The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 180: Nine ileum 12

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Chapter 180 Nine ileum 12

The incident at Xiangguo Temple did not cause any disturbance in the capital. At dawn, Wu Xiang took all the idle officers in the government out of the capital and went straight to the Luohe River and the small town at the foot of Xiangguo Temple.

Bo Ruoyou got up as usual and followed Cheng Yunzhi to read the dowry list all morning. Then he couldn't let go of the case, so he went out to the Yamen. At this moment, only Hu Changqing and some civil servants were left in the Yamen, and Bo Ruoyou still entered. Ku looked through the files.

She couldn't run around and search like a yamen official. If Wu Xiang failed this time, at least he might still be able to find clues by checking the files.

Hu Changqing is now reinstated and has worked harder than before. As soon as Bo Ruoyou entered the inner treasury, he pointed out a few more cases, "There are three more cases here. I thought they were very similar, but they were all from five or six years ago. It was before that, and I was not the one who was responsible for the yamen at that time, and I can’t be sure of the situation at that time."

Bo Ruoyou took the file and looked at it, and quickly frowned. Hu Changqing was the author. Compared with the civil servants, he can naturally judge more accurately by looking at the records of the trial. These three cases occurred in the Jianhe 20th century respectively. Six years, Jianhe 24 years, and the last one was Jianhe 20 years.

The three cases were all missing cases at first, and all occurred in late autumn and winter. The three missing boys ranged in age from five to seven. The first two cases were born on the banks of the Luohe River, and the third case was actually born in Weiyang Lake. , this is also the third case. Three days after the child was lost, the body was found in Weiyang Lake. It was the twelfth lunar month and Weiyang Lake was frozen. The child finally fell into the lake and drowned after stepping on the ice and drowning.

Compared with the files from the 17th year of Jianhe, the records from the 20th year after Jianhe were more detailed. Even though this was a case ten years ago, Bo Ruoyou discovered something just by looking at the examination file. Doubtful.

"The child drowned in an icy lake. It was extremely cold at the time and the water was bitingly cold, so his body was pale and bloodless. This seems correct. However, it is recorded here that there was no blood on the child's face, and there was no blood in his mouth or nose. There is nothing unusual, so this is wrong——"

After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, Hu Changqing's eyes moved slightly and he said: "Drowning people are in water, and the temperature of the water is lower than that of the human body, so the body spots are mostly light in color, but it does not mean that there will be no body spots. , and the head of the drowned person is heavier, with the head and face downward, there should be some bruises on the face, at least some scars, and in ice water, the spots on the corpse will not dissipate so quickly, as for the mouth and nose There should be some drowning and foam——"

Bo Ruoyou nodded, "That's right, but this child's body is pale, the scars on the corpse are almost invisible, and there are no major trauma wounds. The corpse spots are caused by the blood deposition of the deceased, so... at least it can explain this. The child had lost a lot of blood."

Hu Changqing thought for a while, "If he stepped on the ice and fell into the lake, if he lost too much blood in the lake, the nearby broken ice would definitely be contaminated, and the body would be found when the body is salvaged -"

Bo Ruoyou held the file with his knuckles and said, "I don't know if we can still find this family."

She turned back the page again, and then frowned: "Pingning Square? I remember that this private square was demolished a few years ago."

The family must have moved after the residential building was demolished, making it difficult to find their family members.

At this time, Hu Changqing seemed to remember something and said: "It's okay not to look for this family. There is an old yamen official who I recognize who has been in the yamen for many years. This man was a young man more than ten years ago. I went to the yamen two years ago. At that time, he was nearly forty years old. It was also at that time that he was injured and lame, so he left the Yamen and went home to retire. Almost all the Yamen officials had retired before I came here, but this person was the only one who worked with me. In a few days, based on the time he entered the Yamen, he should have handled this case."

Bo Ruoyou's eyes suddenly lit up, "Do you know where you live? These cases have been around for a long time. It would be great if we could really find the old government officials from back then."

Hu Changqing nodded, "I know! It's just south of the capital. I visited him last year, but I haven't been there for a long time. He probably won't move."

Bao Ruoyou glanced at the sky and saw that the sun was setting in the west and it was still early before dusk, so he looked determined, "Then let's go!"

At this time, there were only some civil servants available in the yamen. Bo Ruoyou thought that this trip was to see the old yamen official and there was no danger, so he made a decision immediately. When Hu Changqing saw her like this, he also felt a little angry, and soon he Follow her out of the Yamen.

Hu Changqing rode his horse, and while walking on the road, Bo Ruoyou couldn't help but lift the curtain and said, "This old Yamen official has been in the Yamen for many years. Do you think he knows the situation of most of the cases?"

Hu Changqing smiled bitterly when he heard this, "The yamen's responsibilities change very quickly. He has been in the yamen for a long time, but he also does other errands. I'm not sure whether he remembers this case. Don't be too busy, girl." Have hope."

Hu Changqing didn't dare to speak too fully, and Bo Ruoyou didn't know it, so he naturally agreed.

The carriage came all the way to the south of the city. Although there was sun in the sky, the cold wind was still biting. When the carriage stopped, Bo Ruoyou's hands and feet were frozen. She got off the carriage and rubbed her hands, then raised her eyes. I saw a simple courtyard.

Hu Changqing stepped forward and knocked on the door, and soon there was a sound of footsteps in the garden.

"Who——"

With an old voice, the courtyard door was opened, and a wrinkled bronze face appeared inside.

Hu Changqing stepped forward and said, "Uncle Zhao, it's me."

Zhao He didn't expect Hu Changqing to come. After being stunned for a moment, his face looked happy. When he saw Bo Ruoyou again, he was a little confused. Hu Changqing hurriedly said: "Uncle Zhao, this is the coward girl who helps the yamen. We are here today. , for an old case."

Zhao Heying was admitted to the hospital and sat down in the upper room. They were a little embarrassed when they served tea, "Don't be disgusted with a mouthful of coarse tea."

Zhao He’s left leg is indeed inconvenient and he limps when he walks. Although he has only left the Yamen for a few years, his figure is already quite rickety. Judging from the layout of his home, he can only have enough food and clothing. .

Bo Ruoyou exchanged a few words and then got down to the topic. When he heard that the question was about the case ten years ago, Zhao He looked embarrassed. He recalled it carefully. Hu Changqing couldn't help but said: "Uncle Zhao, I remember it was In the seventeen years since the establishment of the Yamen, I just don’t know if Uncle Zhao was handling this case at that time."

Zhao He heard this and said: "Every year, there are many children who get lost in the capital. Half of them are really lost and can be found. The other half are in accidents. The other children are just afraid of being kidnapped and have disappeared since then. No news. When you ask like this, I really can’t remember..."

Both Bao Ruoyou and Hu Changqing were a little disappointed. She couldn't help but said: "Please think about it. Although there are many children in accidents every year, there should be far fewer children who drown in the lake in winter than in summer. That family The child's surname was Chang, and he lived in the early Pingningfang, just south of today's West Market..."

What did Bao Ruoyou's words remind Zhao He of? His eyes brightened slightly and he said, "Is it the busy city not far from Weiyang Lake?"

Bo Ruoyou nodded immediately, and Zhao He said: "This reminds me of something. Back then, Pingningfang was close to Weiyang Lake. This family lost their child, so the government went to Weiyang Lake to look for it first. But the family insisted that the child could not go to the lake to play by himself, so the government changed the direction. Unexpectedly, three days later, the child was found in the lake, but he was gone. The child was the only child in the family. At that time, the family held a funeral for their child and set up funeral flags by Weiyang Lake, causing quite a stir."

Bo Ruoyou hurriedly asked: "Can you think of any other doubts about this case?"

Although there was a simple autopsy record in the file, it was ultimately determined to be an accident, and there was no detailed description. Zhao He thought carefully about it for a moment, and suddenly his eyes darkened slightly, "If there is a doubt, it is the child. His death was strangely pale, and there were no external injuries on his body. At most, he had some bruises and cuts, which looked scary. Some people said that the child was killed by a water ghost."

Bo Ruoyou straightened his back and leaned forward slightly, "Bruises? Where are the bruises?"

This stumped Zhao He. He thought about it for a long time with a grimace, and finally said: "I really can't remember this..."

Bao Ruoyou knew that it was difficult to remember the details after so many years, so he said: "In the following years, do you still remember any similar cases of accidental death of children? For example, they all happened in winter. The children who got lost and died in busy places were all very young."

"A child dies unexpectedly and reports to the government... There are not many cases like this. The government receives a few cases every year." Zhao He squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, "It is similar to the case of Luohu. Yes, I can’t remember it for the moment, and some cases were not handled by me. However, in the first year when I entered the Yamen, there was a case that was somewhat similar to this one."

Bo Ruoyou and Hu Changqing listened attentively. Zhao He said: "A child is also missing. I heard that the child was only four years old. He was still the young master of a high-ranking official's family. He lived by the Luohe River outside the city. They were originally A pair of siblings went missing. The family thought that both children had been abducted by kidnappers, but unexpectedly the sister showed up the next day, but the younger brother did not come back."

Zhao He shook his head and sighed, "That sister was so frightened that she couldn't say a word. She seemed to be possessed by a water ghost and always talked nonsense. When her family asked her where her brother had gone, they couldn't. About seven or eight days after I came out, my brother's body was found outside the city. My brother's body was soaked in the Luo River in winter, and he was eventually judged to have fallen into the river and died."

Bo Ruoyou frowned, "Falled into the river again?"

Zhao He sighed, "Yes, but that place is two miles away from the place where the two siblings disappeared. The river in that section is full of dark rocks. It stands to reason that if a person falls into the river, his body will be washed by the current. Along the river, you will be hit by rocks and bruised all over your body, but you can't imagine that although the child's body is swollen, there are no bruises on his body, except for a few small wounds, which are nothing like... The man who fell into the river and died upstream said that he ran to the place where the body was found and jumped."

How could Bo Ruoyou and Hu Changqing not understand that if they died of bleeding, the wound would be small, and after being soaked in water for several days, the only small wound would be ignored.

Hu Changqing couldn't help but said: "Then this is most likely not an accident!"

Zhao He shook his head helplessly, "But there were no external injuries on the child, no fatal injuries, and no other evidence of murder. It can only be said that he fell into the river and died. It's a pity that the sister seemed to be frightened. I was so stupid that I didn’t tell what happened that day in the end. Later, the matter was ignored. At that time, I just entered the Yamen and saw the little baby’s body for the first time, which left a deep impression on me.”

Bo Ruoyou and Hu Changqing looked at each other. Both of them felt that this case might also be a murder case that slipped through the net. Bo Ruoyou said, "Did it happen in the 18th year of the founding of the People's Republic of China?"

"Yes, at the beginning of the 18th year of Jianhe's reign, I joined the company after the New Year. This incident should have happened around the Lantern Festival of the 18th year of Jianhe's reign. At that time, I had only been in the Yamen for a few days."

Bo Ruoyou naturally would not let go of such an opportunity, "You said this family is a high-ranking official's family? Do you still remember which family it is?"

Zhao He finally showed a determined look on his face, "I haven't forgotten this. Their family's name is easy to remember. It's no other family, it's the Bo family with three ministers. I heard that something happened a while ago and their house was ransacked——"

The light of hope in Bao Ruoyou's eyes dimmed, and the color on his face instantly faded away.