Gu Qingjue understood Zeng Shengji's current mood.
"Then go and have a look."
A murder case had just occurred, and the county office must be crowded with people. Although this person is the daughter of the county magistrate, as long as the death is deemed to be accidental, a trial will be held.
When they arrived at the county government office, it was completely dark.
But there were still crowds of people outside the county government office, all wanting to know the subsequent results and whether the woman who died in the river was a homicide.
Qiu Hong looked at the body that was brought back. The white cloth was lifted, revealing that familiar face.
His whole body was shaking constantly, and he touched his forehead with his right hand, looking like he was going to faint at any moment.
"Sister Rong, how could you die?"
Qiu Hong was really sad. After saying this, he shed huge tears. He didn't care that there were so many people outside, wiping their tears with the sleeves of their official robes.
"Ding Wuzuo, is Ding Wuzuo here?"
After crying for a while, Qiu Hong finally remembered that he was the county magistrate. Even though he was extremely sad, he still remembered to check the cause of his daughter's death.
Ding Wuzuo was an old man over fifty years old, but he had a strong body. When he heard the county magistrate calling him, he trotted over from the side carrying a toolbox: "Sir, the villain is here!"
"You, you come for the autopsy and you must find the cause of the little girl's death."
"yes."
Autopsy has been done since ancient times, but the ancients paid great attention to the body's skin and skin, so they were extremely reluctant to have it opened for autopsy after death.
Even in the Song Dynasty, extremely strict autopsy procedures were in place, but they were still not accepted by the people.
Now, the county magistrate's daughter died, and the county magistrate conducted an autopsy in public, which touched the hearts of those watching.
An autopsy may be one of the most advantageous ways to find out the murderer.
"It's him."
Zeng Shengji, who was among the crowd, said to Gu Qingjue, "That's Qiu Hong."
"Master, even if we are old friends from before, given your current situation, we can't recognize each other rashly. Let's take a look first and then make any arguments."
"Um."
Over the past six months, Zeng Shengji has come to know his apprentice as someone with a delicate mind and extremely smart mind. He must have a reason for saying so.
Mingguang County is very prosperous. There is no curfew at night. Even if it is completely dark, it still cannot stop everyone from watching the fun.
Because an autopsy was to be conducted, two government officials pulled up a white cloth at the scene, while another stood by with a pen and ink.
There were several more candles at the scene, which were very bright. Every move Ding Wu made was reflected on the white cloth. The people standing outside watching the excitement all stared at the shadows on the white cloth.
Every step of the inspection will be read out loud, and then recorded by the Yamen waiting on the side.
Common people who are illiterate cannot understand those words, and some scholars can understand them, but those who do not understand autopsy do not know the meaning even if they understand what Wu Zuo said.
Unconsciously, half an hour passed, the white cloth in front of her was removed, and Miss Qiu, who was undergoing autopsy, was covered with white cloth.
Ding Wuzuo put away the autopsy tools, stepped over the already burning brazier, cleaned himself up, and then returned to summarize the cause of Miss Qiu's death.
In a word: drowning after death.
We were having dinner at the inn before, and the man in wolf-colored clothes said, "Let me just say, this must have been murdered by someone, probably the scholar."
Gu Qingjue's brows moved slightly, and he asked seemingly unintentionally: "Why do you doubt that scholar?"
"You must be holding a grudge!"
I heard the man say with a little excitement: "No one else knows about this, but I know a little bit. My eldest brother works at the county magistrate's house."
The man mentioned what happened two months ago.
That day, Miss Qiu knelt on the ground and begged the county magistrate to marry her and the scholar. The county magistrate was very dissatisfied with the scholar, not only because the scholar was poor, but also because he was weak and weak. What was the use of such a man?
Therefore, in front of all the servants in the mansion, he scolded the scholar mercilessly. The scholar was a little angry and immediately threw up his sleeves and left.
Miss Qiu wanted to catch up, but was stopped and locked in a room.
Unexpectedly, Miss Qiu disappeared the next day, but she left a letter in her room, stating that she was looking for the scholar. She believed that the scholar would definitely go to high school and treat her well.
Qiu Hong's own daughter eloped with someone, and Qiu Hong didn't want people to know about such a scandal.
I secretly ran to the inn where the scholar lived alone, but I didn't expect that the building was empty.
This further confirmed that Miss Qiu left with him.
Qiu Hong immediately sent two groups of people, one to the scholar's hometown, and the other to Kaifeng Mansion to find the scholar, hoping to bring Miss Qiu back.
But both groups of people found the scholar, and there was no sign of Miss Qiu.
After hearing this, Sanqi asked in confusion: "In that case, Miss Qiu and the scholar left, why did they suddenly appear in the river in Mingguang County today?"
"That's a good question, little brother."
"If you ask me to guess, the identity of the scholar must be false. He is not going to Kaifeng Mansion at all, but taking Miss Qiu to another place. This man likes the new and dislikes the old, and he also holds a grudge against the humiliating remarks made by County Magistrate Qiu that day. . Anyway, no one knows where she is now, so they might as well just kill her and throw her into the river."
The man raised his eyebrows and looked at Sanqi: "How about it, little brother, is my inference reasonable? Compared with Mr. Bao of Luzhou Prefecture, am I not trying to make more concessions?"
Gu Qingjue raised his eyebrows: "Just now, Wu Zuo said that Miss Qiu had a wound on the back of her head and a fracture in her arm. Apart from that, there were no other signs of beating or abuse on her body."
"Huh? What do you mean by this?"
Zeng Shengji also looked confused when he was asked. He felt that this man's analysis was very reasonable. Now he only needed to search the whole city for the scholar and catch him, and everything would come to light.
"If the scholar was dissatisfied with Miss Qiu, he would have punched and kicked her, but there was only one blow on the back of her head. According to what Wu Zuo said, Miss Qiu's fatal injury was this bruise. If it was the injury caused by the scholar, Damn, where does his weak body come from with so much strength?"
After hearing what Gu Qingjue said, Zeng Shengji felt that what he said made sense.
The man in the wolf-colored brocade robe retorted: "It is not difficult for a man, even if he is weak, to sneak attack an unsuspecting woman, right?"
Gu Qingjue smiled: "What you said is not unreasonable."
"That's what it is."
Zeng Shengji cared about Qiu Hong. After all, he was once a close friend. If he could help find the murderer, it would be a comfort to him.
"Zi Yuan, can you help me find the murderer of Miss Qiu?"
Zeng Shengji had already spoken. He was his master. How could Gu Qingjue refuse, so he and Zeng Shengji walked forward and came to the front.
Zeng Shengji raised his voice and shouted inside: "Brother Da."
Qiu Hong was grieving when he suddenly heard someone shouting outside the door. He looked up and saw a flash of surprise in his eyes. He waved to the yamen to let Zeng Shengji and the others in.
(End of chapter)
