Rumor Has It That I'm Pregnant with His Highness' Child

313 Opening the Coffin and Autopsy

Under Yu Niaoniao’s command, the kitchen helpers moved out the vegetables hoarded in the cellar.

Most of them were white radishes and cabbages.

The kitchen helpers washed the dishes and dried them. The white radishes were cut into cubes and placed in the jar. They added garlic, chili, white vinegar, salt, and sugar and finally sealed the jar.

She cut the cabbage in half and smeared the pre-mixed chili sauce on the leaves.

This job was very simple, but it required a lot of patience. Every vegetable leaf had to be evenly smeared with chili sauce.

Then she placed the cabbage in the jar and sealed it for storage.

Yu Niaoniao was counting the jars of pickled vegetables in the cellar. Pan Dafu leaned over and asked mysteriously.

“Teacher, didn’t you stay with Duke Lang last night?”

Yu Niaoniao could not expose that she had secretly slipped out last night, lest she caused trouble for Xiao Juan.

She replied casually, “No, I stayed in the Justice Department last night.”

Pan Dafu looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

When Yu Niaoniao saw him like that, she knew that he must have heard some more rumors, so she said to him.

“If you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need to hide it.”

Pan Dafu said, “Then I’ll tell you. On the way to the Justice Department this morning, I heard that Duke Lang went to the lantern festival last night.”

Yu Niaoniao said, “Oh.”

“Why aren’t you surprised? Duke Lang didn’t go to the festival alone. He had a young woman with him!”

Yu Niaoniao thought to herself that the young woman in question was herself.

She replied perfunctorily.

“Is that right?”

Pan Dafu was very anxious. “Teacher, Duke Lang has other women outside. Why aren’t you worried?”

Yu Niaoniao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

These people in the Jade Capital did not do anything serious every day and liked to spread gossip.

If not for the fact that she was one of the parties involved, she would have believed those rumors.

Pan Dafu was still trying to persuade her.

“Don’t think this is a small matter. As long as a man cheats once, there will be a second, third, or even countless times!”

Yu Niaoniao agreed.

A man who cheated was indeed unacceptable.

Pan Dafu said, “I’ll help you ask around later and see what that woman’s identity is and where she lives.”

Yu Niaoniao was puzzled. “What do you want to achieve with taht?”

“Of course, we’ll call her out for a good talk. We can use persuasion before coercion. We would talk to her properly first and persuade her to stop pestering Duke Lang.”

“If she doesn’t listen, we’ll try to capture her and teach her a lesson. Let her understand that there’s no good ending for going against you!”

Pan Dafu’s analysis was logical, but Yu Niaoniao was speechless.

“Not to mention that Duke Lang doesn’t have another woman outside, even if he really has another woman, that’s his problem. He should be the one we should teach a lesson to, right?”

Pan Dafu was shocked by her words.

“What? Do you still want to teach Duke Lang a lesson? That’s not good, right? Duke Lang is so skilled. Even if we call a few more people, we won’t be able to defeat him.”

Yu Niaoniao slapped her forehead. What was going on?!

She explained, “It’s not what you think. Things are fine between Duke Lang and me. There’s no third party involved. You don’t have to bother.”

Pan Dafu looked at her with sympathy.

“I know family scandals can’t be aired in public.”

“I’m sure you don’t want to tell outsiders about something like this happening at home. I’ll stop.’

“You just have to remember that I’ll always be on your side.”

At this moment, Yu Niaoniao deeply understood what it meant to be unable to explain oneself. Since she couldn’t explain, she decided not to. She changed the subject.

“If you really want to help me, help me investigate. Where did these rumors come from?”

Although Xiao Juan did not wear a mask last night, he did not wear the uniform of the Eagle Guards. As long as it was not someone he knew, they should not know his identity.

Who spread the news that Xiao Juan brought a woman to Lantern City last night?

Wei Liao’s figure flashed through Yu Niaoniao’s mind. The person most likely to do such a thing was Wei Liao.

But there was no evidence. Suspicion could only be suspicion.

Pan Dafu agreed immediately.

“Alright, Teacher has something on. I’ll do my best. You just have to wait for my good news in the Justice Department.”

During lunch, Xiao Juan told Yu Niaoniao about the Glazed Jade Palace case.

“The people I sent out have returned. They found the hometown of the palace maids, but they were too late. Those palace maids are already dead.”

Yu Niaoniao was stunned. “How did they die? Were they harmed?”

“On the surface, they must have died accidentally, but I don’t believe there’s such a coincidence in the world.”

All the palace maids from the Glazed Jade Palace happened to die in an accident. It was too far-fetched to say that this was a coincidence.

...

Yu Niaoniao’s heart sank. “They might have been silenced.”

Xiao Juan said, “But it’s not like we didn’t gain anything. Those palace maids are all dead, which just happens to confirm our previous guess. Something suspicious must have happened in the Glazed Jade Palace in the past. The direction of our investigation is right.”

Yu Niaoniao followed his words.

“Those palace maids were silenced. That means someone doesn’t want us to continue investigating.”

Xiao Juan said, “For so many palace maids to die quietly in different places, it proves that the identity of the mastermind is not simple. He must have many lackeys.”

Seeing that he was deep in thought and did not even move his chopsticks, Yu Niaoniao reminded him.

“The dishes are getting cold. Let’s eat first. We’ll have the energy to think about things after we’re full.”

Xiao Juan came back to his senses. “Yes, let’s eat first.”

Yu Niaoniao picked up a piece of cured meat and placed it in her mouth. As she ate, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“Since we’ve all confirmed that there’s something wrong with Imperial Concubine Yue’s death, why didn’t we just open the coffin and perform an autopsy?”

Instead of spending time looking for someone who knew, it was better to start with Imperial Concubine Yue’s body. Wouldn’t the evidence be stronger that way?

...

Xiao Juan did not expect her to make such a shocking suggestion and was clearly stunned.

“Open the coffin and perform an autopsy?”

Yu Niaoniao nodded vigorously. “That’s right! If Imperial Concubine Yue really died an unnatural death, her body will definitely leave clues.”

Even though Xiao Juan had worked many cases, he had never opened a coffin for an autopsy.

The ancients were particular about burial. Once the dead were buried, they could no longer be dug out. Otherwise, it would be blasphemy against the dead.

However, what Yu Niaoniao said made sense.

At the moment, they did not have to worry about it. The simplest and most effective way was to start with Imperial Concubine Yue’s body.

Xiao Juan hesitated.

“Concubine Yue has been dead for twenty years. Now her body should only be a skeleton. What other clues can we find?”