A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 213 Headless Female Corpse (7)

The two clerks were shocked and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "We know we were wrong! Please forgive us, sir!"

These low-ranking officials were essentially menial laborers, without any skills to rely on. They were sent wherever they were needed to work, doing manual labor, and were always at risk of being replaced. Therefore, they desperately wanted to learn a trade so they could stably support their families.

Therefore, He Ye and Wu Liu, having found a way through the coroner Tian, ​​were selected to carry corpses in the Suhe River and later assigned to work in the morgue. This gave them the opportunity to meet Master Mu and receive such a valuable learning opportunity. However, they never expected that speaking loudly would displease the Prefect of the Capital, frightening them greatly and fearing punishment that would end their apprenticeship!
A hint of worry appeared on the coroner's face. Although the magistrate was approachable and never mistreated his subordinates, the thoughts of those in power were often unpredictable and difficult to discern. As the saying goes, both thunder and rain are forms of favor!

He wanted to plead for leniency, but after thinking about it, he realized he was in a lowly position and his words carried little weight, so he decided against it, fearing it might backfire.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Mu Qingcheng interrupted, urging, "You two hurry up, be quick, the water will get cold soon." After saying that, she also took a handkerchief and began to wipe the deceased's private parts.

Song Shuyu glanced at Mu Qingcheng, who was working diligently, and said indifferently, "Since you are eager to learn, then listen carefully to Master Mu's teachings and don't waste your time. As far as I know, even the yamen runners guarding the prison want to learn coroner's skills from Master Mu!"

He Ye and Wu Liu were overjoyed and said in unison, "Thank you for your guidance, sir! Thank you for your instruction, Master Mu!"

Mu Qingcheng smiled knowingly, "Can you write? You can't just rely on your brain to remember. You have to write it down with paper and pen, memorize it, and review it from time to time."

"I can recognize some characters, but not many," He Ye said sheepishly.

Wu Liu also said, "I can recognize a few characters. My family was poor and I never went to school. When the teacher was in a good mood, he allowed me to listen in from outside the window, so I learned some things."

Hearing this, Mu Qingcheng nodded. "It's alright, go get some paper and a pen."

The coroner said, "I will teach you the characters you don't know how to write."

He Ye and Wu Liu thanked them repeatedly with excitement, and the two brought out their treasured blue booklet and small charcoal pencil for shorthand.

Seeing how much the two cherished each other, Song Shuyu smiled slightly, but said nothing more.

After cleaning the body, the men used dry cloths to wipe away the water droplets from the skin.

Mu Qingcheng first examined the head and neck area, measured the neck circumference, reported the number, and had Tian, ​​the coroner, record it. Then he said, "The skin on the deceased's head and neck is not rolled up, the flesh is not bulging, the shoulder bones are not raised, and the skin is not peeling off. These are the reactions of a body that was beheaded after death."

This result sent chills down everyone's spines!
The morgue was quiet. He Ye was lying on the end of Tian the coroner's desk, carefully taking notes, while Wu Liu was assisting Mu Qingcheng.

Professor Mu Qingcheng said: "When examining a corpse that died from being beaten with a cane, one must examine the location of the caning, the length and width of the wound, examine the male corpse's external genitalia and the female corpse's vulva, as well as the ribs, waist, and lower abdomen of the corpse for any bloodstains, and check the post-mortem reactions."

She then examined the front of the body and announced, "There were no obvious injuries on the deceased's chest, abdomen, limbs, hands, feet, including the inner thighs and vulva, indicating that the deceased had sexual intercourse with the man before her death and there was no physical coercion or resistance. As for the possibility of drugging and rape, we will know after the autopsy and stomach examination."

"Wu Liu, help me turn the dead body over and examine the back."

"Yes!" Even after the bloodstains were washed off, the back was still a deep red, including the buttocks and thighs above the knees, with flesh torn and pus constantly seeping out, causing a physiological reaction in anyone who saw it.

Mu Qingcheng suddenly remembered something, took off the purse at her waist, took out a few pills, gave one to Song Shuyu first, and then distributed them to everyone.

Song Shuyu asked, "What is this?"

"These are styrax pills made by this humble servant. They dissolve in the mouth and can dispel evil spirits," Mu Qingcheng replied.

Everyone quickly put it in their mouths.

After everyone had calmed down a bit, Mu Qingcheng instructed, "Wu Liu, you measure the size of the wounds on your ribs and waist. If it's a wound from a small cane, the left side should be three inches long and two and a half inches wide; the right side should be three and a half inches long and three inches wide, and each side should be three-tenths of an inch deep. If it's a wound from a large cane, both sides should be three to three and a half inches long and wide, and each side should be three-tenths of an inch deep."

Wu Liu took the measuring instrument, measuring and counting as he went. Finally, he summarized: "There are eleven wounds in total, six from the small cane and five from the large cane."

"There's pus on the wound, and pus around the wound too, soaking the festering flesh," Mu Qingcheng added, then ordered, "Measure the back as well."

After carefully measuring, Wu Liu reported: "The wounds on my back from being beaten with a cane are five inches long, three inches wide, and five fen deep. There are a total of sixteen wounds."

Mu Qingcheng nodded, pressed several areas of skin and flesh with his fingers, and said, "There is poisonous gas around the wounds, and there are areas that are bluish-red, peeling, and hardened. This indicates that the deceased was beaten not long ago."

"Master Mu, were these wounds caused by sticks of different shapes? Many of the marks look different," Wu Liu said, puzzled.

Mu Qingcheng explained, "When you strike with a stick, the marks will differ depending on the surface of the impact. A strike to the rounded end of the stick will leave a circular mark, a strike to the edge of the rounded end will leave a square mark, and a strike to the side of the stick will leave a hexagonal mark. Of course, because sticks vary in thickness and curvature, and the flatness of the striking area varies, it is easy to create scattered bruises or lacerations of different sizes. If there are foreign objects on the stick, such as nails, the striking area will also show the marks of the corresponding attachments."

At this point, she turned to Song Shuyu and exclaimed, "My lord, there are multiple different marks on the corpse, all caused by blows at the same time. This proves that more than one person was involved in the caning. In other words, multiple people struck the body with sticks!"

Song Shuyu frowned deeply and said, "Does that mean the deceased was definitely beaten to death with a stick?"

"The victim's ribs and shoulders showed signs of blood, paleness, and subcutaneous bruising, consistent with death from a hollow blow," Mu Qingcheng said thoughtfully. "Although the head is missing, making it impossible to determine whether the head was struck with a stick or suffered other external injuries, the wounds on other parts of the victim's body confirm that this is one of the causes of death."

"What was the time of death?"

"Judging from the degree of decomposition of the body and the fact that the deceased was pinching his middle finger, the time of death should be from the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM) to You Shi (5-7 PM) yesterday."

"Okay. Let's confirm whether the deceased was drugged and raped?"

(End of this chapter)