Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 27 A Homicide Case (Part Two)

"My great pleasure to see you, Your Highness."

"I want you to make an autopsy of the corpse."

"What?" As if not catching his meaning, Harper looked at him with a confused look. "Your Highness, what are you talking about? I don't think I heard you clearly." NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

"I want you to make an autopsy of the corpse." There was no expression on Matthew's face. His face was as cold as ice.

And how could Harper say no to him? She didn't have the right to disagree with authority. So she just moved forward and accepted her fate. Soon, she found herself at the scene of the crime.

Harper didn't enter the room immediately. Instead, she carefully examined the layout of the room. The only sign of chaos was a stool laying on its side on the floor. The door and windows were intact. It seemed that no one had broken into the room.

After that, she stepped into the room and began to carefully examine the body. The victim was a business man from the Western Regions, carrying a unique aromatic spice that only existed there. He died because the murderer had stabbed him in the chest. The murderer killed him with only one blow. And the victim had no signs of struggle.

"I have checked the corpse, Your Highness." After inspection, Harper stood calmly beside Matthew.

"What are your findings?"

"The victim was about forty years old. He was killed by a man using a dagger. The murderer killed him in one blow, and he had no time to struggle. The door and windows were not broken by force. However, there was a fresh trace on one of the windows, which was caused by external force." Harper gave him all the information she had found out.

Matthew fidgeted with his jade ring and asked, "What else?"

"Nothing." Harper shook his hands, as if she knew nothing else. Barry couldn't help twitching of the corners of his mouth. 'His Highness has gone mad. But why is this guy going mad, too?' he thought to himself in great confusion.

Matthew glanced at Harper and asked everyone present at the scene, "Who said that the merchant had brought a large amount of money with him?"

"It's me." The waiter trembled and came down onto his knees. "Last night when I brought food to his room, I unintentionally saw that he was packing his things. He dropped some of them on the floor. A lot of silver and gold spilled out, so I knew that he had brought a lot of money," he said.

"Have you told anyone about it?" Matthew asked.

"I... I..." The waiter scratched his head and thought carefully. "Well, I told the shopkeeper and Leo about this when we were chatting. But I swear that no one else knew about it," he explained.

"Who is the shopkeeper?" Matthew said coldly.

A middle-aged man knelt down in horror and said, "Your Highness, I am the shopkeeper."

"Who is Leo?"

"He is busy in the kitchen. Go and get him here." The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and thought to himself, 'What the hell is going on? A murder case took place in my inn, and even His Highness is here. Am I going to die for this?'

Hearing that Matthew was looking for him, Leo tumbled out of the kitchen, scared out of his wits. He immediately knelt on the floor, trembling. "Your Highness, it's my great honor to see you."

"Have you been in the kitchen all the time?" Matthew asked in a low voice.

"Yes. I have been in the kitchen all the time," replied Leo.

"Who was on duty last night?"

"Me." Kneeling on the floor, Leo was so scared that he didn't dare to look up.

"Great, you were the one on duty last night. Did you hear or see anything strange?"

"Nothing. I didn't hear or see anything."

"Really?" Matthew said in a stern tone, his voice rising in volume. Leo shivered in fear.

"Your Highness, I am telling the truth!"

"Have you ever been to the merchant's room?" Harper asked Leo unexpectedly.

Leo looked up at Harper and shook his head desperately. "No, I haven't. I can't enter a guest's room without their permission."

"You are lying!" Harper grabbed his wrist. "If you hadn't been in that guest's room, how could your sleeve smell like the fragrance of the aromatic spice the victim was carrying?"

"What?" As soon as he heard that, Leo smelled his sleeve, which indeed had a pleasant scent. His face turned pale at once. He rolled his eyes and said, "It was probably because I made contact with the guest yesterday morning."

"Really?" Harper raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I think you panicked last night. Or why didn't you check carefully that your sleeve was also stained with blood?"

The last trace of blood on Leo's face disappeared when he saw the blood on his sleeve. He fell down to the floor, sweating in horror. "Please have mercy, Your Highness!"

"Where is the stolen property?" Matthew asked directly.

"I hid the money under the third green brick at the woodshed. Your Highness, my mother is seriously ill and I urgently need money to save her! That's why I did such a terrible thing. Please forgive me," Leo cried out.

"You murdered an innocent person. You have committed a heinous crime. How dare you beg for mercy! You shall be beheaded according to the law." Matthew held a murderous look on his face. He used to be a leading general, but now that he was disabled, the emperor made him in charge of things that were beyond the control of the official bureaus.

"Your Highness, please spare me. I'm so sorry." After Leo was dragged out of the inn, Matthew gave a complicated look at Harper and left with his men. Since Harper had woke up drunk and groggy, she decided to go back to the Chu Clan mansion. Maybe she could still slip in undetected and get some decent rest.

Harper didn't get into the mansion through the gate. Instead, she climbed over the wall to go back. She changed back to her female clothes and went back to sleep.