Chapter 76: Zither and Flute Rivalry

ughter's hand was now incapable of playing the zither, she wished nothing more than to tear Cloud Qianyue apart alive. Who gave this girl the audacity to deal such a cruel blow to her own flesh and bl...Chapter 76: Flute and Xiao in Competition

Yun Qianyue's gaze was fixed on the window, where朦朧 moonlight shrouded the gauze curtains at her bedside. The clear flute melody seemed to be floating far away into the sky; only the lingering sound of distant zither music filled her eyes and mind.

The sound of the zither pierced through the moonlight, cloud cover, and the gauzy curtain veiling the window, penetrating her body until it nestled deep within her heart. It coiled around her heart, softly and tenderly, cleansing layer by layer her feelings of three parts sorrow, three parts melancholy, three parts helplessness, and one part sigh, like a gentle spring breeze or soft rain, transforming barren wastelands into lush fields.

Her heart suddenly softened. Yun Qianyue pushed back the covers, got up from bed, and walked out of her room.

The flute melody abruptly changed; "Longing Thoughts" transformed into "Moon over Spring River." The zither sound stopped instantly when the flute's tone shifted. It was as if the celestial river in the spring sky had suddenly been retracted by a heavenly maiden.

Yun Qianyue paused, her senses snapping back to reality. She recalled that winter night when Tian Yiyi first played "Longing Thoughts." Smiling, she told him, "‘Longing Thoughts’ isn't the most beautiful tune; ‘Moon over Spring River’ is." Tian Yiyi smiled and handed his flute to her so she could play a piece of "Moon over Spring River."

That was ten years ago. After playing it for him, she asked, "Isn’t this more beautiful than 'Longing Thoughts'"

Tian Yiyi smiled and nodded but continued to play "Longing Thoughts" from then on.

Ten years had passed; she thought Tian Yiyi must have forgotten that day's incident, yet today he could actually play it again with perfect accuracy. She couldn't forget that Tian Yiyi was also someone who never forgot what he saw or heard.

The flute melody turned soft and delicate, a faint longing intertwined with deep affection. Yun Qianyue looked at the western wall where, under the朦朧 moonlight, a tall figure lay on top of it, his jade-green flute in harmony with the moonlight above. The light from the flute cast a pale green glow around him; he appeared cold and lonely.

She sighed softly before turning her gaze away.

A sudden, severe zither melody broke through the sky like thunder, waves crashing on the shore, wailing spirits and wolves. It instantly disrupted "Moon over Spring River," a tune known as "Ten-Fold Ambush."

Yun Qianyue was startled; she raised her head sharply toward the direction of the zither melody. She had only played this once, to tease Rong Jing. Now he had taken it up again and executed it flawlessly.

"Ten-Fold Ambush" exuded a solemn aura with an earth-shattering impact that instantly broke through "Moon over Spring River." The gentle longing and deep emotions in the flute melody were swept away, leaving behind only images of battlefields brimming with bloodshed and destruction. It seemed as though vast landscapes had crumbled into darkness and crimson.

Every trace of warmth, springtime romance, and朦朧 beauty vanished instantly, replaced by two colors: dark black, devoid of light, and scarlet red, stained with blood.

The warm feelings and sighs born from "Moon over Spring River" were completely dispelled in this solemn atmosphere. Yun Qianyue's brows furrowed tightly before loosening again; after a few rounds, she looked at the direction of the zither melody with both anger and amusement. He was venting his anger through Tian Yiyi playing the flute!

The flute melody paused briefly but continued to play. It didn't buckle under the pressure from the zither; instead, it met this challenge head-on.

In such a stirring situation, the mingling of deep longing and springtime atmosphere between one zither and one flute was incredibly rare.

Yun Qianyue massaged her forehead. With Tian Yiyi so determined and Rong Jing equally tenacious, she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She abruptly turned around, went back to bed, crossed her legs, and began practicing her skills. The sounds of the zither and flute continued swirling around her ears. Holding her breath and concentrating intently, she soon formed a protective aura around herself, blocking out all external noise and entering a meditative state.

Throughout that night, "Moon over Spring River" played on with the flute's melody.

Throughout that night, "Ten-Fold Ambush" continued its relentless zither sounds.

In this process of protecting herself and practicing her skills, Yun Qianyue's strength rose to a new level, and the Phoenix Scripture ascended by one rank.

The sun was just beginning to rise when the flute stopped playing and the zither ceased. Yun Qianyue slowly ended her practice, opening her eyes. Although she hadn't slept at all that night, her spirit remained clear and bright. She got up from bed, washed her face alone, combed her hair in front of the mirror, changed into fresh clothes, then opened her door.

Outside, Tingshu and Tingyu had been waiting for her by the door since early morning. When they saw Yun Qianyue come out, Tingshu hurriedly said, "Miss, the head steward selected ten replacements for Sister Cai Lian last night. They are all waiting at the gate now, just awaiting your final decision. Should I call them in"

"Yes, do so." Yun Qianyue nodded.

Tingshu immediately left to fetch them.

“Miss, Aunt Zhao has prepared breakfast; should I bring it for you” Tingyu asked Yun Qianyue as she watched her.

"Hmm!" Yun Qianyue responded.

Tingyu immediately followed her down.

Yun Qianyue stood at the door and watched as a red sun slowly rose in the eastern sky. At first it was half-visible, then gradually emerged inch by inch above the horizon. The entire disk resembled a fiery ball, radiating golden light that illuminated the dawn-lit earth instantly, casting a golden glow everywhere. As she looked at this sight, a smile不由自主地浮現在她的嘴角，她轉身回房。

Tingyu brought in breakfast; unlike Cai蓮，她不會多話。無論何時，隻要和她在一塊兒，Cai蓮都會嘮叨幾句，而Tingyu會在她旁邊靜靜候著。

Yun Qianyue glanced at Tingyu and picked up her chopsticks.

Soon, Tingsnow brought ten or more women to the Qianyue Pavilion. She stood by the door and reported, "Miss, I’ve brought everyone here as instructed. Would you like to see their profiles first or meet them The Grand Superintendent said these are all virtuous destitute girls, Miss can choose if they don’t suit."

"Let’s see the list first," Yun Qianyue ordered without lifting her head.

"Yes!" Tingsnow entered with a small booklet and handed it to Yun Qianyue.

Yun Qianyue ate while flipping through the pages of the booklet one by one. Upon reaching the last page, she paused in recognition when she saw two familiar names: Ling Lian and Yi Xue. She hadn’t forgotten the seven people who had reported to her at the Red Pavilion on Cloud Mist Mountain not long ago—Hua Sheng, Hua Luo, Ling Lian, Cang Lan, Yi Xue, Feng Yan, and Feng Lu. Since that day when Old Emperor wanted to depose Empress, no one from the Red Pavilion had contacted her since Hua Sheng's message. Perhaps this was an opportunity for them to enter while she was selecting maidservants

Yun Qianyue closed the booklet nonchalantly and continued eating. Tingsnow stood silently by her side with Tingyu.

A moment later, Yun Qianyue put down her chopsticks and got up to leave. Tingsnow and Tingyu followed her. At the door, she instructed Tingsnow, "Go fetch them in."

"Yes!" Tingsnow went out to relay the message and returned.

The ten women entered one by one behind Tingsnow. They were similar in stature and age, all wearing simple clothes that gave an impression of poverty. Two at the back had their heads down, seemingly no different from others.

Yun Qianyue’s gaze swept over each woman before settling on the last two. Despite them bowing their heads, there was no mistaking Ling Lian and Yi Xue. She withdrew her eyes coolly and said to all ten, "I have one question: who can answer correctly will stay with me."

All ten women looked at her.

"Who’s more beautiful, Miss Qin from Chancellor’s Manor or I" Yun Qianyue flashed a question with her eyes. Smirking slightly, she observed all ten.

Their expressions varied in an instant, yet only Ling Lian and Yi Xue twitched their lips simultaneously.

Yun Qianyue suddenly smiled and said to Tingsnow before anyone could answer, "Keep the last two! Send the others out!"

Everyone was taken aback.

"Miss, aren’t you only looking for one personal maid" Tingsnow looked at Yun Qianyue in confusion. She thought Miss’s question odd but it was also strange to decide so quickly without waiting for answers, and even stranger that she chose two people. She couldn’t see what those two had.

"Nanny is gone and Cai蓮 left. Our Pavilion just happens to need two more; replacing them isn’t bad," Yun Qianyue waved dismissively before turning back into the room, "Bring in the two I kept, send others out."

"Yes!" Tingsnow led those eight away.

Yun Qianyue sat on a cushioned sofa as Ling Lian and Yi Xue entered the room. Tingyu knew Miss was going to give them a lecture so she quietly closed the door and left.

"Servants reporting to Young Lady!" Ling Lian and Yi Xue kneeled respectfully.

“Why are you here” Yun Qianyue asked them.

"Sister Hua Sheng said Miss needs assistance, so she sent us. But thinking of your earlier instructions, we sought an opportunity to enter the residence and just happened upon the Grand Superintendent's announcement yesterday. So here we are. Sister Hua Sheng told us that if you need us, we'll be kept; otherwise, meeting you was a chance anyway," Ling Lian replied respectfully.

Yun Qianyue nodded, "You two can get up and talk!"

"Yes!" The two of them stood up together.

Yun Qianyue pointed to the spot beside her and waved for them to come over. They walked over and sat down. She then asked, "Where are Hua Sheng and others Are they still in the capital city"

Ling Lian nodded and lowered her voice to say, "We have been staying in the capital city this whole time without leaving. We thought that since Young Master has just taken over Red Pavilion but hasn't assigned any tasks yet, it's a busy season now; the old emperor is always keeping an eye on you, while Seventh Prince returned to the city as well. It might be hard for you to handle everything alone, so we decided to stay in the capital to assist you."

"But we waited for several days and didn't receive any instructions from Young Master. Hua Luo couldn’t wait anymore and wanted to come here. She was stopped by Senior Sister Hua Sheng, who then sent us two instead." Yi Xue continued to explain.

Yun Qianyue nodded slightly as she looked at the two of them, "Do you know that I have Wind Pavilion in my possession"

The two of them nodded simultaneously. Ling Lian said, "We didn't know before, but we found out from that day when the pavilion lord of Wind Pavilion, Feng Jin, returned to the city with you together. However, our investigations did not yield any results other than finding out about the identity of the pavilion lord of Wind Pavilion. Young Master is very good at keeping secrets."

Yun Qianyue smiled faintly, "Do you know that besides being the pavilion lord of Wind Pavilion, who else is Feng Jin"

The two shook their heads simultaneously.

"Feng Jin comes from one of the ten great families—the Feng family. Now do you understand who he is" Yun Qianyue asked again.

The two were stunned and exclaimed in surprise, "Wind Lu!"

"That's right! Both Feng Jin and Wind Lu come from the Feng family among the ten great families. Logically speaking, Feng Jin should be the elder brother of Wind Lu." Yun Qianyue was not surprised by their shock; although one is pure and adorable while the other is sinister and sharp-looking, they don't look like siblings at all. But that's how it is.

"Now that this little girl has an older brother beside Young Master, she will surely be delighted! If she finds out about this news, she definitely won’t hold back from coming to see you," Ling Lian said with a smile after recovering her composure.

"Yes, I heard that the little girl kept pouting when Senior Sister Hua Sheng told us to come. She probably still has a bad mood now!" Yi Xue also smiled and said.

Yun Qianyue laughed too, "You can tell her about this matter but inform her as well that I cannot hand anyone over to her at the moment because Feng family's lord came to the capital city and took him back to the Feng family."

The two were shocked again and said simultaneously, "Feng family’s lord"

"You may not have received this news: The whereabouts of Feng family's lord are mysterious. He came to the capital for Feng Jin. Since the heir of the Feng family suddenly passed away due to illness, he went back to take over the position. It has been two days since then; I suppose he should be arriving at the Feng residence now," Yun Qianyue explained.

"Red Pavilion received news from the Feng family about searching for someone, but they kept it very confidential and didn’t reveal anything externally. The person they were looking for turned out to be the pavilion lord of Wind Pavilion who needs to return to take over as the deputy head of the Feng family." Ling Lian looked at Yun Qianyue and said softly, "Young Master, now that you have sent Feng Jin back to his family, what about Wind Pavilion"

"I’ve handed Wind Pavilion over to Third Young Master of Filial Piety Prince’s Manor," Yun Qianyue glanced at Yi Xue and told Ling Lian.

"Young Master, do you know that Third Young Master is actually from Western Yan…" Ling Lian was shocked.

"I’m aware of this matter!" Yun Qianyue interrupted Ling Lian, "Third Young Master can be trusted."

"Although Third Young Master can be trusted, people from the Western Yan might not. If it becomes public knowledge that Saintess has a son and he takes over as pavilion lord of Wind Pavilion, it could bring trouble to both Wind Pavilion and you," Ling Lian said.

"Do I have fewer troubles on me" Yun Qianyue smiled, "I’m not afraid of the trouble! Sometimes, the biggest trouble can also be the greatest benefit. Every person who controls the chessboard is a gambler; if one cannot make the biggest bet and place the largest stake, they won’t win the most valuable prize either. You should understand this principle."

"Young Master is right!" The two suppressed their shock and nodded together, "We understand!"

"Starting from today, you can stay by my side! But send a message to Hua Sheng and tell her that Red Pavilion cannot take any actions without my instructions. Keep it as before, pretending that there’s no relation between me and the matter. Now that Third Young Master has taken over Wind Pavilion, I will activate Wind Pavilion. Although Wind Pavilion is usually secretive, they have been interacting with Emperor's Secret Guards and Night Tianyi for years; so now it’s somewhat exposed." Yun Qianyue looked at them seriously and said, "I want to keep Red Pavilion! The more secret something is, the greater its use."

"Yes!" Both of them answered in unison.

"I've reviewed your backgrounds; they're too perfect, without any flaws. This isn't good. I'll have Third Young Master add a note for both of you in the Wind Pavilion. When others check, it will show up under the Wind Pavilion but not the Red Pavilion. From now on, all matters should be handled by the Wind Pavilion first; if they can't manage it, then the Red Pavilion will assist to tie up loose ends." After some thought, Yun Qianmo gave another order.

"Yes!" Both of them responded again.

"Alright, you two go see Uncle Meng. He'll help you get familiar with the family affairs and rules as soon as possible. From now on, when others are around, address me as 'Miss.'" Yun Qianmo finished giving her instructions to the pair and waved a hand at them.

The two nodded their heads and stood up to leave the room.

Upon hearing that they would ask Ting Yu to lead them to Yun Meng's place, she looked out the window and thought about how good it was for Ling Lian and Yi Xue to have arrived. One of them was meticulous while the other was shrewd. Having these two assistants by her side would make things easier. She believed in the Red Pavilion and trusted that her mother had chosen people who were cultivated carefully.

Shortly after the trio left, Ting Xue returned to Yun Qianmo's room and reported from the doorway, "Miss, Seventh Prince has come! He is waiting outside now. He said His Majesty instructed him to investigate the princess’s and Cloud Young Master’s murder case with Miss, and that he will take you to the Ministry of Justice morgue."

"Alright, I'll go there right away!" Yun Qianmo stood up and left the room.

Exiting Yun Qianmo's residence, she circled around the back courtyard before arriving at the front entrance. There, Ye Tianyi was waiting on his horse outside the Cloud王府 gate. Recalling that he had played "Spring River Moonlit Night" all night while Rong Jing had performed "Encirclement of Ten Directions," she felt a slight headache coming on and put on an indifferent expression as she approached the front entrance.

"Let's head to the Ministry of Justice morgue first!" Ye Tianyi saw Yun Qianmo approach and smiled at her warmly, acting as though nothing had happened last night.

"Alright!" Yun Qianmo nodded in agreement. One of the guards outside brought over a horse for her, and she mounted it.

Ye Tianyi didn't ride quickly but rather let his horse leave slowly from Cloud王府’s main gate, asking Yun Qianmo as they rode alongside each other, "Moon, did you help my Imperial Brother Prince yesterday Now that you won’t assist me, are you going to help my Imperial Brother instead"

Yun Qianmo didn't expect Ye Tianyi to ask her so straightforwardly. She glanced at him and seeing how seriously he was looking at her, she replied calmly, "No! I no longer want to help you nor anyone else. Yesterday’s matter only involved me helping Night Sky傾 who got entangled with me."

"It's best if there wasn't anything. If you helped my Imperial Brother, how could I bear the situation" Ye Tianyi smiled gently but then changed his tone and continued, "However, I trust you; your feelings towards me are different from others’. You wouldn’t really abandon me to help someone else who opposes me."

Yun Qianmo twisted her lips into a smile but remained silent.

"Yesterday my father nearly stripped the Imperial title from Prince, yet Miss Qin of the Chancellor’s Mansion ran over to testify on behalf of Prince. Not only did my father not strip him of his title, he also lifted the house arrest." Ye Tianyi laughed and then continued, "Moon, are you suspecting that I colluded with Princess Ye yesterday"

"Why wouldn’t it be like that" Yun Qianmo turned her head to look at Ye Tianyi.

“It’s not!” Ye Tianyi shook his head and said, “Think about it; right now what I want is your heart. Attacking you would bring me no benefit at all. Moreover, Qing Wan is dead, so Yun Muhan means nothing to me.”

Yun Qianmo's eyes flashed slightly but she didn’t speak.

"You don't believe me" Suddenly Ye Tianyi pulled back on the reins of his horse.

“Not that I don't believe you, it’s just that your actions make it hard for me to trust.” Yun Qianmo sighed and said, "Tianyi, do you know that in this world and throughout the kingdom, I am most unwilling to hurt anyone but you. I've told you countless times that my heart is already full, with no room left for others. I can give you friendship, but not love."

Ye Tianyi fell silent.

Yun Qianmo also didn't say anything more. She believed eight out of ten parts in what Ye Tianyi had said; however, he could still have made a deal with Ye Qian to frame her even though they once had transactions between them. After all, Ye Tianyi wanted the entire kingdom and was focused on the bigger picture beyond just the capital city, including Southern Frontier.

"Moon, is Rong Shi so important to you that it would make you give up my friendship of five years and our correspondence over those same five years Am I really that repulsive to you such that there's no place in your heart for me anymore" After a momentary silence, Ye Tianyi suddenly asked.

"I’ve already said what needed saying! Tianyi, throughout all this time my feelings towards you have mostly been about protecting and looking out for you. Rong Jing can make me irrational and immature for his sake but I've always been clear-headed with regard to you. This has nothing to do with how long we've known each other." Yun Qianmo pressed her lips together, not wanting to continue on this topic any further. She quickly changed the subject by asking, "Have you found out where those people from the Ministry of Justice come from"

Seeing that Yun Qianmo was changing the subject, Ye Tianyi wiped away his somber expression and said softly, "Those bandits are based in a place called Blackwood Fortress two hundred miles outside the city. I've already sent troops to besiege them. As for those later arrivals who were captured by your Red Pavilion, we're still clueless about their origins. Let's go take a look."

"Blackwood Fortress" Yun Qianmo raised her eyebrows. "Two hundred miles from the capital city, and with His Majesty’s uncle turning fifty-five today, a one-hundred-mile radius around the city is under strict military control. The Blackwood Fortress would be more concerned about avoiding trouble than committing crimes in such times. Are they looking for death"

"Indeed, it's a suicidal act! However, those people were all killed by the Crown Prince Yun; not a single one was left alive. Now we just have to wait for the剿匪 troops to return and hear what they say!" Night Tianyi agreed. "For such matters, there must be someone behind pulling strings. Judging from Blackwood Fort's movements that day, it seems clear that they came here upon receiving news. Without a hand behind them, even if they had all the audacity in the world, they wouldn’t dare to do this."

"Mm!" Yun Qianmo nodded.

The two of them fell silent as they rode their horses towards the Ministry of Justice.

They arrived at the Ministry without any hindrance. Duke Dede and a few officials were standing in front of it. Upon seeing Duke Dede, Yun Qianmo recalled that he was in charge of the Ministry of Justice. She also thought about the Forgetful Pill that Ye Qingran had taken. Amongst the previous generation of royal family members, Duke Dede could be considered one who truly understood when to advance and retreat. Calming her emotions, she looked at Duke Dede with a composed expression.

"Uncle Dede!" Night Tianyi dismounted his horse and gave Duke Dede a slight bow.

"Seventh Prince!" Duke Dede returned the gesture, glanced at Yun Qianmo, and saw her also dismount. He smiled at Night Tianyi, saying: "From afar, I could see you two coming and thought how well-suited you are for each other. I almost mistook it."

Yun Qianmo paused in her movement as if nothing happened and loosened the reins.

"If only Tianyi has such luck!" Night Tianyi turned his head to give Yun Qianmo a gentle smile; anyone could see the tenderness in his eyes. After finishing, he smiled at Duke Dede, saying: "Uncle Dede, are those people still in the morgue"

"Yes, they’re all there. You can rest assured; following your instructions, I’ve had someone guarding them carefully. No mistakes have occurred," said Duke Dede with a nod. "I’ll take you inside."

"Alright!" Night Tianyi nodded.

Duke Dede didn’t speak further and led the way first. Night Tianyi and Yun Qianmo followed closely, as did some officials of the Ministry of Justice.

They arrived at the morgue; with a wave of his hand, Duke Dede ordered the guards to open the door. The moment the door was opened, an unbearable stench wafted out.

Yun Qianmo immediately took out a kerchief and covered her mouth. Just as Night Tianyi reached for his own kerchief to give it to Yun Qianmo, he saw the crescent white silk handkerchief in her hand; he paused momentarily. Yun Qianmo glanced at him, and then put on the handkerchief herself before looking inside and asking Duke Dede: "Uncle Dede, what’s going on These people died yesterday, how could they have rotted so quickly"

"I’m also puzzled!" replied Duke Dede with a frown. "When I just checked earlier, everything was fine. How did this happen…"

"Moonie, stay here; I’ll go in to take a look. Inside is filthy; you don’t need to come in," said Night Tianyi to Yun Qianmo.

"It’s nothing; let me go with you!" Yun Qianmo shook her head and stepped past Night Tianyi and Duke Dede, entering first.

Night Tianyi knew that Yun Qianmo would not stay behind if she came this far, so he did not try to dissuade her but followed in after her.

The morgue held dozens of dead bodies who had attempted to assassinate Yun Muhan the previous day. Each body was covered with a white cloth. Yun Qianmo turned and instructed one of the small soldiers, "Get two masks and handkerchiefs!"

Seeing Duke Dede nod, the soldier quickly ran off.

Shortly after, he brought back two masks and handkerchiefs. Yun Qianmo reached out to take them, handing one to Night Tianyi while she put on the other herself. After putting it on, she undid the white cloth covering a body; all of its flesh had already rotted away, leaving just bones. She pulled back his clothes and saw that there was no good spot left. Frowning, she reached out again.

Night Tianyi stopped Yun Qianmo’s hand. "Moonie, step back, I’ll do it!"

Yun Qianmo looked at Night Tianyi; seeing his serious expression, she nodded and stepped back one pace as he pulled open the body's clothes, revealing that its lower half was no different from the upper—everywhere there were bones covered with blood. He glanced over at Yun Qianmo.

"Come take a look!" Yun Qianmo’s voice sounded heavy.

"Alright," said Night Tianyi as he went to another body and repeated his actions.

The second corpse was the same; in fact, every single one that they checked had rotted completely.

Night Tianyi's lips tightened into a thin line as he looked at Duke Dede. "Uncle Dede, since I handed these corpses over to you yesterday for your custody, has anyone else come here or dealt with them

The Prince of De also looked displeased. After glancing at Yun Qianyue, he said in a serious tone, "After you ordered the bodies to be brought here yesterday, I had people watching them. Apart from inviting an examiner to check on them, no one else came."

"Who was this examiner" Yun Qianyue asked.

"He is an old examiner from the Ministry of Justice who has been dealing with all the cases," the Prince of De immediately replied.

"Bring me the report he wrote yesterday!" Yun Qianyue said to the Prince of De.

The Prince of De waved his hand and a waiting official went out. Not long after, that official brought in a paper with handwriting and handed it over to Yun Qianyue. She took the paper and passed it to Ye Tianyi.

Ye Tianyi glanced at the report too. His eyebrows furrowed as he said to Prince of De, "Prince Uncle De, bring that examiner here!"

The Prince of De nodded his head and waved his hand again. Someone immediately dashed out.

"Yue’er, let's go outside first before we talk," Ye Tianyi thoughtfully said to Yun Qianyue.

Yun Qianyue nodded her head and turned around to leave the morgue. Now that all the bodies had decomposed, it was impossible to determine anything from them! Last night when Nan Lingrui mentioned that a seal of Western Yan was carved on the genitals of the man in question, she should have known that these corpses would be destroyed. However, because Ye Qingran had overheard her conversation with Yun Qianyue and left angrily, it had distracted her mind and prevented her from coming to the morgue.

Ye Tianyi also exited after Yun Qianyue followed by the Prince of De and a few officials.

The air was immediately fresh once they got out of the morgue. Yun Qianyue took off her mask and asked, "When did that examiner arrive to check on the bodies"

"I ordered him to come soon after Seventh Young Prince sent these bodies over," the Prince of De replied.

"These corpses have rotted because someone sprinkled them with a layer of corpse powder. This kind of powder is different from other powders that would turn the body into water; it's a slow-acting one instead. It seeps slowly into the bodies and causes them to rot completely," Yun Qianyue said in her usual calm tone, "The characteristic of this powder is that when all the corpses are covered with it, healthy-looking ones will suddenly decompose."

"So it's like that. No wonder the corpses were still fine when I came here earlier!" The Prince of De looked at Yun Qianyue in surprise. He couldn't believe she knew about this powder until he recalled how close she was to Seventh Young Prince and Jing Shizi as well as his own son's feelings for her; and that she had survived each time even though the Emperor could not bear it. Recalling what the old emperor said, that the girl managed to trick him under his nose all these years, he decided against being surprised anymore.

"Prince Uncle De, are you certain that everyone who was in charge of watching over these corpses were your people" Yun Qianyue looked at Prince of De.

"If I did not have this ability, the Ministry of Justice would be useless!" The Prince of De nodded his head confidently.

"Judging by how much the bodies have rotted, it should have been overnight and half a day. In other words, after sending these corpses over yesterday, someone sprinkled them with corpse powder," Yun Qianyue said to the Prince of De, "We only need to find out who was on duty at that time in the morgue."

The Prince of De nodded and looked at Ye Tianyi.

Ye Tianyi said seriously, "Prince Uncle De, there should be a list for all those who were on duty at every hour. Bring me that!"

The Prince of De nodded his head and was just about to speak when the person who had left earlier returned, kneeling down and reported, "Your Highness, Seventh Young Prince, the examiner is dead!"

––– interlude –––

Ladies, don't forget that this volume's title is 'Young Master Stratagem'!

Hence, believe in our Jing’s power! O(n_n)O~

I saw the votes you guys sent me. I love you!

Thank you to those who sent diamonds and flowers:

srzhangyu (100 flowers), Tanmo Ruyan (99 flowers), Lulai (10 diamonds), Juyypjj (10 diamonds), 13030701999 (10 diamonds), 13882905333 (888 gift), Gong Ke (26 flowers and a 100-yuan gift), Sky7eagle (9 flowers), Huaguan Xiaoluán (1 diamond), Suifeng piaosan (5 flowers), Yewan Zhuang (5 flowers), Wgh301415 (1 diamond), Li Ying1987 (1 diamond), La Jiao Jie54 (5 flowers), Edison1134 (3 flowers), Fengyun 30 (2 flowers), 2233503552 (1 flower), Sikong Yuanyan (1 flower), Ai zai piaoxuehai (1 flower), 15251296942 (1 flower). O(n_n)O~ isn’t merely a weak maiden in her chamber anymore but your Crown Princess and this emperor’s daughter-in-law. The country comes first, personal affection second. You should understand this!" The old...