Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 84: Does this hurt him too much? (Second update!)
Yan Shifan originally did not dare to offend Guo Xun.

Among the new nobles in the Great Ceremony Debate, the Marquis of Wuding was the one with the worst character. He was authoritarian and domineering, and the people of the capital were severely oppressed. However, he relied on the favor of the emperor and the support of two elders in the cabinet, and was fearless.

Needless to say, the emperor favored them. The two current cabinet ministers, Zhang Cong and Gui E, were marginal officials in the past. They submitted a memorial to the capital, strongly supporting the new emperor to honor his biological father, King Xingxian, as the emperor's father, and refuting the succession claims of ministers such as Yang Tinghe and Mao Cheng.

Yang Tinghe was furious, and the ministers in the court even wanted to emulate the story of Ma Shun in the previous dynasty and beat to death the two minor officials who came to Beijing at Zuoshun Gate.

Zhang Cong and Gui E escaped the disaster by running to the home of Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding. Guo Xun then became close friends with the two of them. In a major prison case a few years ago, Zhang Cong and Gui E also stood firmly on Guo Xun's side.

So even if he was now coming aggressively with his private soldiers, when Huo Tao mentioned Gui E, Guo Xun would still give him some face.

Compared to that, what is Yan Song?
Although the Right Vice Minister of Rites was a third-rank official, in front of this group of powerful upstarts in the Ministry of Rites, with just a transfer order, the 49-year-old Yan Song could go to Nanjing to retire.

That was why Yan Shifan was so cautious and didn't dare to overstep the line, for fear of offending Guo Xun. If Zhang Cong and Gui'e didn't protect them, their father's official career would be over.

But Guo Xun now specifically asked Yan Shifan to leave, and also wanted to ask about the conflict between Gui Zai and Zhao Chen. How would he answer?

It's impossible that he was so righteous and wanted to clear Gui Zai's name at first, but then betrayed his friend in front of Guo Xun, right?
Then Zhang Cong and Gui E would also force Yan Song to go to Nanjing to retire...

A stubborn mind becomes a blockage in both ends!

For now, Yan Shifan can only hope to get to the bottom of the case. In this case, even if he offends Guo Xun, at least Zhang Cong and Gui E will not sit idly by, otherwise it would be completely ungrateful.

Hai Yue glanced at Yan Shifan calmly without saying anything. She turned to look at the coroner Li Ming and said, "Thank you for your help!"

Li Ming was a little hesitant and did not dare to take action for a while.

Yan Shifan, quick-witted, hastened to persuade him, "Coroner Li, examine the body first and report the results to the Grand Prince of Jing. He will decide whether to negotiate with the Marquis! As for the scars on the body, they could definitely be caused by the murderer. We'll both help you keep an eye on it, so hurry up!"

Li Ming's eyes lit up. This was indeed a safe method. He nodded and said, "Thank you for your help, gentlemen!"

After that, he opened the box, took out the autopsy tools, and started working.

Haiyue and Yan Shifan stood at the school gate, the former looking outside, while the latter frequently looked at the coroner.

Seeing Li Ming slitting open his clothes and concentrating on examining the wound, Yan Shifan couldn't help but ask, "What on earth are you checking for?"

Haiyue explained: "This is done by examining the wounds on the body to determine the direction of the murderer's force..."

In the identification of homicide cases, inferring the direction and force of the murderer's attack through the shape, direction, depth and other characteristics of the wound is one of the core technologies of later forensic medicine.

Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Ancient autopsies also had their own methods: "If a short knife was used as the murder weapon and stabbed into the abdomen at close range, the wound on the skin would form a spindle shape, with the tip pointing in the direction of penetration. If the wound was on the left side of the abdomen, with the tip pointing to the upper right, it can be inferred that the murderer held the knife in his right hand and stabbed him diagonally from the lower left..."

In fact, if one of Gui Zai and Zhao Chen is left-handed, then the angle of their force will be easy to judge.

Unfortunately, reality is not a detective novel, and there are not so many left-handed people. Both of them are right-handed.

Fortunately, in addition to handedness, there is also height comparison.

Hai Yue pointed out directly: "There is a clear difference in height and physique between Master Gui and Zhao Qilang..."

According to visual estimation, Gui Zai is about 1.65 meters tall, while Zhao Chen is burly and close to 1.8 meters tall. There is a height difference of more than ten centimeters between the two, and the fact that one is fat and the other is thin makes the difference even more obvious.

Then the direction of the shorter Gui Zai's force can be determined: "The wound is in the chest, severing the pulmonary artery. The murderer needs to raise his hand to stab. The wound is usually located at the lower edge of the victim's ribs, and the skin above the wound is torn due to pulling. If Master Gui is the murderer, he stabbed the taller Zhao Qilang. Even if he didn't consider how to avoid bloodstains, the angle of the wound would be from bottom to top."

Yan Shifan listened intently, and Li Ming continued, "But now the wound is reversed, from top to bottom. If there wasn't a third person in the room at the time, then the only possible direction of force would be this."

As he spoke, the coroner took out a small knife and stabbed himself lightly in the chest.

The wound on the body was matched with the one stabbed from top to bottom.

In fact, later generations have a correspondence table of "height difference and typical stab angle", which includes statistical data and support for the height difference between the murderer and the victim, the expected stab angle in an upright attack, and the corrected angle in actual cases.

In ancient times, there were no such good conditions, so we could only make do with rough methods.

Even so, Yan Shifan understood immediately, his eyes lighting up. "So Zhao Qilang really did commit suicide! No, that's not certain yet, but if there was a murderer, he would definitely be taller than him. It couldn't be the short Gui Deyu, right?"

Li Ming nodded: "Excluding any special force techniques, it is indeed true."

There was no bloodstain, so there was actually another possibility, that was a thrown weapon, but such a wound would also have special traces. Li Tiejian checked and basically ruled out this possibility.

Yan Shifan was greatly excited and said anxiously, "Li Tiejian, please quickly produce the body and hand it over to Da Jingzhao!"

Li Ming spread out a piece of paper and pen and began to take notes: "Don't rush! Don't rush! I will speed up!"

"Come out! Where is Yan Shifan? Come out!!"

However, the next moment, the ferocious voices of the soldiers were heard.

Li Ming's face changed color and he stopped writing immediately.

Yan Shifan's face also changed drastically: "How come the Great Jingzhao couldn't hold on so quickly?" In fact, we should be thankful that the current Shuntian prefect is Huo Tao. If it were any other court official, they would not be able to stop Guo Xun for even a moment under his fierce power.

But the enemy's private soldiers began to search for his whereabouts. Li Ming waited in fear and suspicion. Yan Shifan gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Hai! I'm relying on you! You must complete the inspection of the corpse and hand over the body box to Da Jingzhao!"

At this moment, he is really responsible.

Even if the situation forces me to do so.

Haiyue nodded: "Brother Donglou, don't worry, I will definitely get to the bottom of this case!"

Yan Shifan took a deep breath and strode forward.

That back figure has a certain tragic grandeur, like the whistling wind and the cold Yishui River...

"Hey hey hey! Wait a minute!"

Then he was held by two big-headed soldiers, turned a corner and disappeared.

"what--!!"

Soon, Yan Shifan's screams were heard, and there was also the faint sound of slapping.

Haiyue was silent.

Who doesn't have a dark history?
Wouldn't it hurt him too much to just do this?

Not to mention Yan Shifan who was delaying time, the coroner Li Ming also knew that there was no turning back once the arrow was shot, so he continued to write furiously to complete the corpse report.

But Haiyue did not wait there, but went towards the house where Gui Zai was imprisoned.

Just now, when Huo Tao was facing Guo Xun, he ordered his men to keep the young master under guard. He was obviously worried that the other party would not know the seriousness of the matter and say those words directly to Guo Xun.

Seven or eight yamen runners stood at the door, guarding outside in full readiness. They seemed responsible, but in fact their eyes were empty. They did not patrol at all, maintaining an attitude of "I only get half a tael of silver a month, why bother with my life?" and were just pretending.

Shuntian Prefecture was an important place in the capital, and was located at the foot of the emperor. Yamen runners could receive wages and food silver, three to six taels per year, but it was often withheld by officials under various pretexts, so they actually received even less. Even in the richest case, they would only receive half a tael of silver.

Huo Tao was already the diligent governor of Shuntian Prefecture, but it was difficult for him to change this. His subordinates worked diligently when he was around, but immediately became lazy when he was not around.

This made things convenient for Haiyue. She quickly went to the window and climbed in. She saw Gui Zai sitting on the chair in a daze, not saying a word.

Haiyue came up to him and whispered, "Master Gui!"

"Brother Hai?"

Gui Zai asked in surprise, "How did you get in?"

Haiyue smiled and said, "They climbed through the window. Let's speak in a low voice so as not to startle the bailiffs outside."

Gui Zai was quite moved. "We've never met before, and this matter will only offend Marquis Wu Ding, yet you're still running around for me. I can't thank you enough for this great favor! Alas... I'm afraid I won't have the chance to repay you!"

Hai Yue discovered that this Deputy Minister was actually quite clear-headed. He was probably well aware of Yan Shifan's petty thoughts, so she quickly got to the point: "It's too early to say such discouraging words. I'm here to find the real culprit!"

"The real murderer? Judging from the scene, didn't Zhao Qilang commit suicide?"

Gui Zai smiled bitterly: "I know you all don't believe me...something about an invisible murderer seems like a fabrication...but I really...sigh!"

"I believe you!"

Gui Zai was stunned, and then he saw Hai Yue looking at him earnestly: "There really is an invisible murderer!"

Gui Zai became excited: "Thank you, Brother Hai! Thank you! How did the murderer do it? I can't see him?"

Hai Yue said: "It sounds incredible, but it's actually very simple. The murderer didn't even show up at the scene. He only exists in Zhao Qilang's mind, so you naturally can't see him!"

Gui Zai was stunned for a moment, then finally understood. He rasped, "Brother Hai, are you saying that Zhao Qilang was forced to death, and that's why he acted so strangely before he died?"

Hai Yue said: "That's right! And this murderer must have a very heavy weight in his heart! What did he say at that time?"

Gui Zai covered his head and said, "I really didn't hear clearly. He spoke vaguely. I was so scared at the time and didn't dare to go over. I only vaguely heard a few words, but I can't remember them no matter how hard I try!"

"Then let me tell you, and you listen. See which sentence most closely resembles Zhao Qilang's last words before his death..."

Haiyue tried each sentence one by one, with a pause between each sentence.

"Wait a minute! It seems to be this..."

Gui Zai suddenly stopped and said with emotion, "I remember that Zhao Qilang said something like this at the time, 'Why! Why are you so cruel to me!!'"

(End of this chapter)