Chapter 332: Ancient Remains
Chapter 332: Ancient Remains
Sui Sui was unsure what was happening. She shook her little head, but when she realized that her father still hadn't let go of her, she obediently stayed still.
Feng Xuanrui, however, was feeling uncomfortable being covered like this, and his curiosity got the better of him. What was Little Seven's name?
Why did he look so scared?
What was down there?
Why weren't they allowed to see yet?
Feng Xuanrui squirmed and struggled, and when Princess Qi noticed, she let out a low warning. "Xiao Liu!"
The princess's voice carried a hint of threat.
Feng Xuanrui understood that he shouldn't make a fuss, so he obediently let his father cover his eyes.
King Qi didn't want to keep his hands over the children's eyes for too long, making them uncomfortable.
So, he picked up Feng Xuanrui and Sui Sui, one in each arm, and started walking away.
Seeing this, Princess Qi quickly followed, her steps hurried.
Feng Xuan Shang didn't know what to say, but he signaled to the servants to guard the area and then trailed behind them.
King Qi distracted Sui Sui and took them elsewhere to play. Although Feng Xuanrui was curious, seeing the serious expressions on his parents' faces, he realized that something unusual was happening.
If it was too scary, it might frighten his little sister.
Considering Sui Sui, Feng Xuanrui suppressed his curiosity and took his sister to chase after the cranes instead.
Sui Sui wasn't overly curious. When her brother suggested chasing the cranes, she happily agreed, even though Le Le had told her not to, as long as she didn't pull their feathers!
After making sure the two were occupied, King Qi arranged for Feng Xuanbin to be taken care of and sent for a physician.
With the children attended to, Princess Qi sternly instructed the servants to keep what they had seen a secret. She then indicated for them to watch over the children while she returned to the scene with King Qi.
Normally, there shouldn't be any unauthorized disposal of corpses in the Royal Garden.
If a servant passed away for any reason, there was a designated place for them, and they wouldn't be buried just anywhere.
So, how did a finger bone end up here? Had someone dared to act so boldly?
King Qi was perplexed but felt responsible for addressing the situation.
He returned to the scene with Feng Xuan Shang and instructed the servants to bring tools and start digging.
With everyone's effort, they soon dug a pit three to four meters deep.
It was a massive pit, but they still hadn't found anything.
King Qi furrowed his brows. "Could it be that someone's finger bone broke and was discarded here?"
Just as he was about to call off the search, a servant below shouted, "There's something here! We've found something!"
Something? King Qi's eyes widened, and he shared a glance with Feng Xuan Shang. Their expressions turned grave.
Something had been buried underground in the Royal Garden...
Although they weren't sure what it was, the possibility of it being human remains was high.
This matter...
Thinking of the potential consequences, King Qi drew in a sharp breath.
The servants continued to dig, and after a few more shovelfuls of dirt, they uncovered remnants of clothing. Due to the passage of time, most of the clothing had rotted away, leaving only a few scraps with faint patterns visible.
Beneath the clothing were wooden fragments, also decayed and emitting a strange odor.
The servants endured the smell and kept digging, eventually unearthing a large pile of bones.
The first servant to touch the bones trembled in fear. But remembering that the prince and the king were above, he tightened his grip on his tool and continued.
Seeing the bones, King Qi's expression turned grim, and Feng Xuan Shang's face also reflected his unease.
The servants worked hard to dig, and Feng Xuan Shang was anxious. He had already sent for a rope, and now he climbed down to observe and help.
The servants had little experience, and some of them couldn't even read.
So they didn't know if they had dug up all the bones.
Feng Xuan Shang studied medicine, and although his work was a little different from that of the coroner, he at least knew how to put the bones together.
With his help, the servants dug for half a day and finally unearthed a complete skeleton, including some tattered remains of clothing.
With the servants' efforts, the bones were finally collected and placed above, where Feng Xuan Shang pieced them together.
After assembling the skeleton, Feng Xuan Shang discovered that there were quite a few bones, and he heaved a long sigh of relief.
King Qi's face was solemn as he asked, "Can you tell anything from it?"
Feng Xuan Shang examined the skeleton from all angles and then nodded gently. "It's a woman, not too old, and she has given birth. She probably took medicine regularly in her lifetime, look at how the bones have discolored."
Feng Xuan Shang continued briefly, then sighed again. "I'm not a coroner, so my insights are limited. We'll have to wait for the coroner to come and take a look. They will be able to provide more specific information."
Upon hearing this, King Qi nodded.
As he gazed at the relatively small skeleton, a strange suspicion took root in his mind.
"A woman who has given birth and isn't too old..."
He thought of his sister, Princess Jiao Yang, whose remains had never been found all these years.
Back then, the Su clan would rather be wiped out than reveal the location of the princess' body.
Even that good-for-nothing husband of hers had died laughing defiantly, saying they could search for eternity and still not find the princess.
He had boasted that even if his clan perished, the royal family would descend into the underworld with regrets and unanswered questions.
Thinking of that despicable man now, King Qi felt like digging up his remains and whipping him again!
At this moment, looking at the skeleton before him, King Qi had a suspicion, or perhaps, an intuition...
This could be Princess Jiao Yang's remains.
But...
It was just an intuition, with no evidence to support it, and he didn't want to jump to conclusions and give Mother Empress false hope, only to dash it later.
Considering this, King Qi blinked and suppressed all his thoughts. He gave a slight nod to Feng Xuan Shang and said, "Although it's getting late, I'll rush back to the palace and find Imperial Brother."
If he hadn't had this suspicion about the identity of the remains, King Qi wouldn't have needed to go to the palace at this hour.
He could have just reported the matter to the Prefect of Jingzhao, and they would have sent someone to investigate.
But now...
He felt a pressing need to share his suspicions with someone, and the only person that came to mind was his imperial brother.
Feng Xuan Shang didn't know what the king was thinking, but he felt that while the incident had occurred in the royal garden, it wasn't necessarily a major issue.
"Is it really necessary to disturb Father Emperor?"
However, since King Qi had made up his mind, Feng Xuan Shang could only nod in agreement and assure him that he would take care of Sui Sui and the others.
They didn't move the skeleton, leaving it in place for the coroner to assess the scene and make some conjectures.
King Qi quickly prepared to leave for the palace, and although he didn't explain the reason, his wife could sense the urgency in his eyes and didn't ask further.
Feng Xuan Shang instructed the servants to guard the area strictly while he himself went to find Sui Sui and the others to spend time with them.
(End of Chapter)
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