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Bone Painting Coroner - Chapter 24-25

Published at 22nd of March 2018 09:44:21 PM


Chapter 24-25

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Chapter 24 – Case Closed (part 1)

Ji Yunshu calmly nodded to express that she understood what Lord Zhou meant.

Madame Zhou softly leaned forward. Her hands were trembling as she pressingly asked, "Teacher, who killed my daughter in the end? Why did that person want to do such a thing?"

"Madame, please stay calm. It's better if I first tell everyone a story."

"What?" Madame Zhou didn't understand.

Jing Rong also frowned. 'This scholar is really too carefree and idle. To narrate a story at this time and in the mourning hall at that!'

A weirdo! Too eccentric!

Ji Yunshu's expression became sharp while she made herself comfortable. After sweeping a glance at everyone present, she started her narration.

"More than 10 years ago, on the same month now, a 6 or 7 years old girl was betrayed by her impoverished family and sold to a rich family as a maidservant to their young miss. She believed that her situation wasn't too bad with three meals a day, warm clothes, and a roof above her head. Unfortunately, she was unaware that the miss she served was crafty and unruly ever since her young age. Quite often, the young miss beat and scolded the servants for any fault. No day passed without the maidservant being abused with wounds covering her from head to toe."

"With the years gradually passing, the young miss' personality problem didn't fade. On the contrary, her abusive personality intensified. The girl didn't dare to get angry and didn't dare to voice out her pain. Her whole body was riddled with wounds given by her tormenter. Each day in the depth of the night, she alone would weep until her heart broke and her lungs rended, because she knew very well that she was merely a servant. Her life was worth nothing, thus she could only endure, endlessly enduring…"

While she spoke, Ji Yunshu strode around the mourning hall, walking among the crowd of servants until she finally reached the last row. She stopped in front of Suyun who had keep her head lowered all this time. Identical to yesterday, her face was as pale as ever and emaciated.

She clearly perceived a pressure from the presence in front of her. Her body trembled even more uncontrollably, and her head burrowed further to her chest. Her sight was fixated on Ji Yunshu's pair of shoes embroidered with a luan.

The crowd parted on both sides as their gazes brimming with astonishment fell on Suyun. They looked at each other in dismay without understanding the deep meaning behind it.

Ji Yunshu's sight was fixed on top of Suyun's head as she went on with her story.

"That young girl also didn't expect that no matter how much she endured, the young miss continued to treat her inhumanly, going as far as breaking the girl's leg. Yet, the girl could only grit her teeth and continue to endure."

Suyun subconsciously retreated her leg and fiercely trembled!

"Miss Suyun, I don't know; was what I said correct?"

Wooah~!

The whole crowd broke into an uproar.

Hidden under her hair, her eyes revealed a panic-stricken expression. She firmly bit her lips but didn't dare to let out a sound!

Ji Yunshu's outstretched hand touched Suyun's trembling arm. She frowned and hesitantly said, "Miss Zhou is good-looking and intelligent. In front of people, she put on a facade of a sweet and pleasant girl, but little could we have imagined that behind closed doors, she treated the people beside her in such a cruel manner, tormenting them to this point."

Everyone widened their eyes in disbelief. Their young miss was someone who would weep from sadness three days and three nights after seeing a dead fish in the lotus pond. How could she fit the word "cruel" in the slightest?!

Madame Zhou with the fastest speed came behind Ji Yunshu. The unwillingness to believe such nonsense showed on her face as she spoke to Ji Yunshu. "Teacher, you are certainly mistaken. My daughter absolutely cannot do such things. It must be a mistake…"

As she spoke those words, Madame Zhou grabbed Suyun, and with complete disregard of the crowd, she bluntly pulled up Suyun's sleeves and tore off her clothes, exposing to prying eyes the young girl's shoulders and collarbones.

Suyun's skin was as fair as paper and was completely devoid of any trace of injuries!

"Teacher said that my daughter mistreated her? How could it be possible? Look! See? There is no injury on her body." Madame Zhou exclaimed with confidence.

However, Ji Yunshu didn't explain. Unhurriedly, she took out an exquisite little box from her sleeve. Slowly, she opened it, exposing to the bright light, hundreds of neatly placed silver needles.

At that instant, Suyun used her hands to cover her exposed skin and retreated back several steps, even the uninvolved Qiaoxin reacted in fright; her mouth turned paled and her whole body trembled.

'Ah! So, these maidservants were actually afraid of those silver needles!'

Ji Yunshu's hand reached into the box and picked up a needle.

"As an intelligent person, she would naturally not be stupid enough to leave traces of injury on the girl's body. Even if one is pricked with this kind of silver needle, no trace would be left behind, and it would not cause bleeding. Yet, it would make people feel unbearable pain when it was jabbed into one's bursa. For such an intelligent person, I cannot remain unconvinced."

"Impossible! My daughter wasn't such a person."

Madame Zhou persisted in denying the conjecture and became more hysterical.

Upon seeing this, Lord Zhou stepped forward and took her in his arms. While repeatedly sighing, he turned to Ji Yunshu. "Teacher Ji, you must properly investigate this part because my daughter definitively could not do such evil things. Moreover, what has that got to do with my daughter's murder?"

"I have yet to finish with my story."

Ji Yunshu simply played with people's heartstrings from her tone.

She put back the needle into its box and closed the lid. Her gaze returned to Suyun.

"Everyday, her life was endless torture, pushing her to seek for numerous paths to end her suffering. But, life was never as you expected; she met her other half – a man that would risk everything for her. They secretly fell in love with each other and swore their undying love. Not long after, the girl became pregnant. She felt elated. She planned to save her money to buy back her freedom, but how could she have known that her plan had reached the ears of the young miss? More than that, she would never have expected that the young miss, who was demure in front of everyone, would fiercely prick her with the needles. That session of torture almost claimed her life. She lost her unborn child as a result, and it left her hovering between life and death."

"Finally, the girl could no longer endure it. She was determined to take her revenge; she was going to kill that young miss. Thus, she used the excuse of her bad health to return home, but she secretly came back to the mansion on the same night in order to add poison into her miss' medicinal concoction. She was going to poison to death that devil who killed her child."

While she spoke, everyone was stunned to the point of numbness.

Ji Yunshu picked up the speed as she continued her story, "Afterwards, the lifeless body of the poisoned miss laid on the floor in front of her. With all her strength, she put the body on the bed, but she was filled with dread. She was afraid that someone would discover what she did, so she confided in her lover. Early in the morning the following day, they carried Miss Zhou's body to the attic and faked her accidental fall!"

After the last words were said, the whole hall became quiet.

"It's not me! It's not me!" Suyun's voice trembled while she strongly shook her head.

"There's no need to deny it so vehemently. Since I told that story, I evidently have the evidence to proof it."

Ji Yunshu approached Suyun step by step. She pulled on the maidservant's sleeve and steadily fished out a handkerchief.

It was the handkerchief embroidered with the two mulberry tree flowers!

"Give it back!"

In a flash, Suyun abruptly lifted her head and revealed a malevolent expression. Her hands stretched in a ferocious attempt to yank it back. Unfortunately, Ji Yunshu had hastily retreated a step and avoided her with a side-step. Suyun ended up throwing herself at empty space.

"She turns out to be a girl from the Western Regions. She concealed herself quite deeply."

Western Regions?

Suyun immediately became startled!

Grenn’s Rants Corner

So, the next two chapters are a bit longer than usual, so I might post them a bit later tomorrow.

  

  

Chapter 25 – Case Closed (part 2)

"It's not true. You speak nonsense!" Suyun vehemently denied it, as she clenched her hands into fists. Ji Yunshu pulled the handkerchief in her hand. Her face displayed confidence. "Miss Suyun, I believe you must know the significance of the mulberry flowers for the people in the Western regions. Only girls from the Western regions would embroider two mulberry flowers on their handkerchiefs. The first flower represents themselves; the second, their lovers." "You are wrong. I am not from the Western regions. I just casually embroidered them. It is absolutely not like you said." "Oh? Then, why did you go to Miss Zhou's room to look for that handkerchief last night?" Suyun foolishly stared back. "Since you can't come up with a reason, let me help you answer." Ji Yunshu's face unhurriedly stretched into a smile. "Because you are a westerner, at a young age you learned the essence of rice poisoning. Also, you took into account that the coroner wouldn't be able to detect the poison through the autopsy. Therefore, after you murdered Miss Zhou, you secretly returned to her room, worried about the possibility of the body being discovered by Qiaoxin. That's why you dragged it onto the bed. During that process, your handkerchief got hooked on Miss Zhou's fingernail, leaving a trace. However, you were completely unaware of this. After you informed your lover about the matter, you hastily departed from the mansion. You only came back last night and went to Miss Zhou's bedroom, all in order to find your handkerchief." When Ji Yunshu spoke up to that part, she raised the handkerchief for everyone to see. On one of the two mulberry flowers, it could be seen that a few threads were pulled out. "You certainly didn't expect that because your handkerchief got stuck on Miss Zhou's fingernail, it caused her fingernail to break. As a result, a red thread was caught on her fingernail. I would like to ask, for a precious Miss that never reused the same thing twice, why could she leave a broken fingernail with a red thread alone?" "Only one conjecture could explain that riddle; Miss Zhou was already dead at that time. Since you were sick and absent from the mansion, only returning a few days after Miss Zhou passed away,  how do you explain the presence of the missing red thread from your handkerchief being on her fingernail?"

"If that kind of evidence is not enough to make you plead guilty, we could reopen the coffin and let you clearly see whether or not that thread on Miss Zhou's fingernail is the same as the one on your handkerchief." "No need. I confess." Suyun's ghostly voice floated out lacking strength. Ji Yunshu didn't anticipate that Suyun would admit to her crime this quickly, causing her to clench the handkerchief in annoyance!

The girl who revealed a sinister expression earlier, at this instant, didn't show any hostility or fear. That complete reversal of attitude was comparable to a monolith! She was steady and firm. "That's right. I killed the young miss. It was my doing!" Her expression underwent another transformation. Her pale lips hooked into a forced smile as she looked at Ji Yunshu, Lord Zhou, and Madame Zhou. Then, she spoke, "Milord, Madame… I killed her. You can send me to the yamen. For this crime, I'm willing to pay with my life." Madame Zhou glared at her with bloodshot eyes brimming with endless grief and rage. She stepped forward. Her raised palm slapped down fiercely. The slap sent Suyun to the floor. Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth, but she kept quiet and weakly lied on the floor, accepting everything happening to her. "Why did you want to kill my daughter?! In the end, what did we owe you?! My daughter shouldn't have died. She shouldn't have died! Why did you want to kill her…" Madame Zhou madly bellowed. Yet, for reply, she only heard Suyun's increasingly lively laughter. Suyun declared, "Teacher Ji's conjectures were all correct. Why do I want to kill the young miss? It's because she killed my child." "You're lying! It's impossible for my daughter to do that to you." "Since things have reached this point, I have no need for lies." Then, she pointed at the box in Ji Yunshu's hand and continued, "Every time Miss stabbed those needles in me, it hurt so much… It was excruciatingly painful. Several times I kept holding on. It must be because I endured the pain that she killed my baby. My poor baby!" Her smile vanished, replaced by an expression of extreme hatred and fury. The crowd didn't utter their surprise, as if they were watching a good show! Madame Zhou shook, but she quieted down. Lord Zhou spoke, "Suyun, my daughter has already passed away, but you still want to slander her." This was a great family's skeleton in the closet, so naturally, even if you beat them to death, they won't acknowledge it! Right at this time, the trembling Qiaoxin suddenly kneeled down and cried, "Milord, Madame! What Teacher Ji and Suyun said were all true. Whenever Miss was slightly unhappy, she would vent her anger on us. Since she was worried that other people would find the wounds on our bodies, she would only pierce us with the silver needles instead. We didn't dare to speak out and had no other option but to endure it." "Qiaoxin, are you also insane? I can't believe you're protecting that homicidal killer! My daughter is young but so sensible. It's impossible for her to do such things." "Madame, everything this servant spoke of can be verified!" "Nonsense! I don't believe you!" Ji Yunshu sighed. This conversation couldn't continue. With a frown, she spoke, "Lord Zhou and Madame Zhou, your daughter was really a clever and pleasant person, but it's undeniable that she had a serious illness. When her illness flared up and she experienced an episode, even if she knew about it, it was hard for her to control herself. Her distress due to extreme anxiety led her to harm people and possibly even kill them!" Madame Zhou asked, "Illness? If my daughter had an illness, how come we don't know about it?" "This kind of illness doesn't exhibit symptoms like a physical illness or disease would. To be precise, her illness came from her mind. Whenever she became slightly unhappy, that feeling would be amplified in her mind,  triggering a panic attack. Aside from those moments, she would look the same as any ordinary person. Since Miss Zhou was also intelligent, she knew how to conceal herself well. So, not knowing about her illness isn't surprising." The behavior of those with OCD was truly not easy to explain with concrete words! Considering that she didn't expect to explain so much, it didn't turn out too bad.

Madame Zhou's angry expression didn't fade away. She still ferociously glared at Suyun. "Even so, my daughter doesn't deserve to die! You murderer! Pay with your life!" She turned to a servant and instructed him. "Grab her and drag her to the yamen! I want her death to pay for my daughter's life." The male servants quickly recovered their minds and were about to advance toward Suyun, but Ji Yunshu blocked them. "Wait a moment. I still have a few questions to ask Miss Suyun." Then, Ji Yunshu squatted down such that her mouth drew near Suyun's ear. She questioned her. "Since things have reached this point, are you sacrificing yourself in order to cover for your lover?" Suyun became scared, but she didn't utter a word! "Soon, you are going to die, but he still hid himself in the crowd. You really loved the wrong person." While she spoke those words, Ji Yunshu's eyes swept a quick glance at the people present. Suyun's originally calm eyes suddenly revealed nervousness. In an instant, Ji Yunshu took out a dagger from who knew where and yelled in a clear and resounding voice, "It would better if you help me find him!" Ji Yunshu raised the dagger high above her and ruthlessly plunged it toward Suyun's heart. As the dagger came to a finger's distance from the target, suddenly a shadow leaped out from the crowd and instantly disarmed Ji Yunshu, sending the dagger flying to the ground. Next, that person sent out a palm strike toward Ji Yunshu's chest. Right at the moment the palm strike was about to hit its target, at the last minute, a strong force seized Ji Yunshu's waist, dragging her body back.

  





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