Bone Painting Coroner

In a single sentence, Ji Yunshu had directly exposed his lies!

Ji Shuhan had always been a vengeful person; how would he have dismissed the incident so easily when his son died in prison? He could not do anything to Ji Yunshu as she had followed Jing Rong to the Capital. However, Liu Qingping was not as lucky. As Liu Qingping had nowhere to go, he naturally had become Ji Shuhan’s target. Removing him from his official post was not considered as retaliation, but merely a warning for Liu Qingping. Otherwise, Ji Shuhan might have even killed him for revenge.

Regardless of how cunning and wicked Ji Shuhan was, he did not intend to defend himself as he faced Ji Yunshu’s accusations. Instead, he replied confidently, “He deserved to be removed from his post. He shall never dream of holding an official post as long as I’m alive.”

Ji Yunshu was furious. “Does that mean you arranged Liu Qian’s appointment too?

“It was an order from the Royal Court!”

Ji Yunshu merely replied with a smile and did not continue with the conversation.

Outside of the house, the rain got heavier. The bright and clear sound of raindrops on the roof tiles and paving stones were strangely depressing.

Ji Yunshu took a deep breath and looked at Ji Shuhan with a solemn face. She asked a question she had never spoken aloud. “Can you tell me who’s my mom?”

Huh? Isn’t it a well-known fact that her mother was a lady from the brothel and died from obstructed labor? 

However, other than that, there was no other information about her mother. The whole Ji Family seemed ashamed of her mother and rarely talked about her.

It was as though a heavy rock sunk in his chest when Ji Shuhan heard the question. He opened his mouth but the words could not emerge. Shortly later, he answered, “Your mom was a lady from the brothel. If it was not for the mistake I did, I would not have a rebellious daughter like you.”

Rebellious daughter? Ridiculous!

Ji Yunshu kept her calm. “Do you have any other information? For example, where did my mom come from? Where did she stay before she joined the brothel?”

“Why are you asking about this? Your mom is dead. What use is there to talk about someone deceased?” Ji Shuhan swung his sleeve with anger with a furious expression.

Yes, he did not want to talk about it! 

A lady from the brothel, moreover, a dead lady. It seemed that Ji Yunshu would not get any answers today. She did not want to waste any more of her strength to converse with this man who shared the same blood with her and silently exited the room.

Outside of the hall, Jing Rong was standing on the left side of the door. She said expressionlessly, “You can dismiss him.”

Jing Rong nodded. “You head back first. I’ll follow right after.” Ji Yunshu then left the scene.

Jing Rong entered the room again and he was welcomed with Ji Shuhan’s frustrated expression. Ji Shuhan seemed like he was trying his utmost to suppress the anger in his eyes. It was ridiculous! Jing Rong sat down casually with a smile painted on his lips, “Lord Ji, if you are done with your matters, please leave now. The rain is getting heavier and heavier.” Jing Rong sent down the order asking Ji Shuhan to leave! Ji Shuhan thought he had shown sufficient courtesy by visiting personally to greet Jing Rong and did not have any more reason to stay.

However, before he left, he said some puzzling words, “Your Highness, even though Yunshu has been kicked out of the Ji Family and will never be part of the family again, even though I was deeply saddened by the death of my son Ji Yuanzhi, she’s still my daughter. Our Ji Family will take responsibility for all her wrongs. If Yunshu makes any mistake in the future, I hope that Your Highness can forgive her.”

Wow. What trick is this old fox trying to play?

Jing Rong replied, “Lord Ji does not have to worry. This Prince values her greatly. I will definitely take good care of her.”

“That’s good.” Ji Shuhan bowed. “Then I’ll not disturb Your Highness further. Farewell.” Ji Shuhan left.

Jing Rong visited Ji Yunshu after everyone had left. She was waiting for him. Once he entered the room, Jing Rong said, “That old man still cares for you. Before he left, he asked this Prince to take good care of you.”

Who cares!

She sneered, “No one knows my dad better than me. He was merely trying to disguise his evilness.”

“However, that old fox has also been having quite a terrible time. Other than his dead son, his daughter, has now lost her opportunity to be the wife of the Crown Prince. His retirement plan has all gone in vain. He’s quite pitiful,” Jing Rong’s tone had zero sign of sympathy. Instead, it sounded as though he was making a joke out of it.

All of sudden, Ji Yunshu’s deepened her gaze and said, “There will be a public hearing of Fu Bo’s case tomorrow morning in the yamen.” The atmosphere froze within a split second.

Jing Rong frowned “What did Liu Qingping say?”

“For this case, there are witnesses and evidence. It might be… a little tricky.”

“So?”

“I’m going to the yamen.”

Jing Rong was flustered. “Now?”

“I only have one night. I have to find any evidence that can prove Fu Bo’s innocence. I’ve no idea what kind of person Liu Qian, the current county magistrate, is. However, if they can make Fu Bo submit to their torture and take the credit for the case, I assume this case is going to be really difficult.”

Jing Rong asked, “So, you’re going to the yamen now for…”

“Autopsy.”

…

……

After about two hours, at midnight, Jing Rong discreetly led Ji Yunshu to the yamen. Other than the guards at the main door, there were also a few guards dozing off inside the yamen. Due to Ji Yunshu’s familiarity with the yamen’s floor plan, she successfully passed all the guards and arrived at the mortuary.

She was dressed in all-black clothes that were drenched with rainwater. She shrugged her shoulder, took off her hat and her raincoat before she entered the mortuary.

The strong, unpleasant smell of rot rushed out of the room. Jing Rong rubbed his nose: he had never liked the smell of the cadavers. Hence, he stood at the front door and obediently acted as Ji Yunshu’s lookout.

Inside the room, Ji Yunshu lit a small oil lamp and a weak light spread across the room. It was not very bright but she managed to take a clear look at the female body on the autopsy table which had been discovered in the ground during that heavy rain. It was covered by a filthy white cloth and surrounded by a mess.

How is this a mortuary? This is just a mass grave!

Ji Yunshu heaved a sigh of disappointment as she shook her head. This terrible scene would never happen back when she was working at this yamen. She always put some atractylodes and honey locust beside the bodies to prevent rotting due to the delay of cases or the warm weather.

She put the lamp beside the body. Then, she furrowed her delicate brows and reached out to uncover the female body!

Part of the skin on the body had decomposed, possibly because it had been buried under the ground for a few days. Her eyes had popped out, while the corner of the eyes were split. Meanwhile, her nose bridge was crooked. As it was soaked in rainwater, the whole body was slightly swollen from water retention. There were plenty of tiny wooden pieces and soil in the rotten skin and flesh. In short, the whole body looked disgusting. However, this was not the most disgusting body Ji Yunshu had ever seen.

She put on the gloves she prepared on her own, then carefully inspected every part of the body. She did not miss any single part of the body, including… the private parts of the female body!

Outside, it was raining cats and dogs. As thunder boomed and lightning brightened the sky, flashes of light shone into the room and onto the body like a scene from a horror movie. After about an hour, she removed her gloves and covered the body again with the white cloth. She then blew out the light and left the room.