There is a god in the sky

Chapter 195 Who is the Murderer 2

Ignoring the crowd around her, Shen Lan unbuttoned her clothes and began performing CPR.

But as soon as she pressed the button, she knew the person couldn't be saved.

Her broken ribs pierced her heart and lungs; even a miracle couldn't save her.

She withdrew her hand, buttoned up her undone clothes again, and waited by the corpse for Xiao Ji to come out.

"Make way! Make way..." A group of officials squeezed through the crowd and came over.

They sized up Shen Lan and asked in a fierce tone, "Who are you, committing violence in the street?"

Shen Lan's dress was stained with blood, and her hands were also red, which looked rather frightening.

She explained, "This woman fell from the third floor of Qixiu Workshop, which we happened to see. Our superiors have already gone in to check."

People around Shen Lan testified on her behalf.

“Sir, what the young lady said is true. The person fell from the building. We all saw it.”

The officials' attitude softened somewhat, but they still went forward to drive Shen Lan away.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way. No matter how the person died, the authorities need to investigate first. Step aside and don't touch the body."

Shen Lan wanted to say that she was a coroner.

But Xiao Ji wasn't present, so these officials might not believe what she said.

She simply stepped aside.

At that moment, someone finally came out of the shop.

A shopkeeper ran out with two assistants, greeted the officials, and then prepared to carry the body away.

"Please forgive me, this is a customer of my shop. He fell from the building by accident. We will take good care of him."

Shen Lan saw the shopkeeper secretly slipping money to the official.

She said, "We can't say for sure how the person died yet, and you can't take the body away."

The shopkeeper glared at Shen Lan and said, "Go away, little girl, don't meddle in other people's business!"

The officials patrolled this street every day, so they naturally knew who owned the Qixiu Workshop.

Due to the power and influence of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion, they also wanted to turn a blind eye.

However, with so many people around, if they are ignored, the higher-ups might get into trouble.

"Manager Ying, we..."

The official was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Xiao Ji walked out in his official robes, his voice cold and stern. "Hand over the body to the Criminal Investigation Department. Seal off Qixiu Workshop and do not allow anyone to enter or leave!"

Scarlet official robes were only worn by officials of at least the fifth rank.

The officials stepped forward and bowed, saying, "May we ask how you should address us, sir? We are here to follow your orders."

Xiao Ji did not introduce himself, but instructed them, "Send someone to the Judicial Commissioner's Office to find Magistrate Xu and order him to bring the head constable here immediately."

It turned out to be an official from the Judicial Commissioner.

Judging from his age and appearance, the officers could guess his identity.

"Rest assured, sir, we will carry it out immediately!"

Seeing that they were dividing the work in an orderly manner, Xiao Ji nodded secretly.

The people in all the government offices in Bianjing are shrewd and efficient.

Manager Ying knew that this matter could not be settled privately, so he quickly cooperated with Xiao Ji in investigating the case.

"My lord, this young lady is the youngest daughter of Lord Wu of Zizhi Lane, and a regular customer of Qixiu Workshop."

"Which Lord Wu is it?"

"It is Lord Wu Chang, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Works."

Xiao Ji turned to look at him, his expression displeased, and pointed to the third floor, asking, "I went up to the third floor immediately, but the room facing the street was locked. Why?"

"This...this private room is usually used to receive distinguished guests, it's not open tonight."

"How did that person fall from inside?"

Manager Ying also looked bewildered.

"I really don't know what's going on."

"Did you see who she came with?"

“Miss Wu usually comes with three or five friends, but tonight she comes alone.”

"When did you come?"

Manager Ying couldn't remember and said with difficulty, "My shop is doing very well, and there are many customers coming and going. I didn't notice."

"Do you know what she was doing upstairs?"

He just went up and checked; there were no goods on the third floor, it was purely for receiving VIPs.

Manager Ying shook his head and beckoned a shop assistant to ask.

The shop assistant thought for a moment and said, "Miss Wu just took a fancy to a piece of bright red brocade. I went to pick it up, but when I came back, she was nowhere to be seen. I thought she had left."

After asking everyone in the shop, no one saw Miss Wu go upstairs.

What time was it?

The waiter scratched his head and thought for a long time, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration, “That’s right, it should be the end of the hour of You (5-7 PM), because I go to eat after that. When business is good, we take turns eating, and it is the end of the hour of You when it is my turn.”

The end of the You hour, which is about half an hour ago.

If the deceased had been in the shop for half an hour, and hadn't hidden herself, then logically no one should have seen her.

Shen Lan can now properly examine the corpse.

In public, she couldn't very well undress to examine the body, so she could only check the head and limbs first.

The wound on his forehead was fatal, caused by an impact.

In addition, there were scratches on the backs of both hands, which looked like they were from fingernails or something else.

The deceased's family members rushed to the scene after inquiring.

Shen Lan gave up her seat to them and stood aside watching them cry their hearts out while holding the corpse.

Then Magistrate Xu arrived with his men, taking over the positions of the patrol officers and beginning a search of the Qixiu Workshop.

The person fell right in front of Xiao Ji. If there was no one in that room, it can be basically concluded that the person died from a fall.

The cause of the fall is currently unknown.

By the time they had recorded everyone's statements in the shop, it was already midnight.

Everyone was exhausted.

The Wu family initially caused a scene at Qixiu Workshop, demanding that the shopkeeper pay with his life.

They couldn't believe it was an accident; how could a perfectly healthy person fall from the third floor?

Shen Lan was with Xiao Ji when he went upstairs for the second inspection.

The door to the private room was locked. When the waiter opened the door with the key, Shen Lan smelled a faint, unique fragrance.

She asked the waiter, "Who was the last guest to use this room? When did they leave?"

Without hesitation, the waiter replied, "It was evening, and the last guest was Princess Mingyue from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion."

Shen Lan walked into the room, looked around, and then looked at the open window.

"The door was locked, so how did the deceased get in? Or did she stay inside the whole time?"

The guy was completely baffled.

"I don't know, could it be that he didn't fall from this room?"

Shen Lan and Xiao Ji didn't look up at the time, but falling from a building isn't like playing with a parachute; it's impossible for it to curve.

The location where she landed corresponded to this room.

The second floor has shelves and no windows at all.

Xiao Ji was looking at the marks on the window frame.

“There are no footprints, so it doesn’t look like he climbed out the window.” He gestured to the height of the window and shook his head, saying, “It’s impossible to fall from this height.”

Shen Lan walked over; the windowsill was above her waist.

She was about the same height as the deceased, so she wouldn't have fallen unless the deceased leaned out of the window himself.

"Also, the wound on her forehead was the most severe, which means she landed on her forehead. In that position, she must have fallen headfirst."

If it was intentional, it could only be because she was standing facing the window and someone pushed her from behind.

Xiao Ji nodded.

The mystery to be solved now is whether the person actually fell from here.

If so, what's wrong with the door lock?

If not, where did the deceased fall from?

There are many things that don't make sense.