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Chapter 373
Wang Hua came over, looked at them reproachfully, and said, "You guys are so curious, you can't see everything."

"Why didn't you say it," Li Bao'er said angrily.

"I'm checking the condition of the corpse. I didn't expect you to come to see it too. Go to the side and take a rest and have a sip of tea to calm down the shock," Wang Hua said, shaking his head angrily and amusedly, and walked back.

Li Chongjun had loosened his sleeves, and the stench had already spread.

In addition to them, Liu Shun had already sent government servants to guard the three coffins, and ordered people to go back and call for the autopsy.

Wang Hua looked inside the coffin again. There were three corpses, which had been severely decomposed, and basically all their bodies had turned into blood, but there were still blood streaks on the bones, which proved that the time of death was very long, but it did not happen a long time ago.Exactly how long it will take can only be roughly judged by experienced workers coming over to observe.

But Wang Hua can still see some ways.

All three corpses were partially shattered, which can only be caused by a little bit.That is, after being burned by a raging fire, it is different from ordinary people's understanding. Human bones are hard, but they are flammable when burned.

But there are other oddities about the three bodies.

Now the corpse is almost decomposed, except for some flesh and blood under the bones of the corpse, the bones above are basically completely displayed in front of everyone.However, except for some of the bones that rotted and disappeared after being burned, or only a small part of the shrunken remains attached to the bones, the general bones remained.

It is possible that when he was killed, the rescue was timely and the fire was extinguished, so most of the corpses were preserved and buried last.

This is just Wang Hua's guess.The specifics can only be determined after a professional autopsy.

But besides the traces of burning, the three bodies had other scars.

One of them had a petite pelvis, probably a woman, but the age cannot be judged.However, apart from the fact that some of the bones were burned by the fire and then rotted into powder and disappeared or shrank, there were signs of twisting at the cervical cone.Wang Hua stretched out his hand and tried it. He was judging whether it was pinched by someone, which caused the injury.In addition to this, there is also the leg joint, which has been dislocated.If it is an ordinary person, the problem is not big, and it will grow back after a while, but because it died immediately after the dislocation, the injury survived.

The other two are likely to be men, because of the large pelvis, and of course there are other differences.It cannot be determined based on this point alone, and it still has to be judged by others.But one bone is smaller and the other is taller.

But there are also problems.

Among them, there is a sharp broken line on the neck cone of the tall corpse skeleton, reaching to the throat, which may be caused by the murderer wiping the neck with a sharp weapon.Also, the smaller skeleton also had a half-broken crack in one of the ribs in the sternum.This was also caused by being stabbed in the chest by the murder weapon and injuring the ribs.

Not every official can see that in detail, but it is obvious that this is a murder case, and then set fire to destroy the body.

At this time, all the yamen servants sent by Liu Shun came back, they shook their heads at Liu Shun, apparently they did not find the person who brought the carriage over in the woods.Of course, Wang Hua also needs this person, at least what are these three corpses here?
Not even a human figure can be seen, and it is very difficult to identify the victim. How can one judge only by being burned by the fire.Most of them still live in wooden houses now, and there have been fires in every state during the year.There are hundreds of thousands of people in a big state like Bianzhou, and there may be several incidents a year.This undoubtedly increases the difficulty of solving the case.

The biggest difficulty is not only here, it can be seen from the corpse that the crime has been committed for a long time, and it is even more difficult to detect.

Wang Hua and Liu Shun looked at each other, Liu Shun smiled wryly, and Wang Hua frowned.

But he said: "Inspector Liu, there is no need to look for him. Since this person does not want us to know his identity, except for the avenue in the middle of the forest, the forests on both sides are dense. Drive the carriage over, and then hide in the dense forest. Then When you come out, there will be a dense crowd of victims, and there is no way to find this person. Wait and come over, and I need relevant files.”

"Okay," Liu Shun replied.

But he and the other officials looked at each other worriedly.Such a thing happened to Wang Hua on the first day, and I don't know how many things will be caused later.

Disobedient brought over, an old man in his 50s, with gray hair on his temples.

Liu Shun said to Wang Hua: "This is the most famous disobedient Zhao Dabao in Bianzhou. He has assisted various governors in solving many cases over the years."

Wang painted his forehead as a greeting.

Zhao Dabao came to the coffin, obviously he observed more carefully and looked at the coffin.Then I asked about the origins of the three coffins, and then asked: "When did the rot in the coffins dissipate?"

A yamen servant next to him thought for a moment and replied, "About half a cup of tea time."

At this time, there is no hour, minute, and second in calculating time. There is a saying that there is a stick of incense, a moment, and a cup of tea.A stick of incense is about 15 minutes, which is equivalent to a quarter of an hour in later generations, but the current quarter of an hour is half an hour, four quarters of an hour, three cups of tea for a quarter of an hour, that is, 10 minutes for a cup of tea.
But because there is no accurate time measuring device, this time is very vague, but the time of a stick of incense is even more vague, because some incense burns for a longer time, and some incense burns for a shorter time, so a stick of incense can also be understood as a longer time. longer or shorter.But there are even finer units of time.There is a flick of the finger, about ten seconds, and an instant, that is one second.

It takes about five to seven to eight minutes for half a cup of tea, because a cup of tea can be drunk in a quarter of an hour in summer, and it takes less than 8 minutes in winter.

Zhao Dabao asked people to close the coffin lid again, and then said: "This shows that someone opened it for a while before. If it has not been touched, it will take a long time for the stench to dissipate due to the decay of the corpse. But it is the least It was only opened a few days ago, otherwise there is no buildup of the smell."

This is for Wang Hua.

It shows that he is very clever and knows that if he wants to solve the case, Wang Hua must be the leader.

Then he put on a glove, pointed at the corpse with a clip and said: "The victims are two male corpses and one female corpse. The difference between them is that the male bones are thicker than the female bones, and the bone surface is rough. The pelvis has the largest difference. The male pelvis The bone is narrow and tall, and the female is wide and short."

"However," Li Chongjun asked puzzledly, pointing at the bones, "it is obvious that the pelvic bones of these two male corpses are bigger, how can you say that the male corpses are narrow?"

"Back to the prince, you can't tell by the surface area. There is a difference between fat and thin. Although the pelvic bones of the two male corpses are large, in terms of proportion, the ratio of width to height is not as bad as this female corpse."

Even Wang Hua didn't think of this, and after another glance, it really was the truth.Later, when it comes to solving crimes in ancient times, Song Ci of the Song Dynasty will be mentioned.This is a wrong statement.Song Ci's "Washing Injustice" was compiled by sorting out the experience of countless predecessors, just like Confucius compiled "Book of Songs" and "Book of Changes", but it was not thought up by Confucius himself, although Song Ci integrated his own investigation into the book Some of his experience is not all his knowledge.A long time ago, there were some professional autopsy methods, but they were not written down, but passed down from generation to generation.

Zhao Dabao continued: "In addition to the pelvis, there is also a difference between the skull and the limbs. There is another way to prove that the bones of men are heavier than those of women. Then it is the time of death."

Having said this, he frowned, obviously the time of death was too long, and it was hard to judge.

He also said: "The best time to diagnose a dead body is about six hours in summer, one day later in spring and autumn, and a little longer in winter, when green corpse spots will appear. The longer the time, the darker the green spots , and finally turn brown or even black. About two days in summer, about three to five days in spring and autumn, and about ten days in winter, the face is swollen, eyeballs protrude, lips become thicker and everted, the tip of the tongue sticks out, and the abdomen swells. In summer, it takes about one In half a month, the various parts of the corpse begin to rot into semi-flowing blood, which gradually destroys and disappears. In winter, it may remain for a whole winter before the full area of ​​blood hydration appears. But there are other situations, the greater the humidity of the ground, the easier the corpse is to rot, burn There are also wounds on the skin, and they rot quickly. Middle-aged people rot faster than babies and old people. The younger ones guess that it is because their bodies have less water. But the younger ones just pointed out that the corpses decayed in the open air In other words, if buried in soil or water, the decay time will be slowed down. From the extent of the smell of the corpse just now, the time for the coffin to be opened will not be very long from now, and considering that the coffin is still very tight, The wood of the coffin is also thick, and the time of death may be between one and a half to three years according to a small judgment."

Then he pointed to a missing bone with a clip, and said: "Judging from the whole body, the body was burned before being buried in the ground, but because it was not completely pulverized, it shows that someone put out the fire shortly after burning. However, some of the bones had been pulverized and burned for a period of time. It is estimated that all the muscles were burnt and it was difficult to identify. "

This is in this society, where forensic doctors do nothing. During autopsies, they look at the surface of the dead body, but they dare not dissect the dead body.Of course, the location of the crime is Bianzhou, which is also for the officials of Bianzhou to defend Wang Hua.It might be possible that the case was handled by him himself.

Then he picked up a hand bone and said: "In addition to the wound, there is another point that can be judged that they were burned by the fire after being killed. Because if a living person is burned by the fire, it is generally because the joints in the hands and feet are connected to the overall skeleton, which is also connected to the overall body. The place where the skeleton is most loosely connected. However, when encountering a fire, a living person will struggle. In the end, before the skin of the body is scorched, the person still has a breath, and the joints will fall off the entire skeleton. No reason can be found."

Wang Hua didn't know if he was right or not, but it seemed to make sense, even if he didn't judge from this point, he could also see from the wound that the deceased had been stabbed by a murder weapon.That alone makes a case.

"Victims should be easy to find, because someone saved the fire. Although it is possible that no case has been filed, it will not be more than three years ago. Check nearby, and check to see if the graves of all burnt victims have been moved. Victims can be found. But the case is difficult to investigate because the time interval is too long."

After finishing speaking, he stood aside respectfully.

Of course Wang Hua knew that this case was not easy to investigate, but this Zhao Dabao deliberately made it clear at the end, which had a deep meaning.

If Wang Hua is now let go and handed over to the local government, the state will push it to the county. Because the incident took a long time in the county, officials at all levels are constantly transferred, and they can shirk with their predecessors.In the end, everyone was happy when the case was found out, but it couldn't be found out, because the dodging didn't work out in the end.

If Wang Hua took over and couldn't find out, it would be Wang Hua's responsibility.Now that Wang Hua has gone through the Huazhou case, he is really in full swing, and he already has the reputation of his mentor Di Renjie in the hearts of the people.But if it can't be found out, Wang Hua's reputation will be greatly affected.

Wang Hua glanced at him.

This old man is a little clever and a little tactful.

Of course, in this era, the status of disobedient officials is very low, and they are all held by untouchables. The children of disobedient officials do not even have the opportunity to participate in scientific examinations.So it's harder for them to make a living, which is understandably tactful.

But Wang Hua still ordered: "Inspector Liu, please order your subordinates to drag these three coffins back to the Yamen for preservation."

This has already stated that Wang Hua wants to intervene in the case.

Liu Shun was helpless, not afraid that Wang Hua would solve the case, it would be best if he could solve the case, since it was found that the three corpses were murdered, the case should be filed for trial.Wang Hua was helping Bianzhou officials to relieve pressure, and he was afraid that Wang Hua would reason and solve another shocking case.Then the more I dealt with it, the more my buttocks seemed to be not so clean.In the end, like Huazhou officialdom, almost nine out of ten official careers have since disappeared.

A yamen servant escorted the carriage back to Bianzhou City.

Wang Hua continued to take Li Chongjun to visit the victims, regardless of whether there were unjust cases or not, after all, the focus was on disaster relief.Unless Bianzhou also has a big Huazhou case, it seems impossible.If there is another big case like that in Bianzhou, not to mention the officialdom in Bianzhou, it is estimated that Li Xian will not be able to sit still in the palace.

Suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd.

Wang Hua also led people over curiously, and saw that in a crowded place, several servants were distributing supplies to the victims.

Have a kind person again?

Wang Hua approached curiously again, but saw a young woman, who was supervising the servants to scatter the supplies, and from time to time she yelled softly: "Everyone, don't squeeze, don't squeeze."

Wang Hua was amused when he saw it, but it was an old friend, the girl Yu Zhi whom he had invited in Qiu Fei Bai Yu Yuan.

I don't know how she came to Bianzhou, and she was wearing a cloud bun, and she was dressed like a woman, which made her full of a mature woman's style.

Yuzhi also saw him, came over to salute in surprise, and said, "Scholar Wang, I didn't expect this slave to meet you in Bianzhou by such a coincidence."

Wang Hua and Li Hong looked at each other and smiled.He had talked about it to Li Xuejun that night, and Yu Zhi also had an unknown origin.Her kindness today is even more intriguing.Such a coincidence, no.They came to Bianzhou, walked here from the pier, and stayed for such a long time. It is estimated that more than half of the people in Bianzhou knew about it.She is now distributing supplies, and she is so close to her line of work, this is definitely a deliberate arrangement.

But Wang Hua didn't point it out, he said with a smile: "Yes, what a coincidence. But I don't know how Miss Yuzhi came to Bianzhou."

Yuzhi sighed, and said: "It's hard to say. Ever since the bachelor left from Qiufei Baiyufang, the servants saw the story of Yuxuan and the others, and their hearts became cold. It happened that my family met the servants in Qiufei Baiyufang. He wanted to redeem me, and the servant agreed, so he took me to Bianzhou City."

"Oh, then I congratulate the girl."

"Are there any congratulations? It's not like the poor woman in the "Pipa Xing" you wrote. She became a merchant woman. I don't know what will happen when I get old and faded." became a little sad.

"Could it be that your Dalang treats you badly?"

"Now I treat my servant very well, but my servant is still very worried. Besides, his family business is in Jingzhao, so I don't know how many days we can meet each other in a year."

Wang Hua knew that she had become a concubine.But it's not easy for Wang Hua to intervene in other people's family affairs.

Yuzhi said again: "I wonder if there is an arrangement for the place where the bachelor will stay?"

"Not yet," Wang Hua replied with a smile.

"That's right. If you don't think the servant's mansion is poor, can the bachelor live temporarily in the servant's mansion. Maybe there is one more thing that will interest the bachelor."

"What's the matter?" Wang Hua continued to smile.It is impossible for them to deliberately build mansions like the emperor when they travel on official business. They usually live temporarily in the mansions of local celebrities and gentlemen. If they are of low status, they have to live in inns.But Yuzhi's invitation was a bit too much.First, she is not a celebrity, and second, she is just a concubine. Besides, there are princes and princesses in Wang Hua's business, so she is not qualified to invite them.

So far Wang Hua has not asked, but Wang Hua believes that Bianzhou officials have already arranged a temporary place for them to live.

"My Dalang's name is Guo Jinkun. He is a merchant. He has some meager properties in various places, including in Bianzhou. Later, in order to manage this industry, he often came to Bianzhou, so he bought a mansion. The price fell. It's fair, and the place is not small. But later I found out that there was a courtyard next door, which once caused a fire and burned the whole family to death. Then it was said that this courtyard was often haunted. So the neighbors were all scared and moved. I left. My Dalang regretted it. But when he talked about this with me in Huazhou, the slaves didn’t really believe it. It’s like the case of the curse. It’s so weird, and it’s not a mystery in the end. So I took the initiative to move in Come down, and take care of some property for my Dalang by the way."

"I remembered, is the Guo Jinkun you mentioned the Guo Jinkun who once bought the Jingzhao merchant in Xiuwenfang?" Liu Shun asked.

"Exactly, Governor Liu also knows my Dalang?"

"I met once or twice," but Liu Shun showed a suspicious expression on his face.

This made Shangguan Xiaowan feel very strange.Although there is collusion between officials and businessmen secretly, under the mainstream thinking of society, officials are unwilling to talk about dealing with businessmen in public.Just like when Zhang Yizhi served a banquet in the ban, he introduced the big businessman Song Bazi and others to the banquet. Wei Anshi's impeachment was a minor matter, and he ordered Song Bazi and others to be expelled in front of Zhang Yizhi.Alas, it is not a scandal to be able to talk about spending a night with that popular girl in a brothel, but if you talk about having a meal with that businessman, it will immediately attract contempt!
Therefore, the governor Liu said that he met once or twice, but he should not take it seriously. He may have visited several times, or had close contacts.But why the suspicious look on his face?
But at this time Li Chongjun obviously became interested, and he asked, "Yu Zhi, why is the yard next to your house haunted?"

"Back to the prince, it has only been a few days since the servants moved here, and the specific situation is not very clear. But I once heard my Dalang say that since the fire, all the people in that family have been burned to death. Later, people often heard that there was a fire in that yard at night. The woman was crying. Someone sent someone to look at it, but no one was seen. Therefore, everyone thought it was a ghost crying, so in the end they didn't even dare to live in the surrounding houses. Like the yard that my Dalang bought The big yard with four entrances and four exits, and two garden yards, one big and one small, were bought for only [-] yuan. At first he was able to take advantage of it, but later he realized that he was actually at a disadvantage. "

While they were talking, Wang Hua was also talking to Liu Shun.

He asked, "Who is this Guo Jinkun?"

Liu Shun replied: "He is from Jingzhao, and he does all kinds of business. Because of the developed waterway transportation in Bianzhou and the concentration of goods traveling from south to north, he often comes to Bianzhou. Because of the large business, he has a lot of business with Bianzhou officials. There are also some contacts."

Speaking of this, he looked at Wang Hua's face, and it was not easy for others to say it directly.But this Wang Xiaoer doesn't seem to be disgusted with businessmen all the time, maybe he is the reason why he is a businessman with a different background.

Sure enough, Wang Hua's face was calm.

So he said again: "It doesn't matter, the main thing is the yard next door that he bought."

"The next yard?"

"Yes, it is the yard next door. In fact, this yard is not big. It used to be that there lived a craftsman named Ding. The family made jade with superb craftsmanship, but there was a big fire in February last year. At that time, I I haven’t been to Bianzhou yet, but I’ve heard about it. The weather happened to be fine and dry in those few days. The fire spread quickly. When everyone saw the fire and put it out, the whole family had already been burned to death. I also suspect that this is an unjust case, but the family surnamed Ding has a younger sister who married into Junyi County, and she came to collect the body and did not file a complaint, so the case was not filed. Later, there were reports of ghosts."

Liu Shun told the truth about the matter, and also admitted the possibility of an unjust case.Of course, firstly, it wasn't a case that happened during his tenure, and secondly, he was responsible for investigating the case now. Of course, the case was solved as a merit assessment, laying the foundation for promotion.But if it can't be detected, it may also be found out by various inspectors and demoted from office.Therefore, when encountering difficult cases, they always hold the intention that more things are worse than less things, and even in order to solve the case, torture and extract confessions, resulting in unjust cases.These are the unspoken rules of officialdom.Since there is no victim to appeal for grievances, it is understandable that the original officials in Bianzhou did not file a case for investigation.

Looking at Wang Hua's face again, he saw that his face was still calm, and knew that he understood the joints, so he said again: "Scholar Wang, but this craftsman surnamed Ding has been dead for a year and a half."

Speaking of this, he whispered in Wang Hua's ear again: "Now Xueshi Wang just came in front, and the coffin came behind in a carriage, and this jade stick just happened to appear deliberately."

It's not easy for him to make it clear, he doesn't know if Wang Hua has any ulterior relationship with this jade stick.

But it makes sense.Wang Hua himself said that there are so many coincidences in the world?

(End of this chapter)