This corpse was not a new one, and had been treated with embalming. Unfortunately for Jiang Wu, in ancient times, there was no way to use professional instruments to analyze the transparent liquid to see if it contained formalin.
According to Jiang Wu's judgment, the body was strangled to death and then thrown into the lake. As for the traces, it is likely that they were pushed when the person was pushed. Since the body was relatively heavy, the murderer could not directly throw the body down.
There was some friction on the shore, which resulted in bruises on the lower back of the body.
Although Jiang Wu has only been in ancient times for a short time, she also knows that the ancients had many magical methods to prevent corpses from decaying. The most likely method is to directly inject antiseptic liquid into the blood vessels of the deceased, but as far as she knows, there are other antiseptic drugs.
It is poured into people before death, and as long as the surface of the corpse is not damaged, it can be preserved for a long time. Moreover, it is already winter and it is soaked in ice water, so at first glance it is almost the same as a newly dead corpse.
With the exception of Jiang Wu, almost no investigators would directly dissect the body for autopsy and only perform a postmortem examination. This would very likely lead to a misjudgment like the first author, who regarded the body as an accidental fall and drowning.
But here is something a little strange. The deceased was a maid. For what purpose did the murderer want to cover up the time of her death?
As we all know, in ancient times, the status of maids and other people was very low. In other words, even if she was really pushed into the river, if it weren't for the people from Beizhen Fusi and Dali Temple who happened to be here today, the people from Li Mansion
Even if you see a corpse, you will take it directly to the landfill.
He doesn't care at all, let alone how long she has been dead.
What is the murderer's purpose?
As usual, he started asking about the identity of the deceased. Jiang Wu finished sewing the body and asked several servants to carry the body aside. Several servants in the Li Mansion looked at each other, you looked at me and I looked at you, and finally pushed one of them.
come out.
"I...my name is Xiao Tao. The person who died was my co-worker named Xia Cao. She was a third-class maid. On weekdays, she is only responsible for cleaning the yard and the like."
"What is her usual personality like?"
Xiao Tao thought blankly: "It's very ordinary. She is a bit withdrawn on weekdays and doesn't talk to people often, but...a third-class maid, no one would talk to her. She has been missing for a while, but because
She is a third-class maid and has not signed a death contract, so it is possible for her to leave without even saying a word."
The Li Mansion is a small one, but it already has a relatively strict hierarchy. Xia Cao is a third-class maid, and can only be responsible for cleaning the house outside. Their pay is also very low, even from the servants.
Look down on them.
Because of this, no one cared about Xia Cao's disappearance. Anyway, there was no financial theft in the house, so it didn't matter whether she died or not.
"Does she go out to play often?"
Xiao Tao shook her head: "She doesn't have much silver on her, so even if she gets paid, she still has to keep it. When she disappeared, I even looked under her pillow...the money she had been saving was gone."
She blushed with embarrassment when she said this. In fact, she already knew what she meant. Xia Cao suddenly disappeared. She went to look at the place where people kept their silver coins, just to see if she could get some bargains.
It turned out that it was just a matter of a few maids ago. The guests present found it boring and dispersed in twos and threes.
Li Can said: "Now that the matter has been found out and Xia Cao was indeed murdered, we can just question the people around him."
When she mentioned this Jiang Wu, her eyelids twitched, for fear that she would say that the murderer was Xiao Tao.
Sure enough - Li Can's voice was sharp: "Xiao Tao! Follow me back to Dali Temple!"
Jiang Wu rolled his eyes.
…
The wind and snow outside were getting stronger, Fu Heng brushed off the fallen snow on his shoulders and stood quietly in front of the hall.
After a while, the palace door slowly opened from the inside, and a fair-faced chamberlain came out. He was about fifty years old, with a fly whisk slanted on his arm.
The chamberlain walked up to Fu Heng and said, "Master Fu, you are polite."
Snow fell from the corners of Fu Heng's eyes and brows, which did not detract from his cold and hard features at all. He looked at the chamberlain, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly: "I don't dare to take it."
There was a little more smile in the eyes of the chamberlain, but there was a bit of contempt in his eyes: "Your Majesty was busy with official duties yesterday, and now it is a compensatory day off. If Mr. Fu has nothing else to do, it is best not to disturb your Majesty."
Fu Heng didn't blink, but his tone when speaking was different from usual.
He said: "His Majesty has not been to court for three days so far. I want to share your worries with him, but other officials in the court can't help but speculate. Moreover, if your majesty is ill, I can also find a good doctor for him."
"
The chamberlain lowered his eyes slightly and chuckled: "Master Fu is very sincere."
Who in this world doesn't know that the Holy Emperor has no interest in political affairs for a long time. He doesn't want to go to court for several days in a month alone. Usually the Holy Emperor wakes up early and feels that the weather is too cold, so he doesn't want to go to court, and then orders people to dismiss the officials who are waiting to go to court.
Already.
Once or twice, someone really worried about His Majesty's health. The more times he did it, the more it became clear that he was suffering from physical ailments and that he was just immersed in wine and meat and did not want to deal with politics.
There was even a game among officials, where they were betting on whether His Majesty would go to court tomorrow, and the bets were getting bigger and bigger. It was not until Fu Heng appeared that this absurd trend was stopped.
But usually His Majesty only wants to be lazy from time to time. Recently, it is the first time that he has not gone to court for several days in a row. Three days is fine, but if the days become longer and longer, the Huns in the north will still keep an eye on him.
The chamberlain wanted to speak again, but a younger chamberlain came out from the inner room. He whispered a few words in this person's ear. The old chamberlain stared at Fu Heng with unkind eyes for a long time, and finally smiled contemptuously, "Your Majesty is awake.
, tell you to come over."
Fu Heng nodded and walked towards the stone steps.
As soon as Fu Heng entered the Yangxin Hall, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol. His Majesty was already old, and the flesh on his face was drooping. He was leaning on the recliner sickly. When he saw Fu Heng, he reluctantly raised his eyelids and took a look.
One glance.
Fu Heng stood on the spot, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, it has been three days since you came to court..."
He was interrupted before he finished speaking. His Majesty waved his hand impatiently and said: "I know, isn't it the civil servants who are saying behind my back that I ignore government affairs?"
Fu Heng did not speak.
The emperor didn't seem to want him to answer, so he complained to himself: "I am old and can't take care of these people below. But if I can't go to court, what's the difference?"
He looked at Fu Heng and finally showed a cold smile that only an emperor could have.
"My dear, if you really do me good, how about helping me kill Prince An?"