Coroner's Diary Episode 5 Recap
> Coroner's Diary Recap
The coroner's kit was stolen but found shortly after right outside the yamen, with nothing missing. When Miss Qin opened the box for inspection, she detected the strong scent of Jinyu Bone-setting Ointment, a valuable medicine only sold in the capital. This suggested the thief had a bone injury, came from a wealthy background, and had held the postmortem report long enough for the scent to transfer.
News arrived from the capital that Wei Qizhi, the Wei family's eldest legitimate young master, had not been injured in a horse-taming accident. Instead, Duke of Song had broken his right leg and confined him to his home, forcing his half-brother, Wei Yanzhi, to escort the bride. Wei Qizhi reportedly escaped and went missing the day after the wedding procession departed.
Miss Qin recalled that the person who pushed her from the tower seemed to have a leg injury, a detail that resonated with Wei Qizhi's situation. Yan Chi confronted Wei Yanzhi, expressing his anger at the Song family's deceit. Wei Yanzhi's loyal guard, Wei Cheng, confessed to setting the fire, claiming he did so to prevent Song Rou's reputation from being tarnished by a postmortem report revealing her infidelity.
Wei Yanzhi then claimed his elder brother, Wei Qizhi, had been intimately involved with Song Rou since childhood. He explained that Duke of Song, upon discovering Song Rou's pregnancy, had broken Wei Qizhi's leg in a rage. Wei Yanzhi stated he had been estranged from his brother after a fight over accepting patronage from Duke of Song, hence his ignorance of recent events.
He also revealed that Wei Qizhi was naturally left-handed but had been forced to use his right hand, a fact known to few. Claiming he lied to protect his brother, Wei Yanzhi was confined to the Eastern Courtyard by a skeptical Yan Chi, who knew further investigation was needed to find Song Rou's head and the murder weapon. Miss Qin discovered scraps of "dusted-gold paper" in Song Rou's stomach.
This tough paper, which gave off a faint lacquer tree scent, was an unusual choice for someone of her status, suggesting its contents were vital. The paper's characteristics—cheaper than other luxury papers yet still a mark of a certain taste—seemed to fit Wei Qizhi's known willful temperament. Miss Qin wanted to confirm this with Wei Yanzhi, but he had fallen gravely ill with a high fever.
Meanwhile, Wei Qizhi was caught attempting to steal the coroner's kit again in a trap set by Yan Chi. When Miss Qin visited the sick Wei Yanzhi, she found his room suspicious: a burning high-temperature stove, an open window, and strong incense, all contradictory for a sick man. She and Yan Chi decided to examine the ashes from his room. Prefect Huo subjected the captured Wei Qizhi to severe torture, but he refused to confess to Song Rou's murder.
Wei Qizhi's attendant, Wu Shu, interjected, pleading his master's innocence. He claimed Wei Qizhi had followed Song Rou to Jingzhou out of concern for her welfare, only to learn of her death upon arrival. He had sent Wu Shu to steal the report simply to learn how she died. Wu Shu revealed that not only was Wei Qizhi innocent of the affair, but Wei Yanzhi was also a skilled left-handed writer.
Wei Qizhi's mother, fearing her husband would favor his concubine's son, had maliciously forced the young Wei Yanzhi to learn left-handed writing to ruin his prospects. Wu Shu also mentioned Wei Qizhi's lifelong aversion to the smell of lacquer. Questioned by Miss Qin, Wei Qizhi admitted he had falsely confessed to the affair with Song Rou.
She had tearfully begged him to take the blame, even self-harming to force his compliance, as she refused to name her true lover for fear of ruining his future. Already at odds with Duke of Song, Wei Qizhi reluctantly agreed. He followed her to Jingzhou out of concern, only to hear of her death. Miss Qin's physical examination confirmed Wei Qizhi suffered from a severe allergy to lacquerware, which caused rashes upon contact.
This ruled him out as the user of the dusted-gold paper, which contained lacquer. As Wei Yanzhi attempted to escape, he was apprehended by Yan Chi. In the ashes from Wei Yanzhi's room, Miss Qin discovered burnt fatty residue on an iron tong, a substance not left by the smokeless charcoal he was using.
After reconstructing Song Rou's skull, she determined the murder weapon was stabbed into her occipital bone from behind, and her head was then severed to conceal the true cause of death. The wound matched Wei Yanzhi's Chengying sword.
With the evidence laid bare, Wei Yanzhi's crimes were exposed: he killed Song Rou, used her blood to stage the wedding sedan as the crime scene, dressed the body, impersonated a headless ghost to obstruct the investigation, and attempted to frame Wei Qizhi. He also ordered his guard to impersonate his brother and assassinate Miss Qin, and when that failed, to burn the morgue and Song Rou's head. Faced with irrefutable proof, Wei Yanzhi showed no remorse.
He blamed Song Rou for being "insane" and trying to ruin his future by demanding they elope. He bitterly contrasted his struggle as a concubine's son with Wei Qizhi's privilege, declaring that Song Rou "deserved to die" for threatening his ambitions with her love. Miss Qin countered that Song Rou's greatest folly was using all her intelligence to protect him, even swallowing the paper note to shield him from justice.
She declared that Wei Yanzhi, for his cruelty, was the one who truly deserved to die. With the case closed, Miss Qin meticulously repaired Song Rou's body, stating it was the least they could do to restore the dignity of someone who used her own body to reveal the truth. Later, Wei Qizhi visited Wei Yanzhi in prison.
Wei Yanzhi remained unrepentant, railing against his family's favoritism and blaming his misfortunes on his mother's cruelty and Wei Qizhi's actions, which led him to secretly seek out Song Rou for zither lessons. Wei Qizhi directly apologized, saying, "I have wronged you," but affirmed that his own conscience was clear and wished his brother peace in the next life.
Song Rou was buried in Jingzhou, a decision advocated by Wei Qizhi, who knew Duke of Song's character meant she would be denied burial in the family's ancestral tomb. Recognizing Miss Qin's invaluable abilities, Yan Chi sent a message to the capital, requesting to suspend his transfer to the Ministry of War and instead be assigned to the Ministry of Justice to pursue the Prince Jin case with her help.
