In early summer, the corpse had begun to decompose slightly, feeling like mud when touched. Gritting her teeth, she grasped the half-rotted, sticky wrist and turned to Li Shubai, saying, “Your Highness, your servant has something to report.”
“Speak,” Li Shubai replied carelessly.
However, Huang Zixia was not as relaxed as him. She released the woman’s arm, walked to the hall, and knelt, saying, “Your Majesty, when your servant was examining the bracelet, some suspicious details were discovered. This matter is of great importance and involves palace affairs. Your servant requests that all unrelated personnel be dismissed to prevent rumors and gossip from spreading.”
The Emperor considered briefly before nodding in approval.
Wang Lin frowned slightly and waved his hand, signaling the servants to withdraw.
Soon, only the Emperor and Empress, Wang Lin, Wang Yun, Li Shubai, and Huang Zixia remained in the hall.
However, Huang Zixia called out to the retreating people, “Xianyun, Ranyun, you two stay.”
Both Xianyun and Ranyun were startled, turning back to look at her blankly.
Huang Zixia didn’t speak to them further. Instead, she turned back to face the hall, placed her hand on the coffin, and said, “Your Majesties, in my opinion, this corpse may not be Miss Wang!”
Everyone in the hall involuntarily gasped. The Empress Wang, who had been seated, stood up in shock.
Li Shubai also showed surprise, saying, “Don’t speak nonsense. This body was sent from the palace to the Wang family manor and has been guarded continuously. How could it possibly be someone else?”
Wang Lin quickly added, “Indeed, the memorial hall has been watched constantly these past days, with continuous religious ceremonies. How could the body have been switched? Moreover, who could forge the appearance of this corpse?”
Huang Zixia replied, “Please forgive me, Lord Wang, but I believe the body might not have been Miss Wang’s even when it first appeared in the palace.”
Wang Lin showed signs of anger and was about to speak when Wang Yun, standing behind him, frowned slightly and touched his father’s elbow.
Wang Lin startled and turned his gaze toward the Emperor and Empress, falling silent.
The Emperor looked puzzled, examining the coffin while contemplating what Li Shubai had told him earlier about the circumstances behind Wang Ruo’s death.
The Empress Wang maintained a calm expression and asked unhurriedly, “You are called Yang Chonggu?”
“Yes, your servant is Yang Chonggu, a eunuch from the Prince Kui’s mansion.”
“I heard you solved the Four Directions case in the capital, so it seems you are clever at solving cases. Tell us, why do you say this body is not Wang Ruo?”
“Your Highness, when your servant was previously tasked with explaining the Wang family laws to Miss Wang Ruo, I had multiple interactions with her and remember her hands were small and delicate. However, this corpse’s hands are much larger than hers.”
“Do you not know that she died from severe poison, causing her body to swell?”
“While the flesh and skin may swell, the bones cannot increase in size. This female corpse’s hand bones are undoubtedly much larger than Wang Ruo’s.” Huang Zixia released the hand and straightened up, saying, “Young Master Zhou Ziqin, son of Minister Zhou, performed the autopsy on Wang Ruo at the time. He must be clear about the bone structure of the hands. Your Majesties can summon him to inquire about the autopsy results.”
As Empress Wang pondered this, Wang Lin quickly interjected, “Master Yang, the auspicious time for moving the coffin is approaching. By continuing to obstruct, are you intentionally making things difficult for our Wang family? Moreover, A’Ruo’s remains were found at the place of her disappearance, with her height, age, clothes, and accessories all matching. It’s normal for her hands to have become deformed and enlarged due to the poison. With such speculation, are you trying to prevent A’Ruo from resting in peace?”
Hearing this, the Empress Wang nodded and sighed, “The auspicious time must not be missed. Master Yang, our Wang family’s daughter has met with such misfortune, which is already unbearable. Why must you create additional complications?”
“Your servant wouldn’t dare,” Huang Zixia bowed her head and said, “However, since there are irregularities with the body, I believe a thorough investigation would be better to prevent deception.”
“Chonggu speaks reasonably,” Li Shubai finally spoke from the side. “I’m not just protecting my household’s eunuch, but since there are doubts, how can the ancestral burial ground of the century-old noble Wang family of Langya, filled with countless spirits of the deceased, accept an unidentified body? Why not have Zhou Ziqin come verify again? If it truly isn’t her, that would be good news, at least suggesting Wang Ruo might still be alive. What do you all think?”
The Empress Wang frowned and turned to look at the Emperor, who waved his hand and said, “Summon Zhou Ziqin.”
Zhou Ziqin had already prepared everything according to Huang Zixia’s instructions. So when he arrived, he was fully equipped. He carried the previous case files, while his two attendants, A’Bi and A’Yan, brought a rather heavy box, which they set down before quickly bowing and withdrawing.
After paying respects to the Emperor and Empress, Zhou Ziqin eagerly held up the autopsy files and said, “After the previous autopsy with Yang Chonggu, I recorded the details carefully. The female corpse was examined: deceased female, approximately five feet seven inches tall, face indistinct, skin blackened and swollen throughout, body covered in blood and pus. The deceased had complete dentition, lustrous hair reaching the ankles, no external injuries, and death apparently due to poisoning. Additionally, there were unresolved issues such as larger hand bones, but lacking evidence at the time, I didn’t mention it and only made a brief note in the files.”
Zhou Ziqin closed the files and continued, “However, after Chonggu raised the issue about the deceased’s hands appearing larger, I subsequently sought out old coroners and renowned bone doctors throughout the capital, studied with butchers at slaughterhouses for half a day, assisted the Jishan Temple in handling street corpses, and obtained permission from a dying patient to examine his body after death…”
Finally, even the Emperor couldn’t bear it and spoke up: “Get to the point.”
“Yes, combining the principles from the Butcher Ding chapter, I discovered that muscles, tendons, and bones connect and flow in regular patterns. Therefore, with the bones, one can reconstruct the appearance by following the muscular patterns. Although I haven’t mastered the complex facial muscles yet, reconstructing from hand bones is possible.”
The Emperor no longer wanted to hear his rambling and raised his hand, saying, “Go ahead and prepare it but don’t take too long. I’m waiting.”
Zhou Ziqin took out garlic-vinegar-treated masks and thin gloves from the box, handing a set to Huang Zixia.
Huang Zixia silently accepted them, thinking, ‘Is it necessary to wear gloves when my hand has already touched the corpse’s flesh and skin – even though I’ve washed them with half a jin of the Wang family’s bath beans?’
However, seeing Zhou Ziqin’s matter-of-fact expression expecting her help, she could only put them on and assist him in holding the corpse’s hand while he carefully examined the hand bones, marking over a hundred points and dozens of lines.
The Emperor, Empress, and others had withdrawn to the main hall for a meal. Zhou Ziqin opened the box and pulled out a compartment containing a type of firm yellow clay. Following the dots and lines on his paper, he quickly molded bone after bone of the hand, connecting them with thin iron wires. He then took out a softer yellow clay, kneading and molding it to cover the clay bones layer by layer. After the clay had dried slightly, he took out several sheets of white gauze, cut them to size, and carefully glued them over the surface with fish glue.
He placed the artificial hand before Huang Zixia, quite proud: “How is it?”
Huang Zixia picked it up for examination. The hand was long and graceful, with strong but not thick fingers. The yellow clay showed faintly through the thin white gauze, making it remarkably similar to a real hand. From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for genuine, and most impressively, it matched exactly with Jin Nu’s hand that she had noticed before.
“What remarkable skill!” Huang Zixia exclaimed.
“Of course! I told you I’m going to become the greatest coroner in the world. One day, I’ll make Huang Zixia look at me with new eyes!”
Huang Zixia turned her face away, swallowing any further praise.
Wang Yun personally brought their lunch, consisting of cherry piluo buns, four cold dishes, two hot dishes, and a large bowl of soup. It was cherry season, and the cherry piluo were exceptionally flavorful. After eating two, Huang Zixia noticed Wang Yun watching her and touched her face, asking, “Is there a filling on my face?”
He shook his head and said, “I thought you wouldn’t be able to eat, but surprisingly, you’re eating with such appetite.”
“It would be even better with more meat. I can’t enjoy a meal without meat,” Zhou Ziqin said while eating.
Even Wang Yun, usually so elegant and composed, couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. He turned to look at the coffin and artificial hand nearby, saying, “I was careless. Next time I’ll get you more meat.”
They quickly finished their meal as word came that the Emperor and Empress had finished resting and wanted Zhou Ziqin to bring his materials to Yanji Hall.
A’Bi and A’Yan dared not complain as they carried the heavy box toward the Wang family’s Yanji Hall. Huang Zixia called Xianyun, and they first went to Wang Ruo’s former room to retrieve a bracelet.
Yanji Hall was the main building in the Wang family compound, a magnificent structure with crimson doors gleaming, spanning five rooms wide. In the center were left and right seats of honor, covered with gold-threaded peony brocade, where the Emperor and Empress were already seated. Below were two rows of twelve chairs, with Li Shubai and Wang Lin seated at the head positions on either side, and Wang Yun standing behind his father. All other unnecessary personnel had been dismissed.
Huang Zixia requested a tray from Wang Yun, placed Zhou Ziqin’s artificial hand on it, and presented it to the Emperor and Empress. Zhou Ziqin placed his hand over the artificial one to compare sizes, saying, “Please observe, this hand’s length is not much smaller than my male hand, only the finger bones are slightly more delicate and the fingers thinner. These hands should be notably larger and stronger than those of other women. Moreover, there are long-standing calluses on the left fingertips and the lower edge of the right palm.”
Huang Zixia looked at Xianyun and Ranyun, asking, “Xianyun, Ranyun, please testify about the size of your young lady’s hands.”
They hesitated, looking at each other, then Xianyun spoke: “Perhaps… perhaps they were similar, I’m not quite sure…”
Wang Yun interrupted sternly: “Tell the truth!”
“Yes…” Xianyun became flustered and quickly said, “The young lady’s hands were very delicate and soft. When Lady Suqi came to teach her palace etiquette, she even praised her hands…”
“Even if you won’t say it, there’s more direct evidence.” Huang Zixia took out Wang Ruo’s bracelet and slowly bent the artificial hand into a position to wear it, then tried to force it on. The still-soft yellow clay beneath the gauze became distorted, but still couldn’t fit through the bracelet.
Holding up the bracelet, Huang Zixia said, “The Lady… Miss Wang’s bracelet cannot fit over this hand.”
Everyone exchanged glances, but Wang Yun reacted fastest, saying, “If this corpse is not my sister, then there must be [hidden aspects] to this case. First, where is she now? Second, whose body is this that suddenly appeared?”
“While I don’t know Miss Wang’s current whereabouts, someone here certainly does,” Huang Zixia placed the artificial hand back on the tray and said firmly. “However, I do know the identity of this female corpse that was mistaken for Miss Wang.”
In the ensuing silence, Huang Zixia turned to Zhou Ziqin: “Based on the bone structure you just mapped out, please describe the details of the corpse’s hands again.”
Zhou Ziqin nodded, holding up his bone structure diagram, saying, “The corpse’s hand is five inches and three Fen in total length, with long finger bones slightly thicker than typical for women. There are long-standing calluses on the middle three fingertips of the left hand and the right thumb and lower palm edge.”
“Calluses in these locations – left fingertips and lower right palm – are unusual for most people. Only one type of person would have them: a pipa player.” Huang Zixia demonstrated the left-hand position for pressing pipa strings, and then the right-hand position for holding the pick. “This explains the calluses on the left fingertips, while the right palm edge and thumb would develop calluses from holding the pick.”
Wang Lin frowned and said, “But there are so many pipa players in the world. How can you identify one whose face is unrecognizable?”
“That’s not difficult to determine,” Huang Zixia counted on her fingers, speaking slowly. “First, the External Teaching Quarter recently lost a pipa artist; second, her packed belongings were found outside the quarter, containing only some outer clothes and accessories, clearly not packed by her; third, and most importantly, she also died from arrow wood poison.”
Zhou Ziqin exclaimed, “Ah! The pipa player you’re talking about is Jin Nu from the External Teaching Quarter! But… but did Jin Nu die from poison?”
“Indeed. Jin Nu once told the Empress and Consort Zhao about her past in the palace, and we all saw her hands then – they were indeed larger than most women’s.”
“But that doesn’t prove this corpse must be her. Besides, her body was already found, next to her belongings… and that body showed no signs of poisoning, having been beheaded.”
“No, that headless corpse was not Jin Nu. The body being passed off as Miss Wang is Jin Nu’s. Because on the night Jin Nu died, she was with Official Cui, myself, Zhou Ziqin, and others at the Zuijin Tower. When we finished, we packed some dishes to send to the beggars in Chongren Quarter, and those beggars all died from poison – specifically, arrow wood poison.”
Zhou Ziqin was even more astonished: “What? The deaths of those beggars a few days ago are also related to us… to this case?”
Fearing he might try to explain further and complicate matters, Huang Zixia interrupted: “Actually, to be precise, the beggars’ deaths were related to Jin Nu. The poison was in the cherries that Jin Nu had handled, and she had mentioned her hand feeling itchy and painful, attributing it to being pricked by cherry stems. In truth, she had been poisoned at that time and contaminated the cherries, indirectly poisoning those beggars!”