Bone Painting Coroner

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“The thing inside the doll… who does it belong to?”

Madam Xie got startled and tried to hide the doll behind her. The pair of eyes that changed abruptly revealed a trace of hidden guilt as she replied in a trembling voice, “What did Teacher say? How could there be something in this doll?”

Ji Yunshu only smiled instead of exposing her lie immediately. She narrowed her eyes slightly and pondered aloud, “That thing should be a piece of jade. It is neither too big nor too small, and certainly not circular or rectangular in shape. Rather, it feels smooth, flat, and should be oval-shaped. A fan-shaped triangular tail and a slightly raised head, hmm? What does it look like? Like… a fish.” Her eyes brightened in realisation.

When she heard this, Madam Xie’s hands shook and the cloth doll slipped through her trembling fingers, falling to the ground. The damp cloth contacted the dust on the ground and turned rather grey and grimy. Madam Xie hurriedly snatched it back and frantically rubbed her patchwork sleeves on the doll in an attempt to wipe away the dust as she chanted softly, “There’s nothing in here, no fish…” Her actions clearly demonstrated a loss of composure.

Ji Yunshu’s expression darkened slightly and her shapely brows wrinkled together. She stood up and walked over to grasp Madam Xie’s hands, stopping her from wiping the doll. Then, she slowly squatted down in front of her. “Madam Xie, why did you walk all the way from Yufu to the capital these three years? Wasn’t it all to find the true culprit and give Ye’er the justice she deserves? Right now, anything related to Ye’er could be a clue, no matter what it is. If you know something, you should not hide it. I don’t know why this thing inside the doll has gotten you so frantic, but you may tell me if you can trust me.”

“I won’t force you. But I hope that my initial decision to help you was not wrong.”

When Madam Xie heard that, she recalled the kindness Ji Yunshu had already extended to her. Without his help, her daughter’s case would not have been reopened. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke. “That is Ye’er’s most precious thing.”

“What is it?”

“A jade pendant.”

“Can I take a look?”

Madam Xie pursed her dry, cracked lips and nodded. She flipped the doll over and found a hidden loose thread. She undid the seams as she spoke, “After Ye’er died, I sewed that jade pendant into this cloth doll. I intended to put the doll and the jade pendant into her coffin after the murderer had been brought to justice.”

In that case, this jade pendant was extremely important!

The thread was slowly pulled out, exposing the cotton insides. Madam Xie put her hand in and searched carefully for a moment before drawing an object out. As she thought! It was a fish-shaped jade pendant.

She passed it to Ji Yunshu. “In the past, Ye’er would spend a lot of time holding this jade pendant and sob uncontrollably. She only told me the story after I asked her about it countless times. The pendant was actually something given to her by the person who got her pregnant. She had always treasured it, kept it close, and never allowed anyone else to touch it. How pitiful! What exactly did my Ye’er do wrong to be ruined like this?”

The mother-daughter pair had endured much gossip and abuse due to Ye’er’s pregnancy out of wedlock. There were only tears whenever it was mentioned.

Ji Yunshu took a close look at that jade pendant now in her palm. It was a pale red fish without any patterns carved on it. The surface was smooth and shiny with a clean finish, but the craftsmanship was exquisite. Although the jade was cloudy and could not be considered high-quality, it felt comfortable to hold and was wrought delicately.

She turned the jade over and found that the back was smooth and flat as if it had been cut cleanly into half. It seems that the other half was with Ye’er’s lover, which must be the person who carried a dizi that Qiao Zihua saw. After finishing her examination, she returned the jade pendant to Madam Xie.

Soon after, the rain stopped and she bade Qiao’er escort Madam Xie back to her own courtyard.

Ji Yunshu replicated the appearance and shape on a piece of paper, and thought about asking if anyone knew who the owner of the other half was.

The next day, Ji Yunshu went to visit the House of Healing Spring with Shi Ziran. Unlike her previous incognito visit with Jing Rong, she immediately asked for the Madam of the House of Healing Spring.

The Madam’s glance seemed to weigh Ji Yunshu up as she arrived. This person’s clothes were of good quality and had a decent disposition, but seemed neither rich nor like a highly-ranked official. She narrowed her eyes in disdain and waved her fan impatiently as she approached. “Where’s this little Young Master from? Asking for me, Yanniang, as soon as you arrive? This old madam is certainly peerlessly elegant, but you…” I wouldn’t deign to serve! She huffed in contempt.

Ji Yunshu wasn’t the least bit bothered and merely said breezily, “I’m here to investigate a case.”

“A case?” Madam Yan was puzzled. “Young man, you really love to joke. My House of Healing Spring is a place where ladies work. It’s no place for a penniless brat to play at investigating. If you want to investigate a case, go to the yamen! Why come here?” She waved her fan in dismissal.

Ji Yunshu continued, “Three years ago, Miss Ye’er died here, didn’t she?”

Madam Yan’s expression abruptly changed to that of shock. After she gathered her wits again, she looked furtively at her surroundings and glared at Ji Yunshu. With her fan pressed gently against crimson lips, she hissed, “What nonsense are you talking about? Are you here to make trouble?”

“That would depend on whether you cooperate with us.”

“What do you mean?”

Ji Yunshu drew out a token from her sleeve and casually waved it in front of Madam Yan. It was Magistrate Zuo’s yamen command token, given to her to aid her investigations. “Do you recognise this?”

“I… I recognise it!” Madam Yan’s haughty and fierce demeanor vanished the moment she realised where the command token was from.

Ji Yunshu leaned towards her and whispered right next to her ear. “This concerns a human life as well as your business. Should we talk about it here, or would you rather we go upstairs?”

The corner of Madam Yan’s mouth twitched as she forced a smile upon her face and issued a simpering invitation, “Young Master, please head upstairs.”

Madam Yan led Ji Yunshu and Shi Ziran up to a clean and spacious room on the third floor. After they sat down, she served them with impeccable hospitality, complete with tea and snacks. “Officer, why did you not send word prior to your arrival? We almost made the mistake of being inhospitable.” Madam Yan continued piling on the smiles and flattery.

Ji Yunshu’s attention was wholly on observing their current room. She made no reply.

“Officer…”

“I’m surnamed Ji.”

“Lord Ji.” Madam Yan called out intimately. She swallowed and licked her lips before trying to probe again. “Lord Ji, the incident with Ye’er three years ago… isn’t it already in the past? Why would you investigate again today?”

“Which room was Ye’er in when the incident happened?” Ji Yunshu got straight to the point.

Madam Yan was so alarmed at the abrupt question that she jumped and her eyes widened.