Chapter 291 - 289: Strange Ligature Marks (First Update)

Chapter 291: Chapter 289: Strange Ligature Marks (First Update)

Wei Muqing was still feeling down. Hearing Xu Jing’s question, she forced herself to perk up and said, "Yes, I think it’s not bad. At least she doesn’t overly mistreat the child from her husband’s previous marriage like some other stepmothers. I’ve never heard that she’s hit or scolded Little Dongzi.

She doesn’t care as much for Little Dongzi, but that’s only human nature. People in the village often say that Yan Si is lucky. Although his first wife... ran away with someone else, Sister-in-law Wang is gentle and kind and doesn’t mind that he has a child."

"And what about Yan Si? How does he treat Little Dongzi usually?"

Wei Muqing sighed quietly and said, "His attitude towards Little Dongzi... is somewhat complicated. Because the elopement of his first wife was disgraceful and hurtful, he seems to take out his anger on Little Dongzi, being indifferent to him. Ever since Sister-in-law Wang gave birth, he’s been even colder to Little Dongzi. Last year when Little Dongzi was treating a cold at our place, Yan Si never once came to see the child. In the end, it was Sister-in-law Wang who came to take the child back.

But after all, Little Dongzi is his child. I think he still cares about him. Just now, Little Dongzi... passed away, and I see Yan Si is quite affected."

Xu Jing frowned slightly and asked, "How was his relationship with his first wife?"

"I’ve heard it was good. He and his first wife were both born and raised in the village, childhood sweethearts who grew up together. But no one expected that, in secret, she had been seeing a lord from the neighboring village. When the affair was exposed, the two eloped and have never returned..."

Xu Jing kept asking about Yan Si and his wife, and Wei Muqing sensed something and couldn’t help but ask, "Do you think Little Dongzi’s death is related to Yan Si and Sister-in-law Wang? But... but, you know the situation at the time, besides us who rushed over, there was only Jiang Da, Yan Si was with us the whole time, and Sister-in-law Wang was in the village, there was no chance for them to throw Little Dongzi into the river."

To tell the truth, she also felt in her heart that the one who pushed the person into the river was Jiang Da.

Although she didn’t know his motive, given the situation at the time, who else could have done it but him?

However, Xu Jing calmly said, "That’s not necessarily true."

Wei Muqing was stunned, but after saying this intriguing sentence, Xu Jing turned and walked back to the village. Wei Muqing quickly followed, pestering Xu Jing, trying to find out what she meant by her earlier words, but Xu Jing skillfully dodged her questions.

Back in the village, Xu Jing looked at the troubled expression on Wei Muqing’s face and said amusedly, "Some things, I’m only guessing for now, so it’s not good to tell you. I’m going to perform an autopsy on Little Dongzi now. Do you want to come with me?"

Wei Muqing immediately said, "Of course!"

Yan Ci, who had been quietly following them, suddenly called out softly, "Miss Xu."

Xu Jing turned to her and saw Yan Ci remain silent for a while, seeming to sigh lightly, "I trouble Miss Xu."

Then, she nodded at Xu Jing, looked at Wei Muqing with indifference, "Mu Qing, try not to bother Miss Xu too much. Come back to rest early if there’s nothing."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Xu Jing waited until Yan Ci’s figure disappeared before asking, "Mu Qing, do you know what your master’s relationship with Jiang Da is?"

Wei Muqing was clearly shocked, her eyes widening as she looked at Xu Jing, "What... what are you talking about! How could my master have a relationship with that Jiang Da! You can’t say such things, I have a master, although my master never admits it and is never willing to see my master, I know my master really cares about my master..."

Seeing that this girl was about to start rambling again, Xu Jing quickly stopped her, "Alright, alright, I got it, I was just asking casually."

It seemed she really didn’t know about any relationship between her master and Jiang Da.

This question, however, clearly gave Wei Muqing considerable shock, as she couldn’t stop mumbling about it until they reached the place where Little Dongzi’s body was temporarily placed.

Little Dongzi’s body had been returned to his home and was now placed in a temporary storage room that had been cleared on the left side of the yard.

Yan Si’s house was an ordinary farmhouse, with a large family living in a compound with one entrance. Fortunately, Yan Si’s family was not very complicated. After the deaths of Yan Si’s parents, the four brothers divided the property.

His second and third brothers moved to the city early on after earning some silver coins from small businesses run there. Only Yan Si and his eldest brother remained in the village, and their houses were next to each other. At this time, the family of Yan Si’s eldest brother and several villagers gathered in Yan Si’s courtyard, making it so crowded that it was hard to move.

The villagers who stayed were partly genuinely concerned about how the child passed, but more were curious about how such a celestial lady would conduct the autopsy.

When they saw Xu Jing arrive, they made way for her, allowing her to reach Little Dongzi smoothly.

Cheng Xiao couldn’t help but whisper, "Madam, should I disperse these people a bit?"

Xu Jing gently shook her head, "No need. It’s only a simple examination. Let them watch if they wish."

Besides, they evidently did not yet fully trust her, and forcibly dispersing them might only cause more trouble.

Xu Jing picked up the tool bag she had the guards bring back and took out a pair of gloves to wear.

Ever since the Holy Emperor appointed her as an outside consultant to the Western Capital’s government office, she had gotten into the habit of carrying her forensic tools with her.

After making the necessary preparations, she first carefully examined Little Dongzi’s external characteristics, noting that he was only wearing two thin layers of cloth clothing, visibly confirming what Yan Si and his wife had said, that Little Dongzi quarreled with them and angrily ran out without even wearing a warm coat.

On a night approaching December, only wearing these two layers of cloth was far from enough, and no wonder the poor child, running outside for less than half a day, was frozen to death.

By now, his body was already showing signs of rigor mortis, and the onset of livor mortis was evident, presenting as bright red blotches, a usual occurrence for those who freeze to death. When placed in a warm place overnight, these bright red blotches typically change to a dark red color.

After a brief inspection, Xu Jing initially intended to strip off Little Dongzi’s clothes completely, but, given the many onlookers, she only removed his upper garment and had Cheng Xiao help roll up his pant legs.

The villagers outside the door were increasingly amazed.

This Miss Xu’s actions were extraordinarily proficient! It seemed as if these autopsy procedures had been repeated a thousand times before.

Most of the villagers were finally convinced that Miss Xu had definitely worked as a forensic doctor, and not just once!

As soon as she removed the child’s clothing, Xu Jing’s gaze was fixed, and she stared intently at the ligature marks above his waist.

From the state of these ligature marks, it was clear they were formed while the child was alive.

In life, he had been bound around this area with some type of rope, and it was tied tightly enough to leave such deep marks.

This ligature mark was notably smooth, with only occasional small red spots, as if from a very smooth rope, with only occasional small bumps pressing into his skin to create such marks.

Xu Jing extended her index finger for comparison.

This rope must have been about a third of her index finger’s width.

What kind of rope was this? And why did such ligature marks appear on Little Dongzi’s body?