Chapter 60: Suspicion

Officer Liu led her all the way to the yamen. Neither of them spoke on the way. She didn’t say anything and Si Qingyu didn’t intend to ask either.

It was only when they reached the entrance of the yamen that Officer Liu gestured for her to enter. Si Qingyu nodded to her. As soon as she walked in, she saw the corpse placed in the hall.

Officer Liu turned around and said to her, “Doctor Si, please wait here for a moment. I’ll go report to Lord Wei.” With that said, she left through the door above the public hall.

Only Si Qingyu was left in the public hall. With one hand behind her back, she calmly observed the woman’s corpse at close range. The wine bottle in her mouth had not been removed, so it still looked the same as before her death.

Si Qingyu couldn’t help but rub the hand in front of her. She wanted to take the wine bottle and see if the person had suffocated to death as she thought.

Her tall and straight figure stood there like a white poplar tree. She waited for quite a while before that person finally arrived.

“Doctor Si!” A slightly aged voice came. Si Qingyu looked up and saw a woman who appeared to be in her forties walking out from the door above the public hall.

The woman was dressed in a dark blue official robe. Her complexion was slightly pale and she had deep eye bags. However, her triangular eyes, though turbid, were sharp. If Si Qingyu didn’t know she was the county magistrate, she would have thought at first glance that she was an addict indulging excessively in the flower groves.

Si Qingyu turned and cupped her hands in a salute, “Lord Wei.”

“Tut-tut, Doctor Si, there’s no need for such formalities. I’m just a small county magistrate, how could I deserve Doctor Si’s grand courtesy.” Although she said this, she stood with her hands behind her back and her chin slightly raised, quite enjoying Si Qingyu’s respect, and squinted at Si Qingyu with a somewhat arrogant expression.

Si Qingyu stood up straight after finishing her salute. The woman in front of her was only up to Si Qingyu’s nose. With her chin slightly raised, she ended up looking up at Si Qingyu.

Si Qingyu ignored her sarcastic words and looked at her indifferently, “May I ask what Lord Wei summoned me for?”

“Sigh,” Lord Wei let out a deep sigh, strolled leisurely to the front of the corpse, glanced down at the hideous body, and clicked her tongue, “It’s only been a few days, and another townsperson has died for no reason. It pains my heart.”

After saying that, she pretended to be solemn with a mournful look on her face.

Si Qingyu didn’t think she had called her here just to watch her “grieve”. There was a hint of impatience between her brows, “Lord, what exactly did you summon me for?”

Lord Wei’s leisurely footsteps slowly paced towards her, shaking her head and sighing, “It’s like this, Doctor Si. I asked you to come to take a look at how this person died.”

Si Qingyu frowned, not understanding, “Lord Wei, you may have found the wrong person. I’m just a doctor. If you want to know how a person died, you should go find a coroner.”

Lord Wei walked around Si Qingyu in a circle, slowly circling to her upper right side and stopping. Her turbid eyes stared intently at her, “I sent someone to find that coroner, but he went to the capital and won’t be back so quickly. That’s why I wanted to ask Doctor Si to help me take a look.” Saying that, her eyeballs rolled around and she straightened her back even more, “Could it be that Doctor Si wants to refuse even such a small matter?”

Her appearance was indignant, as if she had misjudged Si Qingyu.

Si Qingyu found it amusing. This person must have watched too many plays, wanting to humiliate her like this. But she didn’t care about these things, “I’m not trying to refuse you, Lord. It’s just that I’m afraid even if I look, I won’t be able to see much. Wouldn’t that be a waste of your time?”

“How could that be? I have plenty of time. And it’s an honor to be able to invite Doctor Si to come. Please, Doctor Si.”

She still spoke sarcastically. Si Qingyu didn’t mind. In any case, she was also a bit curious about how this person had actually died.

Si Qingyu walked to the side of the corpse, bent her knees and half-squatted. Looking at the wine bottle in the mouth, she asked indifferently, “Lord, can this wine bottle be taken out?”

“Of course it can.” Lord Wei waved her hand to summon someone to bring a high chair. Just like that, she sat on the high chair, drinking hot tea, and watched Si Qingyu work with great interest.

Hmph, so what if she’s a doctor? So what if she’s a divine doctor? In this town, she still has to listen to me!

With permission, Si Qingyu reached out to pull the neck of the bottle, intending to take it out, but found it exceptionally difficult. The bottle was embedded in the mouth as if it was inlaid.

Si Qingyu rested her forearm on her knee and glanced indifferently at the person sitting leisurely behind her.

It seemed she could only rely on herself.

Her fingers brushed the corpse’s cheeks and slowly felt for the corpse’s jaw. This wine bottle was even deeper than she thought.

Si Qingyu took a deep breath, grasped the corpse’s lower jaw with one hand, pried the mouth open to the maximum, and forcefully pulled out the bottle.

Instantly, a sour, foul smell mixed with a strong, rusty odor assailed her, directly suffocating Si Qingyu who was in close proximity.

Even Lord Wei, who was farther away from the corpse, smelled this odor and disgustedly couldn’t drink her tea. She put down the tea, covered her nose, walked over, looked at the corpse’s mouth that was opened so wide it seemed about to split, and clicked her tongue twice, “Died quite miserably.”

Si Qingyu, who was half-squatting, rubbed her sore eyes before opening them to look at the corpse that was even more hideous than before. The corners of the corpse’s mouth had already split, paired with the grayish-purple skin tone and round, bulging pupils, it was truly horrifying.

Si Qingyu lightly pinched the corpse’s lower jaw and saw that the inside of the oral cavity had already been stretched out. The reason why the bottle was so difficult to take out just now was because the palate had been punched in by the bottom of the bottle.

Some blood had already coagulated at the back of the oral cavity, covering the throat.

To be able to directly punch the palate into this state, how much strength must the perpetrator have? And it had to be done while subduing a struggling person.

It seemed that it was most likely a crime committed by multiple people. For some reason, Si Qingyu felt relieved at the thought of this.

The person standing behind Si Qingyu with her hands behind her back squinted at the back of the moonlight-colored robe, and asked as if unintentionally, “I heard that the little actor who died a few days ago had gone to the medical hall the day before he died?”

“Mm.” Si Qingyu picked up the blood-stained wine bottle and looked at it closely, responding indifferently.

“Then… may I ask why he went to the medical hall?”

Si Qingyu placed the wine bottle beside the corpse’s ear, stood up, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, turned around to look at her indifferently and asked in return, “Lord Wei, what do you think people who come to the medical hall are there for other than seeing a doctor?”

She actually suspected her?

Lord Wei chuckled, her turbid eyes flashing with a sharp light, “Doctor Si, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean it that way, I was just asking.” Saying that, her eyes swept over the corpse on the ground, “May I ask if Doctor Si has discovered anything.”

“Mm.” Si Qingyu didn’t take it to heart and held the wiped handkerchief in her hand, “In my opinion, the person probably died of suffocation. It could be a crime committed by multiple people. Of course, this is just my guess. So Lord, you should still quickly summon the coroner back to examine again.”

By the time Si Qingyu left the yamen, it was already dusk. That Lord Wei clearly disliked her very much, yet insisted on inviting her to the residence for a drink. How strange.

Si Qingyu stood at the entrance and looked at the sky, muttering a curse. If she returned late, Shaoxuan would throw a tantrum again.

She first went back to the medical hall to report her safety to Zhao Sixi before walking home. On the way, the image of that corpse with a hideous and horrifying face kept appearing in her mind, so her brows never relaxed.

It was only when she arrived at the door of her home, opened the courtyard gate, and saw the light purple figure sleeping on the stone table that the thoughts in her mind scattered.

Si Qingyu carefully closed the courtyard gate, afraid of making any sound that would wake the person up.

She tiptoed to the water tank to wash her hands clean before coming to the stone table. She saw that the man was still tightly grasping the jade pendant given to him even in his sleep.

Si Qingyu smiled. She bent down and extended her slender fingers to brush away the dark hair that had fallen on his face, revealing that fair and jade-like countenance. His long eyelashes were thick and dense like a fan, making her fingers itch.

She straightened up and was about to go cook when the man’s outstretched arms hugged her.

Si Qingyu’s body stiffened. She looked down and saw that the man’s eyes were still closed, his head nestled against her waist, his red lips slightly pouting, cutely tight.

She reached out one hand to gently stroke his silky fine hair behind him, the back of her other hand caressing his delicate and slightly warm face. She tentatively called out softly, “Shaoxuan?”

After a long time, the person tightly hugging her finally rubbed his cheeks against her waist coquettishly a couple of times, “…Mm.”

It seemed he was awake.

Her fingers stroked his fine hair up and down, and Luo Shaoxuan, like a cat being petted, closed his eyes and raised his head, his throat emitting a soft moan that made people feel weak.

Si Qingyu laughed softly and lowered her head to kiss his forehead that was facing upwards, “Why aren’t you sleeping in the room? What if you catch a cold sleeping here?” Although it was the height of summer, this was in the mountains where the wind was strong.

Luo Shaoxuan only slowly opened his eyes when a kiss landed on his forehead. He glanced at her coquettishly, his voice magnetic with a hint of coquetry, “Isn’t it because of you? Why did you come back late?”

Uh, Si Qingyu awkwardly scratched her jaw. She knew he was definitely going to interrogate her. She patted the arm around her waist, “Shaoxuan, loosen up a bit, my waist is about to fall apart.”

How could this person be so strong?

“Hmph, it’s good if it falls apart. If it does, you’ll remember.” Although he said this, the arms hugging her had loosened a lot.

Si Qingyu immediately felt her breathing become smooth.

The man’s cheeks were tightly pressed against her waist, his fingers slowly circling her lower back. A numbness connected to her tailbone, almost making her body go soft.

Si Qingyu trembled and reached out to grab the jade hand making mischief behind her. The tips of her ears were already slightly red, “Shaoxuan… you can’t do this.”

The man suddenly lifted his head from her waist. His beautiful eyes still had the wetness of just waking up, the corners of his eyes slightly red as he looked at her accusingly, “Why can’t I? We didn’t even… last night. Not only did you come back late today, you won’t even let me touch you.” He seemed to imagine something, and the wetness in his eyes intensified, “You must be keeping someone outside!”

Si Qingyu watched him make blind guesses in stunned silence. When this person became unreasonable, he really dared to think of anything.

Seeing that his eyes were completely red and he was really about to shed golden tears, she hurriedly reached out to wipe away the clear tears that had spilled from his eyes, coaxing, “Of course I don’t. You know how I am as a person, how could I possibly keep someone outside?”

Just keeping him alone was enough for her to handle.

Luo Shaoxuan raised his head and allowed her slender fingers to gently brush over his face. Of course he knew this was impossible, but he just wanted her to care about him more.

Just like how much he cared about her.

Burying his face in the woman’s waist again, his eyes half-closed in obsession as he deeply inhaled her fragrance, but his mouth whined, “Then why did you come back late?”

Si Qingyu sighed and told him about today’s events one by one. After saying that, she gently patted the man’s shoulder blades and said slowly, “The town has been unsettled recently, so don’t go to town for now. It’s safer to stay here. If you need anything, tell me and I’ll bring it for you, okay?”

“Okay.” The man buried in her waist responded in a low voice, his eyes deep and strange.

“Alright, I’ll go make dinner. You sit here for a while first.”

“Okay.” Luo Shaoxuan rubbed against her waist one last time and released her very obediently.

Si Qingyu smiled and patted his head, “If you’re hungry, there are some snacks in the bedroom. Eat some snacks first, dinner will be ready soon.”

Luo Shaoxuan looked like a completely pacified child, his obedient appearance was adorable.

Si Qingyu picked up the vegetables she had put aside and walked towards the kitchen. Her waist was still a bit sore from the force just now.

“Hiss,” Si Qingyu rubbed the sore spot and couldn’t help but sigh again that this person’s strength was really great.

His strength was even greater than a woman’s…

The line in her mind that had always been unconnected suddenly connected for a moment. Si Qingyu’s back went cold, her whole body stiff, her eyes slightly wide as she slowly turned her head to look at the man sitting at the stone table facing her direction.

Seeing her looking over, the man’s lips curved into a dazzling smile, his exquisite face was so beautiful under the sunset that it made one’s heart tremble.

Si Qingyu’s heart instantly relaxed and she returned a smile.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but slap her own forehead. She actually thought of such an absurd thing.