Chapter Forty: The Giant’s Perspective

Wen Baniang and Nurse Wu exchanged a glance. Seeing Wen Qi’s blank expression, they both thought to themselves that Seventh Lady must have truly forgotten much of her past; otherwise, she would not be so indifferent.

“For what reason has Young Lord Ning come here?” Nurse Wu asked worriedly. To her, this Young Lord Ning was more fearsome than a tiger.

Wen Baniang looked at Wen Qi and said, “I don’t know either.”

“He was just passing by and stopped to deliver a message to his cousin, nothing more. Don’t let your imaginations run wild,” Wen Qi replied casually.

Though Nurse Wu was not entirely convinced, she reasoned that they had already fallen as low as they could. Surely a young lord of such standing would not travel so far simply to witness their misfortune. As long as he did not come to harm her Seventh Lady, that was enough.

…

The next morning.

“I did not know Vice Prefect Ji would grace us with his presence. Forgive me for not welcoming you from afar,” Wen Qiran said with a calm face.

Ji Changgong raised the corners of his lips in a slight smile. This stubborn old man seemed even more obstinate than before. “No need for such courtesy, Lord Wen. I am merely passing through and stayed for the night. I shall take my leave now.”

“I respectfully bid farewell to Vice Prefect Ji!” Wen Qiran replied solemnly.

Ji Changgong could not help but laugh inwardly. The man could not even manage a polite pleasantry, but then, it was only natural. Likely, no one in the Wen family welcomed his presence.

“Reporting, my lord! A body has been found by the river!” A constable, pale as a sheet, ran over. After speaking, he glanced at Ji Changgong, then suddenly dashed aside to vomit.

Ji Changgong’s face darkened. Was his appearance truly so repulsive?

Everyone exchanged confused glances, uncertain what was going on.

“How dare you behave so rudely before my lord?” Su Mu scolded the constable sternly.

“No, my lord! It’s the corpse—it is truly nauseating,” the constable quickly wiped his mouth and explained.

Su Mu sighed. What a fuss over nothing. Of course corpses were nauseating; was there ever a pleasant one?

“Lead the way,” Ji Changgong ordered the constable, then added, “Go and fetch Lady Wen Qi as well.”

Wen Qiran’s eyes flashed with anger as he glared at Ji Changgong. “Seventh Lady is a young woman of the inner chambers; it is improper for her to show herself in public. Besides, she is as gentle as a lamb, with no strength to bind a chicken. Why would Lord Ji summon her to such a scene?”

Ji Changgong was left speechless; the reasoning was unassailable. He had intended to have Wen Qi examine the corpse, but as coroner was not a respectable title, he swallowed the thought.

They arrived at the riverbank, where a huge shape lay tangled in a fishing net—vaguely human, yet not quite. Flies covered its surface, and a stench so foul filled the air that it could be smelled for a mile around. Aside from a single constable retching nearby, there was not even a bird in sight.

“What on earth reeks like this?” Su Mu pinched his nose.

The constable who had vomited earlier replied, “It’s the female corpse, my lord.”

Su Mu had barely opened his mouth before he too dashed aside to vomit, nearly retching up his very bile.

Covering his nose, Ji Changgong stepped closer. The corpse was so bloated as to be unrecognizable, nearly six feet tall, swollen like an overinflated balloon, the skin pale and waterlogged, already in an advanced state of decay.

“Take it to the public mortuary,” Ji Changgong commanded.

The constables looked at each other, none willing to touch the reeking corpse.

Su Mu’s face was pale as he looked at Ji Changgong. “What’s the point of bringing such a foul corpse back? Why not just bury it here? No one could recognize it anyway.”

Ji Changgong replied sternly, “Its origins are unknown and its cause of death unclear. We cannot be so careless. Move it!”

With grim determination, four constables took hold of the corpse’s clothing and heaved. Suddenly, their hands slipped and the body fell back to the ground.

“You useless lot!” Su Mu snapped, irritated that these bumbling constables were wasting time when all he wanted was to escape this place.

“My lord, it’s too slippery…” one constable said. They hadn’t expected even the corpse’s clothing to be so sticky and slick.

“Wrap it in the fishing net and carry it that way,” Ji Changgong ordered. The surface was coated in greenish slime from decomposition, making it indeed slippery.

“Who first reported the case?” Wen Qiran asked.

The constable on duty replied, “It was the fisherman Qian Guangjin and his family. They were terribly frightened, so I sent them home—the stench here is overwhelming.”

Wen Qiran nodded; knowing who found the body would suffice for now. They could take statements later. He gave the constable an approving glance—just standing guard here was no easy task, given the stench.

The corpse was brought to the public mortuary, a secluded place nestled in desolate hills, managed by an old widower, Uncle Xun. Though the weather was stifling, the mortuary was cool and shadowy.

Upon entering, the group felt a chill seep from their feet to their scalp. The room was lined wall to wall with coffins. Uncle Xun, busy cleaning, filled the air with the scent of soapberry and burning atractylodes.

Uncle Xun glanced at the corpse, his face as impassive as if he could not smell the stench at all.

“My lord, this corpse is so swollen it won’t fit in an ordinary coffin.”

“Leave it on the boards for now. The coroner will examine the body shortly,” Ji Changgong replied.

“Has Lu Dashuan, the coroner, arrived yet?” Su Mu asked impatiently.

“Not yet, my lord…”

“That lazy donkey! Always dawdling!” Su Mu fumed.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Lu Dashuan came stumbling in, breathless. “My lord, forgive me…”

“Enough talk! Examine the body at once,” Su Mu ordered.

“Yes, sir!”

Lu Dashuan turned and, upon seeing the corpse, was so shocked his jaw dropped and he gasped. He was a butcher by trade, only taking the role of coroner to supplement his income after the previous county magistrate pressed him into service. Usually, he muddled through his duties, but what was he to do with a case like this?

Ji Changgong noted Lu Dashuan’s bewildered expression and realized the man was utterly incompetent.

“Well, get on with it!” Su Mu urged.

“This…this humble one doesn’t know where to begin…” Lu Dashuan stammered, sweat rolling down his forehead.

“If you can’t perform a post-mortem, why are you a coroner? Give him thirty lashes!” Su Mu shouted angrily. So they had waited all this time just to hear him say he couldn’t do it?

Lu Dashuan howled as two constables dragged him out. This time, he’d truly lost both dignity and salary—had he known, he would never have taken the paltry coroner’s wage.

“We could summon a coroner from Yangzhou Prefecture, but if we delay any longer, there’ll be nothing left to examine. Even if Zhao Panshi himself came, he might not be able to determine the cause,” Ji Changgong remarked.

“Then what can be done?” Su Mu asked helplessly.