Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 449 - 400 Testimony
"You!" Wu Yunjun, the Zhou Kingdom merchant, said with a stern face, "I wasn’t begging the Heir Prince; I was discussing business with him. What would a child like you know?"
"Heh." Feilian scoffed, speaking indifferently, "The truth doesn’t concern me. I wasn’t in Xia Yuanjia’s room last night. The receptionist can testify. You’d better save your explanations for the captain."
"You mustn’t!" Sikong Ji’s angry voice came from the corridor. "I forbid you to do this!"
Singer Shi Yajing frowned slightly and asked softly, "What’s going on?"
"Probably the autopsy," Li Ang said. "There are two main ways to measure a body’s core temperature: one is to measure the intestinal temperature, and the other is to open the abdomen and check the liver temperature. It seems the customs of the Zhou Kingdom don’t readily accept damaging a corpse, right?"
"Mm," Wu Yunjun, the Zhou Kingdom merchant, nodded. "The Heir Prince’s death is already deeply saddening. If his body were to be desecrated, the old Prince would be devastated."
"Then I’m afraid he’ll have to choose between protecting the body and catching the murderer," Li Ang stated. "It’s not yet proven whether the Heir Prince ingested any poison or hallucinogens that could have led him to suicide. Therefore, a forensic autopsy is almost essential to understand the case and catch the murderer. Moreover, dissecting and analyzing the stomach contents to estimate the time elapsed between the last meal and death is one of the most accurate methods for determining the specific time of death. Su Xinghuo will certainly proceed that way."
Just as Li Ang predicted, Su Xinghuo argued his case forcefully. Citing the need to catch the murderer, he managed to persuade Sikong Ji and Sikong Qiu, two Guests of the Prince Mansion, to allow him to perform an autopsy on Xia Yuanjia’s body—under the supervision of another ship’s Doctor, of course.
The captain summoned a Telekinesis Master to gently lift Xia Yuanjia’s body and take it to the ship’s medical cabin. Afterward, he interrogated everyone from rooms seven to fourteen, obtaining detailed statements about their activities that day.
[Testimony of Feilian and Yan Fu: Yesterday morning, we went with the other passengers to the island and enjoyed various entertainments like diving and eating delicious food. Many people on the island can testify to this. Around 5 p.m., the island was about to host a bonfire party with singing and dancing. I wasn’t interested, so Yan Fu and I returned to the SS Sea Charm and had drinks on the deck.
"By the way, I knew the time from the Heavenly Bell Sound on the island. The Academic Palace is truly impressive; they even taught the natives to worship Haotian.
"Anyway, around 6:15 p.m., I saw that Zhou Kingdom merchant from room ten, Wu Yunjun, also returning from the island. He found Xia Yuanjia on the deck, who was using a telescope to observe the island from afar, and they spoke. Due to the distance, I couldn’t hear their exact conversation, only that Wu Yunjun looked dejected. Xia Yuanjia then left the deck—he probably returned to his room.
"Yan Fu and I stayed on the deck until 7 p.m., then returned to our room and stayed there for about half an hour. (7:30 p.m.) I got bored, so I went to the corridor to read.
"You ask why I was reading in the corridor? Well, do you know about a plant in the Jing Kingdom called wolf’s fescue? Chewing it gives you a hot, smoky sensation throughout your body. Some Jing Kingdom people, myself included, use wolf’s fescue as a chewing snack. However, the smell after chewing is quite pungent, and I didn’t want my room to fill with the scent, so I went to the corridor to chew it while reading a Yu Country magazine. The receptionist at the end of the hallway can testify to this.
"After about 15 minutes, I saw Wu Yunjun come to this floor and go straight to Xia Yuanjia’s Room 9. They talked about something in the room. Another 15 minutes later, Wu Yunjun left Room 9 and returned to his own room. Then, Singer Shi Yajing from Room 12 entered Room 9 and stayed there until a little past Xu Zheng (around 8:10 p.m.), after which she also returned to her room. Oh, right, when she left, she had tear tracks on her face.
"Although I was a bit curious, I didn’t feel like asking. After finishing the magazine and the wolf’s fescue, I returned to my room and stayed with Yan Fu until the next morning.]
[Wu Yunjun’s statement: Yesterday morning, I went to the island with other passengers. At 6:15 p.m., I boarded the SS Sea Charm and found the Heir Prince on deck.
"Captain, you should know I am a major merchant from Zhao Jun in the Zhou Kingdom. About half a month ago, I heard the Heir Prince was likely to inherit the Prince’s title and be enfeoffed in Zhao Jun. Therefore, I booked this ship ticket in advance, wanting to build a closer relationship with him and suggest he introduce the Yu Country’s railway system.
"Of course, I knew that Yu Country’s Spiritual Energy Locomotives were not for sale, but our Zhou Kingdom has grasped the basic principles. With sufficient manpower and resources, we will eventually be able to replicate them. Even if we can’t replicate them at this stage, we can still build the railway tracks first and use horses or demon beasts to pull the carriages—even that would be more efficient than past transportation methods.
"As a representative of the chamber of commerce, I was very eager to see a railway built in Zhao Jun, which is why I approached the Heir Prince. However, he wasn’t interested. He told me personally that even if he returned to the Prince Mansion, he might not inherit the title. If I wanted to discuss business, I should find the steward of the Prince Mansion.
"I was very disappointed and returned to my cabin around 6:55 p.m. But the more I thought about it, the more unwilling I was to give up. At 7:30 p.m., I retrieved a bottle of ’Drunk Red Dust,’ a renowned Zhou Kingdom wine I had treasured for twenty years, from my suitcase. Knowing the Heir Prince appreciated fine wine, I went to Room 9 and gave him the bottle.
"He was very pleased with the wine and said he would consider my proposal seriously. He even said that if he didn’t inherit the Prince’s title, he would still petition the Zhou Kingdom court to recommend imitating Yu Country and building railways.
"Delighted by his promise, I left Room 9 around Xu Zheng and returned to my cabin, where I stayed for the rest of the night.]
[Shi Yajing’s statement: Do I need to explain my schedule as well? Alright. Yesterday, during the day, I was resting on the island like everyone else.
"At 7 p.m., a crew member informed us that there might be strong winds that night, so I boarded the ship with the others.
"As for why I went to see the Heir Prince... you all know we’ve always been good friends. After he decided to return to the Zhou Kingdom, he invited me to go back with him. My parents are from a minor noble family in the Zhou Kingdom that has fallen on hard times. A few years ago, they wanted me to enter an arranged marriage, but I refused and fled to the SS Sea Charm.
"The Heir Prince promised to provide me with protection and said he would help, whether I wanted to continue as a singer in the Zhou Kingdom or reclaim my family inheritance. He said he would help with either. But I really don’t want to go back.
"Last night, around Xu Zheng, I went to see the Heir Prince about this. We shared half a bottle of ’Drunk Red Dust.’ He admired my free-spirited nature and wished me peace and happiness on the ship. We were both saddened by our impending farewell.
"A little after Xu Zheng (around 8:10 p.m.), I left Room 9, returned to my cabin, washed up, and went to sleep.]
