Despite being alarmed by the discovery, Jing Rong didn’t show any form of emotional upheaval. The world was such a big place and he had yet to see everything. His expression slightly darkened as he spoke. “Since the capital governor sent you here to inform me of this discovery, does that mean this is related to the missing girls’ case?”
The man repeatedly nodded and replied. “In fact, the capital governor suspects that it might be connected to the missing girls case, so he ordered this lowly one to inform Your Highness.” After replying, he glanced at Ji Yunshu. “This has to be reported to Teacher Ji too since the emperor has given full authority of this case to Teacher Ji. Therefore, reporting to Your Highness and Teacher Ji is a must.”
In either case, the capital governor gladly threw this hot potato far away from him. As for Ji Yunshu, she thought to herself that if this is related to the missing girls case, then this trail that came to her was very fast and sudden too. Jing Rong gave her a sideways glance as if he was wordlessly asking her something. Understanding his meaning, she nodded at him.
Finally, Jing Rong asked the man in uniform, “Where is the corpse now?”
“We already sent it to the capital’s memorial hall.”
“Hmm. Report to the capital governor that this Prince will go there with Teacher Ji in a moment.”
“Yes, your Highness.” The man clutched his stomach and rushed out. He probably couldn’t stand it any longer and ran to find a place to vomit.
“Do you want to bring something before going there?” asked Jing Rong.
At present, this man beside her had probably grasped her working routine. Ji Yunshu nodded at Jing Rong. “Then, please wait for a moment.”
“No problem. You can take your time.”
‘What do you mean by taking your time? Do you want to wait until the corpse starts rotting before going?’ Ji Yunshu stealthily gawked at him, but not long after, she dragged Wei Yi, who was still holding onto a pile of curios not far away, back to the East Courtyard. As soon as she went in, she swiftly took her sandalwood box, rolled up a few papers and picked up a pair of gloves on her way out.
Wei Yi, who had dumped all the curios on the table, rubbed his waist while counting the things he got in an extremely good mood. “Shu’er, can I bring all of these back home?”
“Why do you want to bring these back?”
“Because we don’t have these things at home.” Indeed, these curios couldn’t be found in Jingjiang.
Noticing that Ji Yunshu didn’t answer his question, Wei Yi hurriedly said, “I want to give these to Ami. Oh! And there’s Ahua, Xiao Dou, Uncle Fu, Yu’er and my wet nurse. That’s right! I shouldn’t forget about Tie Zhu, Xiao Dan, Abao and Big Brother Jing in the kitchen. They are good to me and I promised them that I’ll bring them gifts when I return from the capital. Mother said that I can’t break my promises. Shu’er, is it alright if I bring these back?”
Ji Yunshu understood that Jingjiang was a place that held many memories for Wei Yi. He had a good father and a loving mother, but what about her? She had none of it! Taking a deep breath, she dispersed the black clouds densely covering her mind and extricated herself from those dark thoughts.
“Wei Yi, we might not be able to…” She didn’t complete her sentence as Wei Yi immediately interrupted her.
“Oh, that’s right! I have something to give you.” Upon saying that, he took out a box hidden inside his sleeve with great excitement. He held it with both his hands and presented it to Ji Yunshu. His mouth curled into a very pure smile.
“What’s inside?”
“It’s…”
“Wei Yi, I need to go out now. Can you obediently wait here for my return?”
Hearing this, Wei Yi lowered the box and weakly let his arms fall to his side. Disappointment painted his expression while he muttered in a soft voice. “Could it be that you don’t like my present?”
“Of course not. No matter what you give me, I’ll like it. I’ll look at it when I come back.”
Wei Yi hastily pulled back Ji Yunshu. “Shu’er, where are you going? Don’t abandon me here.”
“I’m not abandoning you.”
“But you went out with Big Brother yesterday and didn’t care about me at all. I waited for you for a very long time. In the end, I was too sleepy and couldn’t stay awake, but you still didn’t come back. You absolutely cannot leave me here all alone. Can’t you bring me with you?”
Wei Yi grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let go no matter what. But Ji Yunshu didn’t go out to have fun. She was going to examine that newly discovered corpse, so she can’t obviously bring Wei Yi with her. Therefore, she steeled herself and displayed a serious expression. “Wei Yi, can you listen to me?”
He nodded.
“That’s good. You wait for me here until I come back.”
He shook his head in disagreement.
“Wei Yi!” She sternly shouted at him.
Wei Yi lowered his head as if he knew that Ji Yunshu was angry. Gradually, he let go of Ji Yunshu’s arm and took a step back. He whimpered in a low voice. “I’ll be good, so promise me that you won’t abandon me here.”
Ji Yunshu rubbed his head and gave him a smile that showed she will certainly not abandon him.
When she left her courtyard, Jing Rong was already outside preparing her carriage while waiting for her. The memorial hall was located in the southern side of the capital. From the Rong estate, it was quite a distance to reach their destination. Knowing that Ji Yunshu was uncomfortable with his presence, Jing Rong chose to ride his horse instead out of his consideration to her. Mounted on his horse, he gestured at Lang Po. Lang Po immediately opened the curtain and invited Ji Yunshu to board the carriage, “Teacher Ji, please get on the carriage.”
When she was still in Jingjiang, Ji Yunshu always went to the memorial hall by foot, thus she felt that going there by carriage might be a bit excessive. With a determined expression, Ji Yunshu threw a glance at Jing Rong.
‘Oi, oi, oi! We’re not going on an inspection tour. It is really alright to go there in such a grand way?’
Jing Rong realized the thoughts that were brewing in her mind. He kicked a bit the side of his horse, urging it to take two steps forward. “The capital is a hundred times bigger than Jingjiang. If you want to walk there, I don’t mind.”
“When did I say that I want to walk there?”
“Then, get on the carriage.”
“I…” Fine, she conceded. She lowered her eyes and boarded the carriage. Then, before the curtain fell back, she glared at Jing Rong. But this time around, Jing Rong didn’t understand the reason for her anger.
The carriage was a bit too gorgeous and she wasn’t used to receiving this kind of treatment. For some reason, she felt as if she was treated like a prince’s consort. She wasn’t sure if Jing Rong was being deliberate or not. Moreover, This luxurious carriage was going to the memorial hall that was located in the southern part of the capital. She shook her head. ‘Forget it, let’s not think too much about it.’
The carriage was about to leave when the curtain was suddenly lifted up and someone quickly drilled inside. Ji Yunshu didn’t even have time to react that the person had already taken a seat beside her.
“I’m going with you!” A sharp and clear voice was heard.
Jing Xuan haughtily raised her chin with a smile contained in her eyes as she looked at Ji Yunshu. She truly embodied the appearance of a small tyrant. “Princess? Why are you here?”
“Why can I be here? I… I came to find my imperial brother, not to find you. I heard that you are going to investigate the missing girls case so I decided that I’m going to go with you two!”
Ji Yunshu indifferently said, “Princess, please go back. We are going to investigate, not going out to play.”
When she heard Ji Yunshu, Jing Xuan became extremely displeased. She retorted, “Who said I went there to have fun?” Her countenance changed into a serious and solemn one. “I care very much about this case and I want to know the truth about it. Besides, this is a suggestion my mother made to Imperial Father. So, it’s normal that… that I observe you in my mother’s stead. I’ll see if you truly have the ability to investigate.”