"I lived there for a few years. Back then, I always thought Prince An Manor was the most fun place—I didn’t even want to go home for the New Year..." Leng Yue said casually, glancing at the three straw mats covered with white cloths laid out on the ground. "Wang Ye said we should follow your lead. Tell us, which one should we examine first?"
"Then... the one who died earliest."
Leng Yue walked over to one of the straw mats and, without changing her expression, lifted the white cloth to reveal a completely stripped corpse. The deceased was a young man, and beneath the mottled, decaying skin, one could still make out well-proportioned and robust muscles.
Chu Chu knelt beside the corpse and began examining it meticulously inch by inch, starting from the top of the head all the way down to the toes. Yet, strangely, not a single trace of the corpse lingered in her mind.
Her thoughts were nothing but a swirling, sour mess.
Wang Ye let Leng Yue live in his home for years and even taught her corpse examination... Could it be because he liked her?
Leng Yue was much prettier than her, far more capable, and the daughter of a great general. How could Wang Ye not like her?
Yes, she was already Wang Ye’s wife, and Leng Yue had long been Jing Yi’s wife. But thinking about it still made her heart ache with a sour, painful feeling, so intense it was unbearable.
Leng Yue noticed her staring blankly at the corpse, her eyes glistening, her face pale, biting her lips so hard they nearly bled. Unable to hold back, Leng Yue patted her shoulder. "Imperial Concubine... what’s wrong?"
Chu Chu snapped back to reality. How had she ended up thinking about Wang Ye while examining a corpse?
"N-nothing... It’s just that he died so pitifully."
Leng Yue frowned slightly. "So, in your opinion, how did he actually die?" she added, "It wasn’t suicide, right?"
"I don’t know..."
Chu Chu examined the corpse from head to toe again, turned it over, and continued feeling and looking inch by inch. As she did, her expression grew distant once more.
This man’s body was slender and smooth, but it was still far inferior to Wang Ye’s...
Leng Yue had lived in Wang Ye’s home for so long, and he trusted her so much. She must have helped him with medicated wine massages, maybe even bathed him...
She knew so much more, so she must have served him better...
Wang Ye must have preferred her care...
"Imperial Concubine..." Leng Yue watched curiously as Chu Chu gently and attentively rubbed and kneaded the corpse. "What kind of corpse examination technique is this?"
"Huh?" Chu Chu stared blankly at the corpse, whose skin she had nearly rubbed raw, and her pale face flushed bright red. "This... this is my family’s secret method. I can’t tell anyone."
"Oh..."
"And what you saw, you can’t tell anyone either."
Leng Yue nodded seriously. "Alright. So, using your family’s secret method... have you figured out the cause of death?"
"J-just about!"
Xiao Jin Yu had only been resting on the couch for a short while when he heard a weathered yet resonant voice outside the carriage door. "This humble general, Leng Peishan, welcomes Prince An."
Xiao Jin Yu straightened himself slightly, adjusted his collar, and said, "General Leng, please come in and speak."
The carriage door opened, and an elderly general in full armor stepped inside. With a white beard and hair, he appeared spirited and vigorous, holding a polished steel helmet in one hand. He bowed briskly before Xiao Jin Yu’s couch. "Greetings, Prince An."
"General Leng, please rise."Rising to his feet and taking in the sight of Xiao Jin Yu wrapped in a quilt and leaning against the couch, Leng Peishan was momentarily stunned. In his memory, this man had always been in poor health, but he had never appeared before others in such a state.
Noticing Leng Peishan’s expression, Xiao Jin Yu gave a slight, apologetic nod. "A minor ailment has befallen me. I apologize for letting General Leng witness this…"
Leng Peishan hurriedly lowered his head and averted his gaze. "This humble general would not dare."
"General Leng," Xiao Jin Yu’s voice was steady and cool, without a trace of illness or weakness, "I have no authority to interfere in military affairs… However, as I have been dispatched by His Majesty to investigate a case here, I must trouble you with a few questions."
"It was this humble general who petitioned His Majesty to summon Wang Ye… Since Wang Ye has taken the trouble to come here, I will cooperate fully and hold nothing back."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded, his tone deepening. "May I ask, General Leng, if this battle had proceeded without complications, purely based on the strength of both sides, what would the outcome have been?"
Leng Peishan abruptly looked up, staring in astonishment at the composed Xiao Jin Yu. "Wang Ye… What do you mean by that?"
Xiao Jin Yu gazed calmly and steadily at Leng Peishan. "I thought I had spoken plainly enough… What I mean is, based on General Leng’s years of experience in warfare, speaking truthfully, if this battle had been fought straightforwardly, who would have won—our army or the Turkic forces?"
☆、71 Roasted Whole Lamb (Seven)
Leng Peishan’s expression darkened severely, each wrinkle on his face shadowed by a hint of gloom. "The forces were evenly matched; it would have been difficult to determine a winner." He added through gritted teeth, "Those old Turkic scoundrels rely solely on their cavalry, and they even sent some wet-behind-the-ears brat to handle matters…"
"The brat General Leng refers to… is he the third Turkic prince, Ashina Suwu?"
"Who else could it be!"
Xiao Jin Yu watched the easily provoked Leng Peishan calmly. "From what I know, this 'brat' you speak of… charged into battle at the age of thirteen, brave and skilled in warfare. Now twenty-five, he has never lost a battle. With such a record, I’d say he resembles more of a young hero."
Leng Peishan’s face flushed and paled alternately. He struggled for a long time but couldn’t muster a coherent response.
Xiao Jin Yu understood perfectly well where Leng Peishan’s anger came from. The general had spent most of his life on the battlefield, fighting countless battles against the Turkic forces. While the Turkic generals grew younger with each replacement, he himself aged year by year. Initially, he had thought that Xiao Jue’s decisive victory against the Turkic forces meant that the day of quelling the Turkic unrest was near. Yet… in the end, he was still the one holding the line here, growing more frustrated with each battle.
Moreover, this "brat" had now brought in a Miao sorcerer, who had silently thrown the military camp into chaos and unrest.
Xiao Jin Yu merely wanted to remind this infuriated old general that emotions had no place in warfare.
He coughed lightly a few times and shifted the topic. "General Leng, do you think it’s possible that the three soldiers took their own lives?"
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