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墨書 Inktalez
If the attitude of the old acquaintances of Prince Chen does not change, even after more than a decade, their hatred for the Sang Family means that if the Sang Family dares to show their faces, they would fight to the death and take a piece of flesh with them.
The recent appearance of Prince Chen has significantly increased the odds for the Sang Family. Shi Yun plans to lend a hand and personally head to the Bottom of the Valley.
The Bottom of the Valley now has a conflicting stench, a mix of foul and fragrant odors that creates an indescribably unpleasant experience.
Shi Yuan retched a few times behind them, prompting everyone to realize he had followed along.
"What about those two girls?" Shi Yun asked him. "In this darkness, if you stay up there, you could at least help bolster their courage."
"This is serious. Staying behind could get us implicated. I sent them down the mountain and watched them get into the carriage before coming back. Just returned and saw you all heading down, so I followed to see some sights."
"Just don’t cry from fear later."
"I won’t," Shi Yuan replied, his face pale. "I just feel a bit nauseous."
"Get lost, you little brat! Don’t contaminate the evidence!"
This time, Shi Yuan didn’t argue back and obediently moved aside, throwing up quite violently. It was impressive he had held it in for so long on the way down the mountain.
Gentle had come prepared with plenty of personnel. The remains at the Bottom of the Valley were stacked high, and upon realizing that the deceased had an extraordinary background, everyone’s movements became much gentler, which slowed down their progress.
He immediately ordered the local Yard Officers from surrounding counties to join in.
As Shi Yun navigated through the Bottom of the Valley, he spotted some cleared fragments of flags. Comparing their designs with those in his historical memory, he sighed. "When Prince Chen was still a minor, he was allowed to have a private army—three thousand strong—named the White Tiger Corps."
The corps flag featured a black background with golden patterns, prominently displaying a large character for 'tiger,' adorned with tiger stripes. Even the character for 'king' on a tiger's forehead was intricately designed within the pattern.
It was just like the decorations on this flag.
Could it be that the renowned White Tiger Corps also perished here? No wonder after Prince Chen’s incident, there was no trace of the White Tiger Corps; they were inseparable most of the time and likely met their end together.
When Gentle arrived, he brought several coroners with him, including Xing Wu, who cradled a child's body in his arms, his eyes reflecting faint sorrow.
Shi Yun approached him and first examined the remains of a half-sized child on the ground before looking at what Xing Wu held—a small body no longer than an arm's length—and deduced that these were indeed Prince Chen's legitimate children. The eldest son was only eight years old when Prince Chen met his fate; the youngest was under two. The fragments of clothing matched as well.
Shi Yun observed a moment of silence for the two children before asking Xing Wu, "Can you determine their cause of death?"
"They’ve turned to bones; it’s hard to tell now. What I can say is that there are no external injuries on these two children."
"I’ve examined all the bones we’ve cleared out and found that only a ring of bones on the outside showed signs of being attacked—there were knife wounds and arrow wounds among them. Their remains were also entangled with some arrow feathers, which bore no markings."
The coroner had no conclusions yet. Shi Yun turned to Sang Qingxiao and asked, "What do you think?"
"There's no evidence, just speculation. Do you want to hear it?"
"Go ahead."
The Coroner stated that there were no external injuries on the remains. Could it be possible that the cause of death was asphyxiation?
As for the exact time of Prince Chen's incident, we currently do not know, but we have a fairly accurate timeframe. During that period, it rained heavily here, often resulting in torrential downpours.
There is a type of disaster known by different names in various places; I prefer to call it a mudslide. It refers to a special flood that carries a large amount of mud, sand, stones, and boulders after significant rainfall occurs in valleys or on slopes.
This hypothesis aligns well with the conditions at the crime scene, considering how deeply the remains are buried.
Sang Qingxiao's statement was first echoed by Xing Wu, who said, "What you say makes sense, but I still don't know how to verify it."
Shi Yun interjected, "A mudslide? That would be considered a natural disaster, but the term 'natural disaster' isn't enough to convince everyone."
Sang Qingxiao reminded him, "Chancellor, did you forget about the scars on the outer remains? I’ll venture another guess: they might have tried to climb up to escape but were stopped by someone standing on the mountain."
Moreover, a mudslide may not necessarily be a natural disaster; perhaps it was designed by someone.
As they were discussing this, loud noises came from above the mountain. Shi Yun looked up impatiently and noticed more people had gathered up top, along with several exquisite lanterns.
It seemed a group of Prince Chen's former subordinates had arrived, and Ze was among them. His keen eyes spotted Shi Yun from a distance; he waved and jumped to attract Shi Yun's attention. When Shi Yun seemed to glance his way, Ze called out.
"Shi Yun! They won't let me down; I have something very important to tell you!"
Shi Yun impatiently turned to Sang Qingxiao and said, "When will your father grow up?"
Sang Qingxiao was somewhat surprised. "How did you know?"
"You resemble him quite a bit, plus there are some other clues. There aren't many clues, but enough for me to analyze. He didn't recognize you; he just didn't think in that direction. In the future, he will be a good father."
Sang Qingxiao smiled. "You were just annoyed with him; now you've defended him after only a few words."
Shi Yun also smiled. "It's rare for the Court to have someone capable who is sensible yet occasionally childish."
After Ze jumped around for what felt like ages, Shi Yun finally waved at him. Ze happily ran down but halfway through his expression turned serious. He pulled out a cloth from his pocket and tightly covered his mouth and nose. It seemed ineffective at first until he added another layer before continuing down cautiously.
Once he finally reached the sea of corpses, Ze kept his gaze straight ahead and dared not look down. He quickly made his way to Shi Yun's side and finally felt a sense of security wash over him.
"What is it?" Shi Yun asked him.
Ze hesitated, saying there wasn't anything major.
Ha! He knew that this fellow must have come just to watch the commotion!
What is His Majesty's attitude?
Cai Gonggong's usual approach would be to keep things under wraps until there was a conclusion, then reveal it. But I think it won't be hidden for long. Just look at the number of Prince Chen's old subordinates who have arrived.
Tsk tsk tsk, it's all a bunch of old men. They haven't been this eager during court sessions. After they finish crying here, they'll probably be wailing at the palace gates soon.
Have they found Prince Chen's body yet?
Shi Yun shook his head. Not yet, but they did find two remains suspected to belong to the legitimate eldest son and the youngest son.
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