Bone Painting Coroner

“Oddities?” Lord Yu thought about it, then shook his head, “There was nothing out of place.” He tut-tutted, continuing, “There was a commotion at the Crown Prince’s wedding, however, all the military and civil officials attended the reception as expected at the East Palace. But…”

“But what?” Jing Rong questioned sternly.

Lord Yu narrowed his eyes, “Just last night, Lord Zhou of the Ministry of Justice said that he saw the East Palace guards entering the palace. No-one knew if they were there to ensure the Crown Prince’s safety throughout the wedding, or to attend the reception.” In other words, Lord Yu was complaining – everyone else was attending the wedding reception at the East Palace, but he was still here trying to suck up to Prince Rong!

The Crown Prince held different rights from the other princes; he was allowed to keep an army outside of the palace, but his men could only move within the Capital; in essence, his army could not be too big, much like the guards from other estates, with the only differentiating factor being that the Crown Prince’s men could enter the palace as and when they wished. Lord Yu’s words sounded reasonable, it made sense for the East Palace’s army to enter the palace grounds for the Crown Prince’s wedding, but- “For the Crown Prince’s grand wedding, the palace guards should be deployed to protect the East Palace, so why are the Crown Prince’s guards entering the palace? Unless they knew something was to happen. Otherwise there would be no reason for this,” Jing Rong analysed.

“What does your Highness implied?”

As he put two and two together, Jing Rong began to understand what was happening, calling out, “Lord Yu!”

“Present.”

“This Prince needs to enter the palace.”

Ugh! Lord Yu was startled, “Enter the palace? This…” Impossible! You’re still a criminal, one locked up in the Supreme Court Prison – it would be difficult for you to even leave this place!

Jing Rong offered a deal, “Lord Yu, if you assist this Prince in entering the palace secretly, you will be surely rewarded later on.”

“This…”

Jing Rong could see right through Lord Yu as he continued, “At this very moment, the Supreme Court Chancellor does not want to come anywhere near this case, even the court officials think that this Prince has fallen right into the lion’s den. But Lord Yu has brought fine wine and dishes here to meet this Prince, even if others were unaware, this Prince understands your motives.” You want to have the backing of this Prince!

Lord Yu looked at him in alarm, then regained his composure and gave Jing Rong a smile. That’s right, other people may think that he was thrown off the deep end, but he thought that this was the only chance to placate Jing Rong! “Since Prince Rong is so understanding, this official needs to hide no longer. Although every other official is supporting the Crown Prince or Prince Yi, this official has a different opinion. In reality, this lord has quite a few things in common with Prince Rong; this lowly official could rise from a measly position to the position of Supreme Court Vice-chancellor today, while Prince Rong has a natural-born charisma. Along with your actions, everything points to the fact that Prince Rong will surely rise to greatness, so this official wishes to ask Prince Rong for a toast.” He pulled back the theatrics, layering his words with a touch more sincerity. This Lord Yu must have had more than ample practice bootlicking his way to the top.

Jing Rong stared him down, “Does Lord Yu read fortunes?”

“This official knows a little something.” This Big Bro knows quite a bit, but I am disgressing!

Jing Rong was serious, “Since Lord Yu wants to remain in this Prince’s camp, then I will welcome you wholeheartedly, but you must find a way to smuggle me into the palace.”

“Does your Highness wish to attend the wedding at the East Palace?”

“That’s not it.”

Lord Yu considered it and slapped his thigh, “Sure, this official will do everything in my means to help Prince Rong!” This is one tree he is not letting go of!

……

Zhaoxian Hall.

Kong Yu sat in front of an ornate mirror. She was wearing a red wedding gown, lifelike phoenixes embroidered all over in gold and heavily adorned with jade and jewels. Her brows were daintily plucked, highlighting her clear eyes, her cherry-red lips sitting delicately beneath her chiseled nose. Whether her calm features bore joy or sadness, no-one knew…

The matchmaker reminded her of the things she needed to take note of, repeating them over and over again as Kong Yu did not respond. Two palace maids stood behind her, carefully putting up her hair; She resembled a puppet, still and submissive.

Just then, Jing Xuan pushed away the crowd and rushed to her side, crying out terribly, “Big Sister Yu!”

Kong Yu’s gaze wavered. She glanced at Jing Xuan, stretching out her slender fingers to stroke her face gently, “Why have you come?”

“Sister Yu, you don’t even want to be married, why do you have to make your life difficult?” Jing Xuan began to sob.

“Silly girl, this is the Crown Princess we’re talking about, why wouldn’t I want to marry?” How many women have fought for the position of Crown Princess, what honour is it now that this title has fallen onto her shoulders?

Jing Xuan knew what Kong Yu really meant. She held Kong Yu’s hands tearily, “Sister Yu, I promised you that I would send you out of the palace, but I’m really sorry that I couldn’t keep my promise, I’m sorry you ended up like this.”

Kong Yu shook her head, “I had never hoped to be able to leave the palace. Now, don’t cry – today is my big wedding, you should send me to the East Palace happily. If you cry like this, is it still a happy affair? If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you were crying at a funeral.”

“Ptooey! It’s not!” Jing Xuan quickly swallowed her tears, wiping them away, “I won’t cry then.”

Kong Yu nodded, smiling.

A eunuch dressed in red ran in hurriedly, accompanied by the sounds of cymbals and trumpets, almost tripping over himself, “It’s time, it’s the hour, the bride needs to enter the carriage!”

The matchmaker quickly retrieved a red veil, shouting at the servants in the hall, “Quickly, we cannot miss the auspicious hour.” The servants began to move orderly; the matchmaker placing the red veil over Kong Yu’s head, helping her up.

Jing Xuan stood up, stretching out to stop Kong Yu but she hook off Jing Xuan’s hand, patting it. Even though she could not see Kong Yu’s face, Jing Xuan knew for sure that she was smiling, smiling very beautifully. She finally loosened her grip and stood still, watching the matchmaker escort Kong Yu out of Zhaoxian Hall, onto the sedan and straight for the East Palace…

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