Xiao Jinyu had little strength to begin with, and would never dream of using real force against her. Yet this light slap still drew a pained whimper from Chu Chu, instantly draining the color from Xiao Jinyu’s face. A cold sweat broke out across his body—she was pregnant, after all...
He hurriedly cupped the two soft mounds, gently kneading them in apology. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The woman in his arms suddenly burst into laughter, giggling until she could barely catch her breath. Xiao Jinyu froze, his forehead darkening as his nearly-stopped heart began pounding wildly. Equal parts exasperated and amused, he found himself utterly helpless.
Chu Chu tilted her head back to gaze triumphantly at his speechless expression, then cheerfully pecked his darkened cheek. "Wang Ye, I’ve always known you’re a good official! You’re the 'Jade-Faced Judge'!" She giggled again, stroking his now thoroughly shadowed face. "Mmm... now you’re the 'Black-Faced Judge'!"
Her laughter melted away all his irritation. A faint blush crept across his cheeks as he murmured, "Stop laughing..."
But Chu Chu only laughed harder. Slightly annoyed, Xiao Jinyu raised his hands to cradle her face, intending to silence those smiling lips—but before he could, she flipped over and pinned his shoulders, immobilizing him.
"Wang Ye, didn’t you want me to talk about General Wang Xiaohua?"
He recognized that glint in her eyes...
"Don’t treat me like a corpse..."
Pouting, Chu Chu rolled away to lie with her back to him. "Then read the corpse manifest yourself!"
The moment her warm, soft body left his embrace, Xiao Jinyu felt a sudden chill sweep through him. "Alright, alright... just... be gentle."
"Okay!"
Xiao Jinyu closed his eyes and resignedly spread his arms, lying obediently on his back. If he could move his legs, he would have assumed a perfect starfish pose to give her free rein.
This time, instead of stripping his clothes off like a tiger skinning a sheep, Chu Chu rubbed her palms warm and began making slow circles over his stomach through the thin layer of his underwear. "When I went to examine the corpse, the moment I entered I smelled alcohol everywhere, along with the sour stench of vomit—so strong it stung my nose."
The underwear was thin, and Chu Chu’s palms were warm. The gentle heat enveloped Xiao Jinyu’s stomach, which had been aching faintly for days, relaxing his entire body. "Mmm..."
Chu Chu pursed her lips, gently massaging his sunken abdomen over a broader area. "It was only after I went inside that I realized—besides General Wang Xiaohua’s body, there was also a young girl’s corpse."
Xiao Jinyu stiffened, opening his eyes. "A young girl?"
Chu Chu nodded, her hands never pausing their gentle motion. "I asked the people at the Imperial Examination Hall. She was a maid who boiled water in the kitchen, named Xinghua, only thirteen... She died right beside General Wang Xiaohua, completely naked, her private parts covered in blood. There were bruises all over her body, and several bones were broken. She was violated to death."
Xiao Jinyu’s brow furrowed slightly. "Then how did Wang Xiaohua die?""He died from poisoning, arsenic poisoning." Chu Chu rubbed her palms together again and massaged Xiao Jin Yu's cold hip bones. "He was bleeding from all seven orifices—eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—vomiting and having diarrhea all over himself and the floor. He even vomited white foam, and his pants were soiled with bloody diarrhea... I was afraid of misdiagnosing, so I performed an autopsy to double-check. Nothing else was wrong; he was definitely poisoned... Brother Jing allowed me to examine him however I wanted!"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded.
Chu Chu massaged downward to his emaciated, skin-and-bones legs. "There was a lot of blood between his legs, and a lot of..." Chu Chu suddenly touched Xiao Jin Yu's quiet □, "that stuff like white rice water."
Caught off guard, Xiao Jin Yu shuddered. "Chu Chu..."
"His here was also covered in blood."
"..."
Chu Chu let go as if nothing had happened and massaged Xiao Jin Yu's trembling knees. "General Xiao Hua had many scratches on his body, and Xing Hua's nails were full of dark, flaky skin—probably from her scratching him."
Xiao Jin Yu took a relieved breath, as if surviving a calamity, before asking, "That vomit... was it on Xing Hua's body or underneath her?"
Chu Chu thought for a moment. "Both."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slightly. "When did these two die?"
"It was... the night before you entered the Heavenly Prison, around the Chou hour. Brother Jing discovered the bodies. He said that after he brought your things from the Royal Mansion that morning, he wanted to lecture General Xiao Hua to control his temper in the future. But when he entered the room, he found him and Xing Hua dead inside."
Xiao Jin Yu's brow furrowed slightly. "The Chou hour... Chu Chu, did you hear any noise that night?"
A woman being violated to death next door should have made quite a commotion. He might not have heard it due to his fever and deep sleep, but Chu Chu, who always slept lightly when he was ill, shouldn't have missed everything.
Chu Chu shook her head, warming her palms and massaging Xiao Jin Yu's perpetually cold feet. "Xing Hua couldn't make any noise... They said she was mute. I examined her neck during the autopsy—her throat was malformed from birth and infected, so she couldn't make a sound at all..."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded thoughtfully.
After warming his body with massage, Chu Chu was about to pull over the blanket when Xiao Jin Yu raised a hand to stop her. "Not yet... Help me with one more thing."
"Alright."
Xiao Jin Yu lay back with his arms spread. "Examine me."
Chu Chu was startled. "Examine you?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently. "Examine the injuries Tan Zhang inflicted on me... Record them truthfully."
"Wang Ye... Was it really that Lord Tan who hurt you?"
"Yes..."
Remembering the large bruises covering Xiao Jin Yu's gaunt, bony frame, Chu Chu's heart ached with pain, and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Then tell Brother Jing to arrest him quickly! He deserves to be beheaded!"
"We need evidence..." Xiao Jin Yu looked calmly at Chu Chu. "Go ahead and examine me. Only with your injury report can I sentence him..."
Chu Chu bit her lip and nodded. She got off the bed, placed a stool beside it, set paper and brush on the stool, and reached to untie Xiao Jin Yu's sash. As soon as she opened his robe, revealing his bruised and battered chest, her eyes reddened.
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