Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 38

Everyone instinctively turned to look toward the doorway.  

When they saw the dignified Seventh Princess enter, they all immediately bowed in greeting.  

Zhou Ran straightened up, his eyes flashing with resentment. “What does the Princess mean by that? All this time, the Ministry of Justice has yet to reach a conclusion. They haven’t cleared Gu Yun of suspicion, nor have they interrogated him. This delay gives me every reason to suspect that my cousin’s death is a conspiracy, an attempt to silence her so that she dies without leaving evidence and no one can accuse Gu Yun anymore!”  

Jiang Libai was furious and wanted to speak, but Gu Yun reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.  

She looked at Gu Yun, uncertain of her intentions.  

Gu Yun lightly shook her head at Jiang Libai and then turned her cold gaze toward the people of the Anyang Earl household. “You mentioned dying without leaving evidence—have you considered the possibility that *you* killed her? That way, the witness disappears, and I can never clear my name.”  

Zhou Ran glanced at Gu Yun, who had shielded the Seventh Princess behind him, and sneered at his words, which he thought twisted the truth. “She was my cousin, the lady of our estate. What you’re saying is utterly absurd!”  

As the people of the Anyang Earl household grew increasingly agitated, Li Chongxian, the Minister of Justice, stepped forward. “Miss Yun Yan’s cause of death is unclear, and since the heir refuses to let us take her body, let’s have the coroner examine it here. How about that?”  

“No!” Zhou Ran was vehemently opposed. “My cousin is dead. We only want her to rest in peace now.”  

He glanced disdainfully at the coroner beside them and sneered. “Besides, my cousin was a woman. It’s inappropriate for a male coroner to examine her!”  

For a moment, the two sides were at an impasse.  

“Beep—AI system activation.” A sudden mechanical voice echoed in Gu Yun’s mind. She shifted her wrist behind her back, hiding the faint glow emitted by *Yixing* as it powered up.  

{TL note: OMG baby Yixing is finally back!}

“Connection being established…”  

Hearing the familiar sound, Gu Yun asked in her mind, “Yixing? How are you?” Previously, Yixing had drained its energy reserves to assist her and had to shut down temporarily.  

Now that it had restarted, it seemed to have accumulated enough energy.  

“General! I’m back at full strength and feeling better than ever!” Yixing replied cheerfully. Although the resources available in this world were nowhere near what it had in the interstellar era to recharge quickly, it had gradually restored itself after shutting down.  

Seeing the situation outside, Yixing sounded surprised. “General, what’s going on here?”  

Gu Yun, trusting Yixing as a long-time partner, granted it partial access. “You can read my memories.”  

With permission granted, Yixing quickly scanned through her recent experiences and immediately understood what had transpired over the past few months.  

Having worked together for years, Yixing knew that if the General allowed it to access her memories, there was surely an important task at hand.  

“General, what do you need me to do?”  

Seeing the deadlock between the Anyang Earl household and the Ministry of Justice, Gu Yun calmly gave an order in her mind: “In a moment, I’ll need you to examine Yun Yan’s body.” Zhou Ran’s staunch refusal to let the coroner inspect Yun Yan’s body suggested there was more to her death than met the eye.  

For Yixing, this task was simple. However, since Yun Yan’s body was still inside the inner room, its scanning range wasn’t sufficient.  

Gu Yun lightly squeezed Jiang Libai’s hand and leaned in to whisper a few words in her ear while everyone was distracted.  

After Gu Yun finished speaking, Jiang Libai, though doubtful, decided to follow her instructions. She took two steps forward and spoke in a calm tone, “When a person dies, their light goes out. Why does the heir of the Anyang Earl household refuse to let the coroner examine the body? Could it be that no one in your estate truly wants to know her cause of death?”

The Princess Jia Ning spoke, and the people of the Anyang Earl household fell silent.  

Zhou Ran was about to refuse again, but Jiang Libai spoke first: “Since you’re unwilling to let the coroner examine her and don’t want her to remain unclear even after death, why not open the coffin and let the coroner take a brief look? At the very least, the Ministry of Justice needs to confirm that it is indeed Yun Yan who has passed away, don’t you agree?”  

Her gaze grew cold as she added, “Otherwise, if Yun Yan faked her death and disappeared, wouldn’t that leave the Seventh Prince Consort’s name forever tarnished?”  

Zhou Ran calmed down and thought for a moment. If it was just a quick look, then the matter wouldn’t be exposed.  

Under the pressure of the Princess Jia Ning’s authority, he relented. “Fine! Then let the coroner move to the main hall and open the coffin for examination.”  

The people of the Anyang Earl household stopped obstructing, and the officials from the Ministry of Justice entered the hall.  

“Princess, I’ll go inside and take a look. You’re pregnant, so stay outside and wait for me, alright?” Gu Yun said softly to Jiang Libai.  

Jiang Libai didn’t know why Gu Yun wanted to go in, but if she had made this decision, there must be a reason.  

“Alright, then go ahead.”  

Since others had already gone inside, Gu Yun followed suit, stepping into the hall.  

Hearing the noise, Zhou Ran turned his head and immediately frowned. “Why are you coming in?!”  

Gu Yun gave him a sidelong glance. “Didn’t you accuse me of having an affair with your cousin? What, are you saying the person involved isn’t allowed to take a look?”  

Zhou Ran was momentarily speechless, waving his sleeves in frustration but not stopping her.  

Anyway, this good-for-nothing freeloader was just a pretty face living off others. Let him look—later, he’d spread the word that “the Seventh Prince Consort, unable to let go of an old flame, disregarded the Seventh Princess’s honor and insisted on seeing Yun Yan one last time.”  

As the so-called freeloader stepped into the room, Gu Yun saw the coffin placed prominently in the center. The surroundings weren’t shabby; in fact, the setup was quite ornate. It seemed the Anyang Earl household had treated their fostered young lady fairly well.  

“Yanyan… Yanyan…” A brightly feathered parrot, startled by the crowd entering, shrieked loudly.  

Zhou Ran walked over and intimidated the bird with a few sharp words, silencing it instantly.  

The coffin in the center had been tightly nailed shut, its seal appearing extremely secure. The Anyang Earl household certainly seemed to be in quite a hurry.  

By now, the officials from the Ministry of Justice had begun prying out the nails using their tools. In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the nails were removed.  

As the coffin lid was lifted, an indescribable stench wafted out, causing the onlookers to grimace and hastily cover their noses and mouths.  

Gu Yun’s expression remained unchanged as she quietly stepped closer. Once within range, Yixing began scanning the contents of the coffin.  

Li Chongxian, who had seen Yun Yan before, pinched his nose tightly and carefully examined the female corpse in the coffin. Seeing the slightly swollen abdomen, he confirmed it was Yunyan and gestured to the coroner to proceed. The coroner stepped forward with his tools and conducted a brief examination of the body.  

As the coroner completed his inspection, Yixing also finished scanning the entire corpse.  

“How is it?” Gu Yun asked Yixing in her mind.  

Yixing displayed the results in data format directly in Gu Yun’s mind, then excitedly summarized: “General, this person is indeed Yun Yan, but… she was not pregnant!”  

Gu Yun maintained her composure as she studied the data.  

“Her body contains traces of various drugs. One of them is a substance that can induce symptoms resembling pregnancy. The swelling in her abdomen is also caused by this drug. Besides that, there’s another significant finding: the poison that caused her death…”  

It seems that Yun Yan used medicine to be falsely diagnosed as pregnant, intending to frame her. This was undoubtedly orchestrated by the Anyang Earl household.  

Now that she’s dead, and moreover poisoned to death, could it also be the doing of the Anyang Earl household?  

Gu Yun cast a faint glance at Zhou Ran, feeling that the Anyang Earl household was the most suspicious.  

However, based on the brief examination, the coroner did not discover that Yun Yan was not pregnant, nor that she had been poisoned.  

How could she get the Ministry of Justice to uncover the truth?  

As Gu Yun pondered this question, Yixing chuckled, “General, there’s a parrot over there.” This type of creature had almost no conscious defenses—if Yixing invaded its brain, it could easily manipulate its thoughts.  

The coroner had already reported his findings to Li Chongxian. However, since he had not conducted a detailed autopsy, he could not determine the exact cause of death.  

While Li Chongxian hesitated, Zhou Ran sneered coldly, “Well? Have you confirmed it? The body inside is indeed my cousin’s, right?! Poor girl, she was already carrying the Seventh Prince Consort’s child, yet she died so tragically. Who knows whose sins caused this tragedy?”  

At these words, all eyes turned to Gu Yun, standing silently to the side, their gazes filled with suspicion.  

“Yanyan! Yanyan!”  

As the room fell silent, the parrot suddenly started squawking again. But in the next moment, its words left everyone in shock.  

“Yanyan… not pregnant! Not pregnant!”  

Hearing this, Zhou Ran’s eyes widened with rage. He strode forward, grabbed the parrot by the neck, and was about to twist it.  

Gu Yun moved swiftly, appearing behind Zhou Ran in an instant. Before he could react, she snatched the parrot from his hand.  

She released her grip on the parrot’s neck, and immediately, under Yixing’s control, the parrot shrieked, “Yanyan… not… not pregnant…”  

The crowd, stunned by the parrot’s words, fell into silence.  

Gu Yun placed the parrot back into its cage and nonchalantly said, “This parrot seems to be saying that the woman in the coffin wasn’t pregnant?”  

“How can you trust the words of a parrot?!” Zhou Ran shouted, stepping forward in panic. “You all already examined my cousin’s body and saw her swollen belly. What, do you think that was fake?!”  

“I know you’re eager to deny your connection to my cousin, but you can’t disown the child in her womb!”  

At this point, Zhou Ran’s eyes burned with fury. “Or are you saying you’re the one who killed her? And now you’re trying to claim she wasn’t pregnant and had nothing to do with you, just to clear your name?”  

Gu Yun ignored the increasingly hysterical Zhou Ran and calmly looked at Li Chongxian, who remained silent. “Lord Li, the claim that Yun Yan was pregnant is questionable. Shouldn’t you conduct a more thorough investigation?”  

Li Chongxian stroked his beard, hesitating to respond.  

Just then, the parrot screeched again, “Yanyan… no… affair…”  

The parrot was likely raised by Yun Yan and was quite close to her.  

“Lord Li, this parrot doesn’t understand human motives or schemes. It spent all its time with Yun Yan, so its words may hold some truth…” someone from the Ministry of Justice whispered to Li Chongxian.  

Although no one could explain why the parrot was speaking so much and with such coherence, its statements were too significant to dismiss lightly. Li Chongxian dared not be careless.  

Since the coffin wasn’t fully sealed yet, he waved his hand to the people behind him. “Reopen the coffin.”  

Zhou Ran, on the verge of panic, quickly ordered the Anyang Earl household people to block them.  

Gu Yun discreetly unleashed her mental power, covering the area.  

Suddenly, the people from the Anyang Earl household felt a sharp pain in their heads and froze momentarily. The officials from the Ministry of Justice seized the opportunity to restrain them.  

This bought enough time for the coroner to proceed.  

The coroner picked up his tools and approached the coffin. This time, he meticulously examined Yun Yan’s body.  

Before long, he determined the true cause of her death.  

But whether she was faking her pregnancy… he wasn’t a professional gynecologist or midwife, so he couldn’t tell right away.

To confirm it, he would need to cut open the corpse’s abdomen.

Thinking of this, he glanced back at Li Chongxian. After receiving his signal, he picked up his blade and cut open Yun Yan’s clothing.

The matter was already settled. Gu Yun didn’t bother watching the rest of the scene in the room. She dusted off her sleeves and turned to leave.

There was no snow today, and the weather was quite clear.

As soon as Gu Yun stepped outside, she saw the Seventh Princess dozing off in her chair. She walked over and took the umbrella from Chunxi’s hands.

Jiang Libai unconsciously opened her eyes, and a strange smell suddenly wafted into her nose.

She clutched the armrest of the chair, nearly throwing up.

“Princess?” Gu Yun reached out, intending to soothe her.

Jiang Libai gave her a disdainful glance. “You smell. It’s awful.”

Thinking of the stench inside the room earlier, Gu Yun silently withdrew her hand and handed the umbrella back to Chunxi. “Then I’ll stand farther away.”

“What’s the situation?” Jiang Libai, still groggy, yawned.

“Yun Yan wasn’t pregnant, so her accusations can also be overturned,” Gu Yun summarized the situation briefly.

Hearing this, Jiang Libai immediately perked up. “Then the rest will be left to Mother. This time, we’ll definitely clear your name!”

—

That same day, Li Chongxian entered the palace with freshly obtained information. Shortly after, the Emperor issued an order for the Imperial Guards to surround the Anyang Earl household.

It wasn’t long before rumors began to spread throughout the capital that the manor’s so-called young miss was not pregnant and had, in fact, died of poisoning.

Furthermore, with the entire Anyang Earl household placed under strict surveillance, more and more people began speculating about what had truly transpired.

Soon after, Yan Qiao’er, who had previously been attacked, revised her testimony.

According to her, she had been bribed by people from the Anyang Earl household to accuse the Seventh Prince Consort of practicing witchcraft. They had even provided her with a doll, instructing her to secretly place it in the study of the Jinping Prince’s residence.

When officials from the Ministry of Justice found the silver coins Yan Qiao’er mentioned as her bribe, they submitted them as evidence to Li Chongxian.

As a result, the accusations that Gu Yun practiced witchcraft and used it to harm the young master of Anyang Earl household were largely discredited.

Under the mounting pressure of these revelations, everyone in the Anyang Earl household was on edge, terrified of being implicated further.

At this critical moment, Yun Yan’s personal maid stepped forward and revealed that Yun Yan had never even met the Seventh Prince Consort, let alone had any improper relationship with him.

She testified that everything Yun Yan had said had been coerced by the Anyang Earl and his heir. They had even forced Yun Yan to take a drug that would make her pulse mimic the signs of pregnancy, all to tarnish the Seventh Prince Consort’s reputation.

Following the maid’s guidance, officials from the Ministry of Justice found remnants of the medicine Yun Yan had been made to consume. When imperial physicians confirmed that the substance could indeed create the illusion of pregnancy during a diagnosis, the Emperor of Yu finally issued a decree to imprison everyone in Anyang Earl household in the imperial dungeons.

With this, the case of Anyang Earl household intentionally slandering the Seventh Prince Consort reached a temporary conclusion.

—

The New Year celebrations were not yet over, and the civil and military officials were still on holiday.  

After all the visits and greetings, as soon as people had some downtime, gossip naturally filled the air, with everyone keenly following the latest developments regarding the events in the prison.  

Over the past few days, it hadn’t snowed, and the snow on the ground had begun to melt. However, the weather had become even colder than before.  

The Seventh Princess was now nearly five months pregnant, and her baby bump had begun to show. Even under layers of thick clothing, the curve of her belly was noticeable.  

As her belly grew, her fatigue and drowsiness seemed to lessen significantly.  

Moreover, with Gu Yun’s name cleared of all charges, Jiang Libai had been in high spirits over the past few days, her mind preoccupied with a particular thought.  

Although her relationship with Gu Yun was now confirmed, and they often kissed and hugged, they had never truly taken the final step.  

With the full moon approaching, Jiang Libai decided to take a bold step toward deepening her relationship with Gu Yun.  

Although her pregnancy made certain things inconvenient, she figured she could still use her hands to help Gu Yun…  

Thinking of this, Jiang Libai stealthily took out a treasured handbook she had secretly kept for a long time.  

Opening it, she carefully studied the techniques described within, occasionally mimicking the actions with her hands.  

“…To prevent injury, one must trim their nails and thoroughly clean their hands…” Jiang Libai muttered to herself. She then glanced at her hands, noticing her long nails painted in bright red lacquer.  

She promptly instructed Chunxi to bring her nail scissors and carefully trim them for her.  

When Chunxi arrived with the scissors and knelt before Jiang Libai, looking at her soft, pale hand, she asked in confusion, “Princess, why are you suddenly trimming your nails?”  

Jiang Libai’s face flushed red. Avoiding Chunxi’s curious gaze, she coughed lightly and said in a casual tone, “The color isn’t to my liking anymore… Just trim them short for me.”  

“Alright.” Chunxi, knowing the Seventh Princess’s habit of quickly growing tired of things, obediently began to trim her nails carefully.  

Just as one hand was trimmed, Gu Yun, smelling faintly of smoke, walked into the room.  

“Why are you trimming your nails?” Gu Yun asked, puzzled, but didn’t press further. She had just prepared Jiang Libai’s favorite dishes and turned to ask her, “Dinner is ready. Shall we eat now, Princess?”  

Jiang Libai looked at her freshly trimmed hand, moved her fingers around, and found them quite nimble. Deciding that it was enough for now, she didn’t bother trimming the other hand.  

Standing up, she leaned on Gu Yun’s offered elbow and said, “Let’s go eat dinner first.”  

**This matter… I won’t tell Gu Yun yet. I’ll surprise her when the time comes.**  

After dinner, the two strolled in the garden to aid digestion, taking advantage of the good weather.  

As they walked, dusk fell, and light snow began to drift down.  

A cold wind blew, and the surrounding temperature dropped noticeably.  

Gu Yun gently rubbed Jiang Libai’s hand. “The wind is picking up. Shall we head back inside to rest?”  

Jiang Libai, lost in thought about how to make Gu Yun happy that evening, blinked at Gu Yun’s soft voice and asked absentmindedly, “Hmm? What did you say?”  

Seeing her distracted, Gu Yun reached out and gently pinched her cheek. “I said, shall we return to our room to rest?”  

Hearing this, Jiang Libai’s face turned red instantly. She lowered her head and murmured softly, “Then… let’s go back.”  

By the time they returned to their room, the sky was fully dark.  

After a simple wash, Gu Yun sat at the dressing table, removing the hairpin from her hair. Noticing Jiang Libai rubbing her hands fervently, she asked, “Princess, haven’t you finished freshening up yet?”  

Jiang Libai’s hands had turned red from all the rubbing. Once she felt satisfied, she grabbed a towel to dry them off carefully and said cheerfully, “All done! Let’s go to bed!”  

But this “go to bed” wasn’t the kind Gu Yun expected.  

After extinguishing the lights, the two of them lay down on the soft bed together.  

The initial darkness made it hard to see each other clearly.  

Gu Yun, as usual, closed her eyes, ready to sleep. But suddenly, she felt a warm and slightly sweet breath against her ear.  

Her entire body stiffened as she quickly opened her eyes.  

Under the faint moonlight, she turned her head to see Jiang Libai leaning closer toward her. “Princess? Do you have something to say to me?”  

Jiang Libai didn’t reply but instead moved even closer.  

Her small hand began to roam under the blankets.  

When her hand brushed against an area where Gu Yun wasn’t wearing a chest binder, Gu Yun gasped sharply.  

She grabbed Jiang Libai’s wandering hand and asked in a hoarse voice, “Princess, what are you trying to do?”  

“Can’t you tell?” Jiang Libai whispered, blowing gently on Gu Yun’s earlobe, a soft and playful smile on her lips.  

Gu Yun: “…”  

She could tell now.  

The Seventh Princess was openly seducing her.  

“Why are you holding my hand so tightly?” Jiang Libai pouted, unable to pull her hand free. She leaned down and bit Gu Yun’s ear lightly.  

“Hiss…” A tingling sensation shot through her body, making Gu Yun freeze, unable to move.  

As Jiang Libai’s soft lips moved again, they found their way to Gu Yun’s flushed face and then to her tightly pressed lips.  

Recalling what Gu Yun had done to her before, Jiang Libai nibbled at Gu Yun’s lips. But when she found Gu Yun’s teeth tightly clenched, she let out a small hum. “Open your mouth…”  

Gu Yun was struggling. She wanted to speak but was afraid Jiang Libai would seize the opportunity to deepen the kiss.  

“Do you not want to be intimate with me?” Jiang Libai asked, nibbling on Gu Yun’s upper lip.  

Gu Yun, of course, wanted to!  

But ever since she noticed Jiang Libai’s belly growing, she had been overly cautious. She knew that being gentle would be fine, but she was still terrified of accidentally hurting Jiang Libai.  

Moreover… she hadn’t confessed her secret to Jiang Libai yet!  

How could they become intimate without addressing that?  

Feeling wronged, Jiang Libai huffed. She had already been this proactive, yet Gu Yun still refused to cooperate.  

With a light bite to Gu Yun’s lip as punishment, she turned her head away with a humph.  

“Stupid Gu Yun! You used to stick to me like glue, and now that you’ve won my heart, you won’t even look at me! You’re terrible!” Tears of frustration welled up in Jiang Libai’s eyes as she lightly kicked Gu Yun under the covers.  

Gu Yun licked her lip and turned to face Jiang Libai. Placing a hand on her waist and gently stroking her belly, she said softly, “Princess, you’re almost five months along now. Your belly is so big. I’m afraid… I don’t want to hurt you.”  

Hearing this, Jiang Libai’s frustration melted away. She bit her lip and asked softly, “Really?”  

“Of course.” Gu Yun continued to rub her belly and planted a soft kiss on Jiang Libai’s cheek. “After the baby is born… we can be intimate again. Is that okay?”  

Jiang Libai turned to face Gu Yun, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “But if you won’t let me do anything to you, can’t I still… do something for you?”  

Gu Yun: “???”  

Oh no! Where did the Seventh Princess learn about these things?!