Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Granny Zhou put down her right hand and began to examine the corpse's torso.

She unbuttoned the gray-brown fine cloth shirt covering the corpse, revealing a plain-colored undergarment underneath.

She didn't rush to take off her inner garment. She glanced at the crowd of onlookers, quickly gathered bamboo branches and tree forks to build a frame, and covered the corpse with burlap.

Then, she pressed on her abdomen and ribs through the fabric, and then felt along both sides of the spine: "The stomach is flat, no cuts. The ribs are fine, not broken. The spine is intact, vertebra by vertebra, and the whole thing feels fine to the touch."

She then untied the sash of her inner garment, revealing the corpse's chest and abdomen.

Lu Qiucheng quickly lowered his head and wrote down: No injury to the abdomen or ribs, spine intact.

Grandma Zhou pointed downwards, examining her lower limbs.

She rolled up the corpse's trouser leg, feeling from the knee to the ankle, then pressed on the shinbone: "The leg bones are all intact, no breaks or fractures. The knees are not bruised or swollen, and the ankles are straight. The soles of the feet are clean, no injuries."

Lu Qiucheng wrote: Both legs are intact, with no injury to the knees or ankles.

After examining the body, Granny Zhou retied its clothes and covered it again with the old burlap sack.

She stood up, removed the burlap wrapped around her hands and threw it away, then washed her hands with soapberry water. She looked at Lu Qiucheng and said, "I've finished looking. There are no cuts or lacerations on her body, her bones are intact, and her neck wasn't strangled or constricted. It looks like she was dumped there herself."

Lu Qiucheng finished writing the last line of the "Verification Certificate," looked at the handwriting on the paper, and saw that each column was filled in neatly.

He looked up at Granny Zhou, then looked down again to confirm that everything was correct. He then handed the "Examination Report" to Xu Fang beside him: "Signatures of the examiner, coroner, and clerk."

Xu Fang took it, first laid out the "Verification Certificate," and handed it to Sun Jizu.

Sun Jizu took the pen, signed his name in the "Inspector" column, and handed it back to Xu Fang.

Xu Fang handed the paper to Lu Qiucheng and signed his name in the "Coroner" column. Xu Fang then signed his name in the "Clerk" column, blew on the ink off the "Examination Report," carefully folded it, and put it into an oil paper bag.

There was a moment of silence by the cesspool. A hot breeze blew in from the other side of the temple wall, carrying the dry smell of grass and trees that had been baking in the sun all day, mixed with the lingering stench and stench of corpses from the cesspool, swirling in the open space before dissipating.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Although Zhang Sanlang didn't dare look at the corpse, he listened intently to the entire search process. He recalled Han the Mute's words, "A few days ago, a female benefactor wearing a blue silk dress stayed at the nunnery for two nights... and then I haven't seen her since."

Judging from the clothes on the body, they don't seem to match.

Lu Qiucheng cupped his hands in greeting to Sun Jizu: "I don't see any injuries on your body. There are no marks on your neck, no bumps on your head, all the bones in your hands and feet are intact, your teeth are still in place and your fingernails are clean."

"It's just that after soaking for so long, the skin has turned white, and some small cuts are not noticeable unless you look closely. We need to wait for a re-examination to make a conclusion. Right now, it seems that he accidentally fell into the cesspool."

Sun Jizu nodded and turned to Zhang Sanlang, indicating that he needed help.

Knowing he didn't understand, Zhang Sanlang turned to Wang Shijiang and said, "Move the corpse to a side room in the back hall of the City God Temple. Once inside, find a dry, cool room and place it there. Have two people take turns guarding it, and don't allow any unauthorized people to approach."

Wang Shi responded and turned to call several archers to collect the corpses.

A moment later, the coffin was placed on the cart, secured with two ropes. The coffin lid was not closed tightly, leaving a gap for ventilation. Two archers sat on either side of the coffin, holding short sticks in their hands.

Sun Jizu rode ahead on horseback. Fang Zhong'an walked beside Zhang Sanlang; the two of them were no longer riding in a mule cart, but walking like the others.

It was early afternoon when they returned to the county government office. Sun Jizu dismounted, tossed the reins to the servants who came to greet him, and strode towards the county magistrate's office. Zhang Sanlang followed behind him, with Fang Zhong'an, Xu Fang, Lu Qiucheng, and others following in turn.

Sun Jizu sat down directly behind the desk, his empty sleeve draped over the back of the chair.

He reached out and pushed the list of archers on the table aside, clearing half the table surface, then looked up at Zhang Sanlang: "Zhang Yashi, you arrange the rest. I don't know anything about these things."

Zhang Sanlang sat down on the official's hat chair in front of the desk and glanced at the people standing in the room.

He first looked at Xu Fang, "Xu Shoufen, let Xu Tiesiquan go forward and conduct the initial interrogation of that porter Qiu Laojiu, and also take a statement from his apprentice."

"Find out when he discovered it, what was unusual before, and whether any other porters had come into contact with that cesspool. Once the statement is prepared, have Xu Tiesi issue a document requesting the prefectural government to send someone to review it."

Xu Fang nodded, turned around and left.

Zhang Sanlang then turned to Fang Zhong'an, "Fang Tiesi, you are in charge of checking for missing persons. Start with the nearby residents, go door to door and ask if anyone has gone missing in the past few days."

"The night watchmen, latrine cleaners, and chamber pot empties on the street are all people who are out and about a lot at night, so they have more opportunities to see and hear things than others. Take two servants with you, don't go alone."

Fang Zhong'an responded and turned to leave.

Zhang Sanlang finally looked at Li Wenhui and said, "Li Tiesi, write a 'Notice of Corpse Identification.' Specify the characteristics of the corpse: a woman, around fifty years old, wearing a gray-brown fine cloth shirt, plain and unpatterned, with socks tied at the cuffs of her trousers, and old cloth shoes with a tear in the upper of her left shoe."

"The discovery site is a cesspool in the southeast corner outside Yongning Temple in the north of the city. Relatives are given three days to claim it at the county government office. If no one claims it within three days, the county government will, according to regulations, bury it in Louzeyuan. Once you have written this, bring it to the household registration office so I can affix my seal."

He paused, then added, "Make three copies of the notice: one to be posted at the entrance of the county government office, one to be posted on the official notice board near Yongning Temple in the north of the city, and one to be posted at the dock."

Li Wenhui nodded quickly, "Zhang Yashi, I'll go write it right away, and I'll come to the household office to find you when it's done."

The room fell silent.

Sun Jizu leaned back in his chair, while Lu Qiucheng stood at the door, still holding the wooden box in his hand, as if he didn't know whether to leave or stay.

Zhang Sanlang stood up and nodded to Lu Qiucheng: "Brother Lu, you've worked hard today. Make a copy of the examination report and send it to the prison for filing. Go back and rest; we may need to see you again tomorrow."

Lu Qiucheng nodded, picked up the wooden box, and turned to leave.

A murder has occurred in the county, requiring Sun Jizu, the county magistrate, to report it and await a review by officials from the prefectural government. The victim's identity also needs to be confirmed as soon as possible before further investigation can proceed.

However, looking into Sun Jizu's clear eyes, Zhang Sanlang stared at him for a moment before shaking his head helplessly. "Brother Sun, there's nothing else for now. I'll go back to my quarters first."

Sun Jizu nodded. "Oh."

At the end of Shenshi (3-5 PM), Zhang Sanlang was preparing to finish his shift when footsteps sounded in the corridor. They approached from afar, moving at a considerable pace, yet the footsteps were very light.

Zhang Sanlang recognized Fang Zhong'an's footsteps and sat down again.

Sure enough, Fang Zhong'an appeared at the door. He stumbled as he crossed the threshold, steadied himself by the doorframe, and exclaimed in shock, "Zhang Yashi, it's terrible! Your mother is dead!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sanlang abruptly stood up, then, realizing what he'd said, sat back down irritably. "Fang Tiesi, are you possessed? My mother has been dead for over twenty years..."

Fang Zhong'an leaned against the doorframe, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, stammering, "No, not your birth mother... she's your legal mother, Old Manager Zhang's wife! Manager Zhang's biological mother!"

"..."