“A female corpse?”
The young eunuch was anxiously waiting at the palace gate, clearly indicating an urgent matter. Given Xu Qi An’s involvement, it must be related to the Favored Concubine Fu case. The female corpse was undoubtedly connected to this investigation.
Xu Qi An narrowed his eyes, a thought occurring to him: “Is it the missing palace maid from the Favored Concubine Fu case?”
The young eunuch was taken aback, genuinely impressed: “Sir, your deduction is truly remarkable. This humble servant is in awe of your wisdom.”
This comment was both flattery and a sincere compliment. After two days of observation, the young eunuch had discovered that Xu Qi An, despite his seemingly frivolous exterior, was an exceptionally intelligent constable.
This isn’t remarkable deduction, it’s just simple reasoning… Xu Qi An nodded and said, “Take me to see the body.”
The young eunuch hurriedly led the way.
“In which well was the body found?”
“In the backyard of Crab Pavilion.”
“Crab Pavilion?”
Xu Qi An thought to himself, what a strange name.
“Crab Pavilion is where the palace maids reside,” the young eunuch explained.
Palace maids were divided into different ranks. The high-ranking ones were called female officials and even had official titles and ranks, such as Beauty, Talented Lady, Imperial Concubine, and so on.
These palace maids had the potential to catch the Emperor’s eye and rise to prominence. Of course, during Emperor Yuanjing’s reign, none of them stood a chance of advancement.
The next tier consisted of maids who served the imperial consorts.
The lowest rank comprised the menial workers who lived in large dormitories.
Crab Pavilion was one such dormitory for palace maids.
As they walked and talked, they soon arrived at the morgue within the palace, located in a secluded courtyard to the south. This place was used to store the bodies of those executed, died from illness, or met with accidental death within the palace.
On a simple wooden board lay a slightly bloated corpse, swollen from being submerged in water.
“Go fetch some tools. I need to perform an autopsy,” Xu Qi An instructed.
He felt a spark of excitement. In his previous life, while working at the yamen, he was often assigned to observe autopsies and assist the coroners. He had accumulated a wealth of professional knowledge and experience.
From initial horror and nausea to gradual acceptance, and eventually being able to assist without flinching, Xu Qi An had discovered that he quite enjoyed performing autopsies.
Since coming to this world, he had encountered many cases, but opportunities for autopsies were rare.
“Favored Concubine Fu was the old emperor’s woman, I couldn’t touch her. But surely I can dissect this little palace maid… If only the body were a bit fresher,” he thought to himself as he began to remove the maid’s clothes.
“You scoundrel, you scoundrel! How dare you enter the palace without informing me…” Princess Lin’an’s cheerful voice came from outside, followed by a red figure dashing to the doorway.
“What are you doing?”
Lin’an’s bright smile froze as she saw Xu Qi An holding the female corpse’s undergarment.
Behind her, Princess Huai Qing, in a flowing white dress, stepped over the threshold. She glanced at Xu Qi An, then her gaze fell on the undergarment in his hand.
Slightly awkward… Xu Qi An maintained his composure and said, “Examining the body. I was planning to perform an autopsy.”
“Don’t touch such disgusting things!” Biaobiao stomped her feet repeatedly. She glanced at the corpse’s bare upper body and quickly averted her gaze.
Princess Huai Qing shared the same opinion and offered a suggestion: “Why not let the coroner handle this?”
Because I enjoy doing this… Xu Qi An shook his head solemnly and explained, “Your Highnesses, you know that this humble official is hands-on and meticulous in his work. If I can do something myself, I won’t delegate it to others. Some might see this as a commendable work ethic, but to me, it’s simply a matter of course.”
Biaobiao admired Xu Qi An’s work attitude. Huai Qing remained expressionless, seemingly unconvinced by his words.
“Your Highnesses, please return and have some tea. Wait for a moment, and don’t linger here,” Xu Qi An attempted to dismiss them.
Hearing this, Huai Qing didn’t leave. Instead, she gracefully walked to the corpse.
“The body was retrieved last night. After identifying her as Huang Xiaorou, Eunuch Chang took charge,” Huai Qing said. “I’d like to stay and observe. Perhaps we can find clues from the body.”
Huai Qing seemed interested in intellectual pursuits—chess, historical records, and now crime-solving… Xu Qi An turned his head, silently observing the princess’s clear, beautiful eyes.
Huai Qing’s gaze intensified as she met his eyes. Her voice had the quality of ice cubes clinking, extremely pleasing to the ear: “Hmm?”
That simple “hmm” conveyed the message: Young man, do you have an objection?
Xu Qi An averted his gaze from the princess’s flawless face and turned to Biaobiao, asking, “And what about the Second Princess?”
Biaobiao glanced at Huai Qing, hesitating before saying, “What’s the big deal? I’ll stay too.”
“Very well!”
Xu Qi An promptly stripped the female corpse.
Biaobiao’s face flushed red, then turned pale. She covered her face and left.
“Second Princess, aren’t you staying to watch?” Xu Qi An called out.
Biaobiao, still covering her face, mumbled, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving…”
Huai Qing glanced at the naked corpse. Although she hid it well, Xu Qi An could still detect embarrassment in her clear, limpid eyes.
This embarrassment was akin to watching a bedroom scene with one’s parents on television.
Perfect exterior, top-notch configuration, incredibly powerful core, but with almost zero mileage… Xu Qi An made a mental evaluation.
If Huai Qing were compared to a top-tier sports car, she’d be fresh off the production line.
Biaobiao, on the other hand, would be a model car—incredibly beautiful on the outside, but the interior… well, that’s another story.
However, for most men, it’s probably the type like Biaobiao—coquettish, ingratiating, and not overly intelligent—that’s more appealing.
“What’s this?” Huai Qing discovered a dull yellow silk fabric among Huang Xiaorou’s undergarments. It was embroidered with a vibrant red lotus and bore a small inscription: Spring of the 31st year of Yuanjing.
“She kept it close to her body even in death, indicating its extreme importance to her,” Huai Qing looked at Xu Qi An, as if seeking confirmation, and asked, “What does Sir Xu think?”
Xu Qi An nodded in agreement.
Huai Qing’s lips curved slightly.
“Since Your Highness is so astute, why don’t you examine this corpse and see what you can deduce?” Xu Qi An suggested.
Huai Qing glanced at him. Xu Qi An’s attitude seemed to be testing her, which made her suppress her smile and sparked a competitive spirit within her.
“Judging by the degree of paleness and bloating of the corpse, she wasn’t thrown into the well immediately after the incident,” Huai Qing deduced.
“Within two days,” Xu Qi An provided a more precise estimate.
“There are no obvious external injuries, so she likely drowned. She might have been knocked unconscious first,” the ethereally beautiful princess said, then instinctively looked at Xu Qi An.
Seeing his expressionless face and lack of response, the princess felt slightly displeased and subtly pouted when she lowered her head.
“Anything else?” Xu Qi An asked.
Huai Qing thought for a moment, then shook her head slightly.
“You missed the most crucial step. When examining a female corpse, even if there are obvious signs of death, one should never forget to check…” Xu Qi An raised an eyebrow at Huai Qing, grinning mischievously.
Huai Qing was momentarily confused, then, seeing Xu Qi An’s gaze fall on a forbidden area, her quick wit immediately grasped his meaning.
Whoosh…
Her fair face instantly flushed red. The princess’s delicate brows furrowed as she gritted her teeth, “Xu Ning Yan, you dare to tease me!”
Xu Qi An promptly apologized with a sincere attitude: “This humble official meant no offense. I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness.”
Huai Qing turned away, indicating she didn’t accept his apology, feeling quite angry inside.
Teasing the proud and aloof princess is far more satisfying than teasing Lin’an… The charm of Huai Qing when she’s angry has a unique flavor… Xu Qi An coughed and said:
“She did indeed drown, but not in the well. She was held underwater until she suffocated.”
“How can you tell?” Huai Qing didn’t believe him and turned back to question.
Hmm, as long as we’re discussing academic matters, she’ll temporarily set aside her anger… Even female scholars have their weaknesses… Xu Qi An mentally noted this while maintaining a calm exterior as he explained:
“Look at her face—it’s purplish-red. Normally, a drowning victim’s face would be pale and swollen. Only when someone is forcibly held underwater, head down, does blood flow back to the head at the time of death, causing facial congestion.”
Huai Qing furrowed her brow, deep in thought.
“There’s another point,” Xu Qi An grabbed the corpse’s wrist. “Look at her hands, tightly clenched into fists. This is consistent with drowning characteristics. But if you look closely, there’s no sand or moss in her nail beds.”
Huai Qing peered closer and indeed saw that the nail beds were clean.
“So this indicates she did drown, but not in the well?” she asked.
“Your Highness is truly brilliant. Compared to you, Princess Lin’an is but a child,” Xu Qi An bowed, expressing his admiration.
Although she knew he was flattering her, Huai Qing still felt pleased. Everyone enjoys compliments, even sages are no exception. Huai Qing had always been proud; outwardly, she might appear disdainful of flattery, but inwardly, she secretly enjoyed it.
Huai Qing responded with a dignified “Hmm.”
“Therefore, she was silenced,” the princess added shortly after.
Xu Qi An nodded, simultaneously hearing faint footsteps. He looked up towards the door and saw the young eunuch in the distance, carrying tools for the autopsy.
Hurried footsteps crossed the threshold. The young eunuch’s first reaction upon seeing the naked female corpse was to let out a shrill cry: “Ah!”
“Little eunuch, have you never seen a woman before? Come, come, let this official give you a lesson in anatomy,” Xu Qi An teased in the manner of an old rascal.
The young eunuch ignored him, looking somewhat embarrassed as he lowered his head and arranged the tools on the long table.
There were six knives in total, varying in size and thickness, wrapped in thick linen.
Xu Qi An wanted to lick his lips to express his inner anticipation, but feeling such a gesture might be too creepy to display in front of Huai Qing, he refrained.
Really now, when I’m indulging in my interesting hobbies, I don’t like having spectators… He selected a single-edged sharp knife about the size of a dagger, placed the tip at the corpse’s throat, and cut open the trachea.
A slightly murky stream of water flowed out.
“Ugh…”
As the tender red flesh was exposed, the young eunuch covered his mouth, unable to suppress his retching.
Xu Qi An then switched to a larger knife, cutting open the chest, then the lungs…
“Ugh…” The young eunuch fled the scene.
Can’t handle even this much? Indeed, giving a eunuch an anatomy lesson is truly a case of ‘cock-a-doodle-don’t’.
Princess Huai Qing’s jade-like face displayed a vivid expression—horror and disgust. Her eyelashes trembled as she averted her gaze.
“There’s water in the lungs too. We can confirm the cause of death as drowning,” Xu Qi An said, putting down the knife.
Huai Qing nodded, asking, “Is there anything else that needs to be examined?”
“No, Your Highness. Let’s leave,” Xu Qi An said, suddenly exclaiming, “Oh?”
Huai Qing, who had already turned to leave, looked back, her delicate brows suddenly furrowing: “What are you doing?”
Xu Qi An was fondling the corpse’s left breast, or at least that’s how it appeared to Huai Qing.
“She’s been injured,” Xu Qi An frowned, speaking as he forcefully lifted the breast to show Huai Qing the area underneath.
Huai Qing was stunned.
This palace maid called Huang Xiaorou had a deep scar under her left breast, directly over her heart.
She immediately realized she had misjudged Xu Qi An and understood his confusion:
How could a palace maid sustain such a dangerous injury? Surprisingly, she had even survived it?
Xu Qi An spread the coarse linen again, gripped the largest knife, and following the scar, cut open the female corpse’s chest.
Huai Qing looked as if she both wanted to see and feared the sight would be too gruesome.
Xu Qi An removed the heart, squinting at it for a moment before considerately saying, “Judging from the scar, the wound was very deep. The weapon was likely scissors or some other sharp object. It reached the heart; she should have died from massive blood loss.”
Huai Qing nodded, her gaze turning towards the door as she analyzed, “The medicine capable of healing such a wound is only available to the Empress and consorts of the Noble Consort rank in the harem.
“For others to obtain such life-saving elixirs, they’d need the Empress’s permission, or have received a reward from the Emperor himself, without needing to requisition from the storehouse.”
The “others” she mentioned naturally didn’t include princes and princesses.
The two left the morgue. There was a well in the courtyard where Xu Qi An drew a bucket of clear water and carefully washed his hands.
Then, he vigorously scrubbed the yellow silk fabric found on the corpse and spread it out to dry by the well.
“Inform the morgue attendant that I still need that corpse. Have it sent to the ice cellar,” Xu Qi An dismissed the young eunuch.
“Xu Ning Yan, draw a bucket of water for me,” Princess Huai Qing stood gracefully to the side.
Based on her form of address, Xu Qi An deduced that her mood was relatively good at the moment. When she was being polite and distant, she called him “Sir Xu”. When angry, she used “Xu Ning Yan”.
Right now, Huai Qing’s tone certainly wasn’t angry, so this “Xu Ning Yan” had a hint of friendly familiarity to it.
Xu Qi An drew a bucket of water for her. Huai Qing crouched down, rolled up her long sleeves, and immersed her fair, slender hands in the water, her jade-like fingers long and well-proportioned.
What beautiful hands… he thought to himself.
After soaking her hands, Huai Qing took out an embroidered handkerchief to dry them, saying, “I’ll take you to the Imperial Pharmacy.”
Xu Qi An was about to nod when a thought suddenly occurred to him: why dump the body in the well at Crab Pavilion?
The imperial palace had dozens of wells at least, some in more secluded locations, like in the Cold Palace or the well right here by the morgue.
“Let’s go to Crab Pavilion first.”
Lin’an, seeing the two emerge from a distance, approached with light steps, asking, “Did you find anything?”
“Indeed, we made some discoveries.” Xu Qi An told her about the findings from the autopsy. Lin’an nodded as she listened, her small face very focused, but as soon as Xu Qi An finished, her attention immediately shifted, clearly having let the information go in one ear and out the other.
Lin’an pointed at the pale yellow silk drying by the well, exclaiming with delight, “You scoundrel, doesn’t that lotus on it look like the one you—”
Before she could finish, Xu Qi An suddenly let out an agonized cry, clutching his head and rolling on the ground.
Biaobiao and Huai Qing were startled, urgently asking, “What’s wrong with you?”
“My head, my head hurts so much…” Xu Qi An painfully clutched his head, even letting his sable hat fall off, exposing his bald pate, indicating he was truly in excruciating pain.
“Wait here, I’ll go fetch the Imperial Physician right away,” Biaobiao said, anxiously stamping her feet. She turned and ran off, swaying her slender waist.
Seeing that her annoying sister had left, Princess Huai Qing finally dropped her aloof demeanor and crouched beside him, checking his pulse: “I have some medical knowledge…”
Feeling his pulse, it was indeed racing, suggesting Constable Xu’s heart rate had accelerated.
“Your Highness…” Xu Qi An grasped Huai Qing’s delicate hand, saying painfully, “Since entering the Spirit Cultivation realm, this humble official has been plagued by frequent headaches. Duke Wei said it’s due to the restlessness of my primordial spirit, and I might die from spirit dissipation at any moment.”
Huai Qing was greatly shocked. She hadn’t known about this, which is why she didn’t immediately withdraw her hand.
When Biaobiao returned to the courtyard after instructing the guards to summon the Imperial Physician, she found Xu Qi An calmly dusting off his clothes.
The annoying Huai Qing was crouched by the wooden bucket, washing her hands.
“You’re fine now?” Biaobiao asked in bewilderment.
“It’s nothing, just a bout of pain. It passes quickly,” Xu Qi An waved his hand, looking weary.
Whew… that was a close call. Good thing I reacted quickly. Otherwise, if the sisters found out I’d written them the same love letter and given them the same lotus petal, Huai Qing wouldn’t stand for it, and neither would Biaobiao… My favorability would have plummeted… Xu Qi An congratulated himself on his smooth handling of the situation. Not only had he stabilized things, but he’d even managed to hold Huai Qing’s hand… He mentally applauded himself.
Huai Qing kept her head down, silent. Her small hand was flushed red, as if still retaining Xu Qi An’s warmth.
Biaobiao eyed him suspiciously.
…
Crab Pavilion was on the western side of the imperial palace, far from the cluster of consorts’ palaces. It was a large courtyard house.
At this hour, the palace maids had already left Crab Pavilion to work in various parts of the palace. Only a matron in charge remained, basking in the early spring sunshine on a large chair.
The age spots on her face were clearly visible in the sunlight. Her body was plump and shapeless, her hair graying, with a simple jade hairpin stuck in it.
“Matron Rong, Matron Rong…”
The young eunuch called out several times before the old matron slowly awakened.
Matron Rong?!
Xu Qi An’s childhood memories were stirred, and a famous line involuntarily floated through his mind:
Your Majesty, do you still remember Matron Rong by Daming Lake?
“The two princesses have arrived,” the young eunuch announced.
Matron Rong focused her gaze and indeed saw the two most beautiful princesses of the palace arriving together.
She rose with an agility that belied her age, bowing and calling out, “This old servant pays respects to the two princesses.”
Huai Qing looked at her and said, “I’m accompanying Sir Xu to investigate a case. It concerns the female corpse retrieved from the well today. Tell us what you know.”
Matron Rong nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Xu Qi An broke his silence and asked, “Who retrieved the body, and when was it discovered?”
“It was Xiaoyu who found it. This morning, she went to draw water from the well and noticed the sound of the bucket hitting the water was off, somewhat muffled. She peered into the well for a long time, and oh my, it turned out to be a corpse,” the old matron recounted, her expression animated.
Xu Qi An pointed at the stone well under the locust tree: “Is that the one?”
“Yes, indeed.”
He walked to the well and looked down. The well shaft was deep and dim, the water like a mirror.
With ordinary eyesight, it would indeed take a long time to discern a corpse in such a dark well.
“No one noticed yesterday?” Xu Qi An frowned.
The body of palace maid Huang Xiaorou had definitely been in the water for over 24 hours.
“Speaking of which, it’s infuriating. This morning when they found a dead body in the well, those stupid girls finally mentioned that the water had sounded strange the day before yesterday…” The old matron became angry as she spoke of this, cursing:
“Not one of them thought to take a closer look. They made this old servant drink corpse water for two days.”
Biaobiao looked disgusted.
Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched. “Matron, do you know this Huang Xiaorou?”
The old matron was taken aback: “Huang what?”
Xu Qi An said, “Huang Xiaorou.”
The matron widened her eyes: “What Xiaorou?”
Xu Qi An angrily retorted, “I’m not asking you about Ma Dongmei, you don’t need to respond like that.”
The matron thought for a long time before suddenly realizing: “This old servant was just double-checking. Huang Xiaorou, yes, this old servant knows her, knows her indeed.”
Huai Qing’s eyes lit up as she grasped why Xu Qi An had wanted to come to Crab Pavilion.
What a mind this little constable has, so quick-witted.
“You know her?” Xu Qi An prompted, “She was a maid serving Favored Concubine Fu. How could you possibly know her?”