Chapter 10: But the Human Heart is as Poisonous as a Snake or Scorpion

Yu Linlang maintained a cold expression and gave a faint, polite bow; Jiujin followed suit.

Mu Feng, however, moved with great speed, having already ordered men to bring the infant over to Yu Linlang.

Jiujin stepped forward to block his lady, his round face turning cold and irritable as he snapped, "My lady is not a coroner."

"Oh, come now, her medical skills are so excellent, she'll know just by looking."

"Sir, do not speak so recklessly. How can this be done casually? Every profession has its own expertise; my lady does not understand the trade of a coroner."

Mu Feng blinked, looking at the short young girl before him with an expression of wonder. "Hey, you little girl, you speak so eloquently and even know about professional expertise. You truly are no ordinary little girl!"

"Xiao Feng." Mu Zhao frowned, staring at his younger brother. "Do not make a scene."

"Oh, Big Brother, Lord Lu and the others haven't arrived yet. Let Miss Yu take a look first; she might actually see something." As Mu Feng spoke, he shot meaningful glances at the guards.

Jiujin's eyes widened. Left with no choice, he caught the infant being shoved toward him by a guard and turned to look at Yu Linlang, his face full of helplessness.

Mu Zhao gave his brother a disapproving glare. "My younger brother is flighty and unruly; please disregard him. If the lady has any reservations, she need not look; this matter can be left to the officials of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation."

Yu Linlang turned to meet his gaze and gave a calm, slight nod.

The long street was a bustling marketplace, crowded with people.

One was a noble gentleman of a great clan, vast as the starry night sky and silver-frosted like snow.

The other was a quiet, cold young girl with unremarkable features.

Mu Feng tilted his head, looking from his elder brother to the young girl, and finally meeting Jiujin's wide-eyed stare, before breaking into a grin.

"Hmph." Jiujin rolled his eyes without hesitation.

The head physician of Huichun Hall, supported by others, took a few steps forward and cupped his hands toward Yu Linlang.

"It was thanks to Miss's reminder just now that we were able to clear our minds for a moment. If you are skilled in medicine, perhaps you could take a look. I hope you can witness whether our Huichun Hall misdiagnosed the case. I would be eternally grateful."

Yu Linlang looked at the expectant physician, sighed softly, and nodded. "Bring out a table."

"Do you have protective gloves?"

"Yes, yes, yes, please wait a moment, Miss."

Yu Linlang instructed Jiujin to place the infant on the wooden table. Seeing this, an old woman lunged forward to grab the child, shrieking, "What are you doing?!"

Jiujin grabbed the old woman by the back of her collar and pulled her back.

The old woman was frantic, angry, and panicked, her small eyes darting incessantly. "Oh! You're going to kill this old woman with rage!"

"I'm over fifty years old, and I never thought I'd be caught being beaten in the street! Fine, fine, you're powerful, you're all big shots! We can't fight you, we don't want compensation anymore, we're going back right now!"

Jiujin casually grabbed a roll of bandage from the table and stuffed it into the old woman's mouth. The world immediately fell silent, and the onlookers couldn't help but twitch their eyes.

Yu Linlang paid no mind to her surroundings. She gently unwrapped the child's cloth, her expression darkening as she examined the head.

"The deceased's bone age is less than five months."

As the words fell, the surroundings grew deathly quiet.

"The right temporal, parietal, and occipital bones of the head have comminuted fractures, approximately five inches long and two inches wide..."

"The parietal bone extends to both sides with a fracture line about three inches long." Yu Linlang felt the child's head and took a deep breath. "There are star-shaped fissures and multi-directional cranial fractures in the head."

"The left upper arm, right leg bone, shoulder, elbow..." Yu Linlang struggled to continue. She took a light breath and reached out to cover the child with the cloth. "At first glance, there are as many as twenty blunt force injuries across the body. The fatal injury is to the head; it is completely shattered."

"This wasn't an accidental bump. No matter how much a child bumps into something, it wouldn't look like this. This was caused by being repeatedly grabbed and slammed down."

"As for the time of death, let a professional coroner deduce it based on livor mortis. Judging by the initial state of rigor mortis, the death definitely did not occur within the last quarter or half hour."

The head physician nodded with intense emotion, as if a great injustice had been cleared. "Yes, yes, yes! When the child was brought to the pharmacy, we only took a quick look, and the pulse was already gone."

"But the child's grandmother immediately rewrapped the cloth and rushed out shouting that our Huichun Hall failed to save the child. But we doctors are only human, not gods! How can we snatch souls back from the King of Hell?"

The crowd of onlookers gasped in unison, staring wide-eyed at the tiny infant on the table.

Though many did not understand terms like "temporal bone" or "occipital bone," they understood "fracture" and "slammed." Consequently, they all stared in shock at the old woman's family.

"Ah? He was beaten to death?"

"He was beaten to death and they still try to frame Huichun Hall!!"

"Good heavens, this family is wicked to the core!"

"The baby is only four or five months old! What kind of grudge could there be to beat a child like this?!"

The woman, who had been standing blankly, saw the crowd pointing and accusing them, and she hurriedly lowered her head, shrinking her neck as far as it would go.

"Don't talk nonsense! Don't listen to her nonsense! We didn't do it, we didn't!" A burly man roared, scratching his head in fury.

Yu Linlang had already removed her gloves. She returned the bows to the physicians of Huichun Hall who were repeatedly thanking her, then turned to leave.

Seeing the master and servant leaving after causing a stir, the burly man rushed after them, swinging a fist as large as a bowl. "You lying woman! Who are you saying beat the child to death?"

Mu Zhao's gaze turned stern, and two accompanying guards immediately stepped forward to intercept him.

However, before they could reach the man, the round-faced young girl kicked him to the ground with a single strike. She then leaped onto him, landing punch after punch squarely on his face. "A piece of trash like you is even worthy of being a father?"

"Jiujin." Yu Linlang's eyes darkened as she glanced over.

Jiujin delivered a heavy kick to the man before stepping off his body, spitting on the ground with a look of utter disdain.

"In this world, not everyone is worthy of being a father."

The young girl's gaze was fierce; Yu Shoudao felt, for some reason, as if he himself had been glared at.

By the time he regained his senses, the master and servant had already passed through the crowd, not granting him even a single glance.

Meanwhile, when Lu Qian received the command from the Heir of the Marquis of Xuanping and rushed to the scene with his men, he saw a young girl in plain green clothing with a cold expression approaching from the front.

Her long hair was held up by a slender green bamboo hairpin.

As her robes fluttered in the wind, her movements were as graceful as a breeze. As she brushed past him, Lu Qian couldn't help but pause his steps and look back with a sense of melancholy.

"Lord Lu has arrived."

"Has the coroner, Old Man Li, arrived? There is an infant's corpse here that needs examination."

"This is Lord Lu of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who is also the Deputy Emissary of the Pacification Mission for this trip." The voice of Heir Mu Zhao drifted into Yu Linlang's ears on the wind.

It was gentle, slow, and very distinctive.

Yu Linlang climbed into the carriage, her expression still heavy.

Jiujin asked cautiously, "Is something bothering you, Miss?"

Yu Linlang took the teacup she handed her and sighed. "My heart is not quite at ease. I was thinking how difficult the process is for an ordinary girl to grow into an adult."

"Miss." Jiujin gently took her hand.

Suddenly, a loud "thud" sounded from not far away, as if a heavy object had abruptly fallen in front of their carriage...