The punishment of the female imperial court

Chapter 268 Silencing
The bamboo shadows danced, and the night wind made a rustling sound as it passed through the treetops.

Yu Qiansi's wide crimson sleeves fell on Boyi's black tights, like red plum blossoms blooming under the moonlight.

Shang Fu's hand holding the silk lantern trembled violently, and the warm yellow light shook violently on the bluestone path, pulling the three figures into twisted and strange shapes.

"You guys, what are you doing?"

With a "click", the lamp slipped from his fingers and made a crisp sound on the stone steps. The moment the lamp oil spilled, Bo Yi had already let go of the person in his arms. Yu Qiansi took a half step back, and her falling hair covered her eyebrows. Shang Fu clearly saw the cold light reflected by the scimitar on her waist, and his Adam's apple rolled with difficulty.

Shang Fu realized it later and began to feel scared.

Why did he have these eyes? God gave him these eyes, so he should walk in the dark. Why did he need a lantern?

Shang Fu looked at the lamp oil splattered on the ground, as if it was his own blood after being killed.

He won't be murdered.
Yaoguang sighed and walked out of the shadows, his black boots trampling over the mottled bamboo shadows on the ground. He bent down to pick up the overturned lantern, and with a light flick of his fingertips, the extinguished wick suddenly burst into flames.

"Don't worry, Lord Shaoqing," he glanced at Shang Fu, who was standing there stiffly, seemingly unintentionally, "You are an official, Lord Si Yin will not kill you to silence you."

Shang Fu covered his mouth belatedly, cold sweat trickling down his spine. His official uniform, soaked by the night dew, now clung to his back, chilling him to the bone. Yaoguang had already reached the end of the stone path with a silk lantern in hand, his blue satin cape rustling in the wind: "His Majesty has summoned you to the palace to see him immediately."

These words instantly dissipated the strange atmosphere between the two of them.

Yu Qiansi frowned and said nothing.

"Didn't you say that I was given a one-day deadline?" Bo Yi frowned, his thumb unconsciously stroking the sword at his waist. The moonlight passed through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, casting tiny spots of light on his angular face.

Yaoguang turned around and glanced at Shang Fu, who didn't dare to approach. He looked at Yu Qiansi and hesitated to speak. Finally, he sighed and said, "Eunuch Deming specifically instructed that we only need to find out the cause of death."

Before he finished speaking, the shrill cry of a night owl was heard in the distance, which startled Shang Fu and made him shiver.

"How did you find your way here?" Yu Qiansi suddenly changed the subject. After asking Yaoguang, she pointed her finger at Shang Fu and asked, "Why are you with him?"

The latter took two steps back when she looked at him, and his lower back hit the cold and hard stone lantern, causing him to gasp in pain.

Yaoguang took out an oil-paper bag from his sleeve, and the sweet aroma of maltose mixed with the fragrance of bamboo leaves wafted away: "The people from the Dali Temple said that you went to Yanshoufang. When I arrived, I just missed you."

After leaving Yanshoufang and entering Zhuque Street, the two were hard to find. He paused, as if remembering something interesting, "The old man who sells Hu Bing said that he saw a pair of immortal-like people going east. Yanshoufang is originally located to the east, and if it goes further east, the only place that Xiaguan can think of is Yinlong Temple. As soon as we walked outside the bamboo forest road, we saw Lord Shaoqing."

Shang Fu blushed when he heard his name and stammered, "I, I really didn't see anything! The palace eunuchs went to the charity cemetery to look for Lord Yu, and I, like Yaoguang, also asked all the way from there."

His voice stopped abruptly, and he was horrified to find that Yu Qiansi's fingertips were pressing on the hilt of the knife.

Shang Fu turned pale with shock. He took two steps back, holding his official hat with both hands, and tremblingly said, "I... I didn't see anything, Lord Yu. I was just worried that you missed the summons. I didn't know what you two were... No, nothing happened to you two. You were just talking about the case, right?" Yu Qiansi ignored Shang Fu. The scarlet figure turned around abruptly, and the hem of his official robe swept across the scattered bamboo leaves on the stone steps. "I need to go back to the charity cemetery to get the autopsy report."

Shang Fu heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, thinking that his life was finally saved. He quickly said in a flattering tone, "No problem. I'll pass the message to the eunuch. Sir Yu, take care!"

As he spoke, he took out an oil-paper bag from his sleeve, and the sweet aroma of maltose mixed with the fragrance of bamboo leaves wafted away: "This was originally intended for young coroner Zhang. Thank you for troubling me, Master Yu."

Yu Qiansi nodded and took it. The candy made a small friction sound in the paper bag. Shang Fu looked at her back as she walked away. Thinking of the two dangerous people behind him, he didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately slipped away.

The white lanterns hanging from the eaves of the charity hall swayed in the wind, casting the word "甸" on the mottled brick wall. Zhang Yilun squatted in front of the stone steps, pinching half a cold and hard sesame cake with his pale fingers. He stared blankly at the door.

At the gate of the charity cemetery, people from the Dali Temple had just carried away a corpse, and they were lighting incense sticks at the gate, lining up and stepping over them one by one to cover up the smell on their bodies.

"You tested it?"

Yu Qiansi stepped over the threshold and stood in front of him. Her voice startled the young man and he stood up suddenly, with biscuit crumbs falling all over his front. She threw the candy bag over and glanced at the yamen runners who were embalming the body in the yard: "Have the people from the Dali Temple been here all this time?"

Zhang Yilun accepted the candy bag, lowered his head and said vaguely: "I have been inside for the autopsy, I am not sure if they are there."

Apparently, he was the one who tested it.

Yu Qiansi looked at Zhang Yiluan, the biscuit crumbs stuck to the corners of his lips, making his face look even paler.

The night wind blew paper money across the bluestone slabs, and Yu Qiansi suddenly pressed the boy's shoulder. His thin body trembled, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down: "Sister Yu?"

After a long while, she sighed and said, "I have some clues about what you want to find out. The medicine that can leave marks on the back of the neck is called Huanyan. But the inside story is complicated. Can you give me more time? When Yu Linyi comes, I will tell you everything."

Zhang Yilun pulled the corners of his mouth and lowered his head. The shadow cast by the lantern on the eaves covered his eyebrows and eyes: "I understand."

He turned and walked towards the morgue, his back almost melting into the thick night. But after Yu Qiansi left, he said softly, "He's right. The truth is like a rotten corpse. You have to wait until the maggots have eaten away the flesh before you can see the bones."

*
The palace lanterns were as bright as day, and Deming was waiting under the osmanthus tree holding a gilded stove. Yu Qiansi climbed the stairs on the frost-covered ground.

"Your Majesty, I have verified the cause of Lanshu's death." A clear female voice echoed in front of the empty palace. Behind the nine-dragon gold-painted screen came the crisp sound of teacups tapping against each other. Jiang Jiqing leaned on the dragon-patterned table, playing with a green jade ring with his fingertips, and asked Yu Qiansi to enter the palace.

"Master Yu, there is no need to be so polite. Stand up and answer."

Ever since Yu Qiansi made everything clear to him, Jiang Jiqing no longer acted like a naive boy in front of her.

"Lan Shu died of suffocation, but there are no external injuries or marks on her body. It seems that she was suffocated to death." Yu Qiansi presented the autopsy report, and the candlelight stretched her shadow on the Panlong Pillar. "If I can go to the scene to investigate, maybe I can find the real cause of death."