At this moment, Zhan Mo resembled a dead body. It was impossible to get any answers from her
Liu Zhiliang cupped his hands and said to Jing Rong guiltily, “Prince, this humble official will definitely find out the person who tortured Zhan Mo and punish the person. This humble one is afraid that the Prince might not be able to get any answer from her now if that was the purpose your visit.” In any case, the lady lying on the ground was tortured too badly to even speak at the moment..
Jing Rong raised his eyebrows, “Then this Prince has to trouble Lord Liu to explain the murder case of Zhang Residence truthfully.”
“Yes!” Liu Zhiliang replied politely, “The South City Opera Troupe was invited to perform at Old Master Zhang’s birthday celebration yesterday. Before the performance begun, Zhan Mo handed a cup of tea to Old Master Zhang, saying that it was a toast for his birthday. Old Master Zhang took a sip, passing away not long afterwards. When the coroner went to carry out the autopsy, he said that Old Master Zhang died of a poison that was also found in the tea cup. This humble official hence brought her back to the yamen for interrogation. After refusing to admit to her crime following a night of questioning, she was sent to the prison. No one expected…” No one expected her to be badly tortured. He sighed and did not continue his sentence.
Jing Rong did not utter a word after listening to Liu Zhiliang’s explanation. He merely asked Mo Ruo, “What do you think?”
Mo Ruo replied, “She has wounds all over her body, and it’s difficult for her to speak.”
Therefore, Jing Rong told Liu Zhiliang, “Lord Liu, it’s better to make a small mistake than make a wrong conclusion. You cannot kill the wrong person for a crime she didn’t commit.”
“The humble one understood, I will follow to the Prince’s order.”
“For now, put her into the prison. We’ll interrogate her again once she’s able to speak.”
“Yes!” Liu Zhiliang promptly sent his order to his subordinates to bring Zhan Mo back into the prison and contact a doctor.
Just when they brought Zhan Mo out of the hall, they heard a dog barking loudly outside. “Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Ji Yunshu’s gaze landed on a big yellow dog barking at a wall as she walked out of the hall. It was as if there was a human standing in front of the wall.
A short while later, an old man came by, put a rope on the dog’s neck and kicked the dog’s body. He scolded, “Damn dog. You’re always barking hysterically. Are there bones in this wall? I’ll kill you if you bark for no reason again and disturb the others.”
“Woof woof woof…” The dog continued barking. The old man pulled the rope and dragged the dog away.
As Ji Yunshu was watching, she had a hunch that something bad was going on. It might be a woman’s sixth sense.
As she was occupied by her own thoughts, Liu Zhiliang walked towards her and cupped his hands, “You must be Teacher Ji?” A smile painted on his face, seemingly fawning over Ji Yunshu.
Ji Yunshu replied with courtesy as she asked, “You raise dogs in the yamen?”
“Only one. It belongs to Old Liu who works in the kitchen. He’s been raising the dog for many years.”
She nodded and did not question further.
Liu Zhiliang continued, “Now that the Prince and Teacher Ji have been informed of the case regarding the Zhang Residence, I’m sure that it’ll be solved quickly. Teacher Ji’s reputation of in solving cases is eminent.”
“Lord Liu has overpraised this humble one.”
“Teacher is just being humble,” He continued, “However, what’s Teacher opinion on this case?”
“Half-and-half.”
“Half-and-half?”
She smiled gently, skipped the explanation and said, “Lord Liu, is Old Master Zhang’s body still at the residence?”
“Yes.”
“If so, can you bring this humble one there to take a look at the body?”
Liu Zhiliang agreed without much contemplation, “Of course! It’s the best scenario to have Teacher Ji’s help in solving the case.”
She kept that tender yet humble smile on her face, turned around, and spoke to Mo Ruo, “Young Master Mo, can you follow me there too?”
Mo Ruo shrugged. I don’t mind.
Jing Rong on the other hand, said, “Then leave as soon as possible. Don’t cause any delay.”
Liu Zhiliang replied quickly, “The Prince is an honoured personnage. There’s a murder case happened in Zhang Residence. If the Prince visits…”
Before he finished, Jing Rong threw a cold stare at him, “You don’t have to be bothered by this Prince’s identity. Keep my visit to the Zhang Residence a secret.” Liu Zhiliang could only reply with a “yes.”
In around the time to burn a joss stick, the group arrived at the Zhang Residence. The front gate of the Zhang Residence was lavish. Two striking lion statues were erected at each side of the door. A big plaque was hung on top of the door with the words ‘Zhang Residence’ in a blinding plated gold. Every corner of the Zhang Residence was decorated with auspicious red lanterns. In contrast, the backyard was in chaos!
The dozen or so originally neat tables and chairs were thrown around messily along with the cutlery that had been placed on top of them. Despite looking like the scene of a robbery, the stage that was decorated in red remained clean and neat.
On their way to the memorial hall, two yamen runners discussed in a low voice, “He’s so rich. It’s such a waste that he passed.”
“I know. Look at his fortune, and the glamour of the residence.” They clicked their tongues and shook their heads, full of envy.
They walked around the backyard and arrived at the courtyard where the body was placed. A few madams from the residence had been crying beside the body for the whole night, with some maids and pageboys quietly waiting to the side.
Liu Zhiliang spoke the Butler Zhang immediately after he arrived, “This official has brought people with me to investigate the cause of death of Old Master Zhang.”
When Butler Zhang was about to speak, Third Mistress, who had been sobbing the hardest, stood up and said, “Lord Liu, now that the murderer has been caught and the coroner has concluded the case, why are we investigating? The murderer is the female singer. Did our Old Master kill her family? Or did he do something terrible to her? Why did she have to poison our Old Master. Lord Liu, you have to sentence her to death as soon as possible.”
Third Madam was Old Master Zhang’s favourite, and she also bore his only son. Now that Old Master Zhang had died before passing the inheritance on to her son, how could Third Madam not be agitated?
Liu Zhiliang explained, “Third Madam please calm down. The official also wants to be thorough and identify the truth of the case.” He then introduced Ji Yunshu, “This is Teacher Ji who has a reputation for solving cases. Let him take a look at Old Master Zhang’s body. If it is proven that the opera singer is really the killer, this official will definitely punish her in accordance with the law.”
Third Madam glanced at Ji Yunshu hesitantly and sniffed. She did not utter a word, seemingly agreeing to the terms!
Liu Zhiliang told Ji Yunshu, “Teacher Ji, can you help?”
She nodded and walked to the side of the coffin with Mo Ruo. Old Master Zhang was lying inside the coffin, his pale face was tinged green and violet, while his lips were black.
“Indeed, he died of poisoning,” Mo Ruo said directly, “Yinshuang Poison. It dissolves very quickly when it comes in contact with tea. Since it affects neither the smell nor the taste of the tea, it’s difficult for normal people to detect the presence of the poison. Normally, only animals with a sharp sense of smell can discover it.”
“Apparently it was the right choice to bring you with me”
“Aren’t you almighty? Can’t you find the answer with just the body present?”
“I’m not a coroner and thus, not in charge of the organs of the dead body. I might be able to find something if he were a skeleton. With a case of poisoning, I need your help.” She spoke frankly.
The corner of Mo Ruo’s lips raised slightly as he remained silent and kept inspecting the body. He opened Old Master Zhang’s mouth with his hand, then… He removed Old Master Zhang’s top and exposed his upper body. Quick and rude. Ji Yunshu was stunned. Brother, you should have given me sometime to prepare myself.
Later, Mo Ruo pressed on Old Master Zhang’s chest. With his furrowed brows, he thought for a moment before he checked Old Master Zhang’s pulse. 1 His fingertips pressed against Old Master Zhang’s wrist on and off, with his face painted with confusion. Moments later, he told Ji Yunshu seriously, “Seems like it was the right choice to bring me with you.”
“How so?”
“He did drink tea that was poisoned with Yinshuang. However, there is another type of poison in his body.”
…
ChouFleur Rants Corner
dun dun dun….
Sorry for the late chapters. RL is a bit overwhelming but i’ll put out the owed chapters when i can!
