Please invite a god to calm down the scene

  The main building's entrance was lined with guards in embroidered uniforms, holding military swords, their faces as stern and intimidating as ever.

  Min An, dressed in elegant attire and exuding a fragrant scent, walked to the second-floor study, knelt down beside the desk as soon as he entered, and respectfully bowed his head to Li Peinan in the main seat: "Min An has seen the young master, wishing the young master great fortune and peace."

  Li Peinan put down the case file brought by Li Fei and looked up at Min An. Min An remained humble, bowing his head, only revealing half of his pale face, two black eyelashes, and his attire had become lighter and cleaner, and he seemed to have been scooped out of a clear spring, exuding a refreshing aura.

  Li Peinan didn't call Min An to get up, and asked him: "How do you think Wu Ren's case should be tried?"

  Min An hastily replied: "Your Honor needs to hold a public trial for this case, the plaintiff, defendant, witnesses, indictment, and investigation records must all be present. The clerks on both sides will record everything, not a single mistake can be made. The Ma family is powerful, I'm afraid Your Honor may not be able to control them, so I dare to ask if we can invite the young master to come and preside over the trial."

  "I understand you."

  Min An knocked his head on the ground: "Thank you, Young Master."

  Li Peinan picked up the household registration book next to the indictment and looked at it, not saying another word. He didn't speak, so Min An didn't dare move, still maintaining a kneeling and humble posture. In the study, there were four green finches hanging from the curtain, each with a golden scent ball. When they encountered a gentle evening breeze, they slowly rotated. From their beaks, a familiar grassy fragrance wafted out, landing on Li Peinan's chair back. The room was so quiet that when Min An caught this scent, it was unmistakably real.

  But he didn't dare to raise his head. Following the direction of his gaze, he could only see a corner of Li Peinan's long robe, embroidered with a stern and cold bamboo, its aura was just like its owner.

  Li Peinan finished reading Ma Mieyu's household registration book, sat upright for a moment, and looked at Min An kneeling on the ground. The more he didn't speak, the more he looked down on Min An with an air of superiority, the colder the surrounding air became, pressing Min An's back to bend gradually. Min An clenched his hands in his sleeves and wiped away the cold sweat from his palms.

  After a long time, Li Peinan finally spoke up and said: "Wang Huaili was originally unwilling to review Ma Mieyu's case, but he went back in the evening and came back specially to speak for you. It can be seen that after I left, you thought of a way to deal with Wang Huaili. Since you picked out the trouble, then show me your good performance and re-examine your master's case. If your master has grievances, I will help him redress them; if your master really committed a crime, you also come to see me."

  Min An bowed down to the ground: "Thank you, Young Master, I will definitely not let you down."

  "Back off."

  Min An retreated backward, backing away to the door before turning around and going downstairs. He touched his back, which was already soaked with sweat in one area.

  The next day, Li Peinan led the guard team to the Qingquan County government office. To avoid suspicion, Wu Ren, who was a coroner, could not appear on the scene to examine the body. Min An proposed a re-examination of the body, and the coroner of Qingquan County responded accordingly. The Ma family strongly opposed the autopsy, and Liu Linglong, who had chased and beaten Min An in the street yesterday, was also present. She was married to Ma Mieyu as his concubine after he became bedridden, wearing plain but fashionable clothes from the capital city. Min An thought that she was a refined woman, spending a lot of money on her clothes, with a white satin dress embroidered with tea flower patterns under her outer garment.

  Liu Linglong made the most noise, blocking the entrance of the Ma family's main house. She hung a white silk rope from the beam and shouted at Wang Huaili, daring him to step over the threshold or she would die in front of him. Wang Huaili ordered his attendants to rush forward and grab Liu Linglong, who really put her neck into the noose and closed her eyes.

  Min An stood behind a group of people moving out of the county government office, carefully observing the movements of the Ma family. The courtyard was in an uproar, with noise and commotion everywhere, when suddenly a loud noise came from outside the gate, a team of brocade-clad guards rushed up the steps, occupying the entrance, waiting for Li Peinan to walk in wearing formal attire.

  The yard immediately fell silent. Then, even the servants from the Ma family had to kneel down and pay their respects, not noticing that Liu Ling was still standing on tiptoes with her hands grasping the edge of the stool.

  Li Peinan stood in front of the main house wearing a deep purple long gown and said coldly, "Go burn a furnace of charcoal."

  The clever servant understood his master's intention and called people to bring a large copper stove, piled up firewood inside, and lit the fire.

  Li Peinan looked at Liu Linglong and said, "When you die, this stove can be used to burn your bones into ash, which can be scattered as fertilizer." He lifted his robe and sat down in the chair brought by Li Qun, taking a sip of tea.

  "Mrs. Liu, what are you waiting for? Lord Wang still has to rush to the execution ground to behead Old Master Ma!"

  Liu Linglong's lips were bitten bloody on the bench, and she quietly retreated to one side, hiding behind the Ma family.

  Wang Huaili hastily called out to the county yamen attendants to enter, then turned around and asked Li Peinan to pay his respects. Li Peinan waved his hand: "Bring Min'an in." Min'an walked up to Li Peinan's seat and paid his respects, also entering the door. He stayed behind as the person in charge in the main courtyard. The Qingquan County coroner brought a toolbox into the house to examine Ma Mieyu's body, and after a while, he came out to report to Wang Huaili that there were no external injuries on the corpse. Wang Huaili asked about the cause of death, and Li Peinan walked into the courtyard gate with his hands behind his back at this time. The coroner saw Li Peinan enter and hesitated before daring to say: "Reporting to the young master and sir, I still believe that Master Ma's death was due to self-inflicted injuries, not caused by external factors."

  This remark easily makes people think of the rumor that Wu Ren's improper dance led to Master Ma's inexplicable death, and Min An heard it, anxiously sweating a little on his forehead.

  Li Peinan looked at Min An for a moment and suddenly asked: "Do you want to say something?"

  Min An walked out and bowed to the crowd: "Master Ma's bedroom is tightly closed, with little light, I'm afraid there might be mistakes in the examination."

  He snorted and saw Li Peinan present, so he didn't dare make a scene.

  Li Peinan sat back in the chair arranged by Lai Qun, picked up the tea bowl cover and scraped it against the rim of the cup, saying: "Then go inspect."

  The effect of Li Peinan's scene was not ordinary, and the coroner and Wang Huaili retreated to one side. The yamen runners immediately set up the autopsy site. In the center of the courtyard, a layer of gauze was surrounded, with two yellow oil-paper umbrellas tied to the top of bamboo poles to block the light. Ma Mieyu's body was carried out and placed on a grass mat.

  Min An burned incense and bowed three times to the corpse, saying: "I want to investigate the true cause of Master Ma's death to pay homage to his spirit in heaven. If I have offended you, please forgive me."

  Min Anxian first examined the corpse, which was yellowish-brown in color, with little flesh and dry, just like a normal death. He helped Ma Mieyu up and carefully looked at the back of his head, then parted his hair to look at the top of his head, but saw no small wounds or external injuries. He also examined the eyes, mouth, nose, and other openings on the body, but found no unusual injuries. He prepared a white cloth to cover the corpse and asked Lai Qun to move the charcoal fire from outside the courtyard to in front of the grass mat.

  The sound of dripping water echoed outside the tent, and Qingquan, who was standing guard, clicked his tongue impatiently and breathed heavily. Min An bowed to Li Peinan and Wang Huaili through the tent flap, requesting that they summon the Ma family members to recount the events surrounding Ma Mie's violent death.

  Wang Huaili ordered the eldest son of the Ma family to speak. The eldest son said: "Father was lying in bed as usual, and I went to the market to invite Wu Ren to perform a ritual for Father. Wu Ren jumped back and forth beside Father's bed, and all of us stood outside the door, with only Wu Ren next to Father's bed. After he finished jumping, he gave us a package of medicine and told us to brew it into a medicinal soup for Father to drink. An hour later, Mother and Linglong helped Father get up, and Mother fed Father the medicine. Before she had even finished feeding him one bowl of medicine, Father stopped breathing..."

  The eldest son wiped away his tears with his sleeve. Min An asked: "Has anyone else approached Master Ma?"

  The eldest son shook his head and said no.

  The courtyard was very quiet. Min An stood thinking, Master Ma's medicine wasn't poisonous, and there were no signs of poisoning on the body, so why did he die suddenly? He reached out to lift up Master Ma's chin, discovering that his jaw was extremely tight. Earlier when he had pried open Master Ma's mouth to check his tongue, it had taken some effort to open it, showing just how rigid the muscles were. If an ordinary person were to encounter a sudden event, they would definitely gasp with their mouth wide open, and although Master Ma was too weak to speak, his instinctive reaction should still be present.

  Min An asked again: "When Master Ma was about to leave, his mouth was open, wasn't it?"

  The eldest son turned his head to look at his mother, Old Lady Ma. Old Lady Ma nodded to him, indicating that what Min An said was true.

  Min An asked again: "Who gave Master Ma his facial features?"

  Madam Ma replied: "Linglong."

  Min An turned his head to look for Liu Ling's figure, and Liu Ling was standing on the side of the servant, slightly raising her chin, looking at Min An through the curtain, with a proud expression.

  Min An's heart skipped a beat, and he felt that Liu Linglong was not ordinary. She had good martial arts skills, and her surname was Liu, refusing to be controlled by others, perhaps she was the sister of Liu Er who killed Xiaoliu and escaped. Her younger brother was so cruel and vicious, it was unlikely that his older sister would be much better.

  Min An was just thinking this way, and he still needed evidence to prove it. He carefully asked the details of Ma Lao Fu Ren and Liu Ling Long's medication, unknowingly walking towards Ma Mie Yu's sickroom.

  Wang Huai saw Min An looking like he had lost his soul, and without saying a word, he walked towards the inner room. He shouted to stop him: "What is Young Master going to do?"

  Li Peinan, who had been sitting silently, raised his hand slightly, and Wang Huaili immediately retreated to the side.

  Min An sat on a small stool in front of the door, propping his chin with his hand, recalling the scene when Ma Mei Yu fell ill: Old Lady Ma was sitting in front of the bed feeding him medicine, while Liu Ling Long was supporting Ma Mei Yu's upper body and wiping his mouth... Only these two women could come into contact with Ma Mei Yu's body... Li Pei Nan looked in from the window, but only saw a glimpse of Min An's straight and slender blue robe clinging to his back, outlining a thin silhouette in the autumn sunlight.

  "What were you thinking of?" Li Peinan asked aloud.

  Min An didn't answer, quickly walking out and lifting the wine-stained quilt that covered Ma Mi's corpse, turning his body over. After being exposed to high temperatures, some changes had already appeared on the surface of the corpse. If there were any hidden wounds, they would be impossible to conceal.

  Min An carefully examined the body again and finally found a small black spot at the intersection of the internal and external jugular veins, which was almost invisible under the dry yellow skin. He felt confident now, asked people to remove the white tent, washed his hands, burned incense again, and bowed to the body of Ma Mie Yu, then reported to Li Pei Nan: "Mr. Ma has already told me who the murderer is."

  Li Peinan stood up and waved his hand, and Lai Qun immediately led the guards to surround the entire courtyard.

  Min An pointed at Liu Linglong: "Her."

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