Chapter 73： the truth

After a long wait, after Chen Xing and the others ate lunch hastily, Qiu Shi came back with the news.

Looking at Chen Xing who was impatient, Qiu Shi didn't sell anything. After drinking a sip of tea, he immediately told the news he had inquired, "The one who died was the head of a family named Xu in the north of the city. It is said that we ate dinner here, and it will not work when we go back. The daughter-in-law of that family is always aggressive. After the man died, his daughter-in-law made a scene, and everyone around knew that her man ate us because of eating us. The food here is dead."

& nbsp; The corpse went all the way to the yamen."

Chen Xing pursed her lips silently, the ancient news spread slowly, so even if the woman made such a big noise, he has not received any news here. But how big is a city? In a few days, the news that the woman's husband was poisoned to death by their restaurant will definitely spread throughout the city, so how can their restaurant continue to open?

Thinking of this, Chen Xing gritted his teeth, he really couldn't understand, his shop is running well, every ingredient is strictly controlled, how could such a thing happen?

Qiu Shi looked at Chen Xing with an ugly face, hesitating whether to say the next words.

Fortunately, Chen Xing also knew that this was not the time to act with emotions. After taking a deep breath, he calmed down and looked at Qiu Shi next to him again. Directly: "Is there anything else? If there is something, say it yourself."

Qiu Shi no longer hesitated after hearing this, and directly said another piece of news he had inquired, "Didn't the little boss let us inquire about what the family wants? Knowing that her husband spent a lot of money on medical treatment, the family did not have any decent livelihood.

The most likely compensation for that family now is money. If we can provide enough money, it is not impossible for them to give up the responsibility of our family. Of course, the best way is to clear the suspicion in our store, otherwise it will be troublesome if there is such a thing in the future! "

Chen Xing nodded in agreement, he didn't know this, it was just the worst plan he made. If it's possible, they'd better get rid of this matter, otherwise the name of their restaurant who ate people to death will always follow them. In this way, even if the store can continue to open in the future, business will be greatly affected.

Just when Chen Xing was brainstorming, and wanted to see how to solve this matter is the safest way, Qiu Jiu, who went out to inquire about their grocery store, also came back.

As soon as he came in, Qiu Jiu saw Chen Xing and said, "Little Boss, I went to see that shop, their business is as usual, there is nothing unusual, and there are no people who come to the door to make trouble."

Chen Xing frowned, in this case, there are two possibilities. One is that those who also took the drug goods have not yet found out, so there is no case of door-to-door trouble. The second is that only their store has taken the drug, so there is no possibility that other families will make trouble.

Chen Xing's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he always felt that the second possibility was right.

Outside the Chen family restaurant.

I was stunned for a moment, and then I found a hawker who was doing business nearby and inquired.

"Boss, do you know why the Chen family restaurant opposite is not open today?" When Liao Hui asked, he bought a bag of sunflower seeds at the hawker's stall.

The hawker saw that Liao Hui bought a bag of his things, and saw that the clothes he was wearing were very valuable, and he was happy to tell him about this little thing, so he said happily: "That shop! It opened today, but then a group of officials came and took their accountant away, and their shop closed!"

Liao Hui originally just asked casually, but he didn't expect to ask such news, and the expression on his face suddenly changed. A picture flashed in his mind. The last time he was pulled by a friend to see the market, he met a man who was drinking and bragging. Thinking of what the man bragged about, Liao Hui's heart skipped a beat.

Liao Hui threw the hawker's melon seeds money to him, and then strode to the door of the Chen family restaurant, knocking on the door.

The hawker watched the boy knock on the door for a while, and the shop door was opened, and then he walked in. The hawker shook his head and sighed, "This boy is so strange", and then went to greet the next customer.

In the Yamen.

Gu Lang and a whole bunch of people in the yamen, as well as the newly found Zuzuo, all gathered in the empty room in the yamen, the man's corpse was parked in the middle, and the live chicken that Gu Lang needed, And a few plates to eat leftovers.

The woman who claimed to be the wife of the deceased was staring at Gu Lang with vigilance at this time, not knowing what kind of guanzi he was selling in the gourd, her face was slightly distorted due to being too nervous Yes, it looks a little scary.

Master Xu looked at everything that was prepared, came to Gu Lang, and said softly: "Master Gu, since everything is ready, can you prepare to start?"

Gu Lang nodded, not hanging on the appetite of everyone, first came to the woman, pointed to the leftover dishes, and asked lightly: "You said your husband Is it because of eating these few dishes that he died of poisoning?"

The woman looked at Gu Lang who was calm in front of her, released her clenched lips, nodded lightly, and replied, "Yes, my husband died of this food. The women didn't understand anything and thought that these dishes should be brought with them, so they brought them over together."

Gu Lang listened to the woman's explanation, sneered softly, and whispered: "I think the lady is smart."

After Gu Lang asked the woman, he turned his head to look at Master Xu next to him, and said directly, "Can you let this guy test these dishes, which one is poisonous?"

Master Xu nodded after listening to it, and made a move towards Zu Zuo, who was very quick to carry his toolbox to the side of the dishes, and quickly judged that it was poisonous the two dishes.

Seeing that Zuo Zuo selected a dish with fungus as the main dish, and the other dish was their recently launched fried shrimp, Gu Lang nodded, then looked at the county magistrate, and continued: "Can someone pour out a little of the two dishes and feed the chicken."

Although I don't know what Gu Lang is selling, the county magistrate is still willing to give him face, and he warned the officials standing next to him, and then two people came out, one of them It was still the official messenger who had escorted Gu Lang here.

The two officials first fiddled with a little dish from the two dishes and put it in front of the chicken. I don't know if the chicken was not hungry, or if they sensed danger, they didn't go to death. eat that dish. In the end, he couldn't. One official held the chicken, and another opened his mouth and forced it down.

The chicken took less than a stick of incense to swallow the dish, and from the original vigour, it began to flutter, and then lay on the ground motionless.

Seeing that the chicken died so fast, everyone around was a little scared, only Gu Lang watched the scene in front of him very calmly from beginning to end.

Seeing that the chicken was cool, Gu Lang slowly opened his mouth: "Okay, then we can start the next step. But before we start."

Gu Lang paused for a while when he said this, then turned his attention to the nervous woman, and continued in a voice that was just heard by the whole audience: "I still want to do it again. Ask the madam, was your husband poisoned by this dish?"

Nodding, as if to embolden himself, he said loudly, "Yes, my husband died of poisoning."

Gu Lang raised his lips, making his handsome face look a little cold and indifferent. He stopped looking at the woman, turned his head to look at the Zuzuo, and said in a low voice, "Mr. may have detected whether the person died of poisoning?"

That's accustomed to watch words and expressions, and when he came, he saw that the county magistrate and Xu Shiye were kind of flattering to Gu Lang. At this time, when he heard that he was a master, he waved his hands and said:

"You're welcome, sir, I can be considered a gentleman. It's just that it's easy to detect whether a person is poisoned. There are two methods. One is to hold a specially made gauze in the mouth. , If the gauze changes color, the person must have died of poisoning. The second is to open the abdomen of the deceased and directly see if there is any substance that poisons the patient."

I've been insulted by you like this. If you want to touch my husband, I'll kill you here, and become a ghost in this yamen, haunting you for a long time!"

The woman's sharp voice sounded in the lobby, causing everyone who heard it to frown, and some even looked at her and showed disgust.

Gu Lang looked at the crazy woman without changing his face, and said in a cold tone: "Don't worry, we won't do this."

The originally crazy woman was stunned by Gu Lang's unfeeling words, like a chicken whose neck was pinched and lost her voice.

Gu Lang restrained the noisy woman, turned his head to look at Zu Zuo not far away, and said lightly: "Sir, there is a third method to find out whether he died of poisoning, It's using silver needles. It's just that there are limitations to this method, and only a few specific poisons can be tested in this way."

Speaking of this, Gu Lang looked at the corpse and the dead chicken again, and said slowly: "Now we have seen with our own eyes that this chicken was poisoned to death, and we tested it with silver needles. , if the silver needle changes color, it proves the poison, and the silver needle can be tested. Next, directly insert the silver needle into the mouth, throat, and stomach of the chicken and the corpse, and pull out the silver needle to see if it changes color. Know if the deceased was poisoned."

When everyone heard Gu Lang's theory, they couldn't help but feel a bit of an uproar, and their eyes changed a bit when they looked at Gu Lang. Only one person with a puzzled face looked at Gu Lang and asked him a question. , "How can you tell if this person was poisoned?"

The curvature of the corners of Gu Lang's lips became a little larger, and explained: "If people are poisoned to death like chickens, then the silver needles that should be inserted into the stomach will change color together. He died first and then was poisoned, because a person cannot move his stomach and intestines, and at most only the throat will show symptoms of poisoning. The usual method is to test whether he died of poisoning, only to prove whether he has been poisoned. "

Hearing Gu Lang's explanation, everyone present suddenly realized, and that Zuo Zuo couldn't wait to test according to the method of taking care of Lang. Not afraid of the smell of the corpse, he directly covered his nose with gauze, removed the corpse's clothes, and inserted the silver needles into the parts Gu Lang had just mentioned. The chickens next to him were also treated the same.

Waiting for two sticks of incense, that Zuo Zuo first pulled out the silver needle stuck in the chicken, and sure enough, the silver needle was black at the root, and it was easy for people to see This chicken is poisoned to death.

Zuo Zuo first pulled out the silver needle from the deceased's mouth, it was black. Next is under the tongue, black. Throat, black. Esophagus, half black and half white.

Zuozuo's breathing became a little heavier, and even the people next to him became nervous, and then he saw that all the way to the stomach, the silver needles of Zuozuo were all white. .

"Look, this man wasn't poisoned."

I don't know who shouted, everyone seemed to wake up from a dream, and they were amazed by this scene.

Only Gu Lang's expression did not change from beginning to end, as if he had guessed this scene long ago. He slowly moved his gaze away from the corpse, turned to look at the pale woman beside him, and said in a low voice, "Madam, are you still insisting that your husband was poisoned to death?"

The woman opened her mouth, wanting to explain a few words, but when she met Gu Lang's indifferent and almost harsh eyes that seemed to have penetrated her, she said nothing Out. The woman who was still like a shrew just now can only stick her neck there, like a capon with her neck strangled, making no sound.

Plan your future!"

There was a bang in the field, breaking the silence in the field, everyone heard the sound and looked over, only to see that the voice was the county magistrate with a blue face.

To others. Not only is your mind malicious, but it is hopeless. This official must punish you well today, otherwise if more people follow suit in the future, what is the majesty of the imperial court!"

Hearing the county magistrate's accusation, the woman seemed to suddenly come back to her senses, knelt on the ground, and watched the county magistrate cry bitterly: "No, no, official. My lord. The woman did not kill my husband, he died by himself."

But this woman on the ground looked ordinary and behaved vulgarly, which really made others feel no pity for her, and even faintly felt a bit of disgust.

The county magistrate frowned at her appearance, and then said rudely: "You don't have to argue here, if you didn't kill your husband, why bother? It's like trying to frame the blame on others. A vicious woman like you can only set an example by soaking in a pig cage!"

"No, no, my lord, I really didn't kill my husband. He died of his own illness. I really didn't do anything to be sorry for him!" The fear of the pig cage made the woman panic even more, and the cry became louder.

It's just that the woman's cry did not arouse the sympathy of the people around her, they all looked at her with indifference, as if they had already set a punishment for her. Seeing this, the woman became more and more flustered, as if she could immediately see the picture of herself being immersed in a pig cage. Immediately afterwards, she seemed to remember something, and a trace of joy flashed on her face as she looked at them and said:

"Sir, I didn't want to use my husband's corpse to blame others, but someone asked me to do so. They also promised me that as long as I did this, they would give me a The money is enough for me to be well-fed and clothed for the rest of my life."

The woman's voice was too mournful, and everyone listened to what she said and frowned at her.

In the end, the county magistrate was the first to come back to his senses, looked at the master next to him, then turned his head to look at the woman on the ground, and said loudly: "Who asked you to do this, if If you come from the truth, I will definitely treat you lightly. If you are obsessed with it again, I will definitely not forgive you lightly."

Hearing the county magistrate's words, a flash of excitement flashed in the woman's eyes, she quickly said the man's name, and even explained the things they asked themselves to do and the things they promised come out.

In the Chen family restaurant.

Liao Hui didn't have time to reminisce after he came in, so he told Huang Yao who was drunk when his friend took him to Hualou to meet the world a few days ago. Huang Yao boasted that he wanted to frame Chen Xing and the others. came out.

Liao Hui didn't know Huang Yao originally, but he came to the small restaurant today and heard that someone was taken away by the official, he suddenly remembered this incident, and also remembered Huang Yao It was the one who was beaten by the second in the store that day.

Chen Xing was looking at the little boy who came in with excitement at this time. He and this boy only had one relationship, and he didn't expect that he would bring him such a big surprise.

"Is it true?"

Liao Hui didn't expect that he just brought a piece of news to Chen Xing to make this person so happy, and he couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had come to the right. Looking at his little brother who was excited and staring straight at him, even knowing that he already had a husband, his face was still red involuntarily.

Liao Hui nodded in Chen Xing's expectant eyes, and said with great certainty: "What I said is true, if you don't believe it, I can also ask my friends to help me prove it. "We were sitting next to them, and since I heard it, they heard it too."

Seeing that Liao Hui was not the only witness, Chen Xing was so happy that he didn't know what to do. At this time, as if he had found hope, he stared at him with bright eyes and said cheerfully: "You Are those friends willing to come and help testify?"

Even if his friends don't want to, they will come because of his face.

Seeing that Liao Hui agreed, Chen Xing's happy expression became more and more obvious. Soon, thinking of Gu Lang who was taken to the yamen, the smile on his face stagnated, and when he looked up again, his expression became a little more eager, "Would you like to accompany me to the yamen now?"

Government Yamen.

Be kind.

After listening to her words, the county magistrate snorted heavily, then clapped the gavel in his hand, and said coldly: "In the scope of this official's jurisdiction, there are still such things happening. .Zheng Hu, you bring someone to bring him back to me, this official will personally interrogate him, and give justice to the innocent!"

"Yes." The man named Zheng Hu was the official who went to arrest Gu Lang and returned today. Hearing the instructions of his own adults, he hurriedly bowed, and then brought People went out.

Get up quickly.

until approaching the entrance of the yamen, Chen Xing looked at the plaque of the yamen, and the worry in his eyes became more and more solemn. Gu Lang was in poor health, and he didn't know how many crimes he suffered today. He had heard that the ancient investigative methods were not high, and many times they would be submissive.

Thinking that Gu Lang would be tortured here, Chen Xing's heart twitched, took a deep breath, discarded all the terrifying images in his mind, and walked in.

However, when Chen Xing brought people to the lobby and looked at Gu Lang who was sitting there drinking tea, the worried expression on his face suddenly solidified, and he could only stare stupidly Man, I didn't respond for a long time.

Gu Lang's reaction when he looked at him was that the corners of his lips twitched, not like a smile like he did to a woman today, but a kind of gentleness that was as soft as a flower, he turned towards him. Chen Xing waved his hand, and when he came to him, he said warmly, "What's wrong?"

Chen Xing first swept Gu Lang from top to bottom, made sure he was not injured, and then took a long breath, then said to him what Liao Hui said, and then pointed to Liao Hui, who followed behind, said, "That's how it is, so I brought him over to clarify the situation."

Gu Lang raised his eyes and looked at Liao Hui who was following behind, only to see that Liao Hui raised his chest as if he was under a huge threat after meeting his eyes.