Xu Qi An casually agreed when Princess Biaobiao mentioned her elder brother the Crown Prince’s womanizing tendencies. She mistakenly thought he had solved the case.
“It’s too early to determine if His Highness the Crown Prince is innocent or not,” Xu Qi An shook his head.
The saying goes that alcohol loosens inhibitions. When men drink too much, they tend to get carried away and do things they wouldn’t dare do when sober. If the situation was truly as Lin’an described, with the Crown Prince always being cautious and walking on eggshells, such repression could lead to a more intense outburst when drunk.
“Why does Her Highness think the Fourth Prince and the Empress are framing the Crown Prince?” Xu Qi An asked, both out of curiosity and for the investigation.
The Fourth Prince was Princess Huaiqing’s full brother, both born to the Empress. Although the Fourth Prince wasn’t the eldest son, he was still a son of the main wife. Logically, he should have a more legitimate claim than Lin’an’s brother.
However, due to the dispute over succession two hundred years ago, which was still recorded in history books and remained a significant event in the minds of scholars in Great Feng, there was a psychological shadow cast over the issue of succession.
Therefore, there wasn’t much issue with Emperor Yuanjing establishing his eldest son from a concubine as the Crown Prince.
“The Empress naturally wants the Fourth Prince to become Crown Prince. Let me tell you, among all the princes, only the Fourth Prince and my elder brother the Crown Prince care about state affairs. If the Fourth Prince didn’t want to be Crown Prince, why would he be so enthusiastic?” Biaobiao explained.
“With a son from the main wife present, it is indeed somewhat irregular for His Majesty to establish the eldest son from a concubine as Crown Prince,” Xu Qi An spoke freely in front of Biaobiao.
These words, even with the protection of his official investigation, were not something he could easily ask others. But in front of Biaobiao, he could speak without restraint.
They were on the same side, after all.
“It’s because my mother was the most favored and the most beautiful back then,” Biaobiao raised her chin proudly, her face as pretty as a painting.
Based on what I saw at the ancestral worship ceremony, the Empress clearly surpassed Noble Consort Chen in beauty. Her demeanor, her features, even though she had passed the prime of a woman’s beauty, the charm in her eyes and brows still far exceeded that of ordinary beauties… If the Empress were twenty years younger, her beauty might even surpass that of Lin’an and Huaiqing…
However, being favored isn’t just about looks. There are many factors involved, such as personality, tactics, and certain… techniques. In short, it’s complicated.
Does Emperor Yuanjing dislike the Empress that much? To establish a son from a concubine as Crown Prince?
Seeing Xu Qi An lost in thought, Biaobiao suddenly became wary: “Do you think Huaiqing might be secretly manipulating things behind the scenes?”
Xu Qi An looked at the Second Princess’s peach blossom-like radiant face and asked in return, “What if she is?”
Biaobiao first raised her delicate eyebrows, like a proud little hen, but then deflated, her brows and eyes drooping:
“I have to admit, Huaiqing is deeply scheming and despicable…”
She said dejectedly, “I can’t outmaneuver her.”
Hmm, being able to openly admit in front of me that she can’t beat her nemesis Huaiqing shows that the Princess is trusting me more and more… Xu Qi An nodded slightly, somewhat satisfied.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a twinge in his heart, knowing that someone had appeared in the Earth Book chat group.
“Your Highness, I need to visit the privy. Please wait a moment,” Xu Qi An stood up and left the hall directly.
The young eunuch waiting outside saw him come out and immediately moved to follow, but seeing Xu Qi An heading towards the privy, he stopped and gave up following.
Entering the privy, Xu Qi An took out the small jade mirror and checked the message content.
[Six: Golden Lotus Daoist, could you please block the others for me? I have something I want to say to Number Three.]
What does Hengyuan want with me…
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society saw Number Six’s message with mixed feelings. After the previous messages, some had already guessed that Number Three was the cousin of the Xu Qi An who had perished in Yunzhou.
Probably only Number Five remained calm and clear-minded, without many “distracting thoughts.”
Number Four thought: The constable named Xu Qi An just perished, and now Hengyuan is seeking a “private chat” with Number Three. It seems he has also guessed Number Three’s true identity.
Number Two, Li Miaozheng, saw this message and felt a bit sad. They all thought Number Three was Xu Qi An’s cousin, but in fact, Number Three was Xu Qi An himself.
And he had already perished in Yunzhou.
There would no longer be a Number Three in the Heaven and Earth Society.
Number One lurked without commenting. Number Five didn’t think much about it at all, glancing at the message content before tossing the Earth Book fragment aside.
[Nine: Alright.]
Li Miaozheng was stunned, then realized that Golden Lotus Daoist probably wanted to explain this matter to Number Six privately.
In the Heaven and Earth Society, Golden Lotus Daoist was the only one who knew everyone’s identities.
Xu Qi An waited for a few seconds and saw Hengyuan’s message on the jade mirror: [Number Three, I want to see Lord Xu one last time.]
Why are you messaging me about this… Oh, Hengyuan doesn’t know I’ve been revived… Xu Qi An carefully crafted his reply:
[He has already been revived. If you want to see him, you can go to the Night Watchmen’s Office to find him.]
The other side was silent for a long, long time. Finally, three words came: [Is it true.]
In just these three words, Xu Qi An could feel Master Hengyuan’s excitement, joy, and disbelief. He had held back for so long, only to squeeze out these three words.
[Yes.]
Xu Qi An’s reply was equally simple and powerful.
[No wonder you wouldn’t see me. This poor monk even harbored resentment earlier, which was sinful, sinful indeed. Lord Xu is a good person, and good people will be rewarded. Amitabha, this monk is overjoyed, truly overjoyed.]
At this point, Xu Qi An briefly explained to Master Hengyuan how his “cousin” had been revived.
[Master, I don’t want my identity to be revealed. I hope that if we happen to meet in the future, we can just exchange a smile as strangers.]
[This monk understands.]
Hmm, you can smile at the Second Young Master then. I’m sorry, Master, but I had no choice before. Now, I don’t want to face social death again.
Putting away the Earth Book fragment, he returned to the hall where Biaobiao complained, “You took so long.”
“I was thinking about the case just now, and got lost in thought,” Xu Qi An casually explained, then said, “Your Highness, I’m going to examine Consort Fu’s body next. Would you like to come?”
Biaobiao immediately stood up, “Mm-hmm.”
…
Consort Fu’s body was stored in the palace’s ice cellar. Judging by Emperor Yuanjing’s stance, Consort Fu would not be able to rest in peace until the case was solved.
Holding the golden token, Xu Qi An was led by Biaobiao and a young eunuch to the ice cellar. The eunuch on duty guided them inside.
In the cold ice cellar, Consort Fu lay quietly on a wooden board, covered with a white cloth.
Biaobiao shivered slowly, tightening her fox fur cloak.
“Princess, why don’t you wait outside?” Xu Qi An was concerned about her catching a cold and also considered that Biaobiao might not have seen a corpse before.
Biaobiao stubbornly shook her head, “I want to be involved too, to do something for my elder brother the Crown Prince.”
Xu Qi An instructed the young eunuch to lift the white cloth, then, taking advantage of no one paying attention, he quickly grasped the Princess’s delicate hand, infusing his qi into her.
Biaobiao’s body stiffened, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand away, as if stung by a scorpion.
But that rough, warm large hand held hers firmly like an iron band. Feelings of shyness welled up in her heart. She, the noble Second Princess, her pure and unblemished body, had never been touched by a man before.
How could he do this… Biaobiao felt shy, angry, and wronged all at once.
The next moment, a warm flow surged from her palm, flowing along her slender arm, warming her entire body and dispelling the cold of the ice cellar.
She no longer felt cold and even wanted to stretch lazily.
The dog slave’s low voice came to her ear: “Your Highness, the ice cellar is bitterly cold. If you won’t leave, this humble official can only use this method.
“Although investigating the case is of utmost importance, it’s nothing compared to Your Highness’s precious body.”
He’s holding my hand to ward off the cold… Compared to my body, the investigation is nothing… Biaobiao loved hearing sweet words, and her anger immediately dissipated, though she was still shy.
Guiltily glancing at the two eunuchs in front, she lightly spat and then inconspicuously moved closer to Xu Qi An, using her spacious cloak to hide their joined hands from view.
My goodness, the Princess’s little hand is so soft, smooth, and tender… Xu Qi An thought.
When flirting with girls, one must be proactive and bold, occasionally teasing them. Over time, it will leave a deep impression on them.
Of course, this only works with some innocent girls. If the other party is a high-mileage car with spare tires hanging all over, then this approach isn’t suitable.
The method for that is simple: directly crash into her taillights with a luxury car’s front end.
“Lord Xu, please look,” the young eunuch lifted the white cloth, not daring to look at Consort Fu’s body, and retreated to the side.
Xu Qi An released Lin’an’s delicate hand and walked to the side of the corpse, examining the ill-fated consort.
She was a beautiful woman. Although her pale face diminished her beauty, her features were quite alluring. She wore a white single-layer garment, her figure curvaceous.
Xu Qi An reached out to undo Consort Fu’s clothes, but was stopped by the young eunuch, who shook his head with a terrified expression: “Lord Xu, you mustn’t…”
As expected, it’s still not allowed… I even wanted to dissect her… Xu Qi An understood and turned to the eunuch guarding the ice cellar, saying:
“Bring me the autopsy report and case files to look at.”
The eunuch immediately left and shortly returned with the documents, handing them to Xu Qi An.
No signs of sexual assault… Blue and purple bruises on the wrists and arms from being gripped… Clothes disheveled at time of death, showing signs of violent tearing… Hair disheveled at time of death, consistent with signs of resisting violence…
Attempted rape, death by falling… Xu Qi An made an initial judgment.
Continuing to read, an inconspicuous record caught his attention:
Face up at time of death!
Hmm? Face up at time of death?
Typically, when people jump to their death, they face the ground and leap forward. Those dramatic backward jumps facing the crowd seen in TV dramas are actually rare.
Therefore, people who fall to their death usually end up face down, back up.
Of course, if it’s a tall building, the body might rotate during the fall due to air resistance and wind force.
But according to the case file, Consort Fu fell from a pavilion two and a half stories high. At that height, the posture at the time of jumping would likely be the same as the posture upon landing.
Was she pushed down by the Crown Prince?
This doesn’t fit with the judgment that Consort Fu jumped to her death to avoid humiliation… If the Crown Prince wanted to taste his father’s exclusive delicacy, there’s no reason to push her down. Though, it’s possible that in a fit of drunken rage, he might have had violent tendencies.
Thinking of this, Xu Qi An reached out towards Consort Fu’s body again.
“Lord Xu!” The young eunuch stopped him, warning, “You must not disturb Consort Fu’s remains.”
This was His Majesty’s woman. Even in death, her body was not to be defiled by a mere official.
“Get the hell out of my way,” Xu Qi An kicked him aside. “I’m investigating by imperial order. You won’t let me touch this, won’t let me touch that. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
Not saying “hell” was the most basic level of decency for Xu Qi An.
The young eunuch, having been kicked, didn’t dare to make a sound.
Xu Qi An lifted Consort Fu’s neck, feeling her back of the head. His hands moved down from her shoulders to her back, and then to her buttocks. Because of the fullness of her buttocks, he had to press and knead a few times to feel the bones.
According to human anatomy, when falling face up, the parts that first contact the ground are the head and shoulder blades, followed by the most protruding part – the buttocks.
After all, this was the Emperor’s woman. He couldn’t remove her clothes, so Xu Qi An could only confirm through touch whether there was damage to the flesh of her buttocks.
“She indeed fell face up…” he confirmed.
This ruled out the possibility of someone manipulating the body after Consort Fu’s death to stage the scene.
“What have you discovered?” Biaobiao immediately asked.
Xu Qi An shared his findings and thoughts with Biaobiao, which was also meant for the young eunuch supervising him to hear.
“So you’re saying Consort Fu didn’t jump to her death?” Biaobiao immediately grasped the core content.
Not too stupid after all… Xu Qi An admiringly said, “The Princess is exceptionally intelligent, far beyond ordinary people.”
Biaobiao was very pleased to hear this.
Leaving the ice cellar, after washing his hands with the eunuch’s assistance, Xu Qi An left with Lin’an.
“Your Highness, it’s getting late. Let’s stop the investigation here for today, and I’ll come back tomorrow,” Xu Qi An glanced at the sundial.
It was a quarter past the Hour of the Monkey (3:15 PM).
According to Great Feng’s system, after the spring equinox, the dismissal time (end of work) was at the start of the Hour of the Monkey. After the autumn equinox, the dismissal time was at the beginning of the Hour of the Monkey.
Although the spring sacrifice had passed, the spring equinox had not yet arrived, so the dismissal time was still at the beginning of the Hour of the Monkey. And now, it was already a quarter past the end of the workday.
Emperor Yuanjing isn’t paying me overtime, so it’s time to clock out… He waved goodbye to Lin’an.
…
At this moment, Emperor Yuanjing was sitting in his bedchamber, engrossed in studying Daoist scriptures, reading with great interest.
Compared to the dry and tedious memorials and the never-ending government affairs, the Daoist scripture in his hand, containing the principles of longevity, was more appealing and addictive to Emperor Yuanjing.
What is the most captivating thing in the world?
It’s power!
But human life is limited, only a few decades long. Even if one holds power and overlooks the four seas, what of it?
In the end, one still succumbs to time, turning into a handful of yellow earth.
Only longevity and eternal life are truly desirable. Because this represents the ability to hold power forever.
Emperor Yuanjing put down the book, closed his eyes to savor and ponder the mysteries within. Then he picked up a cup of ginseng tea and took a sip, exhaling softly.
Taking advantage of this moment, the Grand Eunuch reported, “Your Majesty, Xu Qi An has left the palace.”
Emperor Yuanjing thought for a moment and asked, “What did he do in the palace today?”
After all, he had just appointed Xu Qi An as the lead investigator, and the emperor was keenly interested in how this young official would handle the case.
The Grand Eunuch immediately went to summon the young palace eunuch, bringing him into the emperor’s chamber.
The young eunuch bowed his head, his posture respectful.
Emperor Yuan Jing reclined lazily, glancing lightly at the eunuch. “What has Xu Qi An done? Is there any progress on the case?”
The Grand Eunuch promptly replied, “You must report everything to His Majesty in detail.”