Chapter 403 - 401: The Murderer’s Motive (First Update)

Chapter 403: Chapter 401: The Murderer’s Motive (First Update)

If Shi Wenfeng actively contacted the murderer, so be it.

If it’s the second possibility, after Lin Chengzhao has denied that he did it, who else in the world would know about the existence of that tunnel?

Could it really have been Shi Wenfeng who told the murderer?

Everyone couldn’t help but frown, only feeling that this case seemed to become complicated all of a sudden.

Xu Jing glanced at them, then withdrew her gaze and continued to examine the body in front of her, saying, "The victim’s lips and nails are cyanotic, there’s petechial hemorrhage in the conjunctiva, and the tongue shows signs of injury and bleeding..."

As Xu Jing spoke, her mind was racing.

These conditions all seem to match the characteristics of death by asphyxiation.

She paused, then inserted two fingers into the victim’s mouth to dig around, pulling them out to find some sand on her gloves.

Seeing this, Mr. Yao immediately said, "In this way, it seems that the victim indeed drowned. The sand and debris in the nose and mouth, the black spots in the eyes, the cyanotic lips and nails all align with the characteristics of drowning."

Although Mr. Yao wasn’t a professional forensic doctor, after handling so many cases over the years, he had some understanding of autopsy knowledge.

However, Xu Jing shook her head and said, "Not necessarily. Drowning victims usually have frothy foam at their nose and mouth, but Shi Wenfeng’s corpse doesn’t have it."

She moved her hand to the victim’s chest and abdomen and pressed firmly, then turned the body over, still not seeing any frothy foam.

When cold water or weak fluid stimulates the mucous membrane of a person’s trachea, the membrane instinctively secretes a large amount of mucus, which mixes with the weak fluid and air to form a lot of small, uniform white foam—this is frothy foam.

If a person is thrown into water and drowned while still alive, they will definitely produce frothy foam. Therefore, the presence of frothy foam is an important criterion in determining whether a person drowned while still alive.

And on the body of Shi Wenfeng in front of her, such foam did not appear.

After listening to Xu Jing’s description of the frothy foam, Mr. Yao immediately recalled previous drowning cases he had handled and slightly furrowed his brow, saying, "Indeed, most drowning victims have this white foam at the nose and mouth. Since Shi Wenfeng doesn’t, could it be that he didn’t die from drowning?"

"I don’t think so. Although sand was found in his mouth, it’s normal for sand to enter a deceased person’s mouth from water currents after death."

To truly determine if he drowned while alive, an autopsy is needed to check the stomach and duodenum for swallowed weak fluid.

Xu Jing continued, "Moreover, Shi Wenfeng’s nails are very clean. Generally, when a person drowns, they instinctively struggle to grab onto something, so their nails tend to be full of sand.

Although the condition of Shi Wenfeng’s body looks like drowning, the cyanotic lips and nails, black spots in the eyes, and tongue injury are not exclusive to drowning victims."

Mr. Yao was momentarily stunned and subconsciously asked, "What else could it be?"

Xu Jing lifted her gaze slightly to look at him and calmly said, "Poisoning."

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Xu Jing was a bit troubled. If she could perform an autopsy on Shi Wenfeng, she could make a more accurate judgment. However, she had never used this method in front of Mr. Yao and others, who might not accept it. Back in Anping County, it was only because Xiao Yi paved the way for her that the county government officials quickly accepted her autopsy methods.

The most important thing is that Shi Wenfeng is not just any unknown corpse. To dissect him, she must get consent from his family.

These two tasks couldn’t be solved quickly. Xu Jing could only sigh inwardly, mentally noting that the path of autopsy methods in Great Chu still had a long way to go. She carefully checked Shi Wenfeng’s body again and finally pried open his mouth for a closer look, suddenly freezing.

There was a faint smell of alcohol in Shi Wenfeng’s mouth!

Since most of the alcohol scent had evaporated, Xu Jing hadn’t noticed it during her first inspection because she hadn’t gotten as close as this time.

After she mentioned it, Mr. Yao pondered, "The smell of alcohol? Shi Wenfeng drank before his death. With whom?"

The answer was almost obvious. How could someone who had just done something wrong have the leisure to drink with friends? It must have been with the murderer.

If he truly died from poisoning, the murderer likely poisoned the wine!

A government official couldn’t help but say, "It seems like Shi Wenfeng had a good relationship with the murderer. If the murderer really was the one who bribed Shi Wenfeng to poison, I thought Shi Wenfeng would be very cautious with him."

Indeed, if it were just a straightforward transaction of bribery, Shi Wenfeng would be more cautious and wary, unlikely to leisurely drink with him, and apparently drink a lot, otherwise, his mouth wouldn’t have the faint scent of alcohol even long after his death.

This can only suggest that Shi Wenfeng and he likely knew each other long ago, perhaps were even very familiar!

Even if the murderer wasn’t the one who bribed him, he must be an acquaintance of his!

Xu Jing lowered her eyes in deep thought for a moment, stood up, removed her gloves, and said, "I need to return to the county government and question Lin Chengzhao."

When Lin Chengzhao was brought before Xu Jing again, he wore a resigned and dejected expression. Xu Jing sat in her chair, lightly lifted her eyelids to glance at him, and said, "Lin Chengzhao, was it really not you who instructed Shi Wenfeng to poison the medicinal soup at Xinglin Hall?"

Lin Chengzhao froze slightly, then suddenly lifted his head, his eyes red as he said, "I’ve already told you, it wasn’t me! Do I still have to lie to you now?! Xu Jing, do you want me to have no peace even in hell?!"

Xu Jing scrutinized him for a moment and said, "I also think it’s not you, but from what we’ve discovered so far, the murderer most likely knew about the tunnel in Shi Wenfeng’s courtyard. Who else, besides you, would know about that tunnel’s existence?"

Earlier, she had Mr. Yao investigate the landlord of that courtyard, only to find that it was just a false landlord, posing under the name of Lin Family to create an illusion. They didn’t know about the tunnel either.

This meant that the courtyard actually belonged to the Lin Family, and only Lin Family members were likely aware of the tunnel’s existence.

Lin Chengzhao was momentarily astonished, quickly furrowed his brows, and lightly shook his head, muttering, "Impossible. The only people who know of the tunnel’s existence are me, my two legitimate sons, and... a few long-serving stewards at Guangming Hall. But how could they arrange for Shi Wenfeng to poison your medicinal soup without my knowledge? Why would they do such a thing?!"

Xu Jing also found it odd.

Regardless of what case is being investigated, the motive of the perpetrator is crucial. Many veteran detectives even have an unspoken rule for solving cases—look at who benefits most, and that person likely has the strongest motive to commit the crime.

It’s safe to say that 90% of criminals have a purpose in mind when committing a crime.

However, this case is peculiar. The person with the strongest motive was the first to be excluded, while those suspected now don’t seem to have any clear motive for committing the crime.