How did I, a mere son-in-law lying down, become a "Fenglang Juxu" (a legendary martial art

Chapter 56 Identification of the Corpse

Seeing the sweat on Liu Shan's forehead, Li Polu chuckled and said, "My dear son-in-law, you are indeed diligent."

Liu Shan frowned and said, "Father-in-law, didn't you say that we should address each other by their official titles in the government office?"

“That’s right.” Li Polu stepped into the government office, his smile vanished, and he said seriously, “Clerk Liu, please address me as ‘Prefect’ now.”

Liu Shan's expression at this moment was as if he had swallowed a handful of flies, but he had to suppress his discomfort and respectfully replied, "Yes, Prefect."

Li Polu nodded slightly. If he weren't already inside the government office, he probably would have burst out laughing.

Liu Shan complained to himself: What a boring old man.

The government office of the Xia Dynasty did not provide breakfast, but there were many constables and yamen runners in the office. As soon as Li Polu spoke, people rushed to buy breakfast.

After all, the prefect had just taken office, and everyone wanted to seize the opportunity to curry favor with him, so they rushed to do so, fearing that they would fall behind.

Before long, a steaming breakfast was laid out on the table. Liu Shan glanced around and found that the food was quite plentiful, with soy milk and fried dough sticks, rice porridge and steamed buns, and even two bowls of meat wontons.

Li Polu took a bite of the fried dough stick, his eyes lighting up. "Hmm, not bad, it's fried by Aunt Zhao."

Liu Shan also tried a meat wonton. The meat was delicious and the soup was rich, but he couldn't tell which restaurant it was from.

Soon after the two finished their breakfast, the team of constables from the previous day returned to the government office.

The constables, travel-worn, bowed and said, "Your Excellency, Clerk Liu, we have brought back Ge Yuniang's old neighbor."

Li Polu waved his hand, and Liu Shan said, "Take them to identify the corpses."

A short while later, the group arrived at the morgue.

It was Liu Shan's first time here, and the pungent smell in the air made him very uncomfortable.

Also feeling unwell were six old neighbors who had been waiting there for a long time. They covered their noses, frowned, and were about to vomit.

Liu Shan's face turned ugly. He had only asked the constables to bring three old neighbors, so why were there three more? What was the reason for these three extra people?

Was the constable disobeying orders, or was he colluding with his old neighbor to make more money?!

Seeing Liu Shan's unusual expression, the head constable hurriedly explained, "Your Excellency, Clerk Liu, these three women are Ge Yuniang's old neighbors. They have come voluntarily to identify the body, and these three men are their family members who have come to escort the silver."

Liu Shan's expression softened; it turned out to be a misunderstanding. He said to the three women, "You are all Ge Yuniang's old neighbors. Do you know any of her distinctive features?"

The oldest woman hurriedly replied, "Sir, I know, Yu Niang has two connected moles on her left temple."

Liu Shan shook his head and sighed: "The body's face was destroyed, and its facial features are unrecognizable."

The middle-aged woman added, "She also has a light red scar on the inside of her right wrist."

Without Liu Shan giving any instructions, a coroner immediately stepped forward and carefully examined the corpse's right wrist.

Amid the expectant gazes of the crowd, the coroner slowly said, "Prefect, Clerk Liu, the skin on the corpse's right wrist has been cut off."

Li Polu frowned and said in a deep voice, "Cutting off the skin was obviously to cover up the identity of the corpse."

Liu Shan felt a chill run down his spine. The murderer was not only cruel but also very cautious, knowing that destroying the features that could identify the body would increase the difficulty of solving the case.

The women were terrified by the close contact with the corpse.

The third woman was younger, about thirty years old. She said in a trembling voice, "Sir, Yu Niang has a blue birthmark on her right calf."

The coroner immediately examined the body's right calf.

Unsurprisingly, the skin on his right calf was also cut off.

The constables looked at each other, the case becoming increasingly perplexing.

Liu Shan sighed and asked, "Everyone, does anyone remember any other characteristics of Ge Yuniang?"

Seeing that his old neighbors couldn't remember, Liu Shan suddenly took out a handful of loose silver, exactly six taels.

"The silver is in my hands. Whoever can provide clues, I will give them two taels of silver. Otherwise, you've come for nothing."

The three men looked indignant and were about to speak when they were interrupted by the constable's heavy snort.

The head constable patted the long sword at his waist and said coldly, "Think before you speak. This is not a place for you to fool around! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The three men immediately shut up and put on ingratiating smiles.

Tempted by the silver and threatened by the constable, the old neighbors began to try to recall their memories.

The middle-aged woman remembered and said with a hint of excitement, "I remember now, Yu Niang has a silver tooth in her mouth, it seems to be her left front tooth."

Liu Shan's eyes lit up, and he immediately signaled the coroner to examine the corpse's mouth.

However, the coroner hesitated this time.

Clearly, even a coroner who is used to seeing corpses would feel uncomfortable with the disfigured body.

After a while, the coroner took a deep breath, slowly lifted the white cloth, and gently pried open the corpse's mouth to reveal broken teeth.

After careful examination, the coroner nodded in confirmation: "Sir, there is indeed a silver tooth, but it is not the left incisor, but the right canine tooth."

Despite the inappropriate location, Liu Shan still gave her two taels of silver.

Regardless of how grateful the middle-aged woman was, the other former neighbors, seeing that they could actually receive the silver, racked their brains to recall as many clues as possible.

However, despite being Ge Yuniang's old neighbors, their limited knowledge prevented them from providing any further valuable information.

Seeing this, Liu Shan first divided the remaining four taels of silver equally among the other two women, then took out five taels of silver from his pocket, placed them on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Whoever can provide the key clues, these five taels of silver are theirs."

The eyes of all the old neighbors turned to the silver, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Fortunately, this was a government office, with constables on high alert, who successfully suppressed that inappropriate greed.

After a long time, just when Liu Shan was about to give up, a thin young man stepped forward hesitantly.

He licked his lips and asked in a low voice, "Sir, are you really going to give me five taels of silver?"

Liu Shan immediately pushed the silver on the table toward him, saying, "The silver is already here. As long as you can provide a key clue, it's yours."

The young man bit his lip, staring intently at the silver, as if weighing something.

Soon, as if he had made up his mind, he whispered, "Yu Niang's private parts..."

He only said four words before suddenly stopping, looking at the silver, then at the young woman, and hesitated again.

However, to Liu Shan's surprise, the young woman suddenly spoke up, "Go on, money is the most important thing."

Seeing this, the young man finally made a decision. Although his voice was not loud, his words were clearly heard by everyone present: "Her area is different from other women's. It is shaped like a butterfly and is very beautiful... and you can also see a red mole on the left side."