Early the next morning, Zhu Yan noticed something unusual while examining the body at the Ministry of Justice morgue.
This was Ji Fangming’s corpse, recently deceased. However, both the external decay and internal organs suggested it had been dead for a long time.
What was going on?
A recently deceased person couldn’t possibly present such a state. Moreover, the body’s skin tissue emitted a peculiar fragrance.
Despite the overwhelming stench of decay, she detected a faint, inexplicable scent.
It seemed as if someone had tampered with the corpse, desperately trying to conceal the truth.
Zhu Yan couldn’t understand why the killer would do this. Was it necessary to create such complications with an already dead person?
After pondering beside the corpse for a long time, Zhu Yan still couldn’t figure it out. She decided to seek her master’s advice.
Upon arriving at her master’s humble abode, she was surprised to find Shen Du already there. The two men were leisurely playing chess, apparently having been there for some time.
Shen Du held a black piece, deep in thought as he studied the board, completely unaware of Zhu Yan’s arrival.
Chen Wen, however, immediately noticed Zhu Yan. Thinking she had come to see her husband, he was about to alert Shen Du but hesitated to disturb his concentration.
Instead, he approached Zhu Yan. “Do you need to see him? If it’s not urgent, let him finish this game first.”
“I’m not here for him. I’m here for you,” Zhu Yan said, linking arms with Chen Wen like an obedient daughter. “I’ve discovered some clues on the bodies that I don’t quite understand. I wanted to consult you, Master.”
“Oh? What’s the matter?” Chen Wen inquired curiously.
Zhu Yan furrowed her brow, pinching her chin. “Those bodies, though recently deceased, show an abnormal state of decay. Also, their skin tissue has a faint fragrance, barely noticeable beneath the stench of decay. I can’t identify the scent due to the mixture, but what puzzles me most is why someone would tamper with corpses. Isn’t that too conspicuous?”
Chen Wen lowered his gaze, pondering for a moment. His eyes suddenly lit up as if struck by a realization. “The situation you describe doesn’t necessarily mean the bodies were tampered with after death. Some people, knowing their fate is sealed, might use certain substances on themselves before dying to confuse subsequent investigations.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan’s eyes widened with enlightenment. “How did I not think of that? The fragrance might have been present before death.”
As Zhu Yan prepared to leave with her answer, Shen Du suddenly placed a black piece on the board with a click.
Chen Wen glanced at the board from afar, shaking his head with a light chuckle. “I hear you two have established some ‘Three Rules,’ and you, Grand Secretary, made three ‘wishful thoughts’ about my disciple. If you win a game against me today, we’ll cancel one of those thoughts. How about it?”
Shen Du, puzzled by Chen Wen’s suggestion, turned his head as if divinely inspired. He saw Zhu Yan standing beside Chen Wen, her head lowered, avoiding his gaze.
“Agreed,” Shen Du promptly accepted. Zhu Yan looked up at him briefly, then quickly tugged at Chen Wen’s sleeve. “We can handle our marital affairs ourselves. You needn’t interfere.”
“How is this interfering? Secretary Shen didn’t object. Look at you, worried I might bully your husband?”
With that, Chen Wen sat opposite Shen Du.
As they began a new game, Zhu Yan pressed her lips together and decided to stay. After all, the outcome of this match concerned her.
She sat down to watch silently. Though not well-versed in the intricacies of the game, she could discern who was winning and who was losing.
Time flowed across the black and white board, carrying them from noon to dusk.
The three games were lengthy, but the results were disappointing for Shen Du.
In all three games, Shen Du failed to secure a single victory.
Zhu Yan, who had accompanied them to the end, couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
She had never expected Shen Du to release her through a game of chess, even if he lost.
Counting the rays of the setting sun filtering through the leaves with her slender white fingers, she said languidly, “After all these years, your chess skills haven’t improved at all. If anything, they’ve regressed.”
“I agree. Secretary Shen’s chess skills are indeed mediocre,” Chen Wen remarked, smacking his lips and giving Shen Du a meaningful look. This little trick couldn’t escape his notice.
Shen Du’s pupils contracted sharply as he put the white pieces back into the wooden box. “Why do you keep saying such things? It’s as if we knew each other before.”
Zhu Yan calmly took out an exquisite silk pouch from her bosom, looking at Shen Du with a somber expression. “I suppose you’ve long since lost the token I gave you back then.”
Seeing the pouch in Zhu Yan’s hand, Shen Du’s eyes filled with surprise. As Zhu Yan emptied its contents into her palm…
Shen Du frowned. Years ago, when the Shen family was convicted and sent to the Imperial Harem, a little girl had visited him a few times. No one else had.
When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Who would want to associate with the son of a convicted criminal? The Imperial Harem was, after all, a place from which one could never rise again.
That little girl had been quite talkative, with her hair in double buns tied with red strings. Her features… At that time, he had been too immersed in the grief of his family’s downfall to remember the girl’s appearance clearly.
But this bronze whistle, he did remember. The girl had shown it to him, which was why he believed she wasn’t there to mock him. He had allowed her visits, but after he left the Imperial Harem, he never saw her again, nor did he hear any news of her.
So, that little girl from his memories, whose face was now a blur, who barely reached his chest and chattered incessantly… was Zhu Yan?
Shen Du snatched the bronze whistle from Zhu Yan’s hand, his heart trembling as he saw the character on the back.
A single “Shen” character, in his father’s handwriting.
He didn’t know whether to feel joy, sorrow, or excitement. He couldn’t even control his facial expressions.
Seeing Shen Du’s unusual reaction, Zhu Yan quickly reclaimed the token. “What are you doing? From your expression, it looks like you want to destroy it.”
Zhu Yan carefully put the token away, while Shen Du remained silent, just staring at her for a long time.
He had ignored young Zhu Yan’s chatter back then. Though he remembered that period in the Imperial Harem, he couldn’t recall how the bronze whistle made by his father had ended up in Zhu Yan’s possession.
However, he was too embarrassed to ask, especially with Chen Wen present. He’d have to wait for another opportunity.
As for the token Zhu Yan had given him all those years ago…