The Delicate Lady Coroner

Huò Wēi Lóu sauntered towards Bó Ruò Yōu. 

The lantern shadows were dim and yellow, and yet he seemed like he was draped with the wintry night as he came over. His phoenix eyes were emitting a chill, as if the stars in the pitch-black sky had landed in the bottom of his eyes. When their eyes met, Bó Ruò Yōu felt like she was on the verge of being sucked into the abyss that were the depths of his eyes. 

Zhèng Xiāo was so scared that he had forgotten to cry, and his first reaction was to hide behind Bó Ruò Yōu. 

Bó Ruò Yōu rose to her feet, her thin lips parting, but she chose to lower her head respectfully in the end, “Greetings to Hou’ye.”

Huò Wēi Lóu ambled up to Bó Ruò Yōu and stood still, his deep gaze sweeping across her face before it went past her, looking towards Zhèng Xiāo who was hiding behind her. “What did you say just now?”

Zhèng Xiāo held onto Bó Ruò Yōu’s tightly, refusing to let go, and he did not dare to walk out from behind her. Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyebrows furrowed, and Bó Ruò Yōu quickly turned around to coax Zhèng Xiāo. “Xiao gongzi, don’t be afraid. Just now, you agreed that you would repeat whatever you said to the Marquis, and the Marquis is here now. For the sake of your Father, be more courageous, tell it to Hou’ye?”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s tone of voice was low, gentle, and intimate, as if she was coaxing her own younger brother instead of a stranger. Zhèng Xiāo raised his head, looking at Bó Ruò Yōu once before he nodded hesitantly. 

However, he was still holding onto and refusing to let go of Bó Ruò Yōu as he peered at Huò Wēi Lóu in a timid manner. “My… My father isn’t a bad person, that’s Third Uncle. He wants to inherit the title too, and after Father died, Third Uncle told Mother to hand over the folded booklet that was supposed to be delivered to the Capital, but it’s not like Mother and I knew about that folded booklet. Third Uncle even dispatched people to search Father’s study, he must be aware that Zumu had the intention to pass the noble title to Father, which was why he harmed Zumu first, and then harmed Father…”

Huò Wēi Lóu listened with rapt attention before he questioned: “Your paternal grandmother had the intention of passing the noble title to your father?”

Zhèng Xiāo nodded his head hastily, “Zumu frequently argued with my father, but Zumu once confided to Father in private, saying that my father’s temper was irascible, she was late in officially inaugurate his noble title simply because she wanted to grind down his temperament.”

After a moment of hesitation, Zhèng Xiāo uttered: “Furthermore, even if Zumu didn’t pass the position to Father, she would never pass it to Third Uncle.”

Having listened to this point, Bó Ruò Yōu frowned. From what she saw today, even though Zheng san’ye (3rd) and Zheng wu’ye (5th) were masters in the residence, Zheng san’ye had evidently become the patriarch of the Marquis Residence by comparison. He was much more attentive, considerate, and sophisticated, while Zheng wu’ye barely spoke two lines throughout the entire day, which made it apparent that he was merely accompanying Zheng san’ye. 

“Why wouldn’t it be passed down to your Third Uncle?”

This question was posed by Bó Ruò Yōu, so Zhèng Xiāo glanced at her and said: “Because he’s an inauspicious person, Zumu has never been close to him ever since he was young, and if it were not for Oldest Uncle passing away from his illness, Third Uncle would not be exercising control over the residence right now.”

— An inauspicious person? 

Bó Ruò Yōu’s pupils dilated as she observed Zhèng Xiāo doubtfully. 

At this moment, Huò Wēi Lóu inquired: “These words, who taught you to say them?”

Zhèng Xiāo’s gaze flitted slightly, but under Huò Wēi Lóu’s stare, even an adult would find it hard to hold on, to say nothing of how he was a child. In the end, Zhèng Xiāo surrendered, answering in a lowered voice: “It was… It was Mother who said it, but it’s all true! If Hou’ye doesn’t believe it, he can go and ask the other older servants in the residence, go and ask Momo Yu, they know everything…”

嬷嬷 (pinyin: mo mo) – an older woman-servant or wetnurse who is typically more experienced, trained, and usually holds a managerial role.

Zhèng Xiāo was very smart; though he was young of age, he knew how to ingratiate himself to people, and he could distinguish who was easy to talk to and who was hard to get close to, and his ability to speak was all the more quick-witted. However, there was a large quantity of inside information in his speech, and a child like him should not be capable of perceiving them. Thus, Huò Wēi Lóu assumed that there were adults acting behind the scenes. 

Zhèng Xiāo’s head lowered even further, and it was at this moment where several sets of footsteps resounded. Fu gonggong and two embroidered emissaries strode over from the byway hurriedly, the former gasping as he said: “Why is Hou’ye here, guards have already been arranged to watch over the Moon-viewing Pavilion…”

That would explain why Huò Wēi Lóu had reached the byway one step after her despite taking his leave first; it was because he was heading towards the Moon-viewing Pavilion. 

Fu gonggong glanced at Bó Ruò Yōu and Zhèng Xiāo, “What is going on here?”

Huò Wēi Lóu gestured at Zhèng Xiāo, “Send him back first.”

Zhèng Xiāo’s complexion changed but an embroidered emissary had already stepped forward, neither light nor heavy in strength as he gripped his wrist. Zhèng Xiāo tried to escape but to avail, so he pulled harder on Bó Ruò Yōu’s hand and sent a pleading look her way. Without missing a beat, Bó Ruò Yōu said: “Xiao gongzi, the night is already late. Hou’ye has been made aware of everything you said, and he will investigate it tomorrow. Your father was undoubtedly murdered, but you have to believe that the Marquis will find the culprit.”

Bó Ruò Yōu’s affirmation made Zhèng Xiāo settle down by two parts. Despite his brief hesitation, he leaned closer to Bó Ruò Yōu and said in a quiet voice: “Thank you Jiejie, Jiejie must help me oh…”

Zhèng Xiāo took an exceedingly quick glimpse at Huò Wēi Lóu. When all was said and done, children could not conceal their thoughts; his face clearly wrote that there was some kind of special relationship between Huò Wēi Lóu and Bó Ruò Yōu, which caused Bó Ruò Yōu’s back to stiffen momentarily.

Zhèng Xiāo turned his head back once every three steps, but he still left with the embroidered emissary in the end. Fu gonggong looked at Huò Wēi Lóu, then looked at Bó Ruò Yōu, feeling like something must have happened while he was otherwise occupied.

Just as Bó Ruò Yōu was stuck in a dilemma about how she should explain the misconception, Huò Wēi Lóu unexpectedly turned and walked away while instructing the remaining embroidered emissary, “Monitor Zhèng Wén Yàn’s courtyard closely tonight.”

On the other hand, Fu gonggong did not leave immediately. He cracked a smile at Bó Ruò Yōu, “Bó guniang, don’t find it strange. The personality of my family’s Marquis has always been like this, he never talks about sentiment like a King of Yama whenever he’s on official business. Since we arrived in a hurry this time around, the coroner that Hou’ye frequently employs wasn’t brought along, and it’s fortunate that Bó guniang is assisting. Although Hou’ye looks estranging, he is a person who treasures talent, you don’t have to be afraid.”

Even though Bó Ruò Yōu felt some fear in the face of Huò Wēi Lóu, there really wasn’t much terror or dread to speak of; she was not part of the officialdom, and she did not have a black muslin for Huò Wēi Lóu to take off, why should she feel afraid?

“Many thanks to gonggong, gonggong can be at ease, I’m not afraid.”

Fu gonggong nodded smilingly, which made him appear all the more benign. “Rare, this is truly rare. Go and rest, it will be a busy day tomorrow.”

After bending her knees and bowing, Bó Ruò Yōu pivoted her heels and made her way towards the small courtyard at the end of the corridor. Let alone being afraid of Huò Wēi Lóu, she had never placed him within her sights at all. Much of the arteries and veins of this case had already emerged, and once this case was solved, perhaps Huò Wēi Lóu would never return to Qingzhou again in this lifetime; they would not have the affinity of meeting for the second time, so what did Huò Wēi Lóu’s current threatening posture count for?

Furthermore, in the face of an influential nobility like the Marquis Anqing Residence, only Huò Wēi Lóu – someone with a corresponding status and honour – was capable of suppressing them with his thunderous tactics and lack of sentiment, both of which he liberally used. It was easy to understand why those tactics were necessary just by looking at how Hè Chéng had been impeded on all fronts for half a month.

In the midst of her flowing and turning thoughts, Bó Ruò Yōu reached the entrance of the small courtyard. The courtyard door was half-open, allowing the faint fire light to seep out from the room. Bó Ruò Yōu was just about to call for the door when the courtyard’s door was pushed open, revealing a round face with almond eyes and peach cheeks.

“Maidservant Chūn Táo, pays her respect to guniang, nubi is meant to serve guniang in her everyday needs within the courtyard.”

Chūn Táo was wearing a cyan and unadorned lined robe, looking around the age of eleven or twelve, and judging from her appearance, she seemed to have a genuine personality. Firstly, she guided Bó Ruò Yōu to the warm room and bedroom for viewing in a polite manner, then attended to her as she partook in dinner. Though Bó Ruò Yōu was verbally routing her imperceptibly, Chūn Táo merely felt that Bó Ruò Yōu was gentle and amiable, thus she said everything she knew without any reservations. In spite of how they had only interacted for less than a double-hour, they looked like an actual pair of master and servant.

After taking a bath, Chūn Táo praised Bó Ruò Yōu’s inky black hair which was like a waterfall as she said: “Nubi originally wanted to serve Lao Furen for a longer period of time, and request for a better way out later, but one did not expect that such a tragedy would occur.”

Chūn Táo had arrived at Lao Furen’s courtyard half a year ago, and she was just a third-ranked maidservant who didn’t manage anything. After Lao Furen passed away, the servants from her courtyard were re-distributed to other areas. Being as young as she was, and without the possession of any special skills, Chūn Táo was not arranged to the other courtyards, and because this guest courtyard was lacking in a servant right now, the steward transferred her here.

Upon hearing her take the initiative to bring up the Lao Furen, Bó Ruò Yōu proceeded to ask: “After Lao Furen passed away, the Third Master has been taking charge of the family?”

Chūn Táo nodded, then shook her head. “That wasn’t really the case at the beginning. During the first few days, the Second Master was handling the household affairs, but someone said that the Second Master was involved in Lao Furen’s death, and gradually, the Third Master started taking charge.”

Bó Ruò Yōu narrowed her eyes, “I see that the Third Master is extremely comprehensive in his treatment of people. Lao Furen has five sons at her knees, she must have doted on the Third Master the most while she was alive, yes?”

Chūn Táo pondered, “That has never been the discernible impression. Lao Furen worships the Buddha, and her temper is very thin, she treats the Masters more or less the same. It’s just that the Second Master has a bad temper, and he would occasionally come into a conflict with Lao Furen. As for the Third Master and Fifth Master, it’s not that much different.”

Chūn Táo had only been in the Marquis Residence for two years, and Zhèng Xiāo previously stated that they had to ask the older servants in the residence about Zhèng Wén Yàn’s inauspiciousness since only they were cognizant. Internally aware that she would not be getting any answers from Chūn Táo regarding this matter, Bó Ruò Yōu asked, “Were the preparations for the marriage of the Marquis Residence’s Oldest Young Lady made very early on?”

Once this topic was brought up, Chūn Táo’s interest was immediately roused, “Indeed, the Oldest Young Lady’s marriage is the most important affair in the residence. The Oldest Young Lady’s wedding dress was only done embroidering after more than ten seamstresses worked on it for half of last year. Our Oldest Young Lady will be marrying His Second Highness, and there was hearsay that her marriage dowry required over a dozen boats to send it to the Capital—”

“Oh, the Oldest Young Lady and His Second Highness’ engagement is a story that captures the imagination and has spread far and wide. According to the rumours, Da Furen had just become pregnant with the Oldest Young Lady that year in the capital, and during one of the palace banquets, she saved His Second Highness from drowning in a lake. Back then, His Second Highness was only four- or five-years-old, and he remained in a long coma after he was brought ashore. The imperial physicians were helpless in the face of crisis, and the Guifei was out of ideas, so she invited a respected imperial astronomer to divine his fate. This divination actually claimed that the person who saved His Second Highness was the lucky star of his life; as long as that person was by His Second Highness’ side, His Second Highness will definitely wake up.

贵妃 (pinyin: gui fei) – the second highest, attainable rank for an imperial concubine.
大夫人 (pinyin: da fu ren) – in this arc, it refers to the legitimate wife of the once ill and deceased Marquis, who was the oldest son of Lao Furen.

“Afterwards, our Da Furen stayed with His Second Highness for an entire night. Guniang, guess what happened, His Second Highness really woke up! Guifei niangniang was incredibly touched, and upon noticing that Da Furen was pregnant, she claimed that if she gave birth to a daughter, a betrothal with His Second Highness will be arranged upon birth, and she even invited the Emperor to witness it. Later on, the Oldest Young Lady was born, and the arranged betrothal came into effect. The Emperor officially bestowed the marriage last year, and the preparations for the marriage immediately began. Guniang, isn’t it simply miraculous?”

娘娘 (pinyin: niang niang) – an honorific specifically reserved for the Empress Dowager, Empress, and the higher ranking imperial concubines, like the Guifei.

Bó Ruò Yōu was slightly surprised, since she did not expect that this marriage where the families were already well-matched in terms of social and economic status, would have such a story. “So that’s how it is. Certainly, it’s like they were fated.”

Chūn Táo nodded happily, “Isn’t that so? It must be an opportune marriage fixed by the Heavens.”

“Then for matters concerning the marriage, who is helping to oversee it?”

Chūn Táo faltered, “It should be the Third Master. It is undeniable that the Third Master usually looks steady. Nubi heard that when the marriage dowry was being sent, he accompanied it for half the journey.”

Zheng da xiaojie’s (Yún Ní’s) marriage to His Second Highness was of paramount importance, and the fact that Lao Furen handed this matter to Zhèng Wén Yàn sufficiently proved that she had some faith in him. Therefore, when Zhèng Xiāo stated that Lao Furen and Zhèng Wén Yàn were not close in the past, and that Zhèng Wén Yàn was an inauspicious person, was that real or fake?

“Does the Third Master have a good relationship with his brothers?”

Chūn Táo hesitated momentarily, “It should be good, the Third Master looks like he has a very good temper on most days, and he treats everyone well.”

As Bó Ruò Yōu mulled over it, she abruptly recalled the Fourth Master whom she had never met in the residence, and asked: “The Fourth Master has yet to return from his travels, what kind of person is he like?”

That question really placed Chūn Táo in a difficult position, because she replied: “Nubi does not know, because in the two years nubi has been in this Marquis Residence, she has not seen the Fourth Master once, but from what others have said, the Fourth Master has not stayed in the residence ever since he was young. It has been so many years, and the number of times he returned can be counted with one’s fingers.”

Bó Ruò Yōu furrowed his brows once she heard that. A noble son of the Marquis Residence, and yet he did not stay in the residence ever since he was young?

Bó Ruò Yōu was simply of the opinion that the Marquis Residence had a huge family and business, had a flourishing population, and yet it was also hiding a few unknown secrets which were rather suspect, but the case had occurred while the Fourth Master was travelling outside, so it was probably unrelated to him. She stopped making inquiries, and in addition to an entire day’s worth of fatigue, she fell into restful sleep after getting on the bed.

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In another guest courtyard a short distance away, Fu gonggong sighed, “Hou’ye was not planning to prolong his stay here when he first arrived, but now it seems that the case needs to be solved before departing again?”

Huò Wēi Lóu said, “One Hè Chéng, wanting to solve this case, is as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.”

Since he had just finished bathing, Huò Wēi Lóu changed into loose robes that were draped over him, and his damp hair was hanging down his shoulders, which diluted the cold and severe temperament on his body by three parts. He flipped through the documents in his hands, a tinge of fatigue faintly creasing the space between his brows.

Fu gonggong replied, “Prefectural Magistrate Hè does have some heart to get things done, but he’s still incapable of suppressing aristocratic families like the Marquis Anqing Residence, and it is only with the arrival of Hou’ye that Zheng san’ye became much more well-behaved.”

Having said that, Fu gonggong suddenly remarked, “But Prefectural Magistrate Hè being able to discover such a valuable coroner like Bó guniang is truly hard to come by.”

The hand that Huò Wēi Lóu was using to flip the documents stilled. “What is she called?”

Fu gonggong immediately smiled, saying: “Ruò Yōu, Bó Ruò Yōu, her person does match her name. She said she’s from Qingshan County, but it’s rather apparent that she has the style of a member from a prominent old family, and she is beautiful as well.”

若幽 (pinyin: ruo you) – When it comes to her name, Fu gonggong is probably referring to how she is ‘like serenity’ or ‘like peace’. Besides that, her name can also mean ‘as if secluded’ or ‘hidden away’, or in a more superstitious context, the last character refers to the Underworld, which alludes to her work for helping the dead speak.

It was unknown what Huò Wēi Lóu was thinking as his brows became more tightly knit, whereas Fu gonggong said: “A woman that is similar to a young lady from an influential family, with such highly skilled techniques in post-mortem autopsies, truly, it makes people gasp in amazement. But most importantly, she’s actually unafraid of you, Hou’ye. It has been many years since laonu encountered such a courageous person, though it’s unfortunate that she lost her parents a long time ago, she’s quite pitiful too.”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s gaze finally lifted from the documents. “What are you trying to say?”

Fu gonggong chortled out loud, stepping forward to extract the documents from Huò Wēi Lóu’s hands, “Laonu is trying to say: the whole journey has been terribly exhausting for Hou’ye, and it is time to rest, lest laonu has no way of justifying himself in front His Majesty.”

The current Emperor Jianhe was Huò Wēi Lóu’s biological maternal uncle. Upon hearing Fu gonggong utter those words, Huò Wēi Lóu raised his hand and kneaded the space between his brows before he rose to his feet and moved towards the inner room. Fu gonggong could not be more satisfied.

However, it was unknown what was going through his mind as he whispered the next line in a quiet voice, “If [that person] was still alive… would be as old as her…”

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Just as the skies brightened on the next day, Bó Ruò Yōu woke up based on her daily habits. She pushed open the window to see that another layer had been added to the accumulated snow, and promptly realised that more snow had fallen in the middle of last night. Presently, the skies were still dark and heavy, without any intention to clear.

Since Chūn Táo was still sleeping soundly in the warm room, Bó Ruò Yōu ate some of the pastries from last night and went out of the courtyard. She followed the road she memorised, wanting to go back to Zhèng Wén Chén’s mourning hall to examine his corpse again before Hè Chéng and Huò Wēi Lóu had instructions for her.

She did not encounter anyone along the way, because the hour was still early for one, and secondly, Huò Wēi Lóu had imposed martial law on the residence with frigid oppressiveness. Bó Ruò Yōu exhaled on her hands, and just as she turned the corner, her footsteps came to an abrupt halt. From the distance, she saw a three-storey building in the southwest direction.

Bó Ruò Yōu could basically confirm that it was the Moon-viewing Pavilion where Zhèng Wén Chén fell to his death.

Her heart moved and she started to feel her way towards the Moon-viewing Pavilion. Upon reaching the front of the Moon-viewing Pavilion, there were two embroidered emissaries standing guard as she had expected. She observed from the distance, only noting that this pavilion was towering: its floors were much higher than regular wooden buildings, and the lowest floor was made out of white jade tiles. Therefore, it would be difficult for someone to survive once they fell off the third floor.

With the embroidered emissaries standing guard, entering the building right now was completely out of the question. Hence, Bó Ruò Yōu made a detour to the back of the Moon-viewing Pavilion. She did not believe that ghosts could kill people, but how did the murderer enter the Moon-viewing Pavilion? And how did they manage to leave after killing someone right in front of so many watching eyes?

Bó Ruò Yōu believed that perhaps there were clues outside the building.

 After winding around to get to the back of the Moon-viewing Pavilion, Bó Ruò Yōu raised her head to have a look, only to see that there was a deck (unroofed platform) wrapping around the third-floor pavilion room in a circle, with red lacquered and cloud patterned railings enclosing it in an equidistant fashion. The hexagonal windows on the second floor that had been sealed off and there was a circle of slanting rooftops outside. Without needing much time, however, Bó Ruò Yōu discovered an irregularity on the outer circumference of the roof eaves with her keen eyesight.

On the outer circumference of the delicately modelled roof eaves, two ash tiles were unexpectedly missing!

Bó Ruò Yōu swiftly lowered her eyes and searched the ground. Owing to the layers of accumulated snow, she even had to stoop down to excavate the snow, but it was at this moment where a creaking noise came from above her head. The beginnings of the cold wind covered the creaking noise by half, so she did not pay attention to it, but very quickly, an ominous hunch surged within her. 

Bó Ruò Yōu abruptly raised her head, and what entered her vision was a section of the broken off beam descending from the third floor. Bó Ruò Yōu could basically feel that the wind generated by the plummeting beam was more frightening than the cold wind, but she could only close her eyes reflexively. It was falling too fast; she could dodge it at all!

Bó Ruò Yōu had already prepared herself for impact, but in the instant she closed her eyes, a gust of wind assaulted her from the back, and in the next, a long and strong arm wrapped around her waist, yacking her backwards.

“BANG!” A loud noise erupted, and a beam that a person could hug with their arms around, grazed past the tip of Bó Ruò Yōu’s nose and crashed to the ground.

The snow powder flew up, the lingering echo thunderous in her ears. Body rigid, Bó Ruò Yōu opened her eyes, only to see that a huge pit had been smashed into the snowy ground in front of her, and when she turned back subconsciously, she proceeded to fall into the wintry phoenix eyes from last night.