As dusk fell, Qin Guan's heart gradually sank. The fact that no one from Lin'an Prefecture had come to the Marquis residence to seek her out indicated that Zheng Baishi's audience with the emperor had likely yielded unfavorable results.
Zheng Baishi and Li Muyun's words still echoed in her ears—the emperor would absolutely not treat the Prince Jin Manor case as an ordinary matter. A skeleton discovered within Prince Jin Manor after a full year—what could this possibly signify?
The deceased was male, with either Western Regions or Rong ancestry. Regardless of how he died or his identity, the mere discovery of his skeleton in Prince Jin Manor would inevitably evoke associations with the Prince Jin case from a year ago.
This point was clear to Zheng Baishi and Li Muyun, and equally clear to Qin Guan.
This case presented an excellent opportunity, especially with the conflict involving Zheng Baishi's beating occurring just that morning. Yet Qin Guan could not influence the emperor's stance unless someone with greater authority than herself intervened.
Naturally, Qin Guan thought of Yan Chi. But currently, Yan Chi was handling Prince Rui's funeral arrangements, and Prince Rui's remains were soon to return. Qin Guan absolutely could not disturb him at such a time. She shook her head—for now, she could only wait.
That night, Qin Guan slept restlessly.
This opportunity had come too suddenly, and she had no certainty of seizing it. Even if she could conceal clues through her Corpse Examination privileges, the case needed to be investigated for her plans to matter. If the emperor decided to suppress it entirely, all her considerations would prove futile.
Tossing and turning throughout the night, Qin Guan woke the next day never expecting the Prince Jin Manor case to have spread like wildfire through the capital, sparking discussions both within and outside the court. Even more unexpectedly, the emperor had not prevented Zheng Baishi from investigating the case. With no suppression from the emperor, Zheng Baishi and Li Muyun were naturally overjoyed.
At dusk that day, Zhan Yang arrived at the Marquis residence.
When Qin Guan reached the front courtyard, she saw Zhan Yang's grave expression. Her heart sank at the sight of him. After he paid his respects, Qin Guan urgently asked, "Zhan Butou, have you discovered something?"
Zhan Yang nodded. "We did find something..."
He hesitated before continuing, "Yesterday, during the Corpse Examination, you mentioned the deceased was about six and a half feet tall, in his twenties, with Rong ancestry. Based on these points, we investigated and found that Prince Jin Manor did indeed have such a person."
Qin Guan's heart leaped. "What do you mean?"
Pressing his lips together, Zhan Yang explained, "All servants of Prince Jin Manor were registered with the Household Affairs Department. Through systematic investigation, we identified a man named Song Xiwen. While he was a native of Great Zhou, his mother was from the Yuezhi kingdom of the Western Regions. His distinctive appearance had drawn scrutiny initially, but he was permitted to enter palace service after it was confirmed only his mother was non-Zhou. He had been Prince Jin's personal guard since childhood and was one of his most trusted aides."
Qin Guan frowned. "Where did he go after Prince Jin's incident?"Zhan Yang seemed to hesitate at this very point, pausing briefly before continuing, "On the day of the incident, the guard who accompanied Prince Jin into the palace was this Song Xiwen. After the incident that night, Prince Jin was arrested, and this Song Xiwen was also imprisoned in the Imperial Punishment Office, separated from Prince Jin. This was known to everyone present at the time. However, when the Emperor later handed the matter over to the Ministry of Justice for thorough investigation, this person vanished. The Imperial Punishment Office had no record of how Song Xiwen left, and no one there knew where he had gone. Strangely, the Ministry of Justice did not pursue this matter at the time..."
The Imperial Punishment Office was a place for disciplining palace staff. Whenever an incident occurred in the palace, whether involving masters or servants, they were first detained there. Yet, how could Song Xiwen have disappeared so completely without a trace?
"Initially, everyone suspected he had died in the Imperial Punishment Office, but no one expected that the skeleton of this guard would later be found in Prince Jin Manor. How did he get out of the Imperial Punishment Office?"
After finishing his account, Zhan Yang's brow furrowed even more deeply.
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