The third absurdity?

Everyone stared eagerly, waiting for her to slap Old Chu in the face.

And when Old Chu heard this, he became even more terrified!

Ji Yunshu had already rolled up both sleeves of the female corpse and lifted one arm. On the wrist, there were indeed grip marks of varying depths, clearly caused by someone forcefully seizing it.

If it were a case of rape and murder, there would be nothing strange about that!

However—

She then publicly untied the ties of the deceased’s upper garment one by one and gently pulled down, only stopping when the slender shoulders were exposed.

The crowd broke out in cold sweat from shock!

Anyone who dared touch a corpse was already considered extraordinary, but now to pull down a female corpse’s clothing—if not a pervert, then certainly an eccentric!

In ancient times, a woman’s chastity was most highly valued. But those who understood Ji Yunshu’s working style didn’t find it particularly shocking. After all, during case investigations, Master Ji had done plenty of such “unseemly” things.

Of course, they were used to it by now!

On both sides of the female corpse’s shoulders, near the neck area, there were also bruises. At first glance, one might think they were caused by being struck with a heavy object, but upon closer inspection, one could tell they were caused by a pair of hands pressing down forcefully.

Ji Yunshu explained, “These two bruises are the same as the grip marks on the deceased’s wrists—all caused by the same person.”

She drew her conclusion!

Liu Qian said, “Then isn’t that the same as what Old Chu said?”

“The same? It’s completely different.” She stared at Old Chu and said, “Your examination of the bruises on the wrists can prove she suffered forceful pressure before death, but it cannot prove that the perpetrator was Fu Bo. On the contrary, precisely because of these two sets of bruises on the deceased’s wrists and shoulders, Fu Bo’s suspicion is cleared.”

“What do you mean?” Liu Qian asked.

She first pointed at the deceased’s wrists.

“These bruises don’t show anything strange at first glance, but…”

Then she pointed to the deceased’s shoulders. “However, the bruises on the deceased’s shoulders tell quite a story. The marks of pressure may not seem as obvious as those on the wrists, but they can clearly prove that the person who violated the deceased was someone else.”

The crowd grew even more curious, stretching their necks to look inside!

Ji Yunshu had already lifted the deceased’s left shoulder somewhat, gently turning it at a forty-five-degree angle to reveal the fingerprint marks pressed on the back of the woman’s shoulders.

But strangely, though it was clearly one hand pressing on the female corpse’s shoulder, why were there only four fingerprint marks visible?

Didn’t normal people have five fingers?

“Everyone can see that the perpetrator’s hand pressing on the deceased’s shoulder has only four fingerprints. Based on the position of the marks, what’s missing is precisely the index finger. The fingerprint marks pressed on the deceased’s right shoulder show all five fingers intact. This shows that the person who violated the deceased was someone missing an index finger on their right hand. But Fu Bo has both hands intact—how could he be the perpetrator? Master Chu, as a coroner, you only looked at the bruises but didn’t seek solid evidence. This is your third absurdity!”

These three points were all sufficient to prove that the perpetrator was definitely not Fu Bo.

Old Chu was stunned and unable to refute.

He hung his head low, utterly ashamed.

Ji Yunshu looked at Liu Qian. “I have detailed the matter completely. Based on these three points, we can prove that Fu Bo neither violated the deceased nor killed anyone. Rather, the deceased chose to end her own life because she had lost her chastity.”

The crowd stirred, praising Ji Yunshu’s skill in examining corpses and investigating cases, their eyes filled with admiration and shock.

Indeed, Master Ji, renowned throughout Jinjiang and the capital, lived up to his reputation.

After hearing this, Liu Qian seemed to ponder and deliberate in his mind for a long while. He looked at the corpse, then at Fu Bo prostrate on the ground, and finally at Old Chu, who stood with his head bowed in silence.

He interrogated, “Old Chu, do you acknowledge what Master Ji has said?”

He simply hunched his back, his hands trembling as he tucked them into his sleeves. His ashamed brows lifted and lowered, lowered and lifted. After a long time, he finally managed half a sentence.

“Master Ji’s analysis is flawless!”

“After hearing this round of testimony, this official also finds Master Ji’s words reasonable. Now that all this evidence proves Fu Bo was wrongly accused, then Fu Bo is innocent and may leave.”

Fu Bo’s eyes filled with tears as he kowtowed loudly. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

Then he kowtowed to Ji Yunshu as well. “Thank you, Master Ji.”

“Get up quickly. If you kowtow to me like this, you’ll shorten my lifespan.”

She quickly stepped forward and helped the injured Fu Bo to his feet, instructing two yamen runners, “Please escort him to the Wei residence. Someone there will treat his injuries.”

The collateral victim Muruo indicated he felt quite distressed about this.

“Yes!”

The yamen runners helped Fu Bo leave!

Old Chu, having been thoroughly discredited, naturally had no confidence to speak again and could only shrink backward.

Don’t look at me, everyone!

Just treat me as invisible!

Liu Qian, however, grew puzzled and asked, “If the person wasn’t killed by Fu Bo but died by suicide, then… who is the person who violated the deceased?”

Ji Yunshu: “The deceased has already told us.”

“Already told us? She’s dead—how could she possibly tell us?”

He didn’t understand!

“Of course, we still need to look at that bruise on the deceased’s shoulder.”

She once again turned the female corpse’s body to one side, pointing to a particular spot on that bruise.

She explained methodically, “This small bruise appears regular yet irregular in shape, and its color is clearly darker than the surrounding bruises. If the perpetrator pressed down on the deceased’s shoulders with his hands, the darkest part of the shoulder bruise should be at the lower end of the palm, with the fingerprint bruises being secondary. But this seemingly irregular area is where the bruise is darkest, and it only appears on the left shoulder, not the right.”

“What does this indicate?”

“It indicates the perpetrator was wearing a ring on his right hand at the time.” After speaking, she took out the ring diagram she had already drawn last night and unfolded it. “This is the pattern of that ring.”

On the paper was drawn an irregularly shaped circle. Inside the circle was a lifelike drawing of a Bodhisattva.

Yes, a Bodhisattva!

However, Liu Qian questioned, “When did you draw this diagram? How do you know this is the pattern of that bruise? Could it be that Master Ji possesses the ability of prophecy and already knew this? Is that why you drew this pattern in advance? Also, you previously said the deceased’s back showed no traces of being pressed by a knee or object, but you clearly didn’t examine the deceased’s back. How did you know all this?”

“To be honest, Your Honor, I came to the yamen last night and had already re-examined this female corpse.”

“What? You came? How did this official not know?” He was shocked.

“Magistrate Liu, shouldn’t the most important thing right now be getting to the bottom of this case? After the perpetrator is captured and brought to justice, I will naturally give Your Honor an explanation.”

Liu Qian stared at her. After thinking it over, he could only nod.

Ji Yunshu then raised the pattern in her hand. “To find a person missing an index finger on their right hand—it sounds simple, yet it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. But this pattern in my hand can narrow the scope. I believe many Buddhist faithful should know that here in Jinjiang we have a temple called Qing’an Temple, which is very efficacious. Those seeking wealth or children are numerous. The abbot of Qing’an Temple gives out a ring engraved with this pattern to those with karmic affinity every year, and the list of names is recorded. We need only make a trip to Qing’an Temple, find that list, and cross-reference it with people missing an index finger—then we can find the person who violated the deceased.”