Upon hearing this, the jailer immediately panicked and hurriedly said, “No, it won’t be! When he left, Liu Wenjing was still fine. Nothing happened at all. It should have nothing to do with him!”

“Should have?” Gao Junya said coldly, “Now that Liu Wenjing has died in your hands, how should this account be settled?”

The two jailers hurriedly knelt down, “We humble ones will never dare again. We beg Second Young Master and the two lords to show mercy and spare us this once!”

Wang Wei stared at Li Shimin and said coldly, “What does Second Young Master think?”

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then said, “Liu Wenjing might have been ill for some time, just never showing it before. It may not necessarily be related to the person who came to visit earlier. In my opinion, why not spare these two men this once? What do the two lords think?”

Gao Junya said sarcastically, “Second Young Master is truly kindhearted, but sometimes being too merciful is not a good thing. Take this time, for instance – if rules had been established from the beginning, they wouldn’t have dared let that person in, and Liu Wenjing might not have died.”

Li Shimin lowered his eyes and said, “Lord Gao is right. It is indeed my lack of consideration.”

Gao Junya snorted lightly and said, “Since that’s the case, let them receive twenty lashes and have their wages docked for two months.”

Upon hearing this, both jailers’ faces fell, but knowing they were at fault, they dared not argue and could only grimly accept.

After dealing with the two jailers, Wang Wei said, “How does Second Young Master plan to dispose of Liu Wenjing’s corpse?”

Li Shimin showed no dissatisfaction despite the previous disagreement and still respectfully said, “Although Liu Wenjing had marriage relations with Li Mi, he never did anything harmful to the Great Sui. Besides, the man is already dead, so I plan to find a place to bury him properly and then notify his family.”

“Inappropriate.” Wang Wei objected, “Liu Wenjing died suddenly. He might have been murdered, or he might have contracted a disease. If it’s the latter, burying him in the ground would be improper. Second Young Master must have heard about what happened in that village in Honghua Prefecture years ago. Therefore, in my opinion, he should be… cremated!”

Li Shimin was startled and blurted out, “My lord means to burn Liu Wenjing’s corpse?”

“Exactly. Only this way can we prevent disaster.” Without waiting for Li Shimin to speak, he continued, “If Duke Li were here, he would surely agree with my opinion.”

Li Shimin said with difficulty, “What Lord Wang says is reasonable, but this way, I fear we cannot explain to the Liu family.”

Wang Wei said dismissively, “Not implicating the Liu family members is already showing leniency. If they dare cause trouble, they’re seeking death!”

Gao Junya exchanged glances with him and said, “Just as Brother Wang said, Liu Wenjing’s corpse must be cremated!”

Seeing their firm attitude, Li Shimin said helplessly, “This matter cannot be decided by me alone. I must report to Father first. Please wait, my lords.”

After Li Shimin left, Gao Junya pulled Wang Wei aside and said, “Liu Wenjing’s sudden death is highly suspicious. And that Li Shimin is full of schemes – we must be extra careful.”

Wang Wei smiled coldly, “I know, which is why I want to cremate Liu Wenjing. Once the man is burned to ashes, even if there really is a problem, it becomes no problem.”

Gao Junya agreed deeply, “I thought of this too, but… if this matter is truly related to Li Yuan, we must be careful. I fear he truly has rebellious intentions.”

Wang Wei’s eyes turned cold as he said grimly, “I wish he had such thoughts. That would give us the perfect opportunity to make the Li family disappear from this world completely. I’ve been looking forward to this day.”

Gao Junya frowned, “That’s what you say, but if he rebels, our situation will be very dangerous. After all, military power is in his hands, and we cannot contend with him.”

Reminded of this, Wang Wei also thought of this problem. Given their grudges with the Li family, if Li Yuan raised troops, they would be the first to be killed. As he pondered, Li Yuan and his son appeared in his line of sight. He said quietly, “Let’s discuss this matter slowly later.”

As they spoke, Li Yuan had already approached. Seeing Liu Wenjing’s cold corpse, he sighed lightly and walked to Wang Wei and the other, saying, “Shimin has told me everything that happened here. You two brothers have considered this very thoroughly. Liu Wenjing should indeed be cremated. I’ll have someone send him to the charity morgue to be burned.”

Wang Wei showed surprise on his face. He had originally thought Li Yuan would oppose this matter after arriving, but unexpectedly he agreed immediately upon arrival. Could it be… that he was overthinking, and Liu Wenjing truly died of sudden illness, having nothing to do with Li Yuan?

He tried to discern some clues from Li Yuan’s expression, but unfortunately, apart from some regret, there was nothing else. He then said, “We two would also like to accompany you to the charity morgue. Would that be possible?”

“Naturally.” Saying this, Li Yuan had the two jailers carry the corpse to the charity morgue, while he and Wang Wei’s group followed. The person responsible for guarding the charity morgue was a solitary old man. This person had been poor since childhood, so even at over fifty, he had never married. Later, he became ill and could no longer do farm work, but since he was very brave, he was assigned to guard the charity morgue to earn his meals.

Upon learning of Li Yuan and the others’ intentions, he quickly had people carry the corpse to a platform specifically for burning bodies, then piled branches around it and brought tung oil to pour on the branches to make the fire burn more fiercely.

Li Yuan took the torch and said, “I once drank with Liu Wenjing. Let me send him on his final journey.”

As the torch fell, flames rose up and soon enveloped Liu Wenjing’s corpse in fire, making it impossible to see clearly. Perhaps fearing the flames would reach him, the old man guarding the charity morgue retreated all the way to the door. The burning continued for a full half hour before the flames gradually died down. Although tung oil had been added to aid combustion, the corpse was not burned to ashes – bones remained. The old man brought a rough ceramic jar and picked up those bones along with the ashes to place in the jar.

Li Shimin took it and said, “Your son will immediately send someone to Jinyang County to deliver this to the Liu family and tell them of Liu Wenjing’s crimes.”

Li Yuan nodded, glanced at the sky that was beginning to show a hint of dawn, and said to Wang Wei and the other, “You two brothers have worked hard all night. Go back and rest quickly.”

Having personally watched Liu Wenjing burned to ashes, Wang Wei and the other no longer harbored doubts. Moreover, having not slept all night, they were indeed tired and sleepy, so they returned to the Regent’s mansion together with Li Yuan.

After confirming they had left, Li Shimin put down the jar in his hands and said to the old man, “Quickly take me there.”

The old man nodded and led Li Shimin into the building. After lifting an inconspicuous board, he brought an oil lamp and walked down with Li Shimin, one in front and one behind. After descending the final step and walking forward more than ten paces, the old man crouched down and groped around for a while, then raised the oil lamp high and said, “Second Young Master, please look.”