Chapter 100: Poisoning Lecture (Part 2)

"Thirdly, I can also take advantage of some of your unintentional habits to poison you, Old Bao. For example, I remember that you're a heavy smoker, and when you get the urge to smoke, you tend to bite your thumb. So I can coat the outside of all the cups with poison. Even if the water isn't poisonous, I can let your thumb get stained with the poison when you hold the cup, and you'll be poisoned."

Baohan blushed, "You really are bringing up something irrelevant!"

"As for the fourth method, you should be more proficient in synthesizing poisons. For example, licorice and seaweed. Eating either alone is fine, but taking the two together is extremely toxic."

Baohan nodded repeatedly, "I understand this. It's the 18 adverse reactions and 19 precautions. We doctors are all aware of the rules and taboos in prescribing medicine."

"So the murderer can use this method to accurately poison the target."

"But... since the three sisters of the Lu family have been clearly killed by the venom of the fire snake, this fourth method should not be involved, right?" Linlang asked.

"Of course, we're just listing all the possibilities. As for these three cases, there should be other methods."

"Are there any other methods?"

"Yes, and the target of the poisoning was not determined at the beginning, and the person who was poisoned happened to be Lao Bao." Yin Chuan said with a smile.

"You mean indiscriminate poisoning?" Linlang was a little surprised.

"Yes. I put the poison directly into the shuffled cups and let everyone choose randomly. It just so happened that Lao Bao picked the poisoned cup, and he became the victim."

"Hey! Why am I so unlucky?" Baohan smiled awkwardly.

"Hmm... Although the method isn't very sophisticated, it's certainly possible." Linlang nodded. "That's all, right? There shouldn't be any other possibilities."

"There are other possibilities, such as poisoning with a needle or syringe; using a slow-acting poison to delay the onset of the poison; specifically targeting the victim's characteristics, such as poisoning a chronic heart ache to induce symptoms... In short, these methods are enough to make the murderer's poisoning method very hidden. However..." Yin Chuan put down the teapot and teacup, and said slowly, "There is another possibility that you may not even think of - if the victim's true cause of death was not poisoning, or the poison was not applied by the instrument in front of you, then the apparent poisoning method is just a deception created by the murderer."

Linlang frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Let's say I pour three glasses of water," Yin Chuan did as he'd instructed, handing one to Linlang and Baohan. "Here, see if it's poisonous, right?" He tilted his head back and downed his own glass, then raised his hand toward the other two, signaling them to follow suit. Confused, Linlang and Baohan finished their own glasses.

"At this time, Baohan suddenly collapsed for some reason, perhaps suffering from an acute illness. I could then take the opportunity to go over and give him a poison injection, or put poison in the emergency medicine. Everyone would think he died of tea poisoning, and I would also put the poison in the used teapot depending on the situation. This way, since I also drank the water in the cup, my suspicion would naturally be reduced."

Baohan waved his hand. "Your method is too far-fetched. How could it be such a coincidence that I would have an acute illness? What if I can't?"

"Hehe, an acute illness is just my assumption. I actually have plenty of ways to make you fall. For example... this is a play we agreed to perform. Isn't it natural?"

Baohan was about to sneer and retort when Linlang's face suddenly turned serious. "Wait a minute, Brother Yin. Now that you mention it, I suddenly remembered how Lü Shuixian died on stage. Perhaps it was the same reasoning as the example you gave!"

Yin Chuan's eyes lit up, "Tell me more about it."

"Remember when Lu Changhua told us about the first stunt of 'The Three Imperial Dragons', 'Water Play in the Dragon Palace', there was a key part, that is, the actor in the water drank the wine in the wine jug, and the audience could see the incredible effect of drinking in water. If it was a play secretly arranged by the murderer and Lu Shuixian, then it would make sense that she was poisoned in the water tank. Wait, that's not right... The program clearly stated that it was Lu Changhua's performance, so how could it be replaced by Lu Shuixian without Lu Changhua's knowledge? What's going on? Moreover, she should have died of poisoning before going on stage, so she shouldn't have been performing for the audience." Linlang fell into deep thought again.

Yin Chuan patted her shoulder and said, "Your speculation makes sense. The murderer may have taken advantage of Lv Shuixian's trust and set a poison trap for her. As for acting, it's not necessarily just for the audience. When it comes to concealing the truth and avoiding the sight of others backstage, there must be other sophisticated methods." At this point, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "By the way, Lao Bao, when Lv Shuiling was poisoned last night, besides confirming that she was poisoned by a fire snake, did you find anything special on the body? It doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with the poison."

Baohan tilted his head and thought for a moment. "What's special about her... Lu Shuixian doesn't have any extraneous scars. She's spotless from head to toe. She must have died of pure poisoning. If I had to say something special... I just noticed her mouth was a bit greasy, as if she'd eaten a lot of meat."

"Meat? You mean she eats a lot of meat?" Yin Chuan was a little surprised.

"I think so."

"Oh yes, I remember now," Linlang said, "One of my disciples said that Jingui sent a lot of meat dishes to the Third Young Lady and her husband, which were ordered from a restaurant outside."

Yin Chuan frowned and lowered his head, as if he was thinking about something.

"What's wrong? Do you think something is wrong?" Linlang asked.

"Hmm... I think I roughly understand how the murderer precisely poisoned Lu Shuixian to death."

After saying that, Yin Chuan leaned over to Bao Han's ear and whispered a question. Bao Han's eyes widened. "You're right, it's indeed possible! And based on my years of medical experience, this possibility is very high! So... the murderer used this method? Isn't that a bit risky?"

"No, if the murderer is very familiar with Lv Shuiling's living habits and personality, this method will be more than 90% sure. Now all we need is evidence," Yin Chuan seemed confident. "So, Lao Bao, go check the cups that held the sour plum soup yesterday. I have told the servants not to pour out or wash the cups, and to seal them for a period of time to preserve the evidence. Especially those two people!"

Baohan patted his chest and said, "Okay, I'll go right away!"

Linlang was completely confused by Yin Chuan. "What flaw did you find? What method did the murderer use?"

"Once Old Bao finds the evidence, everything will become clear." Yin Chuan said with a smile.

"Then I'll go help him too." Linlang was anxious and wanted to know the answer immediately.

Yin Chuan stopped Lin Lang, "No, you have more important things to do!" He glanced at his second uncle Gu Yan, who was being hypnotized next to him, "He still needs your control to solve a problem that concerns the fate of all of us!"