A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 346 Ending (15)

After listening to Liang Ruoming's analysis, Mu Qingcheng's brow twitched. "It seems that this case of a corpse hidden in a wine jar was premeditated and specifically targeted at Song Shuyu."

"Isn't this wishful thinking?" Liang Ruoming frowned deeply, finding it utterly incomprehensible. "Lord Song is a close advisor to the Emperor. The Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate are all under the Emperor's control. Unless they can create an ironclad case, there's no way they can bring down Lord Song! Even if their plan is flawless, if the Emperor is determined to protect Lord Song, surely he can protect him?"

Mu Qingcheng rarely smiled and praised, "Lord Liang has finally seen the light."

Liang Ruoming was greatly embarrassed. He touched his nose awkwardly and said modestly, "Ahem, compared to you and Lord Song, I am indeed a little stupid, but... but I am still a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and I am not a completely brainless person."

But Mu Qingcheng was very stingy and refused to offer even a single word of praise. "Let's put Secretary Lin aside for now. I will check it later. Please continue, Lord Liang."

Liang Ruoming had no choice but to suppress his slight disappointment and continue his recollection: "After I followed him to the vicinity of the Imperial Kitchen, Lin Shuban suddenly disappeared. I was very puzzled, so I looked around for him. Suddenly, I heard an argument. I went over and saw Guo Yuanke crying very sadly, grabbing the murderer's right arm with both hands, and questioning him with tears in her eyes, saying things like, 'Why don't you want me anymore?' 'When will you take me out of the palace?' 'I promise I will be obedient from now on and never provoke Master Mu again.' 'You can't abandon me,' and so on..."

"Is there no title or designation for them?" Mu Qingcheng asked the crucial question.

Liang Ruoming was taken aback, then shook his head, "No!"

"What did the murderer say?"

"The murderer didn't say a word, he just covered Guo Yuanke's mouth and nose until she stopped struggling."

"It's full of loopholes!" Mu Qingcheng sighed. "At the Spring Banquet, Song Shuyu's attitude towards Guo Yuanke was obvious to everyone. How could he possibly meet with Guo Yuanke in private, allow her to have physical contact with him, and say such intimate words?"

Liang Ruoming was so remorseful he wanted to slap himself twice. "I was truly foolish. Now that I've analyzed it thoroughly, there are indeed many suspicious points. In Lord Song's eyes, besides Master Mu, who else could he see? His disgust for the other women was completely undisguised! Back then, the Empress Dowager wanted to bestow my daughter upon Lord Song as a concubine..."

"Lord Liang, let's get down to business." Mu Qingcheng said, looking embarrassed.

Liang Ruoming was actually quite curious to know if Mu Qingcheng and Song Shuyu were a couple, but Mu Qingcheng clearly didn't want to talk about private matters, and she was about to marry Shen Che, so he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He composed himself and continued, "The murderer carried Guo Yuanke through the south gate of the Jade Wine Pavilion. At the time, I thought Guo Yuanke was unconscious, and since the perpetrator was Lord Song, I dared not provoke him, so I did not make a sound and hurriedly returned to the banquet."

"Was there anything unusual when they made physical contact?" Mu Qingcheng stared intently at Liang Ruoming, her eyes full of encouragement. "Don't rush, think about it carefully again."

Liang Ruoming closed his eyes, the scene replaying in his mind: "At that time, Guo Yuanke was hitting the murderer hard and even tried to pry off the murderer's hand covering her mouth and nose. Guo Yuanke's sleeve slipped down, and there was a red dot on her left wrist, which looked like... a virginity mark!"