The autopsy room was located at the westernmost end of the yamen. Zhong Li led the way, and Lu Wuxie followed closely behind, pushing open the door.
Although the place was regularly cleaned by the coroner and bailiffs, as the air rushed in, a distinct odor of decay from the corpses wafted towards their faces.
Zhong Li was prepared. The vinegar-soaked mask blocked most of the strange smells. Lu Wuxie was not as fortunate, but the discomfort flashed across his face momentarily before he resumed his roguish smile.
"Xie Xiaoyun's body is over there," Zhong Li said, glancing at him lightly and pointing to a corpse covered by a white sheet nearby.
Lu Wuxie nodded, stepped past her, and quickly approached Xie Xiaoyun's body. Without hesitation, he pulled off the sheet.
He had initially expected to see a horrifying face described in the case file, with skin flayed and eyeballs protruding. To his surprise, lying on the wooden slab was the body of a beautiful woman, like a lotus emerging from water.
"Xie Xiaoyun?" he asked, looking up at Zhong Li opposite him, his tone tinged with uncertainty.
Zhong Li did not answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the side of the female corpse, retrieved a scroll from its feet, and unrolled it before presenting it to Lu Wuxie. Then she said, "I heard Xie Xiaoyun is the Crown Prince's cousin. Why... judging by the Crown Prince's words, you don't seem to recognize her? Or are you dissatisfied with my restoration?"
Following her words, Lu Wuxie focused his gaze entirely on the painting. He had to admit, Zhong Li's skill in restoring corpses was top-notch. Looking at the body alone, it was as if she had stepped out of a painting. There wasn't a single trace of stitching on her entire face. However...
"The appearance is quite similar, but something is missing, and something is added. I can't quite describe it yet," he said, resting his chin on his hand and expressing his thoughts.
Hearing this, Zhong Li's eyebrows rose slightly. "I would like to ask the Crown Prince a question first."
Lu Wuxie curved his lips, gazing at the woman's clear eyes opposite him, awaiting her next words.
Zhong Li shifted her gaze and parted her red lips to say, "The Crown Prince is renowned for his charm and has undoubtedly seen all kinds of women in the world. In my opinion, this woman possesses both structural beauty and superficial beauty. Which category do you think Xie Xiaoyun belongs to?"
"Cousin," he chuckled, his gaze drifting to the portrait of the woman placed on the table. "My mother's imperial concubine was from the Xie family, who held a place in the beauty rankings of the Southern Yue Kingdom. As the saying goes, true beauty lies in the bone, not the skin; skin can be replaced, but bones cannot. Although Xie Xiaoyun was from a collateral branch, she inherited the Xie family's beauty. Therefore, she should be structurally beautiful."
Zhong Li nodded. "When I first saw Xie Xiaoyun's portrait, she was indeed a rare beauty. That's why I was particularly meticulous when restoring her facial features. Until..."
She paused at this point, her gaze involuntarily falling on the cheek of the female corpse before her. "I discovered that this Xie Xiaoyun had a second face."
"Oh?" Lu Wuxie's eyes flickered with an unfathomable surprise. "What do you mean by a second face?"
Zhong Li's gaze swept across Xie Xiaoyun's neck and replied, "Exactly as I said. The woman lying here is not the real Xie Xiaoyun. In other words, someone wearing Xie Xiaoyun's skin had deceived Jia Kun in the Jia residence. However..."
She paused again and continued, "This fake Xie Xiaoyun had her face peeled off, and then Xie Xiaoyun's face was attached."
As Zhong Li spoke, a hint of depth appeared in her eyes. When she had been cleaning Xie Xiaoyun's body earlier, she hadn't noticed anything unusual. It was only when she was meticulously grooming the corpse that she discovered the seams of the facial skin hidden amongst the hair, which led her to this inference.
She was curious, though. If she, a mortician, only discovered the problem in such a hidden place, why did Lu Wuxie immediately sense that the corpse was amiss?
Lu Wuxie caught Zhong Li's inquiring gaze. His eyes, which had been smiling, now held a playful glint as he looked at her. "As Sister Li said, I am known for my charm. And cousin, with such beauty, how could it be otherwise?"
Is that so?
Zhong Li's eyebrows rose slightly at his words. If it were as Lu Wuxie claimed, wouldn't Xie Xiaoyun have long been his conquest? Why then would she be left to languish in the Jia residence?
Wait.
With this thought, she suddenly realized something and looked up at Lu Wuxie.
He maintained his usual smiling demeanor, his thin lips pursed, showing no inclination to explain further.
Zhong Li took a deep breath and ventured a bold guess, "Could it be that over three years ago, when the Xie family sent Xie Xiaoyun to the Crown Prince, she was no longer the real Xie Xiaoyun?"
Thus, Xie Xiaoyun was ruthlessly thrown out of the mansion by Lu Wuxie?
Zhong Li added in her mind.
Lu Wuxie did not answer directly but lowered his eyes to gaze at the female corpse before him. "The women of the Xie family are often graceful and dignified, radiating brilliance."
Following his words, Zhong Li also looked at the female corpse. The person before her, though exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful, possessed a touch of vulgar charm. Was this Lu Wuxie's criterion for distinguishing the real from the fake Xie Xiaoyun?
Then who was the true identity of this female corpse?
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Wuxie spoke first. "No matter who she is, the child in her belly is undeniable. Prepare yourselves, we should go."
Zhong Li snapped back to attention, no longer probing further, and began to make preparations.
About an hour later, the two returned to the main hall.
Ma Su still maintained his disdainful expression. It wasn't until he caught sight of Zhong Li emerging with a tray, and as the white sheet on the tray fell, revealing the rudimentary form of an infant corpse, that his expression completely changed.
"There's... there's really a pregnancy? How... how is that possible?" Ma Su muttered to himself.
"How could it be impossible?" Zhong Li interjected, picking up Ma Su's words. "Oh, and I forgot to tell the great hero Ma that the child's eyes were open when Xie Xiaoyun gave birth!"
"What? Open?"
"No way? Could it be that mother and child share a spirit, and the child wants to live, so..."
"They say the most formidable vengeful spirits are children born from pregnant women who died tragically. If this blood identification really succeeds, then Ma Su will probably..."
"Shh... don't speak nonsense, be careful the female ghost doesn't come knocking on your door tonight."
As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, the surrounding onlookers began to whisper.
Zhong Li remained silent. She had merely employed a small trick, falsely claiming the child's eyes were open, and the atmosphere had indeed become tense.
She glanced at Ma Su's face. His expression, which had been barely holding up, froze at this moment. She knew then that his mental defenses had completely collapsed.
"What are you waiting for? Seize him and prepare for the blood identification," Zhong Li instructed the bailiffs standing on either side.
The bailiffs snapped back to attention, stepped forward, and pressed the now-trembling Ma Su to the ground.
Zhong Li placed the tray she was holding in front of Ma Su.
Immediately, a pungent smell of rotten blood assailed Ma Su's nostrils.
"No... no..." Ma Su stared blankly at the infant corpse, no bigger than his palm, carrying him on its back. He was so terrified he couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Zhong Li flicked her sleeve, and a scalpel slid into her palm. "Hero Ma, my technique is excellent, and my cuts are quick. Don't worry, it's just a small incision, and the results will be out soon."
Ma Su's lips trembled, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
As the scalpel drew closer, he suddenly cried out in terror, "I'll confess, I'll confess everything."