coobybook Chapter 174: Sweet face but bitter heart
Chapter 174: Sweet face but bitter heart
Zhao Fangyu sneered coldly and watched Qi Yinghe spit out big mouthfuls of black blood.
This was obviously beyond the Song family's expectations.
Someone died at a banquet. No matter what, the Song family could not escape the crime of lax supervision. Zhao Fangyu held Zhao Fangjin's hand and called Chunshao to invite the imperial physician.
He continued to sit in the hall, preparing for things to get worse.
Since a lawsuit had arisen, it was difficult for each family to escape, and even if someone came to pick them up, they would be stopped.
Something happened to Minister Song, so the palace sent the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Zhao Fangyu watched Pei Yan enter, feeling a little relieved.
Then I felt something was wrong.
Who in the palace didn't know that she had been rumored to have had an affair with Pei Yan? The Song family was also her sister's husband's family, so logically, they should avoid suspicion.
Now it is Pei Yan who comes to investigate the Song family...
I don't know whether it was Your Majesty's instruction or he came here on his own initiative.
Qi Yinghe died in the ladies' section, so naturally the female guests had to inquire about the matter one by one.
When asked about Zhao Fangyu, Pei Yan did not show any abnormality.
Zhao Fangyu only mentioned the Prime Minister's wife who showed up unexpectedly, and the two maids who left with her.
The rest will be left to the Jinyiwei to verify her guess.
"This girl planted a deadly poison. Not just one, but two poisons mixed together. They interacted with each other, so the poison could take effect so quickly."
The old doctor has his own method of testing poisons. Coming from the palace, he is very familiar with these poisons and medicines.
"This girl was first poisoned by the Suhe powder, and then accidentally smelled the extremely strong snow medicine, which is why the poison entered her lungs in an instant and there is no cure."
The old doctor edited and edited everything he could say, and wrote down what else he found on a piece of paper and handed it to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan looked at the contents written in black and white on the paper. His entire face seemed to be covered with a mask, with no change in his facial features, as if he was a living puppet.
Pei Yan asked the prime minister's wife, who was not supposed to be here. The prime minister's wife smiled and said the same thing: "Your Excellency doesn't know that I am a girl who has been spoiled by my family since I was young. I came out to play today and heard that the Song family was holding a farewell banquet. I have never seen it before and I was anxious."
"I couldn't wait to host a show for her, so the old lady shamelessly brought her daughter to visit us, uninvited and very presumptuous."
Zhou Qinghe nodded, then turned around and asked where the maids beside them had gone. The prime minister's wife was still calm and gentle, with every wrinkle in her eyes and eyebrows expressing kindness: "I wanted to send someone to make a cup of lychee thirst water, but my maid was not good enough. When she went out, she stepped on the empty stairs and sprained her ankle."
"Now he has probably been sent home to recuperate."
Pei Yan looked at the file indifferently: "Madam is kind."
The Prime Minister's wife stared at him with a smiling and polite look, as if she was really just an innocent woman who had strayed into this place.
Zhao Fangyu looked at him, pulled Zhao Fangjin to his side and whispered:
"Just now, Xunyue and Chunshao went out together to follow the maid of the prime minister's wife."
"Qi Yinghe was poisoned by two kinds of poisons. One of them must have been lurking in her body, and the other was hidden beside her. Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence that she died at such a timely moment."
"Question all the maids around her, including the maids in her residence and the surrounding maids, to find out who she interacts with the most, who she trusts the most, and who she loves the most."
"In addition, the maid brought to the banquet today took the initiative to help the maid of the prime minister's wife. We need to study carefully whether there is any connection between them."
Zhao Fangjin grasped Zhao Fangyu's wrist. It was a thin wrist that seemed so fragile that it would break if bent, yet it was extremely tough and had a reassuring strength.
Zhao Fangjin looked calm and not panicked. It was not the first time she had seen a murder case happen in the inner house. She was scared when Qian Xiaoniang passed away, but now she only felt infinite love and pity for Zhao Fangyu.
"Don't worry. We've already figured out what's wrong with her. Even if someone behind her is desperate and poisons her to death, it won't help."
The Song family had long anticipated that this day would come. Even if the tree wants to be still, the wind will not stop. Naturally, if someone has a treasure, everyone will covet it and want to take it for themselves.
The position of the Ministry of Personnel is too important. It is only a matter of time before the Third Prince takes action against the Song family. Minister Song was able to sever ties with his clan for the sake of a smooth official career. How could he be someone who could be bullied?
Not long after, Xunyue, Chunshao, and the maidservant of the prime minister's wife and Qi Yinghe's personal maid came in from outside.
As soon as the four of them entered the room, the already quiet atmosphere in the room became even more difficult to breathe.
Chunshao and Xunyue kicked the man to the ground, with Chunshao holding a wet handkerchief in her hand.
Zhao Fangyu then said:
"I saw someone sprained her ankle. I was afraid that she was unfamiliar with the Song family and might delay recovery. I didn't want the healthy girl to become unable to walk or become lame, so I asked someone to follow her and take a look."
"I have never had any other thoughts."
The implication is that what Zhao Fangyu did was well-intentioned, but the fact that these two maids were escorted back might have other hidden secrets.
At Zhao Fangyu's signal, Chunshao kowtowed to Pei Yan first, then slowly said, "I and Sister Xunyue were told to go and see Qiaoyan, the personal maid of the prime minister's wife. Unexpectedly, the personal maid of Miss Qi seems to be an old acquaintance of Miss Qiaoyan."
"The two of them left together. The servants wanted to leave when they saw them, but the maid took Sister Qiaoyan to a dry pond in the mansion."
"We were worried about what might happen, so we followed her. We saw with our own eyes that the maidservant beside Miss Seven wrapped a handkerchief around a stone, tied it into a knot, and was about to throw it into the water!"
Chunshao didn't say much, but just a few words revealed enough information.
The maidservant beside Qi Yinghe and the personal maidservant of the prime minister's wife who came uninvited were old acquaintances...
"If you have a clear conscience, why would you sink this handkerchief into the pond?"
Pei Yan handed the wet handkerchief to the imperial physician, wanting him to check whether there was any residual poison on it.
But the withered pond was dirty and smelly, and once the clean towel was thrown into it, no smell could be smelled at all.
The imperial physician smelled it for a while but couldn't figure out what it was. With Pei Yan's approval, he took the handkerchief back to the palace to deal with it.
Chunshao and Xunyue were asked a few more questions, and then Pei Yan took his men away, taking Qi Yinghe's body, Qi Yinghe in Tianshuibi clothes, Qiaoyan, and the maid who threw the handkerchief away.
With a wave of the black cloth, all the witnesses and evidence were taken away. However, the mottled bloodstains vomited by Qi Yinghe on the ground, as well as the old lady and sister-in-law who had become silent for a long time, made Zhao Fangjin unable to spare much energy to explain to Zhao Fangyu.
"Don't be afraid, wait for me to come find you, just stay at home and don't make me worry."
Zhao Fangjin was afraid that Qi Yinghe's death would remind Zhao Fangyu of the past, but she was too busy to do anything else, so she could only ask Zhou Qinghe for help: "She is brave, but she is a girl after all. I'm afraid she will have nightmares at night."
After such a big event, the Song family’s gate was crowded with horse-drawn carriages, all of which were the men in the family coming to pick up their wives, daughters and sisters.
Zhou Qinghe was also among the group of people. He said to Zhao Fangjin sincerely, "Don't worry, sister. I'll take care of her."