TGCFNM -Chapter 208 Dying with a Smile

Dongle City hadn’t been calm for even two days after the Si family incident when someone came knocking, filing a complaint—this time against the Xuanyuan family.

And the one filing the complaint wasn’t anyone else but the Nangong family: Nangong Yuankang.

Chu Ling looked at Nangong Yuankang, whose eyes were swollen from crying, and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong? Did the Xuanyuan family bully you?”

“My grandmother… she’s gone,” Nangong Yuankang cried. “It’s all the Xuanyuan family’s fault. They took away every doctor in the city and haven’t let anyone out. If not, maybe my grandmother could have been saved.”

Chu Ling frowned, a bit surprised. “The Nangong family personally came to ask for help, and the Xuanyuan family still wouldn’t let them go?”

“It’s my maternal grandmother… my maternal grandmother is from the Sun family,” Nangong Yuankang said, lowering his head sorrowfully as he spoke.

No matter how bitter the conflicts among the Four Great Families, they maintained at least a facade of balance. No one would really risk offending the others for an external family.

Chu Ling thought for a moment and immediately understood. The Xuanyuan family had stolen Ma Zhao’s remains, which had been poisoned by Su He. Anyone who had come near Ma Zhao was likely doomed. To treat the illness, the Xuanyuan family had taken every doctor in the city and, fearing that the secret would be discovered, refused to release them.

Chu Ling’s brows furrowed, and in a cold voice he said, “Who gave them permission to take every doctor in the city? Do they think they’re royalty?”

Nangong Yuankang looked up at Chu Ling.

Chu Ling turned to Wan Sanjin and said, “Go find Lord Jiang Wu. Have him take men to surround the Xuanyuan family. If they don’t release the doctors unharmed, I’ll burn the Xuanyuan family down.”

After receiving the order, Wan Sanjin cautiously asked, “My lord… you really want to burn them?”

“Just because someone in the Xuanyuan family is sick, they think they can take every doctor in the city? Not even the imperial guards could pull such a heartless stunt. And he’s just a branch family, thinking he can defy the heavens. If they don’t hand over the doctors, burn it down immediately. All consequences will be handled by Lord Jiang Wu,” Chu Ling instructed.

Wan Sanjin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded before leaving.

Only then did Nangong Yuankang realize how serious it was. He was afraid that if things escalated, the elders of the Nangong family would hold him responsible.

“My lord… I…” Nangong Yuankang hesitated.

Chu Ling looked at him and immediately dispelled his worry: “The elders of your family will only think you did well. You gave the other families a huge loss—why would they be unhappy?”

Nangong Yuankang scratched his ear sheepishly and asked, “My lord… would you really set fire?”

Chu Ling crossed her arms. “Not necessarily. If the wind is too strong, it might affect other houses. So it might turn into poisoning instead.”

Nangong Yuankang laughed awkwardly. “My lord, you really know how to joke.”

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “During my days here in Dongle City, you’ve seen what I’ve done. Do you think I’m joking?”

Nangong Yuankang, face full of sorrow, asked, “My lord… are you serious?”

Chu Ling nodded. She truly was serious. She had been worried there’d be no chance to teach these families a lesson, and now one had presented itself—well, they had it coming.

At that moment, Zhang Dong hurried over, bowing slightly to Chu Ling. “My lord, someone from the Sun family has arrived, saying they want to take Young Master Nangong away.”

Chu Ling looked at Nangong Yuankang and said, “They’re probably afraid you’ll say something foolish. You should go home with them.”

Nangong Yuankang nodded. Just as he was about to leave, his steps faltered. He looked at Chu Ling and asked, “Sir… can a person die with a smile?”

Chu Ling was momentarily caught off guard. “Die with a smile?”

“Yes,” Nangong Yuankang nodded heavily. “Feeling that one has lived enough, and dying with no attachments.”

Chu Ling thought for a moment and said, “It’s possible. Dying with no attachments, smiling at the end… But there’s also dying from extreme cold. If someone freezes to death, it can look like they’re smiling too.”

Nangong Yuankang froze, unable to take another step. He stared at Chu Ling, lips trembling: “Freezing to death… looks like smiling?”

Chu Ling nodded. “Hypothermia can make someone appear as if they’re smiling… but right now the sun’s shining high; it’s not winter. So your grandmother probably didn’t die from hypothermia.”

Nangong Yuankang stared blankly at Chu Ling, then asked, “Sir, how can one tell if someone froze to death? What does a person who froze to death look like?”

Chu Ling felt that Nangong Yuankang’s expression was off, so she turned to Zhang Dong: “Have the Sun family wait a bit, then go get Su He.”

Zhang Dong nodded and left.

After a while, Su He arrived carrying a toolkit. The moment he saw Chu Ling, he asked excitedly, “A frozen body? Where is it?”

Chu Ling pointed to Nangong Yuankang. “You tell him what a frozen body would look like.”

Su He hadn’t seen the body, and his face darkened immediately. He looked at Nangong Yuankang seriously: “A person who freezes usually curls up. The skin shrinks and develops a goosebump-like texture. Livor mortis shows as red or pale red patches… In extreme cases, the skull may crack, and the blood inside the body can freeze as well.”

Nangong Yuankang grabbed Su He’s hand urgently. “Would the face… be smiling?”

“Smiling?” Su He said, surprised. “If it looks like a smile, it’s probably a bitter smile. It could be due to hallucinations.”

Nangong Yuankang turned pale, let go of Su He’s hand, bowed deeply to Chu Ling and Su He, and then hurried away.

Su He looked at Chu Ling. “Sir… what happened?”

“His grandmother died with a smile. I said it could be from freezing, so he was suspicious, but just now he seems to have confirmed it.” Chu Ling sighed.

Su He frowned. “His grandmother… she must have been elderly. How could she freeze to death, especially in this weather?”

“You forget—Dongle City has ice cellars. Earlier, Nangong Jue stored ice to make weapons….” Chu Ling paused, muttering strangely, “Besides the Green Cavalry, who else would stock ice? To cool down in summer?”

At this moment, Ghost Scholar spoke softly: “Sir, in Da Zhou, filial piety is highly valued. If the elders in a family are healthy, happy, and prosperous, it brings honor to the family.”

Chu Ling’s expression turned odd. She muttered, “If Da Zhou truly values filial piety so highly, then an elder dying like this is very suspicious… this is clearly murder.”

Su He agreed: “It must have been premeditated. At home, even with a lot of ice brought in, nothing would happen—unless they were taken into a large ice cellar that was packed full of ice.”

Chu Ling looked at the open doorway and said slowly, “We can only wait to see if Nangong Yuankang comes to report it. Once he does, we can investigate.”