Nonsense?
Ji Yunshu continued, "If you want the case to be solved, you'd better trust me."
"It's the yamen officials who should be in charge of solving the case. What can you possibly do? Even if you really drew a portrait of Guo He, you can't prove anything. It only shows that you drew someone that looks like him by sheer coincidence."
Jing Rong was not as patient as Ji Yunshu. He sent a chilling glare at the man with his dark eyes. "Teacher Ji's word is law. I'll have someone cut off your tongue if you speak one more word."
That person instinctively retracted his tongue and gulped in fear. "Who do you think you are? I'll report you to the officials if you cut off my tongue."
"Report me?" Ridiculous! I'm a prince. Do you think I'm afraid of officials?
He raised his eagle-like eyebrows slightly. "Bingjing should be under Huang s.h.i.+shan, Lord Huang's jurisdiction, isn't it? If I want to cut off your tongue, I bet you he won't stop me." What an imposing manner!
The man stammered, "What… what right do you have to say that?"
"What right? Based on the fact that Huang s.h.i.+shan would never dare touch me."
Naturally! Who would dare do anything?!
In fact, Jing Rong did not really know Lord Huang, Huang s.h.i.+shan. He merely knew that Huang s.h.i.+shan was an honest person who had a rather good reputation amongst the officials of the royal court.
"You're quite boastful," that person said with a disdainful huff. He walked towards Teacher Yu and cupped his fist in greeting. "Teacher, this student suggests to wait for the coroner from the yamen to arrive before we settle on a verdict. This student also doesn't think that the deceased is Guo He. He left the academy a year ago, leaving behind a letter as proof These people are just making baseless accusations and deliberately trying to stir trouble. I hope that teacher…"
Before he could finish, Teacher Yu slapped the armrest of his seat heavily in anger. "Shut up! I've already handed this case over to Teacher Ji. If he thinks this skeleton belongs to Guo He, then the deceased is Guo He. If you dare to say another word, forget about the spring examinations this year.
'Missing the spring examination? That's no small matter! I've been slaving away at the Cla.s.sics for so many years just so I can come out on top for this examination!'
He gulped several times and immediately retreated to the side. That sent a clear warning to the rest of the scholars and no one dared to say anything more.
Teacher Yu glanced at Ji Yunshu and explained, "Guo He was an orphan and grew up by my side. I beseech Teacher to find out the truth."
Ji Yunshu nodded and spoke as she slowly rolled the painting up. "According to what Teacher said, the deceased left the academy on the thirteenth of June last year. He must have run into somebody and had a conflict with them, resulting in an intense fight. The deceased wasn't a match for the killer and was severely injured. From this, we can infer that there was either a grudge between the killer and the deceased, or something else triggered a physical fight between the two."
As soon as she finished talking, a loud voice yelled, "Liang Tian was the only person in the academy who had a grudge with Guo He."
She looked over and saw someone being pushed out of the crowd. It was Liang Tian, Lin Shu's sidekick!
Baffled, he quickly denied, "What are you talking about? I didn't kill him."
"The entire academy knows that there was a grudge between you and Guo He. The two of you were involved in an argument in cla.s.s a few days before he left the academy. At that time, you also said that you would seize every opportunity to kill him. We all heard it!" a scholar said.
Liang Tian immediately replied, "Yes, we had some misgivings. Who told him to do as he pleased in the academy. He often tore my books and used them as fuel for fires. I admit I said all that but I swear that I'm not the killer. I don't even have the courage to kill a fish, not to mention a man."
"Then why were you not at the academy on the thirteenth of June last year?"
"I…" he appeared to be at a loss for words.
"For the entire month of June, we were all preoccupied with preparing for the autumn examination in August. You were the only one who was frequently absent. The day Guo He left the academy, you were also nowhere to be seen."
Liang Tian responded, "So I'm the killer just because I was absent? You're accusing me without any solid proof!" He waved his sleeves angrily.
He turned to look at Teacher Yu, full of emotion, "Teacher, you know me well. Normally, I'm extremely afraid of blood. How can I possibly murder a man?"
"Then where were you at that time?" Teacher Yu questioned.
"Student was at… the library," Liang Tian's answer was obviously lacking in confidence.
"Rubbis.h.!.+" Teacher Yu reproved, "Did you forget about the flood at the library in June last year? I locked the door and forbade anyone from entering the library. How could you have been at the library? Quickly spit out the truth now."
Liang Tian quivered, his gaze wandered about guiltily. After stammering for a long while, the truth finally emerged. "Actually… Student went to Anshan Village that day…to gamble, and only returned to the academy on the next day. By then, Guo He had already left."
The casino? "Preposterous!"
Teacher Yu was enraged, causing his chest to clench in pain.
"Teacher, student knows he was wrong."
Disappointed at his failure of a student, Teacher Yu replied, "It's my fault that my student is recalcitrant. How can Mingshan Academy tolerate you? It's been a year since Guo He's death. Since you had the audacity to gamble, would you be afraid of killing someone?"
"This student may be gambler but would never kill anyone," he denied vehemently.
All of a sudden, Ji Yunshu spoke, "Indeed, he's not the killer."
Huh? The crowd was in an uproar.
Liang Tian looked at Ji Yunshu with eyes full of desperation and hope as though he had found his saviour.
Without others noticing, Ji Yunshu had already picked up Guo He's skull and was walking toward Liang Tian saying, "Give me your right hand if you want to prove your innocence."
Liang Tian nodded and obeyed and immediately extended his hand.
"Make a fist." Liang Tian continued to do as she said.
Just like that, Ji Yunshu was able to conclude, "Indeed, you weren't the killer." Upon hearing this, Liang Tian heaved a long sigh of relief.
Teacher Yu asked, "Teacher, is there proof?"
Ji Yunshu raised up the skull and displayed it to the crowd as she explained, "The zygomatic bones of the skull, also known as cheekbones, are these two raised pieces of bone." She pointed at the bones with her finger and continued, "Before the deceased pa.s.sed away, he received a punch on his left zygomatic bone. However, the zygomatic bones are considerably one of the hardest bones in the skull. There would be no mark left behind on the bone unless the culprit were especially strong. Here, the zygomatic bone appears to be perfectly intact and flawless. It seems to imply that the culprit had an average strength, but that's not the truth."
The curious spectators listened docily.
"Whether the deceased was killed by illness, fire, hanging, drowning… the bones will definitely go through certain changes. Since this skeleton was soaked in the water for a year, the parts below the zygomatic bones would bend upward slightly and subsequently compress the two zygomatic bones, causing them to protrude a little. However, the zygomatic bones on this skull appear perfect with no protrusion. There can only be one explanation; the punch the deceased received was very strong, leaving a dent on the zygomatic bone. Then, when the zygomatic bone swells due to compression, it returned to its original shape. That is why the zygomatic bone appears perfect."
Her gaze landed on Liang Tian, "Thus, this proves that the killer is a very strong man, which would exclude you. Your carpal bones are slightly swollen, which is a common sign of metacarpal disease. A patient with this illness can't lift or carry anything heavier than a writing brush or a pair of chopsticks. How could they have the strength to fight someone and even cause the st.u.r.dy zygomatic bone to cave in?"