Miss Truth
Chapter 112 - 70: Recognizing the White Bone

Chapter 112: Chapter 70: Recognizing the White Bone

Wan Lu got off the carriage for a while and came back, saying, "Wife, Inspector Liu wants to personally preside over the murder case, the one involving Fan Chun!"

Ran Yan looked through the bamboo curtain and glanced outside. Wan Lu leaned forward and whispered, "Wife, it is said that Wei Niang has exposed that Yin Miaomiao is the mastermind..."

Ran Yan tensed up, lowered her gaze in contemplation for a moment, and said, "Go quietly to the entrance of the Government Office and tell the Government Official that Ran Shiqi wishes to visit Inspector Liu regarding the case."

At this moment, Inspector Liu might not necessarily agree to meet her. Ran Yan was just trying her luck; if she could get in and listen, that would be best. If not, then so be it.

Wan Lu acknowledged and got off the carriage again. Ran Yan watched the tightly shut doors of the Government Office, connecting all the events of the past few days in her mind, including the dream that had troubled her for a long time.

Yin Wanwan had been drowned in a pond. Why was she drowned? Ran Yunsheng had said that she often ignored family rules and sneaked out to play. Could it be because she broke the family rules and thus was drowned by the Yin family? But in the progressively liberal Great Tang, were there really such cruel feudal punishments?

Or did Yin Wanwan have some intimate interactions with Qin Silang, so Yin Miaomiao killed out of jealousy? Later, feeling sorry for Yin Wanwan, thinking that all this was because of Qin Silang, did she want to die with Qin Silang to atone for her sins?

That explanation was somewhat plausible. Then why would Wei Niang and Cui Mei collaborate with Yin Miaomiao in the crime? What was her motive for killing the maid Fan Chun? And what was her motive for killing Han Shan?

All these matters were tangled together like a messy ball of yarn. Each event was very clear, yet the beginning and end were elusive. However, Ran Yan believed that the death of Yin Wanwan was certainly the origin.

"Wife, Inspector Liu sent a message saying to enter through the side door," Wan Lu quietly said, lifting the curtain slightly.

Ran Yan was delighted and said, "Then let’s go."

Wan Lu crawled into the carriage, put the mask on Ran Yan, and then slowly headed towards the side door of the Government Office, sticking close to the wall. Surrounded tightly by people, it took half a cup of tea time to move a mere hundred meters to the place.

Wan Lu greeted the Government Official, and a crack in the side door opened. The two of them quickly slipped through.

"Wife, this way, please." A Government Official was already waiting inside the door.

Ran Yan glanced at the crowd packed near the screen wall, knowing this was a public trial. After all, with three dead and one injured, this was the largest murder case in the past three years. Even though the Yin family was influential in Suzhou, Inspector Liu would not dare to show favoritism.

"Shiqi, you’ve come at the right time!" Inspector Liu hastened to greet her, not waiting for Ran Yan to perform the customary greetings before saying, "Quick, follow me!"

Ran Yan furrowed her brows, feeling manipulated again, but since she too wanted to know the details of the case, she did not dwell on this feeling and followed him to a side room.

The door opened, and Wan Lu gasped softly. Inside the small room, less than ten feet in length and width, devoid of any furniture, only a plain cloth was laid out, piled with muddy skeletons and disarticulated bones scattered all over the floor. Ran Yan estimated that there were at least fifteen to twenty skeletons here.

Feng Sanxun was wearing gloves, squatting and sifting through the bones.

Inspector Liu said, "You mentioned last time that this case was related to the death of the fourth daughter of the Yin family. Indeed, Wei Niang exposed that it was on the Double Seventh Festival that Yin Miaomiao had killed her, then submerged her body in the Pingjiang River. I checked the case records and found that two years ago, an unidentified female body was discovered in the Pingjiang River. The records state that her feet were bound with hemp rope, her face wrapped in plain cloth, but due to being in the water for too long, her clothes were tattered, and her flesh was badly decomposed, making it impossible to identify her. She was buried together with other unidentified bodies from that year. I’ve had people dig them all up. Take a look, can you identify them?"

After finishing, Inspector Liu looked at Ran Yan with a face full of expectation.

Feng Sanxun was also troubled; he could only barely distinguish between male and female, along with an approximate age range, but beyond that, with only a few bones to go on, he could discern nothing further.

Ran Yan glanced over briefly and reached out her hand, "Gloves."

The Inspector immediately had someone pass a pair of gloves to Ran Yan, who, without another word, squatted down to examine the skeleton. Regardless, Wanwan had been good friends with the original Ran Yan, so Ran Yan took it upon herself to gather the friend’s remains and she had to locate Wanwan.

The joyful, playful young girl had ended up buried in the Pingjiang River; no one knew why she had come loose from the stone’s weight and floated to the surface. At the time, no one could identify her body to advocate for her and seek justice, and hence, she was only wrapped in a mat and shared a grave with others.

"What else did Wei Wife confess?" Ran Yan expressed while identifying the bones.

The Inspector personally said, "She mentioned that back then, Yin Wanwan was violated by Qin Musheng, who vehemently denied it, claiming he had never touched Yin Wanwan and didn’t even know what she looked like. Since no one could testify that Yin Wanwan was assaulted by Qin Musheng, and Qin Musheng had an alibi, the Yin family could only swallow their bitterness and keep quiet, conducting an investigation in secret. But two months later, before any result was found, Yin Wanwan was found to be pregnant. A month after that, she began to show and, overwhelmed by panic and fear, she arranged to meet Qin Musheng on the night of Qixi Festival, trying to make him responsible..."

Ran Yan sighed inwardly; two years ago, Wanwan was just fourteen years old—a young girl facing such an ordeal, especially under the strict discipline of the Yin family, must have been terrified.

Ran Yan looked down and, in an instant, a vision flashed in her mind: the girl in a cherry-red dress, still obscured in a mist, her face unrecognizable, and her voice of terror resounding in Ran Yan’s ears: "Yan, it hurts so much! Yan! It hurts so much!"

Blood flowed copiously beneath her skirt hem, staining the cherry-red fabric even more enchantingly.

It was a miscarriage!

"No!" Ran Yan suddenly said, "Wanwan must have miscarried before she died."

"Oh?" The Inspector pondered for a moment and then said, "Perhaps that’s the case, because I see no record of pregnancy in the autopsy report."

The absence of a note in the autopsy report proves nothing. Three to seven days after death, bacteria that thrive in the human body, no longer restrained by the body’s immune system, begin to grow and reproduce wildly. These countless decay bacteria produce large amounts of putrid green gases. The human body becomes bloated like an inflated human-shaped balloon due to these gases. The force of the gas is remarkable; it compresses the uterus and can expel an embryo from the abdomen of the corpse, resulting in what is known as postmortem birth.

Given the state of decay noted in the records, Wanwan’s body had been in the water for over a month, and it’s possible that after giving birth, for some reason, the fetus became separated from the body or decayed.

Ran Yan believed it was a miscarriage before death purely because of that dream; she was convinced it was the incomplete memories of the original Ran Yan! Wanwan must have miscarried while the original Ran Yan was by her side.

Looking at the pile of bones before her, Ran Yan looked up and said to Feng Sanxun, "Mr. Feng, please assist me in sorting these bones into two piles, male and female."

Feng Sanxun found Ran Yan’s polite tone pleasing and admired her skill in conducting autopsies all the more. He hadn’t expected that, while the entire city condemned her for performing autopsies, she would still dare to handle the bones of the dead. Such a spirited woman, Feng Sanxun felt it an honor to cooperate in her actions.

Identifying the gender from the bones was not difficult.

The male pelvis is tall and narrow, with a rugged bone surface, prominent muscle ridges, and a heavier bone mass, whereas the female pelvis is low and broad, with a delicate bone surface, less pronounced muscle ridges, and lighter bone mass.

These were the easiest features to identify. As for the skulls, male skulls are generally larger, heavier, rugged, and have prominent muscle lines and thicker cranial walls, while female skulls are just the opposite.

Using these characteristics, the two of them working together, quickly sorted the easily identifiable parts into two piles, male and female. (To be continued. If you like this novel, please visit Qidian to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)