Chapter 081

Chapter 81: This Coffin Has To Be Opened, Right?

Yu Zhi Yi was grumbling hard inside. When she looked up, she saw the emperor and Du Zi Heng both wearing wistful faces.

She thought: “?”

[So I am the one who cannot find the main point?]

Prince Shun finally pulled a bit of reason out of all that love talk and said: “Words are not proof. I cannot suspect my princess consort of hidden treachery just because you said so.”

Yu Zhi Yi answered: “There is evidence, but we have to open the coffin.”

The emperor, Prince Shun, and Du Zi Heng fell silent.

[So this coffin really has to be opened, right?]

Yu Zhi Yi explained: “The year after the princess consort died, Han Yong Lie and his wife thought the heat had passed. They stole her body and set up another grave. In that grave are not only the things she loved that the prince gave her, but also proof of her identity as a member of the An Imperial House. If you open the coffin, you will know I told the truth.”

Prince Shun burst out: “You are saying her tomb was robbed?!”

Yu Zhi Yi said: “Put that way, it is not wrong.” Others rob graves for treasure. Han Yong Lie and his wife robbed it for the body.

She asked Eunuch Hu to bring paper and brush. Using the Imperial Palace as the starting point, she drew a map and said: “The princess consort’s real tomb is here.”

To test Yu Zhi Yi’s words, the first step was to open the coffin of Prince Shun’s princess consort. Even with a thousand reasons to refuse, he had to do it now. This was not only about the truth of that year, it was also about whether his wife had been at peace after death.

The Imperial Family works with speed. The next day at noon, in bright sunlight, the emperor personally ordered the princess consort’s tomb opened.

They uncovered the luxurious grave and found an empty coffin. The burial goods were still inside, but the body that should have been there was gone.

Prince Shun had been holding himself up with one last breath, hoping to prove Yu Zhi Yi wrong. Now, even before they saw the new grave, he had started to believe her.

Following the map, the Imperial Family’s people quickly found the second grave. It was very simple and could not be compared to the grand royal tomb. A wooden board served as a plain marker. On the banner it read, “Tomb of An Fu Xin.”

An Fu Xin. The personal name Fu Xin was very familiar to the emperor and Prince Shun. It was the very name of the woman who haunted their dreams. But the “An” added in front made it feel strange.

Soon they dug down to a fine nanmu coffin. When they opened it, a woman’s remains appeared. She wore a splendid long dress, and on her head was a princess consort’s phoenix crown. Years had passed, so the body was now white bones. The dress that once fit her was only barely hanging on. The crown, without a scalp to hold it, had fallen crooked into a corner of the coffin.

Beside the bones sat a wooden box. They opened it and found a jade pendant carved with a phoenix.

Prince Shun recognized it at once. It was the pendant used only by members of the An Imperial House. After An Kingdom was destroyed, this kind of pendant stopped being made. The ones that still existed were held by those who surrendered, twenty-eight pieces in total.

Later those members of the Imperial House submitted to the Great Sheng Empire. The emperor of that time was merciful and granted them small fiefs so they could live in peace. But all pendants that showed Imperial House status were confiscated and sealed in the palace’s Curio Pavilion.

The emperor sent people at once to count the imperial phoenix pendants in the Curio Pavilion. Soon they confirmed all twenty-eight were there, not a single one missing. The source of this extra pendant was clear without words.

Prince Shun seemed to age ten years in a breath. His whole body went slack.

Seeing how hard he was hit by the betrayal of love, Yu Zhi Yi thought for a moment, then said: “Prince, instead of wasting time mourning a false love, you should think about how to explain yourself to Your Majesty.”

She added plainly: “I can see from their lives that you were not turned by them, and you did not suspect their true identity. But we cannot rely only on my words. You must prove it yourself.”

“In matters that touch on treason, if the truth cannot be set straight, the one to suffer is not only you. It would also be your nine clans.”

Prince Shun jolted: “!!”

He blurted: “You are a demon!”

He woke up at once. Love is precious, but the lives of his whole clan are no small thing. He had been fooled and used as a piece for revenge. If Your Majesty did not believe he was clean, then it would be right for him to be punished. After all, he had been foolish. But even if he could die alone, he could not drag down his clan.

He faced the emperor and said: “Your Majesty, I never had any thought of treason. I did not know beforehand that An Fu Xin was the granddaughter of An Kingdom’s crown prince.”

The emperor thought: “…” In truth, he had not known either. He said after a pause: “Words are not proof. Think of a way to prove it.”

He finished and turned to leave.

Prince Shun looked at Yu Zhi Yi. Yu Zhi Yi only shrugged, her face saying she could not help.

On the ride back, Du Zi Heng’s gaze drifted to Yu Zhi Yi’s quiet face again and again, and he noticed more details. He had always thought she was beautiful, but he had never looked closely. Now he found her beauty was not the usual kind. Take You Bing Yue for example. Her features and face shape are both very fine. When features are that good, as long as the eyes are not crooked, any mix looks good. But Yu Zhi Yi’s features are not the classic kind. Her eyes are not as big and bright as You Bing Yue’s. Her nose is not high and straight. Her face is not the popular oval. Yet these imperfect parts join into a gentle, stunning face at first glance.

Feeling his stare, Yu Zhi Yi grew prickly and impatient, and she said: “Do not look when you should not. Young master, you have studied for so many years. Do you not know what those four words mean?”

Du Zi Heng lowered his head with a small smile and said: “Sorry, that was rude of me. I just realized you are sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.”

He had seen what she did. She had said those harsh things on purpose because she saw the death wish in Prince Shun. She pushed him to prove himself, then added that she could see he was clean, so the emperor would not suspect him of rebellion. The point of those words was to pull Prince Shun out of heartbreak.

Yu Zhi Yi said nothing. [I refuse to talk about such boring things.]

She changed the topic and asked: “Young master, were you not already given an office? Why have you not gone to take up your post?”

This man had been trailing her these last two days. If she objected, he would drag Madam Yao into it. It was truly annoying.

Du Zi Heng said: “I explained the reason to the Minister of Personnel. The minister knew I would accompany you into the palace, so he allowed me to report two days late.”

Yu Zhi Yi said: “Oh,” and did not feel even a little grateful. She was very impatient, and she did not hide it.

Du Zi Heng acted as if he did not notice. After they got out of the carriage, he even tried to walk toward the Windward Pavilion.

Yu Zhi Yi finally snapped and said: “Young Master Du, your Bright Radiance Courtyard is that way.”

Du Zi Heng said: “You and I are husband and wife, I-”

Yu Zhi Yi cut him off and said: “I do not want you stepping into my place. If you want to say the Windward Pavilion is part of the Chancellor’s Manor and so it is your place too, then go ahead and try to force your way in.”

Yu Zhi Yi stepped through the gate of the Windward Pavilion. Suddenly she turned back with a teasing smile and said: “If you cannot stand me, you can always be bold and throw me out.”