Chapter 20 Poisoning: Second Master Suspects Me?

Chapter 20: Poisoning - Second Master suspects it's me?

Zhou Congshen comforted Feng Shi for a while, then finally rose and walked over to Qi Yuan, asking in a low voice, "Do you have evidence?"

Qi Yuan replied, "If someone had died in a fire, their mouth and nostrils would be filled with soot. But my elder brother's mouth and nostrils are completely clean, and upon dissecting the lungs, the same is true."

Zhou Congshen's hands, clasped behind his back, trembled a little. He struggled to calm himself, ignoring Qi Yuan's words for the moment, and instead cast an inquiring glance at the coroner standing nearby. The coroner nodded in understanding toward Zhou Congshen and Feng Shi, confirming that Qi Yuan's statement was correct.

"My cousin has always been frail in health; that's why he couldn't escape," Zhou Congshen said after a moment of thought, continuing to address Qi Yuan. "Could it be that he had already lost consciousness when the fire started, and thus inhaled no soot?"

Qi Yuan shook his head without speaking.

Zhou Congshen knew the reason he had come up with was far-fetched, and fell silent for a time before returning to Feng Shi's side.

Feng Shi had also heard Qi Yuan's words, but she still harbored some pride in her heart, so she ignored Qi Yuan. When Zhou Congshen came over, she asked him, "Is it true?"

Zhou Congshen had no choice but to say, "Thanks to Second Master, otherwise none of us would have noticed."

Feng Shi was fine, but Jiang Yueyi's legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the floor. Zhou Congshen caught her just in time.

"Thank you," Jiang Yueyi said in a trembling voice, her heart full of panic.

Zhou Congshen felt even more guilty. Looking at the white flower pinned in Jiang Yueyi's hair, his eyes unconsciously showed sympathy.

Not far away, Qi Yuan watched the group. He was naturally observant, and nothing escaped his eyes. Apart from Feng Shi's normal reaction, Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen's every move seemed somewhat irregular, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Perhaps he was being overly suspicious, so he filed it away in his mind for now.

Qi Yuan pulled his thoughts back together and took a few steps toward Feng Shi, continuing, "The soot is one clue. Upon examination, we also found traces of arsenic in my elder brother's stomach."

Feng Shi was no longer as emotional as before. She had always thought her son died in an accident, and had never considered murder. She still managed the entire estate; who would dare? Besides, Qi Hao was always kind to others, never made enemies outside, and treated his servants well. Who would kill him?

"Drag Xing An and the others over here," Feng Shi suddenly shouted angrily. "Force them down and beat them until they tell the truth!"

Seeing Feng Shi take out her anger on the servants, Qi Yuan couldn't stop her, but he still spoke up, "The murderer is still unknown at this point. If someone was truly plotting to harm my elder brother, Xing An and the others may not know about it. But this matter will be thoroughly investigated. According to the law, since my elder brother was the Chengping Baron, his murder must be reported to the court. I suggest we keep this quiet for now and wait until we find the murderer before reporting. Otherwise, it will cause outside gossip about the manor. What does the Old Madam think?"

Feng Shi thought for a moment, then ordered Xing An and the others to be taken into custody, nodding and saying, "Do as you say."

She was deeply heartbroken and mentally drained, and stared blankly at Qi Hao's coffin for a while. Then she said to Jiang Yueyi, "Help me over to see him one more time."

Even if Jiang Yueyi was unwilling, she had no choice but to comply. Today's autopsy had confirmed her long-held suspicion: the person in the coffin was not Qi Hao at all, but a corpse that Qi Hao had somehow obtained from somewhere. A body that had been cut open—she had no idea what it might look like and truly did not want to see it.

Now that it was discovered that this corpse had been poisoned to death, she didn't know how this would end.

While her mind was in turmoil, Zhou Congshen spoke up from the side, "Let me accompany Aunt over. It's better for my cousin's wife not to look at such things."

Feng Shi agreed, so she told Jiang Yueyi to go back.

Zhou Congshen helped Feng Shi to the front, leaving only Jiang Yueyi and Qi Yuan where they were. Feeling suffocated, Jiang Yueyi hastily made a perfunctory curtsy to Qi Yuan, eager to leave.

Qi Yuan called her back and stepped closer, saying, "There are some things I need to ask my sister-in-law about. I hope you'll bear with me."

Jiang Yueyi's brows furrowed instantly. For a moment, she wavered—should she just tell Qi Yuan about Qi Hao and Su Hengniang? But the thought lasted only an instant before it was drowned out in her mind.

After all, it was still unknown whether Qi Yuan would uncover the truth. She didn't need to surrender yet. Qi Hao had burned his bridges to this extent; if she were to force him and Su Hengniang out, the one who would suffer most would be herself.

Let Qi Hao just disappear.

So Jiang Yueyi only nodded slightly at Qi Yuan, then walked away without lingering.

***

The Chengping Manor fell into an atmosphere of gloom even more oppressive than when Qi Hao had just died.

Today should have been Qi Hao's funeral, but since it's now a suspicious case under investigation, it had to be temporarily suspended. To the public, they just said the date was pushed back, without telling the truth.

Xing An and the others were already locked up. Qi Yuan interrogated them a few times, but got nowhere.

Jiang Yueyi could do nothing but wait quietly with Feng Shi. Feng Shi didn't want to see Qi Yuan much, so Zhou Congshen mostly went to ask about the progress and passed the news to Feng Shi and Jiang Yueyi.

These past few days, Feng Shi had gradually calmed down. Unlike at first, when she had no appetite and cried day and night, she now had Jiang Yueyi with her every day. Except for sleeping at night, they even ate all three meals together.

Although Feng Shi took good care of Jiang Yueyi and showed concern in her words and actions, Jiang Yueyi sensed something was off—Feng Shi seemed to be deliberately holding her back.

However, the reason was not hard to guess. Qi Yuan was still at the manor and hadn't left. At this sensitive time, Feng Shi had lost her own son and most of her hope. She was afraid Jiang Yueyi wouldn't stay loyal and would go off with Qi Yuan.

Jiang Yueyi naturally had no such intention, but telling Feng Shi that would be a bad idea. Since Feng Shi was afraid she'd leave, she'd just obediently stay by her side. After all, she wouldn't have much contact with Qi Yuan anyway.

After a few days, Feng Shi was quite satisfied with Jiang Yueyi.

One evening around dusk, dinner was served early at Shuyu Courtyard. Jiang Yueyi helped Feng Shi wash her hands, watched the maids light the lamps herself, and when the dishes were placed on the table, she still stood by to serve Feng Shi.

Jiang Yueyi served Feng Shi a bowl of fish maw chicken soup and said, "Mother, please try this. I had them start simmering it first thing this morning. It's very nourishing."

Feng Shi took a sip and nodded. Seeing Jiang Yueyi's baby bump, she felt even more sympathetic and said to her, "Sit down quickly and eat with me. We're family—no need for formalities."

Jiang Yueyi sat down and ate with Feng Shi. Midway through the meal, they saw Zhou Congshen rushing in from outside.

Feng Shi saw Zhou Congshen arrive and waved him over to sit. But then she noticed his tense expression, and her own face fell.

Jiang Yueyi also saw it. At this moment, there was only one thing that could make Zhou Congshen so flustered.

Without thinking, the chopsticks slipped from Jiang Yueyi's hand, clattering against the bowl and plate before falling to the floor.

Zhou Congshen reached them. Jiang Yueyi instinctively stood up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"After I tell you, don't panic, either of you. It's nothing serious; we can clear it all up." Even as he said this, Zhou Congshen's face grew even more grim. He paused before going on, "Your Second Master... searched Xingyun Courtyard several times and found arsenic in the main room."

After speaking, he glanced at Feng Shi, then turned his gaze back to Jiang Yueyi.

Jiang Yueyi was stunned for a long moment before she realized what Zhou Congshen meant. The main room was where she lived—he was saying that there was arsenic in her room?

She had originally thought the worst case was that Qi Hao's whereabouts would be discovered by Qi Yuan. Unexpectedly, the investigation had twisted around and landed on her.

How could there possibly be arsenic in her place?

Jiang Yueyi immediately denied it: "Impossible. There is no such thing in my room."

As soon as she finished speaking, someone ran in from outside to report that Qi Yuan had arrived outside.

Zhou Congshen took a deep breath and said to Jiang Yueyi, "When he comes in, if you don't know what to say, you can stay silent. I'll handle it for you for now."

The group then moved to the main hall of Shuyu Courtyard. Except for Feng Shi, who sat down in the front, Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen both stood—Jiang Yueyi by Feng Shi's side and Zhou Congshen in the middle of the hall.

Qi Yuan entered and first paid his respects to Feng Shi. Feng Shi was a bit irritated; she knew even less than Jiang Yueyi. Seeing this, she asked Qi Yuan directly: "Explain yourself. What's going on?"

"It's like this: yesterday I led a search of Xingyun Courtyard and found a half-used packet of arsenic in the main room," Qi Yuan did not beat around the bush. "It was placed in sister-in-law's wardrobe."

Zhou Congshen was about to speak, but Jiang Yueyi beat him to it and suddenly asked Qi Yuan, "Second Master suspects that I poisoned the eldest master?"

Qi Yuan remained silent.

"Since it was already determined that my cousin's death was suspicious, it's also possible that someone deliberately framed my sister-in-law," Zhou Congshen said. "A half-used packet of arsenic doesn't prove anything."

Qi Yuan said, "Since the day of the autopsy, I have had the Xingyun Courtyard guarded. No one's had the opportunity."

Zhou Congshen pressed his lips together. For a moment, he seemed about to say something, but in the end, he found it very hard to say anything.

Jiang Yueyi sneered, "How would I know where the arsenic came from? Isn't that exactly what Lord Qi should be looking into? In any case, the First Master's death has nothing to do with me. Lord Qi wouldn't be trying to force a confession by torture, would he?"

"Enough," Feng Shi, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up. "Yueyi is a good child; I understand that. She's really not the type to do something like that. If you can find evidence, then that's fine. But if you're trying to stir up trouble in this household and cause unrest, then I will invite someone else to investigate. In this vast capital, surely we can find someone who knows how to solve a case."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yueyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. By now, Feng Shi must have had some doubts, but her aversion to Qi Yuan still outweighed everything else.

Feng Shi simply did not believe Qi Yuan.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan nodded obediently at first, but then he continued, "I asked Xing An. He said that the relationship between my elder brother and his wife was not harmonious. For a long time, they slept in separate rooms and often argued over trivial matters. My brother even forbade his wife from entering his study freely."

Jiang Yueyi's face immediately flushed. Having her privacy exposed like this in front of others, and spoken by Qi Yuan himself, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into right then and there.