A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 150 The Truth Revealed to the World (36)

"Your hands are raw from digging?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng immediately thought of Song Shuyu's hands, which were wrapped in gauze. In fact, she had seen them the moment she woke up, but she had overlooked them because they were talking too much.

Bai Zhizhi was surprised. "What? Sister Mu didn't know? The constable told me that after the house collapsed, they cleared the obstacles. Liu Pei judged that you were under the rubble. Lord Song was afraid that using shovels and spades would hurt you, so he took the lead and dug with his bare hands. The soil was mixed with sand, gravel and rubble, so everyone's hands were bloody from digging."

Mu Qingcheng was stunned and speechless.

"By the way, I heard that one of the people who helped dig the soil was the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Unfortunately, he has already left, so I can only prepare a large gift and go to his home to express my gratitude."

Bai Zhizhi was busy calculating the number of constables and the distribution of Xie Yin, and did not notice Mu Qingcheng's abnormality. She came from a merchant family and grew up surrounded by gold and silver, so she had her own business acumen and principles for navigating the world.

The once arrogant young lady put aside her usual willful and capricious ways, sincerely thanking each of the constables and giving each of them fifty taels of silver, fifty catties of grain and oil exchanged through the Bai family's shops in the capital, and ten bolts of silk.

The forty-odd constables were shocked and overjoyed by this windfall, but they were also filled with trepidation. An ordinary family's annual expenses were only two or three taels of silver, but Bai Zhizhi's intervention had secured their livelihood for twenty years!
"Miss Bai, this is too much! You've given me far too much!"

"That's right. It's our duty to help when our colleagues are in danger. Miss Bai, you don't need to be so polite."

"Or... just a little bit, just to show your appreciation. If you give too much, the adults might scold you."

"..."

The constables dared not accept the bribes, nor were they comfortable doing so. Those in their line of work knew all too well how much skill one had and how much money one could earn; their lives were more valuable than money.

Moreover, Song Shuyu had already increased their salaries, and they received extra bonuses and subsidies every month, so they were already very satisfied.

Bai Zhizhi bowed deeply to the crowd with a traditional martial arts salute, and said in a strong and resounding voice, "Brothers, you saved Sister Mu, which is to say, you saved me, Bai Zhizhi! I am deeply grateful and have no way to repay your kindness, so I have prepared this small gift to express my gratitude! If you refuse to accept my offer, I will slit Liu Changqing's throat with one stroke to avenge my Sister Mu! When I am imprisoned, I ask that you all take good care of me. Please don't put the shackles on me too tightly, give me an extra bowl of prison food, and when I am beheaded, please ask that you hire an experienced executioner to be quick, accurate, and ruthless, and not leave half of my head intact, so as not to frighten my Sister Mu..."

"do not talk!"

The constables shivered at the thought, feeling a chill run down their spines. But faced with the clever, loyal, and generous Miss Bai, they had no choice but to accept this invaluable gift.

Bai Zhizhi clapped her hands with joy, her bright smile infectious to everyone.

The constables were moved to tears. These foot soldiers, apart from Song Shuyu, actually had a wealthy master who treated them like human beings, showing them kindness and respect.

Mu Qingcheng heard everything clearly from inside the room. She clutched the blanket with her fingers, tears welling up in her eyes silently.

……

Song Shuyu stayed outside for a long time before gradually calming down.

He summoned the Duke's secret guards and ordered, "Leave the city immediately and head towards Qingzhou to meet Song Li! Also, the men sent to Wuzhou in Jiangnan, once they return, must report back immediately!"

The guards obeyed and left.

It's getting late.

Song Shuyu dared not delay any longer, forcibly suppressing his myriad personal feelings and focusing on official business.

He returned to the west wing of the lotus courtyard.

After Mu Qingcheng finished washing up and changing, she and Bai Zhizhi were having a meal at the table. Upon seeing each other again, they both seemed rather awkward.

Song Shuyu spoke first, trying his best to remain calm, and said, "Coroner Mu, after you finish eating, we'll talk about the new evidence. Today's public trial is still being held at the yamen, and the jurors and judges are waiting. We need to clarify things here as soon as possible and return to the capital."

"Okay," Mu Qingcheng replied, speeding up her eating.

Song Shuyu pursed her lips, her expression softening slightly. "There's no need to rush, be careful not to choke."

"Thank you, sir." Mu Qingcheng remained calm on the surface, but words of concern still came out of his mouth as usual: "It's past noon, sir, you must be hungry too. Why don't you sit down and eat with us?"

Song Shuyu glanced at his hands and subtly declined, saying, "I'm not hungry. You two eat well, I'll take my leave now."

He turned and left.

Mu Qingcheng was stunned for a moment before he realized that his injured hand was not able to hold chopsticks.

A slight ache seemed to spread through my heart, and the food I was eating suddenly tasted bland.

Song Shuyu stayed in the courtyard for a while, and then saw Liu Mama and Xue'er arrive with a clothes trunk and a food box.

"Second Young Master, how did you get injured? You are the master, an official, you don't need to do everything yourself."

"Don't talk too much, and don't disturb Grandmother!"

"But Second Young Master, as a servant, I feel sorry for my master..."

"I'm fine. Hurry up, change your clothes first, then we'll have dinner!"

"Yes!"

Inside the room, Mu Qingcheng listened to the conversation between the master and servant outside and suddenly realized that she herself could be useless at times.

Half an hour later, Song Shuyu washed off his makeup, changed into new official robes, and went into the west room.

Bai Zhizhi went out to prepare the medicine, and Mu Qingcheng, supporting her fractured forearm, sat on the headboard and closed her eyes to rest.

Hearing the commotion, she was about to get up and bow, but Song Shuyu waved her hand and sat down at the round table opposite her. "You are injured, there is no need to observe formalities."

"Thank you for your consideration, sir!" Mu Qingcheng lowered her eyes.

Song Shuyu asked, "Where is the evidence? What exactly happened in Liu Changqing's bedroom this morning? Why didn't you return home last night?"

"It's a long story."

Mu Qingcheng gathered her thoughts and began to explain: "After the Imperial Physician and I arrived at the Liu family last night, the Imperial Physician took Madam Liu's pulse as planned and tried to detoxify her, but the process was very long. So I left Constable Liu to guard the place and went out alone to try my luck. Liu Changqing is skilled in mechanical arts, and I think the secret passage in Li Mu's study was made by Liu Changqing."

"Although we have control of the General's Mansion, we still need to feed and drink hundreds of people, so we have to send some people out to work. As a result, during my patrol, I found someone sneaking into the kitchen. I followed them and saw a female steward in her thirties pry open the woodpile, remove the floor tiles, and then take out a small square box from her bosom and put it inside! I caught her red-handed, opened the box, and found three golden pearls inside!"

"Sir, do you remember the golden pearl we found in Granny Yang's room at the mortuary? I compared them and found that their material, size, and luster are almost identical!"

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(End of this chapter)