Xiao Jin Yu sighed softly, "Look at the bones..."
"Right! And these bones—so thin and flat, how could they be fragrant..." Just as she was criticizing the ribs for being unsatisfactory in every way, Chu Chu suddenly felt something was amiss. Staring at the cross-section of the bone for a moment, she abruptly raised the rib in her hand and exclaimed, "Ah! This is human ribs! Rib bones! Chopped ribs!"
As expected.
Before Chu Chu’s surprise had faded, she felt her hand lighten—the food box, along with the rib she had been holding, was taken away by someone.
Tang Yan wore a pained expression as he tossed the rib back onto the plate, closed the lid of the food box, and set it back on the table. "It seems Miss Chu has already completed the examination."
"It... it was Wang Ye who noticed it first."
Tang Yan glanced at Xiao Jin Yu, whose face had turned slightly pale. "Your Wang Ye is the Jade Emperor in the field of corpse examination, but unfortunately..."
Unfortunately what?
Before Tang Yan could finish, Xiao Jin Yu coldly cut him off. "What exactly happened with these ribs?"
When Tang Yan arrived, he had mentioned he had a case to report but insisted that the coroner examine the corpse first before discussing the details. Now that the examination was over, Tang Yan spoke plainly.
"Ji Dong He, the magistrate of Shangyuan County, is an old friend of mine. On my way back to the capital from Hangzhou, I stopped by to visit him. Knowing there are many formalities in government offices, I informed him in advance. However, Tan Zhang, the prefect of Shengzhou, found out and claimed that a visit from someone of Prince An Manor was equivalent to Prince An himself gracing the occasion. Refusing to entertain would be a grave disrespect."
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly.
"That old man Tan Zhang is full of cunning schemes. I was afraid of getting entangled in some messy trouble if I went to his prefectural residence, but if I stubbornly refused to see him, it would inevitably bring misfortune upon Old Ji. So, when Old Ji hosted a welcome banquet for me at his home tonight, I invited Tan Zhang along."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently.
"Old Ji’s wife had returned to her parents’ home, and he was worried that his family cook’s skills might not be refined enough, risking ridicule from Tan Zhang. So, he ordered a full table of dishes from Gathered Fragrance Pavilion. Both Old Ji and Tan Zhang praised the sweet and sour ribs as the signature dish of the restaurant. But when I took a bite, the taste was off. They tried it too and said it seemed different. It wasn’t until I carefully examined the bones I spat out that I realized..."
Tang Yan’s stomach churned, and he forced a bitter smile. "I’ll never eat ribs again in my lifetime."
Chu Chu looked at Tang Yan’s conflicted expression and muttered, "Aren’t people who roam the jiangsu supposed to fear nothing, kill without batting an eye, and even eat raw meat and drink blood..."
Tang Yan nearly vomited on the spot. "What nonsense is that? Who told you such rubbish?"
"Mr. Dong, the storyteller at Fragrance Adding Teahouse in our town."
Tang Yan’s dark face flushed purple with rage, and he roared in a thunderous voice, "What does a storyteller know? And he has the nerve to share the same surname as 'Dong'!"
Chu Chu, frightened, shrank closer to Xiao Jin Yu. This big, dark man truly looked like he was about to devour someone when he lost his temper.
Seeing Chu Chu’s aggrieved expression, Tang Yan suddenly felt awkward. He had just cursed and yelled at the future Princess An...
Xiao Jin Yu, noticing Tang Yan’s embarrassment, coughed twice and asked, "Do we know who the deceased is?"
"Wang Ye, you must be joking. These are sweet and sour ribs... Tan Zhang had someone investigate Gathered Fragrance Pavilion. The people there said the ribs were bought from Full Fragrance Butchery this morning. Full Fragrance Butchery is jointly run by four butchers and an accountant from the county. The meat is weighed and mixed together in an ice cellar before being sold, so it’s impossible to tell which piece came from which supplier.""Tan Zhang has arrested everyone from Gathered Fragrance Pavilion and Full Fragrance Butchery. He's always had it in for Old Ji, so he used that as an excuse to arrest him too, saying the body was found at his place so he's a suspect. But both of them are still vomiting their guts out right now. The court session won't happen until tomorrow at the earliest."
Xiao Jin Yu looked calmly at Tang Yan. Having heard this much, he already understood why Tang Yan had come to him. He said in a deep voice, "This case was strange to begin with, and now with Tan Zhang making such a scene, it's become too conspicuous. You can't investigate this..."
Tang Yan urgently replied, "If we let that old man Tan Zhang handle it, he'll harm Old Ji before he even solves the case!"
"There's an urgent matter in the capital that requires your investigation. When we return to the capital, Wu Jiang will give you the case files..." Xiao Jin Yu coughed several times. "I'll handle this case in Shangyuan County myself."
Tang Yan was startled and initially wanted to say this was too dangerous and shouldn't be done, but he swallowed his words. Once this person made a decision, even the Emperor couldn't change his mind.
While Tang Yan was still calculating whether there was any room for negotiation, he heard Chu Chu say happily to Xiao Jin Yu, "This is good! You can rest properly for a few days and wait until you've recovered from your illness before leaving."
Tang Yan was taken aback. Looking at Xiao Jin Yu's pale complexion, he frowned. This was actually a reason he couldn't refute - with Xiao Jin Yu's health condition, making the journey from the capital to Suzhou in the dead of winter would surely be life-threatening.
"In that case, I'll return this food box first. I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow morning to stay at Old Ji's residence. His wife has returned to her parents' home, so there are fewer people there and it's quiet. It'll be convenient for recuperating and also for handling the case... With you staying there, Tan Zhang won't dare cause trouble for Old Ji either."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded. "Alright."
As Tang Yan picked up the food box, he suddenly remembered something. Turning back to Xiao Jin Yu, he raised the food box in his hand and said with a smile, "Consider this case my birthday gift to the Prince. You two live well together."
"..."
☆、25 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Five)
Before meeting Jing Yi on the capital's main street, the county magistrate had been the highest official Chu Chu had ever seen. In Chu Chu's impression, a county magistrate should look like Magistrate Zheng from Zizhu County - round face, small eyes, big belly, clearing his throat before speaking, walking with hands clasped behind his back, belly thrust forward, chin raised, feet splayed outward, unhurried and steady, exactly like the high officials on the opera stage.
So when she first saw Ji Dong He, Chu Chu never imagined that this middle-aged man in casual clothes - tall and thin with dark circles under his eyes and a sallow complexion - was actually the magistrate of Shangyuan County. The bearded old man in official robes who came with him to welcome the Prince at the gate looked much more like an official.
Just as Xiao Jin Yu was helped down from the carriage by Tang Yan and seated in his wheelchair, the bearded old man came trotting up and knelt deftly before Xiao Jin Yu. "Your humble official, Teng Prefecture Governor Tan Zhang, pays respects to Prince An."
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