Chapter 468

Something big has happened! - no names

Suddenly, Yun Jinglou's voice rang out from outside the room. -> Yun Jinglou (Yun Jinglou)

Gu Rongjin rolled his eyes and said, "I'm telling you, Yun Sir, climbing over the wall like this—are you looking down on our Grand General's Manor?" -> Gu Rongjin, Yun Jinglou, Grand General's Manor

Although Mu Yuanzhi didn't approve of this way of receiving guests, Yun Jinglou's urgency certainly wasn't a trivial matter. -> Mu Yuanzhi, Yun Jinglou

Yun Sir, are you trying to get on our Grand General's Manor's blacklist? -> Yun Jinglou, Grand General's Manor

Yun Jinglou smiled and said, "The situation is

You wouldn't panic even if the sky fell, unless someone wanted your head," Gu Rongjin teased.

You're wrong; there aren't many people in this world who could take my head," Yun Jinglou said arrogantly, raising his eyebrows.

Mu Yanzhi: "So you're just annoyed about having to climb over the wall to get in."

Don't worry about these details, you two—I really have something important to tell you!" Yun Jinglou said solemnly: "Guess who died in this charitable estate fire case?"

Who is it?

Gu Rongjin and Mu Yanzhi exchanged a glance, puzzled.

Aren't they all people from the charitable estate? There are backup records on file—could someone else have perished?

The Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice!" Yun Jinglou said gravely.

What?!" Gu Rongjin didn't understand, "Did he die on duty while putting out the fire at the scene?"

No wonder I didn't see the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice at court today...

Yun Jinglou narrowed his eyes: "His body was in a coffin at the charitable estate, that coffin being a platinum one. The estate's backup records say a wealthy merchant from Ailan Sha suddenly died and was temporarily laid to rest there, but when officials opened the coffin to examine the body, they discovered to their shock that the corpse inside was actually the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice."

Gu Rongjin: "Is someone pulling a fast one?"

Platinum resists fire; if you wanted to do something unseen and unknown, you wouldn't put it in a platinum coffin," Mu Yanzhi said.

The princess is right—all the coffins in the charitable estates burned down, the bodies turned to ash, making them hard to identify; only this platinum coffin suffered some damage but still preserved the body inside." Yun Jinglou said, "It's almost as if someone wanted people to discover that the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice is in here."

Mu Yanzhi readily agreed with Yun Jinglou's view: "It's already unusual for the major charitable estates outside the capital to suffer successive fires; it must be a deliberate, malicious act, which suggests the perpetrator is probably quite arrogant."

Gu Rongjin asked Yun Jinglou: "Has anyone investigated the background of that Ailan Sha merchant?"

Yun Jinglou: "He's a big merchant who frequently travels between the Central Plains and Ailan Sha, said to have suddenly fallen ill before even reaching the capital; his caravan is currently at the Imperial Court of Justice."

As for the Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice, the coroner's preliminary examination indicates he died of asphyxiation.

Gu Rongjin raised an eyebrow: "Does this asphyxiation mean he was strangled or smothered in the coffin?"

You've hit the nail on the head—he was smothered, and there are clear scratch marks on the inside of the coffin lid; at the time he must have been desperately trying to escape.

Mu Yanzhi couldn't bear to hear this.

How desperate must he have been.

His Majesty takes this matter very seriously; the successive fires at the charitable estates have put the capital's people on edge, and lately diviners, Daoist priests, and monks fill the streets—even the Junior Minister of the War Directorate has gained many colleagues seeking him out." Yun Jinglou said, "That's why I rushed to find you. Princess Gu, could you please come over and re-examine the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice's body? His Majesty has ordered me to assist the Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice with the investigation, and I need to accomplish something.

Also 司馬少監 (Junior Minister of the War Directorate). We'll include.

My wife is mine—how did she become your performance boost?!" Gu Rongjin snapped.

Consider us allies; in His Majesty's eyes we're on the same side," Yun Jinglou laughed.

Gu Rongjin said, "Enough—who's on your side? You're a defector, while we've been loyal to His Majesty from the start."

You didn't talk like that when you were ordering me around.

When did I become a coroner?

Practice makes perfect—how many times have you served as a coroner? Medicine and coroner work go hand in hand.

What nonsense...

Half an hour later, the three of them still arrived at the Prefect of Jingzhao's office.

The Prefect of Jingzhao personally came to greet them, with the advisor and coroner following behind, giving a brief explanation.

Alright, Sir Zhang, you're busy with myriad affairs—go attend to them; we can handle this ourselves," Gu Rongjin said to the Prefect of Jingzhao.

The Prefect of Jingzhao hesitated, then clasped his hands and said, "In that case, thank you, Princess Gu and the two sirs."

As they left, the advisor and coroner glanced back at the placed corpse before closing the door.

The three of them put on gloves and examined the body in their own ways.

Seeing Mu Yanzhi feel the pulse of the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice's wrist, Yun Jinglou asked in surprise, "Can you take a pulse of a dead person?"

It's not a pulse," Mu Yanzhi said, laying down the pale, stiff hand, then continued, "His blood vessels are blocked."

Blocked blood vessels?" Yun Jinglou quickly pried open the corpse's mouth and reached inside.

As his hand went deeper, Gu Rongjin's jaw nearly dropped: "What kind of technique is this?"

A secret, esoteric art," Yun Jinglou said, pulling his hand out to reveal a silver needle now resting in his palm.

Gu Rongjin: "This scene feels familiar—I feel like we encountered something like this in the Infant Void State."

Mu Yanzhi: "Still, there are differences."

I'm not sure—maybe it's a disciple of the Nine Thousand Years.

Isn't the Nine Thousand Years a fellow disciple of Heir Jin?" Yun Jinglou asked.

We're just on the same team, not fellow disciples—we were previously assigned to the same unit, one after another," Gu Rongjin corrected.

Mu Yanzhi: "Could the Junior Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice have died because his meridians were sealed and he was stuffed into a coffin to suffocate?"

I think this silver‑needle technique is so refined it would be easier just to kill him outright," Gu Rongjin mused, stroking his chin.

Yun Jinglou: "Not necessarily—maybe the killer wanted to suffocate him; such a fetish isn't impossible."

With this silver needle we at least have a lead," Mu Yanzhi said, taking the needle from Yun Jinglou's hand to examine it closely. "Does anyone recognize this pattern?"

Let me have a look," Gu Rongjin said, leaning in. "I think I've seen it somewhere before."

Let me take a look too," Yun Jinglou leaned forward. "Isn't this the former emblem of the Hidden Moon Sect?"

Former? How old are you to know that?" Gu Rongjin said, eyeing Yun Jinglou with curiosity.

Yunjinglou just laughed: "What does that have to do with age? I'm well-traveled and knowledgeable!"

"Rongjin, do you recall where you've seen this pattern before?" Mu Yuanzhi asked Gu Rongjin.

"I have to go somewhere!" Gu Rongjin said, patting Cloud Mirror Pavilion: "Take good care of your sister-in-law."

"Being ordered around again." Cloud Mirror Pavilion shook his head speechlessly.

Gu Rongjin arrived at the top floor of Myriad Fragrance Pavilion; on the eaves, the belly of the tiny stone Qilin bore exactly the same pattern as the old totem of the Hidden Moon Sect just seen!