Chapter 30: A Tricky Game

Chapter 30: A Tricky Game

Jiang Yunxin's face remained expressionless as she stepped forward to examine the body.

Fang Mingyan was equally composed, instructing the butler, "Tell me in detail everything that happened yesterday and today."

The butler then recounted the events meticulously.

The previous night, Ma Xiuneng had returned home drunk, accompanied by a woman.

This was not an unusual occurrence in the mansion. Although the butler didn't mention it explicitly, everyone knew that the residence served as Ma Xiuneng's hideaway for his extramarital affairs.

No one could clearly see the appearance of the lady, as she wore a veil, revealing only half her face. From that half, however, it was evident that she possessed strikingly beautiful features, making her a stunning beauty.

Everyone was accustomed to such occurrences and took them in stride.

Ma Xiuneng and the beauty entered a room, and soon their laughter from playful antics filled the air.

After a while, Ma Xiuneng instructed to bring in many fragrances, and a subtle aroma permeated the house.

The servants in the residence had no idea why Ma Xiuneng needed so many spices, but they would provide whatever their master desired without question; it was not their place to inquire too much.

Thus, the fragrant ingredients were carried into the room.

Next, Ma Xiuneng instructed for bathing supplies, such as a tub and flowers, to be prepared.

The servants brought in all the necessary items for the bath.

After that, they withdrew, closing both the room and courtyard doors behind them.

Throughout the night, aside from the initial playful laughter, no other sounds emerged from the room.

Although the scent grew stronger, it was barely noticeable from another yard away and not directly downwind.

This sort of occurrence was entirely normal where Ma Xiuneng was concerned, so the servants went about their business, with one remaining outside to attend to any summons.

As dawn broke, the courtyard gate opened, and the young lady emerged.

She was dressed just as she had been the previous day, appearing entirely unremarkable.

She informed the servants that Young Master Ma was still asleep and then left.

Fang Mingyan couldn't help but comment, "She came at night and left alone before dawn. The servants didn't find it odd or go in to check on their own master? Don't they find that strange?"

The butler sighed, "This sort of thing happens often, so no one found it unusual. They just saw her off."

Listening to this, the onlookers could only remark that Ma Xiuneng was no ordinary person, and the murderer must have had a premeditated plan, thus being very familiar with him. This murder was executed calmly and effortlessly.

The butler continued, "After that woman left, some time passed. A servant remembered that Young Master had something to attend to at the mansion today and wanted to inquire. That's when they discovered Young Master dead in the bathtub. Otherwise, it might not have been noticed until midday."

Even so, half an hour had already elapsed, and the murderer would have long vanished without a trace.

Fang Mingyan found it peculiar and asked, "By the way, you don't usually live here, do you?"

The butler shook his head repeatedly.

The butler resided in the main residence, as did Ma Xiuneng. Occasionally, when he brought a companion and didn't want to create a scene at home, he would come to this place.

The butler explained, "I had left early for business and happened to encounter a servant heading to the main residence to send a message. So, I instructed someone to inform the main residence while I went to fetch the magistrate myself."

The authorities would arrive sooner than the message, mainly because the Bureau of Criminal Investigation was closer to this location than the Ma residence.

This was because, despite Matthew's self-proclaimed charm, he was well aware that his family did not approve of his daily activities. If they found out, he would certainly face scolding. Thus, his residence was deliberately situated far from home.

The butler sighed again.

"Master should be arriving soon as well."

It was indeed a tragic sight – a white-haired man bidding farewell to his black-haired son.

After inquiring about the basic details of the case, Fang Mingyan asked Xue Dongyang to step outside and question the servants in the courtyard one by one. He then approached the corpse himself.

"Coroner Jiang, have you found anything?"

Jiang Yunxin rose to her feet and removed her mask.

"There are no injuries on the upper body of the deceased. However, starting from the waist down, there are nearly a hundred wounds in total. Thirteen of them are deep enough to expose the bones, while the others vary in depth, with some appearing to have been inflicted repeatedly."

Even without looking, the mere description of these injuries was enough to evoke a sense of pain.

Jiang Yunxin observed, "Cotton threads were found in the deceased's mouth, identical to the handkerchief discarded nearby. It's plausible that the murderer stuffed it in to prevent the victim from crying out."

Wary of alarming Fang Mingyan, Jiang Yunxin didn't phrase it directly. She inferred that the victim might have been engaged in an unusual game with the perpetrator before their demise.

Jiang Yunxin continued tactfully, "The victim had rope marks on their wrists and neck, but they were not deep enough to be fatal. Thus, the victim was likely bound inside the bathtub, immobilized, and then killed."

The murderer needn't possess martial arts skills; a clever and cunning individual could have subdued Ma Xiuneng.

The room was filled with numerous incense sticks, their aroma thick enough to suffocate. There could have been a hallucinogenic component in the scent – not strong enough to induce unconsciousness, but just enough to disorient the victim.

Such a potent fragrance, when it permeated the room, would overlay the scent of blood with that of alcohol.

Alcohol clouds one's senses; Ma Xiuneng might have been in a drunken stupor, completely oblivious to his circumstances before being captured. Thus, no signs of struggle were left at the scene.

After being bound, the combined effects of alcohol and the sedative rendered him powerless to resist.

Despite being in the prime of his life, indulging in wine, women, wealth, and pleasure, without any martial arts skills, how robust could his health be? If he were to engage in a real fight without his henchmen, his strength might not even match that of a peasant woman who had spent her entire life tending to the fields.

As they spoke, footsteps and sobs echoed from outside, indicating the arrival of Ma Xiuneng's family.

This was the scene Jiang Yunxin feared most, regardless of the past or present, regardless of whether the deceased deserved it or not. Yet, such scenes were inevitable in her morgue.

Fortunately, Fang Mingyan was there to carry the weight of the world now.

Jiang Yunxin retreated first and then frankly said to Long Qiao, "Brother Long, I can't bear to witness this. I'll step out and take a look around."

The sight of families torn apart and parents mourning their children was indeed heartbreaking.

Long Qiao assumed that the lady had a soft heart and nodded in understanding.

Jiang Yunxin managed to avoid meeting Matthew's parents by leaving before they arrived.

She intuitively felt that she wasn't suitable to be here at this moment.

It wasn't about whether she could bear seeing the grieving family; rather, although she didn't personally know Matthew's parents, they had visited her family twice for marriage proposals. There was a high chance they recognized her.

Even if they hadn't seen her in person, they would have seen her portrait and thus knew her identity.

To speak of it, Matthew's parents truly doted on their son and had no extravagant demands. They dared to propose marriage despite their son wanting to wed an undertaker.

Should the Mathews stumble upon us and recognize him, they might think, Ah, our son has been living just fine all these years. But the moment he proposes to your family, he meets with an untimely end. There must be some foul play involved.

Even if you didn't directly kill him, your presence must have brought about his demise.

With this in mind, Jiang Yunxin couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. She held her skirt, wishing she could run so fast as to leave afterimages behind.

Don't see me, don't see me, don't see me—then maybe you'll forget about me.