Bone Painting Coroner

Ji Muqing had undeniably good taste. This rouge store was famous within the capital; countless ladies would shop here for their cosmetics. Of course, there were items in here that were unreasonably expensive, but those who could afford entering this place were in no short supply of gold; the average commoner could only stare in from outside.

Ji Muqing was dressed a little quirkily; her garb was too extravagant but undeniably expensive – each part of her attire was adorned with pearls and jewels. As soon as she stepped in, the other young ladies threw her weird looks, many of them full of disdain and contempt. They started gossiping, “Which household does she belong to?” “Look at what she’s wearing! How unfas.h.i.+onable!”

Luckily Ji Muqing heard none of it, otherwise, she would have turned this place upside down!

As Ji Muqing entered, Ji Wanxin followed. Compared to Ji Muqing, Ji Wanxin was much more refined and graceful, especially the beauty mark sparkling on her forehead. A beauty of this calibre was hard to find even within the capital.

Ji Muqing began to circle the store like a tourist, avoiding the weird glances. “I want this!” she pointed towards an ornate rouge, chin raised, a haughty air about her.

The female shopkeeper took a look at her heavily adorned dress and knew right away that she was rich; she picked up the box, smiling, “Sure young mistress, I will wrap it up for you now.”

“Hold on!” someone shouted. A young lady walked over from behind and gave the shopkeeper an indignant glare, “This rouge is mine – I had my eye on it much earlier, how could you sell it to someone else?”

The shopkeeper gulped, not knowing what to say.

Ji Muqing scoffed, side-eyeing that girl, “If you set your sights on it earlier, why didn’t you ring it up? Why come now and protest – does looking at it make it yours?” Ji Muqing had no intention of backing down.

The other girl was no pushover either. She raised her plucked eyebrows, saying, “Where are you from? A nouveau riche? Don’t you understand the meaning of ‘first come, first served’? If I said that I had my eye on it, it’s mine.”

“Who did you call a nouveau riche?”

“Who else but you!”

Ji Muqing turned green, sneering, “Do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like that.”

That girl laughed coldly, “Who cares who you are? Why don’t you go and find out who I am?”

“What insolence, wait until I become Crown Pr-”

Before she could finish her words, Ji Wanxin stepped forth and pulled her aside, whispering into her ear, “Big Sister, forget it, it would be much worse if word gets out – remember your position and status.”

Ji Muqing stopped at her reminder. She was the Ji Family’s first trueborn daughter, the younger sister of Secretary Ji of the military and General Ji of Changlin, the predetermined Crown Princess! She could not afford to stir up any trouble at this juncture.

Ji Muqing took a deep breath, then displayed the most graceful of smiles. She glanced at the rouge in the shopkeeper’s hands, and told the young lady, “It’s alright then, this rouge isn’t any good anyway – I don’t want it anymore, you can have it.” What generosity!

The girl had a look of triumph on her face, reaching for the rouge in the shopkeeper’s hands, voicing to herself, “In a few days, the Crown Princess selection will begin – I’ve heard that the Crown Prince loves the smell of this rouge.”

What? This young lady was also attending the Crown Princess selection? Ji Muqing was like a bomb set to explode; she turned around and s.n.a.t.c.hed the rouge from that lady’s hands, angrily declaring, “I would rather pour this rouge than give it to you.” As she finished, she opened the rouge box, flipped it over and emptied its contents to the floor, the wind carrying what was left of it away.

“You…” The lady was infuriated. She pointed at Ji Muqing, at a loss of words.

“Yes, what about me? A mere girl like you is thinking of entering the Crown Princess selection? Why don’t you have a look at yourself in the mirror – you don’t even qualify to be the Crown Prince’s servant girl!”

Hush – Everyone else was shocked! Where did this lady come from? What arrogance!

The young lady had never endured such embarra.s.sment in her life – she fumed and stomped her feet in indignation, raised her hands and charged at Ji Muqing. The two of them were soon embrawled, pulling at each others’ hair and clothes.

“Elder Sister!” Ji Wanxin wanted to dissuade them, but could not find an opening. The store naturally grew rowdy, and so did its surroundings; people watched, gossiped, pointed and stared.

Coincidentally, Wei Yi and Ji Yunshu pa.s.sed by this store on their way back to Yuhua Pavillion. Seeing the crowd, Wei Yi tugged on Ji Yunshu’s sleeve, “Shu’er, let’s go have a look!”

“No.”

“Come on, just a peek.”

Her slender frame could not resist Wei Yi’s grip, and so she could only be dragged along by him. They squeezed through the crowd and saw the comical scene – Ji Muqing and the other lady were brawling, hair frazzled, hair pieces falling apart to the ground and being trampled upon. Gone were their manners and upbringing! Ji Wanxin could only stand aside and helplessly watch on.

Ji Yunshu was astonished at what she saw; firstly, that Ji Muqing and Ji Wanxin had already entered the capital, and secondly, that Ji Muqing was fighting in public! ‘Oh my G.o.d’ Ji Yunshu reached inside her sleeves. ‘Where’s my phone? My mobile phone! Quick, quick, I must post this on weibo (OR I must tweet this). Wait, this is practically the stone age!’ She quickly regained her senses, however, and pulled Wei Yi aside, “Let’s go.”

Wei Yi was excited, however, “Shu’er, it’s the two older sisters.”

‘Dear child, have you forgotten how you were bullied by Ji Muqing?’ Ji Yunshu could care less about what he said – she held his hand and steered him away from the crowd. Just as they turned, two men exited the store, crying, “Someone’s dead!”

The crowd began to stir; everyone covered their mouths, backing away. Dead? Was it Ji Muqing?

Ji Yunshu stopped momentarily in her tracks, looking back. The crowd parted in two and she saw a female lying supine on the ground, hair amess and eyes widened. A silver hairpin pierced through the back of her head straight to her forehead. The dead girl was none other than the young lady Ji Muqing was arguing with.

Ji Muqing was also shocked, her face ghastly pale. She stood to one side, trembling in fear, muttering over and over again, “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I didn’t push her, it wasn’t me…”