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Thin perspiration oozed out of Zhèng Wén Yàn’s forehead. “Hou’ye, this medicine storehouse is really only opened once every blue moon, and I’ve never carried the keys on my person. Although the doors to the study in the reporting hall are locked, quite a number of people go in and out on a daily basis. Hou’ye, no matter how anxious zaixia is, he would never conspire to murder his own older brother’s life.”
Upon seeing Huò Wēi Lóu’s expression chill, Zhèng Wén Yàn hastily said: “Yes, it’s true that I went to Second Brother’s study that night for the sake of looking for that folded booklet. Before the New Year, I once witnessed Mother writing the folded booklet in the warm room, and when she saw me approach, Mother kept the folded booklet immediately. I didn’t find it appropriate back then, but Mother didn’t bring it up, so I didn’t ask. Afterwards, Mother suddenly passed away and I panicked, when I was putting Mother’s remaining effects in order, I searched Mother’s bedroom and study, but I didn’t manage to find that folded booklet.”
Zhèng Wén Yàn wore a difficult expression, like he was going to cry soon, “I was thinking, did Mother already hand the folded booklet to Second Brother? [I] was busy with Mother’s funeral for the first few days, while Second Brother stayed behind closed doors all day long, so I didn’t have a chance. That night, Second Older Sister-in-law and Xiāo’er were outside, Second Brother was nowhere to be seen, and I finally had a chance to search for it.”
Zhèng Wén Yàn rushed to justify himself, not daring to hide the details any longer. Huò Wēi Lóu’s expression was still hard to distinguish as he listened, and he only surveyed the entire medicine storehouse, “Search, see if there are any clues left behind.”
Some of the embroidered emissaries searched the place after receiving their orders. After some time, there were no gains.
Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes became heavier, “Ask all the servants and stewards from the various courtyards to come for questioning, ensure that there are no leaks in personnel.” After giving his instructions, Huò Wēi Lóu seemed to suddenly recall something as he asked: “Who is Momo Yu?”
Zhèng Wén Yàn stilled, replying with some hesitation, “She’s a personal maidservant that Mother brought from the Capital, she can be considered as someone Mother places a great deal of trust in. However, she committed a mistake more than ten years ago and she was chased to the ancestral hall to guard the ancestral hall for the Zheng clan.”
“She committed a mistake more than ten years ago?”
Zhèng Wén Yàn nodded, “Yes, roughly fifteen or sixteen years ago, though the specifics are unknown. The ancestral hall is in the northwest direction of the residence. Momo Yu has barely stepped out of the ancestral hall for the past few years, and Mother would only see her whenever she has to go to the ancestral hall to offer incense during the New Year festival. She’s a cold-feeling person, even when Mother passed away, she did not appear at all.”
A trusted aide that was brought from the Capital, and yet she was punished to guard the ancestral hall for more than ten years.
Huò Wēi Lóu glanced at Hè Chéng, “Dispatch someone to check the ancestral hall to see if that’s the truth.”
Hè Chéng nodded and complied. Huò Wēi Lóu then said: “Since you have no alibi, from this moment onwards, return to your own courtyard and refrain from randomly moving around. The words that you spoke just now, benhou will naturally seek proof.”
Zhèng Wén Yàn was in slight dilemma, “Hou’ye, today is the second seventh of Mother’s passing, there will be a small religious ceremony later.”
After muttering to himself irresolutely for a brief moment, Huò Wēi Lóu pointed at one embroidered emissary, “You’re following him.”
Zhèng Wén Yàn sighed in relief. Very quickly, there was an embroidered emissary reporting, “Hou’ye, all of the servants in the residence have been gathered.”
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There were a lot of servants in the Marquis Residence and wanting to interrogate all of them needed quite a bit of time. Huò Wēi Lóu did not falter in the slightest as he ordered someone to lock up the doors of the medicine storehouse and doubled back to the front courtyard. Bó Ruò Yōu, however, sidled up to Hè Chéng, “Daren, I want to examine a corpse.”
Hè Chéng dithered, “Examine whose…”
“Examine the Zheng Second Master’s.”
After giving a pause, Bó Ruò Yōu said: “The reason why Zheng er’ye went to the Moon-viewing Pavilion is still inconclusive, and while his cause of death is known, there are still a lot of contentious points. I would like to see if there are any other clues on the corpse.”
The volume of her voice was not loud, but Huò Wēi Lóu still came to a halt and looked over even though he was at the front.
Once Fu gonggong saw him react that way, he immediately said with great zest, “Bó guniang! I’ll go with you!”
After Fu gonggong was done speaking, he looked towards Huò Wēi Lóu, asking for his opinion. Huò Wēi Lóu nodded slightly, and then brought the rest of his entourage to leave.
Hè Chéng commented, “Since Fu gonggong will be going together, I will accompany Hou’ye for the interrogations then.”
Fu gonggong waved his head smilingly, and Hè Chéng quickly chased up to Huò Wēi Lóu. Once they departed, Fu gonggong turned his head and told Bó Ruò Yōu, “Let’s go, Bó guniang, zajia really likes watching your post-mortem autopsies.”
咱家 (pinyin: za jia) – I; me [often used in vernacular fiction]
Bó Ruò Yōu was split between laughter and tears, “This is the first time one has heard someone say that they like watching post-mortem autopsies.”
Fu gonggong issued a long sigh, “Truthfully speaking, zajia came from the inner palace, and how could he have possibly witnessed such scenes at the start? Ever since the Emperor ordered zajia to follow Hou’ye, he became used to it. Beyond being accustomed to it, zajia even has the routine questions for interrogations more or less memorised. Haa, it is truly hard on these old bones of zajia; it really isn’t easy to follow Hou’ye.”
The pair had already turned towards the west courtyard, and Fu gonggong questioned her as they walked: “How many corpses has Bó guniang examined?”
Bó Ruò Yōu thought about it, “Having gone in and out of charnel house since the age of twelve, it should be above the hundred mark presently.”
Fu gonggong clicked his tongue, “Will Bó guniang continue being a coroner in the future?”
Bó Ruò Yōu said smilingly, “It will be continued, yes.”
Fu gonggong gazed at Bó Ruò Yōu with some worry, which gave Bó Ruò Yōu some goosebumps. She said: “Gonggong does not have to worry for me, although coroners are lowly and subservient, the skills of a coroner can help the deceased speak. The common people believe in Buddhism and the Taoist philosophy, but I believe in the blade in my hands more. Since I am of this opinion, I do not find it exhausting, and I won’t ever self-deprecate or pity myself.”
Just as her voice landed, they saw a few servants from the Marquis Residence carrying big and small ritual offerings towards Lao Furen’s place of temporary rest for the religious ceremony. Fu gonggong immediately grinned, “Bó guniang’s words are indeed genuine; when a falsely accused person dies, believing in the Buddha and Tao is ineffectual.”
As he was saying that, he noticed a maidservant at the back suddenly tripping on something and falling, which made the fruit platter she was holding tumble and fall to the ground instantaneously, and one of the fruits rolled to Fu gonggong and Bó Ruò Yōu’s feet.
“Stupid girl! What are you doing! Those are ritual offerings for Lao Furen!”
傻姑 (pinyin: sha gu) – it directly translates to ‘silly nun’, but that isn’t strictly accurate to the character in english translation, so it was substituted with ‘stupid girl’.
The steward in front yelled at her, but when he caught sight of Bó Ruò Yōu and Fu gonggong, his complexion changed instantaneously. Suppressing his voice, he said: “Hurry and pick them up, are you trying to startle the noble guests?”
The stupid girl clambered to her feet, hobbling towards Bó Ruò Yōu. Bó Ruò Yōu stooped down and picked up the fruit, and when that stupid girl tottered up to her, she handed her the fruit.
The stupid girl kept her head lowered the entire time, and it was only when Bó Ruò Yōu placed the fruit in her palm that she swiftly raised her head to look at her.
Once she lifted her head, Bó Ruò Yōu’s breathing stagnated. The stupid girl had a pair of light almond eyes, but the left side of her face had a purplish-black scar that was the size of a palm which basically covered the left half of her whole face. Bó Ruò Yōu discerned that this was an old scar left behind by a burn wound.
Only nodding her head to Bó Ruò Yōu, the stupid girl held the fruit, twisted her body, and walked away. Once she had her back turned, Bó Ruò Yōu’s brows knitted together again.
The stupid girl was still hobbling. When she was approaching, Bó Ruò Yōu had presumed that she injured a certain area when she fell, but as she was going back, Bó Ruò Yōu realised that the stupid girl was actually lame.
Once that group had walked away, Fu gonggong sighed, “She doesn’t look old, but she was burned and crippled, she is truly pitiful.”
Bó Ruò Yōu hummed in response, “It is surprising that the Marquis Residence still chooses to use her.”
In most aristocratic and influential families, there were strict requirements for the servants; if their bodies or appearance was ruined, it was more than likely that they would not be kept.
Fu gonggong replied, “She’s technically fortunate as well.”
While the pair were conversing, they reached the front of the west courtyard. The courtyard was being watched over by the government hirelings, and once they saw Bó Ruò Yōu and Fu gonggong arriving, they immediately welcomed them. Bó Ruò Yōu had examined Zhèng Wén Chén’s remains last night, but she was going to dissect him today, so she still needed to exert some effort.
After entering the mourning hall and making the preparations, Bó Ruò Yōu picked up a small and trusty scalpel. As he watched her precisely cut open the corpse’s belly like yesterday, Fu gonggong had to pinch his nose and take a step back, “Zajia has been following Hou’ye for a long time but meeting a coroner that makes an all-out effort like Bó guniang is quite rare.”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s demeanour was cold and severe, and despite hearing his remark, she did not raise her head as she stated: “As more time elapses, it becomes harder to solve the case.”
“That is true for certain.” Fu gonggong heaved a sigh. “One only hopes that useful information can be garnered from the questionings happening in the front courtyard.”
Bó Ruò Yōu said, “One fears that it won’t be easy. However, any discovery made on the corpse is more useful than a hundred lines of testimony.”
Today was the seventh day after Zhèng Wén Chén’s death, and putrefaction had disseminated even more. The exterior of his four limbs had become a frightened bruised-purple colour, there were tiny fungi around his mouth, nose, and nether regions, and his abdominal cavity was rotting. Bó Ruò Yōu lowered her head as she meticulously inspected his stomach, and without needing much time, Bó Ruò Yōu brought over a porcelain platter meant for storing offerings, and carefully placed a ball of filth that she had extracted from the corpse’s stomach.
Fu gonggong pinched his nose, “What is that?”
Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, “It is unclear. The deceased has been dead for seven days. There is no longer any food in his stomach, but this stuff has yet to be digested fully.”
After hearing that it was taken out from the corpse’s stomach, Fu gonggong strode over the entrance to take a deep breath. Bó Ruò Yōu stitched and put the corpse back into proper order, and then carried the porcelain platter towards the smaller corner room at the side. After washing her hands first, Bó Ruò Yōu poured some water into the porcelain platter, and once the filthy liquid was diffused by the water, the dirty object that had been scrunched together into a ball opened up.
Fu gonggong walked closer in a hurry, “What is it?”
Bó Ruò Yōu retrieved the bamboo tweezers from her wooden box and carefully clipped the object up. After scrunching her eyebrows a few times, she said: “It’s paper.”
“Paper? What paper?”
Bó Ruò Yōu frowned, “It’s gold dusted paper.”
While gold dusted paper was considered expensive, this was an aristocratic family, it was still common enough.
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All of a sudden, Bó Ruò Yōu spoke again, “There are words on it.”
Before Fu gonggong had the time to ask, a deep voice suddenly appeared behind them. “What words?”
Bó Ruò Yōu froze, raising her eyes to look towards the door. Just as she had expected, Huò Wēi Lóu had arrived.
She straightened her back and shook her head, “The ink has become exceedingly faint, it can’t be seen for the time being.”
As Huò Wēi Lóu moved closer, his back was facing the light which hid his facial features in the shadows, and only his pair of eyes were glinting like cold stars. Instead of evading or shifting away, she met his eyes, “However, min’nü has a way.”