Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 504, Grand State Banquet

"Sir, what standards should we use to entertain this group from the Special Missions Unit?"

Inside the Imperial Palace, the head of the Imperial Household Agency's Grand Cuisine Department inquired.

"Let's make it like a banquet for the main family, and we need to be quick," said Toshiyuki Maeda, the Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Agency. "Design it like an informal banquet."

"To entertain you?" The head of the catering department was taken aback.

Who is Maeda Risuke?

As a descendant of the lord of the Kanazawa-Maeda Domain under the Edo Shogunate, a former nobleman, duke, head of the Imperial Household Agency, and a respected figure who served as the last descendant of the samurai class, even informal receptions were arranged with extremely high standards. The only difference was that the etiquette was simplified, but the standards were not reduced. The Imperial Household Department was responsible for the imperial meals and had always been quite stubborn in its traditions.

Historically, following the Black Ships incident and the establishment of the Rokumeikan, coupled with the death of a US diplomat from liver fluke disease after eating sashimi, state banquets gradually shifted from Japanese cuisine to French cuisine. It wasn't until the 80s, after Japan's economic boom, that talk of Japanese cuisine returning to state banquets began to emerge, but this was done with great caution. In particular, things like sashimi, raw food, semi-raw food, and pickled seafood were absolutely not allowed to return to the state banquet table.

“So what? Uesugi-kun is also a descendant of the samurai family! Just like me! Those people from the Special Missions Division can be treated as Uesugi-kun's attendants.” Maeda Toshiyuki growled in a low voice, “Hurry up!”

"Yes!" The head cook thought so too. Uesugi Muneyuki was also a descendant of the samurai family, which was enough. As long as there was a reasonable excuse not to break the rules, it would be fine.

Yes, the Japanese are indeed conservative and meticulous. They are particularly particular about "whether there are regulations?" and "whether there are precedents?" If there are, then everything is easy to handle; if not, then it is extremely difficult and they are unwilling to do so.

However, the Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Agency personally instructed that Uesugi Muneyuki be treated as a "Buke Meijō-yaku" (a high-ranking military officer), which shows how much he values ​​Uesugi Muneyuki. After all, the safety of the entire Imperial Palace and even the country now rests on the shoulders of the Special Missions Unit led by him!
The food preparation department was very fast, and when it was a little past three in the afternoon, they notified Uesugi Muneyuki and the others that they could eat.

"Oh my god, I never thought I'd get to eat royal cuisine one day!" Upon hearing that the Imperial Cuisine Department had arranged a late lunch, Minami exclaimed excitedly, "Hey, Uesugi, have you ever eaten royal cuisine before?"

“No.” Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head helplessly. He glanced at Ikeda Erena, who was also full of expectation, and smiled. “Don’t think too highly of the food at the Imperial Cuisine Department. The most important thing about the Imperial Cuisine is that it is safe, does not violate the taboos and dietary restrictions of the guests, and does not taste bad.”

“…………” Rena Ikeda was actually extremely nervous. At this moment, all the tall beauty could do was to speak as little as possible. Less talk meant fewer mistakes, and no talk meant no mistakes!

Despite her hot and outgoing personality and Spanish blood, even though Spain has a king, Erina actually has a deep respect for and fear of such occasions.

I won't embarrass Zong Xue, will I?
“Yes.” Nango Yui, the acting head of the Special Missions Division, nodded: “Royal cuisine is really just that. The most important thing is safety, safety, safety. Secondly, it should reflect the characteristics of our country’s culture to some extent. Then, it should not be bad. As for the so-called most authentic and most delicious, that’s impossible.”

“The section chief is right.” Date Nagamune nodded: “I’ve eaten at Kasumigaseki Kasumigawa Hall before, and it’s pretty much the same thing.”

"Hey, hey, hey, how come all of you have experienced this before?" Ishihara Mikoto was also very nervous. For someone from an ordinary background like her, this was a scene she had never seen before.

So, even someone like me can still give birth to an heir for the Uesugi family?
Mikoto became increasingly hesitant.

"It's nothing, just a simple meal. After we finish eating, we still need to wait for the test results. Don't worry about it. We're not here to be entertained by the Imperial Palace; we're here to solve a case. If the case is solved, even if we're impolite, it's still polite. If the case isn't solved, even if we're polite, it's still impolite," Uesugi Muneyuki said calmly.

"Yes." The Special Missions Division members all nodded.

Soon, the Imperial Dining Office began delivering the meals. Just as Uesugi Muneyuki had said, all the etiquette was kept simple. A restaurant was set up directly in the Imperial Household Agency villa near the Imperial Palace. The food was plentiful, but there were no requirements for any kind of etiquette.

To Uesugi Muneyuki's surprise, the food arranged by the Imperial Cuisine Department was not French cuisine, but Japanese food.

Those who frequently attend state banquets should know that when it comes to formal occasions, the world's premier cuisine is French, followed by Mediterranean cuisine, while Turkish cuisine ranks last among the top-tier cuisines.

French cuisine is undoubtedly one of the world's most prestigious cuisines, and one of the few cuisines whose cooking methods and techniques can rival those of Chinese cuisine. In fact, many countries' state banquets feature French dishes or include French cuisine.

Next are Mediterranean cuisine and Turkish cuisine. Turkish cuisine is one of the few cuisines with strong flavors that can be accepted by people all over the world, so it belongs to the last tier of the first tier. Then, Chinese and Japanese cuisines come in the second tier.

Don't laugh. Friends who frequently stay at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse should know that state banquets at Diaoyutai often feature various steaks, salmon, French stews, lobsters, as well as dishes like Wellington steak and Wellington pigeon. However, very spicy and stimulating dishes are generally avoided at state banquets. They usually focus on light and palatable Huaiyang cuisine, supplemented by Shandong, Sichuan, Cantonese, Fujian, Beijing, and Zhejiang cuisines.

As each dish was served, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately began to eat.

The opening appetizer was Shi Li Chestnut Wheat Flour Steamed Buns, made with chestnuts, a specialty of early autumn, filled with sweet chestnut filling and wrapped in wheat bran to form delicate steamed buns with a warm and soft texture.

Next comes the sea bream broth, made with the "king of fish," sea bream, using the most delicious parts of its head and belly. The broth is carefully prepared with extracts from kelp and bonito flakes, resulting in a crystal-clear "shiki-shi" (a type of broth). A wisp of fresh yuzu peel floats in the broth, adding a delicate aroma.

The third dish was a rare tempura, made with seasonal sea bream and flounder, fried and served with large prawns shaped like peonies. It was elegantly presented, crispy and delicious, and even Tokugawa Ieyasu loved it!

The grilled dish is Wakazuki Salt Grill, which uses plump Wakazuki (sweetfish) and a simple salt grilling method to preserve its natural bitter aroma and freshness.

The simmered dish is taro sticks, a traditional dish of the Japanese Imperial Family. The "taro" is the famous Tamba taro from Kyoto, which has an extremely soft and fluffy texture; the "sticks" are dried cod gonads (dried abalone or sea cucumber can also be used). It is carefully simmered in broth until flavorful, resulting in a rich and mellow taste.

This taste...it's the authentic old Kyoto flavor! Absolutely authentic!
The main dish, however, was rather disappointing. It consisted of about five pieces of duck meat, made from wild duck meat reserved for the imperial family. It was cooked using the traditional Kanazawa method of "jibu-ni," which involves coating the duck in a thin layer of wheat flour and then stewing it with vegetables in soy sauce, mirin, and dashi. Finally, it was drizzled with wasabi sauce.

However, as everyone knows, there's only fried chicken, not fried duck. And the most valuable parts of a duck are its feathers and the broth from stewing; the duck meat itself is dry and tough, and no matter how you cook it, it's just so-so. Uesugi Muneyuki thought it was quite ordinary. For the main dishes, they should have given me some Matsusaka beef, Kobe beef, and Yonezawa beef!

The dish is crisp octopus and turnips, served chilled with three cups of vinegar (vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin), making it refreshing and delicious.

After all the dishes were served, the rice was finally served: a small bowl of white rice (about two ounces), a small bowl of miso soup made with Sendai miso, with nameko mushrooms and small tofu cubes, warm and comforting, and finally served with lightly pickled cucumber, pickled eggplant, and fukujinzuke, providing different savory flavors.

The final desserts were pear soup and red bean paste cake. The former is actually a sweet soup, and the latter is a red bean paste cake.

Overall, Uesugi Muneyuki was quite satisfied with this state banquet-level meal.

Shortly after they had eaten and drunk their fill, around 4 p.m., the various data that had been sent for testing returned to the Imperial Palace.

Sure enough, a discovery was made during the "diatom examination" strongly advocated by Uesugi Muneyuki!
Uesugi Muneyuki not only extracted diatoms from the lungs and bone marrow, but also meticulously compared water samples from different areas around the Imperial Palace with those from Ishihara Mikoto.

Mikoto Ishihara discovered that the combination of diatom species in the deceased's lungs had subtle but crucial differences from the water sample taken at the location where the body was found, but instead highly matched the combination of diatom species at a water inlet closer to Kitanomaru Park.

This means that the deceased likely entered the water elsewhere and then floated to the location where they were found.

Sure enough, during the subsequent reinvestigation of the lakeside, Uesugi Muneyuki discovered that although the soil was slippery, the degree and direction of soil disturbance at the location that truly matched the traces of an "accidental slip" contradicted the final position and posture of the body.

About fifteen meters away from where the body was found, on a more secluded bank, Uesugi Muneyuki discovered a half-faded shoe print. The print was unusual, relatively large (about 28cm), and deeply embedded in the soil, indicating that its owner was quite heavy or had exerted force by pushing off the ground at that moment. More importantly, the soil adhering to the edge of the print differed from the soft mud commonly found on lakeshores, containing more humus and pine needle fragments.

"In other words, the place where Akio Ishimuro fell into the water was not where the gardener found him, but the waters near Kitanomaru Park." Uesugi Muneyuki and Ishihara Mikoto checked the latest test results and said in a deep voice, "It seems that the murderer sneaked into the Imperial Palace from Kitanomaru Park."

"Very good, everyone. Muneyuki's mission has come to this point. Now it's our turn to act." Minami finally got what she wanted, and she called out, "Have you eaten and drunk your fill? Everyone! Special Missions Unit, move out! Target: Kitanomaru Park!"

"Yes!!!"

And so, at 4:30 p.m., the Special Missions Unit officially arrived at Kitanomaru Forest near the Imperial Palace to begin their reconnaissance.

At the same time, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately reported to the Cabinet Emergency Crisis Center, calmly giving his conclusion:
"The deceased was subdued and thrown into the water, and drowned; it was not an accident."

"The murderer possesses the following characteristics."

"The fact that he has plenty of stamina and some fighting or control skills, and was able to subdue an adult male (despite Shi Shi's weak condition) in a short time without leaving any obvious fighting injuries, shows that he is skilled in the art."

"Wearing dark clothing, possibly gloves, the black chemical fibers under the deceased's fingernails and the synthetic fibers on the clothing point to this."

"It may have been carrying rope or binding straps: the bright blue plastic fragments under the fingernails are strong evidence."

"The shoe size is large, about 28cm, indicating that the person was wearing outdoor or work shoes with a special pattern: based on the shoe prints at the scene."

"The infiltration route may not have been a conventional one, and the infiltrator may have been familiar with or scouted the external environment of the Imperial Palace: diatom evidence points to the direction of Kitanomaru."

"Its entry point is likely somewhere in the waters near Kitanomaru Park: the differences in diatom distribution point to this."

"Therefore, members of the Cabinet, please allow me to directly command the Imperial Palace Police Headquarters and to requisition and investigate all work, duty, patrol, and surveillance records of the Imperial Household Agency. That's all!"

After Uesugi Muneyuki finished his report, what remained for the Cabinet Emergency Crisis Center was an indescribable shock.

At the same time, an indescribable sense of ease and joy began to permeate the heart of the crisis.

Great! It's the legendary forensic pathologist Uesugi! We're saved!
With just a corpse and extremely fine fiber particles, Uesugi Muneyuki easily deduced the killer's blurry image, and figured out the true cause of Ishimuro Akio's death and the killer's possible hiding place!

too strong!
Prime Minister Owada and Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Seeing how quickly Uesugi Muneyuki had acted, their expressions relaxed considerably.

I'm relaxed, but I'm also a little hungry!

Since the Prime Minister couldn't speak directly, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda immediately said, "We will meet all your needs! The entire Imperial Palace Police and all the resources of the Imperial Household Agency are at your disposal! The order is to be issued immediately, Uesugi-kun, well done!"

"You and the Special Missions Unit need to do two things now! First, confirm the whereabouts of the murderer and check whether the person has left the Imperial Palace. Second, try to deduce what the murderer wanted to do when they entered the Imperial Palace. Was it out of curiosity, sneaking in to steal, or... had malicious intentions?"

"Understood!" Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was serious, but a hint of worry appeared in his heart.

This infiltration seems...not so simple!
(End of this chapter)