"Yes."
When Jing Yi leaped through the window into the Hall of Ten Admonishments' council chamber, the sky was just beginning to lighten faintly. Two batches of official documents had already been replaced on the desk before Xiao Jin Yu.
"I've got leads on Lian Cheng's matter."
If he hadn't possessed a reason he could state proudly before Xiao Jin Yu, he wouldn't have dared to appear more than an hour after receiving the message even if beaten to death.
Without lifting his head, Xiao Jin Yu continued calmly reviewing the final document, "Just leads?"
Jing Yi threw himself into a nearby chair, hugging his arms as he resentfully stared at Xiao Jin Yu. "Just to investigate where that corpse came from, I've been scolded back and forth several times by the Ministry of Justice people in the dead of night... You have no idea how special that suspected crime scene is. Getting things done there is truly exceptionally difficult!"
Xiao Jin Yu closed the memorial and raised his head to look at Jing Yi with a faint smile. "What, does your prestige become worthless at As Returning Pavilion?"
Jing Yi nearly sprang from his chair. "You knew early on that the corpse was discovered near As Returning Pavilion?!"
"Not much earlier than you... It's just that Wu Jiang found Xue Yue near As Returning Pavilion. After Chu Chu performed the corpse examination, she said Xue Yue had taken the same medicine as Lian Cheng before death."
Though Xiao Jin Yu spoke lightly, it didn't stop Jing Yi from actually jumping up. "Xue Yue is dead?!"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently. "An iron nail penetrated his brain, his body covered with wounds."
Jing Yi stared at Xiao Jin Yu for a long while, repeatedly confirming his composure wasn't forced, before tentatively asking, "Grand Tutor Xue doesn't know yet?"
While Xiao Jin Yu's friendship with Xue Yue could only be considered ordinary, his father-son like teacher-student relationship with Grand Tutor Xue was known to everyone in official circles.
To say that Xiao Jin Yu becoming who he is today was entirely thanks to Grand Tutor Xue wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.
Since taking on this case, what had made him tense wasn't Xue Yue—the Ministry of Personnel vice minister he interacted with barely a few times a year—but Grand Tutor Xue, who doted on Xue Yue profoundly.
Xiao Jin Yu shook his head and sighed softly. "I haven't told him yet."
Whether others had told him remained uncertain.
Jing Yi tried to steer the conversation back to the case itself, as this could make Xiao Jin Yu quickly set aside all emotions. "When I entered just now, I saw the coroner on duty had arrived. Should I call them to re-examine Xue Yue's corpse?"
Every homicide case must have both initial and re-examination corpse reports before judgment—this was the rule Xiao Jin Yu had established for all government offices nationwide.
Xiao Jin Yu sighed even more deeply. "No need..."
Jing Yi was stunned. No need?
This was Xue Yue who had died. He thought there would inevitably be three to five examinations to conclude matters this time, especially since the initial examination was conducted by a young girl whose identity and intentions remained unclear. "Why?"
"Dissected."
Jing Yi stared blankly at Xiao Jin Yu's calm face. "The 'dissection' you mentioned... is it the same 'dissection' I'm thinking of?"
Xiao Jin Yu raised his hand to point at a rosewood tray placed at the corner of the desk, its contents completely covered by white cloth. "If you want to verify personally..."
"I don't!"
Jing Yi instantly put as much distance as possible between himself and that tray, his face showing terror nearly matching when his wife had dragged him out of a brothel, his voice becoming faint and shaky. "That girl did it?"
"Have you ever seen the coroners here perform dissections?"Jing Yi felt utterly helpless, on the verge of tears. After scouring the entire capital for a whole year with meticulous care, how could he end up sending such a marvel to Xiao Jin Yu? "Didn't she say her family has been coroners for generations? Doesn't she know that unauthorized dissection of a corpse is the grave crime of desecrating a body, punishable by hanging?"
Xiao Jin Yu shook his head. "She knows I can't convict her..."
"Oh?" Jing Yi immediately dropped all other thoughts as his interest was piqued, narrowing his fox-like eyes. "You and her..."
Xiao Jin Yu coldly and firmly cut off Jing Yi's wild imagination. "Because I previously permitted her to conduct the examination however she saw fit."
No matter how meticulous his mind was, he never could have anticipated that a teenage girl would take a knife to a corpse...
"Heh heh..." Jing Yi let out a dry, meaningful chuckle, all his unspoken words condensed into one sentence. "You'd better find a temple to pray at."
"Attendants, prepare the carriage."
"You're really going to pray?"
"Of course."
"What temple are you visiting this early in the morning?"
"As Returning Pavilion."
☆、11 Jujube Ginger Soup (Eleven)
The burly guard brought Chu Chu all the way back to Six Strategies Yard. He didn't say he was going to beat her, nor did he mention giving her food. He just shoved her into a room and left.
Drawing from years of experience accumulated through mischief, Chu Chu estimated that if she behaved well now, she might just avoid that beating.
So when Steward Zhao pushed the door open, he saw Chu Chu sitting facing the entrance, her posture perfectly upright, head slightly bowed, exuding a reserved dignity—exactly like a newlywed bride.
Steward Zhao froze, backing out the same way he came. He stood outside the door, carefully checking left and right to make sure he hadn't entered the wrong room, then stepped back in. Staring at Chu Chu, he tentatively called out, "Chu girl?"
Chu Chu stood up and performed a precise, standard curtsy, imitating the delicate, almost boneless tone of the town squire's daughter as she softly said, "May you have boundless blessings, Steward Zhao."
If the bowl in Steward Zhao's hand hadn't been noodles but dog's blood instead, he would have undoubtedly drenched Chu Chu with it without a second thought.
Was she possessed by a ghost or under some evil spell?
Steward Zhao mustered all his caution, keeping his eyes on Chu Chu as he set the bowl of noodles on the table. "His Highness ordered the kitchen to make this for you. Eat it while it's hot."
Chu Chu glanced at the bowl of noodles. Steam rose from the hot noodles topped with two green vegetables, several large chunks of braised beef, and a golden fried egg. It looked irresistible, not to mention the aroma wafting straight into her nostrils.
Having sat from midnight until dawn without dinner or breakfast, she was truly hungry...
Chu Chu swallowed her saliva but didn't move.
Once she finished eating, she'd probably get beaten, right...
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