Prince Xiang stared at the rapidly retreating figure of the servant, with only one thought in mind: he would have this stupid slave killed later. He was the master of Prince Xiang’s mansion, who did these damned fools listen to?
He forgot, however, that it’s human nature: when shocking events occur, people in a daze often lose their judgment. At such times, if a person of high status makes a request, nine times out of ten, people will obediently comply.
Recently, the capital has been relatively peaceful. The cases that made it to the Shuntian Prefecture were mostly trivial matters – either Zhang’s man stealing Li’s wife, or Wang’s dog biting Zhao’s provocative goose to death. Zhen Shicheng spent his days listening to these boring cases, often dozing off.
Today, the weather was nice. Zhen Shicheng, having finished dealing with tedious affairs, sat by the window squinting in the sun when a yamen runner rushed in to report: “Sir, we have a case!”
Zhen Shicheng’s eyes snapped open, gleaming: “We have a case?”
The yamen runner nodded hurriedly: “Someone from Prince Xiang’s mansion has come to report. They say they’ve discovered a skeleton in an abandoned well in the prince’s mansion!”
Zhen Shicheng stood up abruptly, saying urgently: “Quickly, bring in the person reporting the case!”
A skeleton was discovered in an abandoned well in a prince’s mansion, and it had escalated to the point of being reported to the authorities – based on experience, this could be a major case!
Thinking this, Zhen Shicheng’s beard quivered with excitement.
Soon, a young man dressed as a servant was brought in by the yamen runner. Just as he was about to bow to Zhen Shicheng, he was stopped by the latter.
“Skip the formalities, tell me the specific situation.” In front of the person reporting the case, Zhen Shicheng strived to maintain a calm appearance, but his heart had already flown to Prince Xiang’s mansion.
The servant from Prince Xiang’s mansion hadn’t expected the renowned Prefect of Shuntian to be so efficient. He was stunned for a moment before recounting what he knew.
“So, all the princes are there?” Zhen Shicheng asked patiently after listening.
The servant from Prince Xiang’s mansion nodded hurriedly: “They’re all there.”
“Is Prince Yan there too?”
“He is. It was Prince Yan who ordered me to come and report the case—” Before he could finish speaking, the servant suddenly froze, then raised his hand and slapped himself.
Had his brain been covered in lard? His prince hadn’t given any orders yet, why had he rushed to report to Shuntian Prefecture?
It’s over, it’s over. The prince would surely not let him off when he returned!
The more the servant thought about it, the more panicked he became, repeatedly slapping himself.
Even though Zhen Shicheng was experienced and knowledgeable, at this moment he was stunned.
Had it been so long since a murder case occurred that he was no longer familiar with the situation? This was the first time he had seen someone reporting a case frantically slapping themselves.
“Call the coroner, we’re going to Prince Xiang’s mansion,” Zhen Shicheng ordered those around him, his feet moving swiftly towards the exit.
Seeing the Prefect of Shuntian leading a group of people hurrying away, the servant from Prince Xiang’s mansion rubbed his swollen face and quickly chased after them.
At Prince Xiang’s mansion, the atmosphere was not particularly pleasant.
“Seventh Brother, what do you mean by preventing my household servants from going down the well?” Prince Xiang’s eyes were slightly red as he stared at Yu Jin, who was blocking the well opening.
Yu Jin smiled: “Eighth Brother, don’t be agitated. I don’t mean anything by it. But since we’ve already reported to the authorities, let’s wait for Lord Zhen to arrive before we do anything. Until then, what we need to do is to protect the scene as much as possible.”
“This is my home!” Prince Xiang gritted his teeth, enunciating each word.
Yu Jin’s tone was calm: “Eighth Brother agreed to report to the authorities.”
“You!” Prince Xiang was furious.
Had he agreed? He had been forced!
Prince Qi gently patted Prince Xiang: “Eighth Brother, calm down a bit.”
Seeing Eighth Brother’s behavior, the skeleton in the well was likely related to him.
If so, it was even more important not to lose composure.
Prince Xiang caught Prince Qi’s eye signal and calmed his emotions a bit. He sneered: “Once Lord Zhen uncovers the truth, Seventh Brother will have to give me an explanation for today’s actions.”
Yu Jin innocently raised an eyebrow: “The skeleton was discovered in Eighth Brother’s abandoned well, not in my mansion. Why should I give Eighth Brother an explanation? Ah, I understand. Eighth Brother is angry that I insisted on reporting to the authorities, right? If that’s the case, shouldn’t Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother also give Eighth Brother an explanation?”
Prince Lu rolled his eyes: “My explanation is to tell Father Emperor.”
He was waiting for Eighth Brother to be in an even worse situation.
Prince Shu smiled: “It’s good if we can find out the truth.”
Eighth Brother was so uneasy, that it seemed there would be an interesting show to watch.
Who exactly was the skeleton in the well? A maid abused by Eighth Brother, or a young lady he had taken a fancy to outside?
As everyone was speculating wildly, a servant came running to report: “The Prefect of Shuntian has arrived!”
Prince Xiang’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly, dispelling that moment of stiffness, and he strode out.
The servant who had reported the case was already leading Zhen Shicheng this way.
Zhen Shicheng saw the princes from afar and cupped his hands in greeting.
Prince Xiang returned the greeting perfunctorily, his eyes fixed on Zhen Shicheng: “Lord Zhen, we inadvertently discovered dry bones in an abandoned well. We’ll have to trouble you with this matter.”
“Your Highness is too kind.” Zhen Shicheng exchanged pleasantries, then quickly walked past Prince Xiang, hurrying towards the dry well.
Prince Xiang’s face turned slightly green.
This Zhen fellow was so impatient, was he ill or something?
Zhen Shicheng had already reached the well’s edge and was peering down.
The abandoned well wasn’t very deep, and the light was good. A pair of empty eye sockets stared directly upwards as if silently telling their grievances to the blue sky and the great official.
Zhen Shicheng was familiar with and fond of this scene. He instructed his subordinates in a hoarse voice: “Carefully bring up the skeleton.”
Soon, a small-built yamen runner went down into the well and carefully brought up the skeleton.
Zhen Shicheng’s sharp eyes noticed a fresh fracture on one of the long bones. He shook his head: “The damage is quite severe.”
Yu Jin explained from the side: “Prince Lu fell in and crashed into it.”
Prince Lu: “…” That bastard Seventh Brother, would it kill him to say a bit less?
Zhen Shicheng looked deeply at Prince Lu, seeing that he seemed a bit embarrassed, and comforted him: “Your Highness has suffered.”
Prince Lu: ??
“A right-hand bone is still missing.”
Yu Jin turned sideways and pointed to the ground: “Fifth Brother brought it up.”
“Seventh Brother!” Prince Lu’s face reddened with embarrassment.
Zhen Shicheng looked deeply at Prince Lu again, somewhat dissatisfied with his actions: “Maintaining the integrity of the skeleton is very important. In the future, Your Highness, remember not to touch things carelessly if you encounter such a situation again.”
Prince Lu couldn’t help but roll up his sleeves.
Don’t stop him, he wanted to fight it out with Seventh Brother and that old man Zhen!
Soon, the coroner had a preliminary conclusion: “Reporting to Your Excellency, the skeleton appears to be that of a young woman. The bone color shows no signs of poisoning. Apart from a fresh fracture on the right arm bone, there are no old injuries. The cause of death was a broken neck…”
“What about the time of death?” Zhen Shicheng asked seriously.
Another female coroner spoke up: “Considering the good environment and the degree of skeletonization, the time of death should be between one to three years ago.”
Zhen Shicheng looked down, examining the clothing attached to the skeleton.
“Only undergarments… Go down to the well and see if there are any clothes or ornaments.”
Prince Xiang watched as Zhen Shicheng methodically arranged everything. His hands and feet turned cold, his heart pounding like a drum. It wasn’t until the yamen runner who had gone down to the well bottom came back to report that he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Reporting to Your Excellency, no clothes or ornaments were found at the bottom of the well.”