Chapter 139

Chapter 139

The shop door was tightly shut. Chen Qingyan knocked for a long time before it opened a crack.

"My lord, you're here!" Tian Ju quickly opened the door.

Chen Qingyan entered the room, and Tian Ju immediately bolted the door again to prevent anyone from rushing in.

Wang Ying and Lin Sui hurried over when they saw him. "Qingyan, why are you here?"

"A-Ying, are you alright?" Chen Qingyan took his hand and examined him carefully.

"I'm fine..." Wang Ying said, his face pale, his hands and feet icy cold, and his body shaking slightly with fury. After selling ice pops for so long, he had never heard of anyone being killed by eating one!

"What's the story with that person outside?"

Wang Ying shook his head. "I don't know either. We'd just opened up this morning when suddenly there was shouting outside. At first, I thought they were cursing someone else, but when Brother Sui went out to look, there was a dead body laid out at the door..."

Even though the corpse was covered with hemp cloth, Lin Sui was terrified. When she came back inside, her legs were so weak she could barely stand.

Wang Ying immediately told Tian Ju to bolt the door and not to go out no matter how much they were cursed outside. They would wait until the authorities arrived.

They waited for half an hour, but instead of the officers, Chen Qingyan showed up.

Lin Sui asked quietly, "What should we do now?"

Chen Qingyan said, "Let me go talk to them. Even if it's poisoning, there needs to be evidence. What kind of sense does that make to place a dead body at the shop door without any proof?"

Wang Ying quickly grabbed him. "Don't go out. Wait until the authorities arrive."

"Then should we just let them slander our shop at the door?"

"This isn't as simple as it seems..."

Starting from the inexplicable commotion a few days ago, yesterday someone suddenly claimed they had diarrhea after eating our ice pops. Wang Ying was forced to pay a *guan* of coins to cover their medical expenses. And today, someone was killed by an ice pop... If no one was deliberately behind this, no one would believe it!

Wang Ying gritted his teeth. "If this isn't resolved, we can forget about doing business anymore! Who would dare eat Mixue Smoothie if people say it poisons others?"

As the saying goes, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Wang Ying wasn't a pushover to be bullied at will. If pushed too far, nobody will walk away clean!

After waiting another fifteen minutes, the officers finally arrived outside. "What's going on here?"

"Officer, you've got to help me! He was my only brother. He was fine yesterday, but after eating one of their bamboo-tube ice pops, he became ill. The doctor said it was poison. They must have put poison in the ice pops!"

Wang Ying opened the door and shot back, "What proof do you have that your brother was poisoned by an ice pop? We sell hundreds of sticks daily. How come everyone else is fine, but your brother died? Who knows if he was poisoned by something else!"

The man closed his eyes and began wailing again. "My poor brother... why did you leave so soon... If you hadn't eaten that ice pop yesterday, nothing would have happened..."

The crowd pointed at Wang Ying, and someone deliberately said, "I never thought there would be poison in these ice pops. I won't dare eat them again."

"Yeah, no wonder they sell them so cheap. Other ice drinks cost dozens of coins a bowl."

Wang Ying stared intently at the two people speaking. If he wasn't mistaken, one of them had also started the commotion the other day!

The officers looked at Wang Ying and asked, "Are you the shopkeeper here?"

"I am," Chen Qingyan spoke up first.

Wang Ying turned to look at him. "What are you doing?"

Chen Qingyan whispered in his ear, "I'm a scholar. I don't have to kneel before officials. You're more resourceful—stay outside and figure something out."

"Come with us to the yamen. The shop will be sealed temporarily and cannot open. The body will also be taken to the government to be examined by the coroner!"

"Qingyan!" Wang Ying anxiously followed behind.

Chen Qingyan waved to him. "Don't worry."

The officers took Chen Qingyan away, the shop was sealed, and the body was carried off. The crowd watching at the door gradually dispersed.

Wang Ying had no time to be upset. He immediately called Tian Ju over and whispered a few words in his ear. "Be careful. Just note the address and don't be discovered."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll go right away!"

Lin Sui followed behind Wang Ying, tears in her eyes. "Elder sister-in-law, what should we do now?"

"Let's go home first."

The two hurried home. As soon as they entered, they bumped into Chen Qinghuai and Chen Qingsong sending Liu Changyi off.

The two saw Wang Ying's pale face and Lin Sui's tear-streaked cheeks and hurried over to ask, "Elder sister-in-law, what happened?"

Wang Ying took a deep breath. "Someone just came to the shop causing trouble, saying they were killed after eating our ice pops. The authorities came and took your eldest brother to the yamen."

"Ah!" Chen Qingsong let out a frightened cry. "Wh-what should we do?"

Liu Changyi said, "Don't panic. I'll go back now and find my father to see if he can help think of a solution."

Although Lord Liu held a nominal official position, he had considerable influence in the government offices because of his powerful older brother.

Wang Ying said, "Thank you, Young Master Liu."

Without time for pleasantries, Liu Changyi quickly got into the carriage. "I'll have someone update you if there's news."

After he left, Wang Ying said, "Let's keep this from Mother. She wouldn't know what to do, and it would only make her anxious."

Chen Qingsong nodded. "But what if Mother asks about Eldest Brother?"

"Just say... he was invited to the Liu family to attend Mr. Lu's lectures."

"Alright." The group agreed on the story and entered the house pretending nothing was wrong.

At lunch, Li Shi indeed asked where Qingyan had gone. Wang Ying said, "Young Master Liu called him away. He said Mr. Lu would be giving him lectures, so he won't be back for his days off."

"Why didn't Qinghuai and Qingsong go too?"

Chen Qinghuai quickly said, "We were invited too. We'll go tomorrow."

Li Shi didn't suspect anything. It was good for her son to be studious. As a mother, she couldn't stop him from learning.

After the meal, Tian Ju returned from outside and immediately found Wang Ying to report. "I found that person's residence. It's in an alley on Zhenghe Street. I noted the address and came back."

"Good. These next few days, you and Ma Qianzi keep an eye on this person for me. Wherever he goes and whoever he meets, get all the details."

"Yes!" Tian Ju turned and ran out again, calling Ma Qianzi to go out with him.

The two had never done surveillance work before, but Ma Qianzi was clever. He knew it wouldn't work to just watch openly from the doorway—anyone would notice something was wrong.

So he made a banner and disguised himself as a wandering Taoist priest. He had Tian Ju put on ragged clothes, smudged his face with dirt, and pretended to be a beggar. The two blended right in on the bustling Zhenghe Street.

The man being tailed was named Wan Liang, a local hoodlum who spent his days either eating and drinking or gambling at nearby gambling dens.

These past few days, he had taken on a job and had more money to spare. He spent the day gambling and in the evening got together with a few friends for drinks at a nearby tavern.

Tian Ju and Ma Qianzi followed at a distance. Once the group entered the tavern, the two listened in from beside the tavern.

"Liang-ge, you've struck it rich! Treating us to drinks and all."

"Get outta here! As if I’ve never treated you before."

In the past, he had mostly mooched off others, so it was rare for him to buy rounds. Everyone found it quite unusual.

The four of them sat around a small table by the window and ordered four dishes and two jugs of wine.

"Liang-ge, what’s this good business you’ve got lately? If you’re eating meat, how about letting us have some broth too?"

Wan Liang popped a peanut into his mouth, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Even if I told you, you wouldn’t dare take the job."

He was being evasive, which just made them more curious, and they pressed him for details.

At first, he played coy and refused to say, but after a couple of drinks, he spilled everything about the dirty business he’d been involved in lately.

"You know that new place in town, Mixue Smoothie?"

"Yeah, they sell those bamboo-tube ice pops for ten coins each. I bought one last time—pretty tasty."

Wan Liang sneered, "Well, you might not get the chance to eat them anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"They’ve offended someone. That person doesn’t want them selling anymore."

"Who did they offend?" the group asked eagerly.

"You know Wei Linshui, right?"

"Yeah, the one they call ‘Water Rat.’ The owner of Mixue offended him?"

Wan Liang took a sip of his wine and said, "Selling ice that cheap—how could Boss Wei stand for it? It’s ruining his business. He hired me and a few others to stir up trouble. When that didn’t work after a few days, he came up with a nasty plan.

Yesterday morning, he had someone drag a dead body to their shop entrance and insisted the person was poisoned by their ice pops. You think they can keep doing business after that?"

Outside, the two eavesdroppers widened their eyes in shock. Tian Ju was about to rush in when Ma Qianzi pulled him back, gesturing for silence and signaling to keep listening.

"Whoa, Water Rat’s move is pretty sneaky. Even if it’s proven false, Mixue’s business is finished."

Once rumors like this spread, whether true or false, some people will believe them. Word travels fast—if everyone says Mixue’s ice pops are poisonous, who would dare buy them?

"So how much is Boss Wei paying? Is he still hiring for this job?"

Wan Liang didn’t answer that—if he shared the job, he’d lose his cut. "Enough talk, drink up!"

Ma Qianzi and Tian Ju waited outside looking grim until the group inside settled up, then quietly left.

Back home, they reported everything they had heard, word for word, to Wang Ying. "That man admitted it himself—a guy named Wei Linshui deliberately set us up to frame our shop!"

Wang Ying was furious, gritting his teeth. He had suspected all along that these sudden troubles weren’t without cause—someone was behind it.

He had heard of Wei Linshui before; the man was known to be ruthless and had clawed his way up through vicious means.

Who would have thought that they had no history of bad blood, and he wasn't even competing with him, yet he would strike so suddenly!

"Keep tailing Wan Liang these next few days. Let me know if you find out anything else."

"Yes!"

*

Meanwhile, after being taken to the magistrate’s office, Chen Qingyan was placed in a solitary cell without an immediate trial.

In ancient times, investigations followed strict procedures. In a case like poisoning, the coroner had to examine the body to determine if the victim was indeed poisoned, what poison was used, and how long it took to cause death. Only after confirming the cause of death could the investigation proceed, a process that took at least two or three days.

Early the next morning, Liu Changyi arrived at the magistrate’s office with his father’s token, bringing food and a few books.

When they met, Chen Qingyan stood up in surprise. "Changyi, what are you doing here?"

"I ran into your wife yesterday and found out you’d been brought here. Are you alright?"

"I’m fine. Could you pass a message to my family when you leave? Tell them not to worry."

"Don’t worry, I’ll head to your place right after. This case has a lot of suspicious points. My father has already spoken to the officials—they’ll investigate thoroughly and definitely not falsely accuse you."

"Thank you..."

"Hey, no need for thanks. It’s just a word or two. Besides, we’re practically family soon."

Chen Qingyan's mind was put at ease. With Lord Liu’s help, he believed the case would be cleared up quickly.