bayedsolid Chapter 426 The Person Who Died?
Chapter 426 The Person Who Died?
Upon seeing the thick calluses on the deceased's tiger's mouth and palm, Lin Lezhi's gaze darkened, tinged with doubt.
The wide sleeves slid down with gravity, revealing that the bruises and lividity on the deceased's arm had spread to the inside of the entire arm. Lin Lezhi had seen the other arm, and it was the same.
After the clothes were removed, the gruesome sight of the deceased with broken ribs and a disemboweled abdomen caused many people present to feel physically uncomfortable, and they all turned away to look away.
The deceased had firm, robust muscles, and several obvious bruises were visible where the flesh and blood intertwined with the broken bones.
Lin Lezhi frowned slightly and lifted the body to one side. On the back of the deceased, as well as the inside of the arm and the back of the hand, large patches of purplish-blue bruises could be seen.
Upon closer inspection, the strong smell of blood was mixed with a faint sour aroma, as well as a pleasant fragrance.
Before they could pinpoint the source of the smell, seeing the seriousness in Lin Lezhi's eyes, Ding Yun crouched down and asked intently, "Have you discovered anything?"
After being questioned by Ding Yun, Lin Lezhi snapped out of her thoughts and truthfully recounted what she had seen and deduced.
"Your Excellency, judging from the wounds on the deceased's body, the edges of the wound on his abdomen were not smooth, indicating that he was injured by a sharp weapon before he died. The wound was not deep enough to be fatal immediately. Observing the deceased's appearance at the moment of death, his face was bluish-purple, his eyes were wide open, and his jaw was clenched. It is clear that his true cause of death was not the wound on his abdomen, but that he was strangled by the upper part of his neck and suffocated to death."
Lin Lezhi paused briefly, looked at the broken bones, and continued, "In addition, many joints on the deceased's body were broken and turned outward. There were no bloodstains at the fracture sites, so they were not injuries sustained before death. They should be the result of excessive folding and compression of the body after death when the body was hung on a curtain. The bruises on the body were likely caused by the assailant striking the body."
"Who on earth would be so ruthless to a scholar who can't even kill a chicken? What kind of deep hatred could there be to strangle someone like that?"
The people standing by were horrified and heartbroken at the sight of the gruesome deaths, unable to bear to look directly at them.
The surrounding people started talking about it. But then the official standing next to Ding Yun gave him a sharp look, and the people around him were immediately frightened into silence.
"What the people say is one of the suspicious points in this case."
"what?"
"My lord, please look here."
As Lin Lezhi indicated, Ding Yun's gaze fell on the callus on the tiger's mouth of the deceased's right hand. His brows furrowed slightly, and he understood in his eyes, but he did not say it immediately. Instead, he looked at his own palm.
Ding Yun has calluses on his palms, the area between his thumb and forefinger, and even between his knuckles. However, compared to the calluses on his knuckles, the calluses on the area between his thumb and forefinger and on his palms are not very noticeable. They are hard to detect unless you look closely.
After a moment of silence, Ding Yun looked at Lin Le and asked, "You suspect the deceased's identity?"
"Your Excellency is wise." Lin Lezhi looked at the calluses on the deceased's palms and said, "The deceased's palms are rough, with thick calluses on the tiger's mouth of his right hand, but none on the tiger's mouth of his left hand. He was sturdy and strong, so it seems that the deceased did not study literature but practiced martial arts for a long time."
Say it.
Ding Yun reached out and touched the side of the deceased's face and neck, but found no signs of disguise.
Ding Yun stood up and looked at Zhang Lai, his eyes narrowing, and asked, "Are you sure he is Lu Huaijin?"
When asked.
Zhang Lai suppressed his discomfort and, after careful examination, nodded vigorously, saying, "That's right, I'm sure. He is indeed Lu Huaijin himself. Many of the crew members on this ship, the men he employs, and the merchants who have been doing business with him for a long time can all testify to this."
"Has he been dressed like this ever since he booked that room?"
Zhang Lai nodded again, confirming, "Yes, sir. This guest is a regular customer of ours. He has been booking that room on our pleasure boat for over twenty years."
"so long?"
"Yes, sir. The staff and merchants on my pleasure boat have changed several times. There are two old staff members who have been working on this pleasure boat all along. But they are getting old and are exposed to the wind all year round, so they have some difficulty moving around. They don't want to lose their livelihood, so I let them do some light chores in the cabin. But everyone knows them, there's no mistake."
"Does he always stay inside when he comes?"
"That's not the case. He loved calligraphy and paintings, and always carried a wooden box as he traveled to various places, searching for antiques and calligraphy to bring home. Sometimes he would have a very rich haul, filling a whole box. He kept quite a few of the calligraphy, paintings, and antiques he found in his room."
As he spoke, Zhang Lai scratched the back of his head, somewhat puzzled, and said, "He came frequently in the first half of the year, but in the last few months, I haven't seen him carrying that wooden box around traveling much. It's been at least two months since he last came to this pleasure boat, but I've kept his room empty and have someone clean it regularly. I think perhaps he's collected almost all the antiques and paintings he could find in the world, so he no longer needs to go through the trouble of searching around like before."