Shen Yu nodded.
He remembered correctly. The Prefect of the Capital did say it was the poison of the red-crowned crane's head.
Seeing Shen Yu so certain, a thought suddenly occurred to Ruan Jiu.
However, it wasn't clear yet. She needed to sort it out.
"Brother, don't worry. I'll definitely get you and Father out as soon as possible."
"Yeah, I trust you."
Moreover, the Drunken Moon Tower was innocent.
A person with integrity fears no slander.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries. When an incense stick had burned out, Ruan Jiu had to leave.
Before leaving, she slipped a good amount of silver into the jailer's hand, hoping that her father and brother would suffer less.
"Qin Yuan, please help me look into Chen Wu."
She always felt this man was fishy.
Qin Yuan nodded after hearing this.
Then he looked ahead and asked, "Miss Ruan, this doesn't seem to be the way back to the mansion."
"I know."
"Then where are you going?"
"To buy medical books."
Although Qin Yuan didn't understand, he could only follow closely.
After returning to the mansion, Ruan Jiu directly carried a stack of medical books back to her room. She locked herself in and didn't even come out for dinner.
Although Xie Jingchu was very worried, he knew Ruan Jiu must be doing something important.
So he didn't disturb her and just quietly guarded outside the door.
The night seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
By now, Ruan Jiu was exhausted, but she still hadn't found any useful information.
She rubbed her eyes, let out a long sigh, and then continued to flip through the medical book in her hand.
Human lives were at stake, and there was no time to waste.
Finally, fortune favored the determined. She found the information she was looking for in a medical book.
After double-checking, her eyebrows finally relaxed.
She suddenly stood up.
Her vision went black, and she almost fell.
After staying up all night, her body couldn't take it. However, she didn't have time to be delicate now. She had to rush to the prefectural yamen immediately.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Xie Jingchu leaning against the outside of the door, looking exhausted.
She didn't expect Xie Jingchu to have guarded her outside the door all night.
Xie Jingchu said softly, "Have you come up with a solution?"
Ruan Jiu nodded and then pursed her lips. "But there's still a little bit missing."
Just then, Qin Yuan ran over.
"Miss Ruan, I've found out some information about Chen Wu!"
-
Inside the Prefectural Yamen of the Capital.
Ruan Jiu knelt in front of the hall.
The gavel banged, and the Prefect of the Capital sat upright and asked, "Who are you?"
Ruan Jiu curtsied and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I'm the legitimate daughter of the Shen family. I'm here today to seek justice for my father and brother."
"Oh?" The prefect stroked his beard. "The case of the Drunken Moon Tower yesterday was well-evidenced. What injustice is there?"
"Your Honor, Chen Wu wasn't poisoned. He was seriously ill and wanted to extort money from the Shen family."
After saying that, Ruan Jiu immediately presented the evidence Qin Yuan had found to the prefect.
After reading it, the prefect immediately summoned Chen Wu's wife.
A woman knelt on the ground, shrinking her body and not daring to look up.
"Mrs. Chen, I'm asking you. Was your husband, Chen Wu, already terminally ill and running out of time?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Chen dodged her eyes and stammered, "N...no... My husband is as strong as an ox."
Hearing this, the prefect's eyes sharpened.
Then he threw what Ruan Jiu had just presented to him in front of Mrs. Chen and said sternly, "Still lying! Take a good look. These are all the prescriptions for Chen Wu to get medicine!"
"I... I can't read..." Mrs. Chen continued to defend herself.
"If you still don't admit it, I'll have to summon the doctor who treated and prescribed medicine for him. If it's found out that you deliberately concealed it, it won't be as simple as getting a few blows from the board."
Hearing this, Mrs. Chen was so scared that she immediately kowtowed several times.
"Your Honor! I didn't mean to conceal it. Please forgive me!"
Seeing that Mrs. Chen had admitted, the prefect then asked, "So the incident at the Drunken Moon Tower was also a deliberate frame-up by Chen Wu?"
Mrs. Chen shook her head repeatedly and exclaimed, "It's true that my husband was seriously ill, but he did die of poisoning after eating the food at the Drunken Moon Tower. Please investigate clearly, Your Honor!"
The prefect pursed his lips and frowned deeply.
Although Chen Wu was seriously ill, it couldn't be determined that he wanted to extort money from the Shen family.
But the Shen family was extremely wealthy. There was no need for them to poison someone unrelated in their own restaurant.
For a moment, the prefect was a bit hesitant.
Just then, Ruan Jiu sneered. "Mrs. Chen is really funny. You've been left penniless trying to cure your husband. How could you have extra money to eat at the Drunken Moon Tower?"
Hearing this, the prefect looked at Mrs. Chen kneeling on the ground.
She was dressed in coarse cloth.
The Drunken Moon Tower was the best restaurant in the capital. A meal there would cost at least a few taels of silver. The Chen couple didn't look like they could afford it.
Mrs. Chen stammered, "My husband knew his time was running out. He wanted to have a good meal before he died. Is that not okay?"
Suddenly, her eyes shifted, and she continued, "If Your Honor wants to know whether my husband died of poisoning, you can just ask the coroner to test it with a silver needle."
Then, the prefect immediately ordered someone to carry Chen Wu's body up.
Next, the coroner inserted the silver needle into Chen Wu's neck in front of everyone.
When the silver needle was taken out, it had turned black.
Seeing this, Mrs. Chen immediately exclaimed happily, "Your Honor, look. My husband was indeed poisoned! Please seek justice for me!"
At this point, even though the prefect couldn't figure out why the Shen family would poison someone, he had to say sternly, "Miss Shen, the evidence is conclusive. Do you have anything else to say!"
Instead of being anxious, Ruan Jiu smiled faintly. "Your Honor, this only proves that Chen Wu did die of poisoning, but it doesn't prove that he was poisoned at the Drunken Moon Tower."
Mrs. Chen immediately exclaimed, "You're still quibbling! So many people saw my husband collapse after eating the food at the Drunken Moon Tower. Moreover, Your Honor has also found the poison of the red-crowned crane's head in the food at the Drunken Moon Tower."
Ruan Jiu nodded. "You're right. However..."
Then she looked at the prefect and said, "Your Honor, I have a question in my mind."
"What's the question?"
"The poison of the red-crowned crane's head is extremely fierce. Those poisoned often have their blood flow backwards, so they will vomit blood before they die. But there was no blood on Chen Wu's mouth. How can you say that Chen Wu died of the poison of the red-crowned crane's head in the food at the Drunken Moon Tower?"
"Your Honor, don't listen to her nonsense! No matter what the poison is, my husband died at the Drunken Moon Tower anyway!" Mrs. Chen was starting to lose her composure.
Yesterday, when Ruan Jiu heard Shen Yu mention that Chen Wu had foamed at the mouth before he died, but after the yamen's investigation, it turned out to be the poison of the red-crowned crane's head.
She immediately felt that there must be something fishy about it. Now, after seeing Mrs. Chen's reaction, it further confirmed her suspicion.
She sneered. "It's a joke. Could it be that your husband took the poison himself and then deliberately framed the Drunken Moon Tower?"
"You're talking nonsense!" An uneasiness welled up in Mrs. Chen's heart.
She couldn't help but clench her fingers and tried to calm herself down.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not can be verified." Ruan Jiu said.
"What method can prove it?" the prefect asked.
Ruan Jiu took a deep breath, and a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes.
"Perform an autopsy."