Feng Qing Shaoyi

Chapter 98 Cinnabar Poison

The next day, Qi Ze packed up and came to the Ministry of Punishment.Standing at the door, Chu Kainan smiled happily, "Shaoyi, you're here, it's not easy for our Ministry of Punishment to invite you, the servant of the Ministry of War."

Qi Ze just glanced at Chu Kainan indifferently, and said, "Are you going to Fang's house to investigate today?"

"Yes, but before that, I have to go to Cao's house first." Chu Kainan jumped down from the steps and walked to Qi Ze's side, "Cao's house needs to be investigated again by the Criminal Department."

"The Cao family?"

"Yes." Chu Kainan said with some headaches, "Cao Wanzu, the elder of the Cao family, is a difficult person."

Difficult?How difficult is it to give Chu Kainan such a headache?
When the two arrived at Cao's house, Qi Ze saw a crying fat middle-aged man running out from the door. After seeing Chu Kainan, he stepped forward and cried, "Master Chu, you are finally here. The murderer of the dead lady has been found?"

"Master Cao, don't panic. The Ministry of Criminal Justice will definitely find the murderer and give the Cao family a satisfactory explanation." Chu Kainan said with a helpless smile.

"Master Chu, you mean that the murderer hasn't been found yet." Cao Wanzu said in a daze, and then wept harder, with a heartbroken look on his face, "My poor lady, you just died for no reason. , What do you ask Weifu to do? Who the hell killed you like this, even Mr. Chu can’t find the murderer. If I find out, Weifu will definitely kill him thousands of times. Madam, you are dead How wronged."

Qi Ze: "..."

Is this old man of the Cao family so fond of crying?Anyway, he is a doctor from the Ministry of Industry.No wonder Chu Kainan said that Cao Wanzu was difficult to deal with, and the man who would cry was the scariest.

Maybe it was because he was too eager, so Cao Wanzu knelt down in front of Qi Ze and begged, "There is also this lord, madam died unjustly. I beg this lord to find out who killed the wife of the lower official. If so If you catch the murderer, I will be grateful to you." As he spoke, he was about to step forward and hug Qi Ze's thigh.

Qi Ze stepped back quickly, and said lightly, "Master Cao, Master Chu is familiar with such things, you'd better ask Master Chu." Then he pulled Chu Kainan to the front, Cao Wanzu After being stunned for a moment, he hugged Chu Kainan's thigh and continued to cry.

"Lord Chu, I beg you to find out the murderer who killed your wife." Cao Wanzu said with snot and tears.

Chu Kainan silently turned his head to look at the heartless Qi Ze, seeing that Qi Ze was looking at him with raised eyebrows, he couldn't help but sigh, sure enough, Shao Yi held grudges the most.

Chu Kainan tried to force a smile on his face, ignoring the stains on his body, and said as calmly as possible: "Master Cao, you get up first. I came here to investigate and confirm this time because I found some clues. I believe it will happen soon. We can find out the truth and find the real culprit.”

"Really? Can Master Chu really find the real culprit?" Cao Wanzu stopped crying and raised his head to ask.

"Yes, so can Mr. Cao go in to investigate the situation now? I'm afraid this is not convenient." Chu Kainan looked at Cao Wanzu holding his thigh and said.

"Yes, yes, Master Chu will go in and investigate casually. As long as you can find the real culprit and avenge your wife, you can do anything." Cao Wanzu stood up and laughed when he heard the clue.

Seeing that Chu Kainan was looking at the stains on his clothes, Cao Wanzu quickly squatted down and wiped Chu Kainan with his sleeve, and Chu Kainan retreated that leg when he saw that it was wiped clean.

Cao Wanzu also turned his head to look at Qi Ze in doubt and asked, "Lord Chu, who is this?"

"This is Mr. Qi, the servant of the Ministry of War. This time, I will investigate with you." Chu Kainan introduced.

"It turns out that it is Master Qi. It is better to see it than to hear it. Since you are here with Master Chu, please come in quickly." When Cao Wanzu heard that he was the Minister of the Ministry of War and was higher in official position than him, he hurriedly said courteously.

Qi Ze nodded and smiled, "Master Cao, you're welcome."

"Where, where, please come in, my lords." Cao Wanzu hurriedly greeted the two of them to enter the mansion, wiping the tears on his face with his sleeve.

Chu Kainan and Qi Ze followed Cao Wanzu into the Cao Mansion, going to the room where Chen Shu died at that time.

Just on the way, Qi Ze, who was standing in the corridor, heard the silver bell-like laughter of a woman behind the nearby room. Looking for the reputation, he saw many women looking curiously in Qi Ze's direction, red flying and emerald dancing, The flowers are red and the willows are green. Looking around, you can see fat, swallows and thin, Yingying and Yanyan.

Those beautiful women seemed to be a little cautious because they saw Cao Wanzu, and they all took a step back.

After Cao Wanzu saw it, he quickly looked at the two people around him. Seeing that they were looking in the direction of those women, he quickly waved his sleeves to signal the housekeeper behind him.

When the housekeeper of Cao's house saw those women, he quickly brought a few servants and drove them back.

Chu Kainan turned his head to look at Cao Wanzu and said with a smile: "Master Cao seems to be living a good life, and there are so many beautiful women in the mansion, which is really enviable."

Cao Wanzu wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with a smile, "Your Excellency Chu was joking, these are just actors invited to commemorate his deceased wife, where did the beauty come from?"

"Oh? Actor? It's because I'm short-sighted. Nowadays, actors don't wear costumes to sing, but instead come here to spy in official women's dresses?" Chu Kainan said with a smile.

Cao Wanzu who said this was sweating profusely, his face was pale, and the smile on the corner of his mouth was weak, he didn't know what to say when he wanted to explain something.

Chu Kainan didn't mean to embarrass Cao Wanzu, so he rounded up the words himself. "It seems that Mrs. Cao liked to listen to operas very much in her lifetime. It is said that Mr. Cao and Mrs. Cao were deeply in love with each other. Now it seems that it is true. Mrs. Cao also raised a group of opera actors for her late wife, mourning her every day and night. .”

"Yes, Mr. Chu is right. My wife died, and I feel very uncomfortable as an official. Naturally, I have to raise opera singers, set up a stage to sing operas day and night, and mourn for my wife." Cao Wanzu also walked down the steps given by Chu Kainan .

"Since that's the case, Master Cao should go to the opera to pay homage to his dead wife. I know where your lady's room is, so I and Mr. Qi can go together. Master Cao doesn't have to follow." Chu Kainan also said with a smile.

"Since Mr. Chu has said so, I will step down first." After Cao Wanzu finished speaking, he walked towards the women with a smile on his lips.

"It seems that Chen Shu is dead, Cao Wanzu is the happiest, and so many women have been added to the mansion in just a few days." Qi Ze said, looking at Cao Wanzu's back.

Chu Kainan bent his lips and smiled, "This Cao Wanzu is dishonest, and there are more women this time than I saw when I came last time."

"Didn't you tell Cao Wanzu that the murderer might be in Fang's house?" Qi Ze asked.

Cao Wanzu had been asking who the murderer was just now, and he didn't delve into or feel puzzled about her identity as the Minister of the Ministry of War.That means that Chu Kainan did not tell Cao Wanzu about the Fang family, but Cao Wanzu would not think about how she, a servant of the Ministry of War, would come to meddle in the affairs of the Ministry of Punishment.

Moreover, Cao Wanzu is a doctor of the Ministry of Industry, so he should have seen her long ago in court.But he didn't know her, and he didn't know much about court officials, so he should be preoccupied with those women.

It seems that Cao Wanzu can't do anything without Chen Shu to remind him behind his back.

"No." Chu Kainan hugged his chest and said, "Because the matter of the Fang family is just my personal guess. After all, it has been half a year, and many things have been buried. But with my many years of experience, Chen Shu's death It is inseparable from the Fang family. And the murderer cannot possibly be Cao Wanzu."

"After all, Cao Wanzu doesn't have the ability and brains." Qi Ze said lightly.

Chu Kainan smiled softly, then continued to walk forward, and Qi Ze also turned around and followed.

"It's here." Chu Kainan walked to a room door and gently pushed the door open.

As soon as the room was opened, the dust was shaken up, causing the two of them to wave away the dust.After the dust dissipated, the two walked into the room.

This room looks like a woman's room at first glance. The entire room is decorated with exaggerated red. There are all kinds of jeweled gold and silver jewelry on the dressing table. There is still a strong lingering fragrance left in the air a few days ago. .

Maybe it's because Chu Kainan explained that this room cannot be cleaned, and Chen Shu's life trajectory should be preserved.So the furniture in this room is still covered with a thin layer of dust.

Because Chen Shu was weak, she finally died on the bed.So the two went to the bed and saw a few handkerchiefs on the bedside table. The handkerchiefs were full of bright red blood and yellow pus.There is also a medicine bowl next to it, and there is still half a bowl of medicine juice left in the bowl.

"The reason why I know that Chen Shu died of cinnabar poisoning is because of the remaining half bowl of medicinal juice. There is an excessive amount of cinnabar in the medicinal juice. Chen Shu is already weak. If she takes it continuously for half a year, it will be enough to kill her." killed one person." Chu Kainan explained beside him.

Qi Ze looked at the handkerchiefs, the red and yellow pus and blood on them already confirmed Chu Kainan's words.Cinnabar poisoning can cause sores in the mouth, nausea and vomiting, so the pus and blood in this handkerchief are left by cinnabar poisoning.And judging from the signs in the past few days, it is true that Chen Shu died of cinnabar poisoning.

But how could Chen Shu be so careless, taking cinnabar for half a year without realizing it?No one would poison Chen Shu's medicine bowl every day.

Just as Qi Ze was thinking, Chu Kainan walked up to a cabinet and took out several packets of medicine from it.After untying the rope tied to the surface of the medicine bag, it was placed on the table.

"Shaoyi, what do you think this is?"

"Cinnabar." Qi Ze looked down, and found that there was a lot of cinnabar in the medicine bag, and there was red cinnabar sticking to every Chinese medicine.Then it wasn't that someone poisoned Chen Shu every day, but that there was already a lot of cinnabar in each medicine bag.

How could there be so much cinnabar in Chen Shu's medicine bag, and what Chen Shu got was the wind and cold, so she didn't need cinnabar at all.Except for cinnabar, other medicines are indeed for treating wind and cold, and there are also tonics for nourishing the body.Moreover, I have never heard of any doctor that Chen Shu had a feud with, which made the doctor throw so much cinnabar with a grudge.

Then this cinnabar was not released secretly by the doctor. After all, most people know that cinnabar is poisonous and would not take it. If it is so obvious, is it not afraid of being discovered by others?
Since the doctor didn't release it secretly, where did the cinnabar come from?And it has been taken continuously for half a year without being discovered.Was this cinnabar thrown in at the same time?
"Han Fei, how long has this medicine bag been stored? Why does it look like it has been stored for a long time?" Qi Ze asked looking at the slightly damp medicine bag.

"This medicine bag was made half a year ago, so I got clues to find Fang's family from here." Chu Kainan replied.

"Half a year ago? Will Chen Shu take half a year's worth of medicine at once?" Qi Ze looked at the medicine bag and asked, taking so much at once, is Chen Shu really planning to take medicine for eating?

"Although this is indeed unbelievable, Chen Shu's personal maid said that just half a year ago, Chen Shu suddenly wanted to buy half a year's supply at once, and took these medicines to Fang's house, and made a big fuss at Fang's house." one game."

"The reason why Chen Shu didn't find cinnabar is because the job of boiling the medicine was given to that personal maid. And this maid didn't know that cinnabar was poisonous, but thought it was an ordinary traditional Chinese medicine. In this way, Chen Shu drank cinnabar for half a year and didn't get sick. Found it." Qi Ze said after bowing his head in thought.

When Chu Kainan mentioned the maid, Qi Ze figured out everything, how could she forget about the maid.

Chen Shu is a person in charge of the backyard, and she will never cook medicine herself, but will hand it over to her personal servant girl to do it.Moreover, this servant girl has given some clues, so it cannot be this servant girl who did it.Maids generally haven't read any books and are not literate, so it's not surprising that maids don't know cinnabar.

"Smart, I took this medicine bag from that maid." Chu Kainan then lowered his eyes, "So the problem can only be with the Fang family."

Qi Ze lowered his eyes and pondered, Chu Kainan was right, judging from the current situation, it wasn't the doctor's problem and Chen Shu had a big fuss at Fang's house half a year ago, so the problem would only be with Fang's house .

But what kind of deep hatred would throw such a large amount of cinnabar to kill a person?
"Let's go, Shaoyi, there are no clues to be found here, we should go to Fang's house to have a look." Chu Kainan walked out of the room and said.

Qi Ze nodded and followed.

It's useless to think about it here. If you go to the actual place and take a look, won't the truth be revealed?

When the two drove to Fang's house, they got out of the carriage and looked up at the vermilion gate of Fang's house.

As a big family in the capital, the Fang family must be very large.Maybe it's because it's summer now, the Fang family's courtyard is in full bloom, the trees are shady, and the breeze wafts the fragrance of flowers, giving people a sense of coolness and tranquility for no reason, taking away the heat of summer.

Just as the two were about to enter through the gate, they heard the voice of a middle-aged woman with a somewhat rough attitude.

"Who are you, what are you doing at our Fang's house?"

His voice seemed hoarse because of yelling every day, and there was a hint of disdain and domineering in it, which made people feel arrogant and unreasonable for no reason, which was very unpleasant.

But the other party seemed to know the virtues of this middle-aged woman, her voice was still calm and indifferent, and she replied without a trace of impatience: "Old Madam Fang, please calm down. I forgot to send a message because I have too many things to do. This time I came here without advance notice." Is it true that I sent the letter to you? I am a gentleman from the Imperial College. I had the honor to work with Mrs. Fang in the Imperial College. I think I haven’t seen him for many years. This time I came here to catch up with Mrs. Fang, please forgive me.”

Qi Ze and Chu Kainan exchanged glances, then walked into Fang's house.I saw a middle-aged woman in a gorgeous dark dress standing in front of a handsome man in white.

The man in white was bowing slightly and bowing his hands, with a quiet and scholarly aura on his body, with a gentle smile on his mouth, talking to the middle-aged woman.

"Mr. Guozijian? I knew that Mrs. Su would not be honest even if she married in. She thought that she would dare not take me seriously after studying for a few years. She knows how to read all day long, like a nerd, I don’t care about the affairs of the backyard, and I don’t know who to show it to with a haughty look.” Then the middle-aged woman showed a sad and sighing look, picked up the handkerchief in her hand and wiped the vain tears, "My Jingzi's life is miserable. This is some kind of daughter-in-law who came back and made trouble for me all day long."

The middle-aged woman seemed to want to appear as if she belonged to the housekeeper's old lady, and she kept raising her chin to speak, but she still couldn't let go of the softness and beauty of the young woman, who was wearing an inappropriate dark-colored long dress. Adding it up, it is a bit nonsensical, no matter how you look at it, it feels a little ridiculous and weird, which makes people feel ashamed.

The man in white on the opposite side didn't care, and continued to smile and said: "Mrs. Fang is introverted, and she is really not good at talking, but she is beautiful and intelligent, and catkins are talented. When she was in the Imperial College, many students asked Mrs. Fang for advice. Her talent surpassed that of many male gentlemen. They are all ashamed of themselves. And from what I can see, the Fang family is well-managed and the house is prosperous, and this is due to Mrs. Fang's hard work. Mrs. Fang, this statement is wrong."

"Hmph, it's another one who speaks for her. I really don't know what's so good about her, let you all speak for her. What else does she have besides being a little younger and more beautiful than me? Why don't you speak for me, usually Jingzi always Persuade me to let me treat her better. But I feel disgusted when I see her haughty look who knows everything, why don't she study a few years more than me, and teach in the Imperial College for a few years, what else? I am so precious." Then the middle-aged woman looked at the door and said sharply, "Why are there two more? You are also here to find her?"

When the man in white on the opposite side heard the middle-aged woman's words, he took a look and saw two familiar faces with good looks.One looked indifferent, calm and calm, and the other was handsome and unrestrained.

"Brother Jiang, I didn't expect to see you here." Qi Ze looked at Jiang Wen and smiled.

Chu Kainan looked at Jiang Wen and Mrs. Fang, Mrs. Pan beside him, smiling with his arms crossed.

"Shaoyi, Hanfei, why are you here?" Jiang Wen looked at the two people by the door and asked.

(End of this chapter)