With Princess Shengping’s death having happened first, Chen Yunxiang’s death did not cause much of a stir.
If there was anything particularly different, it was the case of the Third Prince, Dantai Chang.
No, he was now the Second Prince, Dantai Chang. The Second Princess had been exposed as a fake princess and stripped of her title, so the ranks of the princes and princesses had all shifted forward.
Second Prince Dantai Chang was Chen Yunxiang’s son. Even though he was now being raised by Lady Yin, when news of Princess Shengping’s and Chen Yunxiang’s deaths arrived one after the other, Second Prince Dantai Chang locked himself in his room and refused to come out.
Many people felt sorry for the Second Prince, and Lady Yin was especially frantic with worry.
The Empress Dowager even brought Dantai Chang to Shoukang Palace to comfort him.
When Rongyao heard about it, she felt nothing in particular. After all, she was busy celebrating Chen Yunxiang’s death.
Good riddance. Now that Chen Yunxiang was dead, her mother would surely live the rest of her life in peace, health, and safety!
Rongyao smiled as she held a lotus blossom in her hand and teased her baby brother, who lay in his swaddling clothes.
Little Lin’er was already three months old and had grown quite a bit. He had opened his eyes as well. They were large and round, and he had grown plump from eating so well. He did not have a single tooth yet, and he was always grinning at her, drooling all over the place. He looked so dazed and silly that she was afraid he would not be very clever when he grew up.
She could barely carry him.
Fortunately, Little Lin’er was growing, and so was she. Her mother said that she had grown much taller during this period.
She would keep getting taller in the future too.
That day, she went to Wenchang Academy as usual.
Rongyao memorized her lessons diligently, just as she always did, and asked the Grand Tutor many questions.
After lunch, they went to the training grounds to practice horse stance. This time, she could hold the stance for the time it took two incense sticks to burn.
Of course, Wu Wanning could last even longer than she could. She could hold it for four incense sticks!
Gu Shen’an could last for four incense sticks too.
In short, Wu Wanning and Gu Shen’an were the most impressive.
The three princes were now all able to hold the stance for half an incense stick. The only difference from before was that Second Prince Dantai Chang avoided her and no longer paid her much attention.
She knew why.
She did not care whether Dantai Chang paid attention to her or not.
They had never been close to begin with.
After practicing horse stance, Rongyao excitedly ordered someone to bring her horse over.
It was a little horse her imperial father had specially found for her. The horse was just the right size for her. Once she grew up, the horse would grow alongside her, and then she would be able to ride a large horse!
…
Three days later.
Inside the Wenyuan Pavilion, the Chief Justice of the Imperial Court personally presented a memorial to the emperor, then knelt on the floor and begged forgiveness.
“Please forgive us, Your Majesty. We were unable to determine the cause of death.”
Dantai Ji looked at the memorial in his hand, his expression darkening slightly.
“Did you discover anything suspicious?”
The Chief Justice of the Imperial Court replied, “Please forgive this incompetent subject. More than a dozen coroner and physicians examined the body, yet none of them could determine what caused the deceased’s death.”
Dantai Ji rubbed the pressure points at his temples. “Are you certain there were no injuries? No signs of poisoning either?”
The Chief Justice of the Imperial Court answered, “Yes.”
Dantai Ji asked, “If I give you more time to examine the body, do you think you can determine the cause of death?”
The Chief Justice lowered his head. “I am afraid we cannot. These past few days, we have worked day and night, exhausting every method and seeking out every capable expert, yet we still could not determine the cause of death. It is due to our incompetence! We beg Your Majesty to punish us.”
Silence filled the hall for several breaths before the emperor spoke.
“Bury her.”
The Chief Justice of the Imperial Court said, “This subject receives Your Majesty’s decree!”
…
Under a clear blue sky, someone was digging up a grave in the wilderness.
There were only three people.
Each of them held a tool and was digging into the earth.
The soil was fresh and soft, with not a single blade of grass growing on it.
The person buried here had probably been interred only two days before.
It was the grave of Princess Shengping.
The idea of digging up the grave had naturally come from Princess Fuxi.
At last, the grave was opened, revealing a fairly new black coffin.
Chu Mingyi and Hongyu exchanged a glance, then worked together to pry open the coffin.
Both of them had done hard labor since childhood, and neither was lacking in strength compared with a man. Soon, they had opened the coffin.
Chu Mingyi and Hongyu were both physicians and were not afraid of corpses. Yet when they saw the person inside the coffin, their expressions both turned grim.
Rongyao also leaned over to take a look.
When she saw the person inside, she patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid there would be no one inside. Fortunately, the body was there.
However, Sister Mingyi and Hongyu both looked rather troubled.
Rongyao asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chu Mingyi said, “Princess, there’s something wrong with this corpse.”
Rongyao widened her eyes, jumped into the pit, and poked the person’s cheek.
“What’s wrong with it?”
Chu Mingyi replied, “Princess, she has been buried here for three days, yet the body hasn’t decayed or begun to smell, and there aren’t any maggots!”
Hongyu added, “Master is right. An ordinary corpse should have begun to rot and stink terribly after being buried underground for several days, but this one hasn’t!”
Chu Mingyi looked at the little princess in front of her and could not help thinking that the princess truly was remarkably perceptive. Just yesterday, she had wondered why the princess wanted to dig up Princess Shengping’s grave. The woman was already dead—was the princess digging her up to vent her anger?
The princess had not explained herself. She had merely ordered Chu Mingyi to carry out the task. Who could have expected that there really would be something wrong with the corpse in the grave?
As a physician, Chu Mingyi had seen many corpses, but she had never encountered one that did not decay.
“Princess, what should we do now?” Chu Mingyi asked.
Rongyao stared at the corpse and spoke in a childish voice.
“Burn it.”
Hongyu’s eyes widened. “Burn it? If anyone finds out…”
Chu Mingyi glanced at Hongyu and ordered, “Go prepare everything. We will do as the princess says.”
Hongyu said no more. She hurriedly climbed out of the pit, taking one more look at the corpse before shuddering and going to gather what they needed.
If the princess said to burn it, then she naturally had her reasons.
Besides, who knew what might happen with such a strange corpse that refused to decay? And the person inside had been the princess’s enemy, to begin with.
Soon, everything was ready.
Chu Mingyi and Hongyu worked together to carry the corpse—which had neither rotted nor begun to smell—and throw it onto the prepared pile of firewood.
Chu Mingyi turned back to look at the little princess.
“Princess, are you certain you want to burn it?”
Rongyao stared at the firewood and nodded firmly.
“Burn it.”
She was afraid Princess Shengping might come back to life. Now that she was dead, it was best for her to remain thoroughly dead and not crawl out to frighten anyone.
Princess Shengping really had been the one with magical abilities. Since she possessed magic, and since her death had been so strange, there was no guarantee she would not suddenly crawl out of her grave.
