Case Two: Prosperity Like a Dream
“Lu Wuxie!”
As soon as the young servant finished speaking, Lu Wuxie snatched the wooden bucket from his hand and poured the water over himself, preparing to rush into the fire. Fortunately, Zhong Li was calm enough to grab his body and pull him back.
“Grandfather, Grandfather is inside!” Lu Wuxie seemed not to hear Zhong Li’s voice, and was about to take off his outer cloak to cover his head and rush in.
Zhong Li looked at the raging fire before her. She didn’t know when it had started. The roof ridges and beams of the two connected houses were already burning, and anyone who went in would likely not be able to save anyone and would lose their own life.
“Lin Jin!” Her strength was small, and as she pulled Lu Wuxie, he dragged her towards the fire.
Lin Jin was also frightened by the scene. Hearing his name called, he quickly came back to his senses and rushed to Lu Wuxie’s side to help.
With Lin Jin’s assistance, Zhong Li had an opening. She grabbed a bronze basin from a young maidservant and splashed the icy water onto Lu Wuxie.
“Lu Wuxie, look clearly. If you go in there, you’ll be sending yourself to your death!” Zhong Li dropped the basin, grabbed Lu Wuxie’s shoulders with both hands, and shook him vigorously.
With this, Lu Wuxie finally woke up completely. His gaze shifted downwards, looking at the woman who was a head shorter than him but whose eyes were firm. He then looked at the fire opposite and murmured, “How could it be so fast?”
Zhong Li didn’t understand what he meant. Just as a burning beam was about to fall on them, she exerted force, pulled Lu Wuxie to her side, and dragged him away.
‘Rumble’
As soon as the two dodged, the beam landed, and dust along with thick sparks splashed around.
In ancient times, there were no modern fire extinguishers; firefighting relied entirely on manpower. Although the Xie mansion was already surrounded by bailiffs and servants, by the time the fire was extinguished, the study and the small guest room had been reduced to ruins.
“Master! Master!”
“Wuwu… Patriarch, Patriarch!”
Immediately, cries and wails echoed throughout the mansion.
Zhong Li looked at the pile of smoldering firewood and turned to comfort Lu Wuxie, only to find that he was no longer by her side.
A wave of worry washed over her, and she quickly looked towards the ruins. She saw Lu Wuxie standing in the ruins, his gaze lowered to something on the ground, while Lin Jin stood beside him, frowning in silence.
Zhong Li, her medicine chest strapped to her back, quickly followed. As she had expected, in front of Lu Wuxie was a charred human corpse, the hand clenched into a fist, its body a formless mass.
Based on the physique and the brocade clothing that had not completely burned, she concluded it was Xie Xu’s body.
“Young Master.” Zhong Li didn’t know what to say for a moment, wanting to comfort him but finding all words caught in her throat.
“Master, it’s really Master!”
Out of professional instinct, she glanced at the surrounding rooms. Just as she was about to squat down, she was pulled away by a sudden hand, accompanied by a heart-wrenching cry.
Zhong Li focused her gaze and saw a woman in a golden silk dress and a fine jacket, wearing a pair of brocade gloves with golden edges, kneeling on the ground and weeping. As the woman was about to throw herself onto Xie Xu, Zhong Li had no time to stop her, but Lu Wuxie was one step ahead, pulling the woman’s arm and saying, “Madam Zhen, I suspect foul play in my grandfather’s death. To prevent anyone from tampering with the body and the scene, I request that you leave now!”
As he spoke, Lin Jin stepped forward and, regardless of Madam Zhen’s expression, pulled her out of the ruins.
Zhong Li watched the woman sweep past her, a faint, familiar fragrance wafting into her nostrils. This scent was so familiar, like…
Xie Yunxi’s scent.
Suddenly, Zhong Li recalled the Xie family matters. Xie Yunxi was born to a concubine, and Lu Wuxie had called the woman Madam Zhen, not grandmother. According to the ancient rules where the legitimate son was paramount, this Madam Zhen should be Xie Yunxi’s biological mother?
“Li’er.” Just as Zhong Li’s attention was fully on Madam Zhen, Lu Wuxie’s voice sounded.
Zhong Li snapped back to attention, seeing that the impulsiveness and panic that had rippled across his face during the fire seemed to have never happened. Lu Wuxie’s face was now as calm as water.
She nodded, saying no more, and put down her medicine chest to squat beside Xie Xu’s body. She opened Xie Xu’s lips and examined his nasal cavity. Her expression darkened, and she stood up to answer, “The Young Master’s suspicion is correct. Xie Master’s body appears to have died in the fire, but there is no soot in his nasal cavity or mouth. I suspect the fire was set after Xie Master’s death.”
As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, a reprimanding voice cut in, “You’re talking nonsense!”
Zhong Li turned and saw a young maidservant standing beside Madam Zhen, pointing a finger at her.
“Who is this young lady…”
The young maidservant tilted her head slightly and said, “I am Sixi, the head maidservant to the Second Madam.”
Zhong Li nodded and said, “May I ask why Sixi here says that?”
Sixi did not hesitate and said, “You say Master did not die from the fire, but why is his body curled up? Everyone knows that only those who die in a fire have their bodies curl up. Don’t you all agree?”
As soon as she spoke, the surrounding house servants began to whisper amongst themselves, and most of them nodded in agreement with Sixi.
Zhong Li looked at the situation before her, neither angry nor blaming them. She stepped forward and said, “A body in a fist-like posture does not necessarily mean that the body will exhibit this strange posture only after being burned alive.
The body can present this way primarily because after exposure to high temperatures, the body loses moisture, the subcutaneous tissue hardens, the epidermis carbonizes, and the muscle tissue contracts, causing the joints to flex.
Therefore, regardless of whether Xie Xu was alive or dead in the house at the time, the body would ultimately assume this posture.”
After her explanation, the surrounding people were instantly enlightened.
Zhong Li continued, “The only basis for determining whether the deceased was burned to death or died from other causes is whether there is charcoal dust in the respiratory tract.”
“So, does Assistant Minister Zhong mean that Master died before the fire started?” Madam Zhen stepped forward and asked after hearing Zhong Li’s words.
“Yes!” Zhong Li answered without hesitation.
“Then can I also understand Assistant Minister Zhong’s words to mean that Master was murdered? And this murderer is among us, perhaps even burning the evidence of the murder to escape responsibility?” Madam Zhen asked again.
Zhong Li looked deeply at the woman opposite her, having to admit that Xie Yunxi’s temperament was exactly like Madam Zhen’s.
She pondered for a moment and said, “I have no evidence, and anything more would be speculation. As for how the Second Madam thinks, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Evidence?” Madam Zhen raised an eyebrow. “I heard that Assistant Minister Zhong came from the Dali Temple in Jincheng and solved the case of the double homicide in the southern suburbs in three days. Why are you being so reserved when analyzing a murder case in my Xie mansion today?”
“Second Madam.” Zhong Li looked at the aggressive Madam Zhen and said, “It is not that Zhong Li is being reserved. Regardless of what is done, the Dali Temple requires evidence for case resolution. Even if this were a suicide, I would still need to find clues to prove it.”
“Evidence? What evidence does Assistant Minister Zhong want? Or is there simply no ability to solve the case, and it would be better to return to the Dali Temple immediately!” Madam Zhen said sarcastically.
Zhong Li glanced at Lu Wuxie, who was still standing in the ruins, and then at the group of Xie family servants who were watching with amusement, and said, “I want to dissect Master Xie’s body.”