Bone Painting Coroner (Web Novel CN)

The magistrate stepped down from the podium as he lifted his gaze to see what she was looking at.

“Justice and fairness!”

‘Is there something wrong with those words?’ He stretched his hand out and waved it in front of Ji Yunshu’s face.

There was no response from Ji Yunshu. Her large eyes remained affixed on that plaque!

The magistrate couldn’t help but ask, “Yunshu, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head.

“Is there something wrong with those words?” The magistrate rubbed his chin as he carefully examined them again before softly muttering, “There’s nothing wrong with it!”

Hearing him muttering, Ji Yunshu stopped looking at the plaque. She ignored his stare and threw out a curt, “Stop being weird.”

Magistrate Liu was, once again, rendered speechless.

“Since the Zhou Mansion case is over, I’ll write the report.”

“Sure, sure, no problem.”

“Then, I shall borrow Your Lordship’s study for a while. I will return after I am done.”

‘That’s strange. Usually, Ji Yunshu would write the reports at home before delivering it to the yamen. Why does she want to write it at the yamen this time?’

Of course, there was no way for the magistrate to have known that due to Ji Lingzhi’s matter, she might not even have the time to sit down at home, let alone write a report if she went back.

The only thing that might be waiting for her might be the cold floor.

Naturally, Ji Yunshu was too lazy to explain any of this. After all, even the best officials couldn’t escape from troublesome private matters!

The magistrate brought her to the inner courtyard and into the study.

“Milord, you can leave first. I don’t like to be disturbed when writing my report.” Ji Yunshu’s tone was cold.

The magistrate smiled and said fawningly, “Of course, of course! The writing materials are all on that desk over there. Go and write it. I won’t bother you.” Having said so, he hurriedly exited the room as fast as his feet could take him.

‘Such a small study but very well stocked.’ The shelves lining the walls were filled with books, so many that they were crammed almost to the point of bursting.

In the 5 years since she had been here, this was the first time she had entered the county magistrate’s study. The smell of books was thick, and the arrangement was elegant and well thought out.

‘Surprisingly even that faking cold but inwardly passionate magistrate had such high end taste.’

‘Not bad. Not bad at all.’

Due to her curiosity, she browsed the bookshelves for a bit.

Placed on top of a bookshelf was a book titled ‘The Case of Lin Capital’. It immediately piqued her interest. So, she plucked it off the shelf. After flipping through a few pages, she stumbled upon a line of words: The Imperial Duke Case’s Summary.

‘The Imperial Duke? That name sounds familiar.’ She thought for a minute, but nothing concrete came.

Meanwhile outside the study, just as the magistrate backed out from the room, his back hit a sturdy, straight chest. He was about to shout, ‘Which blind bastard dare to stand in my way!’ when he turned around and met Jing Rong’s sharp gaze.

He immediately shrank back like a meek kitten as he stuttered, “Prin-” He hadn’t finished speaking when Jing Rong interrupted him with a hushed whisper, “Silence!”

In his panic, the magistrate hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands, not daring to even exhale heavily.

‘Liu Qingping, were you enjoying getting close to my scholar just now?’

Jing Rong waved his hand as he furrowed his brows. “You are not needed here. Leave. If there’s nothing important, don’t come and disturb us.”

Not daring to make a noise, the magistrate nodded furiously while his hands continued to cover his mouth. He backed away several steps before he turned to flee.

Jing Rong shook his head. ‘Forget it. I’m not such a petty person.’

He strode over the threshold and entered the study in one sweeping motion. The moment he entered, he saw Ji Yunshu reading a book with her back facing him.

“Teacher Ji is very hardworking indeed! Having just solved a case, shouldn’t you be resting instead?” His drawn out voice came without warning, causing Ji Yunshu to jump in fright, the book in her hand snapping shut.

Turning around, she saw Jing Rong’s frivolous appearance, as well as his injured arm, supported by a sling.

‘What inexplicable joy!’Ji Yunshu sarcastically thought. Then, she spoke, “Why is Your Highness here?”

“I can’t be here?”

“Of course you can. It’s just that at this time, shouldn’t Your Highness be recuperating? Or at the very least search for your subordinates’ murderer?” As she spoke, Ji Yunshu set the book down. Then, she walked to the study desk and sat down in front of it. A clean piece of paper was laid out on the table already. With one hand, she held her sleeve so that it didn’t get stained, while the other picked up the ink stick by the handle and started to grind ink.

Everything would have been good if she hadn’t brought up the matter of his subordinates’ murder. Now that she had, Jing Rong’s happy mood switched to displeasure.

Taking a few steps forward, he stood facing Ji Yunshu and spoke, his voice filled with dissatisfaction. “Do you know what kind of place the memorial hall is?”

Ji Yunshu chuckled, “Why does Your Highness ask this?”

“You know why! You abandoned this prince in the memorial hall and left me there for a whole night!” His voice was filled with complaint.

Even if he had eaten all sorts of wild food and slept in a damp padauk bed, this was the first time he had spent the night in a memorial hall.

Who had ever heard of a prince from any dynasty ever having slept in a memorial hall?

Ji Yunshu looked up at him. ‘So he’s here because of that matter!’ She shrugged slightly, her tone as calm as ever, “If Your Highness is here to fault this one, then how about this one also spend the night in the memorial hall to compensate?”

“You want to end this matter just like that?”

“Then what does Your Highness suggest?”

Her words had just fallen when Jing Rong suddenly grabbed the hand she used to grind ink and placed it against his chest.

Had it not been for the table separating them, that move would’ve caused Ji Yunshu to be pulled into his embrace!

‘Are all the Emperor’s children this overbearing?’ She exclaimed inwardly.

Her wrist was now imprisoned by his strong grip, and it hurt. “Your Highness, please release your grip!”

Yet she hadn’t expected that Jing Rong would stare at her with a serious expression. “I am not asking you to go sleep in the memorial hall. Rather, I am not pleased with the way you handle things.”

“What do you mean?” asked Yunshu.

“You are investigating this case on my behalf. No matter the outcome, you have to report everything to me personally. How could you just find someone else to do so for you, while you left? Is this how you deal with the matter this prince entrusted you with?”

He was clearly very unhappy!

For a moment, Ji Yunshu was actually at a loss for words! The next moment, Jing Rong spoke again, “Trying to escape this quickly… You really don’t want to see me again?” His words caused Ji Yunshu’s body to tremble.

“Your Highness, please release me first.”

‘The pain is killing me!’

Yet not only did he refuse to release her, he tightened his grip even more. Then he gave her another tug, causing Ji Yunshu to be half sprawled on the table. This image was really quite unsightly!

“This prince was injured because of you. Look!” His arm moved and lifted his injured hand.

‘The atmosphere, how did it suddenly change?’ Now Ji Yunshu was feeling confused yet anxious at the same time. Especially when meeting those pair of clearly enraged eyes that seemed to burn her and set her heart afire. The flame burned fiercer and fiercer!

After a moment, Ji Yunshu’s lips opened weakly, “Then what does Your Highness want this one to do? Do you want me to sleep in the memorial hall for a night or let me report to you personally, or perhaps, break my arm as well so I can share Your Highness’ pain?”

“This prince is not interested in any of those. Little scholar, right now I can only use one hand, which inconveniences me greatly. From today onwards, you will serve by my side so that you can report all your findings to me, as well as taking care of my daily necessities until my injury has healed!”