A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 52 The show begins
Cell number five had no bed. The area against the west wall was covered with a thick layer of dry straw, on which several mats were thrown. Against the east wall was a square table, two benches, and in a corner, a chamber pot was provided.

The servants of the Liu family were sitting properly on the bench, waiting for lunch to be served.

The cell was extremely quiet. None of the four looked at each other, each staring at the bowls and chopsticks in front of them, idly observing the patterns on the inner walls.

After a long while, two sets of footsteps sounded from the end of the passageway, accompanied by voices—

"I said, the food smells so good today, I can smell it from far away."

"It's all meat, how could it not be delicious? Officer Luo, I'll secretly set aside a portion for you later, you can try some too?"

"Hehe, that's wonderful, thank you very much, young lady. By the way, is today some big day? Why are you suddenly giving the prisoners a better meal?"

"Not all prisoners can eat meat and vegetables. These are special meals that Constable Liu instructed the kitchen to prepare for the Liu family."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But I overheard Liu and the coroner talking, and it seemed they were saying that the death of Madam Liu wasn't as simple as suicide. Someone helped her commit suicide, which is a serious crime and she'll be... well, I guess she won't get to eat anymore. I heard she's going to be taken away this afternoon."

"Tsk tsk, what a heartless person, actually helping someone commit suicide, what's the difference between that and murder?"

“There’s something even more terrifying! The coroner said that even if the child in the first wife’s belly is stillborn, it has to be removed, otherwise it will be difficult to bury her.”

"What? Take it out? How? The First Madam is dead, how can she give birth?"

"It wasn't a normal delivery. They cut open the First Madam's abdomen with a knife and took out the stillborn child. The coroner's intention was to take umbilical cord blood to verify who the child's father was."

"My God, this is so cruel!"

"There's nothing we can do. Young Master Liu died half a year ago, but the child is only four months old. It's obvious that the First Madam was unfaithful. Our government has to find out the identity of the adulterer and give the Liu family an explanation!"

“That’s right. What if the adulterer is afraid of being exposed and forces the First Madam to commit suicide?” “Well, these kinds of gossips are best kept to ourselves. We must not let them spread outside, lest uninformed people start to hurl insults.”

"Don't worry, I know the rules."

As the two men were talking, they arrived outside cell number five.

Constable Luo took the key from his waist, opened the cell door, and the cook who was walking behind him came in carrying a food bucket. She glanced at the four of them casually and said, "Eat as much as you can, because you may not have the chance to eat again."

The four men were ashen-faced and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Clearly, they had overheard the conversation between the two men.

Mu Qingcheng placed the dishes on the table one by one, and then went out.

Officer Luo locked the cell door and slipped into cell number four next door.

The youngest of the three, Sanhu, couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What's going on? Didn't they say we'd only be locked up for a few days and then released? Why does it sound like the government is planning to behead us?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The older Xie Da immediately whispered a reprimand: "They're definitely trying to scare us. Hold your tongues, and don't let a single word slip out!"

"Are they really going to cut open the First Madam's belly? If we had known this would happen, we shouldn't have..."

"Shut up!"

Xie Da slapped the skinny Shuanzi to the ground, his eyes filled with malice, "If you dare to ruin things, I'll kill you!"

(End of this chapter)