"I don't know, I only know it was a female corpse." Fourth Master walked to Lanqin's side, picked up the book in her hand, and it turned out to be the "Zizhi Tongjian".
Lanqin couldn't help but shudder. Although she knew that the era she had transmigrated to was a feudal and authoritarian society where a minority had the power of life and death over the vast majority of people, the thought that the fat, large silver carp might have grown that big by eating rotting corpses in the water sent a chill down her spine.
“Reading history can enlighten one’s mind. I like to read history books when I feel lost and confused,” Lanqin said casually. In fact, she read history books every day in the 21st century; it was one of the essential activities for her as a history graduate student.
"I never expected my Qin'er to be such a book-loving girl. Shall I tell you a story?" The Fourth Prince pulled Lanqin into his arms, picked her up in one swift motion, and then sat down in the grand master's chair.
"Alright, I'm listening." Lanqin obediently raised her hand and stroked the Fourth Master's chest.
"During the time of the Qi Kingdom, King Xiang of Qi had several sons. The eldest son was the crown prince, and the other sons were all very capable. Once, the crown prince and the second son were both trying to solve a nine-linked ring puzzle in front of foreign envoys. The crown prince couldn't solve it, but the second son was very clever and almost solved it. The crown prince then secretly sent someone to tell the second son not to solve it, but to tell the crown prince the solution, so as to maintain the face of the Qi Kingdom. In front of the envoys, the crown prince represented the wisdom of the Qi Kingdom, and the other princes should not be as good as the crown prince. Qin'er, what do you think the second son in this story should do?" Fourth Prince pinched Lanqin's small chin and asked.
Lanqin glanced at Fourth Master, quickly searching her mind for the story of King Xiang of Qi, but she had never heard of such a story before.
Lanqin smiled knowingly and said, "The Second Young Master should have done as the Crown Prince wished, but afterwards, he probably told King Qi Xiang about it through someone else."
Fourth Master stared into Lanqin's clear black and white eyes and said gently, "A mind with a heart understands everything."
Lanqin smiled and rested her head on Fourth Master's shoulder, saying with a smile, "Don't be upset, Master. Everything is temporary. I believe that you will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel."
The Fourth Prince's heart trembled slightly; Lanqin's words truly struck a chord with him. The Crown Prince had claimed all the credit for raising the grain, while he himself had toiled for a month or two only to have it all go to someone else.
“Sir, we can ask Doctor Liang to take a look at the body. He studied Western medicine, and Western medicine’s understanding and knowledge of the human body is much more advanced than that of traditional Chinese medicine,” Lanqin said softly.
"Well, let him go and take a look. I never beat or kill servants arbitrarily, but those who commit capital crimes are sometimes beaten to death. But I've never thrown them into the lake. So where did the corpses in this lake come from?" Fourth Master said.
"Master, let's wait for Doctor Liang to take a look and see if he can confirm her identity. Once her identity is confirmed, we might be able to find out why she was thrown into the lake," Lanqin said.
"Hmm. Let's not talk about that. Qin'er, I'm about to go to Yangzhou and the Jianghuai region again. It's a pity you're pregnant. I wanted to take you with me, but I'm afraid the long journey will be too strenuous for you and the baby. Perhaps I should send you back to the other residence," the Fourth Prince said. The Crown Prince had already entrusted him with the matter of military provisions; he couldn't just become a hands-off manager and ignore everything because the Crown Prince had taken the credit. If he did, although Father Emperor would blame the Crown Prince for his incompetence, he himself would also be implicated.
"Before you leave, sir, I'd like to return to the other courtyard to rest and prepare for childbirth," Lanqin said after a moment's thought. It wasn't that she was afraid of anyone, but she simply didn't want to cause trouble, and she also didn't want to spend her days scheming and plotting with those women.
Fourth Master had dinner with Lanqin, and the two then played with Wuxiha. Blind Liang had already gone to examine the skeleton retrieved from the lake. He carried his medicine chest into the house where even the guards dared not approach.
Wu Youcai was still inside. When he saw that the Fourth Prince had instructed the personal physician of the concubine in the South Courtyard to come and examine him, he deliberately did not leave but waited for him to come.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I just met Doctor Liang today. I heard that Doctor Liang was brought here from the other residence by the concubine." Doctor Wu already looked down on the blind man Liang because he was just a young man in his early twenties, and now he looked down on him even more.
"I wonder if Doctor Wu has identified the body?" Blind Liang asked directly, without any formalities.
Although Wu Youcai was a skilled doctor, traditional Chinese medicine doesn't study human anatomy. Therefore, for him, this skeleton could only be used to measure the lower body length, examine the pelvis, and check the teeth. After determining it was the remains of a young woman, he couldn't find any other useful clues. Seeing Liang the Blind asked this, he said somewhat defiantly, "I am but a humble scholar, only able to determine that this is the remains of a young woman. I wonder what Dr. Liang might have discovered?"
Dr. Liang smiled slightly and said, "Then please have Dr. Wu stand aside. I'm about to begin my examination."
Doctor Wu never expected that someone who came from the countryside and was merely a private physician to a concubine would be so arrogant. He was immediately enraged by the man's nonchalant and dismissive attitude.
Wu Youcai quietly stepped aside, wanting to see what clever tricks this country bumpkin would have.
Ignoring Wu Youcai's gaze, Dr. Liang began to carefully examine the skeleton laid out on the wooden plank. He first opened his medical kit, took out a magnifying glass, and then a long, thin ruler, on which were marked entirely with English letters and Arabic numerals.
When Wu Youcai saw this, he was immediately startled and thought to himself: Is he a Western doctor?
Dr. Liang first used a magnifying glass to examine the corpse's outer clothing bit by bit. He could barely stand it anymore, so he pushed open the door and left.
After carefully examining the fabrics wrapped around the skeleton, Doctor Liang began inspecting the skull, teeth, arm bones, and leg bones. He then took out the glowing device and began to examine the stark white bones. Wu Youcai, unwilling to give up, came in again to check. Seeing Doctor Liang's serious demeanor and focused gaze, he didn't say anything more. Looking at the sky outside, he realized it was already late and, unable to bear it any longer, went back inside.
Doctor Liang seemed completely unaware of the time outside, nor did he know when Wu Youcai had left. When he finally finished examining the entire skeleton and came out, it was pitch black outside, with only candles still lit in his room.
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