The Delicate Lady Coroner

In the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one was unaware of Huò Wēi Lóu’s innate disposition.

While the aforementioned person was the sliding weight on the steelyard of power in all levels of society, he stayed away from female charms, and his greatest taboo was mixing women into official business, because the people who had been involved with the two words ‘female charms’, and were consequently investigated by Huò Wēi Lóu, only to be dealt with accordingly were innumerable.

Hè Chéng’s courage immediately broke down in fear, “No no no, she’s not a coroner from the Qingzhou government office, she’s a coroner from Qingshan County which is being administered by this prefectural office.”

Huò Wēi Lóu was just a young man around his twenties, but as he stood in front of everyone, he had an oppressive momentum that was akin to a peaking and lofty mountain. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice was more forceful from the cold winds of this wintry day. “That poor and feeble small county that has been decreasing in taxes paid yearly in Qingzhou?”

Hè Chéng was stunned, not expecting that Huò Wēi Lóu would actually have such a deep understanding of Qingzhou. Afraid that he was sabotaging his subordinate, he quickly added: “While Bó guniang works as a coroner in Qingshan county’s government office, she really isn’t from the lowest social strata, nor does the government office use her freely, she… because she has some medical expertise, and is highly skilled in post-mortem autopsies, she has consistently helped the government office…”

姑娘 (pinyin: gu niang) – young lady.

Not part of the untouchables, and yet claiming a base profession, to say nothing of how she was a woman. It was basically unheard of.

It was hard to distinguish the emotions on Huò Wēi Lóu’s face, and he merely put down a line: “Benhou is conducting official business in this space, women are not allowed.”

本侯 (pinyin: ben hou) – a self-address for a Marquis when speaking to someone of lower status.

Once those words landed, Huò Wēi Lóu lifted his feet, directly walking past Bó Ruò Yōu, neither allowing Bó Ruò Yōu to rise nor sparing her another glance. He was the Marquis Wuzhao who accepted the kneeling of all commoners. To him, Bó Ruò Yōu was akin to a speck of dust on his shoe that didn’t even have to be brushed away, and it only required a soft huff from the wind before she would drop into the dirty snow.

Since Huò Wēi Lóu was acting in such a manner, how could the others acknowledge Bó Ruò Yōu? The rest of the group kept quiet out of fear and followed in his footsteps apace. Although Hè Chéng’s eyes were full of apology, he did not dare to plead for her case. The group arrived like a mountain’s howl, and left like a tsunami, leaving Bó Ruò Yōu to kneel in the world of ice and snow alone.

Although Bó Ruò Yōu’s identity was inferior, she had never been belittled and scorned like this. She honestly felt that even if she were to get up and leave right now, it would not shock or move that Marquis Wuzhao who held himself aloof and apart from the common masses.

However, she did not have the audacity to carry through with her thoughts in the end.

The lights in the sky gradually dimmed, the northern wind rolled across the ground and rose. Bó Ruò Yōu raised her head to look at the sky dome of falling snow, and before her sigh could drift any further, it was scattered in the wind.

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Upon entering the courtyard entrance, Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes darkened as he absorbed the talisman papers and bottle gourds into his retinas before he strode into the central hall. Since the door was half-open, Huò Wēi Lóu saw the terrifying scene inside at a glance, but his complexion did not change in the slightest as he went through the doors. Then, he stopped in front of the coffin platform, sweeping past the corpse and paper crafted yin children as if they were ordinary and mediocre.

“When the second deceased Zhèng Wén Chén was pushed out of the building, how was it concluded that it was the doing of Lao Furen’s ghost?” Huò Wēi Lóu had barely been in the residence for the time spanning two cups of tea (20 minutes), but he had already asked for all the case details, and now that he was inspecting the corpse, he promptly asked about key points.

At this moment, a man in splendid robes stepped forward and said respectfully: “That day was the seventh day after Mother’s death. There was a religious ceremony happening in the residence which required the presence of all sons and grandsons. Everyone had arrived except Second Brother who had gone missing. The servants went to search for him later, reporting that Second Brother had gone to the Moon-viewing Pavilion, and that the door was locked from the inside.”

The person talking was precisely the Third Master of the Marquis Anqing Residence, Zhèng Wén Yàn.

He continued to state: “We felt that something was amiss once we heard it, since we were suspecting that he was involved in Mother’s death then. Hence, all of us travelled towards the Moon-viewing Pavilion to investigate, and just as we reached the bottom of the building, Second Brother was seen standing beside the third-floor railing, and behind him, was a human shadow that was shrouded in the darkness. Just as we were finding it strange, we proceeded to see that shadow push Second Brother, and that shadowed figure was wearing robes that happened to be the same as the one Mother was wearing when she passed away.

“Mother believed in the Buddha, and that silk jacket in crow green with embroidered magic clouds was made to imitate a Buddhist monk’s gown, this world only has one of such apparel, unique of its kind! Because Mother was wearing it when she died, the robe has already been taken away and burned as per the custom after she was changed into funeral clothes and temporarily placed to rest in a coffin. The bright moon was suspended high that night, and though it was at a higher elevation, we could still clearly perceive that the shadow’s stature was the same as Mother’s. Mother was getting on with her years, so her back had an additional hunch, and that shadow was the same.”

After Zhèng Wén Yàn finished speaking, he released a long sigh, profound grief surging up to his brows and eyes as if he was going to weep sorrowfully. “The rumours say that the appearance of a person during their time of death, would be the ghost’s appearance. Mother has worked hard her entire life, but she was harmed by her own flesh and blood in the end. This must be the reason why her soul is having trouble finding rest, thus giving rise to evil slaughter.”

Huò Wēi Lóu looked sideways, giving him a glance.

Zhèng Wén Yàn’s appearance could be considered as mild and cultured. Since he came from a Marquis Residence, the way he treated people conformed with the etiquette of his social status, but when Huò Wēi Lóu glanced at him, he swiftly lowered his head, as if his profound grief was a layer of thin paper that was quick to tear once it was lightly pricked by Huò Wēi Lóu.

Huò Wēi Lóu retracted his gaze, “Therefore, Zhèng Wén Chén died from the fall?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn hurriedly replied. “Precisely so. His head bled on impact, and he stopped breathing right then and there. The corpse is currently resting temporarily in the side room of the western courtyard. If Hou’ye wishes to see it, [we] can go now.”

Huò Wēi Lóu did not move, looking at Lao Furen’s corpse again. “Prefectural Magistrate Hè, talk about it.”

Hè Chéng was the main official of this case, and he shivered when he was called upon, then he immediately replied: “Hou’ye, xiaguan believes that the ghost killing someone is actually a deliberate exaggeration to scare people; though it was personal witnessed, much doubt remains since Lao Furen was already deceased then. The Second Master’s death bears the possibility of another person’s conduct, as for Lao Furen’s demise… it’s possible that it was caused by an invisible illness suddenly acting up.”

Despite finishing his words, Hè Chéng was still scared witless. He originally went to the front hall for the sake of negotiating the matter of a surgical autopsy, but just when he reached the front courtyard, he proceeded to hear that the person dispatched from the Capital had arrived. He was already panic-stricken then, and what he expected even less was that, it was not someone from the Marquis Xinyang Residence but Marquis Wuzhao, the individual whom all the officials and commoners in Great Zhou feared!

Since he had to receive the entourage and pay his respects, he was delayed for quite some time. Fortunately, Marquis Wuzhao started asking about the proceedings of the case very quickly, and came over straight away, so he did not have a chance to bring up the request for a dissection autopsy.

Sure enough, Marquis Wuzhao frowned, “Invisible illness?”

Hè Chéng was about to answer when Zhèng Wén Yàn cupped his hands and said: “Hou’ye, allow this report, Mother has always been safe and healthy in body, and she was not burdened with sickness or disease, otherwise, she would not have stayed up overnight till daybreak to see the New Year on the thirtieth. Hence, the Prefectural Magistrate daren’s words are absolutely impossible.”

Hè Chéng glanced at Zhèng Wén Yàn with some disagreement, “Third Master, Lao Furen is already of old age; while she looks healthy, it’s highly likely that there were hidden illnesses in the internal organs of her body. The illness is hard to perceive when one typically lives like a prince, but the illness suddenly flaring up and causing an abrupt death at a certain time isn’t necessarily impossible.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn stared at Hè Chéng, “This case has been handed over to Daren for almost a half-month, and Daren has consistently said that Mother’s cause of death cannot be concluded. Now that the Marquis has arrived, a theory of invisible illness surfaces; one wonders what justification that has?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn said everything with a level of refinement and courtesy, but Hè Chéng instantaneously felt that a knife had been placed at his neck. He hastily shot a look at Huò Wēi Lóu, “Third Master has erred in his words, these words are not crazy nonsense that I invented in my anxiety, but the results of a coroner’s examination!”

Zhèng Wén Yàn spluttered out a laugh: “And which coroner would that be?”

Hè Chéng raised his hand and pointed towards the Bó Ruò Yōu outside. “Bó guniang! It was what Bó guniang said!”

Zhèng Wén Yàn’s bemusement increased as he thought about the rumours relating to Huò Wēi Lóu, and he became even more unbridled. “The words of a mere lowly woman and yet Daren actually believes it! This courtyard is where Mother’s remains rests, Daren allowing an outsider to come here is already a loss of courtesy. And today, you actually want to report a girl’s complete nonsense to Hou’ye, did that girl, perhaps, douse Daren in some kind of bewitching drug?”

Hè Chéng would usually plaster on three parts of prudence in front of these influential officials, and in addition to the fact that he was clumsy in speech, how could he possibly fend off these soft knives?

At this moment, he could not help but retort: “How is it complete nonsense? Although Bó guniang is a woman, she has helped benfu crack numerous unsolved cases! Benfu has served as an official in Qingzhou for so many years, and there has never been a case that accumulated without being dealt with! All the cases in the past two years were basically solved with the help of Bó guniang!”

本府 (pinyin: ben fu) – Since Hè Chéng is the Prefectural Magistrate (知府) of Luozhou, his self-address is as such.

Hè Chéng was angry to the point where he was glaring with his cheeks puffed. Zhèng Wén Yàn peered at Huò Wēi Lóu, who was wordless and unmoving, before he laughed and said: “Fine then, tell us, Prefectural Magistrate daren, what invisible illness took Mother’s life?”

Hè Chéng had answered with the courage of his own conviction just now, but once that question was issued, he found himself in a predicament which made his expression turn sluggish. “That… speaking of this, there is something I would like to request Third Master’s permission for. Bó guniang did deduce that Lao Furen died from an invisible illness, but the specifics of which invisible illness it was, requires another post-mortem autopsy before she can ascertain it. But this additional examination happens to require a dissection, would Third Master…”

“What? Dissection?” Zhèng Wén Yàn’s volume abruptly rose, eyes sweeping past Huò Wēi Lóu before he forcibly suppressed his voice, but his anger and agitation could still be perceived. “What identity does the family matriarch have! How could your dissection be tolerated! Moreover, Mother’s departed spirit has been demanding vengeance for her grievances and has yet to find peace; if all of you make it difficult for her resentment to disperse, and she evilly slaughters again, who will be responsible then?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn gritted his teeth, asserting, “Disregarding the fact that she is a little girl, even if the Emperor or Lao-tze came! They can dream on about touching Mother’s remains!”

Hè Chéng said helplessly, “Third Master, everything is for the sake of solving the case. Don’t you wish to know how Lao Furen died? Only when you truly find the real truth behind Lao Furen’s death, can you tell and console Lao Furen’s soul and deceased spirit.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn barked out a cold laugh, wanting to berate him further, but Huò Wēi Lóu abruptly stood up and strode out of the door before coming to a standstill under the eaves of the veranda, his line of sight gazing towards the courtyard’s entrance.

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The cold winds whimpered; the dark clouds weighed down heavily. Amidst the world of ice and snow, Bó Ruò Yōu was still kneeling, but her posture was similar to the bamboo on her cloak, not bending or breaking in the slightest.

Huò Wēi Lóu narrowed his eyes, “She’s doing the dissection?”

Hè Chéng quickly responded, “Yes, Hou’ye.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn stood behind him and harrumphed. “Does Hou’ye also find it implausible as well? That girl looks so tender of age. I see that Hè daren has been enthralled by that girl’s appearance, and he actually believes her! Furthermore, there are many and varied methods for a government office to investigate a case, how is a dissection necessary?”

“Let her dissect.”

The heaven, the earth, and all living things became quiet.

Zhèng Wén Yàn gawked at Huò Wēi Lóu, unable to believe the three words that had just spilled from his mouth.

Hè Chéng froze, similarly incapable of reacting.

After all, just moments ago, Huò Wēi Lóu had said— In the space where he was conducting official business, no women were allowed.

Each word uttered by Huò Wēi Lóu was placid, but his words were akin to thirty thousand catties, unquestionable. “Benhou was charged with Marquis Xinyang’s trust prior to this. If there is truly doubt in Lao Furen’s death, the cause must be investigated clearly, and for this, any price can be paid.”

The extant Marquis Xinyang was also the legitimate, biological oldest brother of Lao Furen.

Zhèng Wén Yàn opened his mouth but he did not utter a single word for a long moment. Irrespective of whether Marquis Xinyang had given his trust, who among those present would dare to say ‘no’ if Huò Wēi Lóu allowed the dissection?

Huò Wēi Lóu’s statement was the ultimatum. In an indifference voice, he instructed: “Bring her over.” 

Most of the people following behind were Huò Wēi Lóu’s close subordinates who were like a fluttering of crows, but among them was a person with grizzled hair on his temples, looking like he was getting on with his years, but his face was pale and beardless, and even his brows were extremely faint. Compared to the young, cold, and severe guards that were armed with blades, he appeared particularly attention-grabbing by comparison.

Just as Huò Wēi Lóu’s voice landed, he proceeded to smile and step forward. “Laonu will go and invite [her], it’s quite pitiful to see her kneeling for so long.”

老奴 (pinyin: lao nu) – a self-address for an old slave-servant.

The voice of the person speaking was slightly tapered, and it was a gonggong.

公公 (pinyin: gong gong) – an old and/or high-ranking eunuch.

If it was anyone else, they would never dare to act on their own initiative in front of Huò Wēi Lóu unless he had passed down an order, but when this person acted in such a manner, Huò Wēi Lóu’s expression conveyed that it was normal. He turned his head back towards the hall. “Move those things away and bring a chair over.”

After saying that, Huò Wēi Lóu stepped into the room, bringing the neat file of sword-carrying guards through the doors with him. Very quickly, the paper crafted yin children were moved out of the room.

These were the yin children that were supposed to suppress Lao Furen’s ferocious spirit ah!

Zhèng Wén Yàn and the Fifth Master Zhèng Wén Ān stood outside the door, eyes teeming with alarm, but they did not even dare to breathe a word.

These sword-carrying imperial guards each had the three-legged and one-eyed golden crow embroidered with silver threads in a dark pattern in front of their lapels. Precisely speaking, they were the embroidered emissaries who diligently served the Son of Heaven by being a check-and-balance to the hundred officials. These people did not have to kneel to the aristocrats, and the Zheng Family brothers did not dare to stop them even if their courage was increased by a hundredfold.

Outside the courtyard entrance, Bó Ruò Yōu’s whole body was frozen stiff. With some helplessness, she thought about the rumours that had been passed around bookstores about this renowned Marquis Wuzhao. They said that he stayed away from female charms, and while he was past his twenties, he did not have a single female servant by side, and some whispered that he had a hidden illness, while others claimed that he was fond of dragon suns…

Bó Ruò Yōu could not tell if Huò Wēi Lóu had any hidden illnesses, or if he was a good homosexual, but she could perceive that he really hated the involvement of women in official business.

Bó Ruò Yōu rubbed her kneecaps. Just as she thought that she was going to kneel until the skies went dark, a set of footsteps approached her from behind. Following closely, a slightly peculiar voice rang out, “Guniang, one truly apologises for making you kneel for so long—”

Bó Ruò Yōu shifted her pupils, and an amiable visage appeared before her eyes in the next moment. The newcomer sighed, “Our Hou’ye is good at everything, but he just doesn’t know how to take good care of young girls, quickly stand up…”

The man in front of her was wearing a warm smile, his soft tone lined with an apology, which startled Bó Ruò Yōu slightly. “Ȳou are…”

您 (pinyin: nin) – A more respectful way to say ‘you’ (你), typically reserved for superiors or elders in the family, which will be denoted with a macron on top of the ‘Y’ in this translation.

“My surname is Fu, the eunuch that serves Hou’ye.”

Bó Ruò Yōu suddenly saw the light, but asked: “Did the Marquis order me to leave the residence?”

Fu gonggong spluttered out a laugh, “Leave what residence! Hou’ye is allowing you to examine the corpse, hurry up and get up.”

This was honestly outside of Bó Ruò Yōu’s expectations. While she was in the middle of shock, Fu gonggong supported her to her feet, his tone becoming stricter by three parts. “Guniang, this is your only chance, if it fails, [you] really have to leave the residence.”

As Bó Ruò Yōu followed Fu gonggong into the central room, she noticed that the candle flames were big and bright and the paper crafted yin children had been moved away, while Huò Wēi Lóu sat on a wide chair like a battle-ready horse and horizontal sword, his deep and unfathomable eyes fixed on Lao Furen’s corpse.

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Upon hearing the movement, Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes swept over.

Bó Ruò Yōu happened to be looking at him, and unexpectedly, her eyes met his.

Heart lurching, Bó Ruò Yōu quickly lowered her eyes to assume a deferential posturing, but Huò Wēi Lóu arched his eyebrows slightly instead.

She was rather intimidated by him, but her eyes were devoid of terror, nor was there any resentment or anger. Now that was hard to come by.

Hè Chéng was standing behind Huò Wēi Lóu, and he spoke at this moment: “Hou’ye, Bó guniang is an expert at dissection autopsies, as long as she’s allowed to conduct a dissection, Lao Furen’s cause of death will definitely become known.”

Neither joy nor displeasure could be discerned on Huò Wēi Lóu’s face, but his following words made Bó Ruò Yōu and Hè Chéng’s complexion change simultaneously. “If she truly capable, then she will stay, if she fails to find the cause, benhou will not listen to any excuses.”

Hè Chéng’s vision darkened, and he nearly knelt on the ground. He understood what he was hearing: if she could not find the cause, then the person he was using had failed to meet their obligations, to say nothing of how he had used a woman. Huò Wēi Lóu was callous and unfeeling in the officialdom and had the moniker of the ‘jade-faced King of Yama’. Hè Chéng vaguely sensed that perhaps his black muslin could not be protected.

乌纱 (pinyin: wu sha) – a type of hat for officials.

In contrast, it was Bó Ruò Yōu who could stay calm. Her refined brows seemed to raise slightly, but she recovered her composure very quickly.

Huò Wēi Lóu absorbed the sight into his retinas, then pointed towards the corpse. “Go ahead.” After giving a pause, he added, “Those without fixed duties may withdraw.”

The two brothers exchanged glances. Fu gonggong advised, “Go outside and wait please, both of you won’t be able to take it.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn and Zhèng Wén Ān looked at each other. Subsequently, they cupped their hands and bowed to Huò Wēi Lóu before retreating outside.

Meanwhile, Bó Ruò Yōu had unfastened her cloak and rolled up her sleeves before picking a few knives from the prepared tools. When she stood beside the coffin platform again, Huò Wēi Lóu’s phoenix eyes furrowed lightly— because on Bó Ruò Yōu’s person, an almost callous-feeling, single-minded focus that was vested with solemnity which he was infinitely familiar with, appeared.

The skies outside were dim, but with the addition of several oil lamps inside the room, it illuminated everything clearly, down to the smallest details.

Under the irradiance of the fire light, Bó Ruò Yōu’s soulful and graceful countenance was also shined upon. Standing behind Huò Wēi Lóu, Fu gonggong clicked his tongue, “Rare, truly rare, the beauty seen under the lights is beautiful, and even with a corpse at the side, the beauty has become even prettier.”

His tone of voice was exceedingly low, so Bó Ruò Yōu did not hear it because she was focusing on the autopsy, but Hè Chéng and Huò Wēi Lóu heard him.

Hè Chéng was so nervous he was sweating profusely because of that line. He casted a sidelong glance, only to see that Huò Wēi Lóu’s deep gaze had landed on Bó Ruò Yōu’s visage, which stunned Hè Chéng at the bottom of his heart. Even when Bó Ruò Yōu’s countenance was placed in Qingzhou City, the people that can hold a candle to her could be counted with his fingers, and no matter how ascetic and self-controlled Huò Wēi Lóu was, he was still a matured man, could it be that…

Just as that thought emerged, Huò Wēi Lóu’s line of sight slid down, landing on Bó Ruò Yōu’s knife without any fluctuations or fear. It was quite evident that compared to Bó Ruò Yōu’s face, Huò Wēi Lóu was more interested in watching how she was going to dissect the rotting corpse before her.

Hè Chéng was dumbstruck from his observation. In his heart, he thought, As expected, the rumours are not fake!

Bó Ruò Yōu’s first incision followed the curve of the corpse’s lower ribs in a precise manner, cutting three inches down.

By virtue of Lao Furen being dead for many days, her corpse was decaying and bloated, and her chest and abdomen were especially swollen. Now that her skin and flesh had been cut open, the accumulated putrid smell in the abdominal cavity spewed out instantaneously. Both Hè Chéng and Fu gonggong furrowed their brows subconsciously, but Bó Ruò Yōu’s expression remained unchanged, and her gesture of cutting the corpse’s skin and flesh seemed as ordinary as cutting tofu to her.

Once the belly was slit open, it revealed the rotting and discoloured internal organs. If a normal person were to look at it, they would only feel that the clump of filthy organs was hard to distinguish, but Bó Ruò Yōu was carefully lifting and examining the contents, her expression strict and inky pupils like knives, as if no abnormality could escape her eyes. This kind of Bó Ruò Yōu, basically made people feel the dignity and solemnity befitting of a God.

There were no ghosts in this world, but even if there were truly ghosts, they would never dare to tread close to her person.

The flames in the hall room dimmed and brightened, while outside the door, the night’s curtain had completely dropped down, shrouding the space. In a very small courtyard that was gradually vanishing in the snowy night, there was a sense of heart rendering terror for no reason at all.

A thin layer of sweat hung on her forehead, making it evident that Bó Ruò Yōu was slightly exhausted. Hè Chéng asked anxiously, “Xiao Bó, how was it?”

“Lao Furen did indeed die from an invisible illness.”

Once Bó Ruò Yōu opened her mouth, she confirmed the manner of Lao Furen’s death.

“A large volume of blood was discovered on the abdominal wall of the corpse, and this was because blood clots had formed around the abdominal area which blocked up the blood flow, and after the blood vessel swelled up, the rupture occurred. This invisible illness has been around for two to three years, but there were no visible symptoms at the onset so it’s exceedingly hard to notice. But within these three months, Lao Furen should have experienced symptoms like back and waist pains. However, given that waist sores and back pains are very common in elderly people, one reckons that it was overlooked by the people within the residence.”

Hè Chéng swiftly asked: “Therefore, was Lao Furen murdered?”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyebrows knitted together tightly, hesitation lingering in the bottom of her eyes.

Despite having kept his silence the entire time, Huò Wēi Lóu actually spoke up at this moment: “There is no harm in speaking directly.”

Bó Ruò Yōu pursed her lips. “Judging from the amount of blood in Lao Furen’s abdominal cavity, the severity with which the blood vessel ruptured, and the size of the blood clot, it shouldn’t have gone as far as rupturing on its own. The medical books once recorded, the blood vessel can swell up to the size of a teacup, and by that stage, it is still liable to rupturing and triggering the illness even if one is lying down, but Lao Furen’s abdominal blood clot was only the size of a walnut at most. If there were no accidents, her illness should not have acted up and caused her sudden death.”

After Bó Ruò Yōu described the specifics, Huò Wēi Lóu questioned: “What circumstances can lead to the illness flaring up?”

Bó Ruò Yōu thought about it, “Over exhaustion from manual labour, extreme rises in anger, or sudden collisions with people, if she was shoved, bumped into, had tumbled, or something along those lines, all of these conditions bear the possibility of inciting an outburst of the illness…”

It was practically impossible for Lao Furen to experience over exhaustion from manual labour, but if it was the latter two conditions, then it was extremely suspicious.

Huò Wēi Lóu peered at the door, “Have Zhèng Wén Yàn come in.”

Bó Ruò Yōu started to tidy up the corpse in a considerate manner, and very quickly, Zhèng Wén Yàn and Zhèng Wén Ān entered the room. Before they had the time to look at Lao Furen’s corpse, they heard Huò Wēi Lóu inquire: “The events leading to and after Lao Furen’s death, recount them in detail again.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn was still unaware of the autopsy results, and when he heard Huò Wēi Lóu’s question, he quickly replied: “On New Year’s Eve, Mother insisted on seeing the New Year. Since she believed in the Buddha, there were times where she would stay in the Buddha-worshipping Hall to copy scriptures, so we have never attempted to obstruct her after slight persuasions. We originally thought it was just a normal night, but none of us expected that on the morning of the second day, we would discover her dead inside the Buddha-worshipping Hall.

“The night before was New Year’s Eve, and whenever Mother was in the Buddha-worshipping Hall, she would not allow the maidservants to serve her. Hence, Mother was the only person in the Buddha-worshipping Hall that night, and it was the maidservant that opened the Buddha-worshipping Hall doors on the second day who discovered that Mother had met her demise. Back then, Mother was lying in front of the statue with neat and tidy clothes, like she was merely sleeping. But when she walked up to her, she promptly discovered that she had stopped breathing, and her body was already rigid and cold…”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s expression became somewhat difficult all of a sudden. Huò Wēi Lóu’s seemed to have vision in all eight directions because he noticed her change instantaneously. “What’s the matter?”

Bó Ruò Yōu said with a lower voice: “Hou’ye, Daren, this invisible illness acts up exceedingly fast, arriving quickly and violently; the patient would feel like their stomach was being wrung, and the pain is near unbearable. If Lao Furen has such symptoms, she had to be in pain for at least two cups of tea (20 minutes) before she stopped breathing. Since no one was guarding outside the room that night, Lao Furen died in excruciating pain.”

An elderly, dying in her throes of pain while no one knew, that was truly pitiful.

However, Bó Ruò Yōu was not done speaking yet, “When pain bores into a person’s heart, any human would struggle and cry for help. But on the morning of the second day, Lao Furen was lying on the ground with neat and tidy clothes… If the Third Master’s words are the truth, then, there must be a second person inside the Buddha-worshipping Hall that night.”

When she reached the end of her speech, Bó Ruò Yōu’s voice became colder.

“That person, watched Lao Furen suffer from the pain with open eyes. Not only did they not save Lao Furen, but it’s even possible that they stopped Lao Furen from crying for help. After Lao Furen died, they helped her tidy her clothes, and arranged her into a slumbering appearance.”

The room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Huò Wēi Lóu stared at Bó Ruò Yōu, some warmth seeping into the bottom of his eyes for the first time.