The bodies were carried to the Ministry of Justice. After the coroner's autopsy, the findings were exactly the same as Chang Shiming's assessment.
Their carotid arteries had been severed. In addition to their facial skin being peeled off, one of the men had also had his nose sliced off.
The coroner reported, "These five men are all around thirty years old. Judging by the thick calluses on their hands, they were all martial artists."
With that, he walked over to the corpse on the far right, pointed at its left hand, and continued, "What is worth noting is that his calluses are all on his left hand. He was left-handed."
Fan Guanshan inspected each body. The killer had struck decisively, leaving almost no evidence behind.
"Besides this, are there any other clues on the bodies that could help us identify them?"
The coroner shook his head. "Aside from a few moles, there are no special markings. The blade used to pierce their eyes was also very ordinary, the kind you could buy at any blacksmith shop."
Fan Guanshan took a deep breath.
This meant that trying to identify these men starting from their corpses would be extremely difficult.
After pondering for a moment, Fan Guanshan rode his horse back to the palace to report the situation to the Emperor.
Xiao Chengjing's face suddenly darkened as he slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
"Colluding with the enemy and betraying the country is an unforgivable crime!"
"Throw the entire Sang and Gou families into the imperial prison. Torture them severely. If they don't reveal the mastermind behind this, execute them all."
Fan Guanshan knelt on one knee. "I obey Your Majesty's command."
Half an hour later, Fan Guanshan led his men to raid the Sang and Gou estates. Even the maids and servants were locked up in the imperial prison, totaling forty-two people.
When Dong Yuanbin heard the news, his knees went weak, and he nearly fainted.
The two officials who had committed suicide out of fear of punishment were both from the Court of the National Granaries.
If the true mastermind couldn't be found, as their superior, he would definitely be implicated. Would his entire family be executed as well?
The candles in the Ministry of Justice's imperial prison burned from day to night. After a full day and night of severe torture, the straw on the ground was soaked with blood.
The father of one of the officials had been beaten until he was covered in blood and on the verge of death.
Squinting his eyes, he said weakly, "My lord, my eldest son hasn't been home for a month since he went to the imperial estate. We truly know nothing about the stolen potatoes."
Hearing this, the Sang family members locked in the adjacent cell repeatedly cried out about their innocence.
"My lord, we are wronged! We truly are innocent."
Sui Zhuangling, the Minister of Justice, frowned as he stared at them.
They had interrogated them for two days without getting a single piece of useful information. Had Sang Yu really not revealed anything to his family?
After a day's delay, when Chen Fu and Li Hou were brought to the county princess's manor the next day, they were no longer as anxious as they had been the day before.
Song Jinzhao slowly sipped her tea and asked, "Who was the person that fought with Lanxi the night before last?"
Thinking of all the help Song Jinzhao had given the tenant farmers on the estate over the past year, as well as their previous concealment, Chen Fu and Li Hou had already made up their minds before coming.
Huo Chong was still in the capital. Rather than running into him later, it would be better to just come clean now.
Otherwise, once she discovered they were lying, Song Jinzhao would only be even more displeased.
Li Hou knelt down and said, "To answer the county princess, this man's name is Huo Chong. His father used to be in the Wu family army, in the same military camp as Qu Ya and the others."
"Chen Fu and I only found out yesterday that aside from the people on the estate, the Wu family army still had other old subordinates."
"His father died over ten years ago. Now, Huo Chong works under Mu Ji'an, the Pacification Commissioner of Ningzhou. He only entered the capital to escort the Prince of Qi. He will leave in a few days and won't cause any trouble."
Song Jinzhao's right hand paused slightly as she set down her teacup.
To be able to escort the Prince of Qi into the capital, this Huo Chong must hold a fairly high official position under Mu Ji'an.
Chen Fu and Li Hou stared at Song Jinzhao with honest and straightforward expressions.
In reality, Qu Ya and Guan Nianshan hadn't told them Huo Chong's true identity, so both of them thought Huo Chong was just the son of an ordinary soldier.
