# 245. Huang Xiaorou
"A woman’s body?"
The urgency in the eunuch's voice as he waited anxiously at the palace gate indicated something serious had happened. Considering that the only connection between him and the eunuch was the case of Consort Fu, the body likely had something to do with that.
Squinting his eyes, Xu Qi'an speculated, "Is it the missing palace maid from the Consort Fu case?"
The eunuch was taken aback, then quickly expressed his admiration, "Sir, you truly have divine foresight. This servant is utterly in awe."
The words were both flattery and sincere praise. After observing Xu Qi'an over the past two days, the eunuch had come to realise that despite his outwardly flamboyant demeanour, Xu Qi'an was a brilliant and perceptive detective.
*This isn't divine foresight, just simple deduction...* Xu Qi'an nodded, "Take me to see the body."
The little eunuch promptly led the way.
"Which well was the body found in?"
"In the courtyard behind Xie Pavilion."
"Xie Pavilion?"[^1]
*What sort of name is that...* Xu Qi'an mused.
"Xie Pavilion is where the palace maids reside," the eunuch explained.
Palace maids were also divided into different ranks. The higher-ranking ones were known as female officials and even have official titles and ranks, such as *Jieyu, Meiren, Cairen, Yunu, Cainu,* and so on.
These palace maids might hope for the Emperor's favour and a rise in status. However, during the reign of Emperor Yuanjing, none of them had such luck.
The next rank included those who served the consorts.
The lowest rank were the ones who lived in large dormitories, doing menial tasks.
Xie Pavilion was one such dormitory.
Talking as they walked, they soon arrived at the mortuary within the palace grounds, a secluded courtyard in the south used for storing the bodies of those who died from execution, illness, or accidents.
On a simple wooden slab lay a corpse, slightly bloated from being submerged in water.
"Fetch me some tools. I need to perform an autopsy," Xu Qi'an ordered.
He was somewhat eager at the prospect. In his previous life working at the police station, he often observed and assisted the coroner in autopsies, gaining a lot of professional knowledge and experience.
From initial fear and nausea, he gradually became accustomed to it, eventually becoming unfazed while assisting. Xu Qi'an had come to realise he rather enjoyed the process.
Since coming to this world, he had encountered numerous cases, but opportunities for autopsies were rare.
"Consort Fu is off-limits, but I can certainly dissect this little palace maid... If only it were fresher," he mused while unbuttoning the palace maid's clothing.
"Running dog, running dog, why didn't you inform me you were entering the palace..."
Princess Lin'an's cheerful voice rang out from outside, followed by a flash of red as she rushed to the door.
"What are you doing?"
Lin'an's smile froze when she saw Xu Qi'an holding the deceased maid's undergarments.
Behind her, Princess Huaiqing, dressed in a white gown, gracefully stepped over the threshold. She glanced at Xu Qi'an, then at the undergarments in his hand.
*This is awkward...* Xu Qi'an remained calm. "Examining the body, preparing for an autopsy."
"Don't touch such disgusting things!" Lin'an stomped her feet in frustration, quickly averting her gaze from the maid's exposed upper body.
Huaiqing shared the same sentiment and offered a suggestion, "Why not have the coroner do it?"
*Because I enjoy it...* Xu Qi'an shook his head solemnly and explained earnestly, "Your Highnesses, you know your servant always handles matters personally and meticulously. Where others see diligence, your servant sees nothing but ordinary duty. In truth, it's no big deal."
Lin'an was impressed by Xu Qi'an's work ethic. Huaiqing, however, remained expressionless, seemingly unconvinced.
"I suggest the two highnesses return to have some tea and wait outside. It won't take long," Xu Qi'an tried to usher them out.
Huaiqing did not leave. Instead, she gracefully stepped forward to examine the corpse.
"The body was retrieved last night. It was identified as Huang Xiaorou, and was then taken away by Eunuch Chang," Huaiqing said.
"I want to stay and observe. Perhaps there are clues to be found in the body."
*Huaiqing seemed to have a strong interest in intellectual tasks—playing chess, compiling histories, and now solving cases...* Xu Qi'an turned and quietly observed her clear, bright eyes.
Sensing his gaze, Huaiqing slightly narrowed her eyes and met his, her voice as crisp as clinking ice, "Hmm?"
With just a single "Hmm," she conveyed: *Little brother, do you have an issue?*
Xu Qi'an quickly looked away, avoiding Huaiqing's flawless face, and turned to Lin'an. "What about you, Your Highness?"
Lin'an glanced at Huaiqing, hesitated, and then said, "There's nothing to it. I'll stay as well."
"Alright then!"
Xu Qi'an promptly stripped the corpse completely.
Lin'an's face flushed bright red, then turned pale. She covered her face and fled.
"Your Highness, aren't you staying to watch?" Xu Qi'an called out.
With her face still covered, Lin'an murmured, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving..."
Huaiqing glanced at the corpse. Although she hid it well, Xu Qi'an still caught a flicker of embarrassment in her clear, deep eyes.
It was a similar kind of embarrassment to what Xu Qi'an had felt when watching TV with his parents in the past, only for the show to cut to an intimate scene...
*A perfect appearance and top-tier configuration, but almost zero mileage...* Xu Qi'an mentally evaluated.
If Huaiqing were a top-class sports car, fresh off the line...
Then Lin'an would be a model car: dazzling on the outside, but with an engine that leaves much to be desired...
But for most men, it's the coquettish, inwardly alluring, and not-too-bright women like Lin'an who were more attractive.
"What's this?"
Huaiqing discovered a strip of dull yellow silk in the palace maid Huang Xiaorou's personal belongings. Embroidered on it was a vivid red lotus flower and a line of small characters:
"The spring of the thirty-first year of Yuanjing."
"Keeping this close even in death suggests it was something very important to her."
Huaiqing looked at Xu Qi'an, as if seeking confirmation. "What do you think, Sir Xu?"
Xu Qi'an simply replied, "Hmm."
Huaiqing's lips curved into a faint smile.
“Your Highness is so clever—why don't you take a look at this body and see what you can discern?”
Huaiqing glanced at him, seeing that Xu Qi'an was clearly testing her, which made her suppress her smile and brought out a competitive streak.
“Judging by the degree of pallor and swelling, she wasn’t thrown into the well right after the incident,” Huaiqing deduced.
“Within two days,” Xu Qi'an provided a more precise answer.
“There are no obvious external injuries on her body, so she probably drowned, possibly after being knocked unconscious.” After speaking, the elegant and refined princess subconsciously looked at Xu Qi'an.
Seeing that his face remained expressionless and he offered no comment, the princess felt a bit displeased and subtly pouted when she lowered her head.
“Is there anything else?” Xu Qi'an asked.
Huaiqing thought for a moment and then slightly shook her head.
“You missed the most important step. Normally, when examining a female corpse, even if the cause of death seems clear, you should never forget to check…”
Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow at Huaiqing, giving her a mischievous grin.
Huaiqing was momentarily puzzled, then saw Xu Qi'an’s gaze drift toward a forbidden area. Being as astute as she was, she immediately understood.
Whoosh…
Her fair face instantly turned red as she furrowed her brows and gritted her teeth. “Xu Ningyan, how dare you tease me!”
Xu Qi'an quickly apologised, his tone sincere. “Your servant had no intention of offending you, Your Highness. Please forgive me.”
Huaiqing turned aside, indicating she was not accepting his apology, clearly upset.
*Teasing a proud and aloof princess feels much more satisfying than teasing Lin’an… Huaiqing’s anger has a unique charm…* Xu Qi'an coughed lightly and continued:
“She did drown, but not in the well. She was suffocated by being forcibly held underwater.”
“How can you tell?” Huaiqing doubted his words and turned back to question him.
*Hmm, it seems that discussing academic matters can temporarily quell her anger… Even female scholars have their weaknesses…* Xu Qi'an silently noted, maintaining a composed expression as he explained:
“Look at her face, it’s purplish-red. A typical drowning victim’s face would be pale and swollen. Only when someone is held underwater, with their head facing down, does the blood flow back to the head, causing the face to become engorged.”
Huaiqing furrowed her brows in thought.
“And another thing,” Xu Qi'an said, lifting the corpse’s wrist. “Look at her hand, clenched into a fist, which is typical of drowning victims. But if you examine closely, there’s no sand or algae under her nails.”
Huaiqing leaned in to observe and saw that the nails were indeed clean.
“This indicates she was drowned, but not in the well?” she asked.
“Your Highness is exceptionally wise. Compared to you, Princess Lin’an is just a younger sister,” Xu Qi'an complimented, cupping his hands in admiration.
Though she knew he was flattering her, Huaiqing still felt pleased.
People enjoy hearing praise, even sages. And Huaiqing, being proud, might outwardly dismiss flattery but secretly revel in it. She gave a reserved “hmm” in response.
“So, she was silenced,” the princess then added.
Xu Qi'an nodded, just as he heard the faint sound of footsteps. He looked toward the doorway and saw a little eunuch hurriedly approaching with the tools for dissecting the corpse.
The eunuch rushed into the room, and his first reaction upon seeing the corpse was to let out a sharp “Ah~”
“Never seen a woman before, little eunuch? Come, let me give you a lesson in human anatomy,” Xu Qi'an teased in a rascal tone.
The eunuch, embarrassed, lowered his head and placed the tools on a long table.
There were six knives in total, varying in size and thickness, wrapped in thick burlap.
Xu Qi'an wanted to lick his lips to show his anticipation, but he felt that would be too indecent in front of Huaiqing, so he restrained himself.
*Honestly, I don’t like being watched when I’m indulging in my little hobbies…* He selected a single-edged knife, about the size of a dagger, and placed the tip at the corpse’s throat, slicing open the windpipe.
A slightly murky liquid flowed out.
“Ugh…”
The pink flesh exposed to view made the little eunuch cover his mouth, unable to stop dry heaving.
Xu Qi'an then switched to a larger knife and cut open the chest, revealing the lungs…
“Ugh…” The little eunuch fled the room.
*Can't handle this? Guess teaching anatomy to eunuchs really is a futile effort.*
Huaiqing’s otherwise serene, jade-like face showed a vivid expression of shock and disgust. Her eyelashes fluttered as she averted her gaze.
“The lungs are also filled with water. The cause of death is confirmed—she drowned,” Xu Qi'an said, setting the knife down.
Huaiqing nodded, asking, “Is there anything else to check?”
“No, Your Highness, we can leave now,” Xu Qi'an said, but then suddenly let out a “Huh?”
Huaiqing, who had already turned to leave, looked back. Seeing what Xu Qi'an was doing, she suddenly frowned. “What are you doing?”
Xu Qi'an appeared to be fiddling with the left breast of the female corpse, at least in Huaiqing’s eyes.
“She was injured,” Xu Qi'an frowned as he spoke, lifting the breast to reveal what lay beneath for Huaiqing to see.
Huaiqing was momentarily stunned.
This palace maid, named Huang Xiaorou, had a deep scar beneath her left breast, directly over her heart.
Huaiqing immediately realised she had wrongly accused Xu Qi'an and understood his concern:
How did a palace maid suffer such a dangerous injury? The strangest part was that she had survived it.
Xu Qi'an spread out the rough burlap again, picked up the largest knife, and sliced open the woman’s chest along the scar.
Huaiqing looked like she wanted to watch but was hesitant due to the gruesome nature of the scene.
Xu Qi'an removed the heart, squinting as he examined it for a moment before considerately explaining, “Judging by the scar, the wound was deep, likely caused by scissors or another sharp object. It penetrated the heart, and she should have died from massive blood loss.”
Huaiqing nodded, her gaze shifting to the outside as she analyzed, “The medicine capable of healing such a wound would only be accessible to the Empress or consorts of high rank.
“Anyone else who needed such a life-saving pill would require the Empress’s permission, or they must have been directly rewarded by the Emperor, so there’s no need to requisition from the imperial storehouse.”
Naturally, when she mentioned “anyone else,” she didn’t include princes or princesses.
As they left the mortuary, there was a well in the courtyard. Xu Qi'an drew a bucket of water and carefully washed his hands.
Afterward, he vigorously scrubbed the yellow silk he found on the corpse and spread it out to dry by the well.
"Notify the attendant in charge of the morgue that the body inside is still needed and should be sent to the icehouse," Xu Qi'an ordered the young eunuch.
"Xu Ningyan, help me fetch a bucket of water," Princess Huaiqing stood nearby, her tone delicate and reserved.
Based on how she addressed him, Xu Qi'an could tell that her mood was relatively good. When she was formal and distant, she would call him Sir Xu. When she was angry, it was always Xu Ningyan.
Since her tone now didn’t carry anger, this "Xu Ningyan" sounded more like a friend’s address.
Xu Qi'an fetched a bucket of water for her. Huaiqing squatted down, rolled up her sleeves, and dipped her fair, slender hands into the water, her long, jade-like fingers gracefully moving.
*Such beautiful hands...* Xu Qi'an thought to himself.
After soaking her hands, Huaiqing took out a silk handkerchief to dry them. "I'll take you to the Imperial Pharmacy," she said.
Xu Qi'an was about to nod in agreement when a thought suddenly crossed his mind: *Why was the body thrown into the well at Xie Pavilion?*
There were many other wells in the palace, some in more hidden places, like the Cold Palace or the morgue's well.
"We should go to the Xie Pavillion well first."
From a distance, Princess Lin'an saw the two of them emerge and walked over with a spring in her step. "Did you find anything?" she asked.
"We did make some discoveries," Xu Qi'an replied, recounting the findings from the autopsy. Lin'an nodded as she listened, but it was clear that she lost interest as soon as he finished speaking.
Lin'an pointed to the pale yellow silk drying by the well and exclaimed, "Running Dog, doesn’t the lotus pattern on this look like..."
Before she could finish, Xu Qi'an suddenly let out a loud cry, clutching his head and rolling on the ground in pain.
Both Lin'an and Huaiqing were startled, rushing to his side. "What's wrong?" they asked urgently.
"My head... it hurts so much..." Xu Qi'an groaned in pain, holding his head tightly, even letting his mink hat fall off to reveal his bald head, which showed he was indeed in severe pain.
"Stay here; I'll fetch the imperial physician immediately," Lin'an said anxiously. She turned and quickly ran off, her waist swaying as she went.
Seeing her annoying younger sister leave, Huaiqing finally dropped her regal demeanor and knelt down beside Xu Qi'an, feeling his pulse. "We know a bit about medicine..." she began.
As soon as she touched his pulse, she felt it racing, confirming that Xu Qi'an's heart was indeed beating rapidly.
"Your Highness..." Xu Qi'an grabbed Huaiqing’s soft hand, speaking in a pained voice, "Ever since your servant entered the Refining Spirit stage, I've been plagued by these headaches. Duke Wei said it's due to agitation of the primordial spirit, and that I might die from the soul leaving the body at any moment."
Huaiqing was shocked. She hadn’t known about this, so she didn’t immediately withdraw her hand.
When Lin'an returned after instructing the guards to fetch the imperial physician, she found Xu Qi'an calmly brushing off the dust from his clothes, while Huaiqing was washing her hands by the bucket.
"You’re fine now?" Lin'an asked, puzzled.
"I'm fine; it was just a sudden pain that subsided quickly," Xu Qi'an replied, waving his hand tiredly.
*Phew... That was a close call. Fortunately, I reacted quickly. If these sisters found out I wrote them the same love letter and gave them identical lotus petals, Huaiqing would never tolerate it, and neither would Lin'an... Their favorability towards me would plummet...* Xu Qi'an praised himself inwardly for his quick thinking, not only stabilising the situation but also managing to hold Huaiqing’s hand... He silently congratulated himself.
Huaiqing kept her head down, not saying a word, her hand still red from the pressure, as if it still held Xu Qi'an's warmth.
Biaobiao eyed him suspiciously.
...
Xie Pavillion was located on the west side of the palace, far from the residences of the consorts, in a large *siheyuan*.
At this time of day, the palace maids had already left Xie Pavillion to attend to their duties elsewhere in the palace. Only an old nanny, the overseer, was lying in a large chair, basking in the early spring sun.
The age spots on her face were clearly visible in the sunlight. Her body had become plump and out of shape, her hair gray, simply pinned up with a jade hairpin.
"Nanny Rong, Nanny Rong..." The young eunuch called out a few times, waking the old nanny from her light sleep.
*Nanny Rong?!*
Xu Qi'an’s childhood memories were suddenly stirred, and he couldn’t help but think of a famous line: *"Your Majesty, do you still remember Nanny Rong by the banks of Lake Daming?"*
"Her Highnesses are here," the eunuch announced.
Nanny Rong blinked her eyes to focus and indeed saw the two most beautiful princesses in the palace, visiting together.
She got up with surprising agility for her age, bowing deeply as she greeted them. "This old servant greets Your Highnesses."
Huaiqing looked at her and said, "I'm here to assist Sir Xu in investigating a case. It concerns the female corpse pulled from the well today. Tell us everything you know."
Nanny Rong nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Xu Qi'an spoke up, "Who discovered the body, and when?"
"It was Xiaoyu who found it. Early this morning, she went to the well to fetch water and noticed something wrong with the sound of the bucket hitting the water—it sounded dull. She looked into the well for a long time and, oh my, it turned out to be a corpse," the old nanny explained, her expression animated.
Xu Qi'an pointed to the stone well under the locust tree. "That one?"
"Yes."
He walked to the well and looked down. The well was deep, and the view was dim, with the water surface reflecting like a mirror.
With ordinary eyesight, it would indeed take a long time to notice a corpse in such a dark well.
"No one noticed anything yesterday?" Xu Qi'an frowned.
The palace maid Huang Xiaorou's body had clearly been in the water for more than 24 hours.
"That’s the annoying part. When the body was found this morning, those silly girls said they had noticed something odd about the sound when drawing water the day before..." The old nanny was infuriated at the memory, cursing, "None of them had the sense to check, and they let this old woman drink corpse water for two days."
Biaobiao made a face of disgust.
Xu Qi'an's eye twitched. "Nanny, do you know a maid named Huang Xiaorou?"
The old nanny was momentarily stunned. "Huang who?"
"Huang Xiaorou," Xu Qi'an repeated.
The nanny widened her eyes. "Who Xiaorou?"
Xu Qi'an snapped, "I'm not asking about Ma Dongmei; there's no need for you to respond like that."
The nanny thought for a long time before suddenly realising, "Oh, this old servant was just making sure. Yes, I know Huang Xiaorou, I know her."
Huaiqing's eyes lit up as she realised why Xu Qi'an had come to the Xie Pavillion well.
This little Bronze Gong really has a sharp mind, turning so quickly.
"You know her?" Xu Qi'an prompted, "She was a maidservant of Consort Fu. How is it possible that you would know her?"
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[^1]: Crab pavillion