No one expected that a skeleton would be laid out on the luohan bed inside the room. Even Baiying gasped sharply in that instant.
It was a gleaming black sandalwood bed, bare of any embroidered cushions, which made the white bones appear even more ghastly. The room was dimly lit and chillingly cold. An ordinary person would likely be terrified out of their wits upon suddenly seeing such a skeleton, but after the initial surprise, Qin Guan quickly composed herself.
Her gaze swept inch by inch over the skeleton before her, and she soon identified it as the remains of a woman. Several thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning, and then her pupils trembled with disbelief. Could this be...?
A beam of light suddenly illuminated the space behind her. Qin Guan turned to see Tan Xiang approaching with a lamp.
Qin Guan glanced at Tan Xiang, who met her gaze with unwavering calmness. This composure only strengthened Qin Guan’s conviction about her suspicions.
Without asking a single question, driven by instinct—or perhaps by her certainty about Yan Ze’s intentions—Qin Guan leaned forward.
The skull of the skeleton was smooth, with indistinct muscle lines, small and delicate. The pelvis was broad and shallow, its walls thin and smooth, the side walls straight and shallow, the pelvic cavity short and wide, cylindrical in shape. The sacrum was short and broad, the pubic surface low, and upon closer inspection, traces of childbirth scars were visible on the posterior aspect. This was the skeleton of a woman—one who had given birth. Qin Guan leaned in for a closer look: the pubic symphysis showed a partially worn convex surface, with distinct ridges and grooves. The apical protrusion was nearly half visible, and the posterior edge was everted. Squinting her eyes, Qin Guan deduced that the owner of this skeleton had died in her early twenties. After a mental calculation, she reached a conclusion.
The remains were remarkably well-preserved, likely due to having been kept in a coffin, displaying a dull, semi-yellow, semi-gray hue. The flesh and blood on the corpse had long since decayed, leaving behind a thin layer of grayish grime clinging to the bones. This skeleton had died long before the remains discovered in the backyard of Prince Jin Manor. The grime had thinned considerably but adhered more firmly to the bones. Starting from the skull, Qin Guan meticulously examined every part downward but found no traces of injury.
If the owner of the skeleton had died from wounds that left marks on the bones, such scars would never fade. But if not from injury, then had she truly died of illness?
If that were the case, what was the purpose of her visit today?
Qin Guan glanced back at Tan Xiang. "Are there any corpse examination tools?"
Tan Xiang promptly nodded and walked over to the curio shelf. Only then did Qin Guan notice a small case under the lamplight.
The case had been placed there earlier. Tan Xiang brought it over and set it before Qin Guan. Opening it, Qin Guan found the standard coroner’s tools commonly used in official bureaus. She selected an extremely thin small knife and a random thoracic vertebra, then began carefully scraping off the grime.
As a layer of grime was removed, the original grayish-white color of the bone emerged, but Qin Guan found the bone’s hue overly dull.
Frowning, she asked, "How did Princess Consort Yi die of illness back then?"Tan Xiang held the lamp, speaking respectfully, "It happened right after His Majesty ascended the throne. The late emperor had just passed away, and His Majesty had not yet recovered from his injuries. That night, after returning from treating patients in the palace, the princess consort first felt a pain in her chest, then lost her vision, and soon after could no longer hear anything. By that very night, she was gone. Her passing was so swift that neither the prince nor the heir apparent had time to react. The prince summoned physicians, but they found no signs of poisoning."
Tan Xiang stopped there, having said everything Qin Guan wished to know.
A flickering light danced in Qin Guan's eyes, as if some thought had suddenly struck her, and a brief glimmer flashed rapidly across her gaze.
She retrieved a silver needle from her sleeve, pricked her fingertip, and let a drop of crimson blood fall onto the segment of thoracic vertebra.
The blood should have slid off the bone, but instead, it seeped into the bone tissue, vanishing as if absorbed. Soon after, Qin Guan's expression shifted again, for the once vibrant red blood slowly turned black—
Qin Guan froze, finally understanding why the skeleton showed no traces of injury.
If the victim died from poisoning, how could wounds remain on the bones?
Qin Guan stared fixedly at the short bone, her brow tightly furrowed for a long while. Countless thoughts raced through her mind before she slowly set the bone fragment down and returned the knife to the small case. A heavy weight pressed on her chest, making it hard to breathe. The room was cold and lightless, the darkness seeming to swallow even the lamplight in Tan Xiang's hands.
"Where is your lord…"
Tan Xiang placed the case back in its original spot and whispered, "His Highness is waiting for you outside."
Qin Guan straightened her back and turned around, indeed catching a glimpse through the cracked door of a white-robed figure standing in the courtyard.
It was already the twelfth lunar month, yet Yan Ze wore wide-sleeved white robes that floated ethereally around him like an immortal. He stood with his back to the main door, chin slightly raised as if gazing at the clear, washed-blue sky. Qin Guan picked up the white cloth from the ground, carefully covered the skeleton before her, and then turned to walk out.
Stepping outside, she found the courtyard gate closed. Yan Ze stood alone not far from a water vat where withered water lilies floated, his entire demeanor desolate and untethered.
Tan Xiang closed the main door and retreated beyond the courtyard gate. Baiying, seeing this, also stepped farther away. Qin Guan watched Yan Ze for a moment before slowly approaching him. "I understand now, Crown Prince."
Yan Ze suddenly spoke in a clear, resonant voice, "Princess Consort Yi was once a close friend of my mother in their youth."
The statement seemed abrupt and disconnected. At first, Qin Guan didn’t grasp its meaning, but soon a cruel realization dawned on her, stealing her breath. Just then, Yan Ze slowly turned around. Today, he wore no medicated gauze over his eyes, his appearance strikingly elegant and peerlessly handsome. What left Qin Guan speechless, however, were his eyes—dark as deep pools, shining with an intensity that startled her...
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