Song Bai glanced hesitatingly at Old Master, who did not seem to object. Then he said, “Eldest Miss, there was a message from the Justice Department stating that they have found the body of a seven-year-old girl holding an authenticating object from the Ye Residence. They want us to go over to examine the body to see if she is indeed one of ours.”
“That means that the Justice Department has yet to draw a conclusion. Father, why do you firmly believe that it must be Fourth Sister?” Ye Jiuge asked.
“A seven-year-old girl’s corpse with an authenticating object from our Ye Residence? Who else could it be?”
Su Yufeng interjected, “Furthermore, I received a reliable message that Fifth Concubine sold Ruyi to a black market that specializes in extracting Spiritual Roots and buried the one thousand silver taels she received in this courtyard.”
After speaking, she turned her head and asked Zhi Hua, “Have you found the box?”
“Yes.” Zhi Hua called in a servant, who placed a locked box in front of everyone.
Su Yufeng pointed at the small box and said. “The evidence of her crime makes her guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. What else does Fifth Concubine have to say?”
“I did not do it!” Fifth Concubine shouted.
“Hmph, let me see what treasure is inside. Madame seems to know more about it than Fifth Concubine.” Ye Jiuge gave the box a kick that broke the lock. She opened it and found a pile of rocks inside. Not a silver tael in sight.
Su Yufeng’s eyes widened, and she almost screamed. She had instructed Qiu Mama to bury the one thousand silver taels and Ye Ruyi’s slave deed in Fifth Concubine’s courtyard. How had they turned into rocks?
“Madame, you claimed that this box contained the money that Fifth Concubine received from selling her daughter. I had no idea that rocks were so valuable that they would be worth her daughter’s life.” Ye Jiuge squinted her eyes and glared at Su Yufeng.
“Fifth Concubine must have secretly swapped the silver taels,” Su Yufeng said through gritted teeth.
“You said that the silver taels were buried here. Now, you are saying that they have been swapped. Madame, why don’t you tell us what Fifth Concubine swapped the silver taels for. We should hurry up and find the money so that Madame’s painstaking efforts do not go to waste.” Ye Jiuge raised her voice; everyone in the courtyard could hear everything.
Su Yufeng could not have known where Qiu Mama had placed the silver taels. Qiu Mama had deliberately called in sick and had not been staying in the Ye Residence to avoid arousing suspicion. At the moment, she could not be found.
However, even if the silver taels had disappeared, Su Yufeng still had a way to deal with Fifth Concubine.
“Old Master, I don’t know how Fifth Concubine got wind of the news and switched the silver taels in advance. She planned it all with such meticulous care. No wonder she was able to bring in someone to kidnap Ruyi.” As Su Yufeng wiped her tears, she continued pitifully, “I only pity our poor Ruyi who has died such a tragic death.”
“Madame, you shouldn’t cry so soon,” Ye Jiuge sneered. She turned her head and said to Ye Yuxuan, “Father, we should go to the Justice Department and check if the small girl is indeed Ruyi. If this was all just a misunderstanding, and you made such a big fuss, it would be ugly if the news spread around.”
Ye Yuxuan was always concerned about his reputation. Of course, he did not want such notoriety leaking from his residence. He nodded and said, “Alright, I shall go to the Justice Department.”
“Old Master, I will go with you.” Su Yufeng was scared that Ye Jiuge was up to no good.
“I will go as well.” Ye Shanshan wanted to go and have a look.
“Old Master, I…”
Fifth Concubine wanted to go too, but Ye Jiuge gripped her shoulders and said, “Fifth Concubine should be locked up in the dungeon and wait for Father to return to handle her.” Since Ye Yuxuan was furious, it was best for Fifth Concubine to avoid the limelight.
“Hmph, haul her down and guard her properly,” Ye Yuxuan ordered Gan Mama. With a flourish, he led Su Yufeng, Ye Shanshan, Ye Jiuge, and the others to the Justice Department in a formidable array.
The person in charge of welcoming them was the famous spiritual inspector, Wan Ziyang. He appeared to be approximately twenty-five years old, and his handsome facial features were as defined as though they had been engraved with a knife. His body was upright and exuded masculinity: he had a merciless look.
It was said that he had been born a commoner but was incredibly talented and had become an intermediate spiritual practitioner at such a young age. The Justice Department had expended many resources to summon him to keep watch.
When Wan Ziyang saw that Ye Yuxuan had brought along his wife and daughters, he frowned and said coldly, “The morgue is an important place in the Justice Department. Only Great Master Ye is permitted to enter.”
“Alright, everyone, wait outside!” Ye Yuxuan knew that Wan Ziyang was famous for his unfeeling personality and would never show due respect for anyone’s feelings. As such, he did not bother arguing with him.
Ye Jiuge stood in front of Wan Ziyang, looked straight at him, and said: “I am going inside too.”
“Do you not understand the human language?” Wan Ziyang’s gaze was grave, and his voice was cold. An ordinary woman would have broken down in fear.
“I suspect that somebody has deliberately used the small girl’s corpse to harm my Fourth Sister, so I want to enter and perform an autopsy.” Ye Jiuge’s eyes burned like torches as she stood her ground.
“You know how to perform an autopsy?” Wan Ziyang’s expression changed slightly.
“I do.” Ye Jiuge nodded. An autopsy was an essential skill that she, as a former agent, possessed.
“Jiuge, what nonsense are you sprouting? Get out of the way immediately,” Ye Yuxuan bellowed. Their Ye Residence was home to a clan of spiritual elixir alchemists; when had it become a clan of coroners?
“Do you have a way to inspect the remains even if the spiritual root has been destroyed?” Wan Ziyang asked, ignoring Ye Yuxuan.
“Even if the spiritual root is destroyed, the bones can still be inspected. Inspecting the bones is more reliable than inspecting the spiritual root,” Ye Jiuge said seriously.
“You may enter!” Wan Ziyang nodded and turned towards the Justice Department’s dungeon.
Ye Jiuge followed at once. Ye Yuxuan stared at the two people in front of him with hatred then followed behind with a gloomy face.
Although Ye Shanshan wanted to tag along and take a look, she did not dare fool around when she recalled Wan Ziyang’s dirty look. She tugged at Su Yufeng’s arm with uneasiness and asked softly, “Mother, is the corpse really Fourth Sister?”
“Of course!” Su Yufeng nodded. She did not believe that Su Junqing would lie to her.
When Su Junqing had asked her for Ye Ruyi, she had suspected that Su Junqing had designs on Ye Ruyi’s spiritual root. Now that it had been a while since the girl’s kidnapping and he had removed the thing he wanted, there was no use for the corpse.
“That’s good.” Ye Shanshan felt at ease.
Since Ye Ruyi was dead, Fifth Concubine would not live, no matter what Ye Jiuge said. Furthermore, Ye Jiuge had contradicted Father for Fifth Concubine’s sake, and Father would not tolerate her any longer. Soon, for her part in collaborating with them, Ye Jiuge would also face her death.
Meanwhile, Ye Jiuge and Wan Ziyang had just reached the morgue, which was located at the back of the Justice Department. Although the room was spacious, there was only one black coffin in it. A strange odor diffused the entire space.
“This morgue is used for strange cases,” Wan Ziyang said to Ye Yuxuan and Ye Jiuge. Then, from the side, he opened the coffin.
When Ye Yuxuan smelled the odor, he almost vomited. He immediately pinched his nose and moved away from the coffin.
Ye Jiuge had realized Wan Ziyang’s trick earlier and use a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth quietly. After the odor passed, she moved closer to the coffin’s side and carefully examined its contents.
