Chapter 136 Open the Coffin for Autopsy

Chapter 136: Exhumation and Autopsy

The next day, just as the sky was beginning to turn pale white, the Hall of Golden Splendor was already filled with civil and military officials.

The dragon throne sat empty, the beaded curtain hanging down, and Xiao Jing stood beside the imperial seat, clad in his prince's court robes, his expression solemn.

The hall's great doors opened wide.

In the doorway, a tall, slender figure appeared, backlit.

In an instant, the clamor inside the hall fell silent.

The man stepped over the threshold. His black court robes fluttered in the morning breeze, the jade belt at his waist gently swaying with each step.

His movements were unhurried, as if taking a leisurely stroll through a courtyard.

The backlit silhouette came into focus, a face everyone knew.

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

Stunned gazes swept toward that figure like a flood, looking him over repeatedly, as if trying to confirm whether he was a man or a ghost.

“This... how is this possible?”

“Prince Yu... wasn't he already...”

Murmurs buzzed like a swarm of bees.

At the front of the civil official ranks, waves of shock surged through Liu Wenyuan.

Only yesterday, he had just been talking about the rumor of haunting.

Now, in broad daylight, he was seeing a ghost!

Just then, Xiao Jing stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials.

His voice was clear: “Honored ministers, there is no need to panic.”

The murmurs in the hall gradually subsided.

Xiao Jing's eyes fell back on Xiao Yan, a hint of coldness flashing through them.

“These past few days, the rumors of Prince Yu's mansion being haunted have been spreading wildly through the capital,” he announced loudly. “I have already investigated the matter.”

All eyes in the hall focused on him.

Xiao Jing raised his hand and pointed at Xiao Yan.

“It is this man who has been impersonating Prince Yu, playing tricks and stirring up chaos!”

At these words, the hall erupted in uproar.

“Impersonating?”

“His Highness Prince Rui claims this man is an impostor?”

“He looks too much like him...”

Xiao Jing had already descended from the imperial platform and was walking step by step toward Xiao Yan.

He stopped in front of Xiao Yan, the two standing face to face, no more than three paces apart.

“I personally witnessed Prince Yu being placed in his coffin,” Xiao Jing's voice rang through the hall. “I personally saw him buried. In the imperial mausoleum's coffin lies Prince Yu himself.”

“Ministers, tell me—how should this heinous criminal be dealt with?”

One official immediately stepped forward: “Impersonating a member of the imperial family is a crime of deceiving the sovereign—punishable by the execution of nine generations!”

Other officials echoed in agreement: “Punish without leniency—exterminate the nine generations!”

Xiao Yan ignored the rabble-rousing crowd.

He only looked at Xiao Jing, and in those unfathomably deep eyes, a thin layer of moisture suddenly welled up—perfectly timed, as if his heart had been shattered but he was still forcing himself not to cry.

“Sixth Imperial Brother... from childhood to now, I have respected you, trusted you, regarded you as my own elder brother.”

Xiao Yan's voice carried a hint of hoarseness, a hint of restraint, and a tremor that made anyone who heard it soften.

“But I've only just returned—why... why are you in such a hurry to put me to death again?”

This display of heartbreak, on the verge of tears, stunned all the court officials.

Again?

What did that mean?

It seemed there was some major event they didn't know about...

At the same time, Little K cheered Xiao Yan on in his mind:

“Host, this is the state—well played, keep it up (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧”

“That tear—just on the verge of falling, and soon you'll have everyone fooled, yay~”

Xiao Jing's face turned ashen in an instant.

His voice squeezed out between clenched teeth, every word as cold as ice: “Xiao Yan! What trick are you trying to pull now?!”

It felt oddly familiar.

Xiao Jing felt his heart ache with anger.

Even he, subconsciously, had called this impostor “Xiao Yan.”

But he was clearly a fake—he wasn't Xiao Yan.

And Xiao Yan was never one to play tricks; he was just a fool.

Yet why did he have this déjà vu, as if he had also been driven to heartache by Xiao Yan before?

“Sixth Imperial Brother, you've already admitted my identity,” Xiao Yan said with a tone of surprise.

Xiao Jing: “...”

Xiao Yan dropped another bombshell: “Back then, you drugged my male favorite, intending to use that opportunity to kill me. I found out in advance and was truly terrified. I feared that even if I escaped that time, I wouldn't be able to escape your deadly schemes later, so... I had no choice but to prepare a fake death pill in advance and slip away.”

Xiao Jing was already in a panic. He didn’t know how this impostor in front of him knew so much.

But all the court officials were watching; he couldn’t lose his composure.

At that moment, the officials in the hall exchanged bewildered glances, and the whispers rose again.

“Poisoning? Attempted murder?”

“Prince Yu was poisoned to death?”

“Prince Rui, he…”

Countless pairs of eyes fell on Xiao Jing—some shocked, a few suspicious.

Xiao Yan stood there, facing those gazes, the tear stains on his face not yet dry.

“Sixth Royal Brother.” He sighed, a sigh full of disappointment and sadness. “I don’t want to go this far either, but now you’ve put Father under house arrest again, leaving me no way to survive…”

He paused, his eyes reddening again.

“I barely managed to escape through the secret passage in the imperial mausoleum, hoping to return and see Father, whom I haven’t seen in a long time. But you wouldn’t even let me see him once before trying to kill me?”

Xiao Jing burned with rage, his eyes almost spitting fire:

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Faking death? Escaping from the imperial mausoleum?

What kind of human nonsense is that? Is that even possible?!

Impossible! He didn’t believe it!

This impostor was definitely trying to bluff him. He mustn’t fall for it.

Xiao Yan wiped the corner of his eyes, leaned close to Xiao Jing’s ear, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Sixth Royal Brother knows very well whether I’m lying.”

Xiao Jing glared, itching to lunge forward and tear that face to shreds with his own hands.

The officials in the hall were already stunned, and someone spoke up:

“Prince Yu? Could he really be His Highness Prince Yu?”

“Ah! His Majesty is gravely ill now. If he knew Prince Yu had returned, His Majesty would be overjoyed, and maybe his condition might even improve!”

At these words, many officials nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, exactly! Since Prince Yu is alive and back, this is a great blessing!”

“What Prince Yu just said… What is this about His Highness Prince Rui placing His Majesty under house arrest?”

“Speaking of which, none of us have seen His Majesty for quite a while…”

Hearing these comments, Xiao Jing said in a cold, hard tone: “The Imperial Hospital already said Father needs quiet rest and is not fit to see visitors. The accusation of house arrest is completely unfounded.”

The moment Xiao Jing finished, Xiao Yan looked at him with a sorrowful expression.

“Sixth Royal Brother, you’re so thoughtful of Father, yet how could it not occur to you that Father would want to see his son who narrowly escaped death?”

The hall went silent.

Many neutral officials turned to Xiao Jing, their eyes full of scrutiny.

Indeed—a son wanting to see his father—wasn’t that just natural?

Xiao Jing’s face darkened.

He looked at Xiao Yan’s seemingly innocent face, and the fire in his heart burned even hotter.

He took a deep breath, and his tone was even colder than before.

“This man suddenly shows up—no one knows if he’s man or ghost. You must not take his words at face value!”

“If Seventh Royal Brother wants to see Father, I naturally have no objection.” He paused. “But the condition is… that you truly are Seventh Royal Brother.”

Xiao Yan followed up: “How does the Sixth Royal Brother plan to verify?”

All eyes in the hall fixed on Xiao Jing again.

Xiao Jing stood there, meeting those stares, and suddenly felt like he had walked into a trap.

But there was no turning back.

“Open the coffin and do an autopsy,” he said, taking a deep breath. “If the coffin in the imperial mausoleum doesn’t contain Prince Yu’s corpse, I will believe you.”