Bone Painting Coroner

Jing Rong definitely could not take this incident lying down. As the old saying went, the best defense was a good offense!

He drew back his injured hand and thoughtfully rubbed the white bandages wrapped around his palm with calloused fingertips. “He is still unwilling to stop pushing the boundaries even though I’m already heading to Yufu. Blood may be thicker than water, but there are limits to how understanding I can be.”

“Does that mean that you already have ideas on how to proceed?” Mo Ruo asked.

He nodded and recounted what he had assigned Lang Po earlier. Mo Ruo was surprised. “So what if you really managed to capture the assassins alive? Accuse Prince Yi? I’m sure that this news would not be allowed to leave the Supreme Court, much less reach the ears of the Emperor.”

“When did I say I would accuse Jing Yi?”

“Then what purpose would this serve?”

Jing Rong smiled. “Jing Yi will definitely try to kill that person by any means necessary; after all, dead men tell no tales. Only then would he not need to worry about our Royal Father finding out about his assassination attempt. However, my goal is to have Lord Shao Qingyu of the Supreme Court report to my royal father afterwards. Although there would be no evidence due to the death of the culprit, some things require neither evidence nor result. Our Royal Father is conscientious; how would not realize that there was something suspicious about this? Assassins out for my life, and the sudden death of the culprit while jailed in the Supreme Court. Moreover, Jing Yi has long been secretly colluding with the minister of the Supreme Court; it would be as easy as lifting a finger if he wanted to kill someone locked in its jail. Even if our Royal Father understood this, he would sooner choose to disregard this matter, rather than risk airing the Royal Family’s dirty laundry in public. But do you think that, after all that, our Royal Father would still treat Jing Yi with the same regard?”

The brilliance of his plan finally dawned on Mo Ruo. “I understand now! This…this is all a warning for your Royal Father!”

“You are not stupid either.” Jing Rong wrinkled his brows. “Jing Yi has always been ambitious, but our Royal Father has never looked deeply into it. Now that he can see how merciless he is to even his own brother, even our Royal Father would be tempted to look for clues. In particular, about the incident where the Crown Prince laid siege to the Royal Palace. Otherwise, how would the timid Crown Prince who grew up by our Royal Father’s side come up with such a dumb plan as regicide? There must have been someone fanning the flames in the background. Moreover, that Teacher Pan, who had always been the Crown Prince’s tutor, somehow emerged without a scratch after the Crown Prince toppled; but then he and all seven members of his family died the day they were to leave the capital? Once our Royal Father realises this, he would be more wary of Jing Yi – this could be regarded as an act of filial piety on my part.”

Oh wow, such a touching sentiment! The Qi Zhen Emperor is so fortunate to have a son such as you! 

In a low voice, Mo Ruo said, “It seems that the winds of change have forced you to participate in the competition for the throne after all.”

“Perhaps.”

Mo Ruo smiled widely and started tidying up his medicine chest. He asked again, “And are you not at all concerned about Wei Yi’s injuries?”

“Since you were able to come attend to me so quickly, he must be alright.”

“That’s true. It’s just that Teacher Ji feels extremely guilty about Wei Yi’s injuries; I wager that we’ll have to stay a few more days in Anfu. You had better make the appropriate arrangements.”

“Mm.” Jing Rong gave a nod and walked to the open window once again.

The sky outside was already pitch black. The light from a lantern hanging from the eaves illuminated a little bird next to the wall. The bird seemed to have injured its wings, flapping and hopping on the spot but remaining grounded. A verdant green leaf, blown by the wind, landed next to that injured bird. It grew tired of trying to fly and started pecking little holes into that leaf.

His gaze slowly turned chilly. The frostiness he exuded seemed to weave together with the deceptively warm light outside. How strange and mysterious!

It was a long while before he closed the window. He turned to face Mo Ruo. “No need to bother with me anymore. Go have a rest.”

Instead, Mo Ruo replied, “How do you expect me to fall asleep at this time? Since we’re both awake, why not accompany each other?”

“As you wish.” The two then began to chat idly about the past and other random topics, taking care to not make any mention about their time with Kong Yu.

Outside, Tang Si was bored after waiting such a long time for Mo Ruo to come out. She yawned before giving up on waiting and returned to Wei Yi’s room.

Ji Yunshu still hadn’t taken a single step away from his bedside. That scholarly visage appeared significantly frailer than before. She glanced at Tang Si, who was sitting hunched at the table, both hands supporting her chin. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

“It’s already so late – where am I supposed to go?”

“This is not a place where you should linger.”

“Why do all of you talk so strangely? Don’t tell me you’re really convicts that kill unblinkingly?” Tang Si thought about what Mo Ruo had previously said to her.

Ji Yunshu didn’t answer her.

After a moment, Tang Si became impatient again and walked in front of her. With eyes opened wide, she pointed at Wei Yi and asked curiously, “What is he to you?”

Ji Yunshu’s expression shifted minutely as she replied with a curt, “Family.”

“Oh.”

She continued questioning. “I saw that the arrow was aimed at you. Who were those men, and why did they want to kill you??”

That was right. The arrow was definitely aimed at her; if not for Wei Yi, how could this weak body of hers survive such an injury? And who else other than Jing Yi would want to kill her? Ji Yunshu sunk deep into her own thoughts and never answered Tang Si.

Instead, she held out her hand. “Return it to me.” That little wooden pendant!

Tang Si pretended not to understand. “Return what? Don’t you malign me.”

“That thing is extremely important to me and is not a toy. Hand it over.” Ji Yunshu replied harshly.

“Is that so?” Tang Si rolled her eyes and took a few steps back, then held out that pendant in her hand, trying to bargain, “Then tell me, who gave this to you? I’ll return it to you then.”

Ji Yunshu narrowed her eyes and tucked the blankets in around Wei Yi. She then dragged Tang Si out of the room with a cold expression and gently closed the door. “Miss Tang, this pendant was left to me by my mother. It’s very important to me, and I’ve always kept it on my person. I am very grateful that you had helped us, but it is impossible to give you this pendant.”

“Your mother left it to you?” Tang Si was incredulous. But seeing that Ji Yunshu seemed to have lost her patience, she could only return the pendant docily while adding, “I’d seen the picture on this pendant when I was young.”

“You’ve really seen it before?” Ji Yunshu asked excitedly. This was a chance to find out the truth behind why her mother left this pendant to her! It could even be the only clue to unravel the mystery behind her mother’s true identity.

But Tang Si only shook her head. “I’d seen it when I was very young. I have an impression of it, but I don’t remember where I saw it.”