A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 226 Headless Female Corpse (15)

Rokumei-in.

Liu Mama summoned several of the household's most well-connected maids to the hall to await orders.

The butler had prepared tea, snacks, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and even the underfloor heating was warm and cozy.

Song Shuyu sat at the long table and began experimenting with layering patterns.

Bai Zhizhi temporarily acts as the clerk, responsible for recording important information.

Mu Qingcheng invited Liu Mama and the others to sit down and chat, but with Song Shuyu present, the maids were very reserved, each with their heads down and eyes lowered, looking restless.

She smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, everyone. We're not here to question you from the government; we're just having a casual chat." As she spoke, she personally poured tea and handed it to each of them, deliberately lowering her voice as she said, "The magistrate is painting and won't have time to talk to us."

Madam Liu reassured the maids, "Just answer whatever Master Mu asks. If you can help Master Mu solve the case, you will be rewarded handsomely."

The maids finally relaxed. "Yes, we will do our best to cooperate with Master Mu in his questioning."

Mu Qingcheng then said, "Do you know any young ladies, maids, or wives who, between the ages of eighteen and twenty, have affairs with men outside the family? Or are they married but have grudges against others? This woman's daily life is quite comfortable; she has never done any hard labor."

“This…” Mrs. Liu thought for a moment, “This scope is a bit too broad. Does Master Mu have any other specific characteristics that point to this?”

Mu Qingcheng pointed to her right shoulder, "There's a tattoo here."

The maid Huang Ying replied, "The principal wives of noble families and officials definitely don't have tattoos. Maids rarely have them either, because they would be accused of seducing their masters by the mistress. The only ones who can have tattoos without being punished by the mistress are probably the favored concubines. As long as the master likes them and protects the concubines, the mistress can't do anything about it."

“Master Mu, I have several sisters from my hometown who have had affairs with the servants or accountants in their household. However, they are all over twenty years old. Some are widows, and some have been sold back and forth by their masters and are still unmarried.” The maid, Green Water, answered somewhat nervously. “The deceased shouldn’t be them, right?”

Madam Liu waved her hand, "No, Master Mu said that the deceased lived a wealthy life and never did hard labor. Among your fellow villagers, which one was a first-class maid? Unless they were first-class head maids serving in the inner courtyard of the master and mistress, how could anyone live a wealthy life and not have to do hard labor?"

Green Water breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness it's not true, you scared me to death."

"The head maids serving in the inner courtyard?" Mu Qingcheng pondered for a moment, glancing at Song Shuyu a few times. "If these head maids have affairs with someone, who could it be? The master?"

She suddenly remembered Xue'er's desire to climb into Song Shuyu's bed and rise from a servant to a concubine. Could it be...?

However, Liu Mama was very perceptive and shrewd. She immediately understood Mu Qingcheng's implication and quickly leaned closer to him, whispering, "Master Mu, rest assured, this old servant will send Xue'er to the estate. She will never see the Second Young Master again in this lifetime."

Mu Qingcheng was taken aback, then said quickly, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I just want to investigate the case!"

“Even if Master Mu doesn’t care, the Second Young Master won’t tolerate it.” Mama Liu composed herself. “If Xue’er goes to the manor, she might still be able to survive.”

Song Shuyu was engrossed in his painting and seemed oblivious to the commotion. Mu Qingcheng, recalling the Empress Dowager, pursed her lips and said nothing more.

“The head maids serve in the inner courtyard and have the most opportunities to see the master. It is indeed easy for them to have an affair with the master. However, they are all the mistress's confidantes. Unless someone protects them, or the mistress actively gives the head maids to the master in order to consolidate her favor, they also have to consider whether they will be retaliated against by the mistress.”

Huang Ying analyzed for a while, and finally spread her hands, "Of course, this situation is still very common. After all, fortune favors the bold."

“Speaking of grudges, which family with wives and concubines doesn’t have grudges in their inner quarters? It’s hard to say,” Green Water sighed.

I wanted to help solve a case, but it turned out to be so difficult—like finding a needle in a haystack!
Mu Qingcheng thought for a moment and then asked a different question: "In these official families, would they beat their concubines or servants to death?"

"Yes," Madam Liu said with certainty. "Although the imperial court has explicitly prohibited the use of private punishments and the arbitrary killing of servants, there are always servants who commit serious offenses, and their masters come from powerful families with strong backing. They always find a way to deal with them."

Mu Qingcheng frowned. "Whenever someone dies in a family, the Jingzhao Prefecture is required to conduct an autopsy. Could it be that our Jingzhao Prefecture's coroners have been bribed?"

"No, no, it wasn't bribing the coroner, it was simply that they didn't report it to the Jingzhao Prefecture at all, and didn't even ask a coroner to examine the body!"

"How can this be done?"

"Buying a fake household registration certificate!"

"A fake household registration certificate?" Song Shuyu was indeed listening attentively. He put down his paintbrush and quickly came over. "Aunt Liu, please be more specific."

Madam Liu explained in detail: "This is what I heard from others. After they kill the servants, they will find someone from the Ministry of Revenue to buy the household registration certificate of someone who has just died and whose household registration has not yet been cancelled. In this way, the person they kill is already dead, and the real family of the deceased has already reported to the Jingzhao Prefecture and examined the body. So, their people can secretly transport it out for burial, or find a pretext to burn it."

Song Shuyu's brows furrowed with anger. "So you're saying, one household registration certificate is shared by two dead people?"

"Yes, that's roughly the idea." Mrs. Liu nodded.

Mu Qingcheng had another question: "But if someone disappears from the manor, can the servants keep quiet? Won't the relatives of the dead come looking for them?"

Madam Liu said, “Master Mu, you may not know this, but wealthy families in the capital have at least a hundred servants in their households. Moreover, each family owns estates, fields, and shops. As long as they announce to the outside world that they have sent people to work somewhere, who will doubt the truth? And who has the ability to verify the truth? As for relatives, since they have sold people into the household as slaves, there is naturally not much kinship left. As long as they pay more money, even the biggest murder case can be settled.”

The more Bai Zhizhi listened, the more headache she felt. "In that case, the difficulty of finding the source of the corpse has become even greater."

"No, perhaps this is a new breakthrough!" Song Shuyu's brows relaxed. He picked up the teapot and poured hot tea for Mu Qingcheng. "Let's assume that the headless female corpse came from an official family. Whether she was a head maid, a concubine, or a maidservant, since she was beaten to death, the master family must have cleaned up the mess. The way they could cover it up is by buying fake household registration certificates! So, let's investigate backwards and start with the people who sold fake household registration certificates!"

"That's right!" Mu Qingcheng's eyes lit up. "As expected of you, sir, you're brilliant!"

(End of this chapter)