Chapter 149 - 148: Copycat Crime (Second Update)

Chapter 149: Chapter 148: Copycat Crime (Second Update)

When that coffin was carried out, the expression on Mrs. Yu’s face turned overwhelmingly mournful. Her full, chapped lips trembled incessantly as she walked over slowly, her voice tinged with tears, "Zhen’er, my dear Zhen’er..."

She trembled as she touched the coffin, as if gently caressing a young child. After rubbing her hands softly for a moment, she said, her eyes red, "Open the coffin."

Everyone instinctively took a big step back, but there were a few who did not retreat at all.

The crowd stared at Zhao Shao Hua, Jiang Erlang, and the woman whom Young Madam Zhao referred to as "Doctor Xu" standing still at the front, somewhat dazed.

Were they not afraid?

After all, it was a corpse that had been dead for more than half a year!

Because Zhao Shao Hua had his back to the others, they did not see the shock and loss of color on his face when the coffin was opened.

Zhao Shao Hua couldn’t help but glare at Mrs. Yu, "What is this... What have you done, Mrs. Yu?!"

Mrs. Yu was squinting slightly at Xu Jing.

Both this woman and Jiang Erlang showed no change in expression upon seeing Zhen’er’s corpse.

She could understand Jiang Erlang, but this woman... why was she so calm? Who exactly was she?

Everyone heard Zhao Shao Hua’s words and knew something was amiss. Forcing down their fear, they stepped forward and were immediately wide-eyed.

Inside the coffin lay a woman dressed in a white dress, her hands clasped over her lower abdomen. Her exposed skin was an eerie dark brown, shriveled and dry-looking, yet her eyes were slightly open.

Only in her brows and eyes could one vaguely discern the delicate features she had in life.

The most disturbing thing was that her mouth was slightly upturned at a very unnatural angle. Upon closer inspection, both her mouth corners were stitched with bright red thread! The arc of her smile was forcibly fixed by the threads!

However, ignoring these surface phenomena, this wasn’t the state of a corpse dead for half a year!

Being dead for half a year, even sealed in a coffin, couldn’t possibly preserve a body to look like this!

Xu Jing tightly pursed her lips.

This kind of corpse, she had seen before—it usually occurred in bodies frozen for over four months!

Many fall into a misconception, believing that placing a body in a freezer keeps it fresh. In reality, while the body won’t decay, it will dehydrate, resulting in the appearance of Wang Wuniang now.

To truly keep a corpse fresh, it must be immersed in formalin or kept in liquid nitrogen at around minus one hundred and fifty degrees. This can preserve it for decades or even centuries.

However, for a layperson, this corpse was already well-preserved.

Mrs. Yu withdrew her gaze from Xu Jing, lifted her hand, gently stroking the woman’s face inside the coffin, her voice hoarse, "Over the past six months, I had an ice coffin made, kept Zhen’er inside it, hidden in an ice cellar, and had experienced forensic doctors concoct embalming fluids to wipe Zhen’er’s body periodically. That’s how I managed to preserve Zhen’er’s corpse.

Earlier, in that side room, I filled it with ice blocks. Later, I’ll have Zhen’er carried back. If you wish to examine Zhen’er’s body, you can enter the side room."

If not for the fact that the side room was small and couldn’t accommodate everyone at once, she wouldn’t have brought her dear Zhen’er out here.

Xu Jing meticulously examined the female corpse in the coffin.

Wang Wuniang was only sixteen when she was murdered, so the female corpse looked very young.

She recalled that Wang Wuniang was found three days after her disappearance, although Xu Jing didn’t know her exact time of death. Given that the crime occurred during the bitter cold of winter, even if she was found three days postmortem, the decomposition wouldn’t be severe, likely with only the onset of abdominal greening.

Considering Mrs. Xu’s preservation methods, her internal organs probably hadn’t completely decayed.

This meant that the corpse still held forensic value.

Once everyone had seen Wang Wuniang’s body, Mrs. Yu stroked her face one more time before having the coffin carried away.

After that, Mrs. Yu seemed even more fatigued, her emotions clearly having taken a toll. She looked at the group, still in shock, and said, "I’ll have Zhen’s diary brought over in a while.

I’ll be resting in the room by the pool. If you have any investigation-related needs, you can send the maids or guards here to contact me."

With that, she allowed the maids to assist her as she slowly left.

The crowd stared blankly as her figure disappeared down the corridor, only coming back to their senses, exchanging looks filled with anxiety and fear.

Where they once harbored hopes that Mrs. Yu wouldn’t truly harm them, after seeing Wang Wuniang’s corpse, they no longer dared underestimate her determination.

Feng Qi Lang looked the most distraught among them. As soon as Mrs. Yu left, he desperately yelled, "Who killed Wang Wuniang?! For heaven’s sake, come forward! Do you really want us all to accompany you to the grave?!"

Chen Xi already had a temper, and now feeling irritable, her words were even sharper, "Everyone knows Wang Wuniang was... was violated before being killed! No matter what, the culprit could not possibly be us women..."

"Who says so? Women can’t do such things but can have someone else kill Zhen."

Guo Liuyun glared at Chen Xi, "In Western Capital, the one who has always bullied Zhen’er happens to be you! Who knows if you’ve privately had someone carry out such a vile act..."

Chen Xi was startled, her face flushing red with anger, "Nonsense! That’s absolute nonsense! I’d never do such a thing! Besides, it wasn’t just me in Western Capital who disliked that woman... Wang Wuniang!"

"However, ever since Shaohua became friends with Zhen’er, others, out of respect for Shaohua, stopped bullying Zhen’er and at most only ignored her."

Guo Liuyun bit her lip lightly, "It’s only you and Shen Zhiyi who continued persistently bullying Zhen’er! As if you had some longstanding grudge against her, most noblewomen in the Capital know about this!"

Everyone followed Guo Liuyun’s words, looking towards Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi with complex and indescribable expressions on their faces!

Chen Xi was so anxious she could barely speak coherently, "I-I said I didn’t, so I didn’t! Besides, did you all really believe what Mrs. Yu said? Clearly, the Ministry of Justice and the Shangjing Prefecture both stated Wang Wuniang was killed by the Smiling Killer!

Let Mrs. Yu go mad all she wants; why are you all joining her in madness?"

Zhao Shaohua, still relatively calm, waved his hand to stop Guo Liuyun from arguing further with Chen Xi, saying, "In times like this, we mustn’t lose our heads. Just now, Jiang Erlang and I discussed it; we both believe Zhen’er was not killed by the Smiling Killer."

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Erlang. Jiang Erlang lazily curled his lips, seemingly unaffected by Mrs. Yu’s earlier words, saying, "That’s right. Although the Smiling Killer sews victims’ mouths into a grotesque grin, internally, there is a belief that Wang Wuniang was not killed by the Smiling Killer.

Aside from stitching victims’ lips, the Smiling Killer leaves victims covered in various wounds, including but not limited to bruises, cuts, burns, and beatings. By the time they are discovered, victims have nearly no unblemished skin except their faces.

While Wang Wuniang’s body had some wounds, mostly scratches or pinch marks, there were no severe injuries, which doesn’t match the Smiling Killer’s modus operandi.

Moreover, the stitching on Wang Wuniang’s mouth was crude, the threads tangled, which isn’t typical of the Smiling Killer’s work."

Four words immediately formed in Xu Jing’s mind—

Mimicry crime.

The murderer was probably imitating the Smiling Killer but did not know the details, only happening upon some hearsay, resulting in such a clumsy imitation.

The more they heard, the more terrified they became. Guo Liuyun couldn’t help asking, "If so, why didn’t the Ministry of Justice and Western Capital continue investigating, acting like they accepted Zhen’er’s death was by the Smiling Killer?"