It was now midnight, with four hours remaining until dawn.
About half an hour later, a carriage and several fast horses stopped at the alley entrance. Soon, heavy and chaotic footsteps approached the residence’s entrance. Zhao Yu and Yan Chi, waiting in the wind and snow, quickly turned at the sound. Their expressions changed simultaneously at what they saw.
The people arriving were Qin Shu and Madam Hu, along with their families. Madam Hu was shocked, and supported by Qin Shu, with Qin Yan and Qin Yi following behind them. Several guards from the Marquis’s manor followed, with Zhao Yu’s dispatched guard at the rear. Seeing the entire family appear, Yan Chi frowned slightly.
Zhao Yu asked in surprise, “Why have the Marquis and Madam come?”
Madam Hu, red-eyed, held the jewelry that the guard had taken to the Marquis’s manor earlier.
Hearing this, Madam Hu’s lips trembled speechlessly. Her gaze fell on the charred bodies covered by felt blankets on the ground, and she screamed before falling backward. Qin Yan and Qin Yi hurried to support her, and she leaned against Qin Yan, breaking into loud sobs.
“My Yu’er… how could you be so desperate…”
Madam Hu’s reaction clearly showed she believed the bodies to be Qin Chaoyu. Yan Chi stepped forward, “Why did you all come?”
Today was Yan Chi and Qin Wan’s wedding night – Yan Chi had only brought Qin Wan home earlier that day, yet now they met again under such circumstances.
Qin Shu spoke with dark eyes, “We had already retired when we heard the Imperial Guards had come to visit. When we saw the jewelry they brought, we immediately recognized it as Yu’er’s. Before Yu’er’s marriage, we had specially commissioned a set of jewelry for her from the finest craftsmen in Jinxiu District. To match the ‘Yu’ in her name, each hairpin had feather patterns at the end. Her mother recognized them instantly. When we heard from the Imperial Guard about finding two bodies, we rushed over…”
Zhao Yu listened in astonishment, turning back to look at the bodies on the ground. Though burned beyond recognition, their general build was visible. Looking now, even Zhao Yu began to think these might indeed be Qin Chaoyu, “But… this is impossible, why…”
The wind and snow were heavy. The Qin family had come without umbrellas, and Madam Hu only wore an additional cloak. She wept uncontrollably, “I always said Yu’er couldn’t have fled the palace willingly. She… she must have been forced… She was murdered!”
Madam Hu tried to throw herself at the bodies, but Qin Yan quickly held her back, “Mother, the faces are unrecognizable – it might not be Sister!”
Madam Hu continued crying, “These pieces were your sister’s favorites. If it wasn’t her, how could they be here?”
Yan Chi’s eyes narrowed instantly. Only he was certain the Crown Prince and Empress had already left the capital. If Qin Chaoyu had gone with them, surely she would have taken her jewelry. Yet now, there were two female bodies, and the jewelry and jade pieces were left here – it was too strange.
The already tragic scene became even more sorrowful with Madam Hu’s wailing. Though the Marquis’s family had arrived quickly, they didn’t know when the coroner from the prefecture office would come. Learning this, Madam Hu looked pleadingly at Yan Chi, “Prince Rui, where is Wan’er? Let Wan’er come, let her see if this is her sister.”
Though frightened and distraught, Madam Hu remembered that Qin Wan was the best coroner in Great Zhou. However, how could Qin Wan come here?
“The Imperial Grandmother is critically ill. The Emperor just had her summoned to the palace to treat the Imperial Grandmother.”
At these words, Madam Hu was both surprised and desperate. Qin Shu was also stunned – the Empress Dowager was critically ill?!
Qin Yan and the others were momentarily speechless. Clearly, this night was not peaceful, with incidents in the palace as well. Under these circumstances, they could only wait.
The wind and snow were too heavy. The carriage couldn’t enter the narrow alley, and while the men could endure, Madam Hu could not.
Soon, Madam Hu was swaying in the bitter wind. Qin Shu had no choice but to take her back to the carriage with his son’s help.
As the Qin family left, Zhao Yu grew impatient, “Your Highness, we can’t confirm anything here yet. Why don’t I leave two men to watch, and we go see how the interrogation is proceeding? Whether these bodies are the Crown Prince’s Consort or not, what’s most urgent now is finding out where the Empress and Crown Prince are.”
Yan Chi didn’t object to this suggestion, “Very well, let’s go check.”
With this decided, Zhao Yu left only two Imperial Guards behind and accompanied Yan Chi out. At the alley entrance, Madam Hu was still crying in the carriage. Seeing Zhao Yu and Yan Chi approach, she cried even harder. Zhao Yu explained they had urgent matters to attend to, and the Marquis and his wife had no choice but to let Yan Chi leave.
Mounting their horses, everyone’s shoulders were covered in snow. Zhao Yu raised his whip, showing signs of urgency.
Yan Chi followed on horseback, his gaze fixed in the distance, “You seem very worried.”
Zhao Yu pressed his lips together, “We’ve been searching for days without finding any trace of the Empress and Crown Prince. Of course, I’m anxious. Now with these two bodies discovered, I worry the Empress and Crown Prince have already left the city. The Marquis’s wife’s words made me think – if the Crown Prince’s Consort left the palace with the Empress and Crown Prince but regretted it after learning of their treasonous plans, could the Empress and Crown Prince have…”
This theory made sense, and it was what Madam Hu had implied earlier.
Yan Chi didn’t respond immediately. Looking up, he saw they had arrived at the Southern City Patrol’s temporary command post.
This was a guard station two streets away from the city gate, normally used by the Nine Cities Patrol. But since the Imperial Guard took charge of the search, it had been requisitioned by the Imperial Palace Guards. Usually, Zhao Yu and Yan Chi would command from here, with all information from across the capital being sent to this location.
In the wind and snow, the station’s main gate was slightly closed, the interior completely dark without any lights.
Yan Chi reined his horse at the gate, frowning, “Where is everyone?”
Zhao Yu quickly replied, “Everyone’s been sent out tonight. The people we just caught are being interrogated in the back courtyard.”
Yan Chi didn’t suspect anything, dismounted, and strode forward. Pushing open the main gate, he walked in without hesitation. The courtyard before the main hall was also pitch black. Yan Chi didn’t enter the main hall but followed the corridor outside it through a side door toward the back courtyard.
Entering the back courtyard, he saw only a dim yellow light in the main room of the three-sided compound.
Yan Chi moved forward without thinking, but Zhao Yu slowly came to a stop. At the doorway, Yan Chi paused slightly and looked back, “What’s wrong?”
Zhao Yu stood more than ten paces away from Yan Chi, looked at him for a moment, and then suddenly said, “Your Highness, I’m sorry.”