From the carriage ahead came Xiao Jin Yu's measured, bureaucratic tone, "My visit is presumptuous. I must ask Manager Xu to bear with any disturbance caused."
"Prince Qi, you flatter me. I must beg your forgiveness for any inadequacies in my hospitality."
"My health is somewhat inconvenient. May I trouble Manager Xu to arrange accommodations nearby for my attendants?"
"Everything has been arranged. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Jing Yi's deliberately solemn voice drifted out, "Remember to send your top courtesan to me. This official has questions for her."
"Manniang has been waiting in Lord Jing's room for some time now."
"Manager Xu has been most considerate."
"Lord Jing need not stand on ceremony."
Xu Ru Gui had arranged for them a secluded courtyard deep within the estate, featuring a two-story pavilion with no other guests, embodying utmost elegance and tranquility.
Accompanying Xiao Jin Yu's party into the main hall, Xu Ru Gui bowed slightly and said, "Please rest awhile, Your Highness. I shall prepare modest refreshments shortly and would be honored by your presence."
Polite and deferential, his meaning was clear—the invitation was for Xiao Jin Yu alone, excluding all others.
Xiao Jin Yu gave a slight nod. "You are most kind."
Xu Ru Gui bowed deeply to Xiao Jin Yu. Just as he straightened up to leave, a young woman's clear voice called out to him.
"Manager, may I request some items from you?"
Xu Ru Gui showed no disregard for this young woman who had been hiding behind Jing Yi. Standing upright, he replied formally, "Please state your needs, miss."
Chu Chu stepped out from behind Jing Yi and listed them one by one: "I need scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, white plums, fermented rice, vinegar, a garlic mortar, a mat, and—if you would be so kind—please dig a six-foot-deep pit for me and burn a large bundle of firewood inside it."
Xu Ru Gui maintained his smile, though inwardly bewildered by this bizarre request. "Is the miss... planning to cook?"
Chu Chu waved her hand. "No, no. I'm just going to steam a corpse."
Just... steam... a corpse...
Jing Yi looked at Xu Ru Gui with sympathy. The man's stiffly smiling face had visibly taken on a greenish hue.
Xiao Jin Yu cleared his throat lightly and continued in his calm, bureaucratic tone, "Official business is urgent. I must ask Manager Xu to accommodate this."
"Y-yes... I... I shall make the preparations at once..."
Chu Chu beamed at Xu Ru Gui. "Thank you, Manager!"
"It is my duty, my duty..."
There were at least ten people who had entered As Returning Pavilion with Xiao Jin Yu. After they arrived at the small courtyard, Xiao Jin Yu issued a few instructions and then disappeared. In the end, only three people stayed in the courtyard with him: Jing Yi, Chu Chu, and one guard.
Xiao Jin Yu's room was in the center, with Jing Yi's to the left and Chu Chu's to the right. Thus, while reviewing case files in his room, Xiao Jin Yu could clearly hear amorous banter from the left and clattering noises from the right.
Just when the noise from the right finally ceased, his door was knocked upon.
A very solemn voice came from outside: "Chu Chu requests an audience with Your Highness."
Xiao Jin Yu raised his hand slightly. The guard who had been standing as still as a statue by the door opened it and silently retreated behind a painted screen.
Xiao Jin Yu looked at Chu Chu, who had entered empty-handed. "Have you finished the examination?"
Chu Chu shook her head. "The fire in the pit has just been lit, and the white plum cakes have just been pounded. It will still be a while..."Xiao Jin Yu waited quietly for her to say something that would clarify her purpose.
Chu Chu pursed her lips and spoke softly with a hint of hesitation, "I just heard... As Returning Pavilion has its own money shop, and silver notes can be exchanged right here."
This sentence Xiao Jin Yu understood—she had come to ask him for money.
So urgent?
Xiao Jin Yu still didn’t ask what she needed the money for. Calmly, he took out the five-hundred-tael silver note from his person and handed it to her.
Chu Chu carefully folded the shockingly valuable piece of paper twice and tucked it into her bosom. "Thank you, Wang Ye!"
As soon as Chu Chu rushed out the door, Xiao Jin Yu spoke in a low voice toward the painted screen, "Follow her."
"Yes."
Xiao Jin Yu spent a full four hours in his room reviewing case files. Lunchtime had long passed. The commotion from Jing Yi’s room had fluctuated several times from lively chatter to wailing and howling. Xu Ru Gui hadn’t come to invite him for a meal, and the guards hadn’t returned to report. If he hadn’t personally watched the sky outside gradually darken, Xiao Jin Yu might have suspected he was just growing impatient with the case files and feeling as though the day was dragging on.
Surprisingly, the first one to knock on his door was Chu Chu.
Chu Chu handed a corpse manifest to Xiao Jin Yu. "The corpse examination is finished. There’s no clerk here, so I filled out the corpse manifest myself. If it doesn’t meet the regulations, I can report it to you again."
"No matter..." Xiao Jin Yu had only glanced at it a couple of times before frowning. "How come you found so many more injuries than in the initial examination?"
Even if the initial examination had missed some details, Tian Qi, a coroner who had worked most of his life, shouldn’t have overlooked this many.
"It’s cold outside, and some injuries on the corpse weren’t visible. I heated up an earthen bed, steamed the corpse inside for a while, then took it out, wiped it with wine and vinegar, and applied hot white plum cakes. After that, all the injuries became visible."
Xiao Jin Yu inwardly smiled wryly. At a glance, it was clear the deceased had lived a life of luxury. Even if Tian Qi had known such a method, he certainly wouldn’t have had the nerve to use it.
Only she would...
Just as Xiao Jin Yu turned his attention back to the corpse manifest, the door was knocked on again.
"Wang Ye."
Seeing the guard he had sent to follow Chu Chu enter with a grim expression, Xiao Jin Yu assumed his demeanor was due to witnessing Chu Chu’s corpse examination. Before he could speak, he noticed the guard hadn’t returned alone.
Over twenty strong men filed in, carrying large chests in pairs. In no time, more than ten large chests were neatly lined up in two rows against the wall.
"What’s going on?"
Before the guard could figure out how to explain, Chu Chu cut in, "Money, the remaining money."
Xiao Jin Yu looked at the two rows of large chests in astonishment. Five hundred taels of silver—even if every last tael were exchanged for one-tael coins and packed into chests of this size, it would fill at most one chest. But there were more than ten chests here!
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