Chapter 163: Grease (part two)

The originally naked corpse was now neatly dressed in a type of delicately woven silk clothing. Her once messy long hair had been combed until it was smooth and glossy, and golden hairpins held it in place. She was adorned with an uncalculated amount of jewelry and ornaments on her person, which jingled with a metallic sound when the servants moved her out of the coffin. When it came to her mutilated parts, Shuiqing’s amputated hands were hidden by the clothing’s wide sleeves while her face was covered in a very delicate and absolutely beautiful golden mask. To sum it, the whole body seemed as if it was shining with a golden halo!

Although the corpse was in a state of putrefaction, the stench was well covered by the fragrance of Chinese honey locust and other flowers.

Ji Yunshu hurriedly approached and opened her sandalwood box. Then, she took out a broad knife and put it beside her. Next, she put on her white gloves and pulled Shuiqing’s cloth, revealing her shoulder. Following that, she took her knife and cut a small piece of flesh from Shuiqing’s shoulder. No blood dripped out from the wound as her body was far beyond the state of livor mortis, and her golden gown remained dry and clean. Finally, Ji Yunshu put that sample of flesh in a handkerchief.

The whole process was neat and efficient. Done with her task, Ji Yunshu turned to Madame Jiang. “I’m done. You can put her back into the coffin now.”

‘That’s it?’ Everybody felt everything went too fast. Li Zhao gawked at the simplicity of it. ‘Shouldn’t he open her chest or dig out her guts? How…’

Madame Jiang acquiesced and ordered the servants to put back the body into the coffin. Once again, the coffin was sealed off, without a trace could be seen from the brief interlude as if it never happened.

“I need a basin of salted water with a clean paper. Can you bring some to me?” asked Ji Yunshu. Madame Jiang agreed to each of Ji Yunshu’s requests.

After the requested items arrived, Ji Yunshu put the sample of flesh into the basin. She waited for a few minutes, then put the paper inside of it. She took it out after it was partially soaked. On the paper, many orange spots could be seen. The corner of Ji Yunshu’s mouth twitched as her countenance turned dignified. She quietly put the paper beside her before turning to Jing Rong. “Your Highness, please notify the capital governor. I have a good gauge of who the murderer is likely to be.”

“Oh.” He nodded and immediately sent people to summon the governor.

When the governor heard there was a lead with the missing girls case, he left everything behind and rushed over.

“Teacher Ji, you have found the murderer?” He was very excited. Although the case has been transferred to Ji Yunshu, it didn’t mean that he was absolved from all responsibilities of the case.

Ji Yunshu slowly recounted the whole process outside of the mourning hall. “I went to Liang mountain and found a white cloth there. After examining it, I discovered that the cloth was stained with grease, and it had two kinds of grease. The first kind is of animal origins, while the second one is of human origin.”

‘AH!’ Everyone present was shocked to no end. ‘Human fat?’ They all felt nauseous just from hearing that.

The governor wasn’t too clear about that conclusion, thus he pressed her for questions. “What do you mean by that, Teacher Ji?”

Ji Yunshu explained, “When that white cloth got soaked in water, two kinds of grease floated out. If it was lard, the spot of grease would show a darker color at the outer rim. On the other hand, human fat would have a darker color at its center.”

“For a white cloth that had been thrown away in a mountain and to be stained with lard and human fat, this obviously belonged to the murderer who smuggled the victim out of the capital. The murderer was afraid of being found out when he or she wanted to smuggle the victim out, so that person put her inside a container that had lard in it. When the murderer went to the gate, the search went very smoothly. However, unexpectedly, Shuiqing was able to escape after they left the capital. The murderer chased after her all the way to Liang mountain, and this was when this white cloth was accidentally dropped. The cloth must have been stained with lard when he concealed the victim within the pork. As for the human fat, it would be what came from the Shuiqing’s amputated hands which mixed itself with pork grease.”

“Earlier, I took a sample of the deceased’s flesh and discovered lard on it, which corroborates with my conjecture. In addition to how neat and smooth the amputation wounds are, we can determine that the murderer is a butcher. Governor, I need you to immediately investigate all the butchers inside the city. But, please remember not to alert the murderer with your actions. We want to avoid the murderer escaping before identifying them.” After explaining this much, everyone understood everything.

The capital governor was shocked, amazed, and even had some admiration. After he agreed to Ji Yunshu, he left in a hurry to accomplish his tasks.

As for Madame Jiang, she started to cry and shouted, “If we find the murderer, I will absolutely kill that person!”

Ji Yunshu walked to her and stated, “Madame Jiang, the dead cannot return to the living.”

“Teacher Ji, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

Madame Jiang cried until her eyes started to swell. Since there was nothing more for Ji Yunshu to do here, she departed from the Li mansion.

As soon as they returned to the Rong estate, Lang Po came for Jing Rong and whispered something in his ear. She only heard Jing Rong say, “Good, let him wait there.” Then, Jing Rong turned to Ji Yunshu and said. “I have something to do. Go back and rest. Since we have narrowed down the murderer, I believe that the governor will send us some news soon.”

“Ah.” She nodded.

Thus, Jing Rong left with Lang Po. Ji Yunshu wasn’t in the mood to inquire about Jing Rong’s whereabouts. At this moment, she was more preoccupied by the discovery of the new clue. She believed that there will be new progress with the case very soon.

………………

In Peach Blossom Spring.

Yan Weiyi was sitting in the pavilion. A pot of tea was placed in front of him. However, the tea had long gone cold. Unlike his scholarly appearance and his amiable facial traits, deep down, he was a vicious and merciless man.

After waiting the time of a joss stick to burn, he finally saw Jing Rong arrive. He hid away the hatred in his eyes and got up to greet the newcomer. “This one pays his respect to Prince Rong.”

“Yan Weiyi, no need to be too polite. Please sit down.” Jing Rong sat down while smiling at the other person.

Yan Weiyi sat across Jing Rong. His gaze was lowered as he asked the latter, “I don’t know why your Highness summoned me. Do you need me for something?”

“There’s no need to rush.” Jing Rong took the pot of cold tea and poured it into two cups. Then, he pushed one of the cups to Yan Weiyi. “Here. Please try this, Teacher Yan. I infused this with peach blossoms. It is quite tasty.”

Yan Weiyi obviously knew that the tea was cold, but he still drank it in small sips. After that, he gently put the cup down. “It’s a very good tea.”

“It’s only very good? Could it be that Teacher Yan didn’t notice something else in the tea?” Jing Rong frowned as he spoke.

‘Something else?’ Yan Weiyi looked inside his cup without understanding. “Please enlighten me, your Highness.”

After hearing his words, Jing Rong sneered. “I infused this tea using the Northern tangerine tree leaves that Teacher Yan personally grew.”

‘Ack!’ Yan Weiyi’s expression instantly changed to panic and he was exuding cold sweat. Shock and fear were seen in his eyes.