Over the next two days, Ruyi and Fuman were often out, and the Immortal Wine House’s business gradually became quiet again.

It wasn’t because the kitchen was missing a helper, but because Zhao Yanning’s mood was getting worse and worse, making his speech increasingly impolite.

“Takeout? What kind of rule is that? If the food boxes are taken out and not brought back, whose fault is that?” He spoke sarcastically to customers, but his eyes kept glancing at Fuman passing by.

Fuman acted as if she heard nothing and still helped Ruyi into the carriage.

“Too little meat? How about I stuff a whole pig in there for you? There’s one in the back kitchen – alive. I’ll go tie it up for you right now.” He raised his voice.

Fuman still ignored him, just put the small stool in the carriage, and prepared to close the door.

At the last moment before the carriage door closed, a hand reached in to block the door frame.

Fuman lowered her eyes and saw Zhao Yanning holding the door panel, saying irritably: “What kind of business is this that you can’t finish after so many days? If you can’t handle it, call me! What’s the point of running around every day?”

Shen Qiyuan sat on his horse to one side, calmly explaining: “We’re going to the morgue to examine corpses.”

“Just you few? Not to criticize, but which of you has more than ten years of corpse examination experience? Yet you’re so brazenly confident.” He grumbled as he went to fetch a horse, mounted it with a leap: “Let’s go, let’s go, take me to see.”

Ruyi in the carriage was amused: “Weren’t you ever wanting to touch corpses again?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to touch corpses – I just don’t want to get involved with certain ‘involuntary’ government offices again.” He shot a sideways glance at Shen Qiyuan.

Shen Qiyuan turned his head away without making a sound.

Fuman frowned at him and gestured: You don’t need to force yourself.

“Force myself my ass – I’m happy to do it. Stop being such a nag, let’s go, let’s go.” He urged the driver.

Ruyi couldn’t help but sigh: “If being stubborn could make money, Yanning would become Lin’an’s second richest man.”

Zhao Yanning was puzzled: “Who’s the first?”

Ruyi and Fuman exchanged glances and pointed unanimously at the man riding ahead.

Shen Qiyuan sat on his horse with his back straight as a towering mountain peak. Sensing they were gossiping, he glanced sideways: “Are we going or not?”

“Going.” Ruyi smiled and closed the carriage door.

Having come three days in a row, they were all familiar with the morgue’s environment. Even so, Ruyi couldn’t keep up with Zhao Yanning’s pace.

He walked quickly and skillfully, found the corpse mentioned on the road in moments, flicked his wrist to produce a cloth bundle, unfolded it with a flourish to reveal more than twenty blades arranged from thin to wide.

Ruyi was startled: “When did you bring these?”

Fuman smiled: “He, he never separates from, from these things.”

Zhao Yanning’s family had been doctors for generations, but he alone was interested in the dead. In Great Qian, coroners were usually considered ominous people. To enter this profession, Zhao Yanning was beaten by his father during New Year’s, beaten until his back shed a layer of skin, yet he still gritted his teeth and shouted: “I want to speak for the dead!”

Under such stubbornness was supreme talent and passion. Corpses that others couldn’t find anything strange about, he could always spot the clues.

“Drowned? Though there’s river sand in her mouth, it never reached her throat – sunk in the pond after death.” After pressing the deceased’s head a few times, Zhao Yanning quickly extracted a three-inch iron nail: “This is the real cause of death.”

Shen Qiyuan’s pupils contracted slightly.

Using a red-hot iron nail to pierce through the skull – if this was the murder method, then the pond wasn’t the primary crime scene.

If it was just witnessing the disposal of a body, that cook wouldn’t be frightened to that extent.

He quickly turned to give orders: “You all go guard Liu the Butcher’s house first.”

The purple-hatted guards outside responded.

Zhao Yanning had already started writing the coroner’s notes, cursing while writing: “I thought it was some impressive corpse, making you all run back and forth for days. If those wine bags and rice sacks at the Ministry of Justice had looked twice at the ‘Records of Washing Away Wrongs,’ there wouldn’t be a need for people to get rained on in the streets.”

Fuman felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly gestured: I also found some things.

Shen Qiyuan looked at her, and she continued gesturing: Usually, it was Liu the Butcher who set up the stall. The cook is gentle-natured, staying home to support her husband and teach children, never managing the butcher’s business. It just happened that the butcher had business elsewhere that day, and a customer had said in advance they wanted to buy braised meat, so the cook had no choice but to help set up the stall.

She set up in the second quarter of the You hour. By the end of the Xu hour, the cook needed to relieve herself, went to the latrine, and came back agitated. People at nearby stalls even asked her what was wrong.

The timing was particularly important. Shen Qiyuan took up his brush to note it down, then took several witness statements Fuman handed him and nodded slightly.

This way, the case became clear – they just needed to find a bit more evidence.

The progress was quite smooth. Ruyi nodded with satisfaction, but turning around, she saw Zhou Tingchuan biting his sleeve with tears in his eyes, looking at everyone.

She asked puzzledly: “What’s wrong with the young master?”

“I thought I’d never see this scene again!” Zhou Tingchuan sobbed as he crouched beside her. “In the past, when solving cases, it was just like this – Yanning examining corpses, Fuman investigating evidence, Sir gathering evidence for deduction and catching criminals, Zhenshan interrogating, and finally me writing up the case files to submit for imperial review.”

They had cooperated for five years, truly like family. Having them scatter in all directions was sad.

Seeing him cry with both grievance and joy, Ruyi patted his shoulder: “There are still many days ahead.”

“Wuwu, thank you, Miss.” He reached out to wipe his tears with her sleeve.

Zhao Yanning glanced at Shen Qiyuan’s expression nearby and suddenly said: “Young Master Tingchuan seems quite busy lately – haven’t seen him for some time.”

It was fine not to mention it, but once mentioned, Zhou Tingchuan remembered.

It seemed that every time he got close to Miss Liu, the next day, Sir would have him move corpses at the mortuary or send him on business trips to other provinces. This time, he had just returned from outside.

His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, then was tactfully withdrawn. Zhou Tingchuan wiped his face and said seriously to Ruyi: “To thank Miss for your great kindness, let me tell you about Sir’s birthday?”

What kind of thanks was this?

Fuman was about to laugh when she saw Sir Shen’s expression suddenly soften.

“What’s so special about birthdays?” he said disdainfully.

Zhou Tingchuan quickly said: “Other people’s birthdays are ordinary, but our Sir’s birthday is precious – His Majesty will specially open Huiming Mountain’s hunting grounds for Sir, just the day after tomorrow.”

Ruyi understood and teased with a smile: “I see, but your Sir is quite beloved by the city’s ladies. Those sending him congratulatory gifts will surely be like mountains and seas. My wine house has been losing money lately – your Sir won’t still extort a congratulatory gift from me, will he?”

“Miss doesn’t need to send anything. Being able to go autumn hunting with our Sir would be good enough.” Zhou Tingchuan turned to look at Zhao Yanning and Hua Fuman. “Everyone goes together – it used to always be together. Consider it celebrating Sir’s birthday.”

Zhao Yanning was noncommittal, but Fuman nodded: “That’s, that’s fine.”

His expression relaxing slightly, Shen Qiyuan still pursed his lips and said stiffly: “Celebrating or not is the same. If you find it difficult, then don’t go.”

Hearing him say this, Ruyi burst into laughter and clapped her hands: “Yanning, look – shouldn’t you give up that position as Lin’an’s richest man?”