Shen Zhuo hadn't held out much hope. Now that he heard what the coroner said, he didn't dwell on it any longer. Instead, he stepped closer to take a look at Qin An's body, but still kept a certain distance, not wanting to get himself involved in any unnecessary trouble.
Lord Liang, who was sitting above, grew impatient. "Shen Zhang, you've asked your questions and had your look. I advise you not to struggle in vain. It's best that you plead guilty quickly."
"Otherwise, don't blame me for using some means to force a confession from you!"
"My lord! I didn't act on a whim today, nor was I trying to buy time. I have my own plans. Just now, through my series of actions, everyone saw that a person who is truly strangled will struggle violently.
"In the process, the person whose neck is being strangled will surely try to leave some marks on the would - be killer. But just now the coroner said that there were no signs of struggle on Qin An. Not only were his hands and arms clean, but there were no traces in his fingernails either. So, I now suspect that Qin An was not strangled to death at all, but died of some other cause."
As soon as Shen Zhang said this, not only were the commoners outside startled, but even the coroner frowned tightly, while Lord Liang broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
"It's impossible. The only wound on the deceased was on his neck. He must have been strangled until he stopped breathing," the coroner was the first to stand up and object.
Shen Zhang also frowned tightly. What he had just said was just a guess. He didn't know exactly how Qin An had died.
There were skeptical voices in the crowd. Others might have their doubts, but Shen Li and Shen Yi, who were standing in the crowd, knew that Shen Zhang was right.
"I didn't expect him to be somewhat smart," Shen Yi said as he watched Shen Zhang standing in the main hall with a tightly - furrowed brow. "But he still lacks a bit of insight."
Hearing this, Shen Li gave a soft laugh. "Brother, do you think everyone is as smart as you? You can tell the cause of the dead man's death just by taking a couple of glances. Even I had to examine it carefully for a while before I understood. Shen Zhang is just a scholar. It's already quite good that he could guess that the man was not strangled to death."
Because of the compliment at the beginning, Shen Yi didn't refute Shen Li's words. "So what should we do now? Do you want to go up and help him?"
Shen Li nodded. "We can't just watch him being wronged like this. Besides, he didn't do anything wrong!"
Shen Yi gave Shen Li a displeased look. "You! You're just too soft - hearted! Don't blame me, your elder brother, for not warning you. There's not a single good person in that second branch of the family. Be careful not to be deceived by them again. Don't come to me to complain then!"
"Brother, don't worry! I used to be blind in my judgment of people, but now my eyes are as sharp as ever. No one can deceive me."
Shen Yi gave a cold snort as a response.
But Shen Li called out in the direction of the main hall, "That's right. This man was not strangled to death. He fell into the water and died after being rescued."
Shen Li's words were like a huge wave! There was an instant hush in the crowd. Everyone turned their eyes to her, their faces showing the same suspicion and curiosity.
"Did you just say that the deceased drowned? That's impossible!" The coroner was the first to react and directly refuted Shen Li's words. "I examined him. There was no water in his nasal cavity or chest cavity. He couldn't have drowned!"
This coroner had been in this line of work for some years and was very confident in his duties. Now that his specialty was being mentioned, he seemed full of confidence.
"I just said that he had fallen into the water. I didn't say that he drowned!" Shen Li stood in the crowd and stepped towards the main hall. The crowd immediately made way for her.
"What do you mean by that?" The coroner looked at Shen Li, not understanding the meaning of her words.
But Shen Li didn't answer him immediately. Instead, she walked up to the main hall and bowed from afar to Lord Liang. "Greetings, Lord Liang!"
Unlike Shen Li, who had a faint smile on her face, Lord Liang was not so happy. He still remembered the commotion Shen Li had caused in his main hall a few months ago.
So, Lord Liang didn't want to see Shen Li at all. But now that Shen Li suddenly appeared in front of him, he couldn't do anything to her!
Because he had just seen Shen Yi standing in the crowd. Shen Yi was a person he couldn't afford to offend. Not just him, but in the entire capital, there were few people who could directly offend Shen Yi without considering the consequences.
Anyway, Shen Li didn't care whether Lord Liang acknowledged her or not. She had now turned her attention to Qin An's body.
"You just said that you examined the body and didn't find any other wounds. I wonder if you touched the deceased's head?" Shen Li said to the coroner.
The coroner was a bit dissatisfied with this little girl who suddenly appeared and dared to question his decades of experience. "Yes, I did. There were no wounds!"
"Then go and touch his head again. See if there's any difference!"
Although the coroner didn't believe Shen Li's words, seeing that this little girl spoke with such confidence, he followed her advice and touched the deceased's head.
Since he had examined the body himself once, the coroner was sure in his heart that there were no wounds. But his good professional ethics didn't allow him to relax his vigilance at work.
When the coroner touched the right side of the deceased's head, his eyes suddenly widened. He couldn't believe it and touched it again. This time, he was convinced. He had indeed felt a slightly swollen bump.
The coroner stood up from beside the body and said to Lord Liang, "My lord! I did feel a bump on the deceased's head! It's very likely that it was caused by being hit by a heavy object or hitting a sharp object."
Lord Liang was extremely annoyed. He didn't understand why there had been no such bump yesterday, but it suddenly appeared today.
"Didn't you say there were no other wounds when you examined him yesterday? Why did this one suddenly appear today?" Lord Liang said, quickly glancing at Shen Li. "Don't tell me it's fake?"
"My lord, there is indeed a big bump on the deceased's head now. That's true. But as for the cause, I really don't know. Maybe this young lady can explain it."
After saying this, the coroner looked at Shen Li. His eyes now showed more sincerity than before.