Tonight's birthday banquet was truly thrilling. First, an assassin attempted to assassinate the prince in public, and then a maid rushed in to report that the eldest daughter of the prince's mansion had hanged herself. Such explosive news left all the guests looking at each other in astonishment.
The crowd whispered amongst themselves, "Young Miss? Is she the one engaged to the eldest son of the Lin family?" "She seems to be Madam Yun's daughter. She doesn't go out much; I've never seen her before!"
"I heard that the young lady was indifferent to worldly affairs and had a detached personality. How could she suddenly commit suicide?"
"Could it be that news of Young Master Lin going to Tianxiang Tower to redeem Miss Ye reached the ears of the young lady, and she couldn't bear the humiliation, which led her to commit suicide?" "Possibly. Her fiancé frequented brothels every day and even wanted to redeem a girl from Tianxiang Tower. How could a princess like her bear such humiliation? She couldn't think straight and took her own life. What a tragedy..."
Xiao Lou heard these comments in the crowd and couldn't help but frown slightly.
He took a quick stroll around the backyard in the afternoon. In his memory, Miss Qi Yiyao was a woman indifferent to fame and fortune, tapping a wooden fish and chanting Buddhist scriptures, with a calm and peaceful demeanor, seemingly indifferent to everything in the outside world.
Would she hang herself because of her fiancé's scandal of harassing a prostitute? That's impossible.
There must be other reasons.
Xiao Lou looked at the prince, whose face was now as black as the bottom of a pot—first, his plans were disrupted by the assassin, and then he heard the devastating news that his daughter had hanged herself. Naturally, the prince was extremely frustrated on his birthday. He glared at the maid and shouted angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The maidservant turned pale with fright, her lips trembling as she stammered, "I...I saw it with my own eyes, the young lady was hanging from the tree in the backyard..."
Realizing that his daughter was truly in trouble, the prince immediately took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. He looked at the guests and said calmly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have some family matters to attend to. Let's end the banquet here tonight. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."
Everyone bowed and took their leave, running faster than rabbits. Although they were all very curious about why the young lady had committed suicide, they couldn't openly laugh at the prince's family; if the prince got angry, ten heads wouldn't be enough to chop them off.
Shao Qingge, a wealthy young man, had no reason to stay at the Prince's mansion to watch the spectacle. He gave Yu Han a "I'm leaving first" look and turned to leave. As he passed by, Xiao Lou whispered, "Go visit Ye Qi in the prefect's prison and ask him if he's found anything at Tianxiang Tower these past two days."
Shao Qingge smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiao Yezi has never been to jail. I'll go and bring him some food to calm his nerves."
Hearing Shao Qingge's gloating tone, Xiao Lou had no choice but to ignore him for the time being and continue to pay attention to the scene.
The guests quickly all left.
However, Yu Hanjiang and his two companions, along with Ninth Princess and Qu Wanyue, remained where they were.
Yu Hanjiang stepped forward and whispered to the prince, "Your Highness, since a murder has occurred in Jiangzhou, as the Prefect of Jiangzhou, it is my duty to investigate the whole matter thoroughly. The young lady's cause of death may not be simple. May I go to the scene to take a look?"
Eighth Prince considered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Yu."
Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, and Mo Xuemin followed the prince to the backyard, with Ninth Princess and Qu Wanyue following behind.
The prince turned his head and saw the two men, and said coldly, "Why don't you all leave?"
Princess Ninth hurriedly explained, "Brother, it's me! Something happened to A-Yao, I had to go see her!"
The prince recognized Ninth Princess, who was disguised as a man, and frowned slightly: "A princess should stay in the capital instead of running around like this. What kind of behavior is this?"
Princess Ninth said with a bitter face, "We'll talk about this later. I had no choice but to sneak out. How could A-Yao commit suicide? I was just exchanging letters with her a while ago. I need to go see her!"
The prince had no choice but to take her along.
The maid led the way, and everyone hurriedly followed her to the backyard.
The backyard of the Prince's Mansion has four small courtyards. The layout of the entire courtyard is square and connected by a "回"-shaped corridor. The corridor is lined with green trees on both sides, and there is an artificial pond and a rockery in the middle of the courtyard.
The backyard of the Prince's Mansion was extremely large, and it was late at night. The trees in the courtyard were dense, so even if someone was hiding somewhere, it would be difficult to attract attention.
The young lady hanged herself on a tree behind the artificial hill.
That tree was the tallest and thickest in the entire courtyard, with lush branches and leaves that cast a large shade on the ground, making it a great place to cool off in the summer. Therefore, stone benches and tables were placed under the tree, where the women of the Prince's Mansion could sit and chat during their leisure time.
At that moment, a woman dressed entirely in white was hanging from a tree, her limbs limply dangling down, her body swaying gently in the wind.
This scene caused everyone present to change their expressions.
Madam Yun immediately broke down and rushed over, grabbing her daughter's leg and crying out, " A-Yao, my A-Yao! Why did you have to do this?! Couldn't you have talked to your mother properly? Why did you have to take your own life! What am I going to do now that you're gone..."
Her heart-wrenching cries made the prince's face even more grim.
Although the prince didn't have deep feelings for his eldest daughter, she was still his own flesh and blood. Seeing her hanging from the tree in white, as a father, the prince was heartbroken. He stepped forward, gently put his arm around Madam Yun's shoulder, and whispered, "Don't cry. Why did A-Yao take her own life?"
Madam Yun wiped away her tears as she said, "I told her to change her clothes this afternoon, and that Young Master Lin would definitely be coming tonight. I told her to dress up a little and not to go to see her fiancé in all white, as that's unlucky... She didn't say anything at the time!"
The prince frowned: "Did you tell Eldest Miss about Lin Shaobo's scandalous affair at the brothel?"
Madam Yun stammered for a moment, then finally nodded with tears in her eyes, "I... I accidentally let it slip." Her face instantly turned deathly pale: " Could A-Yao have been thinking of taking her own life?!"
The prince's face was terribly gloomy.
Beside her, Madam Qing and Madam Han, whether genuinely sad or feigning grief, also took out handkerchiefs and wiped away tears, sighing, " How could A-Yao be so foolish..." "That's right, so young, how could she be so confused!" The two cried as they went forward to comfort Madam Yun, "Sister, don't be too sad." "Please accept our condolences, and be careful not to hurt yourself."
The three ladies wept together, while Princess Ninth stood there blankly, muttering in confusion, " How could A-Yao commit suicide? She was writing to me just a while ago, saying that the wedding was set for next month."
The prince sighed softly and said, "Go and bring down the young lady's body, and choose a day to bury her."
Two maids immediately stepped forward and together lifted the young lady down from the tree, laying her flat on the ground.
Xiao Lou quickly glanced at the ligature marks on the corpse and gave Yu Hanjiang a wink.
Just as the maid was about to cover the corpse's face with a white cloth, Yu Hanjiang suddenly stopped them: "Wait."
The prince turned to look at him: "Lord Yu?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "Your Highness, my wife once studied autopsy techniques under a Coroner. Could you let him examine the young lady's body carefully? I suspect that the young lady may not have committed suicide."
The prince paused, then frowned and looked at Xiao Lou: "Does Madam really know how to perform autopsies?"
Xiao Lou stepped forward and bowed politely: "Your Highness, I did indeed study under a Coroner for several years."
The prince nodded, signaling him to go and take a look.
Xiao Lou stepped forward, about to examine the body, when Madam Yun suddenly rushed over and hugged her daughter tightly, crying as she said, "Don't touch her! My A-Yao died so tragically, she didn't have many good days in life, she can't be humiliated like this in death!"
The sudden death of her daughter clearly shocked Madam Yun, causing her to lose her composure.
Xiao Lou said gently, "Madam, please calm down. Miss may not have committed suicide. Don't you want to find out the real cause of your daughter's death?"
Madam Yun paused, then pointed to the distinct red marks on her daughter's neck: "Didn't my daughter commit suicide by hanging? She hanged herself from a tree, and the red marks on her neck are so obvious. How do you expect me to perform an autopsy?"
Xiao Lou said softly, "Suicide by hanging will indeed leave ligature marks on the neck. But if she was murdered and then hung from a tree, wouldn't that also leave ligature marks on her neck?"
Madam Yun suddenly shuddered.
Because this person is right—what if he was killed and then hung from the tree?
She immediately stepped aside and looked at Xiao Lou, saying, "Lord Yu, is that right? Quickly, please take a look at my daughter!"
Princess Ninth and Qu Wanyue were also watching from the sidelines. Seeing Xiao Lou calmly walk over and bend down to examine the body, Princess Ninth couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Madam Yu actually knows how to perform autopsies? No wonder Lord Yu didn't want to marry me. It turns out he has such a heavy taste and likes women who can perform autopsies."
Qu Wanyue: "..."
The Ninth Princess's way of thinking was quite peculiar, and Qu Wanyue didn't know how to respond, so she pretended not to hear.
Surrounded by onlookers, Xiao Lou carefully examined the corpse's pupils, skin, and fingernails, and turned the corpse's head to examine the red marks on the neck.
Nobody knew anything about autopsies, and nobody knew what Xiao Lou was looking at when he turned the body over and over...
Just as the prince was about to lose his patience, Xiao Lou suddenly stood up, looked at Yu Hanjiang, and whispered, "It wasn't suicide."
Meeting his unwavering gaze, Yu Hanjiang naturally believed Xiao Lou's conclusion.
But others didn't believe it. After all, how many women in ancient times could perform autopsies when this Madam Yu suddenly claimed to know how?
The prince's face was grim: "Madam, you can't just say things like that. What evidence do you have?"
Xiao Lou explained earnestly, "The marks left on a corpse by strangulation before death will be different from those left after death."
He pointed to the marks on the deceased's neck and said, "If the young lady committed suicide, then she was still alive when she hung herself on the white silk, and the blood inside her body was still circulating. Therefore, the strangulation mark formed on the neck should be the deepest part at the bottom, spreading to both sides, and the color becomes lighter as it goes up until it disappears completely—this is a typical mark left on the neck of a person who has hanged themselves."
"However, the strangulation mark on the young lady's neck was a horizontal ring. Except for the area where her throat was compressed, which was darker in color, the depth of the other parts of the ligature mark was very uniform. There was no phenomenon of it sloping upward, gradually becoming shallower, and finally ending. The reason for this mark was that there was no blood flow to her neck at that time, and her skin was necrotic. The mark left after being strangled by the white silk would be of uniform depth."
Xiao Lou paused, then looked at everyone: "When the young lady was hung from the tree, she was already dead—this was murder."
Upon hearing Xiao Lou's words, everyone present gasped in unison.
Princess Ninth couldn't help but say, "Can you really prove this is murder just by looking at the traces? That's too simplistic!"
Xiao Lou calmly looked at her: "If the princess doesn't believe me, she can experiment on animals. Live animals and corpses were strangled..."
The traces left behind after living there will be noticeably different.
Princess Ninth wanted to object, but Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "I trust your judgment, Madam."
Ninth Princess: "......"
Yu Hanjiang stepped forward and said, "The young lady was indeed murdered. The evidence at the scene also shows that she was killed. Your Highness can take a closer look at the young lady's shoes."
He bent down, picked up a twig, scraped a few leaves from under the dead woman's feet, and asked, "Your Highness, does the young lady possess Lightness Skill?"
The prince immediately shook his head: " Eldest Miss doesn't know martial arts."
Yu Hanjiang said, "That's it. The tree in front of us is so tall. If she didn't stand on the stone table to hang herself, could she have used her Lightness Skill to fly up and put a white silk noose around her neck? If she wanted to hang herself, she could only stand on the stone table, but there are no footprints left on the table."
Xiao Lou immediately chimed in, "That means someone killed her first, then picked her up and hung her from a tree, which is why there were no footprints of hers on the table."
Yu Hanjiang's gaze swept over everyone, and he said coldly, "This murderer is very clever, but unfortunately, he made a mistake. First, he forgot to leave the victim's footprints on the stone table. Second, the murderer did not understand the difference between the marks left on the living and the dead after being strangled, leaving a flaw."
The couple acted in perfect harmony, leaving everyone else looking at each other in bewilderment.
What was clearly a scene of "suicide by hanging" was actually determined to be a murder case by Lord Yu and his wife after just a few glances?
Qu Wanyue, listening nearby, almost wanted to give a thumbs up.
Even in ancient times, with changed circumstances, nothing could stop these two geniuses of the heart room. Yu Hanjiang investigated the scene, Xiao Lou examined the body, and the Criminal Police Officer and Forensic Doctor worked together to solve the case, easily arriving at the conclusion of murder, a conclusion that left no room for argument.
Although the prince was shocked, after listening carefully to the couple's back-and-forth conversation, he also found it to be quite reasonable.
It seems the daughter really was murdered.
If it was suicide, at worst we could just say it was a "family tragedy" and that the daughter had hanged herself because she couldn't think straight... But if it was murder, then it's a much bigger deal!
Someone in the Prince's mansion actually murdered the young lady without anyone knowing!
The prince's face suddenly darkened, and he immediately lowered his voice and said, "Since Lord Yu has deduced that this is murder, this case will be handed over to Lord Yu to handle. Please catch the real culprit as soon as possible and give Eldest Miss justice!"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will do my utmost."
The prince paused for a moment, then added, "Furthermore, this matter should not be publicized for the time being."
Yu Hanjiang replied, "Understood."
The prince's sharp gaze swept over everyone present, and he said, "From today onwards, the palace is under lockdown. No one is allowed to leave! Furthermore, keep your mouths shut. Anyone who dares to divulge a single word to anyone outside will face my ruthlessness!"
A group of maids and servants immediately knelt down and replied in unison, "Yes, Your Highness!"
Just then, a clear, girlish voice came from afar: "What's going on? It's so lively over there!"
A maid whispered, " Third Miss, slow down..."
Around the corner, a girl in a red dress with two braids walked briskly towards them. She had sword-like eyebrows, clear and bright eyes, and a heroic air about her. She carried a long sword at her waist and looked very dashing.
It was none other than the Third Miss of the Prince's Mansion: Qi Yiru.
I heard that this Third Miss usually loves to play with knives and guns, has a boyish personality, often rides her horse at breakneck speed, and has injured many people in the streets. She is arrogant and domineering, and has a bad reputation among the people.
Looking at her, she does indeed have a rather flamboyant personality, with arrogance in her eyes.
However, upon seeing her father in the crowd, she immediately averted her gaze and obediently came forward to bow: "Father..."
The prince was now suffering from a splitting headache and didn't bother with his daughter's ugly outfit. He said in a deep voice, "Something has happened to your eldest sister. Go and call your second and fourth sisters over."
Qi Yiru looked bewildered: "What's wrong with my older sister?"
It wasn't until she saw the corpse on the ground that she screamed, "How could this be!"
The prince roared, "Why aren't you going to call for help?!"
Qi Yiru immediately turned and ran.
During the time that the prince and Yu Hanjiang were talking, Xiao Lou had already roughly estimated the time of death based on the lividity and rigor mortis of the body. His conclusion shocked everyone present: "The young lady's time of death... should be the hour of You (5-7 PM), which is about an hour ago."
At approximately 6 PM, around 5 PM, it was just getting dark, and the banquet at the Prince's residence had not yet begun.
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "So it seems that the young lady died before the banquet started. At that time, everyone had time to commit the crime, and even the ladies who were with the prince after the banquet started could not get rid of suspicion."
Upon hearing this, the three ladies' faces instantly turned ugly.
Madam Qing, with a fiery temper just like her daughter, retorted angrily, "What do you mean by that, Lord Yu? Would I harm a junior?! I have no grudge against Miss, why would I harm her?"
Madam Han, looking weak and aggrieved, said, "Your Highness, I was brewing medicine in the courtyard at the time. My health has always been weak, how could I have the strength to lift Miss up and hang her from the tree? Lord Yu, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"
Yu Hanjiang calmly said, "Ladies, please don't be anxious. We haven't cleared our names yet, and that doesn't mean you're the murderers." He looked at the prince and said, "Your Highness, I need to ask you ladies some details. Would Your Highness allow me to?"
The prince nodded with a stern face: "This case will be investigated by Lord Yu. From today onwards, you will all cooperate with Lord Yu's questioning."
"After such an incident, I, the King, must get to the bottom of this!"
Yu Hanjiang looked at the guard beside the prince: "Can I borrow this guard? I need his help with something."
The prince readily agreed, "No problem." He looked at Long Sen and instructed him, "From today onwards, you will follow Lord Yu. If he has any orders, just give them to him."
Long Sen clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Yes, sir!"
If the prince didn't cooperate, Yu Hanjiang, a mere Prefect of Jiangzhou, wouldn't dare to enter the prince's residence rashly. With the prince's support, Yu Hanjiang's investigation would naturally proceed much more smoothly.
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