Bone Painting Coroner

Translator: Choufleur

The Capital Magistrate remained stunned on the spot for a long while before he hurriedly chased after Ji Yunshu and stopped her just as she was about to return to the room. He bowed low and beseeched her, his face twisted into a pleading expression, "Teacher Ji, there's nobody in the entire Great Lin that doesn't know that only you can recreate portraits from bare bones. We have no clue whatsoever to the identity of these skeletons. It's too difficult to begin investigating."

Ji Yunshu replied, "Those skeletons were discovered within the capital. You merely need to enquire door to door for missing persons, then let the coroner deduce the ages of the deceased from the bones. Then, you'll naturally be able to match them up. Moreover, it's not every set of nameless skeletons that require recreation of their portraits in order to solve the case. If that were so, wouldn't this one be worked to death?"

"Teacher..."

"In short, I've already told you the method. If you wish to solve this case as soon as possible, you should quickly have the coroner start investigations. The skeletons would definitely have sustained damage when they were transported out from the dried well and should be examined as soon as possible. Why waste time here with me?"

"This..."

She walked away without waiting for the Capital Magistrate's reply.

Behind her, the Capital Magistrate sighed despondently, at a complete loss. In the end, he could only leave gloomily. This whole trip was wasted!

After Ji Yunshu returned to the study, she intended to continue checking the drawing of the skull that she had made last night.

However, the Capital Magistrate's words kept ringing in her ears. Buddha statue? Dried well? A corpse? Seven skeletons?

She sighed lightly as she considered the case. "The Buddha statue was covering a dried well? Then in order to throw someone down, wouldn't they have to move the statue? Why do they need to go that extent in order to kill someone and destroy the corpse? Wouldn't it be much easier if they were to just burn the corpse or throw it into a burial mound?" she muttered softly.

A little maid passing by saw her muttering something and came in. "Teacher what were you thinking about?"

She shook her head. "Nothing much," then she glanced outside, "has the Capital Magistrate left?"

"He's left. He was sighing heavily and looked miserable."

"Oh."

"Teacher, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She thought for a moment. "Right. Tao'er, did you know that the Buddha statue of that derelict temple in the outskirts had fallen?"

"I know. I heard people talking about it early in the morning." Tao'er looked worried. "That Buddha had been around for a hundred years. Now that it has fallen, I don't know if there would be bad luck. If we offended the gods, we would be the ones who suffered."

It seems that she still did not know about the skeletons in the dried well under the statue. Ji Yunshu continued her enquiry. "Then do you know if the derelict temple had any strange happenings?"

"Strange happenings?"

"For example... has that Buddha statue ever been moved by anyone?"

"There shouldn't be? If someone had moved it, people would have found out about it."

Ji Yunshu nodded. "Alright, you can go."

"Mm."

After Tao'er went out, Ji Yunshu remained seated inside, still feeling ill at ease but unable to find a solution.

......

Soon after, the Case of the Dried Well that was found under the derelict temple spread across the entire city. People all shook with fear, tightly closing their doors and windows. Within a short two days, many versions of the story had appeared within the capital.

Some people said that the gods were angered; those skeletons found below were evildoers that had been punished for their crimes by the gods. Others said that these skeletons were evil spirits and ghosts that had been trapped below the Buddha statue so that they would never be reincarnated. Then there were the more ridiculous stories that said these skeletons were people that the locals had thrown into the well to fill it, in order to appease the gods. Wild stories were abound!

This case had already been taken over by the Supreme Court. They took both the fresh corpse and the other seven skeletons to the morgue and found a coroner to examine them. Of the seven skeletons, two had died four years ago, two had died three years ago, two had died two years ago, and one had died a year and a half ago.

The Ministry of Revenue also investigated missing persons cases from the last few years, but due to the sheer number of such reports in the capital, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack even if they were to narrow it down according to the skeletons' time of death.

Thus, the matter was escalated to the Imperial Court.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court reported the progress and current findings of the Dried Well Case. "Currently, it is very difficult to determine the identities of the deceased. Additionally, there was heavy rain that night and the derelict temple flooded, so even if there were clues, they would have been washed away." How frustrating!

The Qizhen Emperor frowned in worry. "Why would there be a dead person and skeletons under a Buddha statue for no reason?"

"Your Majesty, this case has become the talk of the city. The citizens are fearful and worried, spreading gossip and hearsay."

"Could it be that the Supreme Court and Ministry of Justice can't even solve a case?" He questioned.

The Chief Justice and Minister of Justice both shook in fear and bowed their heads. "Your Majesty, please forgive us. These subjects will try our best to solve this case."

"You shall not try. You must solve it!"

"Yes..." They had no confidence at all!

"With something like this happening in the city, reassuring the people is of top priority. You must not alarm the citizens while carrying out investigations." The Qizhen Emperor instructed solemnly. "Chief Justice, Minister Li, you shall work together with the Capital Magistrate to bring the culprit to justice. We would like to see just who dares to be so audacious within the capital."

"Yes, this subject will follow your orders." The two of them replied as they exchanged an apprehensive glance. They both knew that this case was definitely very thorny and wouldn't be solved so easily.

Who knew that Jing Yi would suddenly step up and volunteer himself? "Imperial Father, this son is willing to take over this case, investigating alongside the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice, in order to find the culprit as soon as possible."

Ah! This is such a thorny issue that most couldn't wait to be rid of. Why would Jing Yi volunteer himself to take charge of such a mess of an issue? There must be something fishy about it!

The Qizhen Emperor was surprised. "Jing Yi, you want to take charge of this case?"

"This son is confident that I will be able to find the culprit and ease Imperial Father's worries."

"Your good intentions are welcome, but this case..."

"With the help of the Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, and the Capital Magistrate, this son will surely be able to solve the case. Imperial Father, please allow this." Such confidence!

Since he volunteered for it, the Qizhen Emperor couldn't say much either. "Alright, We allow it. However..."

However? He turned his gaze towards Jing Rong. In a flash of inspiration, he continued speaking, "We have an idea. Why don't you two brothers take on this investigation together? We will heartily reward whoever first finds the true culprit."

Dammit! Getting shot even while lying down?! Jing Rong had no choice but to cheerfully accept it on the spot. He stepped forward to receive the orders, "This son obeys Your Majesty's commands."

The gathered courtiers looked around at each other. None of them had any idea what the Qizhen Emperor was up to.

However, Jing Yi knew. He was very clear that the Qizhen Emperor was worried that if he caught the culprit, it would constitute a major meritorious deed. Thus, he dragged Jing Rong into the fray to create a competition. What a vicious move!

After court was dismissed, Jing Yi walked to Jing Rong's side with a cold huff and spoke coldly, "Good for you! But... I'd love to have a good look at how you would lose this time." He then left with a grand wave of his sleeves.

Jing Rong didn't reply and immediately left the Imperial Assembly Hall. However, he was stopped by an eunuch. "Prince Rong, His Majesty is waiting for you in the inner hall."

Within the inner hall, the Qizhen Emperor stood in front of a painting with his head inclined in admiration.

This painting depicted a hunting scene.