After leaving Liu Ming'an's courtyard, Lou Lianyu headed back to the Ministry of Justice.
Several days had passed since Zhu Yuxuan's case, and there was still no progress.
Minister Zhu had been crying in the imperial study for days, weeping bitterly each time as if he intended to cry until the end of time.
The Emperor, having just recovered from a long illness, was already in a foul mood. Hearing someone wailing in his ear every day only worsened his temperament.
When the Son of Heaven is irritated, his subjects suffer.
The people of the Ministry of Justice were the first to bear the brunt of it.
As the Deputy Minister of Justice, Lou Lianyu fared better, as the lower one's rank, the less responsibility one bore. His superior Yuan Kaizhi, however, as the Minister, was summoned by the Emperor daily to report on the case's progress in Minister Zhu's presence. When it became clear that the investigation had made no headway, Minister Zhu would wail and lament, forcing the Emperor to put on a show of admonishment, repeating the same few phrases over and over.
"To dare commit murder right under the Emperor's nose, and to kill the only son of an important court official at that! It's utter disregard for the law! Minister Yuan, I order you to lead the Ministry of Justice in solving this case quickly, bringing the culprit to justice, and giving Minister Zhu an explanation!"
What could Yuan Kaizhi say? He could only play along with His Majesty's act.
As a veteran official who had served for many years without aligning himself with any faction, loyal only to the Emperor, he saw certain matters more clearly than others.
This case, occurring at this particular time, likely delighted the Emperor deep down.
The Emperor was aging and declining, the heir to the Great Liang throne had not been named, and various factions in the court were maneuvering against each other, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The Emperor's illness had made some fools believe the time was ripe, and they had acted rashly, even daring to attempt an assassination of the Prince of Xiang, Yu Wenyan, in Jinzhi City.
The older one gets, the more one clings to power, and emperors are no exception. What the Emperor hated most was others coveting his position.
Even if it was his own son, what difference did it make?
The true identity of Zhu Yuxuan's killer wasn't important; a dead man could be used to make a point.
Yuan Kaizhi understood this clearly, knowing the case would soon reach a conclusion, but he didn't share these thoughts with Lou Lianyu, who was earnestly investigating.
Lou Lianyu returned to the Ministry of Justice and went straight to the morgue.
In the harsh winter cold, ice blocks were placed in the morgue to preserve the bodies. Entering the room sent a shiver through one's body.
"Lord Lou," the coroners in the room bowed respectfully upon seeing Lou Lianyu.
Lou Lianyu gestured for them to rise, tightened his cloak, and circled the bodies of Zhu Yuxuan and his two servants. He asked, "Coroner Ling, have you found anything?"
Coroner Ling, whose full name was Ling Xianzhang, was in his fifties. He had followed in his father's footsteps to become a coroner at sixteen, and there was no one in the capital with more experience in examining corpses than him.
Ling Xianzhang shook his head, his face etched with frustration: "It's a very tricky case!"
Ling's apprentice, Zhang Zhu, chimed in: "Lord Lou, we can't deduce much more from the bodies. The killer is experienced, their method of killing is very clean..."
Zhang Zhu paused, pointing at the dark bruises on the necks of the two servants, and continued: "These two weren't the target. They were killed with a single stroke, the wound deeper on the left and shallower on the right, lower on the left and higher on the right, deep enough to see bone."
As he spoke, Zhang Zhu made a fist with his left hand, as if holding a knife. He raised his hand halfway and quickly slashed from left to right, bottom to top: "The killer did it like this, killing both men in an instant, giving them no chance to fight back."
Lou Lianyu pondered for a moment before summarizing: "So we're still at the same conclusion as before - the killer is left-handed, very strong, moves swiftly, and is quite tall, at least a head taller than these two servants, which means over seven feet three inches, correct?"
Ling Xianzhang grunted in agreement and walked to the center of the morgue, where Zhu Yuxuan's massive body lay on a wooden bed.
The body was covered with a white cloth. Ling Xianzhang pulled it back, revealing Zhu Yuxuan's corpse.
The naked body was an eerie pale, with seven stab wounds on the abdomen, dark red and almost black. There were multiple scrapes and bruises on the shoulders, arms, and face, and faint postmortem lividity had appeared on the fleshy neck.
"The killer's target was Zhu Yuxuan; killing the two servants was just incidental," Ling Xianzhang said, staring at the seven wounds with a grave expression. "He first killed the two servants with one stroke each, without pause, then rushed to Zhu Yuxuan. Still using the same knife, he twisted his wrist, changed his grip, and stabbed here—"
Ling Xianzhang pointed to one of the wounds and pursed his lips: "See, this was the first stab. He pulled the knife out immediately and dislocated Zhu's jaw, preventing him from crying out. Alas..."
Lou Lianyu also examined the wound. It was very deep, with flesh curling outwards. One could imagine the torrent of blood that must have gushed forth.
Ling Xianzhang then lifted Zhu Yuxuan's hand to show Lou Lianyu. All ten fingers were damaged, with nails bent outwards and covered in blood.
"After Zhu Yuxuan fell, he crawled on the ground. I've seen the bloodstains at the scene; he crawled more than once. The killer did this intentionally. None of the stab wounds were actually fatal on their own. Zhu Yuxuan ultimately died from blood loss."
Ling Xianzhang put down Zhu Yuxuan's hand, mentally reconstructing the scene from that night: "The killer first murdered the servants, then stabbed Zhu Yuxuan once, dislocated his jaw, and watched him crawl on the ground. After a while, he kicked him over and stabbed him again, continuing to watch him struggle for life. When Zhu had crawled a few steps away, another stab... Seven stabs in total, with an entire hour passing between the first and the last!"
The room fell silent for a long while before Ling Xianzhang sighed and covered Zhu Yuxuan's body with the white cloth again.
"Decisive in action, meticulous in thought, cruel in method, and calm in demeanor... a formidable character," Lou Lianyu remarked, glancing at the glaring white cloth, his mood growing heavy.
Ling Xianzhang nodded, repeating his apprentice's words: "Lord Lou, we can't deduce much more from the bodies. You'll need to investigate other aspects of this case."
Lou Lianyu grunted in acknowledgment and turned to leave the room.
Other aspects?
The eight-character message written in blood on the wall and the night watchman's testimony had already pointed towards Minister Zhu's rivals. The Ministry of Justice had thoroughly combed through Minister Zhu's relationships over the past few days, arranging investigations into anyone suspicious. Hopefully, it would yield some results.
Lou Lianyu had only walked a few steps when he ran into Yuan Kaizhi, who had just returned from the palace.
"Minister Yuan," Lou Lianyu bowed respectfully.
He knew Yuan Kaizhi must have been summoned to the palace again for questioning. His superior had always treated him well, and Lou Lianyu felt somewhat guilty. As Yuan Kaizhi approached, Lou Lianyu offered: "Minister Yuan, why don't you let me report to the Emperor tomorrow? You're not as young as you used to be, and it can't be easy for you to go back and forth between the Ministry and the palace."
Yuan Kaizhi looked at the young man before him. Lou Lianyu appeared haggard, with bloodshot eyes, dark circles underneath, and stubble on his chin – clear signs of exhaustion and lack of rest.
In contrast, Yuan Kaizhi, who had been running back and forth every day as the Minister of Justice, looked much better than Lou Lianyu.
Yuan Kaizhi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy and pulled Lou Lianyu aside, speaking in a low voice: "Stop investigating. There's no need!"
Confused, Lou Lianyu listened as Yuan Kaizhi continued: "Don't ask me why. If you really don't understand, go home and ask your father."
Lou Lianyu stood there, stunned. Before he could say anything more, Yuan Kaizhi patted his shoulder and advised: "Go home and get some rest. You've worked hard these past few days."
Yuan Kaizhi pushed Lou Lianyu's shoulders, guiding him towards the main gate. He then waved his hand: "Go home. Don't worry, I'll handle things here."