Everyone present sighed silently, Ji Qiong lowered his head, not knowing what to do.
Song Que closed his eyes and sighed: “Get someone to find a clean cloth and wrap the child up. After everything is over, we’ll bury them together.”
Then a nearby officer went to take care of it.
Coroner Su continued his work, while Song Que forced himself to calm down and carefully observed the condition of the female corpse. Having floated in the water for several days the corpse showed severe surface decomposition. However, after thoroughly removing the decayed skin, there were actually not many significant injuries. Song Que inspected the body and found something unusual on the right wrist. There were tangled traces in the meridians, as if they had been broken and had not been completely healed. Song Que paused. This discovery made him dizzy and he took a few steps back unconsciously.
Ji Qiong quickly supported him and asked: “Sir, what’s wrong with you?”
Song Que couldn’t answer him right away. He began to measure the height of the corpse, calculate the proportions of each part, and finally asked: “Is Changping County located upstream of the Changshi River?”
Ji Qiong thought for a moment and nodded.
Song Que could no longer suppress the nauseating feeling. He glanced at the female body, which had been stripped of its skin, leaving only a layer of flesh covering the white bones, and had been disemboweled. He rushed to the yard to vomit for the first time.
The guards looked at each other with puzzled expressions. This scene was more common than encountering a rotting giant, they didn’t even react much. Song Que has always been the most composed one, so his reaction today was rather unusual.
Ji Qiong did not go out to find Song Que immediately. He thought about the question Song Que asked, Changping County…
Ji Qiong remembered having heard the name of that county before. He thought about it several times and suddenly thought of Su Xiuxiu, who had been married a long time ago. She got married in this place.
Ji Qiong’s expression changed. He looked at the small white bundle nearby and recalled that Song Que had originally planned to send Aunt Song out. He also remembered that Su Xiuxiu had an old injury on her right hand and knew her height. Fearful, he held his breath and checked the body again before running out as well.
He vomited as if he might bring up bile, then coughed violently, his stomach tightened with sharp, painful cramps. A broad hand was placed on his back, gently patting him a couple of times. Ji Qiong took a few deep breaths before he felt a bit better. He stood up slowly and saw Song Que standing nearby with a pale face, his hair damp with sweat and sticking to the sides of his forehead, looking extremely disheveled.
“Sir…”
Ji Qiong didn’t know what to say.
Song Que was looking into the distance, not sure if he was thinking or just in a daze. He didn’t turn around when he heard Ji Qiong’s voice. He just said: “It might just be a coincidence, right? The physical signs we got are limited, and even if there is a match, it’s not impossible. She had just written back recently, so she should be fine.”
Ji Qiong nodded silently and wiped his eyes. While saying that, both of them harbored the worst premonitions in their hearts. Now, they had to go back and continue to examine the body.
In the past, Ji Qiong had been afraid, but never as afraid as he was today. Just the thought that this corpse might be Miss Su, and that they would have to skin and dissect her, made him shiver with dread. But if they didn’t do this, they won’t be able to know the identities of the two unrecognizable corpses, let alone the cause of death.
Ji Qiong was young after all. Although Song Que also experienced a moment of breakdown, but now he had made up his mind. He didn’t call Ji Qiong but turned around and went back inside alone, not coming out again until he and Coroner Su had thoroughly examined the condition of both bodies.
The female corpse was about five feet one inch tall. She had an old injury on her right wrist. She was between four to six months pregnant. It was suspected that she was struck by something resembling a wooden stick on the back of her neck. There was a small amount of mud and sand in her oral and nasal cavities, but none in the trachea or esophagus.
The male corpse was about six feet tall. His back was injured with a wooden stick. There was a large amount of mud and sand in his oral and nasal cavity, as well as in his trachea and esophagus.
A six-foot-tall man was quite rare. This one was one or two centimeters taller than Song Que. Song Que remembered that Su Xiuxiu’s husband was such a rare tall person.
With all the coincidences added up, Song Que found it difficult to make excuses to deceive himself. He ordered the officers: “Ride fast and follow the Changshi River upstream. At each county office you pass, inquire about missing persons. Report back immediately if you find a match.”
The officers first responded, then looked at each other and pushed the bold one out. Who asked: “Sir, are you alright? Has something happened?”
Song Que was taken aback. Although the weight in his heart didn’t lessen much, he still put on a gentle expression to reassure everyone.
Back in the Song Mansion, the gentle expression could no longer be maintained. He looked visibly exhausted.
When the family was sitting around having a meal, Song Que and Ji Qiong instinctively avoided Aunt Song. Aunt Song was unaware of this and thought that their lack of energy was simply due to the difficulty of the case.
Aunt Song served each of them and said comfortingly: “Is the case too difficult? Don’t be anxious. If you investigate slowly, you can always get some clues. Auntie is not in a hurry. We can leave whenever you have time.”
The spoon in Ji Qiong’s hand fell to the ground, Song Que found it even harder to eat. He thought for a moment but decided he couldn’t tell Song’s aunt just yet. He would wait until there was definitive news confirming the identity before breaking the news.
Song Que, escaped unconsciously.
Song Que did not have to wait too long. The officers who went up the Changshi River came back one by one. There were no corresponding cases in those counties. The only ones who had not returned were Changlin County and Chenglin County which were further away.
The officers in charge of these two places came back together.
With his last hope in mind, Song Que saw the officer who was going to Changlin County step forward and said: “Sir, we found something in Changlin County. There is a missing case reported, the Cheng family couple. Cheng Li is eight feet tall, Madam Su was five feet one inch tall, with an old ailment in her right hand. She was five months pregnant and went missing about a month ago. The condition of the two unknown corpses was completely consistent. ”
The magistrate of Changlin County had also heard of Song Que’s reputation, and was surprised that he was able to trace the origin of the two bloated corpses that had drifted across several counties to this point. Since the corpses were with them, the magistrate was keen to invite Song Que to assist with the case. Song Que did not hesitate for too long. The possibility that Su Xiuxiu had been murdered had been lingering in his mind for several days. When it was finally confirmed, he was not as shocked as when he first realized this possibility. He happily accepted this task and decided to personally find out the cause of Su Xiuxiu’s death, determined not to let her die in vain.
The only problem was Aunt Song. Song Que couldn’t tell a mother such news, but he couldn’t keep her in the dark either.
The person who solved this problem was Ji Qiong. He knew what Song Que was distressed about, and he also knew that he might not be able to help much in uncovering the truth. The only thing he could do was to tell Aunt Song what happened and stay by her side to prevent any accidents, allowing Song Que to find the possible murderer without any worries, and Miss Su can rest in peace.
Aunt Song fainted once and cried nonstop for the next few days. At night, she kept cursing the person who had done such a vicious thing, and she looked a little delirious. Occasionally when she was sober, she would hold Ji Qiong’s hand and beg them to find out the truth and let the murderer pay for their crime, so that Xiuxiu could rest in peace.
Song Que had already set off at that time. He really couldn’t bear to see Aunt Song’s miserable situation. He was determined to act as quickly as possible, so that the corpses of his cousin’s family would not end up abandoned in the mortuary, with no grave or place to rest.
After arriving in Changlin County, Song Que first met with the county magistrate. The magistrate was a straightforward person and seemed to be former classmates with Gao Fenglin, which gave Song Que great convenience. Song Que didn’t stay in the county office for too long and soon took his team to the Cheng family home.
The structure of the Cheng family was simple. Cheng Li has both parents, and one younger sister who was not yet of marriageable age. As soon as Song Que stepped into the Cheng family’s courtyard, his eyes reddened slightly. The parents of the Cheng family both looked like gaunt trees. Their family of five had been living well and was about to welcome their sixth member, but such a tragedy happened. Who could endure such a blow?
Miss Cheng was young and her emotions were more outwardly expressed. She cried several times after learning about the deaths of her brother and sister-in-law. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she was still better than her parents.
Song Que had visited the Cheng family several times for Su Xiuxiu’s marriage, but he had never expected that their next meeting would be under such tragic circumstances.
When Cheng’s parents saw him, they were also startled. Mother Cheng reacted quickly and stepped forward to grab Song Que’s forearm with great force, as if she could carve two holes in Song Que’s arm.
“Master Song! You are the one who discovered my son and daughter-in-law, aren’t you? I know that you are the best at solving cases. Xiuxiu is your cousin, and A-Li is also considered your half-brother-in-law. Please, I beg you to make sure you catch the person who did this to them!”
Mother Cheng was about to kneel down, but Song Que quickly grabbed her and forcefully pulled her back up.
Song Que also felt emotional in his heart. Both Cheng Li and Su Xiuxiu had marks of being beaten. They were probably thrown into the river or pushed down the river bank to death. After drifting for so long with the current, their bodies had eventually ended up before him, as if they had traveled thousands of miles to seek his help in finding their killer.
“Aunt, let’s go in and talk.”
When Song Que was supporting Mother Cheng, he sensed a probing gaze. He turned around and found an old woman at the opposite door. When Song Que looked at her, the woman immediately shrank her head. .
Most of the people accompanying Song Que were assigned by the magistrate of Changlin County. There was only one person, Xiao Bing, who he was more familiar with. He gave Xiao Bing a signal. Xiao Bing pulled aside a local official from Changlin County to ask about the elderly woman from the opposite door.
Song Que closed the door and asked about the details concerning Su Xiuxiu and Cheng Li.
The sadness in Mother Cheng’s heart was brought out again because she saw Song Que. At this moment, she burst into tears. Father Cheng patted her hand and said to Song Que: “The last person who saw Xiuxiu at home was her, so she has been feeling very guilty and felt that she shouldn’t have asked our daughter-in-law to get that thing.”
It turned out that on the day Su Xiuxiu disappeared, Mother Cheng had left the pestle used for washing clothes by the creek. When she remembered it later, she was busy preparing lunch, and Cheng Xiaomei was nowhere to be found. So, Mother Cheng asked Su Xiuxiu to go retrieve it. Although she was concerned about Su Xiuxiu ‘s health, she thought there would be no one washing clothes there at that time, so it wouldn’t be a problem. In the end, Su Xiuxiu went to fetch it. When Cheng Li returned after Su Xiuxiu had left, Cheng’s mother asked him to go to the creek as well to bring her back and avoid any mishap on the way. Who knew that once the two of them left, they never came back. Many people speculated that they had accidentally drowned, but the riverbank’s water flow was not swift, and the bank was not steep. Su Xiuxiu was pregnant, so the two of them must have been very careful. How could they slip and fall into the water.. The Cheng family didn’t believe this statement.
After Father Cheng finished recounting these events, Mother Cheng, still supported by Cheng Xiaomei, cried so hard that she could barely catch her breath.
Song Que suddenly asked: “Does my brother-in-law know how to swim?”
Father Cheng shook his head and said: “He almost drowned when he was a child. After being rescued, he has been afraid of water and never goes near it.”
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Without modern drainage systems, ancient people often did their laundry by rivers. When people did their laundry, they would usually laid the clothes on a stone slab and use a wooden club or pestle to beat them. This practice was called “beating the clothes” or 捣衣 (dao yi)
