First, the case still had many gaps, and Director Yu still hadn’t admitted guilt.
Second, the criminal was the Director of the Court of Judicial Review, not an ordinary commoner. This concerned the court—if the case was wrongly judged, it would definitely implicate widely. As the saying goes, public opinion is hardest to appease. At that time, it would directly affect the Six Ministries, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
Anyone with a bit of sense could think of these two points. The Minister of Justice had served as an official for so many years—he couldn’t possibly not understand this. How could he order Vice Minister Jiang to write the case record?
Ji Yunshu furrowed her attractive willow-leaf brows and asked seriously: “Lord Jiang, tell me clearly—was this case ordered closed by Lord Li (Minister of Justice)? Or is there someone else?”
Someone else?
Jiang Lan trembled, his face full of confusion.
At this moment—
A figure appeared at the doorway.
“Lord Ji.”
Called out to her.
Hearing the voice and looking over, she saw the Minister of Justice in his official robes standing at the entrance, giving off the feeling of a high school homeroom teacher.
He walked through the door, glanced at Jiang Lan, and waved his hand: “Lord Jiang, you go busy yourself with other matters first. This official has words to say to Lord Ji.”
Jiang Lan couldn’t wait to leave quickly!
Facing Ji Yunshu, he was quite terrified.
Bowing, he said: “Yes, this official takes his leave.”
He hurriedly withdrew.
In a flash, he was gone from sight.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
The Minister of Justice cupped his hands toward Ji Yunshu, saying: “Lord Ji, why didn’t you give notice when you came?”
She said: “I came in a hurry.”
“Was Lord Ji just now looking at Director Yu’s case?”
“Precisely.”
“Did you notice anything?”
He still had the nerve to ask.
Ji Yunshu’s expression remained unchanged as she said: “Lord Li, there’s no one else here. If you have something to say, just say it to me.” Lord Li indeed darkened his expression and said: “This case has already dragged on for a long time. We can’t just not close the case because Director Yu keeps refusing to confess, can we? Although there’s no direct evidence, the facts are laid out before us. Director Yu was indeed the last person to see the deceased, and he did indeed push the deceased. The maids in the manor truly did see blood staining that table corner in the side courtyard room where he temporarily resided. This is evidence!”
Righteous and stern.
Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but sneer coldly: “Is Lord Li trying to force me to accept your reasoning?”
“Just stating the facts.”
Ji Yunshu’s face darkened: “The fact is Director Yu has not yet confessed. The fact is the evidence is insufficient. The fact is no one witnessed it with their own eyes, and there’s no direct indication. Lord Li, this case—if it’s not thoroughly investigated, it cannot be closed.”
Her tone brooked no argument.
Lord Li appeared somewhat conflicted, lowering his eyelids before saying: “Lord Ji, why must you do this? Regardless of whether this case is true or false, in the end Director Yu is the murderer. Even if you want to drag it out, you can’t drag it out for long.”
“Lord Li, are you hastily closing this case because of something?”
Uh!
A sudden question.
The question caused Lord Li’s heart to panic. As if worried Ji Yunshu would see through something, the panicked look on his face was immediately swept away, returning to normal. He said: “Lord Ji must be misunderstanding. It’s truly because this case has been dragged out too long. The evidence all points to Director Yu, and moreover, no new evidence has appeared. What this case fears most is dragging on. I believe Lord Ji, having served in the Ministry of Justice for so long, should understand this principle.”
Bah!
She didn’t understand all that nonsense—she only knew they couldn’t wrongly accuse people.
“Then how long does Lord Li think counts as not dragging?”
“…?”
“In my capacity as Inspector of Prisons for the Ministry of Justice, I request five days’ time from Lord Li. How about it?”
Five days to solve the case!
Lord Li was obviously somewhat conflicted, lowering his brows in contemplation for a long while.
Seeing this, Ji Yunshu continued: “Could it be Lord Li won’t even give me five days? Allow me five days to investigate this matter and find clues. If after five days I still haven’t found new evidence, then this case… I’ll hand over to Lord Li for full authority to handle. I naturally won’t say another word.”
“This…”
“Could there really be hidden circumstances that cannot be revealed?”
“Of course not.” Lord Li’s face flashed with another moment of panic. He sighed and, gritting his teeth, said: “Fine, then five days it is. If after five days Lord Ji still cannot find evidence to prove Director Yu is not the murderer, then this case must be closed.”
Ji Yunshu responded: “Agreed!”
Straightforward!
Afterward, Ji Yunshu went to the morgue, planning to examine those skeletal remains.
She ordered several Ministry of Justice guards to light candles all around.
The morgue had been cleaned once, with tools placed neatly and orderly.
On the slab on the side inside, lay those skeletal remains covered with white cloth.
She put on gloves and lifted the cloth!
When those skeletal remains were excavated from the wall, they had already come apart. The coroner hired by the Ministry of Justice could only piece together the large bones, while those smaller scattered bone fragments were still spread out to the side, covered with fine dust.
The guards at the Ministry of Justice all very much enjoyed following Ji Yunshu to the morgue for examinations, because they could learn new things every time.
They still remembered Wei Wu and Wang San from the Jinjiang yamen!
Those two also liked following Ji Yunshu, often standing to the side with notebooks and brushes. Ji Yunshu would say one sentence, and they would record one sentence, very earnestly. Now these Ministry of Justice guards—if not for their official duties, they would probably also be holding notebooks and brushes recording by the side.
Ji Yunshu very patiently pieced together those scattered human bones bit by bit, taking only about two quarter-hours.
A complete skeletal frame then took shape.
After all, practice makes perfect!
However—
She turned to ask the guard standing at the entrance: “By the way, where are the clothes from these skeletal remains?”
The guard quickly pointed in a direction inside the room, saying: “Lord Ji, they’re all placed over there.”
She looked over. The deceased’s clothes had been stripped off and placed on that table to the side. Although three years had caused decay, there were still some sparse bits of fabric. Moreover, because they had been hidden within the wall, the degree of clothing decomposition wasn’t that rapid.
Setting aside the clothing for now, she began examining the skeletal remains before her.
One incense stick, two incense sticks, three incense sticks…
Finally, the examination was complete!
And her complexion had become extremely grave during the examination process.
Her brows tightly knitted.
It seemed—
She had found something else from these skeletal remains before her?
So much so that her eyes carried a trace of surprise.
A guard stepped forward to ask: “Lord Ji, did you discover something?”
Her face cold and somber, she removed her gloves while instructing: “You must carefully guard these skeletal remains. Without my orders, don’t allow anyone else to come in and examine them. Best to guard the entrance day and night without leaving.”
Hmm?
The guard didn’t understand why they needed to guard the morgue. Inside were only skeletal remains and autopsy tools—nothing valuable!
But he still acknowledged: “Yes.”
Ji Yunshu ultimately said nothing more.
The guard also didn’t manage to ask anything, only feeling that Lord Ji’s emotional changes before and after the examination were really quite significant.
After leaving the Ministry of Justice, Ji Yunshu went directly back to Prince Rong’s Manor.
She planned to draw a portrait reconstruction of the skeletal remains.
Because… she suspected those skeletal remains were not Hua Ling at all.
But rather someone else!
Someone else?…