All the ancestors in the capital begged me to be a substitute

Candles were brightly lit in Zhen Guogong's mansion.

It has been a day since the discovery of the ancestor's death.

Spirit flags have already been hung inside and outside the mansion.

Although the Zhenguo Palace in Yunbian City is just a decoration where the owner does not live there permanently.

But after all, the identity of Duke Zhen is there, and there are quite a few people from the major families in Yunbian City who are rushing to curry favor with him.

Even though it was already night now, people from various prefectures in Yunbian City who came to the Duke's Mansion to help him were bustling with people from inside and outside, and it seemed that it was much more lively than when Shen Lingxi came yesterday.

Shen Lingxi followed Chu Yan and entered the ancestor's yard with the housekeeper of Xu's house.

White lanterns were lit everywhere in the courtyard, and many servants dressed in sackcloth knelt on the clean bluestone floor tiles.

At the door of the east wing stood two menacing soldiers in armor.

Looking at it like this, it looks like the personal guard of Duke Zhen.

The candlelight in the room casts its light on the white paper on the window lattice, and there are several busy figures.

Shen Lingxi recognized at a glance that they were the imperial physician and Xu Huan and Xu Ziyao's two brothers and sisters.

A dead person does not need a medical doctor.

The person in the room is probably the wife of the Duke who "attempted suicide".

Shen Lingxi's gaze swept across the east room, and then followed Chu Yan and the butler leading the way to the upper room.

As soon as she walked up the steps, she heard a young and clear voice coming from the main hall.

"Auntie, this matter is wrong. Since the ancestor died violently, according to the "Law of the Great Zhou", an autopsy must be performed. This time, my nephew, as the young minister of Dali Temple sent by the emperor to accompany the prince to Yunjiang, has to bear the responsibility. Duty, I also ask my aunt to persuade the Duke of the country to let him agree to the autopsy, so that the ancestors can be buried in peace..."

"What can I do!" A woman's voice came from inside, "The Duke has not eaten or drank for a whole day. I am just a widow, how can I persuade him?"

She said, with a hint of disgust in her tone, "Besides, the murderer is lying in the east wing, and it was she who poisoned her. The people didn't say anything, just you rushing here to yell, if you weren't my nephew, you would have been kicked out by the Duke's personal guards. Don't make me mess up again! Go, go, yourself Find a place to play."

As soon as Shen Lingxi heard the conversation between these two people, she remembered that when they came to Yunjiang this time, there was one more person accompanying them - the young man who replaced Mu Huai'an as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

Li Huai, the son of Li Xiangyang, Marquis of Yiyang.

Now Li Huai's concubine Li Yuejiao was named a beauty by the emperor after entering the palace, and was highly favored by the emperor.

The Li family of Marquis of Yiyang wanted to follow the footsteps of the Mu family's relatives, so they naturally racked their brains to send Li Huai, the son, to the emperor.

The late Xu Yuanshan, the second master of the Xu family, married Li Xiaoqing, the younger sister of Li Xiangyang, Marquis of Yiyang, after reconciling with the Ji family.

Coincidentally, it was the son's aunt.

She is also the only remaining mistress in this huge Duke's mansion.

Such a coincidence, Shen Lingxi had to think about it.

Chu Yan raised his hand to stop the butler from entering the room to report, and exchanged glances with Shen Lingxi, and the two stood in the corridor, listening to the conversation between the aunt and nephew inside.

"Auntie, this statement is wrong." The young man said solemnly: "The government has not done an autopsy, nor has it made a conclusion. It is too early to say who the murderer is. You might as well go and persuade the Duke... that's all, let your nephew do it Bar."

As he said that, he wanted to rush into the bedroom.

Suddenly, I heard a deep shout from inside: "Get out!"

After all, he is the Duke of the State who is in charge of an army of 40. That deep drink naturally carried a bit of murderous air, coupled with the thunderous anger in it, it made people feel terrified after hearing it.

The housekeeper, who had a calm expression, immediately lowered his head, his legs trembling.

The servants who knelt on the ground in the yard also fell silent and lowered their bodies even more.

Shen Lingxi raised her eyebrows, walked past the butler, and walked in.

She originally thought that the young man would be frightened by the Zhenguo Duke's deep shout and retreat.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Shen Lingxi entered, he saw him take out an official card from his sleeve without changing his face, and through the brocade curtain, he said to the town inside: "Master Guo, the next official is the Shaoqing of Dali Temple." , this time I came to Yunjiang, and I was responsible for inspecting the case. This is the official card of the next official. It's convenient for the father-in-law."

Beside him was a young woman in filial piety, with charming and bright features, obviously frightened by his actions.

She was reaching out her hand, intending to pull the winking nephew out the door herself, when she suddenly saw Shen Lingxi and Chu Yan.

She hurriedly lowered her hands and greeted them loudly, "The concubine has seen the prince and concubine, the two came to the mansion late at night, and the concubine was far away to greet them, please forgive the sin of the prince and concubine."

When she yelled, the young man who was about to force his way into the bedroom quickly stopped, turned around and bowed to the two of them.

At the same time, footsteps were heard in the bedroom.

But within a few breaths, Lord Zhen Guo opened the brocade curtain and strode out.

He was wearing a rumpled plain white pajamas, his chin was unshaven, and his hair was a mess.

Obviously, as the servants in the mansion said, he has been staying in front of the bed since the ancestor's body was discovered last night and has never left.

Anyone who sees Duke Zhen like this will sigh from the bottom of his heart, "Mother and child love each other deeply".

But Shen Lingxi was obviously not the one who came to cheer.

Shen Lingxi opened his mouth without waiting for Lord Zhen to bow to his father to confess his guilt, "You know how the Lord is guarding the body of your ancestor, and you naturally understand that the Lord is mourning excessively because of the death of the ancestor."

"But if you don't know... I'm afraid you will think that the Duke of the country has a heart of resentment towards the old ancestor. He stopped the coroner from doing the autopsy, didn't avenge her old man, and didn't clean up the old ancestor. Let her old man You can’t get on the road decently, it’s ‘unfilial’ to spread the word.”

It's not polite to listen to this.

Zhen Guogong guarded Yunjiang for six years. After Chu Yan returned to Beijing, even the king of Yunjiang gave him three points of courtesy in the territory of Yunjiang. No one dared to speak to him like this.

He suddenly lowered his eyes.

But on the surface, she bowed her head respectfully, and said in a solemn voice: "Your Majesty taught me that the minister has been unwilling to believe that my mother died suddenly. The minister was too emotional, broke the rules, and lost etiquette."

Can bend and stretch.

Sure enough, he is a person who can achieve "big things".

A hint of ridicule flashed in Shen Lingxi's eyes, but her voice softened on purpose, "Duke Zhen knew something was wrong, so hurry up and change clothes, the ancestor's body can no longer be delayed, please ask for an autopsy earlier, then we can Cleanse and bury her old man earlier."

Lord Zhen raised his eyes to Chu Yan, seeing Chu Yan's appearance of letting the princess arrange, his eyes darkened again.

He bowed his hands: "I obey."

After that, he walked out.

Seeing this, Mrs. Li tightened the handkerchief a little nervously.

Shen Lingxi glanced at her, "There should be a lot of things to be busy in this mansion, my wife might as well go and get busy. I have a relationship with the old ancestor once, and His Highness has always been on good terms with the Duke of the country. Now that the old ancestor passed away suddenly, I Gong should personally bury the old ancestor's body, which is also regarded as giving the old ancestor a ride."

"How dare you bother the Crown Princess..." Mrs. Li Er said flattered, "My ancestor loved cleanliness the most during his lifetime. I personally took care of her daily life, so I don't bother the Crown Princess." Shen Lingxi seemed like Looking at her with a smile, he nodded and said: "Since the Second Madam wants to bury our ancestors herself, it is naturally better."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes and looked at Li Huai, "Didn't Shaoqing want an autopsy? The Duke is gone, so Shaoqing can start."

Shen Lingxi said this intentionally because she had some temptation in her heart.

Unexpectedly, Li Huai agreed very respectfully, picked up a wooden box from the side, and walked directly to the inner room.

This move aroused Shen Lingxi's curiosity.

It is rare to see the young minister of Dali Temple who can perform an autopsy.

She followed behind Li Huai and walked into the inner room.

The old ancestor's body was lying quietly on the bed, covered with yellow mounting paper, and the dead body could not be seen.

It's no wonder that Duke Zhen can sit by his side for a day and a night.

Without this layer of yellow mounting paper to cover his face, I don't know if he would be haunted by nightmares and his conscience would be troubled.

Shen Lingxi had seen the soul of the ancestor last night, so she naturally knew the condition of the ancestor's body, and...

Listen to the ancestors tell the cause of her death.

When Shen Lingxi walked to the bed, she didn't rush to lift the yellow mounting paper, but silently looked at Li Huai.

I saw Li Huai opening the wooden box on the table next to the bed.

In the boxes on the upper, middle and lower floors, there are pens, ink, paper and inkstones on the top, and the middle and lower floors are the autopsy tools that Shen Lingxi is very familiar with.

With his slender fingers, Li Huai picked up the tools skillfully, and inspected the ancestor's body nimbly and meticulously.

The technique is actually much more clever than most of the kungfu that Shen Lingxi has seen.

I thought it was a fancy flower shelf, but I didn't expect that there were actually two brushes.

But his identity...

How could the dignified son of the Marquis Mansion learn these low-level skills.

"You... have learned it?" Shen Lingxi asked curiously.

There was only so much space on the bed, so the two of them naturally stood closer than usual.

Shen Lingxi's eyes fell on Li Huai's slender and white neck.

Suddenly, she seemed to have discovered something, her eyes moved slightly, and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes.

Li Huai did not notice Shen Lingxi's scrutinizing gaze.

He focused all his attention on the body, and it took him a long time to reply, "Hui Niangniang, I was separated from my family in Jiangnan when I was a child. I was taken in by a widower for a few years and learned some skills."

Shen Lingxi scanned the top layer of the box, and nodded secretly with the autopsy items and the autopsy papers pressed with a paperweight.

No wonder the emperor made an exception and stuffed him into Dali Temple, filling the vacancy of Mu Huai'an, and let him follow him to Yunjiang.

At least the skill of autopsy can't be practiced to this level within three to five years.

It seems that the saying "good shoots come out of bad bamboo" is not entirely true.

At the very least, Li Xiangyang, the Marquis of Yiyang, who has an empty head and only thinks about flattery, has such a down-to-earth son, he can be regarded as a high incense for his ancestors.

Shen Lingxi naturally had a good impression of the young man who could do autopsy.

After all, even if the folk customs of Da Zhou are more civilized, the funeral industry she is engaged in, especially the business of funeral work, has always been a place that has always been looked down upon by people.

Shen Lingxi was not stingy in giving advice. Li Huai was originally a person eager to learn. He humbly asked for advice while performing an autopsy. A few traces of intimacy.

Chu Yan followed Shen Lingxi into the room.

Worried about disturbing the souls of the dead, he sat down on the couch by the window, but his eyes followed Shen Lingxi's figure all the time.

Seeing Shen Lingxi and Li Huai standing closer and closer, the whispers between the two gradually became more familiar with similar interests...

Chu Yan's phoenix eyes unknowingly filled with thick ink.

Second Mrs. Li, who walked into the room after him, saw Li Huai's focused expression, and knew what he was always good at, so she unconsciously twisted the brocade handkerchief in her hand.

On her bright face, apart from secret hatred, there was also a hint of uneasiness.

After about half an hour, the two finally finished examining the ancestor's body.

Shen Lingxi and Li Huai came to a conclusion at the same time: "The cause of the ancestor's death was not poisoning, but suffocation."

"Ah..." Second Mrs. Li seemed to be frightened, covered her lips and exclaimed, "I didn't expect my sister-in-law to hate the old ancestor so much. It's not enough to suffocate her old man, but also to poison her old man?"

At the same time, Lord Zhen Guo, who had changed into sackcloth and filial piety, opened the brocade curtain and walked into the inner room.

The elder son Xu Huan and the first daughter Xu Ziyao came in together with him.

It's not just them, in Shen Lingxi's sight, Liu Meiren, surrounded by the ancestors, floated in behind the siblings.

They found a place farthest from Chu Yan and stood still.

It came at a very good time.

Zhen Guogong, Xu Huan and Xu Ziyao stepped into the inner room, just when they heard Mrs. Li's words, Qi Qi changed their expressions.

"Second Aunt, don't want to spout blood." Xu Ziyao was the first to react, and said angrily: "There are so many maids guarding the old ancestor's room, how could my mother not disturb them and suffocate grandma to death? Dali Temple Shaoqing hasn't said anything yet Mother is a murderer, what kind of heart does Second Aunt have..."

"Zi Yao!" Zhen Guogong interrupted his daughter in a deep voice, "Don't be rude to the elders, you have no place to speak here, step back!"

Xu Ziyao never expected that at this time, her biological father, instead of protecting A Niang's reputation, would even help outsiders and drive her out.

"Daddy!" Xu Ziyao looked at him with red eyes in disbelief, "Don't you think what Second Aunt said is right, do you also think that it was Aunt who killed grandma?"

The Duke of Zhenguo frowned.

He didn't answer Xu Ziyao's words, but bowed to Chu Yan, "My daughter's words and deeds are innocent, please forgive me, Your Highness."

Chu Yan looked at him indifferently, "Miss Xu's question is only what she wanted to ask. Does Zhen Guogong really think that Mrs. Ling killed Lao Fengjun?"

Lord Zhen Guo's eyes darkened slightly, and he lowered his head and replied: "I don't believe anyone, I only believe that Your Highness must have an arbitrariness, and I will listen to Your Highness."

Instead, he kicked the ball back.

Chu Yan seemed to have expected it, and looked up at Li Huai, "You said that the ancestor was smothered to death, do you have evidence?"