Bone Painting Coroner

‘It was just a nightmare!’

Luan’er heard her shout and ran into the bedroom. Once she saw the state of her young miss, she asked with worry, “Miss, did you have a nightmare?”

Ji Yunshu nodded and returned to her usual calm state.

Luan’er hurriedly fetched a warm towel and wiped off the sweat from her young miss.

Looking outside, Ji Yunshu inquired, “How long did I sleep for?”

“Miss, you have slept since yesterday until this morning. This servant didn’t want to disturb your rest so I didn’t wake you up.”

‘I slept that long?! No wonder my state of mind felt wrong and I had a nightmare.’

Yet, the fear lingered and gave her the impression that what she saw was real, despite knowing it was nothing but a dream, especially those eyes. Everything was fuzzy, even the face, but the eyes of that person were vividly etched into her memory.

They were filled with despair and pleading.

It was quite rare for Ji Yunshu to have such dreams.

The last time she had one dated back to last year, when she was trying to elucidate the suicide case of the Liang mansion’s maidservant who hung herself. On that night, she dreamt about a girl sitting beside her and, just like in her nightmare, the girl said, “Help me.”

She became nervous as she recalled that dream, but slowly relaxed as she convinced herself she was simply more tired than usual. She shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

She got down from her bed and dressed herself before stroking her empty stomach. In the past two days, she only ate a few steamed buns and she ate those yesterday morning.

It was quite normal for her to be extremely hungry at this moment.

“Luan’er, is there anything to eat?”

“Yes, yes there is. I knew you would be hungry so I asked the kitchen to cook something for you. I’ll bring it to you now.” As soon as she finished speaking, Luan’er excitedly ran out of the bedroom.

In the end, it turned into a table full of dishes.

The Wei mansion’s maidservant, who served the dishes, said, “When Milord and Madame left, they had instructed us to prepare delicious dishes for Miss Ji. However, Miss Ji is still injured and can’t eat too many heavy foods. Therefore, we have prepared some lighter dishes with ginseng soup. Please take a look and tell us if you need something else?”

‘The table is full of food. What more could I possibly need?’

“No need. It’s enough.” Ji Yunshu hurriedly spoke. Then, she beckoned a few maidservants. “There are so many dishes, but I’m just one person. I won’t be able to eat all of this. Sit down and let’s eat together.”

“That won’t do. We are servants. How can we possibly eat at the same table as the master?”

“It’s alright. Look at all these dishes. I can only eat a few mouthfuls. If you don’t eat with me, wouldn’t all this food be wasted?” Ji Yunshu continued to convince them.

Yet, those servants continued to shake their heads and did not dare to violate the rules.

Instead of staying and getting in a word battle with Ji Yunshu, they hurriedly escaped from the room.

In the end, Ji Yunshu was only able to capture Luan’er, and they both ate together.

Despite eating until they felt like they were about to explode, there were still a lot of dishes remaining on the table.

Ji Yunshu let out a sigh.

“Miss, why are you sighing?”

“I sigh because wealthy people are well-off while poor people are poorer.”

Luan’er pouted as her expression turned melancholic. “This servant remembered that after wet nurse Zhang pa.s.sed away, we also almost starved to death.”

What, almost? Your miss already died from hunger!

The one sitting right in front of you is a different soul wearing the sh.e.l.l of your young miss.

Ji Yunshu had no intention of continuing to listen to her narration of past events. She got up and walked out to the courtyard. She took in a deep breath and relaxed.

After the rain, the sky became clear without a single cloud.

“Luan’er, come and walk with me. The Wei mansion is such a big place, but I still haven’t properly explored it.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea.” Luan’er ran outside in great excitement.

Her young miss rarely had the good mood to stroll.

Thus, both master and servant left their courtyard to walk around the Wei mansion. The servants in the mansion were extremely polite and always called her “Miss Ji” when they saw her.

Presumably, everyone knew that this Ji Yunshu would certainly be Lord Wei’s and Madame Wei’s daughter-in-law and, sooner or later, she would be the Wei mansion’s mistress. It should not be a bad thing to be respectful and courteous to her at present.

When she pa.s.sed through the garden, she heard a burst of happy voices. It appeared that the loudest voice belonged to Wei Yi.

With curiosity, Ji Yunshu decided to walk towards the noise. After bypa.s.sing a fake rock, she saw servants standing in a circle and yelling, “Eat, eat, eat, eat!”

Everyone was waving their arms and legs with great excitement.

Although she wasn’t fond of joining the crowd for fun, her curiosity overrode that.

She walked into the crowd and made her way through the center. Because everyone was concentrated on what was happening in the center, no one took notice of her.

Finally, she knew why they were so excited. They were watching crickets battle.

Wei Yi was lying on the ground, holding a rice straw in his hand. In front of him, there was a small round plate containing two crickets, which were battling each other.

He was loudly shouting, “Eat it! Quickly eat it, Hua’er! Eat it!”

The crickets even had names.

Ji Yunshu was only watching the cricket battle with curiosity, although she was no different than the crowd bursting with excitement, completely focused on seeing the final outcome of the battle.

The male servant opposite of Wei Yi was in high spirits. His fists were clenched as he beat the ground in his excitement, hoping for his cricket to be the winner.

Ji Yunshu’s big eyes blinked. She observed the two crickets which looked… exactly the same.

‘What’s the difference between them?’

“I win!” The servant in front of Wei Yi shouted while he jumped up. He did not forget to extend his hand toward Wei Yi and said, “Young master, my cricket won. So, give me the money.”

Wei Yi got up from the ground with extreme disappointment. He took out a silver and gave it to the servant.

“Why do I lose every time?”

“Thank you, young master.”

The servant laughed while his hands clasped the silver, then he brought the silver to his mouth and bit on it. After confirming that the silver was not fake, his expression became even more radiant. He raised his head, but suddenly he saw Ji Yunshu in the crowd.

The sight of her caused him to tremble. He bent his waist and used a bootlicking tone. “M-miss Ji…”

At this instant, everyone suddenly noticed the presence of a young woman amongst them.

It could not be help that they did not notice Ji Yunshu, as her light blue clothes had almost the same blue hue as the servants’ clothes.

Wei Yi turned around and, when he saw her, he was beaming with joy. “Shu’er!”

One after another, every servant slipped away in an instant without leaving a trace.

“Is it fun watching crickets battle?” asked Ji Yunshu.

“It’s fun! Shu’er, do you want to play?” As soon as he asked, Wei Yi picked up the round plate, which contained one dead cricket and one alive, from the ground.

He spoke sadly, “Yes, but my cricket loses every time.”

“That’s because you’re a fool.”

“I’m not a fool; my cricket is. It loses every time and all the money mom gave me was won by them.”

Ji Yunshu wanted to laugh at him. She felt that this fool was pitiful. She sighed in anger. “Wei Yi, those crickets look the same. Do you know which one is yours?”

“Ah?” He scratched his head and looked at the crickets in the plate, but, after a long time observing them, he shook his head. “Isn’t Hua’er the one who died? Or is Hua’er the one who’s alive?”

“You were swindled. Every time they battle crickets with you, they always put on self-important airs and challenge you, but no matter how, they would always be the winners and you, the loser. You really are an idiot, getting cheated every single time by them.”

“Oh. So it was like this.” Wei Yi was not even angry in the slightest. He only blinked his eyes and stared at Ji Yunshu.

Ji Yunshu felt intrigued. “Why are you not angry?”

“I’m not angry. The truth is they are really pitiful. Even when it rains or when it snows, they would always be busy with work. Poor them, poor them. I often saw mom and dad give them silver. So, it’s okay. It’s just money. Giving some to them can let them buy something delicious to eat.”

That pure face, coupled with that youthful and honest smile… Wei Yi’s kindness is too pure! Ji Yunshu stretched her hand and patted his head. Her expression was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with affection.

Wei Yi enjoyed being pat by Ji Yunshu. He went as far as lowering his head and obediently letting her stroke his head.

“Wei Yi, do you want to go out to play?” asked Ji Yunshu.

“I want to.”

“That’s good. I’ll bring you outside.”

“Really?” Wei Yi’s eyes brightened at her words.

Ji Yunshu would certainly not lie to him. She returned to her courtyard and changed into men’s clothing before leaving the mansion with Wei Yi.

On the way, Wei Yi kept asking the same question.

“So, you’re Big Brother or are you Shu’er?”

Ji Yunshu was annoyed after being asked the same question multiple times, so she stopped answering him.

Both of them went to Treasured Calligraphy House. In the shop, Ji Yunshu told the shopkeeper to bring out a set of calligraphy.

“Young master really has good eyes. This set of calligraphy is our shop’s top product. Please look at this brush. The handle is made from Baoshan wood, durable and difficult to break. The brush hair used the highest quality fur from the crab-eating mongoose. Not only that, it even has a faint fragrance. Look at this, the feeling is as smooth as ivory with a sweet scent from the hair. When nestled in your hand, the sensation is quite comfortable and luxurious. Moreover, everything has been single-handedly picked and processed by us from the materials, removal of the resin, preparing the materials, a.s.sembling it, shaping the brush, decorations, and drying and carving the name. Everything followed a rigorous process.”

The shopkeeper did his best to advertise the shop’s product. He could not let go of this kind of big client.

Ji Yunshu raised the brush and studied it, but she showed an unsatisfied expression.

In fact, she really hated to part with this brush.

The shopkeeper hurriedly spoke. “Young master, you see, our brushes are the best ones in the whole city. Brushes made of tiger hair, ox hair or mongoose, as long as you say it, we will have it! If you want a round brush, a fine brush, a long brush or a short brush, we will have it!”

“How much for this set?” inquired Ji Yunshu.

The shopkeeper stretched out two fingers with a big smile. “Two hundred taels!”

‘s.h.i.+t! How scary!’

She only left with 20 taels!

Wei Yi strolled inside the shop and did not notice Ji Yunshu’s worried expression.

The shopkeeper probed her with a question. “Young master, do you still want to buy it?”

“Buy! Of course, we’re buying.” Suddenly, Jing Rong’s voice could be heard.

Ji Yunshu turned around and saw him and Lang Po enter the shop.

Jing Rong did not change complexion as he took out a gold ingot from his purse and put it on the counter.

He instructed the shopkeeper. “Wrap it!”

‘Oh my!’ The shopkeeper’s eyes s.h.i.+ned, reflecting the golden sheen of the ingot. He cautiously grabbed the gold ingot and licked it before biting on it. He nodded. “Good! Very good! I’ll wrap it for you, master.”

Ji Yunshu stared at Jing Rong, dumbfounded.

“Teacher Ji, consider this gift as my thought for you. This is but a trifling present.”

This kind of gift is quite heavy! “Your High-”

“Just call me young master,” interrupted Jing Rong.

Ji Yunshu gave him an awkward smile. “There’s no need for Young Master to spend money on me. I was only looking at it and had no intention of buying.”

“It’s for me. This gift is for the sake of a beauty’s smile!”