Not far to the west outside the city is a barren mountain. After the Wei King's rebellion, most of the rebels who were killed by the court were buried here.
Standing at the foot of the station, you can feel the chill.
The officer stepped forward and said, "Sir, according to what the document says, it's probably right here, but... this place is too big. Do we really want to dig?"
Huang Qinghe nodded firmly: "dig."
The officer was a little worried. He didn't investigate the case and dug up the corpses of the rebels. He didn't know if he would be caught and questioned. Moreover, there were so many dead people here, how could they finish digging them up?
"Just dig a grave where a dozen people were buried together. The burned bodies are easy to identify," Huang Qinghe said and looked at the old man next to him, "Thank you for your hard work."
The old man was very indifferent: "It's our duty to do these things," he said, looking at Madam Chang next to him, "What's more, I have helpers."
"Okay," Huang Qinghe said with more confidence, "Let's take action as soon as possible before dawn."
Not far away, Xu Qingan stood there with his sister.
Xu Qing'an said: "Master Huang is really a rare good official. The Zhang family threatened him like that yesterday, and he also brought people to investigate the case. It is really extraordinary."
The more Xu Qingan looked at Huang Qinghe, the more he liked him: "Next time I get a chance, I'll treat him to some fried fish."
Xu Qinghuan couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect that after just one meal, his brother understood Huang Qinghe's taste so well: "Brother doesn't think Mr. Huang is good, but he is afraid that he will cause trouble to Shuntian Mansion in the future. Mr. Huang is upright and can distinguish between public and private matters.
I am willing to care about my personal relationship..."
Xu Qingan smiled awkwardly to please: "Sister, are you thirsty? Brother, let me get you some water. Just let me keep an eye on you. Why do you have to come here? How hard it is."
Before Xu Qinghuan could say anything, the fat bird on her shoulder suddenly became alert, and all the hair on her body stood up. She looked at Xu Qingan with her eyes, then opened her beak with a disgusting look.
"Brother, how many bodies can you find?"
It's getting late.
Huang Qinghe and his men dug up a lot of bones, but none of them looked like they had been burned by fire.
The Yamen whispered: "Will it be dead after many years?"
"No," Wuzuo shook his head, "If it's like Mr. Huang said, there are more than a dozen corpses in total, and it's impossible not to leave any traces."
"What could be the reason? The place where the body was buried is recorded in Yizhuang." Huang Qinghe looked around and couldn't help but frown, wondering where he had made a mistake.
"There is a piece of straw mat here that is not rotten yet," Mrs. Chang carefully took the straw mat out of the pit. "Several other corpses that were dug up also had straw mats like this on them."
Huang Qinghe walked over to check, and it was true: "Yizhuang often uses this kind of straw mat to wrap corpses, but there are no bones left here. Why? Maybe Yizhuang remembered it wrong."
The identity of the rebel who was burned to death in the Taoist temple is unknown. No one came to restrain him. Where did the rebel's body go?
Huang Qinghe sat there thinking, while the Yamen continued to check whether there were any free graves around.
"No need to look for it." Huang Qinghe stood up.
The officials all breathed a sigh of relief. The adults finally thought about it. We can call it a day and go home.
"Go to the burial place of the doctor's family," Huang Qinghe said. "You can't find it here. There may be clues."
He didn't want to disturb the dead, especially the innocent doctor's family, so he started with the rebels who were burned to death. But now that the bodies of the rebels could not be found, it also proved that his guess might be right. Many years ago,
There was something really strange about that case.
"You still want to dig a grave?" the officer shouted.
Huang Qinghe said: "Dig, dig again." Maybe he will get an answer this time.
Mrs. Chang cleaned her hands and let Meng Lingyun lead her to Xu Qinghuan: "The body was not found, but... I think the place where Master Huang led the people to search was correct."
Xu Qinghuan nodded: "Every burial in Yizhuang will be recorded. If it can be matched with the documents in the Yamen, it will prove that the bones were indeed brought here.
As for why there are no more, maybe the graves of the doctor's family can give a clear answer, and maybe it is very likely that this is the case now."
Mrs. Chang's eyes lit up: "Young miss, you mean that there are no corpses in the tomb of the doctor's family?"
Facts have proved that Xu Qinghuan’s guess was right.
The coffin in which the doctor's family was buried is still there, but there is no trace of the body.
The government officials were all stunned there. Could it be possible that someone else was stealing the body?
"Sir, why is this?" the officer asked, "Is it possible that none of them were buried?"
The old man denied this statement: "There are still some black things left in the coffin, which seem to have fallen from the corpse. It can be seen that the coffin did contain bones."
Huang Qinghe said: "It is impossible for the person who presided over the funeral to bury several empty coffins."
"There is a body here." The officer shouted, and everyone walked over to take a look.
There was indeed a black corpse placed in the coffin. Although the corpse curled up after being burned by the fire, it could still be seen that the person was tall and should be a man.
The Yamen said: "This is the tomb of the doctor's apprentice."
"It's strange," Huang Qinghe frowned, "Why is this body still here?" What secrets did this reveal?
"The graves of the servants who were burned to death should also be dug up to see if the bodies are still there."
The officer looked at the darkened sky, recited a few words of "Amitabha", and turned around to find the tomb.
Huang Qinghe simply sat on the rock and frowned, thinking.
Mrs. Chang and the old man examined the body of the doctor's apprentice and confirmed that the man had been burned to death. The body had been burned and buried for many years. Although there were many scars on the bones, they could not be sure for a while whether the injury was caused by the death of the deceased.
Whether it is left during life or formed after death.
The officer dug up another corpse, which was a servant of the doctor's family.
Huang Qinghe ordered people to transport the bones to Yizhuang, and Wu Zuo and Mrs. Chang would examine them again tomorrow morning.
Although the whole case was still confusing, Huang Qinghe felt that he had checked in the right direction and solved the mystery before him, which might lead to the investigation of Mr. Sun Er's case.
Huang Qing and Xia Ya returned home, but soon he became restless. The case could not be investigated clearly. His heart was on fire. When he closed his eyes, all he could think of was the charred bones and the old woman's profound expression.
Could it be an unjust case from more than ten years ago?
Huang Qinghe seemed to have thought of something, and hurriedly put on his outer robe and went out to Yizhuang.
…
In Yizhuang, Madam Chang was still sorting out documents, but this time there was one more person beside her.
Xu Qinghuan disguised herself and followed Mrs. Chang to check on the two corpses. After looking at the two bodies, the two of them were about to leave, but they didn't expect Meng Lingyun's voice to be heard at the door.
"The younger one is here to take Mrs. Chang back."
Huang Qinghe nodded, opened the door and saw Mrs. Chang had already packed up the autopsy equipment.
"Why are you here, sir?" Mrs. Chang looked as calm and indifferent as usual.
Huang Qinghe sighed: "I can't sleep anyway, so I'll have a look again. It's getting late. Madam, please go back!"
Mrs. Chang responded and left with the boy beside her.
Mrs. Chang walked out of Yizhuang, and Huang Qinghe suddenly frowned. Mrs. Chang had been walking alone, and she had never seen anyone come to take her back, and there was also a petite boy with her.
Thinking of this, Huang Qinghe stalked out to chase him.
"Wait a minute," Huang Qinghe called to Madam Chang, "May I ask who the person next to Madam Chang is?"
Mrs. Chang, who was about to get into the carriage, stopped.
Huang Qinghe quickly ran a few steps to the carriage.
"Sir," Madam Chang simply got out of the car, blocking Huang Qinghe's view of the carriage, "Are you wondering why only two bodies were found?"
These words undoubtedly attracted Huang Qinghe's attention, and Huang Qinghe had a question on his face: "Why?"
Mrs. Chang said: "Maybe it's because these two corpses are useless."
Huang Qinghe frowned.
Mrs. Chang continued: "The corpses will not disappear. They were obviously dug up and taken away. The reason why these two corpses were left behind is because they did not want these two corpses.
The two corpses looked tall and had relatively strong bones, and they looked like men at first glance.
Among the lost bodies were the doctor, his wife, two children, and a serving woman. It can be deduced that the bones that were taken away should be relatively petite, and they looked like either women or children."
Huang Qinghe said: "But the doctor is also a man."
Mrs. Chang said: "So your Excellency should ask someone to inquire about the body shape of the doctor. If the doctor is not tall, ordinary people will naturally not be able to tell whether the body is a boy or a girl.
If what I just said is correct, then several useful clues have been revealed.
First, the bones of the people who died back then were probably all mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish their identities.
Secondly, among those who died, there were still people who knew them well, either relatives, friends, or people who cared about them. After what happened that year, they dug up the bones and reburied them.
Third, if someone leads you to discover these clues, it means that the matter is related to the case you are investigating.
What I said is just speculation. Whether it is the truth or not depends on the results of your inquiry."
