's not what I read in the letter! A human skull is very hard, and an iron nail needs external force to penetrate it. Take that case as an example, the husband was pushed down during an argument and hit the iron nail. Pushing and hitting are both forceful actions, especially in the context of an argument. The minor official in the Ministry of War died in front of his desk, and the person who killed him must have been skilled in martial arts, and extremely skilled at it. They would have held the iron nail between their fingertips and driven it into his brain with the force of their palm, killing him instantly."

Han Ting: "The clerk died at his desk, still working before his death. How did the murderer manage to sneak into the Ministry of War undetected and kill the clerk when he was completely unprepared?"

Lu Zhiyuan held up two fingers: "There are two possibilities. First, the murderer used some kind of drug before committing the crime, causing the victim to suddenly fall into a coma. It is mentioned in both the storyteller's tale and my second uncle's letter that the clerk was working on case files before he died. When he was found, the ink in the inkstone was still wet, and there were half-written words on the case files with scratches on them, proving that the victim collapsed very suddenly."

Lu Yun shook his head and raised a question: "Even if some kind of incense or medicine was used, the murderer would still have to infiltrate the Ministry of War. Of these six ministries, except for the Ministry of Works, all of them are heavily guarded, especially the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue, which are like watertight containers. Let alone ordinary petty thieves, even people like Han Ting and I would have a hard time breaking in. How capable must that person be? If they were that capable, they would definitely have a reputation in the martial arts world. And someone with a reputation wouldn't be driven around by ordinary officials. This matter is a bit strange."

“It’s not strange at all; you’re overcomplicating things.” Lu Zhiyuan walked up to Lu Yun, stood on tiptoe, and poked him on the forehead. “What if the murderer is from the Ministry of War? What if the murderer knows this clerk? Because they know each other, the clerk is not on guard against him. Because they know each other, he can kill without leaving a trace.”

Lu Yun gasped, his expression exaggerated, "The murderer is hiding in the Ministry of War?"

“The disappearance of the grain supplies must be related to the Ministry of War; the minor official was silenced.” Lu Zhiyuan sat back down. “Now that my second uncle knows about this, he will definitely investigate thoroughly. Let’s first find out what happened in Ganzhou. Besides this suit of armor, will we find anything else on our trip to the north?”

"The north is quiet, nothing unusual, and trade between the two countries is proceeding normally. Occasional frictions are resolved on the same day, and there shouldn't be any major conflicts in the short term. We captured a spy of the Prince of Yong'an who went to the north to make contact, but returned empty-handed and committed suicide by biting off his tongue. There are no further leads."

After hesitating for a moment, I decided to tell them about the charcoal.

"If Miss's guess about the military rations is correct, their main purpose is not to transport the military rations out of Beiliang and to the enemy country, but to hide them in the mountains and forests to raise private soldiers. Is it possible that these private soldiers are still there, scattered in the mountains, and that the recent abnormalities in Ganzhou are related to them?"

Lu Yun nudged him with his shoulder: "Are you overthinking this? The fact that the charcoal isn't selling has nothing to do with keeping a private army? If you really have an army, you'll need to buy a lot of charcoal. This is for winter, not summer. Although charcoal isn't as essential as provisions for marching and fighting, it's still indispensable."

Han Ting retorted, "Precisely because it is indispensable, the people cannot buy it. Ganzhou is not the capital, and its charcoal reserves are not as large as those in the capital. If they are all bought up by the people, what will they use?"

Liu Ying stamped her foot: "What are you two arguing about here? You're disturbing Madam's rest. Whether it's charcoal or fur, go investigate, ask around, and you'll find out the reason."

Han Ting's eyes lit up. That's right! If you can't get the truth from the merchants, you can always get it from the common people. Merchants are driven by profit and certainly won't tell them the truth. The common people are the ones who are bullied. They can't speak out when they're wronged, but can't they at least complain in private?

Only after pulling Lu Yun out the door did she ask softly, "You're acting a bit strange. Is there something you're hiding from Miss? Lu Yun, Miss considers you family. You mustn't let her down."

"Is it that obvious? I thought I hid it well." Lu Yun smiled awkwardly, his eyes heavy as he looked up: "We heard it, me, and Liu Ying, we all heard it."

Han Ting didn't react for a moment, but when he realized what Lu Yun meant by "heard," he patted his shoulder heavily: "If Miss doesn't want us to worry, we'll pretend we don't know. If Miss knows we know, she won't say anything, and we won't ask. It's probably best if we both understand and keep quiet."