Coroner's Diary

Early the next morning, Yan Chi left Xilin City for the Crimson Wind Plains, leaving Qin Guan alone in Prince Rui's royal residence.

Although Fuling had arrived earlier to clean and organize the residence, she had only managed to make the courtyards habitable. Since Qin Guan and Yan Chi would be living here long-term, the residence needed proper renovation. Qin Guan first inspected various areas and, to avoid extravagance, selected the main courtyard, the East Courtyard, and two guest courtyards for initial arrangements. She also chose two courtyards with sparse vegetation, planning to plant plum trees so that when they bloomed the following year, they could enjoy the sight of plum blossoms against the snow, brightening the currently dull and desolate residence.

After several days of arrangements, on the fifth day, just after lunch, Zhao Yan walked in from outside. Bai Feng had followed Yan Chi to the Crimson Wind Plains, so Zhao Yan had been left behind and now served as the royal residence's chief guard. He entered the East Courtyard to report that the silver Yan Chi had mentioned moving from the royal residence had arrived.

Upon hearing this, Qin Guan hurried out to look and saw over a dozen large carts parked outside the residence. The carts were piled high with chests covered with straw mats, making them appear ordinary from a distance—unremarkable to anyone unaware of their contents.

Qin Guan had not expected so many carts and was momentarily astonished. She quickly instructed Zhao Yan to gather guards to unload them. There were over ten carts carrying sixty to seventy chests in total, each so heavy that three or four people were needed to lift it. Qin Guan then asked Fuling to open the treasury. By the time all the chests were moved inside and stored, it was already evening. While arranging meals for the soldiers who had delivered the silver, Qin Guan entered the treasury. The treasury had been built when the royal residence was constructed; for a household like Prince Rui's, it would typically be filled with treasures. However, the treasury in Xilin City was currently empty, holding only the chests brought that day.

That afternoon, Qin Guan hadn't asked how much had been delivered, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to take a look.

Accompanied only by Baiying and Fuling, Qin Guan entered and asked Fuling to open a chest. Fuling, key in hand, was equally excited.

With a click, Fuling opened the chest. A soft golden glow immediately made them squint. Fuling's jaw dropped. "Princess Consort... this... this is all gold..."

Qin Guan was also startled. She had assumed that with so many chests, they would contain silver, but the first one was filled entirely with gold.

Composing herself, Qin Guan said, "Keep opening them. He didn't send an inventory, so we need to take stock properly."

Fuling, now even more enthusiastic, continued opening chests. The next one was also full of gold. Qin Guan had her open seven or eight in a row, all packed with the precious metal. Fuling, who had never seen so much wealth, exclaimed in amazement, "His Highness actually has this much gold! If all this gold were piled up, it would be a mountain of treasure!"

Qin Guan was equally surprised. She had thought that in their haste, they could only bring limited resources, but it seemed Yan Chi had prepared well in advance.

For a moment, the three stood before the mountain of gold, feeling an inexplicable tension. Soon after, Qin Guan led them out of the treasury.Now that money was no longer a worry for Qin Guan, she spent the next two evenings with Fuling and a few others counting the gold they had brought. To their surprise, the tally amounted to over one hundred thousand gold coins plus an entire chest of silver notes. Most of these notes were from banks in Yuzhou, totaling several hundred thousand taels of silver. Qin Guan had never imagined Yan Chi had such substantial private wealth, leaving her both amused and exasperated. Her earlier concerns now seemed unnecessary—Yan Chi was clearly a wealthy figure in his own right.

Qin Guan wanted to ask Yan Chi where all this silver came from, but he had been away for ten days, sending only two letters during that time. Understanding that establishing the new camp must be keeping him busy, she was patient. Ten days later, the wife of the Xilin City magistrate arrived with other official wives and noblewomen for a visit.

After Yan Chi’s previous clarification, many had left the Xilin City government office, but some had volunteered to join him. Though Yan Chi was absent, Master Qi and the Xilin City magistrate managed affairs at the office, preventing any stalemate. This occasion marked Qin Guan’s first hosting of a banquet as the princess consort.

Yuanshi, the wife of the Xilin City magistrate, was the devoted spouse of Dong Shuwen and a native of Dingzhou. Having lived in Xilin City with him for many years, they had only one daughter, who had married a general in the Northwest Frontier Army years earlier and remained at the main camp. Because of this connection, Yuanshi was exceptionally sincere with Qin Guan.

“I should have come to pay my respects to you earlier, Princess Consort, but my husband said the royal residence was still being organized. He feared we might trouble you if we came too soon, so we’ve only arrived today. The ladies I’ve brought with me all wish to show their goodwill toward you; each has significant ties to the Northwest Frontier Army and Xilin City…”

Although there were many attendees and Qin Guan didn’t recognize any of them, with Yuanshi’s assistance, the banquet proceeded smoothly. The royal residence, though not as refined as those in the capital, had a distinct style compared to other estates in Xilin City. They strolled through the gardens, admired the snow, and feasted. By the end of the half-day event, the ladies had come to see Prince Rui’s princess consort as kind and approachable, while Qin Guan gained a deeper understanding of Xilin City. As evening fell, she personally saw everyone off.

This was Qin Guan’s first time handling such an event, and she felt somewhat fatigued, but her intelligence and wit made socializing with these women manageable. Late that night, Yan Chi returned, cloaked in the chill of the deep winter.

By then, Qin Guan had already retired and was drifting into sleep when she heard voices outside. Drowsily, she tried to sit up, but before she was fully awake, she was enveloped in a slightly cold embrace. Opening her eyes, she met Yan Chi’s smiling gaze and felt a surge of joy!

Yan Chi held Qin Guan over the quilt for a while, then washed and changed before lying down to talk with her.

“Why are you back today? Didn’t you say you’d be gone for half a month?”

Qin Guan leaned against Yan Chi’s chest, listening to his strong heartbeat.

Yan Chi stroked her waist and replied, “With no battles, there’s no need for me to stay there all the time. But since we’ve just arrived at Crimson Wind Plains, the soldiers are working hard. If I left too early, it would dampen morale. Now that the camp’s foundation is laid and temporary shelters are built, I could come back.”

Yan Chi never wavered in sharing hardships with his troops. Qin Guan hugged him painfully and asked, "Do you have to go again?"”Yan Chi shook his head, "I won't go for now. I'll wait until it's repaired, which will be over a month later." After a pause, he added, "Did you receive guests today?"

"Yes, the lady from Xilin City came with other officials' families. She's very easy to get along with and helped me a lot today. Everything went quite smoothly."

Yan Chi then turned over and pulled Qin Guan into his embrace. "You've worked hard too. If you ever find it difficult to handle these matters, you should tell me early."

Qin Guan chuckled. "I'm your princess consort. What's so hard about dealing with these things? Don't worry."

Hearing this, Yan Chi felt relieved. Having been apart for several days, their longing for each other was naturally hard to suppress. After talking for a while, with Qin Guan's soft fragrance in his arms, Yan Chi couldn't restrain himself any longer. Qin Guan had intended to ask about the silver, but when would she have the chance? Soon, she was swept away by Yan Chi into boundless passion.

Thus, it wasn't until the next morning during breakfast that Qin Guan finally had the opportunity to ask, "I've tallied the silver that was sent, and it's much more than I expected. Did all of this come from the royal residence?"

Yan Chi, who was drinking porridge, laughed. "Of course not."

Qin Guan looked puzzled, so Yan Chi explained, "Over the years, my father and I haven't spent a single coin of our salaries, so we've saved it all up. Since my father and I are rarely in the capital, although we have some reputation in Shuoxi, if we were to return to the capital one day, there would be many uncertainties. Therefore, my father made preparations early on. Combined with the royal residence's accumulated savings over the years, it's naturally a considerable amount. This time, the situation was urgent, so I didn't bring treasures like antiques, paintings, or jade from the residence—those would be too conspicuous. This silver is merely the savings from the royal residence's external ventures over the years. There's one place you know of—"

Yan Chi smiled at Qin Guan, who raised her eyebrows. "I know?"

Yan Chi nodded. "Last year, after the case in Yuzhou was resolved, most of the Pang family's assets were confiscated. The confiscated properties of convicted families are sold off by the authorities. At that time, it was the Prince Rui's household that took over the Pang family's assets..."

Qin Guan's eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, so that's it. No wonder I saw many banknotes deposited in Yuzhou banks."

Yan Chi laughed. "Your husband is no ordinary military man. You needn't worry about money."

Qin Guan blinked. "I was thinking earlier that I still have some assets in the capital left by the Second Master of the Qin family, which my uncle later handed over to me for temporary management. Since we have no worries about these matters now, I'd like to dispose of those assets."

Yan Chi looked at her, and Qin Guan asked, "What if we find a way to return them to my uncle and his family?"

At this, Yan Chi put down his bowl and chopsticks. "During my time in the Crimson Wind Plains, I received news about the Qin family. After their noble title was revoked, they've been living in a manor outside the city. Your uncle fell ill, and the others aren't doing well either. At this critical juncture, the whole family doesn't dare to draw too much attention."

Qin Guan sighed upon hearing this. "If our news reaches them, I'm afraid my uncle will be even more terrified."

Yan Chi was silent for a moment, then added, "There's another piece of news—"

Qin Guan quickly looked at him, and Yan Chi said solemnly, "Qin Chaoyu isn't dead."

Qin Guan's eyes widened. "Not dead?""That's right, she didn't die." Yan Chi said with a grave expression, "The person who died back then must have been a decoy, probably to avoid implicating the Marquis' residence. The intelligence from the northern front reports that during the recent two battles, the Crown Prince has always been accompanied by a young woman. The messenger described her appearance in the letter - it's undoubtedly Qin Chaoyu."

Qin Guan was stunned for a moment, "She actually didn't die... This... this is truly wonderful."

Relief was Qin Guan's first reaction. Although she hadn't formed a deep bond with Qin Chaoyu, she never truly wished for Qin Chaoyu to have been burned to death.

However, Yan Chi held Qin Guan's hand and said, "It's good that she didn't die, but the situation of the Empress and Crown Prince in the north isn't optimistic..."

Hearing Yan Chi say this, Qin Guan's heart tightened once again.