“The soles of the deceased’s feet are very dirty, with silt and bits of grass. Moreover, judging from how dry this silt is, and adding to that the fact that the muscles in the deceased’s small feet are more rigid than those in her body, it’s obvious that before death, the deceased had frantically run. At that time, she must have been chased by something, or… she was desperately trying to escape from somewhere.”

“Unfortunately, the ground must have been very slippery at that time. Because she was only focused on fleeing for her life, she carelessly tripped over something and fell to the ground. Her entire body fell backward, and her head struck a sharp stone, killing her on the spot.”

Without the slightest hesitation, every word she spoke was clear!

Although Jing Zhaoyin heard her words, he didn’t want to open his mouth to speak, fearing he would vomit.

As for Jingrong, he stood ramrod straight, not doubting her words in the slightest, and wanting to continue listening.

However, the coroner felt she was just spouting nonsense, and glared at her fiercely.

With a fault-finding tone, he said, “I say, sir, are you a coroner? If not, then stop talking nonsense. All this is just your own speculation. I’ve been a coroner for over ten years—I can’t be wrong. I can’t be wrong.”

“Oh? Fine, then I’ll make you accept defeat wholeheartedly.” Ji Yunshu’s gaze became fixed as she pointed to the deceased’s feet and said seriously, “First, although the deceased’s soles have silt on them, there’s a trace left by something round rolling over them. It can be determined that she must have stepped on a log at that time, and her body fell backward.”

As she spoke, she had already walked to the deceased’s head area and slowly lifted the messy hair.

Revealing a wound pierced by a sharp object—the wound was very deep, penetrating straight into the skull. Clearly, she had indeed died on the spot.

“Now, what do you have to say?” Ji Yunshu asked the coroner.

The coroner’s face had turned green. He rubbed his hands together and lowered his head. Although he’d been slapped in the face, he still trembled somewhat unwillingly, turned away, and secretly glanced at Ji Yunshu a few times.

Completely looking like a thief with a guilty conscience!

Ji Yunshu faced him seriously with stern rebuke. “You didn’t examine carefully at all. You just wanted to handle things carelessly. This is a murder case, not child’s play. Your job duty is to find evidence the deceased left behind while alive and clear her name. As a coroner, if you only cut corners and slack off, I advise you to change professions early, lest the underworld gain another wronged soul.”

Uh!

The coroner hadn’t expected Ji Yunshu to say such words.

No matter how thick his skin was, at this moment, it still flushed red!

That originally unwilling expression became somewhat evasive and embarrassed.

Stammering, “I… won’t do it again!”

“I hope that’s truly the case.”

Of course, after teaching this coroner a lesson, Ji Yunshu didn’t forget about Jing Zhaoyin behind her. She turned to ask him, “Jing Zhaoyin, when the body was discovered, were there no suspicious objects around? Was the sharp stone that caused the deceased’s immediate death brought here?”

Jing Zhaoyin thought about it and shook his head!

“Then, who discovered it?”

“A woodcutter. He discovered it while going up the mountain to chop firewood. I immediately led people to bring the body here.”

“Then, where is that woodcutter?”

“He probably went back.”

The answer was very prompt!

Ji Yunshu’s expression instantly darkened.

Jingrong saw this clearly and immediately cast a cold glance at Jing Zhaoyin. “Why haven’t you hurried to order someone to bring that woodcutter here?”

Jing Zhaoyin had probably been too busy, or perhaps when he saw this corpse, he’d already been so nauseated his brain became muddled. Now that Jingrong said this, he really did remember.

He quickly bowed and shouted toward the outside, “You several—hurry and bring that woodcutter here. Quick, quick, quick.”

“Yes!” The response was very loud.

At this time, Ji Yunshu removed her gloves, opened her sandalwood box, then unrolled the drawing paper she’d brought and spread it out on the table.

This action left Jing Zhaoyin and the coroner staring dumbfounded.

What was she doing?

They watched as Ji Yunshu picked up a brush, dipped it in water, then in paint, and began drawing on the paper.

In about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a portrait of a very beautiful woman appeared on the white drawing paper.

She was indeed very beautiful, leaving even the coroner beside her staring in amazement.

He asked, “Sir, this… what is this?”

“This is a drawing!”

Of course it was a drawing, but that wasn’t what he meant!

His mouth twitched!

After the ink dried, Ji Yunshu rolled it up and handed it to Jing Zhaoyin.

As she did so, she said, “This is a portrait of the deceased. Take it out and ask around to see if anyone recognizes her.”

Jing Zhaoyin was extremely astonished. As he took it, he asked, “This is really the deceased? Her face has become like that, yet you could draw a portrait of the deceased? Truly an extraordinary person. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn’t have believed it.”

Jing Zhaoyin began worshiping her immensely. These past two days, he’d been hearing about this extraordinary person’s abilities, but it had all been hearsay—he hadn’t witnessed it.

At this moment, it truly could be said his eyes had been opened!

“Hurry and go!”

“Alright.”

So Jing Zhaoyin took that drawing and had people go door-to-door asking about it. He also had artists quickly copy two more versions and post them up.

By this time, Ji Yunshu had already covered the corpse with the white cloth again and left the inner room.

Jingrong stood by her side and said softly, “Seeing a corpse like that, are you really completely unaffected?”

“Of course not!” She answered him with certainty, glancing sideways. “To be honest, this is absolutely the most disturbing corpse I’ve ever seen. But as long as your heart is focused on seeking justice for the deceased, when you see it, naturally you won’t have any nauseated reaction.”

“You’ve truly given this prince many surprises.”

“Actually, Your Highness has also given me many surprises.”

Saying this, Jingrong became curious. The corner of his mouth suddenly curved upward. “Then tell me, what surprises has this prince given you?”

“The Princess said that back then, she was supposed to go for a marriage alliance. If Your Highness hadn’t broken her leg, perhaps she would have already married over there. Although Your Highness doesn’t say it aloud and the method was somewhat shocking, ultimately it was good.”

Feeling as if someone had rewarded him with a piece of candy, Jingrong broke into a smile.

This… was this the first time Ji Yunshu had praised him?

He was delighted beyond measure.

Just at this moment, Jing Xuan, who had finished vomiting, suddenly ran over, her face still looking somewhat unwell.

Pulling on Jingrong, she said, “Imperial Brother, I regret it. I want to go back.”

Jingrong glanced at her. “Weren’t you determined to follow along even if it killed you? Now you want to go back? Impossible. However, you can walk back.”

Walk back?

She was a delicate princess—walking back from here, was he sure he wasn’t joking with her?

Just as Jing Xuan was about to retort, several people suddenly rushed in through the entrance of Yi Zhuang.

Looking over, it was actually Madam Jiang, being supported by several maids as she walked in.

Beside her stood Li Zhao.

At that moment, Ji Yunshu understood.

The deceased was none other than Shui Qing!