There is a god in the sky

Chapter 21 The Yicun Murder Case 3

"Could it be that a ghost killed her?" A peasant woman covered her mouth and backed away repeatedly.

Everyone immediately stepped back.

Someone quickly realized, "Nonsense, why would a ghost need a rope to kill someone?"

“That’s right, it’s obvious he hanged himself,” Granny Wang chimed in.

Some people also exposed her, saying, "It's probably because your husband beats his wife again in the middle of the night, right?"

"Get out! What business is it of yours to interfere in my family affairs?"

Granny Wang rushed over and pushed Wei Lanxiang away.

"You are not allowed to touch my daughter-in-law's corpse! Get out of my way!"

She collapsed onto the corpse, wailing, "Guihua, why were you so foolish? Why couldn't you talk things out instead of taking your own life?"

Xiao Ji asked coldly, "Madam, what happened to your daughter-in-law that made her want to take her own life?"

Granny Wang glared at him. "How should I know?!"

Sui Feng drew his sword and said, "Hey, you old woman, do you know who my master is? Tell me the truth, or I'll tie you up and take you to the authorities for interrogation!"

Upon hearing the words "government," Granny Wang was terrified.

These strangers in front of me are dressed and talkative, and they might actually be officials.

Her eyes darted around, and she stammered, "N-nothing... she's timid by nature, who knows why she couldn't think straight?"

One of the villagers shouted, "It must be because of you! We often hear Guihua crying in the middle of the night. What kind of decent family beats their wife in the middle of the night?"

Granny Wang spat out a mouthful of saliva, "Pah, shut up, stop spouting nonsense."

"Then tell me, why did Guihua want to commit suicide?"

At this moment, Wei Lanxiang said, "To find out the cause of her death, we need to take the body back for a careful examination."

If Xiao Ji hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have bothered with it.

In the village, people usually don't report deaths to the authorities; the Wang family would always bury Guihua in a simple and unpretentious manner.

If she requests an autopsy, not only will the Wang family disagree, but the villagers will also disagree.

Only with the involvement of the government can she conduct an autopsy openly and legitimately.

Someone who knew her said, "Lanxiang, you should hurry up and put Guihua in her coffin so that she can be reborn into a good family as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, have the Wang family prepare the coffin and funeral clothes. You help Guihua get ready so she can have a beautiful journey."

Just as Wei Lanxiang was about to speak, she heard someone shout from behind, "The village chief is here."

The crowd parted to make way, and an elderly man with a cane walked over.

Wei Lanxiang noticed that his limp seemed worse today.

The village chief of Baiyi Village is also surnamed Li, and most of the families in the village share the same surname.

Village Chief Li sighed as he looked at the body: "Old Woman Wang, take her home first, and do whatever needs to be done. We can't let Guihua's body lie here forever."

"Wait!" Xiao Ji instructed Sui Feng: "Go to the county government office and have Magistrate Fang bring the county constable over to investigate the case."

"Understood!" As his name suggests, Sui Feng was as fast as the wind.

Village Chief Li asked in a deep voice, "May I ask who this young master is? And why does he want to stand up for our Baiyi Village?"

Xiao Ji did not want to reveal his identity, so he simply said, "I was just passing by when I saw the dead body. I was just reporting it to the authorities for you."

“Report to the authorities? How can we report to the authorities? This is a family matter of the Wang family!” Granny Wang was the first to object.

The villagers also did not want the government to come to the village to investigate the case.

Who knows if the county magistrate might wrong an innocent person and find a scapegoat to be the murderer?

“Young master, Guihua clearly committed suicide by hanging; there is no need to alarm the authorities.”

Xiao Ji smiled at everyone, "There are still doubts in this case. The authorities need to investigate before a conclusion can be drawn. If anyone is preventing me from reporting to the authorities today, are they perhaps feeling guilty?"

Wei Lanxiang also felt there were suspicious points.

Logically speaking, there is a difference between hanging and strangulation; the marks left by the rope will be different.

However, Guihua is not tall. If the murderer were a man much taller than her, the ligature marks could easily have made it look like suicide by hanging.

But whether it was suicide or homicide, a thorough investigation is needed to determine.

Fearing that this young man from out of town would anger the villagers, Wei Lanxiang stepped forward and said, "Today is the Ghost Festival, and Guihua's soul has not yet left. If she really died unjustly, she would definitely hope to expose the murderer."

If everyone insists on stopping her, I fear that Guihua will hold a grudge and come to confront everyone at night.

Upon hearing this, everyone was so frightened that they immediately shut up.

If Guihua really resents them, who will dare to go out at night in the future?

Great fortune and prosperity, may all evil be warded off!

Xiao Ji lowered his head and chuckled silently.

This young woman is quite old, but her intimidation skills are top-notch.

Wang Daniu arrived late, and upon seeing his wife's body, he felt no grief, but rather anger.

"Why doesn't this bitch die somewhere far away? What a nuisance!"

Old Mrs. Wang chimed in with a curse: "That's right, if she hangs herself with a rope, then my one tael of silver was wasted!"

Xiao Ji remained silent and turned to look at Wei Lanxiang.

He had lived in the area for three years and had seen many families who didn't treat their wives like human beings.

But Miss Wei has only just come of age and is not yet married, yet she has witnessed such ugly human nature. Wouldn't she feel sorry for the deceased?

Is Wei Lanxiang angry?

She was certainly angry, but she was good at controlling her emotions. Despite the foul language around her, she remained expressionless.

She mentally recreated the scene after Guihua ran away from home last night, trying to empathize with Guihua's emotions and reconstruct the crime scene.

Five hours ago was the latter half of the night, and it had only been about half an hour since Guihua ran out of her house.

She might commit suicide out of despair.

Perhaps it was because they had no will to live that they chose to leave this world.

That rope is so thick, it must hurt a lot when it's around your neck. If you're going to commit suicide, wouldn't a belt be better?

Wei Lanxiang was lost in her own thoughts when the county magistrate arrived with a group of constables.

The first time she met Magistrate Fang, he was, as she had imagined, a refined middle-aged man.

She stepped aside, not participating in the case, and merely observed it from the sidelines.

The county government also had a coroner, an elderly man with gray hair. His first reaction upon seeing the corpse was to turn around and vomit.

Wei Lanxiang was stunned.

Although the hanged man's face was a bit terrifying, shouldn't a coroner be used to all kinds of big scenes?

Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with Wei Lanxiang, and said with a hint of mockery, as if to say, "See, this is how a normal person would react."

This was the first time Xiao Ji had ever seen a girl like Wei Lanxiang who, upon seeing a corpse, not only didn't avoid it but also actively attacked it.

Moreover, her technique was skillful and experienced, indicating that this was not her first time performing an autopsy.

"Lord Xiao." Magistrate Fang brought County Lieutenant Sun to pay their respects.

Xiao Ji waved his hand, "This case occurred in Qingmu County, so Magistrate Fang can make the decision."

Wei Lanxiang understood; this young official surnamed Xiao held a higher rank than the county magistrate.

He's truly young and promising.

County Magistrate Sun's legs were shaking.

The chief criminal investigator from the prefectural government had just arrived in Aoki County when a murder occurred. If he couldn't solve the case, his job as county constable would be over.

"Men, take the body to the mortuary first. After the coroner examines the body, we will bury it. Send someone to the village to ask who was the last person to have contact with the deceased."

After hearing Magistrate Sun's instructions, Wei Lanxiang frowned.

Shouldn't he have examined the scene first? He needed to determine if this was the primary crime scene before he could decide whether it was suicide or homicide.

"No need for examination! My daughter-in-law committed suicide!" Granny Wang stopped the yamen runners from taking away Guihua's body.

She said urgently, "Everyone saw it with their own eyes. She hanged herself from the tree. Please, sir, allow me to take my daughter-in-law's body back for burial!"