Chapter 55: Coroner’s Handbook

Wu Wei approached the table. Clerk Hu pointed to the blank space after the word “Coroner” at the bottom. “Miss, just press your fingerprint right here.”

Wu Wei skimmed over the Coroner’s Handbook a few times before asking offhandedly, “Just the one? No need to press a few more on the content itself…?”

“No need. Right here will do.”

Wu Wei grumbled inwardly. They wouldn’t even let her add a watermark to this handbook. What if they tampered with it after she left?

“Do I really have to press a fingerprint? Why didn’t you make me do it last time?”

Clerk Hu replied, “Last time, the yamen’s Coroner Zheng pressed one for you. This time, you’ll have to do it yourself, miss.”

Wu Wei rolled her eyes. A proxy fingerprint? Then why didn’t he show up when it was time to take the blame?

Pretending to hesitate, Wu Wei said, “Can I skip it? I heard only criminals press fingerprints when they sign their mark. It’s bad luck. I can write… How about I just write my name?”

Clerk Hu glanced at the yamen runner Zhang Xing. “Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us. Even if you write your name, we still need the fingerprint. It’s yamen procedure. If it’s not too much trouble, you can write your name first, then press the print.”

“Fine. Name first, then fingerprint.”

Wu Wei picked up the brush and wrote “Wu Wei” in the blank space after “Coroner.” Then she deliberately kept holding the brush in her right hand while dipping her left thumb in the ink pad and pressing it right beside the two characters.

Once the fingerprint was done, Wu Wei felt a wave of relief wash over her. Unconsciously, though, she rubbed her left index finger over the freshly inked thumb.

“If there’s nothing else, can I head back now?” As she spoke, Wu Wei casually picked up the wooden box from the table and hugged it to her chest.

The three men watched the move and clearly took it as proof that her eyes had lit up at the sight of money—she couldn’t bear to let go for even a second. Only Wu Wei knew the truth: this was evidence. The most damning evidence!

“Very well. You’ve worked hard today, Miss Wu. We’ll see you back.”

“Thank you.”

She had arrived in a small sedan chair, but for the return trip, she rode in a carriage with Clerk Hu. Zhang Xing and the other runner pulled the carriage to a stop near the Charity Mortuary. Wu Wei worried for a moment that Gao Ningxue might hear the noise and come out, but no one appeared.

Wu Wei bid the three men farewell and stepped down from the carriage. She watched until it had completely vanished from sight before turning and dashing toward the little courtyard.

“Embroider Maiden!”

Hearing Wu Wei’s shout, Embroider Maiden pushed open the door. Wu Wei didn’t enter, though. She simply thrust the wooden box at her. “Put this inside. Grab that bamboo tube from the vegetable rack for me, and fetch a basin of water too.”

“Right away.”

Embroider Maiden hurried into the house. She set the wooden box down quickly, tucked the bamboo tube under her arm, and returned to the courtyard carrying a basin of water she had prepared earlier that morning.

Seeing this, Gao Ningxue emerged from her room as well. She watched as Wu Wei took the bamboo tube and poured what looked like powdered bamboo salt into her palm. She rubbed it vigorously for a good long while.

“Embroider Maiden, pour the water.”

“Oh, right!”

Embroider Maiden tilted the basin, pouring out about half the water. “That’s enough,” Wu Wei called.

Embroider Maiden stopped. Wu Wei repeated the salt-rubbing motion, using up the rest of the water in the basin.

After washing her hands, Wu Wei let out a deep breath. No wonder everyone avoided coroners like the plague. The conditions were so primitive—no gloves or anything. If she wasn’t careful after an autopsy, she’d just bring all the bacteria and viruses home with her.

Ever since Wu Wei had returned, her brows had remained tightly furrowed. Embroider Maiden asked worriedly, “Weiwei, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. We’ll talk inside.”

Wu Wei resolved inwardly that alcohol and soap had to go to the top of her priority list. With the weather growing hotter by the day, most bacteria and viruses spread much faster than they did in winter. Handwashing was a crucial precaution.

“What’s going on? You were gone so long—where’s dinner?” Gao Ningxue asked.

These past few days had brought Wu Wei and Gao Ningxue closer. Wu Wei rolled her eyes at her directly. “Sorry, Second Boss. You’ll have to make do with whatever tonight. I’ve got something… way more interesting than food.”

The three women entered the house. Wu Wei gazed at Embroider Maiden and said gently, “Embroider Maiden, this time… I don’t think I can keep you out of it. Everyone knows we live together. Trying to cover it up would only draw more suspicion and bring trouble your way. Luckily, we’ve got Second Boss here. She’ll protect us, won’t you, Second Boss?”

Gao Ningxue didn’t even know the details yet, but she nodded righteously. Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden had saved her life, after all. In her eyes, stepping in to bail them out for some minor misstep was only natural.

“Thanks.” Wu Wei flung open the wooden box. Silver gleamed inside, drawing a gasp from Embroider Maiden. She still hadn’t exchanged her gold leaves for silver, so this was the first time she’d laid eyes on so much of it.

“What is this? Who gave it to you?” Gao Ningxue asked calmly.

“Dirty money! On my way to Hundred Flavors Building, I ran into yamen runners Zhang Xing and Li Liu. They said they were inviting me on the county magistrate’s orders. But when I got to the yamen, it was the clerk who received me in a side hall. He handed over these twenty taels of silver and told me to fake a coroner’s testimony to suit their needs. I’d only just come back from the autopsy.”

Gao Ningxue’s voice turned sharp. “Outrageous! They’re flouting the law in broad daylight!” Beyond her title as Pingjia County Princess, she held the rank of Left Commander in the Bright Mirror Division. As the personal disciple of The Jade-Faced Divine Strategist, she had zero tolerance for this sort of corruption.

“Embroider Maiden, could you fetch some paper and a brush?”

“Of course.”

While grinding the ink, Wu Wei recalled her father’s teachings. Though she had majored in forensics, she’d spent her four university years slacking off and skipping classes out of resentment and rejection. She’d coasted on her family’s handed-down knowledge and barely graduated.

Fortunately, her family legacy ran deep. Her father and grandfather had both been forensic experts—their lessons were more than enough to handle a case like this. Still, Wu Wei couldn’t help imagining what might have been if she’d actually applied herself during those four years…

With the ink ready, Wu Wei took up the brush and began to write: “The deceased is male. Based on dental development and tooth wear, his age is estimated between eighteen and twenty-four. Cadaveric lividity covers the abdomen with signs of expansion, indicating time of death exceeds five days. No external injuries on the body surface, head, or major joints. No cervical abnormalities or fractures. The body shows evidence of artificial cleaning, but crusted blood was still found deep in the nasal cavity and ear canal. Petechial hemorrhages appear in the conjunctivae of the eyes. The tongue protrudes half an inch, with rose teeth…”

At that point, a memory flashed through Wu Wei’s mind—her father’s words from long ago…

“Weiwei, what you’re seeing is called rose teeth, one hallmark of mechanical asphyxiation. But remember what comes next, Weiwei. Even though rose teeth is a key feature on many asphyxiation victims, don’t link it directly to mechanical asphyxiation. Once you form that mental shortcut, it’ll cloud your judgment down the line. Cases from blood loss shock, poisoning, electrocution, or craniocerebral trauma can produce rose teeth too. Weiwei, the body is the deceased’s final testament to the world, shrouded in layers of mystery. As forensic examiners, our job is to pierce that veil, give the authorities the truest, most useful clues, speak for the dead, and seek justice for the living. We’re gatekeepers of the criminal law—one of the gates must be held firm. Got it?”

Wu Wei had been about twelve or thirteen then, during the years when she and her father had been closest. She’d always stubbornly refused to dwell on her family’s good side, afraid it would weaken her resolve against becoming a coroner. But today, after facing coercion that touched on life and death, she instinctively thought of that towering figure from her past.

Shaking off the memory, Wu Wei continued writing: Given the urgent circumstances and limited conditions at the time, further determination of cause of death was impossible. However, I suspect craniocerebral trauma as the probable cause. Distinct livor mortis appears on the left side of the back, left arm, and left leg, indicating the body was positioned on its left side at death—not the supine position observed during autopsy. This contradicts the descriptions provided by yamen runners Zhang Xing and Li Liu. Moreover, the body’s excellent state of preservation rules out the Desolate Burial Mound near the crow-infested area as the primary crime scene. Distinctive livor mortis on both ankles and wrists suggests bindings such as leg wraps or wrist guards, which were artificially removed postmortem. Patchy calluses on the back of the palms and at the tiger’s mouth likely relate to the deceased’s occupation or habits.

Wu Wei set down the brush after the final character. An urge to burst into tears welled up inside her. She tamped down the emotion, read through the entire document several times to ensure nothing was missed, and then signed at the bottom blank space: Coroner: Wu Wei.

Even as Wu Wei reviewed the handbook, Gao Ningxue had sidled up beside her to take a look. The more she read, the more alarmed she grew. She had heard from the Embroider Maiden long before that Wu Wei had once assisted her master in solving a case, but Gao Ningxue hadn’t paid it much mind at the time. Not until she laid eyes on this very handbook, penned by Wu Wei’s own hand right in front of her, did she fall utterly silent.

No wonder her master had given her that token. No wonder her master had bent the rules to let Wu Wei remain in Qinglu County. It was all because Wu Wei truly deserved such favor.

While waiting for the ink to dry, Wu Wei turned to Gao Ningxue and said, “Second Boss, the county magistrate of Qinglu County instructed his clerk to bribe me. He wanted me to note in the coroner’s handbook that the body showed signs of having been moved, and to point out that the time of death didn’t match the day it was discovered. Their aim was to use my handbook, along with the constables’ statements, to conclude that the victim had been killed somewhere outside Qinglu County and then dumped within its borders.

“I have no idea why a lofty county magistrate like him would risk so much to distance Qinglu County from this case. But if I’m right… the victim was probably a soldier in life, and this isn’t the only victim. I’ve examined the site closely—there are at least seven fresh graves in the Desolate Burial Mound. Qinglu County has always enjoyed good order, with its people living peaceful, prosperous lives. Who buries their dead out there? Even beggars… wouldn’t be dropping dead in such numbers lately, would they?

“The registrar, surnamed Hu, is likely the clerk’s right-hand man. He forced me to press my handprint onto the coroner’s handbook. I suspect that once this blows over, they’ll come to silence me.”