☆、28 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Eight)
Chu Chu glanced at the stretcher. Wasn't this quite obvious? Could it be that Wang Ye was testing her?
"A woman's bone structure is smaller than a man's. For the same cut of meat, a woman's tends to have thicker fat and more marbling."
As she spoke, Chu Chu bent down and picked up a large piece of well-marbled meat from the stretcher, waving it before everyone. "Look at this pork belly—the lean parts are tender, the fat is fine-textured. How could this belong to a man? Besides," she added, holding the meat up for closer inspection, "the skin is even more delicate than Wang Ye's. Where would you find a man like this? It must be a wealthy young lady!" She then looked confidently at Xiao Jin Yu. "Wang Ye, am I right?"
All the officials and subordinates silently stared at Xiao Jin Yu. Just how delicate was Wang Ye's skin...?
Xiao Jin Yu's calm face subtly shifted between pale and flushed. He coughed a few times to obscure his reaction, then spoke in a low, stern voice with a darkened expression, "Why do you say she was over twenty but under thirty?"
Chu Chu carefully set down the pork belly and picked up a section of ribs, explaining clearly, "Look at the curvature of these ribs—definitely not a child, but an adult. However, the bones still have good flexibility, so this must be a fairly young adult."
Seeing everyone's gaze shift from him to the ribs in Chu Chu's hands, Xiao Jin Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His voice and expression softened slightly. "Then why do you say she never had children?"
Chu Chu put down the ribs and grabbed a thick piece of meat, pointing out the cross-section of a partially exposed bone to the crowd. "After a woman gives birth, her bones darken in color and become less dense inside."
Xiao Jin Yu sighed inwardly. Had she not dissected countless corpses, how would she know such things... It would be hard to find another coroner like her under heaven.
Even if her background was unclear, even if she truly had ulterior motives—it didn't matter.
"Chu Chu, hand these remains to Lord Tan. They shall be temporarily stored in the Prefect Magistrate's Office's morgue."
Before Chu Chu could respond, Tan Zhang stepped forward with a slightly green-tinged smile. "Please rest assured, Wang Ye. This humble official will personally ensure strict surveillance—not the slightest error will occur... No, from today onward, I shall eat and sleep with this corpse! Where the corpse remains, there I remain; should the corpse be damaged, I shall perish—"
Before he finished speaking, a cold, slippery object was shoved into Tan Zhang's arms.
The meat Chu Chu had been holding was freshly retrieved from the ice cellar—freezing cold. She had no desire to hold it any longer. "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Tan!"
When Tan Zhang saw what was in his arms, his legs instantly gave way. With a shriek, he collapsed to the ground, frantically rolling and scrambling to shake off the meat clinging to his robes. He then began kowtowing wildly toward the meat. "My dear mother! Dear mother!"
"Dear mother?" Chu Chu blinked in confusion, waving her hands at the terror-stricken Tan Zhang. "No, no! Lord Tan, you've mistaken! I just said this was a young woman in her twenties who never had children—how could she be your dear mother?"
Tan Zhang's nearly spherical body visibly stiffened. The faces of all the officials present, including Ji Dong He, twisted with expressions of painfully suppressed amusement.
This was Lord Tan, the Prefect Magistrate—the man who held absolute power and manipulated affairs at will in Shengzhou...Xiao Jin Yu said with an air of nonchalance, "Lord Tan's reverence for the deceased has moved this prince deeply. It would weigh on my conscience not to grant your wish... I permit Tan Zhang, the newly promoted Prefect of Shengzhou, to eat and sleep alongside the deceased of this case until its resolution. During this period, no one may obstruct or interfere without just cause, or they shall be charged with the crime of desecrating a corpse."
"Your Highness..."
"No need for formalities, Lord Tan."
By the time they returned from the butcher shop to the Ji residence, the sky had darkened. After bathing and changing clothes, Chu Chu slipped into the kitchen.
When she entered, the head cook Feng Yi was busy preparing dinner with two junior cooks. Seeing Chu Chu come in, she quickly set down the half-butchered duck in her hands, wiping her hands on her apron as she approached. "Imperial Concubine..."
Last time in the kitchen, they had been in a hurry to ask her to brew medicine for Xiao Jin Yu, and Chu Chu hadn't had time to clarify. Now, hearing herself addressed as "Imperial Concubine" again, she waved her hands frantically. "No, no, I'm not an imperial concubine! The prince and I haven't even had our wedding ceremony yet! My name is Chu Chu, as in 'charming and moving'!"
Seeing Chu Chu's pink cheeks flushed with embarrassment, her little mouth pouting, looking as adorable as a dough doll—nothing like the image of a princess consort—Feng Yi quickly smiled and said, "Alright, alright... Miss Chu, Miss Chu, is that better?"
"Yes!"
Feng Yi looked at her warmly. "Miss Chu, have you come to brew medicine for the prince?"
"I came to make something for the prince to eat." Chu Chu smiled sweetly. "Earlier, while searching for dismembered remains in the butcher's ice cellar, I saw a pile of cleaned pork bones. It reminded me that Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup promotes blood circulation and nourishes the stomach—perfect for the prince!"
Feng Yi felt a chill run down her spine, her smile stiffening. "You... you went to look for dismembered remains?"
"Yes, I'm a coroner."
"I... I see... Pork bones, right? Wait a moment, let me look for them... There should still be some left..."
"Thank you, Feng Yi!"
Once Chu Chu had the bones and lotus root, she buried herself in her task. Feng Yi stole glances at her while working, watching her deftly handle the bones with a knife. Recalling her earlier words, Feng Yi couldn't help but feel uneasy.
She had heard from those who had met Prince An before that he was fair-skinned and refined, his every movement gentle and elegant, resembling a frail scholar. How could he have chosen such a... pragmatic consort?
After tossing all the ingredients into an earthenware pot and adjusting the heat, Chu Chu sidled up to Feng Yi, watching as she brushed layer after layer of sauce onto the plucked duck. "Feng Yi, what dish are you making?"
"Sauce-Braised Duck. It's savory and fragrant without being greasy, quite appetizing. Even those with poor appetites can eat a little."
"Feng Yi, you must know how to make so many dishes, right?"
Chu Chu hovered beside her, as obedient as a daughter in her own home. Feng Yi relaxed, her chatter flowing freely as she worked on the duck, speaking to the young girl in a leisurely, homely manner. "I wouldn't say many. It's just that I've been a cook for many years—picking up a bit here, learning a bit there, and experimenting on my own. It's all a jumble, nothing fancy..."
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