Chapter 432: The Corpse Has Gone Rotten

Lu Datou was a man with some skill.

Without much effort, he found the Jiang family's address—only to discover the house was empty.

But he didn't give up; after chatting with neighbors, he learned the Jiangs had returned to their ancestral home shortly after Jiang Fangxiu's incident. However, two former servants of the Jiang household had stayed behind and now worked for some wealthy family nearby.

After much searching, Lu Datou finally tracked down the former Jiang servants, spent a bit of silver, and pieced together the truth from their accounts.

"Brother, brother, I've got all the details on the Jiang matter."

Upon learning the truth, Lu Datou didn't waste a minute—he didn't eat, just stuffed the remaining silver into his pocket and hurried back to Tianlaomiao.

"I've got it all figured out. As soon as Jiang Fangxiu got into trouble, the Jiang family moved back to their hometown. Luckily, two servants stayed in the capital to make a living. I've asked everything. Jiang Fangxiu was cursed—he offended Princess Qingyang, or rather, one of her guest advisors."

Princess Qingyang?

Princess Qingyang was the eldest daughter of the old emperor. She was once deeply favored in her youth, but her marriage was unfortunate—she wed a useless playboy who lived off his family's wealth. Their marriage was miserable; they each did as they pleased, and the whole court knew it. The old emperor intervened several times, even threatening to punish the imperial son-in-law, but nothing ever came of it. The couple continued their hollow, lifeless marriage.

Rumor had it that Princess Qingyang kept several male favorites.

But even all of them combined couldn't match the status of one particular guest advisor in her household.

This guest advisor was surnamed Su, born into an official family, talented and handsome—the kind of man ancient texts described as a refined gentleman amidst a turbid world, a phrase made for him alone.

But his fate was cruel: his father died when he was young, his mother was weak, and mother and son suffered constant abuse from their clan. Fortunately, he was brilliant from childhood, known locally as a child prodigy, showing extraordinary talent for scholarship. Once he passed the imperial exams and gained recognition from his clan, his life improved.

Later, he passed the imperial examination with honors, ranking fourth overall—the top name on the second list.

That rank was extraordinary.

More importantly, he was in the same cohort as Jiang Fangxiu—but Jiang's rank was at the very bottom.

Perhaps the grudge began right there.

Later, the guest advisor, through his master's introduction, married and had children. But because his master was implicated, he and his in-laws were thrown into prison and subjected to severe torture. Most of the male members of his in-law's family perished in prison. The women mostly hanged themselves, and even the children didn't survive.

The guest advisor himself was also slated for death—but he was too handsome. So handsome that Princess Qingyang, upon seeing him just once, became obsessed. Learning of his arrest, she risked the old emperor's wrath to rescue him, kept him in her palace as a guest advisor, and made him her strategist.

As for the feud between Jiang Fangxiu and the guest advisor, according to the Jiang servants, when Su was imprisoned, Jiang Fangxiu had kicked him while he was down, deeply offending him.

Once the guest advisor had secured his position in the princess's household, he began plotting revenge against Jiang Fangxiu.

Princess Qingyang fully backed the guest advisor, and as a result, Jiang Fangxiu was thrown into Tianlaomiao. Fearing further retaliation from Su, the Jiang family hastily returned to their ancestral home and dared not remain in the capital.

Now that Jiang Fangxiu is dead, whether his corpse is buried or fed to wild dogs depends on the princess's household. Until they issue orders, his body must remain in the morgue.

That's essentially how things unfolded.

Lu Datou downed two cups of tea, wiped his mouth.

"Brother, if you want more details, I can track down the other candidates who failed the exam with him—I'm sure I'll learn more. If all else fails, I'll go to the princess's palace and use connections to ask."

"You think you're something, going to the princess's palace to use connections? Do you know how dangerous that is? You'll lose your life. Enough. Drop it. Any silver left?"

Lu Datou grinned and made as if to pull out silver. "There's a bit left."

Before he could pull it out, Chen Guanlou said directly: "Keep the rest. Buy some good food for the kids. By the way, how old is this guest advisor Su?"

"He's probably under forty. I heard he passed the exam very young, with a brilliant future ahead—then disaster struck. If not for Princess Qingyang saving him, he'd have died in prison."

"Hmm, I understand. Go on with your work. Keep a low profile—don't let Xu Fugui catch you out."

"Thanks for the warning, Brother. Xu Fugui isn't a threat." Lu Datou, pleased with his success and the silver he'd earned, walked off happily, likely heading to the gambling den that night.

After learning the truth, Wang Bantou kept scratching his head.

"Are we just going to leave the corpse sitting there? What if the princess's household never gives orders? Won't it rot?"

Luckily it's winter, and the temperature has dropped these past few days.

If this had happened in summer, Wang Bantou couldn't imagine the scene—how horrifying it would be! He suddenly recalled the time they flogged a corpse—the whole prison reeked for half a month before the stench fully faded.

That smell was unbearable for anyone.

And it affected his bonus.

"Let's wait and see what the Ministry of Justice does. If nothing happens, we'll find our own way to notify the princess's household."

"My lord, do you have a plan? Do you know someone in the princess's household?"

"Who do I know in the princess's household?" Chen Guanlou grunted. He didn't know anyone there—but he knew one person who definitely did.

Xiang Ge!

Chen Guanxiang!

As the gatekeeper of Hou Fu, he was well-connected and well-informed.

The princess's household and Hou Fu must have dealings.

As gatekeeper, Chen Guanxiang couldn't reach most people—but he could definitely speak with the stewards of the princess's household.

But everything waits for word from the Ministry of Justice.

Fearing the morgue wasn't cold enough, Chen Guanlou ordered more large blocks of ice brought in.

Since the Jiang family isn't in the capital, notify Jiang Fangxiu's friends and relatives—anyone, whoever they are—tell them to prepare to collect the body.

The Ministry of Justice dragged its feet for days without action.

Chen Guanlou sent people to pressure them—still no effect.

If the matter weren't so trivial, he'd have gone himself to speak with Sun Daoning.

He didn't go to Sun Daoning—but he went to Fan my lord, his former prison warden.

Fan my lord told him there was no other way: they had to wait.

Chen Guanlou could wait. But the corpse couldn't.

By regulation, a corpse must remain in Tianlaomiao's morgue until officially marked for disposal—no moving or relocating.

This was deadly!

"The corpse can't stay much longer, my lord. Go to the morgue yourself—you'll see the stench can't be hidden anymore."

"There's nothing we can do. Tianlaomiao handles this kind of work. If you have any connections, notify the princess's household and get them to issue orders."

"I have no connections."

"Don't be modest. This little matter surely won't stump you."