Outside Chang'an City, there is a ten-mile-long bamboo forest.
Shen Yao specially buried Ye Qingzhu in the bamboo forest that she loved most during her lifetime.
Su Yan hadn't expected that Shen Yao, who usually looked so rough and burly, could be quite romantic at times.
In the blink of an eye, the sun set and night fell.
The winter wind felt like blades piercing her face. The soil was incredibly hard; she couldn't dig anything out with a single hoe. After digging for half an hour, Su Yan collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. She simply didn't have the strength to continue and couldn't help but admire Shen Yao for burying her in such a godforsaken place.
About half an hour later, the coffin was completely dug out. Shen Yao put down his hoe, picked up a handful of soil from the ground, and pointed it at Su Yan, who was lying lazily on the ground, watching the show with her legs crossed.
"Get up and get down to business..."
Seeing that the coffin had been dug out, Su Yan quickly got up from the ground, and the two of them worked together to open the coffin lid.
When the two saw the skeleton in the coffin, Su Yan didn't show much emotion, but Shen Yao looked at the skeleton with a complicated expression.
Two short years—not a long time, but not a short time either—are enough to turn a once beautiful woman into a cold, lifeless corpse lying in a coffin.
The remains in the coffin did not disappear, so it seems that Princess Jingning saw someone else who looked exactly like Ye Qingzhu.
Su Yan reached out and patted Shen Yao's shoulder, comforting him, "Lord Shen, perhaps Princess Jingning was mistaken. The jade pendant may have been stolen by tomb raiders and thus entered the market."
Shen Yao was indeed suspicious at first, but when he saw the skeleton in the coffin, an uneasy premonition always filled his mind.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Yao looked at Su Yan and asked, "Su Yan, can you identify the deceased based on the remains?"
"Huh?" Su Yan opened her mouth wide in surprise when she heard Shen Yao's words, thinking that she had misheard.
Seeing that Su Yan had misunderstood his words, Shen Yao immediately explained, "Actually, I can't really explain it either, it just feels strange... Never mind, let's go!"
After saying that, Shen Yao prepared to close the coffin.
Su Yan smiled. She understood what Shen Yao was trying to express earlier; it was because he hadn't yet dispelled his doubts.
“Lord Shen, there is actually a way to prove whose remains are in this coffin.” Su Yan stopped Shen Yao from closing the coffin lid.
Shen Yao immediately became interested and curiously asked Su Yan, "What method?"
"Drawing bones and sculpting a statue," Su Yan said mysteriously.
"What is bone-drawing sculpture?" Shen Yao asked, full of doubt.
"This is a technique that uses the skull of the deceased to reconstruct their facial features with soil. However, this method is very difficult and can only reconstruct a general appearance."
After thinking for a moment, Shen Yao decided that rather than letting himself overthink, he might as well get rid of his doubts completely. Without a second thought, he immediately agreed to let Su Yan draw the bone sculpture.
As the saying goes, if you're going to help someone, help them all the way. Su Yan couldn't bear to see Shen Yao have any regrets about this, so she agreed to help.
She stayed in the house for three days and three nights, and finally Ye Qingzhu's appearance before her death was restored.
Su Yan frowned as she looked at the face on the clay statue. It was an extremely ordinary face; if it walked into a crowd, it would disappear in the blink of an eye and would be impossible to find.
Su Yan sincerely admired Shen Yao's character, knowing that he could reject Princess Jingning for the sake of such a woman.
Just as Su Yan stretched, yawned, blew out the candle, and prepared to leave the room, Shen Yao walked in carrying a food box.
"How is it?" Shen Yao asked as he walked in.
Su Yan, looking exhausted, pointed to the clay figure on the table. "It's finished, but I haven't used the Bone Drawing Sculpture technique in a long time, so I'm not sure if it looks like the real thing..."
Shen Yao looked in the direction Su Yan was pointing, and when he saw the clay statue, his eyes widened slightly, as if he was very surprised.
"Are you sure this is what was made from Qingzhu's skull?"
Su Yan nodded. "Of course I'm sure. My master is Lu Yuanxiu, who is famous throughout the Great Liang. I'm just rusty, but it's not like I can't do it. If you don't believe me, then you'll have to ask my master for help."
"No need, I trust your abilities..."
Shen Yao stared at the clay statue before him, a crack appearing in the jade pendant he held in his hand. His face was grim and terrifying.
Su Yan noticed that something was wrong with Shen Yao and quickly went to check on him. "What's wrong, Lord Shen? Doesn't my sculpt look like Miss Ye?"
"No...it's not that it doesn't resemble her, it's that it's not her at all..."
"Huh?" Now it was Su Yan's turn to be surprised. She was momentarily stunned by Shen Yao's words.
Shen Yao wasn't stupid either. It seemed that the person Princess Jingning saw was probably the deceased Ye Qingzhu. It was no accident that she was able to infiltrate the Rouran envoys to the capital.
After careful recollection, Shen Yao realized that ever since he met Ye Qingzhu, he knew nothing about her background or past.
“Lord Shen, if the person Princess Jingning saw was indeed Ye Qingzhu, then she… is very likely a spy.”
Shen Yao remained silent, said nothing, and then turned and left the house.
Su Yan watched Shen Yao leave calmly. Considering that Shen Yao and Ye Qingzhu had only known each other for three short months, it now seemed very likely that it was all a scam.
Su Yan understood Shen Yao's feelings at that moment.
…………
Meanwhile, Yu Liuli, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally seized the opportunity to take revenge.
When he saw Xie Yu walking alone on the street, he secretly followed him, intending to kill him with a single blow.
Just as he was about to make a move, his view was suddenly blocked. When he realized what was happening, he saw Qinglong smiling at him.
"Master Yu, it's been a long time..."
Seeing the sinister smile on Qinglong's face, Yu Liuli felt a chill run down her spine. Realizing that the people from Dark Moon Pavilion wanted to kill her to silence her, she took a few steps back in terror and ran away.
However, Qinglong preemptively struck Yu Liuli's acupoints, rendering her completely immobile, like a piece of wood. Only her eyeballs could move, and she could only watch helplessly as Xie Yu's figure disappeared around the street corner.
Yu Liuli closed her eyes in despair.
Qinglong looked at Yu Liuli with a smile, then waved to the people behind him. Soon, two men in black put Yu Liuli into a sack and carried it on their shoulders.
Qinglong remained calm and unhurried, patting the jade glass sack inside, and said with schadenfreude, "Originally, I was going to clean house for the Pavilion Master today, but since the Vice Pavilion Master wants to see you, I have to admit you're really lucky..."
After saying that, Qinglong walked towards a restaurant.
Upon hearing that the Vice Pavilion Master wanted to see him, Yu Liuli breathed a sigh of relief, her heart filled with trepidation.
The Pavilion Master is ruthless and never shows mercy, while the Deputy Pavilion Master is different. He dislikes killing and is very kind to his subordinates. Many disciples of the Dark Moon Pavilion are willing to follow the Deputy Pavilion Master.
The deputy pavilion master never met with useless people, so Yu Liuli knew that she was unlikely to die.
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