Bone Painting Coroner

Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don't read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

When Ji Yunshu walked out of the prison, Jing Rong was waiting for her quietly and politely like her personal guard. He did not even ask her any questions.

However, this puzzled Ji Yunshu. She then asked, “Are you not curious at all?”

He shook his head, “Tomorrow this Prince will get a nice seat at the hall of yamen. It’s more comfortable to listen to the story sitting than standing.” She smiled in response.

The next moment, Jing Rong nudged her thin shoulder, “My little vixen, something has been bothering this Prince for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Did it feel different when you touched Old Master Zhang’s body compared to when you touched this Prince’s body?”

Ji Yunshu was flustered. Can't you have a purer mind? Speechless, she rolled her eyes at him without mercy.

Jing Rong was overwhelmed with jealousy and determined to get an answer from Ji Yunshu. He whined, “If you can touch this Prince like how you touched Old Master Zhang, this Prince will not stop you from getting involved in any case anymore.”

The corner of Ji Yunshu’s lips twitched. She thought for a minute before she turned around to look at Jing Rong as she snapped, “If you’re a dead body, I can do way more than touching you. I can even sleep with you.” After all, back when she was living at the modern era, she frequently slept with the skeletons a. She left immediately after she fired the words in Jing Rong's face.

Jing Rong, who was still standing there, was bewildered before he finally grasped the meaning of her words. His face turned green and he quickly followed after her.

The jailers standing on the both sides of the prison doors were completely baffled. The relationship between the Prince and Teacher Ji is so messed up!

Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong did not return to the inn. Instead, they headed to the yamen to wait for Liu Zhiliang. They were told that Lord Liu was still investigating about the case of the missing Guanyin Seal. First Madam made a huge fuss about it. All the pageboys and maids in the residence were beaten up, yet, they failed uncover any clue. The Zhang Residence was in chaos as the Guanyin Seal was still nowhere to be found.

While they were waiting, Ji Yunshu summoned Shi Zijin to her side and whispered by Shi Zijin's ear. She ordered Shi Zijin to visit the Zhang Residence discreetly. Very secretive!

Bored while waiting, Ji Yunshu ditched Jing Rong and visited the study of the yamen. She intended to pass time by reading.

In the study, two bookshelves filled with books stood on opposite sides of the wall. Brushes, ink and paper were arranged tidily on the large desk.The only strange thing about the study was that both the desk and the bookshelves were coated with dust. The study seemed to be a place that was rarely visited and utilised. The room definitely looked merely decorative!

But then again, Liu Zhiliang paid for his official position. The only thing he actually did was to wear the official hat and collect a salary from the royal court. He was never a knowledgeable scholar, so it wasn’t a surprise that he had not much use for the study.

She picked a few books and was about to leave the study before an abandoned scroll at the corner of the bookshelf caught her eye. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and flipped through it quickly. That was actually a record of all the cases that were reported to the yamen! Cases were jotted down on the scroll in a messy order and there was nothing interesting, except... something seemed out-of-place.

There were many cases recorded on the scroll. Some of the cases had been solved, but those that were not, were all theft cases. The interesting part was that these theft cases were all from an inn named Ling’an. The case reporters all had lost their personal items or goods at Ling’an Inn and the cases traced all the way to four years back with the latest one happening a month ago. There were a total number of thirty to forty cases that were left unresolved.

The weirder thing was that Ling’an Inn belonged to Du Sanniang. Ji Yunshu was desperate for answers.

Suddenly…

Woof! Woof! Woof! A dog started barking outside the door.

She rolled the scroll up and kept it in her sleeve. As she walked outside, she saw a dog barking at a wall. It was the same dog and the back of the same wall from before! The dog seemed to be frightened as she walked closer to it and it anxiously ran to the side while it continued barking at the same wall.

This wall?

She stared at the wall curiously. The wall was two metres tall and looked no different from any other wall, only a little older and more torn.

“Damn dog, barking again.” The same old man she met in the morning chased after the dog and captured it. The old man bowed to Ji Yunshu apologetically, “Teacher, please don’t mind this dog. It’s just but a stupid dog that barks at everything.”

She smiled politely and replied with a bow, “No worries. However, uncle, why is it barking at this wall?”

“I’m not sure either. It started barking at this wall last month. Sometimes, it’s so agitated I can’t even hold it back. I wonder if they buried bones in the wall.”

“What kind of scent is this dog usually most sensitive to?”

“Eh…” The old man pondered for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up. “Gold! It will charge towards gold everytime it gets a whiff. When I bring it out for a walk, I have to drag it past the gold store whenever we pass by one.”

Gold? Ji Yunshu fell into deep thought as she stared at the wall. After the old man left, she picked up a sharp stone from the ground and scratched the wall with it. She caught some of the white powder on the wall on her handkerchief. She then inspected the powder on the tip of her finger. Eventually, she smiled. Hah, this is interesting!

At this moment…

“Teacher Ji.” A yamen runner ran over as he said, “Teacher Ji, the Lord is back and the Prince is asking for you.” She nodded, wrapped the powder in her handkerchief and kept it inside her robes.

As she entered the hall behind the pageboy, she saw Liu Zhiliang staring blankly with his weary eyes. However, he was forced to stand beside Jing Rong out of politeness. Meanwhile, Jing Rong was leisurely enjoying his tea.

“Lord Liu, have you found out any evidence regarding the theft case at Zhang Residence?” Ji Yunshu asked.

Liu Zhiliang whined in distress and started to complain, “Don’t you think First Madam is weird? She had been bugging us about the case since the beginning. But in a blink of an eye, she changed her mind and didn’t want us to investigate the case further.”

“Oh? Why?”

“This one has no idea. However, it is better for us to stop intervening. She is a very powerful woman and almost uprooted the Zhang Residence over this incident.”

Ji Yunshu chuckled as she heard his words,and started to console Liu Zhiliang, “Isn’t this tidela for your? Lord Liu can also take this opportunity to rest.”

“That’s right. But…” He walked towards Ji Yunshu and asked, “Teacher Ji, this humble official’s utmost concern right now is Old Master Zhang’s death. You’ve done the autopsy and inspected the crime scene. This one wonders if you’ve had any results to your investigation?”

“Hmm…” She dragged her voice, “Just wait. You’ll find out in the morning.”

“Why do we have to wait till the sun rises?”

“Because some things are better done after the sun sets.”

This…

Her words confused Liu Zhiliang. Jing Rong, who was sitting on the chair, poured two cups of tea and put one on the seat next to him. Then, he told Ji Yunshu, “Take a seat, Teacher Ji. There are still a few hours to go before daybreak.”

“Alright!” She sat beside Jing Rong obediently before she raised the teacup and elegantly took a sip. She frowned with the teacup in her hand and said to Liu Zhiliang, “Lord Liu, the tea in yamen is not fresh anymore. If you have time, you should send someone to buy some new tea,” she continued, “And yes, you should also send someone to clean the study. There are so many books and scrolls in the study. It’ll be such a waste if they are all covered in dust.”

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ChouFleur Rants Corner

hmm that wall and First madame... what's the connection?