Coroner's Diary Episode 8 Recap
> Coroner's Diary Recap
Fuling confirmed she personally saw the First Master's maid retrieve musk, having cross-referenced prescriptions and coaxed information from Physician Qian. The maid claimed it was to treat the First Master's dizziness, but Fuling observed he appeared clear-headed and healthy, making the diagnosis questionable. Bai Feng, interjecting, suggested Fuling had done enough by helping the Young Madam protect her unborn child. Bai Feng later greeted Qin Wan, informing her that their master was waiting at a pavilion to discuss the case.
He offered to carry medicine for Fuling, who declined. At the pavilion, Yan Chi explained he chose the secluded spot to prevent eavesdropping. He reported that Liu Chun had not been found despite a city-wide search, but they did discover that Third Master Qin suffered from syphilis, matching his previous claims of illness. Constable Huo suggested Liu Chun, fearing exposure of his affair with Concubine Liu, killed her and fled.
Qin Wan countered, asserting that Qin Li's illness was unrelated, as she had treated him herself, noting Concubine Liu’s condition was long-standing and Qin Li had repeatedly sought her help for his own ailment. She reasoned that if Liu Chun had killed Concubine Liu to hide their affair, he would not have left her body or his handkerchief, suggesting he was framed.
Yan Chi agreed, recognizing the danger Liu Chun faced if the murderer was an acquaintance trying to silence him. He immediately ordered all city exits sealed and a thorough search for Liu Chun. However, Liu Chun remained missing despite extensive searches inside and outside the city. Servants then reported strange occurrences in the Qin Mansion’s Purple Bamboo Grove: ghost fire and the cries of a female ghost.
Qin Qizhi Chen dismissed it as mere servant gossip, but Yan Chi questioned why such a lush area was sealed if there was nothing to hide. Qin Qizhi Chen explained that he and his second brother had fallen into a well there as children, leading their grandmother, Madam Qin, to seal it with a demon-suppressing stone out of concern. Yan Chi then summoned Qin Wan to investigate, despite Qin Qizhi Chen's attempts to prevent her, citing her unmarried status.
Upon arriving, Qin Wan identified a stone slab as the demon-suppressing stone, noting the moss growth indicated it had been recently moved. Signs of struggle were evident, with stomping marks around the well. Bai Feng descended into the well and discovered a dead body. Qin Wan, deciding it was time to reveal her skills, chose to perform the initial autopsy at the site, ordering Constable Qi to secure the area and prevent any disturbances.
The body was identified as Liu Chun. Madam Qin soon arrived, furious with Qin Qizhi Chen for failing to stop Yan Chi from entering the forbidden grove. She threatened to report Yan Chi to the Emperor through the Marquis of Zhongyong for disrespecting their family. Yan Chi, however, calmly permitted Madam Qin and Qin Qizhi Chen to enter. During the preliminary autopsy, Qin Wan determined that Liu Chun, aged 40-45, had been strangled elsewhere before being thrown into the well.
His face was blue-purple, and deep strangulation marks were present, with food residue in his mouth. The method of strangulation was identical to that used on Concubine Liu. Liu Chun also exhibited signs of severe, recurrent syphilis, making him the most critical patient known. Qin Wan deduced that Liu Chun was killed between 7 and 11 a. m. , after roll call, which conflicted with the servants' claims of his disappearance.
She posited that Liu Chun had been tricked into hiding and then killed, possibly with an accomplice. The undisturbed state of the crime scene in the isolated Purple Bamboo Grove suggested the killer was either overconfident or had help. Qin Wan then connected the sudden appearance of "ghost fire" while they searched for Liu Chun, suggesting it was a deliberate, artificial lure. Believing the well held more secrets, Yan Chi ordered it to be dug deeper.
As the digging commenced, Bai Feng uncovered a small female skull, estimated to be from a woman who had died at least seven years prior. Seeing the discovery, Madam Qin confessed that eight years ago, her third son, Qin An, had insisted on taking a new concubine (the eighth concubine), which caused his then-pregnant concubine, Concubine Yang, to miscarry. Distraught, Concubine Yang drowned herself in the well.
A sorcerer had advised sealing the well with a demon-suppressing stone to contain Concubine Yang's vengeful spirit and ensure peace for the household. Madam Qin admitted to covering up the incident to protect the Marquis of Zhongyong's reputation. Yan Chi reminded her of the imperial law requiring official investigation of unusual deaths. Madam Qin claimed Concubine Yang's maid had also died from shock, leaving no witnesses.
Qin Wan pressed about the death of Lianye, but Madam Qin maintained that Lianye's parents refused to report her death and had already buried her. Qin Wan emphasized that the demon-suppressing stone had clearly failed to prevent the recent string of deaths, arguing that proper investigation and respectful burial were the only paths to peace.
Yan Chi ordered the remaining bones to be unearthed and declared that Liu Chun’s and Concubine Liu’s cases were linked and their bodies could not be buried until a final verdict was reached. Qin Wan detected the smell of burning phosphorus, which produces a garlic-like odor, explaining how it could be used to create artificial "ghost fire."
She demonstrated how phosphorus-soaked cotton tied to bamboo branches could be manipulated with ropes to create the illusion of a floating ghost fire, combined with wailing sounds, to mimic a vengeful female spirit. She connected the coincidences: Concubine Liu's death leading to Liu Chun, the ghost fire leading to the well, and Liu Chun's body leading to Concubine Yang's remains.
Qin Wan suspected that Lianye was the first victim, murdered in the Purple Bamboo Grove after witnessing the killer, and that the grove was central to the killer's intricate plan. She believed Concubine Yang's death was far more complex than Madam Qin had revealed, given the killer's elaborate efforts to expose her remains. Madam Qin, increasingly agitated, instructed Qin Qizhi Chen to remind Qin Wan of her Qin family ties.
Qin Qizhi Chen also expressed concern about his father’s worsening illness but Madam Qin forbade Qin Wan from treating him, fearing a scandal. Madam Qin then declared her intention to permanently seal the well once the investigations were complete, believing it was the source of their misfortunes. Qin Qizhi Chen, meanwhile, worried about being implicated, but Madam Qin reassured him that she had sought the Marquis of Zhongyong’s intervention in the capital.
Yan Chi confided in Qin Wan, revealing that his understanding of the interconnected cases stemmed from his first independent border patrol at the age of eighteen. He recounted witnessing innocent villagers slaughtered, pursuing the enemy, and falling into an ambush from which only he and Bai Feng survived. Qin Wan comforted him, acknowledging his bravery as a young hero.
Yan Chi then urged Qin Wan to withdraw from the case, citing the potential harm to her and the Qin family's reputation due to the old family secrets involved. However, Qin Wan refused, stating she could not stand by when four lives were at stake and that Yan Chi would be unable to proceed without her autopsy skills. She promised to seek his help if she found herself in a dire situation.
Yan Chi, moved, took her hand and promised never to go back on his word. Fuling, witnessing their interaction, seemed uneasy but was subtly restrained by Bai Feng. The next day, Qin Wan meticulously reassembled Concubine Yang's skeleton. She determined that Concubine Yang, approximately 5'7" tall and aged between twenty and thirty, had died from a broken neck and severe fractures, consistent with a fall from a height.
Critically, Qin Wan discovered multiple distinct grooves on Concubine Yang's pubic bone, indicating she had given birth at least once, which directly contradicted Madam Qin's claim that Concubine Yang had only suffered a miscarriage. Qin Wan speculated that Concubine Yang’s child might have died young. Yan Chi decided to question Madam Qin further, but Qin Wan advised against it, suggesting that Madam Qin was too cunning to reveal anything.
She instead recommended questioning the Third Madam, believing her to be weaker-willed and more likely to disclose information. Yan Chi mentioned that the remaining Qin Mansion servants only had similar, vague accounts of Concubine Yang, and all her former attendants had either died or been sold off, which Madam Qin attributed to her anger over Concubine Yang's grief. Yan Chi instructed Bai Feng to locate former maids who had served other concubines, hoping they might possess crucial insights. As Qin Wan continued her work on the remains, she unexpectedly discovered an extra bone among Concubine Yang's wrist and metacarpal bones.
