A corpse was the most honest evidence of all, and also the most silent—only a coroner could speak on its behalf.
With Ziqing making such a request, if Emperor Tianhui refused now, wouldn’t that publicly signal that he feared this wretched girl?
He said coldly once more, simply shifting the responsibility onto Jiang Jingbo with a single word: “Minister Jiang.”
That eunuch among the palace guards had already been dealt with, and the capital magistrate had already been properly bribed into silence—Han Ziqing’s guilt on the murder charge was, as far as he was concerned, already a lost cause. Since she was so insistent on investigating the guards’ murder anyway, and it had nothing to do with Consort Yi regardless, why not simply indulge her request?
Besides, Consort Yi herself was rather curious to know exactly who had possessed the audacity to kill her own men.
Noticing Emperor Tianhui’s expression on the verge of exploding with fury, Jiang Jingbo no longer hesitated. “This official isn’t certain who exactly Her Highness the Princess Consort wishes to summon—the position of coroner is a matter of great responsibility, one that cannot be handled carelessly!”
“Song Ci,” Ziqing said flatly.
The moment these words left her mouth, the entire hall erupted into astonished murmurs. Emperor Tianhui practically ground his teeth, muttering under his breath, “Fourth Son!”
Song Ci was renowned throughout the realm as the most celebrated coroner alive, serving no particular court or kingdom—securing his services was no simple matter at all!
There could no longer be any doubt—all of this had clearly been meticulously prepared well in advance. He absolutely refused to believe Han Ziqing could possibly have arranged all this on her own while imprisoned—this had to be his fourth son’s doing, without question!
Eunuch Yin, witnessing the Emperor’s fury reach such unprecedented heights for the very first time, hurried forward with tea, genuinely worried the Emperor might lose all restraint and personally kick Han Ziqing right where she stood!
“Surely Song Ci wouldn’t handle this carelessly?”
Ziqing asked with genuine seriousness. These past two days, Hongyi had come to deliver her three meals daily, and on the very first day had relayed the exact contents of the memorial Jun Beiyue had seen in the imperial study—all of this had been arranged entirely at her own instruction to Hongyi.
Though securing Song Ci’s services was difficult, doing so under the name of Prince Yao’s residence remained entirely possible!
However difficult this case might be to investigate, with the leads she’d provided, she refused to believe the Court of Judicial Review couldn’t crack it!
Beneath that obedient, seemingly harmless exterior, Ziqing truly was a needle concealed within cotton! She, of course, hadn’t noticed the injured man standing not far away, his eyes twitching visibly.
“Certainly not carelessly—summon him!” Jiang Jingbo declared loudly, immediately sending men to bring several bodies up from the morgue into the hall.
Song Ci, in his early forties, bore a face as stern and forbidding as an underworld judge’s, matching his reputation perfectly—rigorous and by-the-book. He bowed respectfully to Emperor Tianhui without a trace of servility, nodded briefly to Ziqing, and immediately donned a pair of gloves.
Soon, several bodies, each covered head to toe in white cloth, were carried one by one into the hall. An overwhelming stench immediately filled the air, and out of deference to Emperor Tianhui’s presence, no one dared leave, though everyone covered their noses, faces twisted with disgust, unable to bring themselves to look directly at the bodies—some even retched openly on the spot!
Ziqing, feigning fear, covered her nose and retreated to one side, then added, “Minister Jiang, might Young Master Chen’s body also be brought forward alongside these others?”
Jiang Jingbo complied, having Young Master Chen’s body placed separately on the other side of the hall.
The vast hall was soon completely filled with bodies, an unbroken sea of white cloth covering the floor. The room fell into a deathly silence, the eerie, oppressive atmosphere sending chills down everyone’s spine, no one daring to look at the bodies for too long.
With all the bodies now brought forward and Song Ci ready to begin, all eyes turned to Ziqing—even Emperor Tianhui, despite his fury, raised an eyebrow and waited expectantly, as though she were no longer the accused, but rather the presiding official conducting the trial herself!
“Coroner Song, I wish to know the exact time of death for both Young Master Chen and this group of guards, along with the precise cause of death,” Ziqing said earnestly.
“The gap between them likely isn’t very large.”
Song Ci alone among everyone present seemed entirely unbothered by the overwhelming stench of decay, instead sniffing carefully and thoughtfully—with his extensive experience, he could roughly estimate the time of death from the smell alone!
As Song Ci spoke, he began examining Young Master Chen’s body. The moment the white cloth was pulled back, the entire hall gasped in horror—the body had already decomposed severely, bloated almost beyond recognition!
Nearly everyone present covered their mouths and noses, turning away entirely, wanting nothing to do with the examination process itself, let alone witnessing it firsthand—they wanted only the final results, and as quickly as possible!
Ziqing, too, appeared thoroughly horrified, retreating to the edge of the hall, yet her sharp eyes never once left Song Ci. She could tell he was estimating the time based on lividity, rigor mortis, and body temperature.
After examining both sets of remains for quite some time, Song Ci finally reported to Emperor Tianhui, “Your Majesty, the time of death for Young Master Chen and this group of guards falls remarkably close together—no more than three hours apart at most. The guards died first, followed shortly after by Young Master Chen. Furthermore, the cause of death is identical in every case—a single fatal sword strike to the throat. Whoever committed these killings possesses considerable skill.”
“Young Master Chen died on the night of the twenty-eighth of last month—which would mean these guards died sometime in the early evening of that same day? That’s precisely the day of the Nation’s Beauty incident.”
Ziqing’s delicate brows furrowed, and she turned toward Emperor Tianhui, continuing earnestly, “Your Majesty, Ziqing recalls that after returning home that day, she didn’t leave the residence until nightfall—and in fact, two nannies came to check on her that very evening. Might Your Majesty summon these two nannies before the court?”
“Summon them!” Emperor Tianhui said coldly, and by this point everyone present had entirely fallen into step with Ziqing’s line of reasoning, treating her as though she were the presiding advocate herself.
The two nannies arrived, visibly trembling. Ziqing said earnestly, “Minister Jiang, perhaps it would be more appropriate for you to conduct this particular questioning.”
Only then did Jiang Jingbo fully snap back to attention, remembering his own role, immediately asking sternly, “The two of you—on the evening of the twenty-eighth, did you witness Her Highness the Princess Consort still at the residence?”
“That day, after Her Highness returned to the residence, she didn’t leave until very, very late in the evening,” the elderly nanny answered timidly.
The moment these words left her mouth, Consort Yi immediately spoke up, pressing hard. “So then, on the very night Young Master Chen died, Han Ziqing, you were not at the Han residence at all? Where exactly did you go?”
“Ziqing was utterly heartbroken that day, and walked alone along Vermilion Bird Avenue. I didn’t return home until nearly dawn,” Ziqing answered.
“Heh, and do you have any witnesses to confirm this?” Consort Yi scoffed coldly.
“Consort Yi, Ziqing has no obligation to prove where she was during that time. What Ziqing wishes to point out instead is this: Young Master Chen died that very night, while the guards were killed in the early evening. Ziqing herself didn’t leave the residence until evening—how, then, could she possibly have had the time to go threaten Young Master Chen beforehand? Unless Ziqing somehow knew about that incident before the Nation’s Beauty affair had even occurred?”
As Ziqing spoke, she turned to look directly at the elderly Chen couple, and the two of them immediately collapsed backward, their faces turning utterly pale!
Only now did everyone present finally grasp the full significance of what Ziqing had accomplished through this examination: first, she had proven the witnesses had lied outright; and second, she had provided the Court of Judicial Review with a crucial lead—that the same person had murdered both Young Master Chen and the guards!
Now, with the physical evidence exposed as fraudulent and the witness testimony proven false, even Emperor Tianhui himself could no longer convict her of any crime!
She had thoroughly cleared her own name, overturning the Court of Judicial Review’s supposedly airtight witness testimony and physical evidence with conclusive proof of their falsehood!
Amid the swirling murmurs of astonishment, Ziqing remained composed and demure as ever, turning to Emperor Tianhui. “Your Majesty, this is precisely why Ziqing cannot yet accept this outcome in her heart. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth clearly.”
“Crack!” Emperor Tianhui slammed his palm down on the table, his mood shifting faster than the turn of a page, roaring furiously, “Jiang Jingbo, how exactly have you been handling this case? Whose men were these guards, and what business did they have at the Chen residence in the first place? And as for the credibility of this so-called physical evidence—you never even bothered to properly verify it before submitting a memorial flatly declaring Prince Yao’s Consort guilty? Do you have any idea how severe a crime it is to falsely accuse a member of the imperial family?”
The moment these words left his mouth, Consort Yi was the most alarmed of all—the Emperor was clearly seizing this opportunity to take down Jiang Jingbo entirely! How could he do this?