Female Forensic Doctor of Dali Temple

“Miss Bai is indeed knowledgeable,” Zhou Chen said with a meaningful glance at Jian Yu. “But I am not a forensic expert. I just often arrive at crime scenes first and need to understand some basic techniques. If I encounter complex cases, I will transfer them to the Dali Temple for professional forensic analysis.”

Bai Yue smiled, “You’re not a professional, which is good, because I am.”

She pulled out a slender silver needle from a row, looking at Jian Yu. “It concerns my innocence, and I also understand some methods of examination. Can I give it a try?”

Jian Yu’s expression was complex. He didn’t say yes or no for a while, then suddenly reached out and pulled Bai Yue up.

“Yue’er,” Jian Yu said with meaning, “I know your family has been practicing medicine for generations, but treating living patients and examining dead bodies are two different things. With me here, you don’t need to force yourself.”

Bai Yue felt a sense of joy. Her family has been practicing medicine for generations? What a coincidence. She could consider herself half a colleague.
“I won’t force myself,” Bai Yue tugged at Jian Yu’s sleeve, “Master Jian, Master Jian Ge, Xiao Jian…”

Jian Yu turned into stone for a moment, his teeth clenched as he shivered with goosebumps.

Bai Yue also felt goosebumps all over her body, but she bravely held back and persisted, “Just let me try.”

Zhou Chen couldn’t bear to watch anymore and suggested, “Since Miss Bai can do it and is eager to prove her innocence, Master Jian, why not let her give it a try?”

“This is absurd,” Jian Yu still hesitated, but Bai Yue was already eager and reached out her hand.

Although Wei Cheng’s time of death was short and there were no lividity marks on the body, nor had it stiffened, a body was still a body. The feeling of a person being dead is completely different from being asleep.

Bai Yue nonchalantly placed her hand on Wei Cheng’s throat, then said, “Poisoning and suffocation, if they don’t coexist, then one is genuine and the other is a diversion. Because poisoning wouldn’t cause the eyes to bulge, so I believe suffocation is real and poisoning is fake.”

As she spoke, Bai Yue slowly inserted the silver needle into the lower part of Wei Cheng’s throat, the needle went in halfway, and then she slowly pulled it out.

Both of them looked at it, and the silver needle didn’t change color.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Chen wondered, “When I used the silver needle to examine the throat just now, the needle clearly turned black.”

Jian Yu immediately understood, “Your point is that the poison was administered after Wei Cheng’s death, so it only reached the shallow part of the throat and wasn’t swallowed.”

“Yes, as for the blood froth in the mouth and nose, that can all be faked. As long as preparations were made beforehand, it can be applied to oneself.” Bai Yue said, “This way, everyone will believe that Lord Wei died from poisoning, directing suspicion towards the kitchen or a close servant who could administer poison.”

Bai Yue works to remove the label of suspicion from himself.

“If the poisoning is fake, and death by suffocation is real, then the murderer is a very strong man, capable of strangling Lord Wei to death silently.”

Although Wei Cheng was a civil official without martial skills, he wasn’t weak. To strangle him to death requires extraordinary strength, typically possessed by a strong or martially skilled man.

Both Jian Yu and Zhou Chen thought Bai Yue was just making casual remarks and were about to discuss further, when there was a commotion outside and someone wanted to enter.

“It’s the steward of the Wei Residence.” Jian Yu’s subordinate checked and upon receiving a nod from his master, went to bring the person in.

The elderly steward, aged around fifty or sixty, was visibly anxious and sweating profusely. “Lord Jian, Lord Zhou, something has happened.”
Wei Cheng’s death had already caused upheaval in the Wei Residence; what more could have happened?

The steward explained, “The young master has gone missing.”

This is truly one crisis after another. No one expected it to be like this. Jian Yu said, “Don’t panic. How old is the young master, and when did he go missing?”

“The young master is just three years old. He went missing fifteen minutes ago,” the old steward said. “The young master is the son of the third madam. The master’s accident has thrown the household into chaos. The third madam was in the courtyard just now. The young master was sleeping in his room under the care of his nurse. Someone outside called out, and when she went to look, the young master was gone.”

“Gone in the blink of an eye?” Jian Yu turned around and said, “Go find the coroner. Until the coroner arrives, no one should approach Lord Wei. Take me to where the young master disappeared.”

Bai Yue crouched by Wei Cheng’s body, her mind racing between staying with the body and seizing an opportunity to escape. Before she could make a final decision, Jian Yu suddenly seemed to recall something, turned back, and gently helped her up.

“Come, let’s go take a look together,” Jian Yu said. “The Wei Residence is quite large, so don’t wander off alone. It wouldn’t be good if you got lost.”

“…” Bai Yue followed Jian Yu with unsteady steps, saying as they walked, “Slow down, slow down… Lord Jian…”

“Call me Mo Yi,” Jian Yu turned back and said.

“Ah?”

“My name, you can call me by my name,” Jian Yu said with a meaningful glance. “Between you and me, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Is this really not a split personality? Bai Yue reluctantly followed along and said, “Alright, Mo Yi it is then. You can call me whatever you like, but could you please let go of me? I’m not going to run away.”

Somehow, this statement seemed to agitate Jian Yu. He tightened his grip on Bai Yue’s wrist.

“Who knows,” Jian Yu lightly sneered. “Hmph, we’ll settle this matter later.”

The Wei Residence was in chaos today. Now, several individuals of importance were gathered in the courtyard of the third madam. The third madam had fainted from crying, and the nurse knelt trembling on the ground. Servants throughout the residence were searching, and even on the artificial mountain in the garden, there were people lost in thought by the lotus pond. Clearly, everyone was at a loss.

“This is the nursemaid who was with the young master,” the steward pointed to the woman kneeling on the ground.

“I swear, every word I say is true,” a plump woman vowed earnestly. “This courtyard only has one gate. When I heard someone calling from outside, I went out to answer, but I didn’t see anyone, so I came back. If anyone else had come in from outside during that time, I definitely would have seen them.”

“Besides the young master, were there any other missing items in the room? Such as belongings or clothes?”

The woman thought for a moment and shook her head. “When the young master went missing, I was too panicked to notice anything else. I didn’t have time to look for other things in the room. But there are no signs of searching or rummaging.”

The room’s door was wide open. Bai Yue glanced inside and saw the chaotic state of the room, presumably from the search for the young master. Cupboards and even under the bed had been thoroughly checked. Even if there were clues before, there was no trace of them now.

“You’re talking nonsense,” the third madam woke up and mumbled, “Chener is already so grown up. How could he just disappear into thin air? You must be holding a grudge from my scolding a few days ago and intentionally harmed Chener!”