Cranes Cry Over the Jade Capital

Bo Ruoyou is an eighteen-year-old female coroner in Qingshan County, serving under He Cheng, the Prefect of Qingzhou. Known for her exceptional skill in autopsies and her ability to make the dead speak, she is summoned during the New Year to investigate the mysterious death of the old madam of the Marquis Anqing household. The old madam, a woman of high birth and cousin to the late Empress Dowager, was found dead in her Buddhist temple after keeping vigil on New Year’s Eve. Nearly half a month has passed, and the cause of death remains unknown. The household has concealed the death and erected ritualistic barriers, including paper effigies and talismans, suggesting a fear of supernatural retribution.

The case is further complicated by the death of the second master, Zheng Wenchen, who was pushed from the Yaoyue Pavilion on the old madam’s seventh-day memorial. Witnesses claim they saw the old madam’s ghost, wearing her funeral robe, push him to his death. This has led the household to believe the old madam’s spirit seeks revenge. He Cheng, anxious and pressured by the noble family, begs Bo Ruoyou to determine the cause of death quickly before envoys from the capital arrive. Bo Ruoyou examines the old madam’s corpse and finds no external wounds or signs of poisoning. She suspects a hidden illness but determines that an autopsy is necessary to confirm the cause. The household, led by the third master Zheng Wenyàn, initially refuses, citing the old madam’s noble status and the unrest of her spirit.

The situation shifts dramatically with the arrival of Marquis Wuzhao, Huo Weilou, a powerful and feared nobleman who oversees the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Huo Weilou despises female involvement in official duties and initially orders Bo Ruoyou to leave. However, upon learning of the complexities of the case and the potential for a cover-up, he overrides the household’s objections and commands that the autopsy be performed. Bo Ruoyou dissects the old madam’s body and discovers that she died from the rupture of abdominal blood vessels caused by a pre-existing condition. The rupture was triggered by extreme anger or physical exertion. She deduces that someone was present in the temple that night, witnessed the old madam’s agony, and allowed her to die without aid, subsequently arranging her body to appear peaceful.

Huo Weilou then orders the examination of the second master’s body. Bo Ruoyou finds that Zheng Wenchen was not pushed by a ghost but was drugged with datura incense and dragged to the pavilion before being thrown. The killer used the drug to incapacitate him and disguised the murder as a supernatural event. During the investigation, Bo Ruoyou is nearly killed by a falling beam at the Yaoyue Pavilion but is rescued by Huo Weilou. This incident marks a subtle shift in their dynamic, as Huo Weilou begins to recognize her competence and courage. Zheng Xiao, the young son of the deceased second master, confides in Bo Ruoyou, accusing his third uncle Zheng Wenyàn of murdering both his grandmother and father to seize the family title. He reveals that the old madam intended to pass the title to Zheng Wenchen, not Zheng Wenyàn.

The investigation reveals that the household is rife with secrets and rivalries. The eldest young lady, Zheng Yunni, is betrothed to the Second Prince, a union that adds political weight to the case. Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou work together to unravel the truth, examining evidence such as the datura incense found in the Buddhist hall and the missing roof tiles at the pavilion. They deduce that the killer used the roof to access the pavilion and escape unseen. As they gather the household members to present their findings, the tension escalates. The case is not merely about murder but about inheritance, power, and the hidden sins of a noble family. Bo Ruoyou finds herself entangled in the dangerous politics of the Marquis’s household, with Huo Weilou as both her protector and her superior. The true killer remains at large, and the stakes are high as the investigation threatens to expose the family’s darkest secrets.