Coroner's Diary

"General Fu! What's wrong?! Someone—"

Liu Yun's sudden shout shattered the entire night banquet, and Yan Chi was the first to notice something amiss!

He abruptly stood up, his gaze swiftly locking onto Liu Yun's direction, and immediately rushed toward him. Upon arrival, he saw Fu Desheng bleeding profusely!

"Someone! Summon the imperial physician—"

Yan Chi's sharp command instantly stirred the entire venue. Some rushed to call for the imperial physician, while Yan Huai led the crowd toward Fu Desheng. As they approached, they saw Liu Yun had already risen from the ground, now holding Fu Desheng and shouting urgently. Fu Desheng was vomiting blood, his face covered in crimson, his eyes wide open and fixed on Liu Yun. Seeing Liu Yun's frantic expression, he struggled to open his mouth with great effort.

"It's... the north..."

After uttering only two words, Fu Desheng's body convulsed violently, and then his eyes remained wide open and motionless.

Liu Yun froze, his eyes burning with fury!

"Fu Desheng! Fu Desheng!"

After shouting twice with no response—Fu Desheng's eyes still unblinking—Liu Yun shook him helplessly. His hand brushed against a wound on Fu Desheng's neck. Looking closely, he saw a large, bloody hole on the left side of Fu Desheng's gory neck—this was the fatal injury!

"The imperial physician is here! The imperial physician is here!"

A guard shouted from outside, and the surrounding crowd quickly parted. The accompanying imperial physician strode in, but upon seeing Fu Desheng's condition, his face paled instantly. Liu Yun's eyes were red-rimmed as he yelled at the physician.

"Hurry! Save him, now!"

The physician knelt beside Fu Desheng, first checking his wrist, then his neck. His frown deepened. Liu Yun's expression turned ferocious. The physician turned to Yan Huai, "Your Majesty, he is already gone."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun grabbed the physician by the collar. "Save him now! Don't tell me he's gone! He is the Great General of Western Liang! If he dies, I will not let Great Zhou off easily!"

The physician, pale-faced, knelt. "Your Majesty, Third Prince, he truly has passed. Such a severe injury would have been difficult to save even moments ago. Now, with no pulse or breath, there is no sign of life."

Liu Yun glared at Yan Huai. "Ninth Miss! Call your Ninth Miss! Didn't she heal Tuoba Hong?! Have her come save Fu Desheng! Hurry—"

Yan Huai frowned and gave Yuan Qing a meaningful glance. Yuan Qing nodded and promptly sent someone to summon Qin Guan.

The distant music and dance had ceased due to the sudden incident. Everyone gathered around Liu Yun, and though they all knew Fu Desheng was beyond saving, none dared to say it outright. Yan Huai's brow furrowed deeply, anger brimming in his eyes. This was supposed to be a grand banquet—how could he have anticipated a death, and that of Western Liang's Great General, no less?

First, the Crown Prince of Northern Wei hovered between life and death, and now Western Liang's Great General lay dead on the spot. Why was this hunting expedition so tumultuous? Yan Huai scanned the crowd and noticed Yan Chi was missing. Just as he was about to ask, Lin Zhang approached him and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has gone to investigate the matter."Yan Huai nodded and scanned the surroundings. "Investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Lin Zhang acknowledged the order and immediately retreated to the periphery to instruct his subordinates.

Qin Guan was guarding Tuoba Hong's tent when Yuan Qing sent someone. She had no idea what had happened until the young eunuch said, "Ninth Miss, General Fu of Western Liang is in trouble—he's on the verge of death. Please come quickly to see him."

Qin Guan was startled, and Tuoba Wu beside her also gasped in shock. "Fu Desheng of Western Liang?! How could he die?"

The young eunuch shook his head frantically. "I don't know, but please hurry, Ninth Miss!"

Tuoba Wu immediately said, "Then I'll go too!"

But Qin Guan forbade it. "No, you stay in the tent and keep watch. I'll go check."

Tuoba Wu understood that Qin Guan wanted her to protect Tuoba Hong, so she reluctantly remained behind.

By the time Qin Guan reached the square, it was already tightly surrounded. As soon as Yuan Qing spotted her, he called out, "Your Majesty! Ninth Miss is here—"

Everyone turned to look and saw Qin Guan in a sky-blue palace dress, striding swiftly toward them.

Yan Huai urgently said, "Ninth girl, come take a look—"

Qin Guan had smelled the blood from afar and knew she couldn't delay. She didn't even bother with formalities and hurried to the center. As soon as she entered, she saw Fu Desheng lying motionless with his eyes wide open. She immediately identified the fatal wound, and her heart sank.

Liu Yun, seeing her arrival, snarled, "Hurry up and save him! Aren't you supposed to be skilled—"

Qin Guan still knelt to check his pulse but then shook her head. "Third Highness, it's too late to save him."

Liu Yun's eyes widened. He wanted to vent his anger at Qin Guan, but meeting her compassionate gaze, he found all words stuck in his throat. He had only asked Fu Desheng to fetch medicine for him! How could this happen? How could Fu Desheng die?!

"Seal off the entire camp immediately! Find the assassin!" Yan Huai commanded.

Lin Zhang promptly acknowledged the order. Yan Huai glanced at the others. "Everyone return to your seats. Tonight's banquet ends here!"

He then looked at Yan Che. "The Crown Prince and Prince Cheng will jointly search the camp. Detain all suspicious individuals!"

Yan Che and Yan Qi responded in unison and quickly led their men to search left and right.

As the crowd dispersed, only Liu Yun remained, slumped on the ground cradling Fu Desheng. Yan Huai sighed. "Third Highness, where did General Fu go earlier?" After a pause, he added, "Such an incident occurring in the camp is the Great Zhou's responsibility. Please accept our condolences. The priority now is to identify the perpetrator in the camp."

The gruesome wound on Fu Desheng's neck was clearly not accidental. If so, who could have attacked him?

Liu Yun gritted his teeth and glared at Yan Huai. "First the Northern Wei Crown Prince, and now our Western Liang General—two lives lost over a mere hunting event. Your Majesty, the Great Zhou truly excels at this!"With successive incidents occurring, Yan Huai naturally felt disgraced. However, at this point, stabilizing the situation and appeasing Liu Yun's anger was paramount. Yan Huai sighed, "Third Prince, it is never my wish for anyone to come to harm. With envoys from both nations present, yet incidents keep happening, it clearly suggests someone is deliberately causing trouble. If Third Prince directs his anger at Great Zhou, I fear you may fall into the schemer's trap. The urgent task now is to find the murderer of General Fu."

Liu Yun stared fiercely at Yan Huai for a moment, as if searching for flaws in his expression. After a long pause, he looked down at Fu Desheng's wide-open dead eyes. His own eyes reddened slightly, and he paused before reaching out to gently close Fu Desheng's eyelids.

"My heartache disease was about to act up. General Fu went back to get medicine for me. When he didn't return for a long time, I decided to check myself. Just as I reached this area, I saw him staggering toward me."

As he spoke, Western Liang guards helped Liu Yun to his feet. Yan Huai nodded and instructed Lin Zhang, "Find a large tent to properly settle General Fu."

Lin Zhang immediately ordered nearby soldiers to clear out a storage tent not far away. After Fu Desheng was carried away, a large pool of blood remained on the ground. Liu Yun stared at it, then suddenly swayed and fainted!

With Liu Yun unconscious, another round of chaos ensued. Only after the imperial physician confirmed Liu Yun had merely suffered a disease recurrence did Yan Huai relax. Yan Huai personally escorted Liu Yun back to his tent. When he returned to the square, he saw Lin Zhang speaking with Tuoba Rui, who wore an angry expression.

Yan Huai raised an eyebrow and approached immediately. "What happened?"

Seeing Yan Huai arrive, Lin Zhang promptly reported, "Your Majesty, everyone remained at the banquet except the Fifth Prince. When we asked where he went, he couldn't provide a clear explanation."

Tuoba Rui glared. "Why should I tell you?! Do I not even have this basic freedom?"

Yan Huai said sternly, "Does Fifth Prince know that Western Liang's General Fu was murdered?"

Tuoba Rui's face changed slightly. "Fu Desheng is dead?! How? Wasn't he at the banquet the whole time?"

"General Fu was stabbed while fetching medicine for the Third Prince and died shortly after," Lin Zhang explained.

Hearing this, Tuoba Rui's frown deepened, finally understanding why the camp had been suddenly locked down. "I left to check if my elder sister had arrived. Halfway there, my stomach felt uncomfortable, so I used the latrine first. Then I visited my elder brother's tent. When I arrived, Ninth Miss was already gone. My elder sister didn't say much, only that she would stay to watch over our brother. Then I returned..."

Lin Zhang looked somewhat skeptical. Meanwhile, Yan Chi returned hurriedly from the direction Fu Desheng had taken.

Yan Huai quickly waved Yan Chi over. As Yan Chi approached, Yan Huai asked urgently, "What did you find?"

Yan Chi nodded. "Following the blood trail, we discovered General Fu went to the medicine storage."

"The medicine storage?!" Yan Huai exclaimed in surprise, while Lin Zhang also showed astonishment.

Yan Chi confirmed, "Yes. Moreover, we found the murder weapon—"

Yan Huai immediately asked, "What was the weapon?"Yan Chi turned around and took a white cloth-wrapped object from Bai Feng. Unwrapping it revealed a bloodstained candlestick, its candle removed, with traces of blood still visible on the sharp iron spike.

Yan Huai frowned deeply. "So General Fu was attacked in the medicine storage?"

Yan Chi nodded. "Yes, precisely—"

Yan Huai narrowed his phoenix eyes. "Very well, you remain in charge of this case. That the perpetrator dared commit murder in camp during tonight's banquet shows utter ruthlessness. I've already dispatched the Crown Prince and Prince Cheng to search the camp. Leave this to you and Lin Zhang—investigate as you see fit. With the Third Prince fallen ill, he'll undoubtedly demand answers upon waking. We must have conclusions soon."

Yan Chi assented but added, "I'd like Ninth Miss to examine General Fu's wounds."

After exchanging glances with Yan Chi, Yan Huai agreed, "Mobilize anyone in the camp as needed!"

Qin Guan stood nearby awaiting orders. Soon, Yan Chi handed banquet affairs to Lin Zhang and led Qin Guan toward the tent housing Fu Desheng's corpse—

"Following the blood trail led us to the first medicine storage entrance. Though guards were posted there during the banquet, they were inexplicably absent when we arrived—we're investigating this."

"The blood trail extends from outside to inside the storage. While items were disturbed inside, there were no clear signs of struggle beyond this bloody candlestick."

"If our deduction holds, the candlestick is likely the murder weapon. We found no blood elsewhere, indicating Fu Desheng fled toward the banquet immediately after being attacked."

Yan Chi spoke rapidly as he walked briskly, Qin Guan keeping pace behind him with a furrowed brow.

"No clear signs of struggle? General Fu was a renowned Western Liang commander with exceptional martial skills. An ordinary person couldn't best him even in ambush. My preliminary observation suggests he was killed in one strike. To fell a prepared General Fu with a single blow—does our camp harbor such a master?"

At this, Yan Chi countered, "What if he was unprepared?"

Unprepared? Qin Guan met Yan Chi's gaze, a realization dawning. If it was someone familiar, he'd naturally lower his guard. Having been in camp for days, Fu Desheng knew all officers of rank and foreign dignitaries—could the killer be among them?

They soon reached the tent.

Three wind lanterns illuminated the space brightly. Freshly deceased, blood still seeped from the wound on Fu Desheng's neck, his face retaining vitality.

Yan Chi stationed Bai Feng outside while he and Qin Guan remained within. Qin Guan approached solemnly, observed Fu Desheng momentarily, murmured "Forgive this intrusion," and began removing his garments. Yan Chi immediately assisted. Soon, Fu Desheng lay on a plank wearing only undershorts.

Yan Chi handed the candlestick to Qin Guan for inspection before she commenced the Corpse Examination.With a quick glance revealing no other obvious injuries on Fu Desheng's body, Qin Guan stood beside his head and carefully examined the wounds on the side of his neck. "The injury is on the main blood vessel of the right side of the victim's neck. The murderer must be very familiar with human blood vessel distribution. The iron core of the candlestick is extremely thin, yet the assailant struck with deadly accuracy."

Hearing this, Yan Chi couldn't help but think of Tuoba Hong. "The wounds on Tuoba Hong's body were also extremely precise."

Qin Guan frowned slightly and continued her examination. "This wound is very deep and located on the right side, meaning the murderer is left-handed..."

As she spoke, her voice carried some uncertainty. Suddenly, she shook her head decisively. "No, the murderer isn't left-handed. They attacked from behind the victim, which is why the wound is on the right side. There's a bruise from a throat lock on the front of the victim's neck."

Qin Guan bent down and examined the wounds on Fu Desheng's neck even more meticulously, then stated with greater certainty, "The murderer must have been behind the victim, using a throat lock while delivering a fatal strike with the candlestick."