The Delicate Lady Coroner

The maidservant who discovered Lao Furen’s dead body was called over very quickly.

The weather was cold, the ground was frozen over, and it was in the mourning hall, thus the maidservant by the name of Mò Xiāng was trembling as she knelt on the ground.

“Whenever Lao Furen chants her prayers, she would never allow the maidservants to wait upon her inside, and [we] would usually stand guard outside the door. But that night was the New Year’s Eve, so Lao Furen ordered all the maidservants to go back to rooms and have a New Year’s dinner with our fellow sisters and resume our duties on the second day. Therefore, the maidservants proceeded to leave halfway into hai shi (10PM) that night. On the morning of the second day, nubi was the first to reach the Buddha-worshipping Hall, and upon arriving, the Buddha-worshipping Hall’s large doors were closed tightly, and the room was very quiet inside. Back then, nubi was wondering if Lao Furen was taking a nap on the couch inside the Buddha-worshipping Hall, so the doors were pushed open lightly—”

奴婢 (nu bi) – slave girl or maidservant, doubles as a self-address.

As though she was recalling the scene from that day, Mò Xiāng was frightened to the point her voice was quivering, “At… At that time, Lao Furen was lying on the soft cushion in front of the statues, clothes worn and eyes closed, as if she really was asleep. Nubi was still pondering why Lao Furen was sleeping on the ground, so nubi walked up and nudged Lao Furen, but with that one push, Lao Furen was already rigid…”

Huò Wēi Lóu asked: “For the past three months, did Lao Furen exhibit symptoms of back pains and soreness at the waist?”

Mò Xiāng was slightly confused, but she quickly reacted and said: “Yes, there was a few instances where Lao Furen would remark that her waist and back were slightly sore after her religious prayers. The maidservants all felt that she must have been kneeling for too long, and it was only after repeated persuasions that Lao Furen changing to a sitting posture to copy her scriptures.”

Sure enough, it was similar to what Bó Ruò Yōu mentioned, Lao Furen’s irregularity had been overlooked.

Huò Wēi Lóu posed another question: “That night, did Lao Furen copy any scriptures?”

Mò Xiāng nodded, “She did. When nubi left, she had already copied one page. When nubi was cleaning up what Lao Furen left behind afterwards, two whole pages that Lao Furen copied were discovered, and those scriptures are still being kept in Lao Furen’s warm room right now.”

Huò Wēi Lóu looked towards Zhèng Wén Yàn, “Bring the copied scriptures from that night over.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn immediately dispatched a servant to fetch it as Huò Wēi Lóu continued to dish out the questions. “Under normal circumstances, how long does it take Lao Furen to copy one page of scriptures?”

Mò Xiāng promptly said: “Whenever Lao Furen starts copying, she usually doesn’t stop, though she writes very slowly. An entire page of scripture requires an hour at least.”

Huò Wēi Lóu did not ask any further. Very quickly, a servant brought over the scripture, and then Huò Wēi Lóu questioned Mò Xiāng again. “Take a look, did Lao Furen copy this that night?”

Mò Xiāng studied it briefly, “Yes, it is indeed what Lao Furen copied that night.”

The scriptures were written on top-notch shou xian – a thicker type of writing paper – with an absolutely graceful regular script, though each and every brushstroke was powerful and vigorous. Huò Wēi Lóu examined it meticulously, “The scripture did not change in writing or ink hue from start to end; the fine work was uninterrupted. When you left, it was halfway through hai shi, and one hour later makes it chou shi (11PM), which also means to say that, it was at least after chou shi when Lao Furen saw the second person in that Buddha-worshipping Hall.”

Huò Wēi Lóu handed the scriptures to Zhèng Wén Yàn, asking: “You’ve been biting down on the fact that your second older brother harmed Lao Furen. Therefore, where was he after chou shi that night?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn responded swiftly, “That night, Second Brother said that he was alone in his study, and he claimed that he never left the study for the entire night. But during the single instance where I dispatched my servant to the study to deliver some wine and dishes to Second Brother, his study was completely dark, and no one answered. There was no one there at all. But when I questioned him after the accident happened, he said that he had fallen asleep whilst intoxicated, and how could I believe those words? I suspected that he went back to look for Mother again!”

“Why did you send him wine and dishes in the middle of the night? And why was he staying alone?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn said: “The entire family was supposed to partake in the New Year dinner happily and harmoniously that night, but at the dining table, Second Brother and Mother started arguing and it ended up on bad terms, so Mother went to the Buddha-worshipping Hall without eating. Once Mother left, it wasn’t appropriate for the rest to stay behind and eat, which also meant that everyone could not eat the New Year’s dinner that night. Mother had been taking charge of the family for the past two years, while I played the supporting role at the side. Afterwards, I instructed the kitchen to make the New Year’s meal again and sent it to each courtyard so they could eat on their own. Second Brother was staying alone, because after he went back that day, he got into an argument with second older sister-in-law as well, and he even raised his hand against her, which was why he went to the study afterwards…”

Zhèng Wén Yàn paused, before he supplemented, “The dishes for Second Brother’s study were the last to be individually prepared, hence why it was the latest to be sent over, and more than half of zi shi had passed by then (after midnight) and Second Brother was no longer inside the room.”

Huò Wēi Lóu listened to his entire explanation with congealed eyes before he continued to ask: “What were your Second Brother and Lao Furen arguing about?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn exhaled audibly, “It was about the noble title that Oldest Brother left behind.”

“Hou’ye should be aware that when Oldest Brother passed away due to his illness three years ago, he only had his daughter, Yún Ní, below his knees. Hence, the continued inheritance of the Marquis Anqing title can only be requested by us brothers. Second Brother felt that since he was lined up behind Oldest Brother, it was only logical that he inherited the title, but Mother did not settle on a decision for a long time. If it was according to the principle of seniority, Second Brother should be inheriting the noble title for certain, but Second Brother was short-tempered, and he didn’t possess the patience for managing the household affairs, nor did he have a knack for business, to say nothing of scholarly honour. Hence, Mother did not view Second Brother favourably.

“Previously, the mourning period for Oldest Brother had yet to pass, thus the discussions concerning the title succession only started last year, and because Mother did not verbally agree to allow Second Brother inherit the title, Second Brother argued with Mother for the whole year, sometimes going to the point where Mother nearly became ill in her anger. On the night of New Year’s Eve, Second Brother brought up this matter again, saying that they should take advantage of the fact that New Year congratulatory cards of respect were being sent into the palace, and asked Mother to send the memorial for the inheritance bestowal to the Emperor altogether, except Mother responded by berating him and Second Brother started kicking up a row.”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s irises were dark and obscured, but he did not ask any further. He had some understanding of Marquis Anqing Residence, especially the veins of the main branch. Moreover, aristocratic and influential families having conflicts because of the noble title was not rare. Zhèng Wén Chén’s temper was quick to rile, and there was an hour between the half mark of zi shi (12PM) and chou shi (1AM). If Zhèng Wén Chén could not get over it and he went to look for Lao Furen to argue again, thereby causing Lao Furen’s illness to act up, well, that was not impossible.

And if he detested Lao Furen in his heart, choosing not to save Lao Furen when her illness flared up could be explained as well.

Huò Wēi Lóu narrowed his eyes. Even if Lao Furen’s death was related to Zhèng Wén Chén, how did Zhèng Wén Chén die then? A ghost killing someone was purely nonsense; for being able to use Lao Furen’s death to kill Zhèng Wén Chén, his murderer was undoubtedly part of the residence.

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Huò Wēi Lóu’s sharp gaze swept past the Zheng brothers before he abruptly stated: “Lead the way to Zhèng Wén Chén’s corpse.”

The night colours were already deep, and the cold winds outside the funeral hall were whistling. Zhèng Wén Yàn glanced at the weather outside and he could not help but say: “Hou’ye arrived travel-worn today, and the guest rooms within the residence have already been prepared, perhaps some rest is due first before continuing the inspection tomorrow?”

Huò Wēi Lóu did not utter a word. At his side, Fu gonggong said smilingly, “Third Master need not worry, Hou’ye has always been impervious to fatigue when he’s on official business. Furthermore, there are a lot of points of suspicion in this case; it would be better to see the corpse earlier, lest Hou’ye gets hung up over it.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn knew that Huò Wēi Lóu’s decisions could not opposed, so he quickly said: “Alright, may Hou’ye come this way—”

Zhèng Wén Yàn was the first to walk out of the doors, with Huò Wēi Lóu taking a step next. After he crossed the threshold, he abruptly turned and looked into the hall, towards the side of the coffin platform where Bó Ruò Yōu was standing without moving.

Huò Wēi Lóu frowned, and Hè Chéng said hurriedly, “Xiao Bó, not following along yet? Didn’t you wish to examine the Second Master’s corpse during the day?”

Bó Ruò Yōu came to her senses and quickly responded, “Yes.”

The complexions of Zhèng Wén Yàn and the rest changed slightly, casting confounded gazes towards Bó Ruò Yōu. Everyone was cognizant of the fact that there was not a single female servant at Huò Wēi Lóu’s side, but today, he unexpectedly allowed this female coroner to follow along to conduct the post-mortem autopsies. Zhèng Wén Yàn kept away any thoughts of irreverence, his cautiousness and prudence heightening.

The cold winds were bone-piercing, the night colours were like splashed ink. Zhèng Wén Yàn personally held the lantern and led the way for Huò Wēi Lóu.

“After Second Brother passed, a funeral hall was set up in the west courtyard because everyone witnessed him falling from a tall building to his death nearby, and owing to how it wasn’t appropriate to hold a funeral wantonly, [we] were planning to allow his corpse to rest temporarily in a coffin and see through the seven-seven forty-nine days of mourning.”

After leaving the small courtyard, they took a small path that led westwards, only to see that the Marquis Anqing Residence was brightly lit.

Zhèng Wén Yàn said: “Because of Hou’ye’s arrival, the lamps were made to burn through the night. For the past few days, we would always go to bed early once the night arrived.”

The residence was in an uproar from a ghost killing someone, and everyone was naturally afraid. Huò Wēi Lóu swept past the surrounding kiosks and pavilions before he suddenly asked: “Has the arrangements for the marriage been prepared?”

Bó Ruò Yōu, who was walking behind, raised her head when she heard that.

At her side, Hè Chéng explained in a timely manner: “The Marquis Residence’s Oldest Young Lady is engaged to His Second Highness, the Emperor officially bestowed the marriage the last year, and the date is set for the seventh day of the third month this year. It’s quite unfortunate, Lao Furen was originally capable of witnessing her granddaughter exit her boudoir and marry into the Imperial Family.”

The Oldest Young Lady of this Marquis Residence was Yún Ní, of whom Zhèng Wén Yàn previously mentioned. Bó Ruò Yōu peered at Huò Wēi Lóu’s tall and stalwart back figure, not expecting that such a reason existed, as such, Marquis Wuzhao personally paying a visit could not be regarded as strange.

Zhèng Wén Yàn said: “It has all been prepared. The dowry was sent into the Capital last year, and the compound in the Capital has been put into order. If it were not for Mother’s demise, [we] would have started journeying towards the Capital at the beginning of the next month. It is fortunate that the Emperor appointed the marriage, or else with the current mourning period, it is unknown when this marriage will be delayed to.”

Bó Ruò Yōu issued a short, inaudible sigh as she listened, whereas Huò Wēi Lóu did not continue pursuing the topic. 

Since Huò Wēi Lóu did not ask, Zhèng Wén Yàn did not dare to speak more. Prior to this, he did not have any comings and goings with Huò Wēi Lóu, but in a short day’s work, he had come to understand that the rumours circulating outside were not lies. Hence, he held his breath and stayed quiet, only leading the way at the front.

The west courtyard was also situated in a remote location. Without needing much time, the group reached the front of the courtyard. Compared to Lao Furen’s place of temporary rest, which was slightly queer, this place was quite normal. Mourning spirit banners made from white silk were similarly hung up around the courtyard, and the mourning lanterns on the underside of the veranda eaves were presently lit up, thus casting a sombre shadow, but shortly thereafter, Zhèng Wén Yàn’s footsteps came to a halt at the front.

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There were actually people inside the mourning hall!

A pitch-black coffin was placed in the centre of the mourning hall, with simple offerings placed in front of the coffin. Two black figures were kneeling before the coffin as they burned paper money in a porcelain basin. Zhèng Wén Yàn flexed the wrist at his side. “Second Sister-in-law, Xiāo’er, why are you still here when it’s so late?”

Once his voice resounded, it scared the pair into turning their bodies around.

The pair were in morning whites. The little young master looked like he was just seven- or eight-years-old, and the woman by his side, who was currently wearing a panicked expression, had a goose egg shaped face that was a palm wide, and elegance could still be perceived from her countenance. At this point in time, however, her entire face seemed haggard like there was only a layer of skin plastering on bone, her eyes were bloodshot and full of veins while bruises underlined her eyes. Owing to the flames that were being fuelled by underworld money reflecting on her, she appeared slightly frightening.

“Third… Third younger brother…”

Upon seeing Zhèng Wén Yàn, terror flitted past the depths of the woman’s eyes. She seized the child beside her with one arm and stood up hastily.

Zhèng Wén Yàn seemed to be restraining his anger, “Hou’ye and Hè daren are here to examine Second Brother’s corpse. It’s terribly late, Second Sister-in-law and Xiāo’er should be going back earlier to rest, lest the government office’s official business is hindered.”

“Okay… We will leave now.”

The Marquis Residence’s Second Furen’s voice was hoarse. She held onto Zhèng Xiāo as she walked outwards, and when she moved past Zhèng Wén Yàn, her head lowered even further. On the other hand, it was the little noble son by her side who looked at everyone curiously, and when he was walking past Bó Ruò Yōu, he stared at her with especially wide eyes.

Soon after, the pair disappeared into the cold winds.

This small incident made Zhèng Wén Yàn’s back somewhat stiff. But when he turned around, he pretended nothing had transpired as he stated: “Hou’ye please, Second Brother has already been shrouded, and a religious ceremony was carried out two days ago as well.” Seeing that Huò Wēi Lóu was looking at the porcelain basin where the underworld money was still burning, Zhèng Wén Yàn could only say: “Just now was my Second Sister-in-law and Second Brother’s only son. Ever since Second Brother met his demise, I was afraid that more accidents would happen, so no one was allowed to randomly move around once the night had fallen, hence my slight anger when I saw them just now.”

Huò Wēi Lóu strode into the mourning hall. There were no paper crafted figurines here, and while there were offerings, the entire funeral hall was pervaded with a simple and crude quality. If an outsider were to come over and look, no one would believe that a Marquis Residence’s noble son was lying inside the coffin.

Huò Wēi Lóu pointed at the coffin, “Lift him up.”

The body was already placed in the coffin which made it inconvenient to conduct a post-mortem autopsy. Once his voice landed, two embroidered clothes emissaries came forward, bending their bodies to dredge up the corpse from the coffin. Zhèng Wén Chén had only been dead for six days, and in addition to the cold weather and the lack of lengthy joss sticks burning, the corpse was relatively well-preserved, and judging from the head and face protruding from the funeral clothes, rotting could scarcely be discerned.

Once the corpse was placed on a rug, Huò Wēi Lóu turned his head back, and Bó Ruò Yōu lifted the wooden box where the autopsy tools were stored and stepped forward.

She had previously examined a female corpse, but it was a male corpse now. However, Bó Ruò Yōu’s expression was calm, and after doing a brief preliminary inspection, she started to undo the corpse’s funeral clothes. Zhèng Wén Yàn faltered momentarily, and without needing Huò Wēi Lóu’s verbal instruction, he proceeded to turn around and go outside.

In the quiet room, only the chaffing noise of Bó Ruò Yōu peeling off the corpse’s burial clothes remained. Hè Chéng was unsurprised by the strange sight, Huò Wēi Lóu did not exhibit the slightest fluctuation, whereas Fu gonggong squatted down beside Bó Ruò Yōu with much interest to watch. “Guniang, how old are you? Where did you learn this skill from?”

Fu gonggong was under Huò Wēi Lóu, and unlike most people, he did not fear Huò Wēi Lóu that much which sufficiently conveyed that his position was not low. Therefore, Bó Ruò Yōu replied: “One will be turning eighteen in the winter of this year, and the skill of examining corpses was learned from Yifu, Yifu works as a coroner in Qingshan county.”

义父 (pinyin: yi fu) – foster father.

Fu gonggong tossed out another question, “Then how did your parents steel their hearts to allow you to do this?”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s hand movements stagnated, then she said in a low voice, “My father and mother have passed away for many years .”

Fu gonggong became speechless in the moment, unable to ask the rest of his questions. On the converse, Bó Ruò Yōu only stopped for that single second, and her following movements were akin to moving clouds and flowing water, nimble and experienced. Very quickly, the corpse’s appearance was revealed. 

Even though obvious rotting could not be discerned on the corpse, the purples from the putrefaction were littered everywhere on the epidermal surface which looked rather dreadful. There were a few areas of conspicuous external injuries like on the right shoulder and forehead, while other areas had less apparent bruises. Bó Ruò Yōu examined it briefly, then took out the prepared white vinegar from the wooden box and wiped down the suspiciously bruised areas at great speeds. Not long after, the injuries that were hidden underneath the corpse’s skin were exposed.

It was not difficult to autopsy a corpse with apparent causes of death, so Bó Ruò Yōu swiftly summarised: “The corpse’s right shoulder and the right of his forehead have injuries from brunt force trauma, his right arm and right pelvis have differing sizes of contusions and abrasions. These injuries were formed when the deceased fell down from the Moon-viewing Pavilion, and the fatal wound is on the right of his forehead, the skull in that area has caved in and shattered into pieces, and because it was exceedingly close to the temples, he perished almost immediately on impact.”

As she said that, Bó Ruò Yōu raised her head, “All of these are antemortem wounds.”

The meaning of antemortem wounds was that they were formed while the victim was alive, which also signified that under the circumstances where Zhèng Wén Yàn was still alive, he had been pushed off the Moon-viewing Pavilion, thus falling to his death.

“Zhèng Wén Yàn previously mentioned that when Zhèng Wén Chén was being shoved off the Moon-viewing Pavilion, he neither shouted nor screamed. With the possibility of a ghost killing a human eliminated, how did the murderer make Zhèng Wén Chén walk up to the third-floor landing obediently, and how did they push him off the building without him putting up a struggle?”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s tone of voice was severe, but the gloomy frigidity from the past was gone. In truth, his voice was quite pleasant to the ear when it was lowered slightly. Bó Ruò Yōu immediately understood Huò Wēi Lóu’s thoughts upon hearing his words, and she scrutinised the corpse all over. Not long after, Bó Ruò Yōu inserted a cotton cloth that was rolled around a bamboo stick into the Zhèng Wén Chén ‘s nostril. When she took it out again, there was quite a bit of filth contaminating the material.

Bó Ruò Yōu brought it closer to light and inspected it for a short beat. Her voice sank. “It’s Datura stramonium.”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s expression distorted a little as Fu gonggong asked: “And what is Datura stramonium?”

Huò Wēi Lóu answered, “It’s an analgesic. In the army, it was also used as an anaesthetic drug.”

Bó Ruò Yōu did another inspection. This time, she focused on checking his heels, the back of his legs, waist, and back. “On the back and side of the corpse’s heels, there is a line of chaffing, and there is a horizontal and linear bruise running across his waist and buttocks, it seems like he was dragged by someone before.”

With the knockout drug and the traces of him being dragged before, the truth was on the verge of being disclosed.

Hè Chéng said: “Therefore, someone had scattered a knockout drug in the Moon-viewing Pavilion which knocked the Second Master unconscious, and the murderer took advantage of the fact that the rest had just arrived to push him off the building, and they even pretended to be Lao Furen’s departed spirit?”

Bó Ruò Yōu nodded her head, “Certainly, that does seem to be the case tentatively.”

Hè Chéng’s eyebrows scrunched together tightly, “There was a second person next to Lao Furen during her death, and Zhèng Wén Chén was pushed off the Moon-viewing Pavilion after he was knocked out by an anaesthetic. There are two dead bodies, but what of the murderer? The manner of their deaths is totally different, and no common points can be distinguished from them. Did someone first witness the dying Lao Furen and chose not to save her thus causing her death, and then another person made use of that event to conspire against Zheng er’ye (2nd), or is the person inside the Buddha-worshipping Hall, and the person who killed Zheng er’ye, the same person?”

If they could answer all of Hè Chéng’s questions, this case would be solved. Bó Ruò Yōu hesitated for a moment, “There’s another question: that day was the seventh day after Lao Furen’s death, but why did Zheng er’ye choose to go to the Moon-viewing Pavilion alone so unexpectedly? Even if the culprit used an anaesthetic within the Moon-viewing Pavilion, Zheng er’ye had to go there on his own first.”

Huò Wēi Lóu gave Bó Ruò Yōu a sweeping glance, “This suspicion requires the inspection of the Moon-viewing Pavilion.”

Bó Ruò Yōu mulled over it before stating: “Does Second Master’s corpse require a dissection? Although the cause of death has been found, the accident occurred a mere six days ago, perhaps something stands to be discovered.”

Bó Ruò Yōu had just dissected Lao Furen’s remains, and she had to bend her waist for more than a double-hour. Currently, her slender fingers were already frozen to the point they were red, and it was highly likely that she had been poisoned by the corpse water. Fu gonggong felt anguished just from looking at her hands so he shot a few pointed looks at Huò Wēi Lóu.

Finally, Huò Wēi Lóu said in a faint voice: “The hour is already late, we will end here for tonight.”

Despite the case having dragged out for so long, Huò Wēi Lóu had only been here for half a day and the causes of the death for the two victims were already out in the open. It could be considered as a huge improvement, but the night had already fallen which inconvenienced a great deal of things. Although Huò Wēi Lóu passed like thunder and moved like the wind when it came to official business, unafraid of hard labour, he had to adapt to the circumstances as well.

After uttering those words, Huò Wēi Lóu twisted his body and headed for the door. Zhèng Wén Yàn was shivering from the cold outside, and once he caught sight of him, he quickly greeted him.

Huò Wēi Lóu instructed: “From now onwards, the embroidered emissaries and government hirelings will be assuming control over the Marquis Residence, all the residents, including you, are not allowed to randomly move around the Marquis Residence.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn’s lips moved, “Then the post-mortem autopsies tonight—”

Huò Wēi Lóu said: “Gather everyone within the residence tomorrow morning, and the causes of death for your Lao Furen and Zhèng Wén Chén will naturally be divulged. Everyone will be staying in the residence tonight, and you will be arranging the accommodations. Prefectural Magistrate Hè—”

Hè Chéng stepped forward in a hurry and Huò Wēi Lóu said: “Arrange the government hirelings and ensure that they are standing guard at all the various entrances.”

Hè Chéng immediately complied, turning around to order his government hirelings, while Zhèng Wén Yàn said, “Hou’ye can rest assured, ȳour courtyard has already been prepared, Prefectural Magistrate Hè and the others can share a guest courtyard to rest, as for Coroner Bó—”

Zhèng Wén Yàn looked towards Bó Ruò Yōu, but his eyes were trained on Huò Wēi Lóu from beginning to end. Seeing that his expression did not change, he understood that Huò Wēi Lóu also wanted Bó Ruò Yōu to stay. The others were male after all, and only Bó Ruò Yōu was a lady, so Zhèng Wén Yàn hesitated momentarily before he said: “Coroner Bó will be staying in the courtyard beside Yún Ní’s, which happens to be rather close to Hou’ye.”

Huò Wēi Lóu declined to comment. Then, Zhèng Wén Yàn swiftly called for the steward to dish out the instructions and returned to Huò Wēi Lóu very quickly. “Hou’ye, I will bring ȳou to rest.”

Once Fu gonggong heard that, he promptly said: “Bó guniang, are you coming with us?”

Since Bó Ruò Yōu was still inspecting the corpse, she raised her eyes after hearing that. Just as she was wavering, Zhèng Wén Yàn already intercepted, “Gonggong can rest assured, I will specially arrange for someone to bring Coroner Bó back.”

Just as those words landed, Huò Wēi Lóu had taken his leave first. Fu gonggong revealed a disgruntled expression as he waved his hand at Bó Ruò Yōu in an apologetic manner, and then he lifted his feet to catch up.

Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, not minding those details at all. She stared at Zhèng Wén Chén’s corpse blankly. She was slightly tempted to see the state of the robes that Zhèng Wén Chén had been wearing when he died. Unfortunately, Huò Wēi Lóu stated that they would end here today, so she could only suppress that thought first.

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After bidding farewell to Hè Chéng first, Bó Ruò Yōu followed the guard guide to leave the west courtyard.

“Bó guniang, ȳour courtyard is northwest of the Oldest Young Lady’s courtyard and it has been decorated incredibly well. The meal and hot water have been sent over, if ȳou have any other orders, there will be a maidservant to serve ȳou in the courtyard, so free feel to open ȳour mouth and ask.”

The guard’s courtesy was comprehensive. Bó Ruò Yōu thanked him and stopped talking.

Presently, she was walking along the Marquis Residence’s corridor alone. By virtue of the official residence’s lavishness, and the brightly lit lanterns, it did not feel eerie or terrifying. It was also at that moment where she finally noticed that lanterns along the corridor were not the same. These lanterns had the pattern of a pomegranate bursting open with a hundred seeds in them, and she reckoned that it was prepared for the Marquis Residence’s Oldest Young Lady’s grand marriage.

The happy occasion was approaching but a tragedy occurred.

After winding around two flowerbeds and high buildings, the guard pointed towards the ramrod straight, cloistered corridor as he said: “Bó guniang, [your] courtyard is at the end of the corridor where the illuminated area is, please do as ȳou please, xiaoren will be withdrawing first.”

小人 (pinyin: xiao ren) – can represent, and is a self-address used by a person of low social status, to humbly refer to themselves.

Bó Ruò Yōu thanked him again. She waited for the guard to leave before she turned around and walked forward.

This corridor was straight and her destination looked rather close by. As Bó Ruò Yōu trudged towards it, she thought about Zhèng Wén Chén’s death. On the eaves of the veranda, the lanterns rocked and swayed due to the freezing cold wind, with the lights and shadows flickering erratically. Out of the blue, a hand slanted and thrusted outwards, grabbing hold of her wrist.

 This unexpected hand made Bó Ruò Yōu jump in fright. Bó Ruò Yōu immediately pivoted her body, and what entered her vision was a child-like face.

It was actually Zhèng Xiāo!

Zhèng Xiāo was clad in mourning whites. When confronted with sudden appearances, it was typical that anyone would be slightly frightened. Bó Ruò Yōu took a deep breath to compose herself. “Xiao gongzi?”

小公子 (pinyin: xiao gong zi) – little noble son.

Huò Wēi Lóu had already imposed martial law on the residence, how did Zhèng Xiāo manage to run out?

“Jiejie looks really pretty.”

姐姐 (pinyin: jie jie) – older sister.

Zhèng Xiāo started with such a flattering line once he opened his mouth. Grabbing hold of Bó Ruò Yōu’s hand, he continued to speak with some childishness: “Jiejie, did you come together with Marquis Wuzhao? Is Jiejie the Marquis’ wife?”

Bó Ruò Yōu was split between laughter and tears once she heard that. “I’m not, I’m only helping the government office with something… What are you doing here? The skies have darkened, you should be going back to rest.”

Zhèng Xiāo sniffled, probably because he was very cold. Noticing that Bó Ruò Yōu did not throw off his hand at all, he proceeded to stare at Bó Ruò Yōu with wide eyes. He stared and stared, then he suddenly cried out with a loud “Wah”.

“Jiejie, jiejie, please help us, my father didn’t hurt Zumu, the baddest person in this residence is actually Third Uncle!”

祖母 (pinyin: zu mu) – paternal grandmother.

Bó Ruò Yōu knitted her brows together as Zhèng Xiāo sobbed on, “After Father died, Third Uncle forced my mother to hand over the folded booklet that Zumu sent to the Capital, but Mother and I have never seen any folded booklets. It must be Third Uncle, Third Uncle knew that Zumu wanted to allow Father to inherit the title, which was why he harmed Zumu, and harmed Father—”

Hand over the folded booklet? Was it the folded booklet for the title inheritance?

Bó Ruò Yōu only felt that Zhèng Xiāo’s words had revealed an inside story that Zhèng Wén Yàn was deliberately hiding. Just as she was about to ask for more details, Zhèng Xiāo continued to plead her, “Mother said, Marquis Wuzhao has never kept a lady by his side, you came with Marquis Wuzhao, you must be his Furen. Jiejie, please tell this to Marquis Wuzhao, my father isn’t a bad person, he’s the one who was harmed by someone else—”

Tears were streaming down Zhèng Xiāo’s face, and the sight of him crying was distressing. He stubbornly clung to the assumption that anyone who followed Huò Wēi Lóu must be his legitimate wife.

Bó Ruò Yōu sighed helplessly, squatting down and taking care of what was important first as she said: “Xiao gongzi, I’ll bring you to see Marquis Wuzhao. Whatever you just told me, repeat everything to Hou’ye in greater detail, is that alright?”

Zhèng Xiāo bobbed his head, “Jiejie, you have to help me speak too, you look so pretty, Marquis Wuzhao will definitely listen to your words…”

Bó Ruò Yōu felt slightly embarrassed when she heard that, and she was going to explain it to him seriously when she abruptly felt that something was wrong. Spurred by instinct, she raised her eyes, and in the next second, Bó Ruò Yōu went rigid as if she had been struck by thunder.

At the byway entrance in the distance, Huò Wēi Lóu was standing under a red lantern, staring at her with deep and unfathomable eyes. Judging from his expression, Bó Ruò Yōu was certain that he overhead the last two lines Zhèng Xiāo said.

But contrary to all reason, her denial was in the line after.

Bó Ruò Yōu thought in her heart, she was done for now, she was truly audacious for daring to recognise herself as Marquis Wuzhao’s Furen!