"Female corpse?"

A young eunuch anxiously waited at the palace gate, indicating that something urgent had happened. The only connection Xu Qi'an had with him was the case of the Imperial Concubine Fu. Therefore, the female corpse must be related to the case.

Xu Qi'an squinted his eyes and thought to himself, "Is it the missing palace maid from the case of Imperial Concubine Fu?"

The young eunuch was taken aback and sincerely praised, "Sir, you truly have extraordinary deductive skills. I am in awe."

This statement was both a compliment and sincere admiration. After supervising Xu Qi'an for two consecutive days, the young eunuch discovered that he was a detective who appeared flamboyant on the surface but possessed intelligence beyond ordinary people.

It wasn't extraordinary deductive skills; it was simple reasoning... Xu Qi'an nodded and said, "Take me to see the body."

The young eunuch hurriedly led the way.

"Where was the body found?"

"In the backyard of the Crab Pavilion."

"Crab Pavilion?"

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, what a ridiculous name.

"The Crab Pavilion is where the palace maids live," the young eunuch answered.

Palace maids are also divided into different ranks. The higher-ranking ones are called female officials, and they may even have titles and ranks, such as concubines, beauties, talented women, court ladies, and selected women.

These palace maids have the hope of being favored by the emperor and becoming famous overnight. However, during Emperor Yuan Jing's reign, none of them had the chance to stand out.

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The next rank is the palace maids who serve the consorts.

The lowest rank is the servants who live in the large dormitory.

The Crab Pavilion is a dormitory for palace maids.

As they walked and talked, they quickly arrived at the morgue within the palace. It was located in a secluded courtyard in the south, used to store the bodies of those who were executed, died from illness, or died accidentally within the palace.

On a simple wooden bed, lay a slightly bloated body.

"Go and fetch the tools. I want to dissect the body," Xu Qi'an ordered.

He felt a sense of excitement. In his previous life, when he worked at the yamen, he was often sent to observe autopsies and assist the coroner. He had accumulated a lot of professional knowledge and experience.

From the initial fear and vomiting to gradually accepting it, and later calmly assisting, Xu Qi'an vaguely discovered that he enjoyed dissecting bodies.

Although he encountered many cases after coming to this world, there were not many opportunities for dissection.

"Consort Fu was the emperor's woman, so I can't touch her. But this little palace maid, I can definitely dissect her... It would be even better if she were fresher."

While thinking, Xu Qi'an undressed the palace maid.

"You dog servant, why didn't you inform me when you entered the palace..."

Princess Lin'an's cheerful voice came from outside, followed by a red figure rushing to the door.

"What are you doing?"

Princess Lin'an looked at Xu Qi'an holding the corpse's undergarment in his hand, and her bright smile froze on her face.

Behind her, Princess Huai Qing, dressed in a white gown, followed and stepped into the threshold. She glanced at Xu Qi'an and then her gaze fell on the undergarment.

It was a bit awkward... Xu Qi'an remained composed and said, "I'm examining the body and planning to dissect it."

"Don't touch such disgusting things."

Princess Lin'an stomped her feet repeatedly. She glanced at the naked upper body of the female corpse and immediately averted her gaze.

Princess Huai Qing shared the same opinion and offered a suggestion, "Why not let the coroner do it?"

Because I enjoy doing this... Xu Qi'an shook his head earnestly and explained, "Your Highnesses, you know that I am diligent and meticulous in my work. If I can do it myself, I won't rely on others. In the eyes of others, this is a commendable quality, but in my opinion, it is just an ordinary task."

Princess Lin'an greatly admired Xu Qi'an's work attitude. Princess Huai Qing remained expressionless, seemingly skeptical of his nonsense.

"Your Highnesses, please go back and have some tea. Wait here for a moment, but don't stay here," Xu Qi'an tried to dismiss them.

Upon hearing this, Princess Huai Qing didn't leave. Instead, she walked gracefully to the front of the female corpse.

"The body was salvaged last night. After identifying it as Huang Xiao Rou, it was taken away by Grand Eunuch Chang," Princess Huai Qing said.

"I want to stay and take a look. Perhaps there might be clues inside the body."

Princess Huai Qing seemed interested in using her brain, whether it was playing chess, studying history, or solving cases now... Xu Qi'an turned his head and silently looked into the clear and bright eyes of the eldest princess.

Princess Huai Qing's gaze slightly narrowed as she met his eyes, and her voice had a chilling quality, extremely pleasant to the ears. "Hmm?"

A simple "hmm" contained the meaning: Little brother, do you have any objections?

Xu Qi'an withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the flawless face of the eldest princess, and turned to Princess Lin'an. "What about the Second Princess?"

Princess Lin'an glanced at Princess Huai Qing and hesitated before saying, "It's fine, I'll stay too."

"Alright!"

Xu Qi'an quickly stripped the female corpse.

Princess Lin'an's face turned red, then white, and she covered her face and left.

"Second Princess, aren't you staying?" Xu Qi'an called out.

Princess Lin'an covered her face and replied in a soft voice, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving..."

Princess Huai Qing glanced at the female corpse. Although she concealed it well, Xu Qi'an could still sense the awkwardness from her clear and translucent eyes.

This kind of awkwardness was similar to when Xu Qi'an used to watch TV with his parents, and coincidentally, the main characters were in bed.

Having a perfect appearance and top-notch configuration, but the mileage was almost zero... Xu Qi'an made an evaluation in his mind.

If Princess Huai Qing could be compared to a top-level sports car that had just left the factory.

Then Princess Lin'an would be a model car, with an unbelievably beautiful appearance, but as for the core... it was hard to say.

However, for men, they probably preferred a woman like Princess Lin'an, who was playful, charming, and not too intelligent.

"What is this?"

Princess Huai Qing found a dull yellow silk strip embroidered with a bright red lotus flower and a line of small characters from the personal clothing of palace maid Huang Xiao Rou:

Spring of the 31st year of Emperor Yuan Jing."Before her death, she kept this item close to her, indicating that it was extremely important to her," Huai Qing looked at Xu Qi'an, seemingly seeking confirmation, and asked, "What do you think, Lord Xu?"

Xu Qi'an responded with a grunt.

A slight smile appeared on Huai Qing's lips.

"Your Highness, since you are so clever, why don't you take a look at this female corpse and see if you can find anything?" Huai Qing couldn't help but glance at him. Xu Qi'an had a posture that seemed like he was going to examine her, causing Huai Qing to suppress the curve of her lips and feel a sense of competitiveness.

"Based on the degree of paleness and swelling of the body, she did not drown in the well after the incident," Huai Qing made a judgment.

"Within two days," Xu Qi'an replied more precisely.

"There are no obvious external injuries on her body, so she should have died from drowning, possibly after being knocked unconscious," Huai Qing said, then the elegant and ethereal Princess Chang looked instinctively at Xu Qi'an.

Seeing his expressionless face and no response, Princess Huai Qing felt a bit unhappy. When she lowered her head, she lightly curled her lips.

"Is there anything else?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Huai Qing thought for a moment and shook her head slightly.

"You are missing the most important step. Usually, when examining a female corpse, even if there are obvious signs of death, never forget to check..."

Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow at Huai Qing, revealing a smirk.

Huai Qing was momentarily stunned, then she saw Xu Qi'an's gaze fall on the forbidden area. Being as intelligent as she was, she immediately understood.

Swish...

Her fair face immediately turned red, and Princess Chang's eyebrows furrowed as she gritted her teeth and said, "Xu Ningyan, how dare you tease me!"

Xu Qi'an quickly realized his mistake and sincerely apologized, "I did not mean to offend, Your Highness."

Huai Qing turned away, indicating that she did not accept his apology and felt very angry.

Teasing a proud and aloof princess felt more fulfilling than teasing Lin'an... Huai Qing felt a different kind of satisfaction when she was angry. Xu Qi'an coughed and said, "She did drown, but not in the well. She was suffocated underwater by someone."

"How do you know?" Huai Qing didn't believe it, turned her head, and questioned.

Hmm, as long as it's an academic discussion, she would temporarily not get angry... Even a female academic genius has her weaknesses... Xu Qi'an silently noted this and remained calm on the surface as he explained, "Look at her face, it's purplish-red. Normally, a drowning victim would be pale and swollen. Only when someone is pressed underwater with their head facing down, causing blood to flow back to the head, would the face become congested."

Huai Qing frowned, deep in thought.

"Another point," Xu Qi'an grabbed the female corpse's wrist, "look at her hands, they are clenched into fists, which is consistent with the characteristics of drowning. But if you look closely, there is no sand or moss in the gaps between her fingernails."

Huai Qing focused her gaze and indeed saw that the gaps between the fingernails were clean.

"This indicates that she did indeed drown, but not in the well," she asked.

"Your Highness is truly brilliant. Compared to you, Princess Lin'an is just a younger sister," Xu Qi'an bowed, showing his admiration.

Although she knew he was flattering her, Huai Qing still felt pleased.

Everyone likes to hear compliments, even saints. Moreover, Princess Huai Qing has always been proud. On the surface, she would disdain flattery, but secretly, she would feel a sense of satisfaction.

Huai Qing gave a dignified "hmm" in response.

"So, she was silenced," Princess Chang added.

Xu Qi'an nodded, but at the same time, he heard faint footsteps. He looked up and saw a eunuch approaching with dissecting tools, carrying them in his arms.

The hurried footsteps entered the threshold, and the eunuch's first reaction upon seeing the female corpse was a sharp exclamation, "Ah~"

"You haven't seen a woman before, have you? Come, let me give you a lesson in physiology," Xu Qi'an teased in a tone similar to an old trickster.

The eunuch ignored him, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He lowered his head and placed the dissecting tools on the long table.

There were a total of six tools, each varying in size and thickness, wrapped in thick linen.

Xu Qi'an wanted to lick his lips to express his anticipation, but he felt that this gesture was too creepy and inappropriate to show in front of Huai Qing, so he held back.

Really, when I engage in some interesting hobbies, I don't like having an audience... He selected a dagger-sized single-edged knife and placed the tip of the knife against the female corpse's throat, cutting open the trachea.

A slightly murky water flowed out.

"Ugh..."

Tender red flesh was exposed to their sight, and the eunuch covered his mouth, unable to help but retch.

Xu Qi'an then switched to a larger knife and cut open the chest, cutting open the lungs...

"Ugh..." The eunuch hurriedly ran out.

Can't hold it anymore? Indeed, teaching a eunuch about physiology is purely a waste of time.

Huai Qing's jade-like face showed a vivid expression - horror and disgust. Her eyelashes trembled as she averted her gaze.

"There is water in the lungs, so the cause of death can be confirmed as drowning," Xu Qi'an put down the knife.

Huai Qing nodded and asked, "Is there anything else that needs to be examined?"

"No, Your Highness, let's leave," Xu Qi'an said, then suddenly exclaimed, "Huh."

Huai Qing, who had already turned to leave, turned her head back and asked with her eyebrows raised, "What are you doing?"

Xu Qi'an was playing with the left breast of the female corpse, or at least that's how it appeared to Huai Qing.

"She has been injured," Xu Qi'an frowned and, while speaking, forcefully flipped up the breast, allowing Huai Qing to see the situation below.

Huai Qing was stunned.

This palace maid named Huang Xiaorou had a deep scar under her left breast, right above her heart.

She instantly realized that she had misunderstood Xu Qi'an and understood his doubts:

How could a palace maid suffer such a dangerous injury? What was even more bizarre was that she had survived?

Xu Qi'an spread out the coarse linen cloth again, grasped the largest knife, and cut open the chest of the female corpse along the scar.

Huai Qing had a look of wanting to see but afraid of hurting her eyes.

Xu Qi'an took out the heart, squinted and looked at it for a moment, considerately said, "Judging from the scar, the wound is deep. The weapon should be scissors or other sharp objects. It has reached the heart, and she should have died from massive blood loss."

Huai Qing nodded and looked outside the door, analyzing, "The medicine that can heal this kind of wound can only be used by the empress dowager and concubines with a high rank in the harem.

"For the others who need life-saving pills, they need the permission of the empress dowager or have received rewards from the emperor himself, without needing to use them from the storage room."

When she mentioned "the others," it naturally did not include the princes and princesses.

The two left the morgue, and there was a well in the courtyard. Xu Qi'an drew a bucket of water and carefully washed his hands.

Then, he vigorously rubbed the piece of yellow silk found on the female corpse a few times, spread it out and hung it by the well.

"Let the person in charge of the morgue know that the body inside is still useful to me. Send it to the ice cellar." Xu Qi'an dismissed the young eunuch.

"Xu Ningyan, help me fetch a bucket of water." Princess Huai Qing stood prettily on the side.

Based on her address, Xu Qi'an judged that her mood was still okay at the moment. When she was polite and unfamiliar, she called him "Mr. Xu." When she was angry, she called him "Xu Ningyan."

At this moment, Huai Qing's tone was definitely not angry, so calling him Xu Ningyan had a bit of a friend's tone.

Xu Qi'an fetched a bucket of water for her. Huai Qing squatted down, rolled up her long sleeves, and soaked her fair and slender hands in the water. Her jade-like fingers were delicate and symmetrical.

Her hands are really beautiful... he thought.

After soaking her hands, Huai Qing took out a silk handkerchief to wipe off the water stains and said, "I will take you to the imperial pharmacy."

Xu Qi'an was about to nod when a thought suddenly popped into his mind. Why did they have to throw the body into the Crab Pavilion?

In the palace, there were at least several hundred places that were more concealed, such as the Cold Palace or the well in the morgue.

"Let's go to the Crab Pavilion first."

From afar, Lin An saw the two coming out and walked briskly towards them, asking, "Any discoveries?"

"We did find something." Xu Qi'an told her about the findings from the autopsy. Lin An listened and nodded, her face focused, but as soon as Xu Qi'an finished speaking, her attention immediately shifted. It was obvious that she had heard it with one ear and let it out the other.

Lin An pointed at the pale yellow silk hanging by the well and exclaimed in surprise, "You, this servant, doesn't the lotus pattern on it look like yours..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Xu Qi'an suddenly screamed in pain, clutching his head and rolling on the ground.

Biao Biao and Huai Qing were startled and asked anxiously, "What's wrong with you?"

"My head, my head hurts..." Xu Qi'an painfully held his head, not caring that his fur hat fell off, revealing his bald head. It was evident that he was really suffering from a splitting headache.

"You wait, this princess will immediately go and fetch the imperial physician." Biao Biao stomped her foot in anxiety. She turned around and ran away with her waist swaying like a water snake.

Princess Huai Qing saw her annoying sister leave and then stopped putting on airs. She squatted down beside him and held his pulse. "This princess knows a little about medicine..."

As she felt his pulse, it was indeed beating rapidly. It seemed that Xu Tongluo's heartbeat had accelerated.

"Your Highness..." Xu Qi'an held Huai Qing's soft hand in return, and said in pain, "Since I reached the Refining Divinity Realm, I have been having headaches from time to time. Wei Gong said it was because of the restlessness of my primordial spirit. Maybe at some point, my primordial spirit will leave my body and die."

Huai Qing was greatly shocked. She had no idea about this matter, so she didn't immediately retract her hand.

When Biao Biao ordered the guards to fetch the imperial physician and returned to the courtyard, she found Xu Qi'an dusting off the dirt from his body without changing his expression.

"Are you alright now?" Biao Biao asked in astonishment.

"I'm fine. It was just a headache. It will be better soon." Xu Qi'an waved his hand wearily.

Phew... I almost messed up. Fortunately, I reacted quickly. Otherwise, if the two sisters found out that I wrote them the same love letter and gave them the same lotus petals, Huai Qing couldn't bear it, and Biao Biao couldn't bear it either... The favorability rating would definitely hit rock bottom... Xu Qi'an praised himself in his heart.

Huai Qing lowered her head and remained silent, her small hand turning red from being held, as if it still retained Xu Qi'an's warmth.

Biao Biao looked at him suspiciously.

...

The Crab Pavilion was located on the west side of the palace, far from the palace gardens where the concubines gathered. It was a large quadrangle courtyard.

At this time, the palace maids had already left the Crab Pavilion and went to various places in the palace to work. Only one steward nanny was lying on a big chair, basking in the early spring sunshine.

The age spots on her face were clearly visible in the sunlight. Her body had become plump and out of shape, and her hair was turning white. She simply inserted a jade hairpin.

"Nanny Rong, Nanny Rong..."

The young eunuch called a few times, and the old nanny woke up.

Nanny Rong?!

Memories of Xu Qi'an's childhood were stirred up, and a line of famous dialogue involuntarily appeared in his mind:

"Your Majesty, do you still remember Nanny Rong by the Daming Lake?"

"The two princesses have arrived," the young eunuch said.

Nanny Rong woke up and took a closer look. Sure enough, it was the two most beautiful princesses in the palace who had come together.

She got up with an agility that didn't match her age, saluted while calling out, "This old servant greets the two princesses."

Huai Qing looked at her and said, "This princess accompanied Mr. Xu to investigate the case. It concerns the female corpse that was pulled out of the well today. If you know anything, just say it."

Nanny Rong nodded.

Seeing this, Xu Qi'an no longer remained silent and asked, "Who pulled the body out of the well, and when was it discovered?""It was Xiao Yu who found it. This morning, she went to the well to fetch water and noticed that the sound of the bucket falling into the water was off, somewhat muffled. She peered into the well for a long time, and lo and behold, there was a corpse," the old nanny said, her expression very animated.

Xu Qi'an pointed to the well under the locust tree: "Is it that one?"

"Yes."

He walked to the edge of the well and looked in. The well was deep and the view was dim, the water like a mirror.

For an ordinary person, it would indeed take a long time to spot a corpse in such a dark well.

"Didn't anyone notice it yesterday?" Xu Qi'an frowned.

The body of the palace maid, Huang Xiaorou, had definitely been in the water for more than 24 hours.

"When it comes to this, I get angry. It was only after finding a dead body in the well this morning that those stupid girls said that the sound was strange when they fetched water the day before yesterday..." The old nanny got angry when she mentioned this, cursing:

"Not one of them has the sense to look carefully, causing this old servant to drink corpse water for two days."

She looked disgusted.

Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched: "Nanny, do you know Huang Xiaorou?"

The old nanny was taken aback: "Huang what?"

Xu Qi'an said: "Huang Xiaorou."

The nanny widened her eyes: "Who's Xiaorou?"

Xu Qi'an snapped: "I'm not asking about Ma Dongmei, you don't need to answer me like this."

The nanny thought for a long time, then suddenly realized: "This old servant was just double-checking. I do know Huang Xiaorou, I do."

Huai Qing's eyes lit up, she understood why Xu Qi'an had come to the Crab Pavilion.

What kind of mind does this little gong have, thinking so quickly.

"Do you know her?" Xu Qi'an reminded: "She is a palace maid by the side of Consort Fu, how could you possibly know her."

..........

PS: Thanks to "Blue Shadow Red Tea" for the alliance leader's reward.

I'll update first and revise later, please help catch bugs, thank you.