After the death of the previous emperor, the Empress Dowager became arrogant

Chapter 365 The corpse is related to Chen Xingwei

"If you give this to him, he will understand."

The officers and soldiers received the order and rode away on horseback.

The imperial guards acted quickly and had escorted the reporter and the body to the Ministry of Justice before Yuan Qing could return to the Dali Temple.

Tan Gu breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhong Xiao was used to such arrangements. He gave his subordinates instructions skillfully and went to talk to Tang He.

Yuan Qing held both the Dali Temple and the Censorate and took the initiative to take over the matter.

She went to meet the person who reported the case first.

The person who reported the case was a farmer from a nearby village.

He always gets up early, and today was no exception.

As soon as he went out, he saw flames rising into the sky in the distance. Without time to think, he ran over to check the situation.

But the fire was too big and he couldn't get close to it. Even though he called many people for help, he couldn't put out the fire.

Seeing that it was useless, he could only rush to the city to report the case.

There were large patches of black dirt on the farmer's face and hands. It was the first time he was invited to the Ministry of Justice. He kept rubbing his hands and opening and closing his mouth.

Yuan Qing softened his expression and smiled, "Don't be nervous. I'm just asking as usual. If nothing unexpected happens, you can go home today."

"Really?" The farmer's eyes lit up. "So that means I don't have to stay here forever?"

"You are the one who reported the case and have made contributions to the case. You are not the criminal, so how could you go to jail?" Yuan Qing put away the paper and pen and started talking to him, "Are you the first person to get up in the whole village?"

The farmer relaxed a little, "Yes, there are many people in the family, and I have to get up before dawn every day to work, and then go to the fields after returning home, and work until sunset before going home."

"Did you see any strange people on your way home last night?"

"No, I didn't see any strangers." At this point he said with certainty, "I guarantee that I didn't see any. I grew up in the village, and I know almost everyone, young and old. If someone I don't know shows up, I would definitely be able to recognize him at a glance."

Yuan Qing put away the paper and pen and prepared to leave.

The farmer asked cautiously, "Sir, can I leave now?"

Yuan Qing called someone in, "Okay, I'll ask someone to take you back right away."

“No, no, no.” The farmer waved his hand quickly, “I remember this route. No need to bother. I can go back by myself.”

Yuan Qing smiled and said, "It's no trouble. This is what we should do."

A Dragon Scale Guard dressed as a prison guard from the Ministry of Justice stood respectfully at the door and said, "Master Gong."

"Send him back safely."

"Yes."

When leaving, Yuan Qing glanced at the Dragon Scale Guard and whispered, "You just hide nearby and protect the witness."

The Dragon Scale Guards accepted the order silently.

After they left, someone came forward to report: "Master Gong, we have already questioned everyone nearby, and no one noticed anything unusual."

"Have you found out who owns the thatched cottage?"

"No one has lived there for a long time. Normally, people would go there to take shelter only when it rains or blows."

"Okay, go back and rest first. I'll call you if there's anything else."

In the autopsy room, Coroner Ding looked at the charred body and was so worried that he didn't know where to start.

He fiddled with the knife for a long time but couldn't find where to start.

Yuan Qing took the face scarf handed to him by the servant at the door, put it on, tucked up his official robe and walked in.

"How is it, have you found the cause of death?"

Coroner Ding lifted the white cloth from the corpse's head and pointed to the throat, saying, "Here, the wound is very deep. He was killed by a single blow."

"The carbonization is so severe." Yuan Qing put on gloves and pressed on the surface of the body. "Is this a boy or a girl?"

"It's a man," said Coroner Ding. "From the body shape and physical features, it's definitely a man."

Ah Huang suddenly ran into the autopsy room, sniffed the corpse, and barked softly.

Yuan Qing didn't understand what it meant, so he squatted down and looked into its eyes, "Ah Huang, what do you want to tell me?"

Ah Huang was so anxious that he was spinning around in place. As if he had realized something, he turned around and ran out the door.

Yuan Qing had no choice but to follow it.

Outside the door, Chen Xingwei pretended to investigate the case, but was startled by Ah Huang who suddenly ran out.

"Get out of the way and don't bother me!"

When he raised his foot to kick, Yuan Qing called out, "Ah Huang!"

Ah Huang ran away in time and was not kicked by Chen Xingwei.

Chen Xingwei straightened his robe awkwardly and said with a smile: "So you are here. I was just looking for you."

Yuan Qing calmed Ah Huang down, walked out of the door, and laughed, "Why did Lord Chen come to the Ministry of Justice today?"

"Master Jiang is injured. As the Dali Temple Secretary, I must find the real culprit for Master Jiang!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if he really took Jiang Qisheng's matter to heart.

Yuan Qing smiled and said nothing, walking past him.

Ah Huang followed Chen Xingwei while staring at her vigilantly.

Chen Xingwei didn't know why he was scared when he saw the dog today, so he could only stay a little further away and asked in a low voice: "I heard that a body was found outside the city today? How is the case going?"

Yuan Qing glanced at him and said, "It's almost solved. We already have a lot of clues. I believe we will find the real culprit soon."

Chen Xingwei's smile froze, "Really?"

"It's true."

Yuan Qing looked at his changing expression and gradually became suspicious.

She was anxious to take Ah Huang to find Jiang Qishen, so she temporarily put Chen Xingwei's weirdness aside.

She took off her official uniform and put on plain clothes to go find Jiang Qishen.

When she entered the house, she happened to meet Old Madam Jiang coming out of Jiang Qisheng's room. When she saw her, she smiled and held her hand tightly.

"He is waiting for you in the house, go quickly."

Then he looked back towards the door every few steps.

Yuan Qing felt his back tingling when he was stared at by her. Every time he turned around, he would be met with the smiling face of Old Madam Jiang.

Isn't it said that Madam Jiang has a cold personality and never shows any expression to outsiders except to the people she cares about?

Then why did Madam Jiang smile so... um... happily when she saw her?

Yuan Qing walked into the room with a full heart of doubt and asked, "Is your grandmother a smiling tiger?"

Jiang Qisheng glanced at him unkindly and said, "No."

"If it's not..." Yuan Qing scratched his head, "Then why does she keep looking at me and smiling? Although it's not particularly creepy, it still makes people feel weird."

Jiang Qisheng laughed glumly, "Grandmother is very frank and never hides anything. She will naturally smile when she meets someone she likes. Usually when she is with those people..."

He pointed in the direction of the main courtyard, "Usually his face is expressionless, and even full of disgust."

"Oh, I see." Yuan Qing waved and called Ah Huang in. "When I was in the autopsy room today, Ah Huang suddenly behaved abnormally. I thought that apart from Lu Zhao, you were the one who had the most contact with it and understood its meaning the best, so I wanted you to help me solve the mystery."

Jiang Qisheng looked at Ah Huang with his gentle eyes.

Ah Huang raised his head and called out, then sniffed Yuan Qing, then ran to the door and called out a few times with his teeth bared.

Then he sat on the ground, wagging his tail happily.

Jiang Qisheng was silent for a few moments, then suddenly asked, "What did you do today, and who did you meet?"

Yuan Qing glanced at Ah Huang and replied, "There was a case outside the city, so I followed Lord Tan to investigate. Then I went to the autopsy room of the Ministry of Justice and talked to the coroner Ding about the deceased. I went out and met Chen Xingwei, went home, and finally came to you."

"What about Ah Huang's? When has it ever behaved like that before?"

Yuan Qing thought for a moment, "At first, it barked at the corpse when it ran into the autopsy room, and then it barked at Chen Xingwei—"

At this point, she suddenly understood and looked at Ah Huang, "Are you trying to say that the body is related to Chen Xingwei?"

Ah Huang woofed loudly.

Yuan Qing suddenly turned around, looked at Jiang Qisheng and said, "Is this evidence credible?"

"Ah Huang is always smart, so he should be trustworthy." Jiang Qisheng's eyes were focused, "But I don't know why Chen Xingwei is involved in this case? Has the identity of the body been found?"

Yuan Qing shook his head. "The body has been highly carbonized. There is no useful clue at all. We can only start from other aspects."

She described the details before and after the case one by one.

Jiang Qisheng frowned after hearing this. "The deceased moved into the hut after it rained, and the fire was set when people were sleeping soundly."

"I've thought of these, too." Yuan Qing rubbed his brows. "It just so happened that it rained in the capital a few days ago, the day we were attacked in the Beiyang Hunting Ground—"