Coroner's Diary Episode 7 Recap
> Coroner's Diary Recap
Yan Chi, having accepted an imperial decree, joined the Ministry of Justice as the judicial surveillance commissioner. He was determined to investigate Prince Jin's case, viewing it as a personal mission to clear Prince Jin's name, who had been like a father and brother to him.
Knowing his return to the capital would be fraught with danger, Yan Chi asked his uncle, the Marquis of Anyang, to provide Qin Wan with an official identity to protect her from constraints by the Marquis of Zhongyong's influence, an offer his uncle gladly accepted to repay Qin Wan’s kindness. Upon arriving at the Qin Mansion, Yan Chi formally invited Qin Wan to assist him in solving cases, granting her the authority to legally perform autopsies.
He assured her that with his support, she could carry out her work freely, even after returning to the capital. He then informed her of a murder that had just occurred in the Qin Mansion, revealing the victim was Concubine Liu, not the maid Lianye, which surprised Qin Wan. Yan Chi, Qin Wan, and Prefect Huo proceeded to Concubine Liu's residence.
Members of the third branch, including Mr. Qin Chen and the Third Madam, attempted to obstruct the investigation, citing concerns about Qin Wan's reputation as an unmarried lady. However, Yan Chi, asserting his authority as the judicial surveillance commissioner, dismissed their objections and allowed Qin Wan to proceed. Inside, the room was luxuriously furnished, and Concubine Liu had clearly been strangled.
Qin Wan deduced that the room was not the original crime scene because of its pristine condition, the absence of struggle marks, and the victim's missing shoes. She meticulously pointed out that the body had been moved after death, evidenced by the specific patterns of lividity, the state of rigor mortis, the victim's curved legs inconsistent with the current position, and the presence of mud under her broken fingernails, indicating a struggle on muddy ground.
Qin Wan concluded that the perpetrator was someone deeply familiar with the Qin Mansion. She also noted that the patterns of lividity on the limbs suggested two people had moved the stiff body, intending to obscure the true murder site. Madam Qin arrived, expressing confusion that officials had appeared so quickly without her reporting the crime. Yan Chi ordered Concubine Liu's maids, Xiuqin and Xiushu, to be brought for questioning.
They initially claimed they found the concubine dead in her bed. Yan Chi, however, exposed their lie, pointing out Concubine Liu's heavy makeup and broken fingernails contradicted their story of a peaceful death indoors. Madam Qin admitted she had instructed the maids to lie to protect the family’s reputation, revealing that Concubine Liu had been having a secret rendezvous when she met her end. Mr. Qin Chen stepped forward to protect his grandmother, offering himself for punishment.
The maids then confessed that Concubine Liu was found disheveled and dead in the flower shed in the eastern court, a secluded area near the Purple Bamboo Grove. Madam Qin, fearing the well in that area due to a past incident where her granddaughter Shuang fell into it, had ordered it sealed overnight after a ritual. At the flower shed, Prefect Huo found Concubine Liu’s clothes, which a maid had buried in the backyard along with a handkerchief.
The handkerchief, though seemingly belonging to Concubine Liu, bore a strong smell of male sweat, indicating it was likely a token from her lover. Bai Feng, at Yan Chi's instruction, re-enacted the victim's position as described by the maid, revealing broken vines and a drag mark on the ground from the shed to the broken vines. The leaves in the area were trampled black, suggesting the killer had stood there for an extended period.
Qin Wan theorized that Concubine Liu must have known her attacker, or something the attacker said made her immobile, preventing her from screaming despite the dense foliage, allowing the killer to approach from behind and strike decisively. Recalling that she had once seen Concubine Liu and Liu Chun together in the Purple Bamboo Grove, Qin Wan immediately suspected him. Yan Chi ordered Liu Chun's immediate detention and interrogation.
Meanwhile, the coroner Xu He, upon preliminary examination, cautiously informed Yan Chi and Qin Wan that Concubine Liu appeared to have contracted syphilis. Xu He was hesitant to confirm it due to the victim's status within the Qin family, but Qin Wan sternly reminded him that as a coroner, his focus should only be on the evidence, regardless of the victim's identity.
Yan Chi then explained that while Concubine Liu's symptoms had progressed for two months, her strong lover might be asymptomatic. To find the culprit, he ordered a complete body search of all males in the Qin Mansion, believing that such a public display would agitate the true culprit and force him to reveal himself. He dismissed concerns about the Qin family's reputation, stating that their treatment of Qin Wan showed their lack of regard for it anyway.
Prefect Huo was caught between Madam Qin’s outrage and Yan Chi’s resolve, but Yan Chi firmly asserted his authority, reminding Prefect Huo of his duties. Madam Qin, furious at the humiliation, retreated to the ancestral hall to lament to her ancestors. Qin Wan then visited her sister-in-law, Xinlan, who was pregnant. She discovered that Xinlan had not been taking her prescribed medicine because it had been tampered with; musk had been added.
Xinlan's maid revealed that Mr. Qin Chen, Xinlan's husband, refused to believe his wife's concerns, which led Xinlan to secretly stop the medication. Qin Wan urged Xinlan to prioritize her health and the baby’s, warning her of the serious consequences. However, Xinlan lamented her husband’s lack of affection, feeling that if he could not reciprocate her feelings, life was worse than death.
Qin Wan, realizing the depth of Xinlan's emotional turmoil, advised her that she could treat illness but not a broken heart, and that Xinlan needed to find her own resolve. She also observed the strained relationship between Xinlan and Mr. Qin Chen, noting that despite no other women being involved, his perceived indifference was deeply affecting Xinlan.
Qin Wan later confronted Qin Chen, pointing out that his devotion to Madam Qin seemed to overshadow his responsibilities to his wife and child. Qin Wan promised to make the medicine into pills for Xinlan to take more discreetly. Separately, The Third Master (Concubine Liu's former master) raged and ordered the beating of all servants from her courtyard, but his wife intervened and suggested sending them to the laundry division instead, to avoid further attracting attention during the ongoing investigation.
Qin Wan strategically placed purple bamboo in an unobtrusive spot and had Wantang tidy her dressing table. Wantang was subsequently observed handing the purple bamboo to an old woman at the second gate, confirming Qin Wan's suspicion that Wantang was a spy. Qin Wan then connected Concubine Liu's death to Lianye's. She noted the similarities in their deaths—both strangled by neck attacks and both having visited the Purple Bamboo Grove.
However, Lianye's body showed signs of struggle and resistance, suggesting the perpetrator was inexperienced at that time, whereas Concubine Liu's single, decisive fatal wound indicated an experienced killer. Qin Wan theorized that if they found Concubine Liu's killer, Lianye's case would also be solved, and that Wantang's master was likely the true murderer, as only the killer would have known Lianye's presence in the Purple Bamboo Grove.
Shortly after, Li, Qin Wan's second brother, rushed to her, panicking because Yan Chi's search had extended to his courtyard, threatening to expose his own illness. Qin Wan reassured him that she would explain his condition to Yan Chi. She then seized the opportunity to question Li about the Purple Bamboo Grove, asking if Madam Qin's sealing of the area was related to a well inside, to which Li confirmed.
