The emperor decreed that A Qing should be executed three days later. This edict left no room for reversal.
Moreover, A Qing's portrait had already spread across the streets of Yuling, rendering the deal between Song Yan and her meaningless.
However, she held important evidence that Song Yan wanted to know. If he just let it go...
The next time he would get news about the murderer would be when the latter committed another crime. This was too passive.
Regardless of whether she would talk or not, there were still three days. He should try to extract information about the murderer from A Qing within these three days.
Song Yan had a good plan in mind, but reality never followed his wishes.
When he rushed back to the Investigation Department from the palace, Mo Xu had already been waiting at the door for a long time.
"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to watch over A Qing?" Song Yan looked at Mo Xu's flustered expression and suddenly had a bad feeling.
Mo Xu's next words confirmed his premonition.
"A... A Qing. When I went to check on her this morning, she was already dead..." Mo Xu's voice grew softer and softer until he almost trembled as he said this.
Upon hearing this, Song Yan felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his head, and his mind buzzed.
A Qing was fine last night. Why was she dead this morning...
"How could this happen?" Although Song Yan was extremely confused, he still had to maintain his composure as the department head in front of the junior.
He quickly composed himself and asked this question in the direction of Mo Xu. But just by looking at Mo Xu's expression, it seemed that he didn't know what was going on either.
The other man stammered for a long time but couldn't come up with a reason. He must have been shocked by this incident.
The prison was heavily guarded, and there was a shift change at every moment. The murderer couldn't have entered and killed someone silently without making a sound.
An ordinary person couldn't do such a thing, unless...
The murderer came from within the Investigation Department.
But Mo Xu didn't dare to say this. After all, he was a newcomer who had just joined the department this year. In terms of seniority, he wasn't supposed to talk about such things.
Moreover, it was in front of the department head.
However, some things couldn't be hidden just because he didn't say them.
Song Yan frowned. He had wasted too much time today. The most crucial thing was to find clues from the body.
"Call the coroner to the prison. I'll go and see what's going on first." Song Yan made a prompt decision and said this, then headed straight for the prison.
Mo Xu rushed to find the on - duty coroner in the department from the other side.
When Song Yan walked into the prison, he smelled a strong smell of blood from afar. Mixed with the damp and gloomy smell in the cell, it formed a nauseating odor.
The prison of the Investigation Department never held long - term prisoners. After each case was judged, the prisoners would be sentenced. Before this serial murder case in Yuling, this prison had been empty for a long time.
In this way, they had lost a witness. If there had been someone in there, they might have known who killed A Qing last night.
Even a little clue would be good.
Forget it. The most important thing now was to see what was wrong with the body.
Song Yan covered his nose and walked forward until he stopped in front of A Qing's cell door.
不得不说，这尸体的死状真的太惨了。
The sight of the body was truly gruesome.
The blood had stained the straw under her body, and there were also some bloodstains on the ground outside the cell door. It seemed that they were left by the murderer before leaving.
A Qing's chest had been stabbed and stirred by a knife. Her eyes were wide open before she died, and her pupils were dilated, as if she had seen something terrifying. There were also more than ten knife cuts on her fair face.
This modus operandi was very familiar. It was the same as the murderer in the previous serial cases.
But the question was, why did he come to specifically kill a person who was about to die? Could it be...
Because of what she said?
"What happened to A Qing? Wasn't she fine last night?"
Just as Song Yan was deep in thought, the coroner's voice pulled him back to reality. He was dragged by Mo Xu all the way to the cell. As soon as he smelled the odor, he quickly covered his nose.
But he kept talking and bombarded Mo Xu with these questions.
"Coroner Li, don't be slow. The department head is waiting inside." Mo Xu was very anxious because he couldn't answer these questions either.
After a series of footsteps, the coroner arrived at A Qing's cell door.
"Greetings to the department head." The coroner bowed when he saw Song Yan, then glanced at A Qing lying in the cell. With just one look, he could basically tell who did it.
He walked into the cell, squatted down, and carefully examined the wound. Then he opened A Qing's mouth and found it empty.
Her tongue had been cut off.
"This body... She has no tongue."
The coroner's voice echoed in the quiet cell. Song Yan frowned. The murderer deliberately cut off her tongue. It must be because of the deal that A Qing had mentioned to him before.
But there shouldn't have been many people around when A Qing told him. How did the murderer know about it?
Could it be that... the murderer was really hiding within the Investigation Department?
If so, things would not be so simple.
"The emperor decreed that the murderer should be executed in front of the common people three days later. But now the murderer is dead in the Investigation Department in this way. How should we report this to the emperor?"
The coroner looked at A Qing's body and frowned. Although he was a bit hesitant, he still raised this crucial question.
The emperor wanted to execute A Qing so quickly to give the common people an explanation, saying that the murderer had been captured and making them no longer panic.
But now the situation was different. A Qing had been killed in the prison.
Moreover, the modus operandi was the same as the previous murderer's. This was clearly telling everyone that the real murderer hadn't been caught and this person was just a scapegoat.
If this got out, it would be a minor thing that the Investigation Department had handled the case poorly, but the emperor's dignity would also be discussed by the common people.
Song Yan naturally could think of this. Defending someone in front of the emperor this morning had already made the emperor unhappy. If this incident happened now, the Investigation Department might really be in trouble.
But this matter couldn't be concealed. If the emperor found out, the consequence would be very serious.
"I'll go to the palace later. We'll wait until I report this to the emperor." Song Yan rubbed his temples and slowly said this.
Anyway, there was no other way now. Whether it was reported early or late, it had to be reported. It would be better for him to report it himself rather than let the emperor hear it through other channels.
"Lord Song, did you forget something? Why are you rushing to the palace again?" The emperor watched Song Yan rushing over, reached out and scattered a handful of fish food for the koi in the imperial garden, and said unhurriedly.
Song Yan paused for a moment, then bowed in the emperor's direction. He glanced at the maids and guards around and signaled the emperor with his eyes to dismiss them.
Seeing this, Qing Jing didn't say anything else. He put the fish food in the maid's hand and waved his hand to let them retreat.
For a moment, only Qing Jing and Song Yan were left. Seeing that there was no one around, Song Yan briefly told the emperor what had just happened in a low voice.
"This morning when I returned to the Investigation Department, A Qing, the murderer in this case, had already died in the prison. I think it must be the work of the murderer in the previous serial cases."
"I've said before." Qing Jing stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at Song Yan standing not far away, and his voice became a bit lower.
"The murderer in the serial cases has been captured. Now that she's dead, this matter is over. It can give the common people an explanation. As for the murderer who killed her, I can give you time to investigate. As for whether to combine this case with the previous ones for further investigation, Lord Song should know."
Qing Jing spoke unhurriedly, and the implication was clear. Song Yan bowed and said, "Your servant obeys the order."
"Alright, go." Seeing that Song Yan was finally a bit sensible, Qing Jing didn't say anything more. He just nodded slightly and said this.
The matter was over at this point. The Investigation Department came up with an excuse to cover up A Qing's death.
The common people didn't understand the details. They only knew that the murderer was dead, and Yuling had returned to its former harmony. The streets and alleys gradually became bustling again.
For a moment, it seemed to be back to the time when the murderer hadn't committed any crimes.
But Song Yan knew that all this was just like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water. The murderer hadn't been caught, and this would be a hidden danger. He didn't know how long this bustling scene could last.
The only thing he could do now was to make this balance last a little longer, and a little longer.
Before the news spread, Song Yan went to find Ye Zhiqiu. After all, the latter would surely come to him for an explanation when he heard about this.
Since he had to tell him anyway, it would be better for him to take the initiative.
"Why did you come here today, Lord Song?" Ye Zhiqiu was seeing his students off at the door. He saw Song Yan wandering under the tree from afar.
His expression didn't look good. He must have been troubled by A Qing's matter.
Seeing that the other man didn't seem to be coming soon, Ye Zhiqiu walked over to him and whispered.
Hearing the voice, Song Yan turned around and met Ye Zhiqiu's gaze. For a moment, he didn't know how to start.
"Do you have any plans later, Teacher Ye? If not, I know a restaurant with good food. How about going there for lunch later?" Song Yan finally managed to say this after holding back for a long time.
Although Ye Zhiqiu was puzzled, seeing the dark circles under Song Yan's eyes from lack of sleep recently, he thought for a while and then nodded in agreement. "Okay."
Hearing Ye Zhiqiu's straightforward agreement, Song Yan stood beside him and accompanied him to see the students off.
When most of the students had left, Ye Zhiqiu went back to tidy up the books on the table, while Song Yan stood aside, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
His expression was so obvious that it was hard to ignore. Ye Zhiqiu wasn't the kind of person who would directly ask. So he didn't say anything.
Anyway, Song Yan would tell him when he was ready.
All Ye Zhiqiu had to do was wait.