Strong Winds Return Home

The weather was cold and the wind was a bit chilly. At this time, the news about Wan Yuan’s body being exhumed had spread throughout the city. Some people also said that the bones were not Wan Yuan’s, but those of an unknown woman who died unjustly. Although this statement was closer to the truth, it was even more frightening, so everyone closed their doors and declined guests. Most of the shops on the street were closed. Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an walked the city from east to west, and only found one rice noodle shop that was still open.

“I’m not afraid of ghosts,” the boss boasted while cooking rice noodles. “I used to do manual labor in my early years. As long as I have money, I can deal with corpses.”

Liu Xian’an thought to himself, then the poor business of your store may not be entirely due to the haunting.

There were also freshly baked flower cakes at the counter, soft and sweet. Liang Shu ordered two for Liu Xian’an as a snack. The boss waited for a long time, and before the guest could open his mouth, he stretched out his neck and asked in a low voice: “Hey, how are you two going to catch the ghost?”

“There are no clues yet,” Liang Shu said. “We are investigating the identity of the nameless corpse.”

“That isn’t easy to investigate. The city has been a disgrace for the last few years,” the boss said. “Lives were lost, and my mother was almost kidnapped by a trafficker back then. It was my father who grabbed a hatchet and snatched her back. I was in my mother’s womb at the time, and had great luck.”

Liang Shu examined him. This person was about thirty years old. Thirty years ago in Huaizhen City, the human trafficking business became popular. Seven or eight years ago, there were still women and children missing, and the matter could be called rampant. He asked: “Those who were abducted, have they returned?”

“No, not a single one, and everyone thinks it is very strange. It stands to reason that if they were kidnapped and sold, even if they are sold to the horizon, one or two would still come back, right? But there is no trace of them at all. In that case, ah…..” The boss let out a long, profound breath. He didn’t speak more, but his meaning was clear. They were most likely not abducted, but dead. Now that an unknown corpse was dug out of a grave, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Liu Xian’an said: “It wouldn’t be surprising if an unknown corpse is dug out of a mass grave, but that corpse was found in Wan Yuan’s tomb.” There were two points in this matter that he couldn’t parse out. First, who was the person who robbed the tomb? Second, if they stole it, why put another female corpse inside? Even if they wanted to avoid discovery, just putting the coffin back to its original state would be enough, right? Why bother to put another person into an empty grave.

Hearing what he said, the boss didn’t answer, but straightened up with a smile. Getting the hint, Liang Shu casually tossed him a small ingot of broken silver: “The boss seems to know a lot of inside information. Let’s hear it.”

“It isn’t much.” The boss collected the money. Seeing that the guests had no intention of eating, he simply brought a stool over and sat in front of them to speak, “When it was buried, Wan Yuan’s coffin was empty.”

Liu Xian’an’s eyelids twitched at these words: “Empty?”

The boss didn’t speak again.

Liang Shu flicked his finger, and this time it was a thin leaf of gold. The boss was so happy that his eyebrows flew up, but he still wanted to continue extorting them, so he made a secretive expression and crossed his arms. He shifted his eyes in awkward distress – and was unlucky enough to meet Liang Shu’s gaze.

And His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s eyes were truly murderous.

The boss’s back broke out in sweat, and he forced a stiff, embarrassed smile.  He didn’t dare play tricks anymore, and honestly confessed that the coffin was indeed empty back then. Although he didn’t carry it himself, a brother Yu who was working in the government office back then went to carry it, and when he returned, he murmured that the coffin was too light, and even if he shook it back and forth, it made no noise.

“If the coffin was empty, is Wan Yuan not dead?”

“Maybe she’s still alive,” the boss said mysteriously. “Everyone says she committed suicide in prison by bashing her head in, but nobody saw it. I’m a meddlesome person, so I made a special inquiry after the accident, and even the jailor said he didn’t see it with his own eyes. The person guarding in the morning went out for a meal at noon, and when he returned, there was only a dark coffin left.”

Such a flimsy story was actually accepted by the government and was spread all over the city. That Li-daren back then had likely contributed a lot to the process, but at this time he had already died, and they couldn’t find out even if they wanted to. The owner of the rice noodle shop received the gold and silver and was extremely active and diligent in his work. He knew he could make more money, so he took Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an to find a few old guards, and sure enough, everyone said that they had never seen Wan Yuan’s body.

Liu Xian’an asked: “Then are there any other rumors related to Wan Yuan?”

“None, we’re also puzzled,” the boss said. “Even if it was human traffickers, wouldn’t they pick someone who was more docile and obedient? Just due to her aggressive personality, who would dare to abduct her? That girl was also not a prominent person, and was just trying to make a living. No death and no corpse, and even the officials were silent and hastily buried the coffin…..tsk, it’s not easy.”

Things were becoming more and more complicated. There were many clues, but they became increasingly inexplicable. If Wan Yuan wasn’t dead, then the one floating around the city might indeed be her, but why would she want to come here? It didn’t seem like revenge. The people in the city were frightened at most, and no one had suffered substantial losses because of this.

Liu Xian’an said: “It turns out that investigating cases is also a troublesome thing.”

Liang Shu asked: “Troublesome? Then do you also want to run away?”

It was normal to run away, because Second Young Master Liu was a person who was most afraid of troublesome things. But he said at this time: “Then I’ll continue to investigate with the prince.”

Liang Shu asked: “You’ll accompany me?”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “I’ll accompany the prince.”

The two walked slowly down the street, and the colorful ropes hanging from the eaves on both sides still swayed beautifully in the wind. Liu Xian’an thought, it would be great if there was no case, only a Many-Color Festival with singing and dancing all over the city. Recently, he had slowly experienced worldly affairs and daily life. There were also troubles, but of course, the premise was that he didn’t go through those troubles alone.

Another gust of cold wind hit. Liang Shu took off his cloak to wrap it around him, and they returned to the government office together. Gao Lin was still leading his subordinates to study by lamplight, and he was dizzy from reading, sighing that if he had worked half this hard when in school, he would have already honored his ancestors by ranking first in the Imperial examinations. 

He studied at the wrong time, ah, the wrong time. He yawned dimly and continued to act as a paving stone on the road of love.

But His Royal Highness Xiao Wang didn’t lose his head over lust. Instead, he and Liu Xian’an went to the morgue again, wanting to continue investigating the nameless bones. However, there were already four or five people in the courtyard, and judging by their clothing and weapons, they should be from the Southwest garrison.

Hearing the sound of the wooden door, the man standing next to the corpse turned around. He had a rough face, and one could tell from his figure that he came from a military camp. But his official position was not high, and because he didn’t know Liang Shu at all, he just nodded slightly in greeting and said: “I hear that the female corpse was pregnant. Are you sure?”

“Sure.” Liu Xian’an pointed out to him, “There is a deformation here, it’s easy to identify.”

“What about this injury?” The man asked about a dark streak on the leg bone.

“There was a fracture. It was not serious, but there is an eighty-percent chance that she didn’t see a doctor and get a splint, and just let it heal on its own, so this slight deformation appeared.” Liu Xian’an said, “The forearm, as well as the phalanx, also suffered bone injuries.”

“All of them healed by themselves?” After the man asked this with a frown, he felt that his tone seemed to be bad and clasped his fists again, saying, “This one is Tong Ou, commander of the South 35th Battalion of the Southwest Garrison. I was ordered by the Commander to investigate the haunting of Huaizhen City. I heard some things on the way here, but the two of you don’t seem like ghost-hunting wizards.”

“We are indeed not wizards, but doctors,” Liu Xian’an said. “We were just passing by here, and thought it was absurd for a female ghost to crawl out of her grave, so we came to take a look.”

Liang Shu suddenly asked: “Is the East Ninth Battalion busy lately? I have an elder brother there, and if he is free, we will go and visit him.”

Tong Ou shook his head: “It’s not busy. The East Battalion just finished reorganizing a while ago, and happens to be resting in batches recently.”

Liang Shu smiled: “Understood, many thanks.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t know what the purpose of this question was, but Liang Shu had already pressed his shoulder and pushed him forward: “Since Commander Tong came here specifically for the female ghost, you tell him all about the abnormalities of the female corpse in detail. Perhaps there will be some clues.”

Liu Xian’an still didn’t understand. Nameless bones, no matter how carefully he spoke…..wait, unless he knew these bones? Liang Shu shook the hand on his shoulder slightly. Liu Xian’an understood, and started from the small wound on the corpse’s skull, explaining carefully one at a time. The skeleton’s age should not be very old, and although there were many bone injuries, they were not serious.

“This one is an exception,” Liu Xian’an said. “The injury here is very serious, and should have happened during childhood, which made it impossible to lift heavy objects when she grew up.”

Tong Ou was puzzled: “You mean the wrist bones?”

“En, but it is not certain. After all, she has been buried underground for many years.” Liu Xian’an stood up straight. “That is all.”

Tong Ou said: “All right, thank you, doctor. I must see Dan-daren, so I will leave first.”

He led his people out of the small courtyard. Liang Shu gestured, and some people immediately flew down from the shadows: “Your Highness.”

“Go and watch him.”

“Yes!”

They came and went like the wind as Liu Xian’an watched on in amazement: “They have been following the prince?”

Liang Shu nodded: “Yes, Emperor Brother’s Imperial guards. Are they interesting?”

“Wouldn’t this be……” Liu Xian’an thought to himself, what is so interesting about being watched all the time? The volumes of history books in his mind were all dug out, with all of their intrigues and shocking changes. Looking at his frown, Liang Shu could naturally guess what the other person was thinking at this moment, and tapped his fingers with a smile: “Don’t be anxious, it’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” Liu Xian’an asked.

“He feared I would run away on the road to Baihe Mountain Village to propose marriage,” Liang Shu said. “I often do this sort of thing, so Emperor Brother put countermeasures in place.”

Doing it often meant that someone often proposed marriage to His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Facing this high risk of him getting married at any time, Liu Xian’an felt a headache. He tried his best to exhibit the authority of a forty-eight thousand-year-old and said calmly: “There is nothing good about getting married.”

“There is nothing good, so don’t get married.” Liang Shu asked, “Then do you still say ‘anyone is fine?’”

Liu Xian’an answered immediately: “Then nobody is fine either.”

From “anybody is fine” to “nobody is fine.” Liang Shu didn’t know whether he should laugh or get angry, so he raised his hand and flicked the other’s head, wanting to see what was inside that was so capable of choking him to death. But Liu Xian’an had already run away with his head in his arms, thinking, why is the prince like this, I just suggested that no one had to get married and he hit me.

Liang Shu ordered: “Come here.”

Liu Xian’an refused to come over, asking: “Why did the prince send someone to watch Tong Ou?”

“The East Ninth Battalion is only eight days away from Huaizhen City. Even in the worst case, the East Third Battalion, East Twelfth Battalion, and even the North Fourth Battalion are closer than the East Thirty-Fifth Battalion in the south.” Liang Shu said, “I appointed the Commander of the Southwest Garrison, and I know his temperament best. He never wastes manpower, let alone reaches far while neglecting what is close, so unless Tong Ou voluntarily requested to come to Huaizhen City and the entire garrison was idle, only then would he give the nod and agree.”

Liu Xian’an understood. There was a little ghost in the city, and even if the case was investigated as quickly as possible, it would not be considered a military merit. There was really no need to travel across a dozen camps to come here, so he said: “When I was explaining the other bone injuries just now, he only nodded, but when I made up the wrist bone injury, he actually questioned it, which means Tong Ou probably knew there was no injury there.”

Liang Shu said with a smile: “You’ve learned to lie.”

“It’s not called lying, it’s called all is fair in war,” Liu Xian’an said. “Let’s go and tell Lieutenant General Gao about this.”

“What can he do if we inform him?” Liang Shu disagreed. “Gao Lin may only read books seriously this one time in his life, and you still want to disturb him.”

Liu Xian’an said, not going is also fine.

The two returned to the inn to rest together, leaving Lieutenant General Gao alone in the cold and frosty dilapidated file room.

Those who heard it would simply weep.

That night, Second Young Master Liu suffered from insomnia again, so A-Ning took out the medicine box and suggested that he give the young master acupuncture.

Liu Xian’an slipped on soft shoes and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking it over for a while before saying: “You go see if the prince is asleep or not.”

A-Ning agreed, and tiptoed to stand in the corridor and eavesdrop, but happened to be caught by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang who opened the door. He was immediately embarrassed: “The prince s-s-still hasn’t rested yet?”

“No.” Liang Shu swept behind him. “Is something the matter?”

A-Ning maintained an awkward but enthusiastic smile, and also turned to look at his young master. I don’t know, ah, is there something wrong?

Liu Xian’an felt that he could stay up for a while, since he couldn’t sleep anyway.

So A-Ning was sent downstairs to make a pot of herbal tea. Liu Xian’an sat at the table and looked at His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, who was only wearing one robe over his nightclothes. This outfit was much better than the outfits he had drawn, showing that the craftsmanship of the court tailor was really extraordinary.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you looking at?”

Liu Xian’an answered: “Clothes.”

Liang Shu said: “If you like them, then I will give you some when we return to Wangcheng in the future.”

Liu Xian’an thought, if you like it, you like it, but I don’t want to wear it. It looks cold. The neckline was open, and the fabric of the robe was as thin and soft as running water, gently covering His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s muscles, which were lean and beautiful due to years of fighting.

Liang Shu tugged at his hair band: “Why don’t you restrain your eyes at all?”

Liu Xian’an frowned in discomfort: “Because the prince is not restrained in his clothing.”

One sentence exposed His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s courtship, seemingly inadvertently. In fact, this peacock spirit who had changed clothes for a long time in his room was indeed worthy of a Sleeping Immortal who had lived for forty-eight thousand years.

Liang Shu snatched the teacup from his hand: “Don’t drink.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t grab it, and only brought another teacup over, bowing his head to take a sip.

His lips were red and moist.

Regardless of whether or not the act of grabbing the cup was childish, not even Zhao Xiaomao could understand His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s mood at the moment.

It was a prairie fire.

The Author Has Something to Say:

Zhao Xiaomao is the palace steward’s son, who only knows how to pull little girls’ braids.