The Crown Prince is Actually a Princess! SEASON 1

Chapter 52 Part 2 - "Drowned"

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The backyard was quite large.
The place around the Hall was flat and spacious.
There were a few big trees near the courtyard wall with luxuriant branches and shades.
The trees were covered with weeds and were half a person height.
There was a huge water tank under the roots of the weeds spreading from the wall, and a dining room next to it that seemed to be used to store water, but was now somehow abandoned.

The Palace lady was still terrified and tremblingly because she was the first person who discovered her at the time,

"The water tank was filled with water when I found Yuan Qiu...
She was soaked in the water..."

Murong Ci stood in the grass.
Her cold eyes swept across the whole yard inch by inch.

Some mosquitoes and flies were buzzing in the air all over the place.
A lot of weeds had been torn, and there was water on the ground all around the water tank, which showed that the murderer killed her here.
However, it may also be the traces left as a result of the Palace officials carrying Yuan Qiu's body away.

Shen Zhiyan took the lead in approaching the water tank, and she also walked over.

Li Tian Xiang reminded:

"Your Royal Highness, this is the place where the case happened.
Be careful not to be cursed by bad luck."

She ignored him and still stepped forward.
The water tank was really big enough to contain a woman inside.
The water in the tank was 80% full and it was turbid.
It must have been rainwater.
It became so turbid because the corpse soaked in it, mixed with the leaves, weeds and soil.

Shen Zhiyan looked around and whispered:

"There is no blood on the ground or around the water tank."

Murong Ci nodded, looked at it for a while and left.

They went to see Yuan Qiu's corpse.
She told Li Tian Xiang to inform the Palace staff that they could work as usual, and if necessary, they would pass on their questions later.

In the Hall, Li Tian Xiang stood aside and did not dare to approach the corpse.
He covered his mouth and nose and frowned, not daring to look at the corpse because of the smell of the dead body.

Shen Zhiyan decided to conduct a preliminary inspection here.
He put on the slim gloves he always carried with him and inspected from the head,

"The deceased Yuan Qiu, judging from the spots on the corpse and the degree of decay, should have been dead for two days.
Because of being soaked in water, the whole body of the deceased is swollen..."
He pressed twice on the abdomen of the corpse, and water came out of the deceased's mouth.
He inspected carefully and focused, and continued,

"The dead was drowned."

Murong Ci was standing on the other side. Because the corpse was too stinky and she didn't prepare anything to cover her face with, she could only relieve her by covering her nose and mouth with the robe sleeves,

"See if there are any bruises on the deceased."

He nodded and unbuttoned Yuan Qiu's clothes.
Li Tian Xiang immediately turned around and rushed out of the door again, vomiting from the nauseous smell.

"Just wait outside."
Murong Ci shook her head helplessly.

"Yes... this servant will retire first..."
He rushed out with a sorry face, and vomited again outside.

"Your Royal Highness, there are purple-red bruises on the back of the deceased's neck, which seem to have been caused when she was still alive."
Shen Zhiyan inspected meticulously,

"It looks like a five-fingerprint?"

"It does."
Murong Ci stretched out her hand to press down on the deceased's neck with her five fingers.

"The murderer must have pressed Yuan Qiu's neck and pushed her into the water tank before she drowned."

Shen Zhiyan continued to examine the body.
"There are also a lot of bruises on the deceased's arms, which should also have been caused while she was still alive."

Murong Ci nodded,
"It is quite common for a Palace resident to be abused or beaten by another Palace resident."

Shen Zhiyan then inspected the deceased's hands.
"Half of the deceased's nails are broken, and some of the fingers are also broken.
It should be the result of the deceased's scratching her arms in the water tank when the deceased's head was held down in the water."

Murong Ci replied,
"Just now I saw one or two broken nails in the water tank."

After a while, he completed the autopsy, took off his gloves, and instructed Li Tian Xiang to have someone send the corpse to the East Palace without error and without damaging the corpse.

Li Tian Xiang was worried that he would be suspected of killing her, so he took the job seriously.

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END of CHAPTER 52 PART 2
.....................to be continued