Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 14 Coffin!

Rong Wanyin pointed at the wet box and the weeds hanging from it. "Someone must have sunk the box to the bottom of the water beforehand. When the explosives destroyed the bridge, they probably cut the ropes or something, causing the box to float to the surface."

Mo Yun nodded thoughtfully: "Miss Rong, you are really smart, almost as smart as our master!"

Rong Wanyin rolled her eyes at him unhappily and ignored him. If you don’t know how to praise someone, don’t force yourself to do it!

"Butler Wen, what's going on?" Yan Mingzhang asked with a frown and a serious expression.

"My Lord, this box was found when the courtyard was dug up during the demolition and reconstruction of Zhenbaozhai." The housekeeper replied respectfully, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. "It was originally placed in the storeroom. How could it be..."

"I remember now. Sister Xin said before that this strange box is tightly closed and cannot be opened at all." Rong Wanyin frowned slightly and tried to recall.

"Yes, it's this box. Ever since it appeared, strange things have started to happen one after another in the Wen family's residence. I have been persuading my father to find a place to bury the box properly, but my father just wouldn't listen... Alas..." Wen Xin's face was full of worry, and her tone was full of helplessness.

"You prodigal girl, what do you know? This box is so exquisitely made, it must be full of rare treasures! Haven't you heard people say that this box might have been made by old man Wuji!" Mrs. Wen had a greedy look on her face, her eyes fixed on the box on the lake, as if she had already seen the gold, silver and treasures inside.

After tremendous effort, the box was finally salvaged. More than a man tall, it was crafted entirely from ebony, with lifelike dragon and phoenix carvings on its surface. Every line was smooth and natural, and the details were exquisitely crafted.

The corners of the box were inlaid with exquisite copper ornaments, which gleamed with a cold luster in the dim light. Rong Wanyin knew at a glance that this was not her master's work. Although it was exquisite, it was not as skilled as her master's. There was no need to bother looking for "red beans".

"Isn't this..." Yan Mingzhang seemed to be asking, but also seemed to have confirmed it.

Rong Wanyin was most annoyed by his behavior and said unhappily, "No!"

Yan Mingzhang smiled and shook his head, walking towards the box, thinking to himself, this girl is really interesting, like a cat with its fur standing on end, so fun to tease.

Yan Mingzhang carefully observed the box and found that it was actually a huge Luban box with a complex mortise and tenon structure. Only by opening a specific wooden strip first could the entire box be opened.

Seeing this, Rong Wanyin drew her sword and said without hesitation, "Just split it open."

But Yan Mingzhang stopped him, saying, "No! This box is so strange! If you open it rashly, you might destroy the contents or even trigger the mechanism." The sky quickly turned from dusk to complete darkness. The servants around lit lanterns, their dim light swaying in the night breeze, adding a touch of eeriness to the eerie scene. Yan Mingzhang would occasionally close his eyes, his brow furrowed, lost in thought. His mind raced through various methods of cracking the mortise and tenon joints, trying to find the key to opening this Lu Ban box; sometimes he would hammer and tap on the box.

After a long moment, Yan Mingzhang suddenly opened his eyes, a glint in them. He began directing Mo Yun and Chang Feng, testing each wooden stick one by one. Their movements were cautious, and with each attempt, everyone's heart sank in their throats. Finally, one of the sticks gave a slight wiggle. "It's open!" Mo Yun exclaimed in delight.

Everyone's faces lit up with joy as they rushed forward to help, eager to see the treasures inside the treasure chest. They hurriedly moved the wooden bars apart. After a servant had laboriously moved a bar, he suddenly saw a white mass emerging from the chest. He thought it was silver, and just as he was about to reach out to take it, it felt hard and cold. It wasn't silver at all, but a skeleton! "Ah! Dead bones!" The servant turned pale with fear and fell to the ground.

"This is not a treasure chest, it's just a coffin!" Rong Wanyin felt a chill running up her back from the soles of her feet, and her voice unconsciously rose a few degrees with a panic that was hard to conceal.

Mrs. Wen refused to believe it. She opened her eyes wide and waved her hands wildly, as if trying to dispel the horrible truth: "Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible! Someone must have deliberately replaced my baby! It must be like this!" Her voice was sharp and tearful, and it sounded particularly harsh in the silent night.

Wen Xin stood aside, her face as pale as paper, her lips tightly pursed, not saying a word, her heart filled with indescribable complex emotions.

Yan Mingzhang took a deep breath, suppressing his shock and confusion as he stepped forward to inspect it. The wooden box was impeccably sealed; even after being submerged at the bottom of the lake for so long, no water had entered. "Mo Yun, Chang Feng, lend a hand and lift this skeleton out." His expression was solemn, his tone steady yet brimming with undeniable authority.

After the skeleton was carefully removed, Yan Mingzhang leaned over and began a careful autopsy. His brow furrowed, his eyes intently scanning the skeleton one by one, not missing a single detail. After a long moment, he slowly straightened up and spoke in a low but clear voice, "This is a female corpse. She was probably in her thirties when she died, and she's been dead for over a decade. She died of poisoning, then of fire."

"Lord Yan, are you sure? He died of poisoning first and then burned. Could you have made a mistake? Is it possible that he was burned to death?" Wen Xin's eyes were full of anxiety and expectation, and her voice trembled slightly, as if she still held on to a glimmer of hope.

Yan Mingzhang sighed slightly and patiently explained, "If someone died by fire, a large amount of soot and charcoal would remain in the throat, and the bones in the throat would turn black. The bones would also become deformed and brittle due to the high temperature. But the bones in this female corpse's throat are clean. Although the bones show signs of being burned, the fractures are completely different from those of a burnt death. So, she was poisoned first, and after she died, she was set on fire. There is no doubt about this."

Wen Xin felt as if all her strength had been drained from her as she slowly lowered her head, no longer speaking. The night wind blew, her hair fluttering in disorder, and she seemed instantly enveloped in a haze of sadness and despair.

"Miss Wen, please ask someone to prepare some paper, ink, brush and inkstone..." Yan Mingzhang glanced at Wen Xin and said softly.

"What are you adults going to do?" Rong Wanyin was a little confused.

Mo Yun looked proud: "Our master is very capable. He can draw the appearance of a person before birth based on his skull!"

(End of this chapter)