The Imperial Coroner Episode 33 Recap
> The Imperial Coroner Recap
Imperial physician Zhang Shu suddenly hanged himself. Han Ji searched for clues at the crime scene and found the pulse record placed on the table. It recorded Princess Xiping's pregnancy details. All signs indicated that the princess had only carried one child that year, but had falsely claimed to have two sons to the outside world. Xiao Jinyu brought Chu Chu to investigate Zhang Shu's cause of death and encountered Han Ji.
Just as Han Ji ordered his men to arrest Chu Chu, Xiao Jinyu fortunately appeared in time to stop them. Xiao Jinyu took out the certificate proving Chu Chu was a coroner of the Three Judicial Offices. Because of this certificate, Han Ji was not qualified to take Chu Chu away. After Han Ji angrily left, Chu Chu couldn't help but ask about the source of the certificate.
She then learned that even before the coroner's examination, Xiao Jinyu had already applied to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang for a blank certificate jointly stamped by the Ministry of Personnel and the Three Judicial Offices. As long as the information of the employed person was filled in, it would immediately become effective. Worried that Chu Chu might misunderstand him, Xiao Jinyu proactively explained the matter to her, hoping that Chu Chu could stay by his side forever.
Chu Chu pretended to be haughty, but still couldn't outsmart Xiao Jinyu, instead being teased by him. Their time together was exceptionally sweet and warm. Regarding the matter of Zhang Shu, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang personally interrogated Princess Xiping, with Grand Secretary Jing and others listening in. Han Ji presented evidence one by one in front of everyone.
First, he brought in the former wet nurse and maid from the princess's mansion, then revealed that Princess Xiping had adopted Chen Ying's orphan. To conceal this matter, she had dismissed all those who knew the inside story from the mansion. Now, in Han Ji's view, the reason Princess Xiping was not afraid of her servants speaking out was simply because she had privately detained their relatives, including the wet nurse and maid present.
Years later, the two eagerly longed for their families and saw the princess's two sons grow up, so they wanted to redeem their relatives from Princess Xiping. However, their request was refused, and they were even almost harmed. Even though Han Ji spoke with conviction, Princess Xiping still vehemently denied everything, finding it utterly ridiculous that Han Ji inferred she had threatened Zhang Shu and forced him to hang himself.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was convinced and intended to make Princess Xiping confess, but unexpectedly, Xiao Jinyu suddenly arrived. He directly stated his purpose and pointed out that the pulse record presented by Han Ji must have been forged by someone else. After explaining his view, Xiao Jinyu proposed re-examining the pulse record. He found that the paper of the pulse record was old, but the handwriting was new.
Furthermore, the ink used was a royal imperial product from three years ago, not something an ordinary imperial physician could easily obtain. Because Xiao Jinyu had previously simulated the crime process with Chu Chu, he concluded that Zhang Shu had been suffocated into unconsciousness before hanging himself. As for why the two imperial physicians saw Zhang Shu kicking the stool and hanging, it was entirely due to the killer's sleight of hand.
To present the crime process more intuitively, Xiao Jinyu specifically arranged a room to resemble a suicide scene, including its furnishings and the truth. Everyone went to observe. Unexpectedly, upon opening the door, they saw a dummy hanging from the beam automatically kick off the stool. However, it was only through Xiao Jinyu's explanation that they suddenly realized the truth.
It turned out that after suffocating Zhang Shu into unconsciousness, the killer deliberately hung a hemp rope from the beam and made it look like Zhang Shu had committed suicide. Then, a stool was placed diagonally at the deceased's feet, with the deceased's feet blocking the stool's surface. A brush was propped up at the point where the stool touched the ground, ensuring the stool would not fall.
When Han Ji arrived with the imperial physicians and pushed open the door, they would naturally touch the fine stick connected to the brush, causing the stool to fall with the brush, creating an illusion that made everyone mistakenly believe it was real. The killer painstakingly arranged this setup, which seemed perfect but actually had a flaw: he could not leave through the main door, only escape by jumping out the window.
However, in his hurried escape, the killer failed to notice that his undershirt was torn by a wooden splinter on the window sill, leaving behind a thread. Under Xiao Jinyu's interrogation, Sun Mingde dared not reveal his undershirt to prove his innocence and frantically pleaded with Qin Luan to intercede for him.
However, Qin Luan, knowing the plan had failed, simply twisted Sun Mingde's neck on the spot, claiming it was to eliminate internal threats and protect Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's safety. Nevertheless, Xiao Jinyu had enough evidence to accuse Qin Luan of being the mastermind. Xiao Jinyu reported the findings of his trip to the southwest, stating that he had found his father Xiao Heng and the evidence he left behind. He then immediately notified his subordinates to bring the relics and evidence to appear before Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in court.
