The mother of the deceased girl, her emotions running high, hissed, "Mind your own business!"
Xu Qiu rubbed his scratched face, stepped forward, and scolded, "How dare you! This is Prefect Yan, the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture."
Prefect Yan? Everyone froze for a moment, then dropped to their knees in a clatter like falling dominos.
Yan Tongshu's gaze was sharp as a blade as he asked again, "Was your daughter murdered?"
The question struck a nerve with the girl's mother. Her tears burst forth as if a dam had broken. "Yes, my daughter was killed. Killed by that man, Ma Tianci."
She pointed a trembling finger at the male corpse in the coffin, presumably Ma Tianci himself.
The woman wept uncontrollably, her voice breaking. The girl's father forced back his grief and took over, choking out, "Your Honor, our daughter was strangled to death by that Ma boy. After he killed her, he took his own life out of guilt. Both children are gone. As parents, our hearts ache, but we had no choice but to accept it. We only wanted to let the children rest in peace as soon as possible. But then the Ma family deliberately chose the same funeral time as ours and rammed their son's coffin into our daughter's. That's why we fought. The Ma family is utterly despicable!"
Mr. Ma immediately shot back, "You're the one barking up the wrong tree. Your Qiao family held a grudge against my son, and you deliberately rammed your coffin into his. You just don't want my son to have any peace. My son was cursed to run into a bunch of riffraff like you."
The stories made sense in theory, and both sides' accounts matched.
Yan Tongshu's expression relaxed slightly as he casually asked, "Did you report this to the authorities for an autopsy?"
Mr. Ma didn't take it seriously. "We all knew what happened. We just wanted to let the children rest in peace and not dwell on it any further."
"You didn't have an autopsy?" Yan Tongshu's voice shot up in shock. "No autopsy, and you dared to seal the coffins?!"
Mr. Ma was startled by the harsh tone. This was the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, a high-ranking court official, someone they'd never meet even if they had silver to throw around.
Trembling, Mr. Ma said, "Prefect Yan, we're just a humble household. That's how it's always been. We just wanted our child to rest in peace soon."
Yan Tongshu frowned and asked Xu Qiu, "Is that true?"
Xu Qiu nodded.
Yan Tongshu pressed further, "There's no hard rule that says a body must be examined by the coroner before burial?"
Xu Qiu shook his head. "No such law exists."
Yan Tongshu felt like cursing. "Change it. From now on, there will be."
Xu Qiu was puzzled. "But Lord Yan, the prefectural coroners are stretched thin as it is. They can't handle the workload."
Yan Tongshu replied, "Then hire more people. Otherwise, any parent who doesn't like their child could just kill them, wrap them in a straw mat, bury them in the dirt, and no one would know. Is murder that simple?"
Hearing this, Xu Qiu understood. Lord Yan was putting the people first and caring for them like his own children.
But—
Xu Qiu cautioned, "Lord Yan, amending the law requires approval from His Majesty."
"I know. I'll present it to the emperor at tomorrow's morning court." Yan Tongshu ordered, "Gather some men. Bring both bodies back to the prefectural office for examination, and seal off the primary crime scene."
"No—absolutely not!"
Before Xu Qiu could respond, Mrs. Qiao lunged at her daughter's coffin, shielding it with her body and wailing, "No examination! We won't have one!"
The Ma family was just as odd. Mr. Ma spread his arms to guard his son's coffin and pleaded, "Prefect Yan, we don't want one either! No exam! We're willing to pay the Qiaos compensation, just don't touch the bodies!"
Mrs. Ma, sorrowful to the point of death, knelt and wept, "Prefect Yan, my son is already pitiful enough in death. I beg you, don't defile his corpse any further."
With both families grieving and fiercely resisting an autopsy, the whole thing felt suspicious—whether by reason or emotion.
Yan Tongshu made an immediate decision. "Take everyone back."
Xu Qiu replied, "Yes, sir."
In a flurry, a crowd of people and two bodies were brought back to Kaifeng Prefecture.
Yan Tongshu conducted the autopsy alongside the female coroner on duty, Wu Suowei.
The two bodies confirmed Yan Tongshu's initial assessment.
Deceased: Ma Tianci, male, eighteen years old. Died of poisoning. The body exhibited advanced decomposition with a tree-like vascular network. Time of death: three days prior, between shen and you hours (3 PM to 7 PM) on the twelfth.
Deceased: Qiao Qingqing, female, sixteen years old. Circumferential ligature marks on the neck, with a crossed knot impression at the back. Fingernails stained with blood, matching the scratch marks on the deceased's face—likely self-defense wounds from scratching her assailant. Reddish-brown livor mortis on the back. Based on the body's softening and decomposition, death occurred seven days prior, between wei and shen hours (1 PM to 5 PM) on the eighth.
Beyond these, neither body showed any other fatal injuries.
After the basic examination, Yan Tongshu removed Qiao Qingqing's lower garments for further inspection.
When a man kills a woman, the motive is usually love or money.
She hadn't found any valuables on Qiao Qingqing or Ma Tianci during the exam. Of course, their clothes might have been changed, and any valuables could have been removed by the parents.
After a moment, Yan Tongshu's face grew more somber.
Qiao Qingqing was not a virgin.
Did the killer target her for romantic reasons?
Yan Tongshu had the coroner record the findings and then convened the court for questioning.
Out of respect for the woman's reputation, Yan Tongshu ordered the officers to clear away all onlookers and strictly forbade anyone in the courtroom from leaking the proceedings. Only then did he begin questioning both sets of parents.
Seated in the court, beneath the words "Plead for the People" inscribed above, she asked, "What was the relationship between Qiao Qingqing and Ma Tianci? Why did Ma Tianci kill Qiao Qingqing?"
Mr. and Mrs. Ma, Mr. and Mrs. Qiao—all four exchanged glances, silent and tight-lipped.
Four faces, all with a look of hesitation, as if burdened by shame.
Could it be—
Yan Tongshu probed sharply, "Were the two involved in a secret affair?"
Called out so directly, the Qiao parents dropped their pretense.
Mrs. Qiao wiped her tears. "Your Honor, my daughter was wronged. She was only sixteen, young and beautiful, a well-known little talent. Her paintings and calligraphy were unmatched. But that Ma family—"
Tears came flooding back as she spoke of the Mas. "The Ma family has always been at odds with us Qiaos. They had their son seduce our daughter, tricking her, foolish as she was, into eloping. We didn't want an autopsy. We just wanted her to rest in peace, to preserve Qingqing's honor. She already died so terribly. As her mother, I couldn't bear to let her lose her good name even in death!"
Before Mrs. Qiao could finish, the Mas tried to interrupt. Yan Tongshu shot them a sharp glare, and they fell silent.
"One at a time," Yan Tongshu commanded.
"Yes," Mr. Ma said, his head bowed but his tone still bristling with resentment.
"What grievance do you have with the Ma family?" Yan Tongshu asked steadily.
Mr. Qiao comforted his wife and took over, "Your Honor, our Qiao family owns a clothing shop in the eastern part of the city, passed down through generations. We employ four tailors, and my wife and I carry on our ancestors' fine skills in tailoring. The business was thriving."
“Unexpectedly, about three years ago, the Ma family saw that our business was thriving, so they leased the storefront across the street and opened a ready-made clothes shop too. They even poached two of our master tailors. They used low prices to steal our customers. Your Honor, is that any way for the Ma family to do business? Our Qiao family couldn’t swallow that, so we lowered our prices too. From then on, the two families became enemies. My wife and I swore we would never coexist with the Ma family.”
Yan Tongshu turned to Mr. and Mrs. Ma. “Is that how it happened?”
Mr. Ma pursed his lips. “Our business rivalry was roughly like that. But Your Honor, you can’t blame us. Our original shop couldn’t survive, so we had to find another way. The street where the Qiao family did business was profitable. We wanted to stay afloat, so we had no choice but to relocate and reopen.”
Yan Tongshu glanced at Mr. Ma. “Did Ma Tianci deliberately seduce Qiao Qingqing?”
“Absolutely not!”
Mr. Ma said bluntly, “Your Honor, I admit that to keep my business alive and protect the Ma family’s interests, I may have been a bit unscrupulous. But that’s how business works—it’s about profit, not principles. My son Tianci, however, is different. He is gentle-natured and kind-hearted—he wouldn’t even hurt an ant. If you ask me, the Qiao family must have noticed that my son is outstanding, so they deliberately used their daughter to seduce him, trying to destroy him and get revenge. We refused to have the autopsy done precisely to preserve Tianci’s reputation.”
Yan Tongshu rubbed his forehead.
Both sets of parents were blaming each other with strong emotions, each praising their own child, denigrating the other’s, and making excuses for their own.
Yan Tongshu took a deep breath and asked, “Did both parties have feelings for each other?”
The two sets of parents exchanged a glance, then snorted with mutual disdain, turning their heads away in opposite directions.
The Ma family: “My son was seduced.”
The Qiao family: “My daughter was enticed.”
Yan Tongshu was speechless.
