Lu Youxin was startled at these words, “You mean someone came in here in the middle of the night?!”
Qin Wan remained crouched, “Or perhaps he went out at night.”
Lu Youxin was utterly shocked, exchanging glances with Mama Deng and Mama Huang, both showing astonishment in their eyes.
Qin Wan continued examining the boots intently, “Yesterday afternoon after he returned, did he go out again?”
Lu Youxin frowned and shook her head, “No, he didn’t go out. Not long after being brought to Wutong Court in the afternoon, he pretended to be injured on the ground. Then Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law rushed over, and when they couldn’t take him away, he was brought back here. First, he cried with his parents, then a doctor came to check his injuries. After that, he never went out again.”
Qin Wan frowned, “Then when did those who visited him at night leave?”
Lu Youxin recalled, “He was brought to Wutong Court after the third watch, caused a scene for a while, and was sent back around the fifth watch. People came to see him intermittently that evening. His parents stayed very late, leaving nearly at the seventh watch…”
A sharp light flashed in Qin Wan’s eyes, “When he returned in the afternoon, the floor heating must have been on. Since he didn’t go out again, his boots shouldn’t have gotten any wetter. From the fifth to seventh watch was two and a half hours and with the heating still on—judging by the temperature in Handan Pavilion—the boots should have dried completely.”
As she spoke, Qin Wan held up the boot soles for everyone to see. They could see a thin layer of ice on the soles, with the heel particularly frozen hard, indicating they had been wet for some time before freezing.
In current weather conditions, even laundered clothes couldn’t dry outside—they would freeze solid even in sunlight. They had to be placed near a stove or in a room with floor heating to dry gradually. The room’s heating had long dissipated, now as cold as an ice cave. Looking at Lu Jingcheng’s pale dead face, Lu Youxin couldn’t help feeling chilled, especially as she struggled to follow Qin Wan’s reasoning.
“What do you mean, Wan’er? What would he do out at night? Can you determine he went out just from this?”
Qin Wan shook her head, “This is just one piece of evidence.”
She put down the boots and stood to examine Lu Jingcheng’s hair top. His topknot appeared neat, but when Qin Wan used some force to turn him, she immediately frowned. There was a clear bruise on his back neck, and the back of his collar seemed damp.
Qin Wan’s brows furrowed as she began unfastening Lu Jingcheng’s collar.
Seeing Qin Wan about to undress Lu Jingcheng, Lu Youxin, and the others’ expressions grew complex, but Qin Wan’s movements were efficient. After opening the undergarment, she found dampness around his collar, especially at the back of his neck, as if from excessive sweating—though given his state of death, it was unlikely to be sweat.
Looking at the robes hanging on the nearby screen, Qin Wan asked, “Does he have other clothes?”
The blue robe was covered in mud stains, something someone of Lu Jingcheng’s status would never wear. After Qin Wan’s question, both Mama Deng and Mama Huang looked blank.
Qin Wan said, “Please ask his female servants. They should know how many sets of clothes he brought, what styles they were, and if any are missing.”
Mama Huang looked to Lu Youxin, who nodded, and Mama Huang hurried out.
The servants had been moved to other courtyards, and Mama Huang rushed out without even taking an umbrella.
The room fell quiet again. By now, Qin Wan had not only opened Lu Jingcheng’s collar but was removing his entire garment. Soon his chest and abdomen were exposed. Lu Youxin frowned worriedly, her lips moving as if to speak, but unable to voice her thoughts.
Fu Ling walked to Lu Youxin’s side and softly said, “Madam, to our Princess Consort, this corpse is just flesh, no different from pork.”
Lu Youxin turned to look at Fu Ling, her typically sharp gaze making Fu Ling shrink back.
Fu Ling hurriedly curtsied and returned to her place. Lu Youxin snorted, “I don’t need your explanation.”
Qin Wan’s frown deepened as she continued her examination. Having checked the clothes and boots, she needed to determine Lu Jingcheng’s cause of death. However, with no external injuries visible on his body, she couldn’t immediately identify the fatal cause. After examining his chest, abdomen, shoulders, and back without finding anything unusual, she carefully checked his scalp, removing his hairpin to feel for abnormalities, but found nothing. She proceeded to examine his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
When she opened his eyelids, Qin Wan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There were several tiny hemorrhage points on Lu Jingcheng’s conjunctiva.
Though he had been dead for a day and his conjunctiva had begun showing a grayish dissolution, the blood spots were still visible. Qin Wan couldn’t determine if these hemorrhages had appeared with bloodshot eyes or at the time of death.
Keeping this question in mind, she examined his nose and mouth, finding more irregularities.
There were scattered ice crystals in Lu Jingcheng’s nasal cavity, like grains of sand. Even more surprisingly, his ear canals also contained ice crystals. Qin Wan was startled—with these symptoms, freezing to death seemed possible.
Qin Wan remained silent as the wind howled outside. Cold drafts entered through the half-closed door, making the servants’ lanterns flicker and casting dancing shadows that gave a ghostly impression. Lu Youxin couldn’t help asking, “Wan’er, what have you found?”
Qin Wan straightened up, “To determine his exact cause of death, we’ll need to perform an autopsy.”
Lu Youxin’s brow twitched violently, “What? An autopsy?! You want to cut him open?”
Hearing this and remembering Fu Ling’s pork comment, Lu Youxin felt acid rise in her stomach and nearly retched.
Qin Wan saw Lu Youxin’s expression and understood her thoughts. Just as she was about to reassure her, Mama Huang hurried in, saying, “Princess Consort, this servant has inquired. Fourth Young Master brought six sets of clothes in total, with outer robes and inner garments all properly matched. They’re kept in the tall cabinets in the room.”
Qin Wan looked to the corner where two red-lacquered cabinets stood. She said, “Please check if there are still five sets of clothes inside.”
Mama Huang nodded and went to the cabinets. Opening the doors to check, she turned back moments later with uncertainty, “Princess Consort, there are only four sets inside!” She looked around the room, which had limited space, with only one set hanging on the screen. “How strange! One set is missing! The servant was very clear that the other sets were in the cabinet…”
Qin Wan narrowed her eyes, “It’s as I suspected. If clothes stored in the cabinet are missing, he must have worn them himself.”
Lu Youxin frowned, “If he wore them, why didn’t his servants know?”
“Because he went out at night. His daytime clothes were soiled, so he changed into new ones to go out.”
Lu Youxin pressed, “Then why can’t we find them now? Even if he went out, he wouldn’t have thrown his clothes away, would he?”
Qin Wan looked at Lu Jingcheng’s pale, grayish face, “He didn’t leave his clothes outside—someone removed his outer robe.”
Lu Youxin frowned in confusion, and Qin Wan explained directly, “He must have had a reason for going out at night. His boots are wet but his clothes are missing—most likely someone took them away.”
Lu Youxin looked back at the doorway, where the broken door bolt that Qin Wan had found still lay.
Lu Youxin said, “But when they found him this morning, the door was locked from inside!”
Qin Wan nodded, “This deduction isn’t absolute, which is why I want to perform an autopsy.”
Lu Youxin’s expression changed again. Aside from the unimaginable thought of a delicate, beautiful young lady performing an autopsy, Lu Jingcheng was the Second Branch’s only son. His unclear death was bad enough—how could they further damage his body?
Lu Youxin knew without asking that her Second Brother and Sister-in-law would never agree.
“This… his parents likely won’t agree.”
Qin Wan showed no surprise at this, thought for a moment, and nodded, “I understand. In that case, I won’t perform the autopsy for now.”
Turning to look at Lu Jingcheng’s body, she added, “I may need to remove all his clothes for examination. If Aunt feels uncomfortable, you can wait in the warm room.”
Lu Youxin’s mouth opened but no words came out. Qin Wan had already opened Lu Jingcheng’s collar, exposing his chest and abdomen quite indecently. From what Qin Wan implied, she intended to remove his trousers as well!
Mama Deng and Mama Huang exchanged glances, both showing surprise.
Lu Youxin considered, then straightened her back, “I don’t mind. Do what you must.” She turned to the lantern-bearing servants, “Give your lanterns to them and withdraw.”
The servants felt greatly relieved, handing their lanterns to Fu Ling before leaving.
Qin Wan nodded, “Good. Then please ask Mama Huang to find some rice wine and white vinegar.”
Though confused, Mama Huang had been impressed by how Qin Wan seemed to transform upon entering the room. She hurried to comply.
Qin Wan instructed Bai Feng, “Help remove the clothes.”
Bai Feng, having witnessed Qin Wan’s previous autopsies, efficiently assisted. Once all clothing was removed, Lu Jingcheng’s body lay completely exposed.
Qin Wan took her deerskin protective gloves from Fu Ling, along with the knife Fu Ling handed her. She began examining everything meticulously—eyes, ears, mouth, nose, limbs, fingernails, even Lu Jingcheng’s private parts. Lu Youxin finally turned away slightly, unable to watch. Even Mama Deng, with her fifty years of life experience, felt her scalp tingle. Soon, Mama Huang returned with the rice wine and vinegar.
Qin Wan took the rice wine and carefully applied it to Lu Jingcheng’s shoulders and back, where there were already some abrasions. As the wine was applied, new marks appeared. Qin Wan examined each one carefully. The complete external examination took half an hour.
Though the room was cold enough to freeze water, Qin Wan’s forehead showed a light sheen of sweat. When she straightened up, she unconsciously paused, clearly suffering from back pain. Watching from the side, Lu Youxin’s eyes changed from uncertainty to shock to admiration and now showed pure concern.
Ordinary young ladies could barely focus on refined activities like reading and writing, yet Qin Wan showed such dedication to examining corpses. Though Qin Wan had finished her examination, Lu Youxin felt such pity for her that she didn’t immediately ask for the results.
After a moment’s rest, Qin Wan spoke seriously, “The livor mortis is very faint, mainly distributed on the back and buttocks. The body shows signs of frostbite with dissolution and redness, but these marks are also very faint. This indicates the deceased was exposed to extremely cold weather for some time after death, otherwise, the livor mortis wouldn’t have settled so slowly. Fine ice crystals were found in his mouth, nose, and ear canals, as well as under his nails. These aren’t formed from water but are like salt-like snow particles. I suspect he died in the snow or was dragged through the snow after death.”
“Rigor mortis has set in, and judging by the livor mortis and eye membrane dissolution, death occurred around the third watch last night. The servants discovered him after the fifth watch this morning, leaving a gap of about two hours. During this time, the killer moved the body indoors, stopped the floor heating, removed the outer garments, and created the illusion of a door bolted from inside, making everyone believe he froze to death overnight.”
Qin Wan spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice maintaining that awe-inspiring coldness. Her words were strange, yet no one present dared question or contradict them. Even Lu Youxin no longer doubted Qin Wan—she suddenly believed her conclusions.
“As for cause of death, preliminary examination suggests asphyxiation.”
She paused, then added another sentence. In normal cases, time and cause of death were crucial, but without an autopsy, she couldn’t be completely certain.
Lu Youxin swallowed hard, “Asphyxiation?”
Qin Wan nodded, “Yes, similar to being smothered, strangled, or hanged—all forms of asphyxiation. Since there are no obvious ligature marks on his body, I believe he was smothered to death.”
Lu Youxin trembled inwardly. She had preferred believing Lu Jingcheng froze to death—that would make the case simple, requiring only punishment of the servants responsible for the heating.
It wasn’t that she disregarded human life; after so many years, she had learned to weigh all factors.
The Lu family was already under scrutiny, and now a murder case would surely cause more turmoil.
Lu Youxin pressed her lips together, “Are… are you sure it wasn’t freezing?”
Qin Wan shook her head, “No. People who truly freeze to death usually curl up, with more obvious frostbite marks. Normal frostbite causes redness and sores, but freezing deaths often show blister-like marks. Some victims even remove their clothes. An autopsy would show more internal changes. Though his body shows frostbite marks and extreme pallor, this is because he was exposed to severe cold immediately after death. His body temperature hadn’t yet dropped and blood was still flowing slowly, causing frostbite. The livor mortis follows the same principle. In a warm room, blood flows faster after death, accelerating livor mortis formation and creating a purple-red color. His case is different.”
Lu Youxin didn’t fully understand but felt her heart racing, “But… who would kill him? His parents caused a scene during the day, but I didn’t take it seriously. That couple always blames others for their troubles. I thought… I thought it was an accident… I never imagined… Though this child wasn’t always upright in his dealings, he hadn’t made mortal enemies. There are only so many people in this garden—surely it wasn’t an outsider who killed him.”
“It wasn’t an outsider. The killer knows this courtyard very well. Otherwise, they couldn’t have returned him so stealthily and created this locked-room illusion. To identify the killer, we must first know why he went out and where he went.”
Qin Wan’s steady voice calmed Lu Youxin’s chaotic thoughts. Though she had weathered many storms, this was her first murder case, with the killer nearby. The thought made her spine tingle with cold.