The county magistrate nodded and said, “The bodies are in the morgue, and the imperial physicians are still there with the coroners. Prince Hao, this way please!” He then made an inviting gesture.
Pei Qianhao took Su Xi-er’s hand, finding it rather warm, taking her with him as he walked forward,
When they arrived at the morgue, the county magistrate turned to Su Xi-er and said, “Princess Consort, these deaths are rather gruesome. This humble subject is afraid that you might not be able to take it.”
He did not expect Pei Qianhao to be the one answering him instead!
“It’s fine. Let’s enter.”
Seeing nary a ripple on Pei Qianhao’s face, the county magistrate had no choice but to open the door and lead them inside.
There were a few imperial physicians and coroners in the room. The imperial physicians themselves looked rather haggard. Not only did they have their regular work within the palace, they even had to make frequent trips into the city now.
They bowed and greeted, “These humble subjects pay our respects to Prince Hao and the Princess Consort.”
Pei Qianhao looked at the bodies covered in white cloth and asked, “Have we found the cause of death?”
One of the imperial physicians answered, “Prince Hao, a few of the villagers died gruesomely with their eyes wide open and their faces pale. It was almost as if…”
Su Xi-er finished his sentence, “As if they were frightened to death, right?”
The imperial physician nodded. “The Princess Consort is right.”
Pei Qianhao walked up towards the bodies, and before the county magistrate could stop him, he pulled aside one of the white cloths to reveal a corpse. It was rather gruesome, with a red mark across the neck that made it look like the person had been strangled.
“Prince Hao, the cause of death isn’t strangulation. If it was, those marks would have turned purple after so many hours.” It was a coroner who spoke as he pointed at the different acupoints of the deceased’s face.
The coroners gathered here all had a great amount of experience, but they were still unable to determine the cause of death. As a result, they felt that the murderer was someone with great skill.But if the murderer was someone skilled, why would they target innocent commoners? It’s no surprise that rumours about an evil spirit are spreading.
Pei Qianhao covered the first body back up before looking over the others, finding that there were similar marks on each one.
Su Xi-er calmly took in the expression on each of the bodies as Pei Qianhao revealed them, seemingly indifferent. As for the county magistrate, he couldn’t help but be impressed by Su Xi-er’s bravery when viewing the corpses. However, how could someone who had watched bodies pile on top of each other on a battlefield be afraid of such a thing? She had even died herself once before!
After some observation, Pei Qianhao said, “Make an announcement that these commoners died because of an unusual herb. The court will investigate, and His Majesty will give the people a satisfactory answer soon.” He then shot a cold glance at the county magistrate, prompting the latter to stand up a little straighter.
“Bring the bodies back to their families and provide any burial fees that may be necessary. Compensate their families as well, and make sure that they know the court will look into this matter..”
The county magistrate nodded and bowed. “This humble subject obeys the order.”
They left the morgue shortly after, and the county magistrate went about his duties. Not long after, there was an announcement placed on the county court bulletin board.
Since the commoners were aware that Pei Qianhao and Su Xi-er had visited the county court, they knew that only Pei Qianhao would be able to give the order to make this announcement! Pei Qianhao was a hero to them, and since he said he would investigate the matter, the commoners were confident that he would be able to give them a satisfactory answer!
~~~
At the same time, there was a man dressed in white standing in a windowless candle-lit stone room somewhere in the suburbs.
