Coroner's Diary

After getting off the carriage, Qin Guan looked utterly astonished. "Prince Jin Manor? Wasn't this place sealed off?"

Zhan Yang's expression was equally complicated. Glancing at the manor's main gate, he said, "It was indeed sealed and left vacant for a year. But last night, Garrison Battalion patrols were alerted by disturbances coming from inside."

"Disturbances from inside?!"

Qin Guan grew even more surprised. Zhan Yang nodded. "Yes, someone was howling like ghosts and wolves inside. Since this is a royal residence, ordinary people aren't allowed entry. Hearing the commotion, the Garrison Battalion guards forced the door open and discovered there really was someone inside..."

Qin Guan frowned deeply as Zhan Yang continued, "A petty thief who'd climbed over the wall was wailing in the backyard, insisting he'd seen ghosts. The Garrison Battalion guards were about to arrest him when they also spotted ghost fire."

"Ghost fire?!" Qin Guan asked as they entered the residence together.

The layout was identical to Prince Rui and Prince Yi's residences, yet appeared even more dilapidated than Prince Rui's manor. Weeds grew thick in the courtyards, moss and ivy crawling wildly across the walls on both sides. All the buildings they passed had tightly shut doors, their beams and lintels draped with cobwebs. Fallen leaves blanketed the flowerbeds beyond the covered corridors.

Walking alongside her, Zhan Yang explained, "They claimed it was ghost fire. All six Garrison Battalion soldiers who came last night saw it. Being a sizable group, they weren't intimidated and drew their swords to approach the location—"

"And then they discovered a dead body?"

At Qin Guan's question, Zhan Yang immediately nodded.

Qin Guan's brows knitted tightly. "Prince Jin Manor... actually had a dead body discovered here!"

Zhan Yang nodded as well. "This manor currently belongs to the royal family, with ordinary entrances kept locked. When they forced entry last night, the official seals were still intact on the doors. But with such commotion inside, the Garrison Battalion had no choice. No one expected to find a corpse here. After Prince Jin's case concluded last July, all servants were dismissed—those implicated were exiled, all of Prince Jin's possessions confiscated. The manor was essentially emptied. Nobody imagined there'd be a dead body here."

Qin Guan's frown deepened. "What did Lord Zheng say?"

Zhan Yang pressed his lips together. "Lord Zheng has reported the case to the court. However, when the Garrison Battalion discovered the anomaly last night, they immediately notified our office. We can't possibly pretend we don't know."

As everyone knew, Prince Jin's case had stirred up a storm of bloodshed last year. Throughout this year, no one in the capital dared mention Prince Jin's name. Though the abandoned Prince Jin Manor stood empty, aside from reckless thieves, truly no one dared come here. So how could there be a dead body?! Who would dare enter this place within the past year?!

More importantly, with a corpse suddenly appearing in Prince Jin Manor, how would the court view this case? Would they let the Lin'an Prefecture Office investigate normally, or hand it over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice?!Thinking this, Qin Guan had already walked along the corridor of the residence, heading inward. The yamen runners were stationed in small groups at various gates of the royal residence, and upon seeing Qin Guan, they all bowed respectfully. Before long, Zhan Yang led Qin Guan into the main courtyard of the residence. As soon as they entered, Qin Guan saw a courtyard overgrown with weeds, and Zhan Yang guided her toward the rear courtyard.

"This is the main courtyard. It's said that last night, the thief was so frightened he crawled out, wailing and crying outside the main courtyard. Since the corridor outside the main courtyard isn’t far from the main gate, and the night was too quiet, the patrolling guards outside heard him. However, the body is in the back, not the front…"

Following the side corridor toward the rear, they soon reached what was once a flowerbed behind the main courtyard but was now a patch of desolate, overgrown grass. Amidst the weeds, Qin Guan immediately spotted exposed human bones.

"We’ve already started digging. It’s a complete skeleton, but to allow the Lady to examine it, we haven’t fully excavated it yet. Please take a look first, Lady. If you need it fully unearthed, just give the order."

Two yamen runners were guarding the rear courtyard and immediately bowed upon seeing Qin Guan. She waved her hand dismissively and stepped forward.

Half of the desolate grass patch had been dug up. Qin Guan looked over and could roughly make out a complete skeleton. Although it was skeletal, it wasn’t fully decomposed to white bone—the flesh had merely rotted severely, turning into a yellowish-brown, wax-like substance clinging to the bones. Faint remnants of partially decomposed clothing were still visible. At a glance, Qin Guan knew this person had been dead for quite some time.

A flash of insight crossed her mind, and her eyes instantly darkened.

Zhan Yang stood nearby as Qin Guan approached the excavated mound of soil. After carefully examining it, she said, "It seems they were buried here in a pit, then exposed by rainwater erosion, which is why they’re visible now. As for the ghost fire…"

Qin Guan spoke gravely, "I’ve read in ancient texts that ghost fire appears where there are dead people."

Zhan Yang frowned, "Could it be that, in some mysterious way, this person’s vengeful spirit turned into ghost fire to draw others here?"

Qin Guan’s lips twitched slightly at his words, "If that’s how you interpret it, I suppose it’s possible."

She carefully inspected the soil mound, the depth of the burial, and the surroundings of the rear courtyard before finally standing up and saying, "Alright, you can fully excavate it now…"

Zhan Yang nodded and immediately gave the order. The yamen runners standing by quickly began digging. As several people worked on excavating the soil, Qin Guan stood nearby watching. Before long, a complete skeleton was laid out on a felt blanket spread on the ground.

Kneeling down, Qin Guan examined it while speaking, "The burial site isn’t very deep, suggesting it was done hastily. Preliminary estimates indicate this person has been dead for over a year. The cause of death will require a Corpse Examination to determine."

At these words, Zhan Yang’s expression changed instantly—over a year?!

It was already early August now, so "over a year" meant the person died before August of last year. Could it be…?

Zhan Yang’s face paled slightly. Qin Guan looked up and asked, "What does Lord Zheng say?"Zhan Yang shook his head. "The magistrate is still awaiting news from the court. The case was reported this morning, and it's unclear how it will be arranged. Our investigation here is merely routine procedure."

Qin Guan lowered her gaze, her expression grave. This meant the court might intervene forcefully upon learning the incident occurred at Prince Jin Manor. If the Court of Judicial Review dispatched officials to remove the Lin'an Prefecture authorities from the manor and take full control of the case, the local investigation would cease. The case could ultimately become an unresolved mystery—either genuinely investigated further or more likely left in limbo. Though Qin Guan understood this perfectly, she steadied herself and began the corpse examination.

Since Zhan Yang had requested Qin Guan's assistance, the tools for the examination were thoroughly prepared. Donning the gauntlets she brought, Qin Guan first cleaned the remains. Several constables watched nearby, still feeling profoundly awestruck.

Though Qin Guan had long been renowned, witnessing her conduct a corpse examination firsthand remained astonishing. It was hard to believe such an ethereally elegant woman, with transcendent grace, preferred dealing with the dead and skeletal remains.

Foregoing ideal examination conditions, Qin Guan meticulously inspected the remains on the felt mat. She carefully cleared the soil from the skeleton's surface and examined it from head to toe.

"The deceased is male, aged approximately twenty to twenty-three, standing six and a half feet tall."

"The fatal injury is on the chest. There's a blade mark on his left sternum. The assailant likely struck frontally—a thrust from this angle would pierce the heart directly."

Only a skeleton with wax-like tissue remnants remained; internal organs and flesh had long decomposed, erasing many vital clues. Now, the cause of death could only be deduced from bone markings.

"The weapon is inferred to be a sword or dagger with a blade under two inches wide. Beyond this, no other wounds are found on the body. The deceased had a tall, robust build and was wearing Suzhou satin garments when killed. No other identifiable markers were discovered."

After relaying these findings, Qin Guan conducted another careful inspection. When examining the skull, she suddenly frowned. Staring intently at the nasal bridge area, she produced a knife and gradually scraped away the waxy substance coating the cranium. As she cleared it, the skull's original form became clearer. Qin Guan fell into prolonged contemplation while observing the depression at the nasal bridge, puzzling the constables and Zhan Yang who watched nearby.

Zhan Yang, who had been recording Qin Guan's observations, promptly asked, "Your Grace, what is it?"

Qin Guan took a shallow breath and composed herself. "The deceased's tall stature is quite rare among Great Zhou men. Moreover, the depression at his nasal bone and glabella is deeper than typical for Great Zhou males."

Zhan Yang looked puzzled, as if not immediately grasping her meaning.

Qin Guan explained, "Deeper depressions create more pronounced eye and brow contours—a feature common among the Rong people or various Western Regions ethnicities."

"The Rong?!" Zhan Yang exclaimed in surprise. "Why would a Rong person come to Great Zhou? And reach the capital, even entering Prince Jin Manor?"Qin Guan shook her head, "It's not necessarily a Rong person. Perhaps they had Rong or Western Region ancestry."

Zhan Yang blinked, immediately understanding, and quickly noted this point down.

Qin Guan looked over the remains once more and sighed, "This is all we can determine for now. The time of death should be between one year and one year and two months ago. Calculating back, that would be between June and August of last year."

June to August—precisely the two months following Prince Jin's case.

Zhan Yang's brow furrowed deeply. How could this be...

Prince Jin Manor wasn't sealed off immediately. It was only confiscated after the case was concluded in late July. Before that, the original staff of the manor remained on the premises. Initially, they could come and go freely, but later, soldiers were stationed to guard them. It wasn't until Prince Jin committed suicide out of guilt that everyone was dealt with together. Zhan Yang was in the capital at the time and knew the general details. If that was the case, when did this person die? And why were they buried in the backyard of the main courtyard?

It was too bizarre... truly too bizarre...

Both Zhan Yang and Qin Guan fell into deep thought. As they pondered, a multitude of sounds came from outside—footsteps and voices. Qin Guan distinctly heard Zheng Baishi's voice. Soon, Zheng Baishi's figure emerged from around the corner.

Zheng Baishi led the way, followed by a group of people. Qin Guan focused her gaze and immediately spotted Li Muyun.

Zheng Baishi and Li Muyun arriving together—could it mean...

Qin Guan and Zhan Yang exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of foreboding. Seeing Qin Guan there, Zheng Baishi stepped forward to bow in greeting, and Li Muyun also clasped his hands in salute behind him.

Qin Guan asked, "Lord Zheng, have you come from the palace?"

Zheng Baishi nodded, while Li Muyun beside him smiled at Qin Guan.

Zheng Baishi said, "Has the Lady completed the corpse examination? Did you find anything?"

Zhan Yang handed over the notes he had just taken for Zheng Baishi to review. As he read, Zheng Baishi exclaimed, "Rong or Western Region ancestry?! How is that possible?"

Hearing this, Li Muyun behind him also raised an eyebrow slightly.

Qin Guan said, "It is indeed the case." She then turned to Li Muyun, "Would you like to take a look as well, Lord Li?"

The Court of Judicial Review often handled cases or reviewed major ones. Officials like Li Muyun naturally had some knowledge of corpse examination techniques. At her suggestion, Li Muyun stepped forward to examine the skeleton. After a moment, he nodded, "Indeed, the nasal bone is severely depressed, unlike the features of a Zhou person."

Zheng Baishi hesitated for a moment. Zhan Yang asked, "My lord, should we investigate this case?"

Zheng Baishi raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding Zhan Yang's implication, and immediately nodded, "Of course, we must investigate! This case occurred in the capital region, and last night's commotion was significant. As we walked here, we saw many people gathered outside watching. If we don't investigate, how can we uphold justice?"

Qin Guan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Earlier, when she arrived, she had noticed the street outside the alley was indeed busier than others.

Zhan Yang also seemed relieved. Zheng Baishi thanked her while reviewing the notes, "We've troubled you again today, Lady."

Qin Guan quickly replied, "It's no trouble at all. It's my duty. Since I performed the initial examination of the skeleton, Lord Zheng, it would be best to have a coroner conduct another examination."Zheng Baishi nodded, "It's a pity this person has been dead for too long. I'm afraid we won't find any traces around here anymore."

After a year, even the most abundant natural traces had been erased by the lush weeds.

Zheng Baishi pointed at several constables, "First, move the skeleton to the empty room outside. Magistrate Li and I will carefully examine it against the County Princess's Examination Report. We cannot be careless with this case..."

Qin Guan nodded as the constables carried the remains away. Li Muyun turned and followed them, while Zheng Baishi and Zhan Yang also headed out. Qin Guan, however, remained unhurriedly on the spot, scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, her brow furrowed.