There is a god in the sky

Chapter 260 Beauty Bones 20

Xiao Ji didn't rush down the mountain. Instead, he helped Fu Qingyan pack his luggage and then strolled around the academy with him, listening to some of the students' lively discussions.

"Things in the palace are taboo. The Emperor can favor whichever concubine he wants, so why are you all standing up for him?"

"That newly promoted Lady Lin is just a dancer, and I heard she comes from a brothel. How can such a woman be brought into the harem?"

"Although Consort Lin came from a humble background, she was, after all, a dance official personally appointed by the Emperor, which can be considered a complete transformation."

"This is outrageous! The matter of the dance official is nothing but the princess's nonsense. What if this woman gives birth to a prince? Wouldn't that be defiling the royal bloodline?"

Someone chuckled to himself, "Brother Tao, you're overthinking it. The Emperor is already that old, and no princes or princesses have been born in the palace for many years."

No one dared to joke about the emperor, but they also didn't take a nobody like him seriously.

Besides, they had no real control over palace affairs; they were just indulging in idle chatter.

"But speaking of which, she was promoted very quickly, which shows that she is indeed favored."

Previously, this Lady Lin was only a Baolin, but it is said that she was promoted to Lady in just half a month.

"I know about this."

The heir of the Duke of Wen joined in, waving his fan, and said smugly, "That day, I happened to be in the palace and witnessed Consort Lin's amazing long-sleeved dance, which completely defeated Consort Wu, who was also on stage, leaving her utterly humiliated."

The Emperor promoted her on the spot; if she hadn't been favored for so short a time, she wouldn't have been just a mere concubine.

Prince Wen was a womanizer, and that fleeting glimpse that day was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, the beauty already belonged to the royal family, so he couldn't even have the chance to be intimate with her.

No one could imagine how amazing the dance was, and they thought that Prince Wen was exaggerating, but the person must have been a beauty, otherwise the emperor would not have lost his mind.

"So, does that mean this Consort Lin is going to surpass Consort Li in the harem?"

"Besides being young and beautiful, Consort Li is useless and should have been replaced long ago!"

"Consorts in the harem who only have beauty will eventually fall out of favor. Our Consort Li is known as the 'Foolish Beauty,' hahaha..."

Xiao Ji frowned, about to reprimand the student, when he saw Fu Qingyan rush over from the other side and punch the laughing student in the face.

He turned around and kicked another student to the ground, yelling, "You're spewing filth! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Ah..." The two screamed in agony.

The crowd was unaware that the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang had come to the academy; otherwise, they would not have dared to speak ill of Consort Li in front of Fu Qingyan, even if they had a hundred lives.

It wasn't until Fu Qingyan had beaten the two men black and blue that some students realized they needed to stop him.

"Stop right now! If you keep fighting, someone will die!"

Fu Qingyan was just a scholar and didn't have much strength. The person trying to mediate had no connection with him, so naturally he sided with the students of the academy.

Seeing that they were taking sides, Xiao Ji walked over and scolded, "What kind of behavior is this, a bunch of scholars pulling and shoving each other?"

Xiao Ji had previously investigated a case at the academy, and everyone recognized him.

Moreover, as an official, he held the most authority among the students.

Fu Qingyan's eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at the two men and asked, "What are your names? State your names!"

Xiao Ji walked over and grabbed him, shaking his head at him.

He had only been in the academy for one day, and he absolutely could not be accused of bullying his classmates.

Besides, with something like this happening today, if anything happens to these two in the future, Fu Qingyan will become a suspect, so it's not worth it.

Before Fu Qingyan could refute, Xiao Ji turned and reprimanded the two of them.

“You are all people who have studied the classics and understand right from wrong. To gossip about the concubines in the harem behind their backs is not only lacking in moral virtue, but also disrespectful to the Emperor. Fortunately, Fu Qingyan and I are here today. If the Emperor were to hear this, do you think you would still be alive?”

Those two also regretted it.

It's normal for them to discuss politics on a daily basis, but it's always immoral to speak ill of someone behind their back and have the person in question hear it.

"We apologize for our carelessness. We apologize to Prince Fu."

"Please forgive us, Your Highness. We promise we will never do it again."

After calming down, Fu Qingyan realized that his approach to the matter was inappropriate.

If my cousin were in this situation, he definitely wouldn't be so impulsive as to hit someone in public and give others something to talk about.

If Miss Shen were here, she would probably also call him stupid.

He took a deep breath and bowed to the two of them. "I also have my faults. A gentleman uses words, not fists. I only regret that I am clumsy with words, and my body reacts faster than my mouth."

By the time the instructors arrived, the scene had become quite harmonious.

The two men who had been beaten received medicine from Xiao Ji, so they couldn't pursue the matter further, especially since they were in the wrong first.

Master Yang originally intended to give Fu Qingyan a lecture, but seeing that Fu Qingyan was truly repentant, he did not press the matter further and decided against it.

Teachers would certainly not be pleased with students who joined the class halfway through.

Moreover, Fu Qingyan's reputation is not good.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Ji led his men down the mountain.

The sun sets faster in the mountains than it does outside, and the mountain path is already obscured.

Uncle Liao walked ahead, holding a torch, to light the way for Xiao Ji and the other man on the mountain path.

Xiao Ping was puzzled. They could have gone down the mountain much earlier, so why did her cousin delay setting off until sunset?

Could it be that he didn't know the mountain road was difficult to travel?

Yes, they took a horse-drawn carriage up the mountain, but had to take a small path down. My cousin must have had his own reasons.

"Several cases of mummified corpses have been discovered in these mountains. Do you know how corpses are mummified?"

Xiao Ji's voice, accompanied by the hoarse cawing of crows, reached Xiao Ping's ears.

He was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he clung tightly to Xiao Ji's side.

"Cousin, don't scare me. How...how would I know these things?"

"It doesn't matter if we know. Solving cases is about starting with all sorts of strange details. If we can find out the process of making the mummified body, we can guess the identity of the murderer, or his preferences and specialties, etc."

"But... how could an ordinary person possibly know this?"

Xiao Ji nodded. Ordinary people wouldn't turn a murderer's body into a mummified corpse.

Aside from the two instances where Sun Weiyi copied the same method, in the case of the mummified corpse fifteen years ago, the body was neither deliberately left in front of people nor deliberately buried. It is unclear whether this was because they were certain that no one would find it, or because they were certain that the authorities would not be able to find the murderer.

"If you were in that situation, how would you investigate a case like this?"

Xiao Ping asked nervously, "Was this really done by human hands? Could it be the work of a mountain spirit?"

He couldn't see Xiao Ji's expression, so he explained, "Don't the books say that some demons, after transforming into human form, will absorb people's yang energy to increase their cultivation?"

Xiao Ji tapped his head, "Stop reading those nonsensical novels, and even if you do, don't take them seriously."

Uncle Liao laughed from the front, "A normal person would think like Young Master Ping."

Xiao Ji shook his head; that was indeed how the government closed the case back then.

He thought the murderer had deliberately guided him, but now it seems that perhaps the officials themselves thought so too.

Come to think of it, it seems that only Shen Lan doesn't believe in demons and monsters, nor does she believe in gods and Buddhas.

At first, he thought Shen Lan was a Taoist, after all, she was a child adopted by a Taoist priest, and he had seen her guide the souls of the dead.

But after spending more time with her, you'll find that she doesn't actually believe in Taoism.

"Cousin, have we...have we taken the wrong road?"

The surroundings were completely quiet, and the path they were taking wasn't going downhill the whole time; even a fool would know they were going the wrong way.

Xiao Ji shushed him, "Don't talk, keep walking forward."

Uncle Liao whispered, "Young Master shouldn't have taken such a risk himself. The mastermind behind your assassination attempt last time still hasn't been found."

Do you remember which area all those mummified corpse cases happened in back then?

"It seems to be to the west; we should have to cross that canyon ahead."

Xiao Ji stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the mountain opposite. Apart from the sound of the wind and the water, he could not hear any other sounds.

"So, very few people must have gone there in recent years."

"That's for sure. The villagers down the mountain certainly wouldn't dare go there, and the students from the academy would be even less likely to go there."

Xiao Ji seemed to be deep in thought, then led his men down a narrow, winding path.