It was summer at this time, and it was the hottest part of the day. The sun made the stench from the corpses even more pungent.
Xiao Yixuan led his men over. The stench crept into his nostrils and hit his head directly. He immediately stopped in his tracks, turned around, and retched.
"Your Highness!" Bu Hua, who had followed him, quickly supported his body, but he himself couldn't hold it back either.
Suddenly, there were a series of "puke" sounds at the scene.
After retching for a while, Xiao Yixuan caught his breath. He took out a handkerchief from his bosom and tightly covered his nose and mouth. Then he took unsteady steps forward again.
Ye Wanmian was eager to confirm the identity of the corpse. She pushed forward again, her eyes fixed on the river beach.
Xiao Yixuan endured the convulsions and nausea in his stomach. He looked down at the unrecognizable corpse in front of him and said to Bu Hua, "General Bu, you fought side by side with His Majesty the Crown Prince before he went missing. Take a look. Is this His Majesty the Crown Prince?"
Bu Hua didn't dare to show any look of disgust. He lowered his head and carefully examined the corpse. After a while, he let out a deep breath and said,
"Reporting to Your Highness, I'm sure this is His Majesty the Crown Prince."
As if afraid that Xiao Yixuan wouldn't believe him, he said, "When His Highness separated from us, he was wearing this very robe. Although this robe has been soaked in water and is in a terrible state, it was made by the Imperial Clothing Bureau. You can still see the mark of the Imperial Clothing Bureau here."
"And this boot is the same as the one I picked up before, which just proves that the pair of boots I picked up before also belonged to His Majesty the Crown Prince."
As he was speaking, Bu Hua's eyes were filled with tears. He knelt on the ground and wailed, "Your Highness, why did you leave like this? Your subordinate is incompetent. I failed to protect you and let you suffer such hardships!"
"Your subordinate has failed in his duty. I'll follow you now!"
He drew out the knife from his waist and was about to slash at his neck. Before the knife could touch his skin, he was stopped by the men sent by Xiao Yixuan.
"General Bu, this is not the time to sacrifice yourself. His Majesty the Crown Prince's body is still warm. As the closest person to him and someone who experienced that fierce battle with him, you have to live well and find out those who dared to assassinate the Crown Prince and avenge His Highness!"
Bu Hua let go of the knife in his hand and cried loudly. Even Ye Wanmian on the shore could hear it clearly.
Then came the unique shrill voice of Eunuch Wang from behind.
"Make way! His Highnesses, the Prince of Mu and the Prince of Ning are here!"
Behind them, a carriage braked sharply. The Prince of Ning and the Prince of Mu got off the carriage one after another.
Ye Wanmian hadn't seen the Prince of Mu for several days. Although he had recuperated for some time, perhaps because he had suddenly learned of the "news of the Crown Prince's death", his complexion was no better than when he was seriously ill and unconscious that day. He needed someone to support him to stand steadily.
Neither of them noticed Ye Wanmian mixed in the crowd. After getting off the carriage, they rushed towards the river beach. Then Ye Wanmian found that Doctor Wang had also come. She squeezed out of the crowd and ran to Doctor Wang's side:
"Master!"
Doctor Wang looked surprised. "Why are you here?"
Ye Wanmian said, "I came out to deliver medicine to a patient. Then Dahuang suddenly ran away. I chased it here and saw that."
She pointed vaguely at the corpse surrounded by the Prince of Xuan, the Prince of Mu and others.
Suddenly, her head was knocked. Doctor Wang said with a straight face, "What's so interesting about a dead body? You're a girl. Why do you want to get involved in such bad luck? Hurry back to the medical clinic!"
Ye Wanmian covered her forehead and bared her teeth. Then she said, "No, if we're going back, we'll go back together."
After a pause, she added, "I'm scared to go alone."
"You naughty girl!" Doctor Wang scolded a couple of times. Just as he was about to say something else, a guard called out, "Where is Doctor Wang? His Highness the Prince of Mu requests your presence!"
Doctor Wang pointed at her and mouthed "Go back quickly". Then he picked up his medicine chest and walked over there. "Coming."
Ye Wanmian rolled her eyes and rushed forward to snatch the medicine chest from his hand. "Master, let me help you!"
She looked up at the guard and said, "I'm his apprentice. I'm here to help him."
Xiao Jingcheng saw Ye Wanmian chasing after Doctor Wang towards the river beach. He subconsciously didn't want her to see the disfigured corpse. He rushed up, bit the corner of her pants and tugged, making whining sounds.
Don't, don't go. Don't look at that ugly corpse.
Ye Wanmian almost tripped. She looked down and said helplessly, "Dahuang, don't be naughty. Master and I have something important to do now. Be good and go aside."
She pulled her clothes out of the yellow dog's sharp teeth and chased after them again.
Xiao Jingcheng gritted his back teeth. He had to suppress the panic in his heart and control his body to follow closely beside her.
In front, Doctor Wang carried his medicine chest and came to the edge of the river beach. But he didn't go closer to the corpse. Instead, he stopped ten steps away from the corpse and turned back to wave at Ye Wanmian behind him.
Ye Wanmian endured the stench of the corpse and carried the medicine chest forward. Doctor Wang motioned for her to open the medicine chest. "Take out the third bottle from the right in the second compartment of the medicine chest and get some water from the river to mix it."
Ye Wanmian's eyes lit up. She answered and did as she was told very neatly.
After a while, she had mixed the medicine. Doctor Wang then asked her to take off the veil on her face, soak some of the medicine on it, and put it back on.
"Send this medicine to the princes and let them cover their faces with something too."
Ye Wanmian got some rags from other guards. After soaking them in the medicine, she first handed them to the weakest Prince of Mu. After getting along for a few days, the Prince of Mu trusted Doctor Wang very much. Without thinking, he covered his nose and mouth.
Xiao Yixuan asked, "What's the meaning of this?"
Doctor Wang, with his face covered, rolled up his sleeves and said, "This corpse has rotted to such an extent that it will emit corpse poison, which can easily cause an epidemic. The handkerchief is soaked in the medicine to prevent the epidemic. Covering your face can isolate it. Your Highness can use it with confidence."
"Cough, cough, cough." The Prince of Mu coughed heavily. His voice was hoarse and urgent. "Doctor Wang, everything is up to you."
Doctor Wang nodded and then walked over to the rotting corpse and squatted down.
Ye Wanmian: "..."
???
Wait a minute. So it turned out that the Prince of Mu brought Master here not to take care of his health but to ask Master to help examine the corpse?
Just as she was thinking this, Doctor Wang looked up at her and said angrily, "Didn't you just insist on coming? Why are you standing so far away now? Hurry up!"
As if seeing the question in Ye Wanmian's eyes, the Prince of Mu took the initiative to explain, "In this urgent situation, the coroner from Tianyuan County will take a while to come. But this concerns the life and death of the Crown Prince. We have to ask you two to help for the time being."
Under everyone's gaze, Ye Wanmian felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
It was too late to leave now. So she had to take steps and move over, trying not to look at the disfigured face of the corpse.