Xu Xinbo stepped forward and lifted the white cloth. The woman's face beneath it had been slashed beyond recognition by a sharp blade, a bloody mess that seemed steeped in bitter resentment.
Many people turned away in fright, not daring to look.
Xu Xinbo reached out and tore open the white prison uniform. There was no birthmark on her shoulder.
"She's not my sister! My sister has a birthmark on her shoulder. This isn't my sister!"
"What?"
Xie Jin'an looked over, forgetting even to think.
He was wild with joy. "Yes, Rou Rou has a birthmark on her shoulder. She isn't Rou Rou! Rou Rou isn't dead!"
He was so excited that he completely forgot to wonder how Xu Xinbo knew Xu Rourou had a birthmark on her shoulder.
Liu Wan seemed to have noticed something, and the corners of her lips curved slightly.
She said, "Concubine Xu is alive and well. She's recuperating at the Embassy, and the Eldest Princess of Nanmei has been taking very good care of her!"
"Is that true?" the Old Madam asked.
Liu Wan replied, "Of course it is."
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Madam Li rose and said to the Old Madam, "I'll go to the Embassy and inquire right away. If what Liu Wan says is true, then everything we've done won't have been in vain!"
"Good! Hurry, and don't let anyone notice!" the Old Madam instructed. Then, feeling that this would not quite do, she called Xie Jin'an over as well.
"Jin'an has served as an official. He knows more about smoothing the way than you do. Go together!"
"All right." Xie Jin'an stood and left with Madam Li.
The Old Madam asked Liu Wan, "Then whose body is this?"
She had a vague sense of foreboding.
Liu Wan said indifferently, "Someone who deserved