"What did Ge Zian come for?"
"I heard he came to ask if Young Master Wei needed any help."
Li Zongguan's honest answer made Xin Zizhao's expression improve slightly. Xin Zizhao nodded. "You may go back to your duties."
"Yes, Fifth Prince."
Xin Zizhao went to the dining hall and saw that Wei Shuxuan was already there having breakfast. The moment Wei Shuxuan saw him, her face lit up with unhidden joy. "Xin Zizhao, where did you go last night? You don't know how boring it is to have dinner alone at night."
"I see."
After breakfast, Wei Shuxuan planned to go to the morgue. Seeing that she was about to go out, Xin Zizhao stopped her. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the morgue to check the cause of the corpse's death. Are you busy today? If not, come with me."
"I don't have to go to the imperial study for lessons today, so I can go out with you."
"You know, it's better to have you with me at the morgue. I'm not very familiar with autopsy. It'll be much better with you around."
Before Xin Zizhao could reply, two guards rushed in. "Fifth Prince, Young Master Wei, there's another murder in the Butterfly Fragrance Palace!"
Xin Zizhao turned his head and gave the two guards a cold glance. How could he not be angry when two outsiders interrupted such a good atmosphere?
However, human lives were at stake. Xin Zizhao didn't have time to be angry with the guards. He followed Wei Shuxuan and rushed out.
This time, the deceased in the Butterfly Fragrance Palace was an out - of - favor concubine. Different from the maid who died near the imperial kitchen last time, this concubine died from hitting her head against some hard object. There were also some abrasions and bruises on her body, and the fatal wound was at the back of her head.
"Fifth Prince, the deceased should have been dead for more than two hours. Livor mortis has already started to appear. As Your Highness said, the fatal wound was at the back of the head, caused by a heavy blow from a hard object."
The coroner gave a summary after re - examining the body following Xin Zizhao's inspection.
While they were examining the body, Wei Shuxuan went to check the surrounding environment. She found that there was blood residue on the rockery in the backyard, and there were also streaks of blood on the edge of the ground. There was no blood on the surrounding grass. Wei Shuxuan stood up and wondered if this could be the first crime scene.
Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard the guard behind her say, "Hey? Weren't there a pile of stones here before?"
"I remember there were when I patrolled here before. Are they gone now?"
"Yes, they're gone."
Wei Shuxuan suddenly turned around and looked at the two guards who were just talking. "Was there a pile of stones here?"
"Yes, they were for decoration."
The guard answered without hesitation. Wei Shuxuan thought for a while. "You guys go and look for that pile of stones quickly."
"Yes, Young Master Wei!"
Wei Shuxuan thought that this was very likely the first crime scene. This place was remote. If the deceased was left here, it wouldn't be discovered so soon. So, the murderer dragged the body to a more obvious place outside so that the passing guards or maids could find the body as soon as possible.
It seemed that the murderer's purpose was not just to kill. He wanted others to find the body quickly, as if he wanted to be caught soon.
The guards started to look for the pile of stones by the rockery as Wei Shuxuan told them, while Wei Shuxuan was still wandering around nearby, looking for bloodstains or the iron badge in other places, but she hadn't found the iron badge yet.
"Young Master Wei!" A guard's voice gradually grew louder from afar. Wei Shuxuan turned around and saw the guard running towards her as if he was holding something in his hand.
"What's up?"
"Young Master Wei, we found this badge on the deceased."
Wei Shuxuan took the iron badge presented by the guard and examined it carefully. It was indeed the same as the one left before. She murmured to herself, "Was it placed on the deceased this time?"
Then she looked at the guard. "How did you find this?"
"His Highness told us to carry the body to the morgue. My comrade and I carried the body together. As soon as we lifted the body, we found this thing under it."
"… Okay, you can go back to your work."
"Yes!"
So, Wei Shuxuan took the iron badge and walked towards the body. Seeing her coming, Xin Zizhao walked over. "What's going on?"
"The guards said they found this iron badge under the deceased. Did you find anything suspicious during the autopsy?" Wei Shuxuan looked up at Xin Zizhao.
"The deceased's fatal wound was caused by a hard object hitting the back of her head. There are many abrasions and bruises on her body, and some parts of her clothes are worn out, mainly on the upper body. She should have been dragged there by the murderer."
"Well, the first crime scene should be at that rockery over there. The guards said there should have been a pile of stones at the foot of the rockery, but now they're gone. I suspect..." Wei Shuxuan hesitated, but Xin Zizhao immediately guessed her thoughts.
"You suspect that the pile of stones was the murder weapon?"
"Yes, a hard object fits the situation. Did you check the wound?"
"Yes, but not in detail. The coroner needs to wash the blood clots on it before a detailed examination."
"Then let me take a look first."
Wei Shuxuan was worried that some evidence might be washed away after cleaning, so she decided to check it one more time before the coroner's detailed autopsy.
She squatted down and asked the guard beside her to lift the deceased's head. She pushed aside the hair clotted with blood. The shape of the wound was very unclear. She touched the area and felt a bit of sandiness. This wound should have been stained with sand from the ground.
Wei Shuxuan looked around, but there was no sand around. So, could she be sure that the wound was caused by the stones from the rockery? No, she still had to wait until the pile of stones was found.
She picked at the hair at the back of the head and found a small piece of sandstone. It wasn't very big and seemed to have fallen off from somewhere.
Putting away the small piece of sandstone, Wei Shuxuan said to the guards over there, "You can carry the body away now."
After the scene was cleaned up, Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan walked side by side. "Did you find any useful evidence?"
"Sort of."
She gave him an ambiguous answer.