Chapter 18 : First Glimpse
18: First Glimpse
Brilliant lanterns, a dazzling wedding sedan. Yet within the sedan’s dim, confined space, the headless bride sat serenely in her grand red wedding dress. If one didn’t look closely, one might even think a living person sat inside.
Cold sweat poured down Yue Jia’s back like rain, a chill shot up his spine, and he stood frozen like a statue. It wasn’t until the cacophony of varied screams and panicked chaos snapped him back to reality that he, with a swift motion, let the sedan curtain fall closed.
"What happened?! I… did my eyes deceive me?!"
The Grand Princess stared incredulously at the closed sedan curtain, then at the horrified expressions of those around her, momentarily stunned.
The Anyang Marquis, Yue Qiong, strode forward and lifted the curtain once more. Wei Yanzhi hurried close behind, peering inside through the sedan window. The moment he looked, his face drained of color. He stumbled back two steps, his eyes instantly reddening.
"No… impossible… it can’t be…"
"This afternoon… we spoke this afternoon. It’s impossible!"
The incident was too sudden. The two maids accompanying the bridal sedan rushed forward from behind. One lifted the window curtain, then both recoiled in horror, screaming as they stumbled back. Within a few steps, they collapsed to the ground, wailing.
"Young Miss! How could Young Miss… Heavens, Young Miss…"
"Young Miss is dead… Our Young Miss is dead… How is this possible…"
The people from Duke Song’s household quickly realized something was wrong. Most knelt in terror, beginning to weep.
This was a celebratory event rarely seen in Jinzhou in a hundred years. No one expected a death, let alone such a gruesome scene of a headless bride. The guests who had waited all day, recovering from their shock, all wanted to leave the Anyang Marquis’s estate as quickly as possible.
"Truly, truly the most inauspicious of omens. The bride dying on her wedding day."
"Did you see clearly? The bride had no head. Thankfully we are many; otherwise, this old body would surely have died of fright. Let’s go, let’s go. This is a murder case. The authorities will be here soon. Let’s not get entangled in trouble!"
The guests murmured amongst themselves, most retreating toward the estate gates. Only one or two bold ones stole glances toward the wedding sedan. Marquis Yue Qiong clapped Yue Jia on the back to steady him, then clasped his hands toward the guests. "Honored guests, my most sincere apologies. Today’s wedding cannot proceed. I have made you wait in vain for half a day. The hour is now late. This marquis will immediately order servants to escort everyone home. On another day, I shall personally visit each household to offer my apologies."
Hearing this, everyone naturally chorused, "We dare not." In the next moment, a short, stout man in fine robes stepped out from the crowd. "Marquis! Should we dispatch personnel immediately? This is a murder case. How does the Marquis intend to proceed…"
The speaker was Jinzhou Prefect Huo Huaixin. A murder case naturally fell under his jurisdiction. However, since the matter involved the Anyang Marquis’s household, he needed to consult Yue Qiong’s wishes. Upon hearing this, Yue Qiong immediately clasped his hands. "Brother Huo, this matter is of grave importance. I must trouble you!"
The deceased young lady was the daughter of the capital’s Duke Song’s household, and she died on the journey to her wedding. If Duke Song’s household raised a fuss, the Anyang Marquis’s household would certainly be implicated. If the truth couldn’t be uncovered, the Marquis’s household’s reputation would be ruined!
Huo Huaixin understood Yue Qiong’s meaning. He immediately ordered his subordinate, "Go at once and have Chief Constable Qi bring men here!"
The subordinate assented and left. Huo Huaixin immediately walked toward the wedding sedan. He was not tall, somewhat plump, with an unremarkable appearance, but his small eyes held sharp insight and shrewdness. Lifting the curtain, he peered inside for a moment, then turned with a composed expression. "Marquis, while the constables have not yet arrived, we should first reassure today’s guests. The bride died on the road. It has nothing to do with the Anyang Marquis’s household."
Hearing this, Wei Yanzhi, his eyes reddened, immediately stepped forward. "No, Marquis! Xiao Rou died within Jinzhou Prefecture, on her way to marry into the Anyang Marquis’s household. You cannot wash your hands of this matter. You… you must seek justice for Xiao Rou!"
Seeing Wei Yanzhi had misunderstood, Yue Qiong hastily said, "Worthy nephew, do not be anxious. Prefect Huo does not mean that. Set your heart at ease. The Anyang Marquis’s household will certainly see this matter through to the end. With Prefect Huo here, the truth will surely be uncovered. Worthy nephew, you and Duke Song’s household servants should immediately take residence within the Anyang Marquis’s estate. You escorted the bride all this way. Your cooperation is also needed for this investigation."
Huo Huaixin quickly nodded. "Exactly so. First, calm your hearts. Later, we will need to question each of you individually."
Wei Yanzhi nodded as if his soul had been drained, his eyes filled with anguish. Meanwhile, the Grand Princess, clutching her chest, was being helped toward the inner courtyard by Yan Chi and Jiang‑shi. Yan Chi, having fought wars for years, naturally was not afraid of the dead, but this incident still shocked him greatly.
That Song Rou was a bride. Who would kill her with such cruel methods?
"Grand Aunt, do not grieve too deeply. This incident was sudden. Your health is of utmost importance."
The Grand Princess pressed a hand to her chest, sighing repeatedly. "How could this happen… that girl was only seventeen… she was to become my granddaughter-in-law… how could this…" As she spoke, she grabbed Jiang‑shi’s arm. "Discuss with Yue Qiong, quickly send someone back to the capital to deliver the mourning announcement. We have only suffered a ruined wedding ceremony, but Duke Song’s household has lost a beloved daughter. Ah…"
Jiang‑shi assented repeatedly. The Grand Princess then grasped Yan Chi’s hand. "Xiao Qi, when must you leave? The wedding is gone, you…"
Yan Chi quickly shook his head. "Grand Aunt, set your heart at ease. His Majesty gave me two months. I can stay for quite a few days yet. Now that the Marquis’s household has encountered this trouble, it is fitting I stay to see how I might assist."
The Grand Princess’s eyes filled with gratification. Supported into the inner courtyard to rest, Yan Chi did not linger. He went straight back to the estate’s front gates. Tonight’s events were truly bizarre and horrifying. On one hand, he wished to help the Marquis’s household; on the other, his curiosity was piqued.
"Young Miss! Let’s hurry and leave! How are you not the least bit afraid? This servant will certainly have nightmares tonight. It’s too horrible. Why did I have to push forward to see the bride… This servant will be terrified of wedding sedans from now on…"
Because the sedan was parked at the main entrance, no one wished to exit that way. So they re-entered the estate, passing through the flower hall toward the western gate. Qin Wan was among the last to walk through the estate gates. Frowning, her steps remained unhurried.
How could the bride have died? And inside the wedding sedan, no less.
Not poisoned, not injured from a wound, but having her head severed while alive.
Qin Wan’s footsteps halted. Where had the bride’s head gone?
"Young Miss, what’s wrong? Were you frightened?"
Fuling looked at Qin Wan’s expression with concern. Qin Wan returned to herself and shook her head.
Back when her father was still a minor official in the judicial prison bureau, busy with a murder case involving strife between a wife and concubine, her mother had given birth to her in a carriage on the road while her father was investigating.
It was said that while her father examined the corpse, her mother nursed her outside. Later, when she was older, she could even serve as her father’s scribe, helping record key points of cases and wounds on the deceased. Her father was skilled in medicine and also proficient in coroner’s techniques; the two fields had many connections. Over time, she learned her father’s coroner skills as well.
Her father was open-minded and broad-minded, often taking her along to examine corpses and deduce cases.
Later, it was her mother who felt it unsuitable for a young lady to be involved with criminal investigations and coroners. She took Qin Wan to formally study medicine under the renowned physician Sun Xi. Afterward, her father was promoted to Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the family settled in the capital. Though she became a sheltered young lady of an official household, the case files in her father’s study were her daily pastime.
Her father had once sighed, regretting she was not born a son.
Qin Wan pulled her thoughts back. "Once a person dies, consciousness is gone. Talk of ghosts and spirits is mere rumor. There is no need to fear."
Fuling shook her head, pulling Qin Wan to walk faster. "This servant is still afraid, Young Miss. Let’s walk quicker. This is a murder case. Let’s not get involved in trouble. The Anyang Marquis’s household is likely in for misfortune."
Qin Wan still maintained her leisurely pace. "It has nothing to do with the Anyang Marquis’s household. The bride died on the road, and she has been dead for at least two hours or more. No matter what, it is unrelated to the Anyang Marquis’s household."
On the covered walkway just beyond a wall, Yan Chi’s footsteps paused. How did she know the bride had been dead for at least two hours?
The thought surfaced. Yan Chi changed direction, heading toward the corner of the flower wall.
Not only unafraid of the dead, but also knowing the bride’s time of death?
Yan Chi quickened his pace, reaching the end of the flower wall in moments.
Stepping out from behind the flower wall, he caught sight of a graceful silhouette under the sparse lantern light not far away.
His pupils contracted slightly; Yan Chi narrowed his phoenix eyes.
He had seen many women, countless with flower-like beauty and peerless elegance.
But this one was different from all ordinary beauties.