Chapter 93: Do You Know?

There was a murder at the temple, and the group that performed the rituals was already on site.

The abbot took the initiative to lead the chanting, and the monks’ wooden fish instruments rang from morning to night, nearly worn out from constant use.

The continuous “thudding” sound poured into the ears of pilgrims in the backyard, making everyone increasingly irritable.

The fact that the Kaifeng government had blocked the road down the mountain proved the murderer must still be inside the temple.

Under these circumstances, it was unlikely the culprit would dare to act again so soon. However, just thinking about the possibility that they might have lived under the same roof as the killer, dined at the same table, or even interacted recently…

Everyone became restless and anxious.

Though not directly involved in the investigation, Xie Yu remained busy contemplating whether Tian Shu’s death had been premeditated or a sudden act.

If it was premeditated, who was the intended target?

Tian Shu herself? Or the entire Tian family?

If it was Tian Shu, had she ever made enemies during her lifetime?

Tian Shu had a proud personality, but that was merely a common trait among noble young ladies. There were others even more capricious and temperamental than her, yet not enough to provoke someone into committing murder.

If it was the Tian family… frankly speaking, Xie Yu thought it unlikely.

Tian Song had many offspring, especially daughters. Aside from being born as the legitimate daughter, Tian Shu had no other distinguishing qualities.

To put it bluntly, she held little value to the Tian family.

If the murderer truly wanted to target the Tians, killing either Tian Song or his son Tian Bin would have had a greater effect than killing Tian Shu.

If it was a sudden act, could it be related to Tian Shu’s frequent outings a few days prior?

She had forbidden anyone from following her. What exactly had she done during that unaccounted time?

Or perhaps, who had she met?

If she had met someone, that mysterious person was very likely the last person Tian Shu had seen alive, thus making them a prime suspect.

Since everyone was forbidden from wandering off, the Kaifeng officials set an example by staying put themselves.

Yuanpei grew restless and decided to lie on the rooftop, hands behind his head, gazing at the sky.

As he watched, he suddenly shouted down, “Sir, it’s going to rain!”

Summer skies are fickle, changing in an instant. Not long ago, the sky had been clear, but by evening, it had turned gloomy.

Hearing this, Xie Yu pushed open the window to look outside. Indeed, he saw thin mist rising from the distant mountains. Many shorter peaks had already been obscured by fog, becoming indistinct.

The air was filled with moisture, and the evening breeze carried a chill, clearly brewing a heavy downpour.

“Luckily…” he murmured.

If the rain had come earlier, Tian Shu’s body might have been difficult to find, and any traces left on the ground would have been washed away.

Yuanpei had originally planned to continue lying on the rooftop watching stars at night, but judging from the current situation, a heavy rainstorm was imminent, so he gave up on his plan.

Just as he sat up, he saw Fang Bao approaching with Zhang the coroner from afar. Immediately jumping down, he told Xie Yu, “Sir, Director Fang and Coroner Zhang are here.”

As they spoke, the two had already reached the courtyard gate. As soon as they stopped, the gate creaked open, and Yuanpei’s grinning face popped out, not inviting them in.

“Gentlemen, we’re keeping our distance out of respect for the investigation.”

Fang Bao clicked his tongue, directly pushing Yuanpei aside as he stepped forward, saying, “Don’t give me that nonsense!”

Yuanpei tried to block him but was met with a sudden force to his chest, causing him to stumble backward.

Zhang the coroner glanced at him and shook his head.

“You’re challenging Fang Bao’s strength? He’s like a bull.”

Rubbing his chest and grimacing in pain, Yuanpei mumbled behind them:

We all grew up eating the same food, how could he be so strong!

I should’ve let Old Huo or Zhuang Peng come instead!

Fang Bao strode directly into the room and saw Xie Yu brewing tea. “You’re quite at leisure!”

Saying this, he sat down opposite Xie Yu with a grand manner and grabbed a fan to cool himself.

Xie Yu poured several cups of tea and pushed them over, “Has the case been solved?”

Fang Bao took the tea and gulped it down, then glared, “How fast do you think it is!”

Seeing Xie Yu about to speak, he quickly raised his hand to stop him, “Hold on, don’t talk about keeping distance anymore. This matter might require your intervention.”

A loud rumble came from the distant sky, followed by a series of thunderclaps like muffled firecrackers approaching from afar.

The wind grew stronger, causing the small trees in the courtyard to sway violently.

Fang Bao rubbed his hands and organized his thoughts before speaking, “I personally inspected the scene. The mountain is mostly rocky, leaving no footprints. Occasionally, where there was soil, the traces had been deliberately erased.”

Xie Yu lowered his gaze, “Careful planning, or perhaps a habitual offender.”

Even in premeditated murders, perpetrators usually panic after succeeding, making it difficult for them to notice even minor traces, let alone clean up so thoroughly.

However, if that were all, Fang Bao wouldn’t have specifically come to seek him out.

After a long day of work, Fang Bao was extremely thirsty, so he simply waved his hand, letting Zhang the coroner speak first.

Zhang the coroner shared his findings, starting with the surface observations, then moving to key points and conclusions.

“…The body showed no signs of blows typically used by kidnappers… If drugs were used, the victim would inevitably lose consciousness. She disappeared before it got dark. If someone carried her, aside from the risk of being noticed, climbing the mountain would be difficult.

Therefore, regardless of the reason, the victim must have walked there herself. The mud and gravel on her shoes matched those found at the scene.”

Xie Yu’s fingers lightly tapped the table as he mentally listed a point:

The person must have been someone familiar to Tian Shu, at least someone she knew, otherwise she wouldn’t have followed willingly.

Was it the person she secretly met with those days?

What did that mysterious person say to entice a young lady to follow them to such a remote and dangerous location?

Zhang the coroner took out a facial diagram from his sleeve, pointing at several black spots on it and then at his own face, “There’s another layer of bruising beneath the facial abrasions on the victim, resembling finger marks. It should have been left while she was still alive.”

Since the body couldn’t be moved easily, and Xie Yu needed to maintain distance due to the investigation, Zhang had simply drawn a diagram.

Xie Yu picked up the diagram, and Yuanpei leaned over to look, gesturing with his hands in surprise, “She was grabbed face-to-face by someone?!”

On one cheek, there was only one finger mark, the largest, from a thumb. On the other side, from top to bottom, there were three marks, with the last one located on the inner side of the jaw connecting to the neck.

This was a typical one-handed grip on the jaw, forcing the victim’s mouth open—a method commonly seen in torture and often employed by certain profligate aristocrats when harassing women.

The bruising indicated the force used at that time.

Tian Shu had resisted.

“The fingers point downward, with a significant height difference,” Xie Yu put down the diagram, his face showing extreme disgust. “The victim might have been kneeling or sitting, while the murderer was standing.”

This height difference made him think of a very unpleasant possibility.

Zhang the coroner’s next words confirmed his suspicion.

“Additionally, there are severe abrasions on the victim’s right side from the waist down to the knee. Initially, I thought they were caused by hitting the rocks during her fall from the cliff. However, upon returning to the scene, I found that the distance she fell wasn’t too far. Even if she hit the rocks on the way down, such long and narrow wounds shouldn’t have occurred.

Therefore, I believe it’s more likely that the wounds were caused by being dragged on the ground while still alive. This also explains why the clothing on that side was so severely damaged.

Moreover, I found a curled strand of hair in the victim’s mouth. Upon careful examination, there were several abrasions inside her mouth, likely caused by forceful friction…”

A series of thunderous rumbles sounded, and silver snakes of lightning darted from the clouds on the horizon. The wind howled, and the rain poured down, battering the open window shutters with loud slapping sounds.

“Brute!” Yuanpei cursed angrily.

With these clues, they could almost imagine the scene at that time:

For some reason, Tian Shu followed the murderer to the cliff’s edge. Suddenly, the attacker made a move with ill intent. Tian Shu resisted, angering the murderer, who then threw her off the cliff…

The heavy rain poured down, and cool winds carrying moisture blew in, slightly dispersing the oppressive atmosphere.

After a long while, Fang Bao asked, “I’m just wondering, is there any connection between Tian Shu’s death and Tian Song’s illness?”

He had intended this as a guess, but to his surprise, Xie Yu immediately replied, “No.”

The other three were startled.

Xie Yu slightly lowered his gaze, “They are unrelated.”

He knew Ma Bing’s character well. She might have concealed many things or avoided certain issues, but once she made a promise, she would never go back on it.

She had said she wouldn’t kill, so she definitely wouldn’t.

Fang Bao couldn’t understand why Xie Yu was so certain, but upon reflection, he realized that Tian Song’s illness itself was suspicious, possibly involving secrets of the imperial court.

Since Xie Yu had said so, they would temporarily treat them as two separate incidents.

Xie Yu looked at him, “So, why did you come to me?”

Just saying these things wouldn’t require the level of involvement he mentioned earlier.

Fang Bao’s expression suddenly turned serious.

He slowly exhaled, “You know as well that I only joined the Kaifeng government six years ago.”

Xie Yu nodded, “Yes.”

Fang Bao was a talent that Tu Yao had worked hard to recruit from a lower position. At that time, the local official even submitted a memorial to the emperor to express his grievance.

Then, he received an imperial calligraphy… a piece of writing.

The rain came fiercely and heavily, and the night darkened like ink, adding a sense of oppression to Fang Bao’s voice.

“At that time, I heard of several widely circulated cases. Later, the case files were submitted to the Ministry of Justice and remain unsolved to this day…”

There were a total of four cases, all victims being young women. Some were still missing, while others were found dead in a tragic state.

The first case occurred eleven years ago in eastern Lu, where a young girl went missing and was later found dead. However, since the murderer was never found, the case was eventually dropped.

This was the first case, and everyone thought it was an isolated incident. The second case, due to occurring in a different location, didn’t raise suspicions either.

It wasn’t until the third case, where a woman mysteriously disappeared, that a person first came under official scrutiny.

As soon as Fang Bao mentioned “eastern Lu,” Xie Yu understood his true intention.

“You suspect Prince Shen Xuan.”

Fang Bao nodded, “The third incident occurred at a literary gathering held on a large pleasure boat. The missing girl was the daughter of one of the boatmen. Because of her beauty, she was kept on the boat to serve tea and snacks.

The gathering lasted a long time. Though called a literary gathering, most participants were local officials and nobles, and you can imagine how corrupt it was.

Not until the next morning was the girl’s body found floating on the shore. Only then did the boatman realize he hadn’t seen his daughter for quite some time…

The head of that body had injuries similar to Tian Shu’s, but since most participants in the gathering were high-ranking officials and nobles, and the local officials lacked concrete evidence, the case was eventually dropped…”

Fang Bao’s voice gradually lowered.

To be honest, after working in the yamen for a long time, he had seen too much of the surface splendor hiding inner corruption. Now, he found all officials and nobles dirty.

If it weren’t for the need to support his family, he wouldn’t want to continue in this profession.

For a while, no one spoke in the room, only the sound of the raging wind and heavy rain outside.

No one knew how long had passed before Yuanpei asked, “Then why specifically suspect Shen Xuan?”

“At first, no one suspected him because during the third incident, he had already become a high-ranking prince consort.” Fang Bao said sarcastically, “But one day, an official was organizing case files and accidentally discovered that Shen Xuan was present at all these incidents!”

That’s the downside of being famous. If Shen Xuan were just an unknown person, even if he were present at all the incidents, people might not remember.

But he was a descendant of the Shen family, making it impossible for people to ignore him.

“Both you and I are officials of the yamen. There’s no need for formalities between us. Being present at one case might be considered a coincidence, but if someone appears at two, three, and even this Fuyun Temple case, it can’t simply be dismissed as mere coincidence!”

Fang Bao said in a suppressed voice.

He had some other thoughts he didn’t express:

Adding this one, there have been five reported cases. Are there more that haven’t been discovered or reported?

He didn’t dare to think.

Although the saying goes that even the emperor’s family is subject to the law like commoners, in practice, there would still be some resistance.

Especially since Shen Xuan was a prince consort, even though there were always rumors about his discord with Princess Shouyang, if the princess wanted to protect him or the current emperor wished to uphold the royal family’s reputation…

Fang Bao didn’t want to see any more innocent women being harmed. So, either don’t investigate, or investigate thoroughly and expose everything!

However, his strength alone was not enough. He needed someone who was also a member of the royal family to work with him.

Xie Yu didn’t answer immediately.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the lives of those women or the fairness of the law, but he was considering another issue:

If Shen Xuan really had problems, did Princess Shouyang know about them?