Chapter 108 Someone instructed me

to work in the mines, and food and accommodation are provided.

Although there was enough food every day to ensure that everyone was full, there was not much oil and water. Eating braised pork was something that only happened once every half a month, so naturally people didn't want to waste it.

Moreover, the wages for working in the mine are not low, which has attracted many people to sign up. The government also goes through layers of screening and only selects strong and healthy people. It can be said that one may not be able to come even if one wants to, and being able to come is indeed a matter of luck. Naturally, people are cautious and dare not complain about the bad food or the bitter and astringent braised pork, for fear of missing out on such an excellent job.

So when this person poisoned the food, he specifically chose the day to stew the braised pork.

He Yanxiu narrowed his eyes and ordered Xing'an and others to investigate who had touched the dishes and chopsticks after breakfast today.

Xing'an and others were very quick and quickly found out the people who had carried the dishes, washed the dishes, and even fetched water today.

There were eight people in total, three of them were so weak from eating food containing bile alum that they could not even sit up and could only lie on the mats.

He Yanxiu looked at the eight people.

Carefully.

These eight people knew that He Yanxiu was a high-ranking official from the capital, and that he was a man of extraordinary bearing, and at this moment he looked even more imposing. They were immediately terrified, and they lowered their heads, not daring to even breathe.

After a long time, He Yanxiu withdrew his gaze and pointed at one of them. "That's him. Take him away."

"Yes." Xing'an brought people to drag away the square-faced burly man that He Yanxiu pointed at.

The square-faced sturdy man was so frightened that his legs went weak and he stammered, "No, no, sir, sir, please be wise, I have never done anything to poison people, never!"

"I am innocent. I swear, on my life, that I did not poison anyone..."

"At this point, the evidence is irrefutable, and you still dare to be stubborn?" He Yanxiu shouted, "You probably don't know yet, but once this gallstone gets on your hands, no matter how you wash it, it won't be cleaned off, and it will give off a strong sour smell..."

Before He Yanxiu finished his words, a short, round-faced man named Zhu Liu put his hand under his nose and sniffed twice.

There is no taste at all.

Zhu Liu was surprised at first, but when he saw Xing'an standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile, his face was suddenly filled with fear, "Xiaomin, Xiaomin..."

Then he fell to his knees with a plop, "Sir, please spare my life, please spare my life!"

"Whether you can spare my life or not is not up to me, but up to you," He Yanxiu said dimly.

Zhu Liu immediately knocked his head like pounding garlic, and said in a panic, "I didn't know that this thing would be so poisonous after eating. If I knew, even if I had a hundred courages, I would not dare to do such a thing!"

"Then why did you give everyone this kind of thing, and how did you get this gallbladder?" He Yanxiu asked.

"Yes, yes..." Zhu Liu hesitated for a long time.

"Take him away and give him a hundred beatings!"

"I'll tell you everything." Zhu Liu was so shocked that his face turned pale. He kowtowed again and said hurriedly, "A few days ago, a man came to me and said that he was a hunter at the foot of the mountain and made a living by hunting in the mountains."

"But since the copper mine was discovered here and they wanted to open a mine, the government fenced off all the nearby mountains. As a hunter, he can no longer enter the mountains and has no means of livelihood."

"But he has a mother who is over 50 and is bedridden, and a five-year-old child who is crying for food. His wife is in poor health due to years of hard work and can no longer do heavy work. The whole family relies on him to make money, but he can no longer hunt, and the family really can't make ends meet in the future."

"He wanted to come here to find a job, but when he applied for the job, he was told he was unqualified because he didn't have money to help him get the job. He was angry, and he heard that eating gallstones would make people nauseous and vomit, so he thought of putting it in the food to cause trouble and vent his anger."

"The hunter searched for several days but still couldn't get a chance to approach them, so he found me and promised me twenty taels of silver. He also said that if the task was completed, he would give me another twenty taels. I was always looked down upon by the chefs because I was doing odd jobs, and I felt unhappy. I also wanted to see those guys make a fool of themselves, so I agreed to the deal..."

"What's the hunter's name, where does he live, and what does he look like?" He Yanxiu asked.

"It is said that his surname is Zhang, and his name is Zhang Shuisheng. He lives in a house at the foot of the mountain, south of here. It is said that there are two wild walnut trees at the door. If it looks like..."

Zhu Liu thought for a moment, "He is taller than me, thinner, with a long face, small eyes, and a scar about an inch long on his right cheek. Oh, and on the back of his right hand, there is a dark red birthmark the size of a copper coin."

Qu Zhiwen hurriedly ordered the yamen runners to arrest Zhang Shuisheng according to Zhu Liu's description.

The yamen runners searched for a full half day and a whole night, and on the morning of the second day, they came to find Qu Zhiwen to report.

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"Where are the people?" Qu Zhiwen frowned when he saw the people he sent out came back empty-handed. "Did Zhang Shuisheng get away?"

"We found the house the man mentioned, but when we went in, we found that it was already in ruins and didn't look like anyone had ever lived there. We also went to several hunters' houses nearby to ask around, and they said there was no one named Zhang Shuisheng among the hunters we knew in the area, let alone a tall, long-faced man with a sick mother, a wife in poor health, and a five-year-old child."

The yamen runner looked embarrassed, "Sir, could it be that Zhu Liu lied in an attempt to get away with it and reduce his punishment?"

"It's possible." Qu Zhiwen nodded slightly and immediately went to interrogate Zhu Liu again.

When Zhu Liu heard that the runners had not found Zhang Shuisheng, he was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He kowtowed to Qu Zhiwen repeatedly and said, "Sir, what I said is the truth. It was really Zhang Shuisheng who came to me, gave me the gallbladder alum, taught me how to use it without being noticed, and asked me to choose a day to stew meat and use the gallbladder alum water to wash the dishes."

"Originally, Zhang Shuisheng said to use more, but I was afraid that something might go wrong if the dosage was too heavy, so I took the initiative to use much less, and that's why no one died. My lord, it was really Zhang Shuisheng who deceived me. I was blinded by greed and fell for his trick because of my personal grudge. My lord, you are wise!"

"I swear to heaven that if I lie, I will be struck by lightning and my whole family will die miserably!"

"Oh, oh, oh, I haven't spent the twenty taels of silver that Zhang Shuisheng gave me yet. I hid it in my pillow. If you don't believe me, just go and take a look and you'll know..."

The speed of typing is getting slower and slower, 嘤嘤嘤, I just want to sleep...

It's the weekend, I'm shamelessly asking for monthly tickets. At least I have to be ranked in the top 100, otherwise it would be too embarrassing. So, my little cuties, in order to not embarrass the author, please vote for more monthly tickets. 　　 　 (End of this chapter)