Chapter Seventy-Four: Cause of Death

At Ma the Coroner’s office, Qin Shu paced anxiously in circles. “Old Ma, it’s already getting so late. What’s the result? The crowd outside is about to riot. I really can’t hold them back any longer.”

Ma Wei covered the corpse with a white cloth, put down his tools, and handed a record book from the offering table in front of the body to Qin Shu.

“It’s all here.”

Qin Shu accepted it eagerly. “...on the neck, nape, both shoulders, back, waist, both buttocks, perineum, back of the thighs, and both joints, there are traces of similar beatings. Though there are bone fractures, none are fatal...”

“So, Old Ma, you’re saying he wasn’t beaten to death?”

The wiry, sharp-featured Ma the Coroner stroked his beard and nodded. “That’s what the findings indicate. And that golden fan—tch, tch—truly extravagant. Indeed, there are remnants of brocade thread from Xue Dafu’s garment on it, but no traces of blood have been found.”

“Then what was the real cause of Xue Dafu’s death?” Qin Shu closed the autopsy report. There were many technical descriptions of the state of death, but he was not well-versed in such matters and could not make sense of it.

Ma Wei picked up a dish of crimson-red matter from the altar table. At first, Qin Shu hadn’t seen what it was, but when it was suddenly brought before him, a wave of nausea surged up his throat. “Ugh—”

He hastily produced a handkerchief. “What is that?”

“The heart,” Ma Wei replied, deliberately lifting it higher, startling Qin Shu into retreat.

Ma Wei was a peculiar old fellow. His family had once been renowned butchers in the western market. He was supposed to inherit the family trade, but instead, the eldest son of the Ma family took a detour and became a coroner, leaving the business to his younger brother Lin. He found contentment and freedom in his profession.

He had worked as a coroner for over forty years, from young Ma to Old Ma, earning fame throughout the Ministry of Justice’s courts. The Ministry often requested his assistance, but Old Ma would lend a hand at most and never took up an official post—he didn’t like being constrained.

The Ministry did not press him, but regularly sought his help. The most capable coroners of the Ministry now had all once been his apprentices.

Old Ma never married, devoting his life to the dead. His temperament was eccentric, and apart from his favorite disciple, he didn’t care much for others. He treated everyone, including Qin Shu, with the same brusqueness—even the previous magistrates of the Capital’s Prefecture were no exception. Qin Shu was considered lucky to get the occasional joke from him.

Ma Wei lifted the white cloth covering the body, revealing the naked corpse on the cold wooden board.

Xue Dafu was obese. Although he was a steward managing the tenants, he had grown plump and pale.

Time had passed since his death, and the body bore sprawling purplish-blue livor mortis and an overwhelming stench of decay, so strong that Qin Shu nearly lost his dinner.

“Sir, this is Xue Dafu’s heart. Do you notice anything unusual?”

Qin Shu held his handkerchief over his nose and mouth, forcing himself to look. “It seems a bit enlarged.”

Ma Wei nodded. “When a person is overweight, the heart also grows larger. But Xue Dafu’s heart is enlarged by a whole size—this suggests he had heart disease.”

“Heart disease? There’s no record of that in his file.”

“That means it hadn’t manifested yet.”

Ma Wei signaled for his apprentice to take the dish away, then pointed at Xue Dafu and continued, “The deceased’s expression is twisted, his hands tightly clenched, and the heart shows signs of trauma—all indicating that he was subjected to extreme fright before death. He died of terror.”

“So, he was scared to death, not fatally beaten?”

Ma Wei frowned in displeasure. “Sir, are you doubting my professional judgment?”

Qin Shu hurriedly denied it. “Old Ma, you’ve worked hard. Please rest up. If you have time, there are still many bodies in the courtyard—some are so entangled it’s hard to tell them apart. Alas.”

Ma Wei nodded. He knew the origin of those bodies as well—tragic cases, all of them.

When Qin Shu left with the autopsy report, Ma Wei called to the apprentice cleaning up beside him, “Weidu, come with me to the front of the yamen. Your senior brothers are useless—they barely learned anything before calling themselves experts. Now they can’t even handle cleaning up bodies properly, and I have to clean up their mess. Ridiculous.”

Weidu said nothing, swiftly packed up his things, readied all necessary tools, and hurried after his master.

Weidu was a youth just past fifteen, taken in by Ma Wei as a child and made his apprentice.

Seeing the courtyard blanketed in white cloths, beneath which the corpses were piled mountain-high, even Weidu—who had seen many scenes with his master—was stunned by the scale of the disaster.

“How many people have perished here?”

Ma Wei rolled up his sleeves and tied them with a sash. “Weidu, burn some atractylodes and soap pods.”

“Yes, Master.”

—

Meanwhile, upon learning that Jiang Lan was not the true cause of Xue Dafu’s death, Qin Shu hurried straight to the jail. There, Cell Number Twenty-three in Block C was surrounded by people—it seemed the county princess had arrived.

Qin Shu straightened his attire, making sure all was in order before approaching.

A servant of the Jiang family blocked his path. “My lady is dining inside with the heir. It would be best if Your Honor did not enter.”

Qin Shu waved his hand. “No rush, no rush. The county princess and the heir’s meal is more important. I’ll wait here.”

A senior matron noticed something was amiss and approached. “If you have urgent business, sir, I can relay a message.”

Qin Shu placed one hand at his waist and shook his head mildly, “It’s best if I deliver it myself.”

Nanny Liu nodded, saluted, and went inside.

Jiang Sizheng was listening to her brother recount some amusing incidents from prison when Nanny Liu entered, made a proper greeting to both siblings, and knelt to Jiang Lan. “My lord, Magistrate Qin is outside. He says he has urgent matters, but does not wish to interrupt your meal. Fearing a delay, I took it upon myself to report in person.”

Seeing Jiang Lan nod, Nanny Liu spoke up.

“Let him in.”

Passing through layers of servants and attendants, Qin Shu entered the cell. Inside, the heir sat at the head of the table, the county princess in a felt cap reclined gracefully at his side, her pale green skirt rippling like water.

“Ahem, what brings you here, sir?” Jiang Lan’s gaze darkened. “Chunming, Nanny Liu, come attend to my sister.”

Chunming was still bewildered, but Nanny Liu, keen and experienced, immediately moved to serve, positioning herself squarely between Qin Shu and the table, blocking his view entirely.

Qin Shu, embarrassed, quickly lowered his eyes and saluted. “I am here to release the heir.”

“Have you found evidence, sir?”

Qin Shu blushed. “It was my oversight. I wronged you, heir. Please do not hold it against me.”

“I would not dare blame you. Return my golden fan, if you please.”

Qin Shu nodded, promising to have his men retrieve it immediately upon leaving.