An Autopsy
News of the Wei family's tragedy quickly spread throughout the entire Jinjiang.
News of Ji Yunshu's imprisonment also spread.
When Ji Shuhan and Old Madame Ji heard about it, they almost fainted.
It was a great humiliation for the Ji family to have a murderer!
Of course, Jing Rong also knew about it.
As soon as the sky brightened, Jing Rong rushed to the prison.
The two jailers at the door didn't recognize him, so they naturally stopped him.
The next moment, Lang Po flashed his token and shouted, "Prince Rong is here. Who dares to be impudent?"
When the two jailers saw the token, they were scared silly and quickly knelt on the ground.
"Sen … See Prince Rong. This humble one didn't know it was Prince Rong. I deserve ten thousand deaths for my crimes."
Jing Rong's sharp gaze caused people to tremble. "Bring this Prince to see Ji Yunshu."
"Yes …"
The jailer hurriedly got up from the ground. He bent his waist and lowered his head to lead the way.
When they entered the dark and damp prison, Jing Rong's hands clenched into fists. The stench in the air intensified, and his heart felt stifled.
When they arrived outside Ji Yunshu's cell, he saw that it was clean and tidy. Only then did he gradually restrain his angry expression.
He shouted, "Open the door."
The jailer obediently opened the door and stood to the side.
Jing Rong quickly entered and saw a small figure crouching on the ground. She hugged her knees and buried her head. Her body seemed to be faintly trembling.
Beside her was the heater. The black charcoal had burned out, leaving only a few wisps of white smoke.
"Yunshu …"
Jing Rong called out to her in a soft voice.
Ji Yunshu shrunk her feet. After a while, she raised her head.
What entered her eyes was a pair of jade boots embroidered with gold and silver thread. The hem of her robe was made of satin. She slowly moved up and met Jing Rong's deep and distressed gaze.
It had only been a day, but the makeup on Ji Yunshu's delicate face had gradually faded. She looked like a clean sheet of white paper.
Jing Rong crouched down. His slender fingers touched Ji Yunshu's cold forehead and tucked her stray hair behind her ear.
His fingers fell down and tightly held her ice-cold hand.
Ji Yunshu didn't avoid his gaze. She looked at him with her sunken black eyes and asked in a tired tone, "Where's Wei Yi? How is he? "
Jing Rong lightly shook his head. "He will be fine. This Prince promises you."
"He shouldn't have to bear all of this."
Ji Yunshu's soft and distressed voice reverberated in the narrow cell. It was chilly!
Jing Rong continued, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. Even if all the evidence points to you and everyone doesn't believe you, I believe you."
He spoke in a very serious tone, and his hands that were holding Ji Yunshu tightened their grip.
Ji Yunshu's expression was cold and indifferent. She seemed to be listening, but her eyebrows were furrowed.
At this moment, two yamen runners came over. When they saw Jing Rong in the prison cell, they were surprised at first, but they quickly approached him.
"Your Highness, we are here on Lord Liu's orders to bring Miss Ji to the court."
He spoke very carefully, afraid that he would offend this Buddha with a single word!
Jing Rong glared at the two bailiffs, scaring them into taking two steps back.
He turned to Ji Yunshu and said, "I will go with you."
Ji Yunshu didn't reply.
Thus, Jing Rong accompanied her to the yamen's court.
Inside the court, Magistrate Liu was sitting on a high chair. There were several people kneeling before him.
The one kneeling in front of him was the Wei Mansion's housekeeper, Wei Fu.
Behind him were the two servants of the Wei Mansion and the doctor from yesterday.
When Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu entered together, Magistrate Liu was about to go down to pay his respects, but Jing Rong raised his hand to stop him.
"Start the trial," said Leng Yu.
Magistrate Liu's mouth twitched. "Yes, yes, yes." He bent his waist and stretched his hand towards the chair beside him. "Your Highness, please sit!"
Jing Rong looked at Ji Yunshu worriedly before sitting beside her.
Under the yamen runners' restraint, Ji Yunshu knelt beside Wei Fu.
At this moment, Magistrate Liu slammed his gavel and spoke in a bureaucratic tone.
"The Wei Mansion's murder case. The people in this court are accusing Ji Yunshu. Is there any clear evidence?"
Wei Fu's eyes immediately turned red. He glanced at Ji Yunshu beside him and bowed to Magistrate Liu.
"Milord, my master and madam were poisoned to death by her."
He pointed at Ji Yunshu.
Ji Yunshu knelt upright and did not refute him.
Magistrate Liu swallowed his saliva and asked, "Then, do you have any evidence?"
"Yesterday, my master held a banquet at the mansion. After the banquet ended, Miss Ji did not return to the mansion. Instead, she dragged my master and madam to the side hall and poured them two cups of tea. The tea was poisoned."
"Where did the poison come from?"
The doctor who was kneeling behind him spoke. "Milord, this lowly one detected Pitohui poison in the two cups of tea. However, the tea in the teapot was not poisoned. Therefore, I concluded that the person who poured the tea must have taken the opportunity to poison them."
Magistrate Liu frowned. "But … this is not evidence!"
Wei Fu, the housekeeper, immediately followed up. "This lowly one also found Pitohui's feathers in Miss Ji's previous residence."
After he finished speaking, the two maidservants behind him presented several Pitohui's feathers wrapped in white cloth.
Everyone knew that the Pitohui's feathers were highly toxic. Even livestock would not dare to touch the water after being soaked in it.
Wei Fu spoke with conviction. "Milord, Miss Ji must have soaked the Pitohui's feathers in the water and added them to the tea. That's why my master and madam were poisoned to death. Milord, please investigate this matter. You must uphold justice for my master and madam!"
He raised his hands above his head and lowered his body to the ground.
Magistrate Liu slapped his forehead. 'Ah!
He squinted his eyes at Ji Yunshu, only to see her indifferent expression.
He probed, "Ji Yunshu, are you … not going to defend yourself?"
'You must defend yourself!
I can't bear to convict you!
I can't bear to kill you! '
Although Ji Yunshu was kneeling with her body straight, her eyes were lowered as if she was thinking about something.
Jing Rong was anxious for her. Although he was a prince, he couldn't ignore the law.
In an instant, he stood up with an awe-inspiring posture. His steps were as cold as ice as he walked over. When he reached Ji Yunshu's side, he lowered his head to look at her before shifting his gaze to Magistrate Liu.
His tone was solemn. "Lord Liu, I have also heard about this matter. It is too far-fetched to conclude that Miss Ji was the murderer based on the poison in the tea."
"Yes, yes, yes. Too far-fetched. Too far-fetched …"
Magistrate Liu agreed.
When Wei Fu saw that the prince was the one who spoke, he was a little scared. But when he thought about his master and madam's tragic death, he began to cry.
"Your Highness, Milord, the Pitohui's feathers are conclusive evidence! They were indeed found in Miss Ji's room. Moreover, at that time, Master and madam were alone. She was the one who poured the tea. There is no mistake. My master and madam's deaths were so unjust. I beg Your Highness and Milord to investigate this matter thoroughly! "
Jing Rong pondered and said, "The Pitohui's feathers are not enough to prove that Miss Ji was the one who poisoned Miss Ji. If she wanted to frame her, wouldn't it be strange to place a few feathers in her room? Moreover, no one saw her poison the tea. Isn't it too hasty to conclude that she is the murderer? "
He waved his sleeve, bringing with it a gust of wind.
Magistrate Liu completely agreed with him.
He said to Wei Fu, "Wei Fu, what Your Highness said is correct."
Wei Fu raised his head and looked at Jing Rong with a sullen face. "Your Highness, this humble one is speaking the truth. Miss Ji killed someone. We will not wrongly accuse her."
"Very well. Let me ask you, why did she kill someone?"
'Ah!
There must be a reason to kill someone!
What is the reason? '
Wei Fu lowered his eyes and wiped away his tears. He didn't know how to answer and stammered, "This … Master and madam treated Miss Ji very well when they were alive. As for why Miss Ji killed someone, I … I don't know."
Jing Rong grasped this point and struck while the iron was hot.
"Since no one saw her poison the tea and the feather was found after Miss Ji was sent to prison, we still don't know if it was a big deal or not. Moreover, there is no motive. Isn't it absurd to convict her now?"
Wei Fu choked on his words. He didn't know what to say.
Magistrate Liu hurriedly said, "This case is full of doubts and needs to be investigated in detail. I will not wrongly accuse anyone, nor will I let the murderer go. Wei Fu, I have already noted down what you said. I will find out the truth as soon as possible and give justice to Lord Wei and Madam Wei."
Wei Fu was speechless and could only kowtow. "Thank you, Your Excellency."
Magistrate Liu added, "The suspect, Ji Yunshu, will be temporarily locked up in prison until the truth of this case is revealed."
The yamen runner stepped forward and carefully lifted Ji Yunshu up.
From beginning to end, she didn't say a single word.
Just as the yamen runner was about to take her away, Jing Rong pulled her back. With an anxious expression, he whispered in her ear, "I know you are very sad.
"I know you're very sad, and I also know that this matter has dealt a great blow to you. A human life is at stake, and I will do my best to find evidence to prove your innocence. But listen well, you must pull yourself together, because only you know what happened back then."
Ji Yunshu's eyebrows twitched as if she had heard his words.
In fact, since last night, she had been thinking about the entire case.
However, she couldn't figure out how the poison got into that cup of tea.
Now, the feather of the feather appeared. It was simply ridiculous.
Could it be that someone really framed her?
But … how did that person know that she would pour the tea at that time?
Yes, this was the suspicious point!
She had been thinking about it all night, but now, she was gradually getting closer to the truth.
She raised her eyes and whispered in Jing Rong's ear, "Your Highness, I need to conduct an autopsy."
Autopsy?
The people of the Wei Mansion regarded her as a murderer, so why would they let her conduct an autopsy on Lord Wei and Madam Wei?
Jing Rong wrinkled his brows and made up his mind.
He nodded. "Fine, I have my ways."
Ji Yunshu thanked him with her eyes, but she didn't say anything else and was taken away by the yamen runner.
The next moment, Jing Rong went to the Wei Mansion.
Overnight, the Wei Mansion was decorated with white satin from the main gate to the inner courtyard. The red lanterns were also replaced with white lanterns.
Jing Rong brought Lang Po to the mourning hall in the backyard. Two coffins were placed side by side inside the hall. The coffins' lids were still open. In front of them, there were memorial tablets and lit candles.
Wei Yi, dressed in white mourning clothes, knelt in front of the coffins. His eyes were fixed on the two memorial tablets, motionless.
Because he had been crying for a long time, his eyes were still red and swollen, and they were still dripping with tears.
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