The Young Coroner and the Imperial Guard [Historical Crime Investigation]

Historical crime investigation, set in an imaginary dynasty

[The unsentimental young coroner, Liu Yi x the ruthless, cold-blooded judge, Xie Mingzhen]

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Blurb 1

After the empress ascended the throne, she established an imperial prison and appointed women as embroidered-uniform inspectors, to monitor the officials and report anything they heard.

People say a woman's heart is the most venomous. A woman in office must be ruthless.

The embroidered-uniform inspector Xie Mingzhen wielded great power, with life and death in her hands. She was called the "Jade-Faced Judge" and the "Cold-Faced Yama," and was also known as "the empress's foremost lapdog."

On an ancient road in Jiangnan, the young coroner Liu Yi came upon the Jade-Faced Judge holding a bridle and casually strangling a third-rank court official to death, before hanging the body from a tree.

Xie Mingzhen looked at her coldly and asked, though she already knew the answer, "How did he die?"

The young coroner answered honestly, "You strangled him to death."

Xie Mingzhen declared emphatically, "Wrong. He committed suicide out of guilt and died by hanging."

The young coroner stammered and dared not say a word.

Theme: Undecided for now