A Little Skillful Debunking Salt Poisoning (Part 1)

Watching Zhu Mingyu leave home, Yan Zhiwei turned her head toward the salt market.

“A small jar holds about three or four liters, and each one can hold about three kilograms of green peppers. Thirty jars would hold ninety kilograms…”

"Dry curing is more convenient than wet curing, but people in Lingnan probably don't like it too salty, and wet curing requires taking into account the brine concentration, so it's probably not that simple either..."

How can you make the best pickled peppers at the lowest cost?

Yan Zhiwei walked in the middle of the bustling market, calculating how to pickle green peppers with salt and the amount of salt needed.

Her thoughts were so focused that she completely ignored the growing crowd around her. By the time Yan Zhiwei realized how stuffy it was, she had already been pushed to the front of the crowd like a sandwich.

"What happened up ahead?" asked a busybody nearby.

"It seems that Manager Liu from the easternmost shop got into trouble. I heard he sold poisoned salt to the county magistrate... He was supposed to be the biggest salt dealer in this area. He always seemed so honest. You can't judge a book by its cover."

Manager Liu? The salt merchant I usually buy from?

Yan Zhiwei recalled Manager Liu, who seemed to be a kind and benevolent person. Yan Zhiwei had even witnessed him helping orphans in the town. However, he was a bit stingy and would not give customers any discounts.

Yan Zhiwei raised an eyebrow and moved closer to the crowd.

One vendor put down his goods: "I still think it's impossible. Manager Liu has a large and powerful family. He wouldn't stoop to such a small matter."

"What do you know? The north is already in a state of chaos. In these times of turmoil, there's no shortage of ways to make money for oneself."

"Stop discussing it. The person is right in front of us. Let's see for ourselves whether it's real or fake."

Following the sounds of discussion, Yan Zhiwei looked past the crowd and indeed saw a kneeling figure.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the salt shop, and Yan Zhiwei had to stand on tiptoe to see the whole thing.

—Manager Liu was bound with thick ropes, a pair of official boots grinding against his trembling fingers: “Speak! Why did you poison the salt?”

He could still feel the piercing coldness in his peripheral vision. Zhong Dianxin thought to himself that he had really run into a lot of bad luck. He rolled his eyes, clicked his tongue, and pressed his feet harder.

Zhong Dianxin had finally gained the county magistrate's favor and was appointed to entertain the inspector from above. However, after only one meal, the inspector got a stomachache, and the doctor diagnosed him with arsenic poisoning.

All the ingredients were checked, but no problem was found. After much investigation, Zhong Dianxin learned that there wasn't enough salt when preparing the banquet, and the cook, to save time, had replaced it with a small jar of new salt that he had bought for his own family. So Zhong Dianxin went to the salt merchant, intending to find out the truth and redeem himself, but to his surprise, the man was very stubborn and refused to admit it.

Zhong Dianxin gritted his teeth fiercely, anger rising in his chest. He casually took out half a bag of salt and splashed it on Manager Liu's face.

Manager Liu was dressed in a disheveled state. He sat on the ground, snowflakes clinging to his gray beard, making it seem as if his hair had turned white overnight.

Yan Zhiwei dared not look any further.

She suddenly remembered the rainy night before she traveled through time—her younger brother had incurred debts, and the creditors came knocking on the door, smashing the doors and windows to pieces, but the creditors were still not satisfied.

Her parents pushed her out to negotiate, only to harm the innocent themselves. Like trampling on livestock, the creditor, glaring angrily, stuffed mud into her mouth.

Rain washed over her entire body, and a chill seeped from her very bones. Yan Zhiwei collapsed to the ground, facing a tightly closed door.

From that moment on, she made up her mind to live only for herself and act only for her own benefit.

Yan Zhiwei clenched her fists, stared at Zhong Dianxin's waist tag, then turned her head and closed her eyes.

"Your Excellency is wise." Manager Liu coughed up blood, picked up the dusty salt bag and held it in his palm. "My family has been selling salt for three generations. This is my family business and the foundation of my livelihood. A gentleman has principles, and we common people also have our own integrity!"

"Integrity?" Zhong Dianxin almost bent over laughing. "Your integrity, what's it worth?"

Zhong Dianxin kicked away the salt bag: "You have persecuted an official of the imperial court. I advise you to stop making excuses and quickly confess your crimes. Perhaps then you can save your life."

Seemingly feeling that this wasn't enough, Zhong Dianxin had a new idea. He raised his hands and addressed the crowd: "This old man claims to be a man of integrity. What do you all think? Is there anyone who can testify on his behalf?"

In an instant, the previously boisterous crowd fell silent. Zhong Dianxin's lips curled into an even wider smile. He grabbed Manager Liu's collar, preparing to lead him away, but a figure loomed over him.

“I trust this old man.” A man in white stepped out from the crowd. He had a gentle face and was holding an ink fan in his hand.

"Lord Zhong." Jiang Qin bowed respectfully to Zhong Dianxin, bent down to help Manager Liu up, and said, "Just as you said, whether one sits in a high hall or is born in the wilderness, as long as one strives for goodness, one is a gentleman."

Zhong Dianxin watched all this and sensed something was wrong. He recognized the man; he was an attendant of the inspector, a man of few words but highly trusted by the inspector. Zhong Dianxin swallowed hard, his eyes darting around before he lowered his head.

Just then, a young official with a noble appearance stood behind Jiang Qin, with the words "Inspector Zhu" engraved on a gold badge at his waist.

"I wondered where Lord Zhong had gone. It turns out he abandoned his duty of guiding me and came to seek justice for me yesterday." One of the main figures at the banquet happened to appear, and the people quickly made way for him.

“Lord Zhu.” Zhong Dianxin stepped forward with a forced smile.

"Lord Zhong is truly sincere. He is righteous and dutiful. I must have a word with the magistrate about this." The other party merely lowered his eyelashes, and a chill ran through Zhong Dianxin's mind.

Yan Zhiwei squinted at the inspector. Although he was speaking for Manager Liu, his words were laced with sarcasm, and even his handsome features were shrouded in a sinister aura, just like her over-pickled preserved eggs.

Before Yan Zhiwei could comment on the newcomers, the situation suddenly changed, and the crowd began to chatter again: "In my opinion, it might be the work of that new salt merchant in the west of the city. I've heard that he's ambitious and has dirty hands."

"You mean, that person deliberately added something to Manager Liu's salt in order to monopolize the market?"

"After all, that man was once a prisoner."

People were talking amongst themselves, and Yan Zhiwei was getting confused. Only the inspector remained unmoved. He stepped forward and said to Manager Liu, "You say you are innocent, but can you produce any evidence to prove that you are innocent?"

"The masses trust you, my advisors trust you, but I trust my own eyes even more."

"If there's no evidence, the shopkeeper will probably have to suffer this loss." The man grinned, but his eyes were cold.

Upon hearing this, Manager Liu fell to the ground, and Zhong Dianxin also laughed.

How could they possibly find anything? However, the small jar of salt was already empty; otherwise, there would have been no need to waste words with this old man; he would have produced the evidence and arrested the man long ago.

Whether it's his fault or not, Manager Liu can't escape this predicament today.

The light that had finally appeared went out again, and the inspector's deep, emotionless eyes fell on Manager Liu, turning into water snakes that coiled around and covered his vocal cords.

"This humble citizen..."

"Make way!" a voice rang out from the crowd. Yan Zhiwei suddenly raised her voice, "This humble woman, Yan Zhiwei, has a way to test for poison!"

Everyone turned around in unison. Manager Liu's eyes lit up as he stared intently at Yan Zhiwei.

Yan Zhiwei moved to Manager Liu's side.

"Manager Liu, I'll help you escape your predicament," Yan Zhi said with a smile, "but in return, you have to agree to a deal with me."

——

In the kitchen of the county government office, Yan Zhiwei was lying on the stove, with a huge iron pot on her nose.

The pot was newly opened for entertaining guests and had only been used to serve one meal to the inspector. Yan Zhiwei had just smelled the bottom of the pot; there was no strange odor, and the surface of the iron pot had no gray or black spots, nor any unusual rust.

Yan Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief.

She only completed half of high school, and her favorite subject was chemistry.

She clearly remembered that the main component of arsenic is arsenic, and the main component of an iron pot is iron. When the two are combined at high temperatures, a reduction reaction is very likely to occur, forming a black or dark-colored substance on the surface of the pot.

It was probably not arsenic that got mixed in while cooking.

However, since there was no chemistry in ancient times, the reaction between arsenic and iron depended on the amount. If the arsenic content was too low, it might not leave any trace.

We need to think of other methods. Yan Zhiwei touched her chin with her fingers and continued searching for clues.

Zhong Dianxin watched Yan Zhiwei, who had huddled under the stove, from afar. He covered his nose with his hand and diligently used a small fan to fan away the remaining fumes from the kitchen for Jiang and Qin.

“Lord Zhu, I don’t think this young lady is very capable. Manager Liu was just blinded for a moment and randomly called someone to investigate the case in a moment of crisis.”

“It’s getting dark, sir. You may go and rest. I can keep an eye on this young lady by myself.” Zhong Dianxin bowed, his face trembling with the fat on it.

The inspector surnamed Zhu didn't reply, but just touched his waist token and leaned against a freshly swept stove.

In contrast, Jiang Qin was much more composed. Even when tired, he didn't seek external support and would occasionally glance politely in Yan Zhiwei's direction, becoming the person most concerned about Yan Zhiwei's investigation.

Jiang Qin bowed and said, "Lord Zhong, you are too kind."

“My family members are victims, so naturally they want to witness the progress of the investigation firsthand.”

Jiang Qin laughed again: "It's tough on this young lady, doing all this dirty work by herself..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Zhiwei suddenly jumped up from under the stove.

"What did we eat at yesterday's banquet?" Yan Zhiwei had been rummaging around under the stove for too long, and her hair was now a mess, hanging down her head like a bird's nest.

She paid no attention to her embarrassment, casually dipped herself in the kitchen water tank, and walked straight to Inspector Zhu. Just like with Zhu Mingyu, she instinctively grabbed his arm.

Inspector Zhu dodged aside, then glanced at Yan Zhiwei's blackened skirt and frowned, saying, "The dishes were set out by someone else, how could I remember?"

Yan Zhiwei wiped her hands. It was so stuffy under the stove that it was almost an instinctive reaction for her to ask, "Didn't you eat the food?"

"I was the one who was poisoned. Do you think I knew what kind of poison I was poisoned by?" The person opposite her sneered and took out an exquisitely embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve, wiping the spot that Yan Zhiwei had just touched in front of her.

"Disdain for myself?" Yan Zhiwei, who witnessed the whole thing, almost rolled her eyes.

"That's all a grown man can do, such a pampered brat." Yan Zhiwei was speechless, thinking to herself that this old man's temper was truly strange.

However, if she doesn't answer, then she won't; there are plenty of people who can answer Yan Zhiwei's questions.

She followed the kitchen helper into the food storage room and questioned the maid who had served the dishes that day, eventually piecing together the truth.

"Twenty crabs, three baskets of tangerines." Yan Zhiwei picked up a wooden stick, dipped it in swill, and smeared it on the blue bricks. "Half a jar of shrimp paste, pickled lemons..."

"Eating so much."

"You must have been a starving ghost in your past life." The cricket's owner was not far behind her. Although Yan Zhiwei was making a sarcastic remark, she only dared to speak softly and pretended to repeat the maid's reply.

Yan Zhiwei dared not provoke this inspector again.

She had just spoken to the kitchen helper and learned that he was extremely difficult to deal with, with very picky tastes—he couldn't have ginger in steamed fish, couldn't have garlic when stir-frying, and basically wouldn't touch scallions. He would vomit uncontrollably just from smelling those three things.

That's outrageous.

If Yan Zhiwei were to complain, this person's tongue is as nimble as a horsewhip. Let alone swallowing arsenic, he should jump three meters high as soon as arsenic touches his teeth and immediately notice something is wrong!

I wonder how devastated his private chef must be. To have such a master is a misfortune for the family, and a chef's life is hopeless.

But this is not something Yan Zhiwei should worry about. The important thing right now is to reveal the truth to the public and clear people's names.

Yan Zhiwei dropped the wooden stick in her hand, clapped her hands, and strode back to the kitchen. As if remembering something, she turned back at the threshold and saw that Inspector Zhu was still wiping his sleeves.

Yan Zhiwei forcefully twitched the corner of her mouth.

cut.