"My lord, I...I'm innocent! How could I possibly poison my own restaurant? You can't believe it!" Xie Changsan knelt on the ground, crying out his innocence.

Indeed, it is strange. No normal person would poison their own restaurant's customers, as this would be a fatal blow to both the restaurant and their reputation.

However, after careful questioning, Magistrate Duan learned that Xie Changsan's cook had taken leave to return to his hometown for the past few days, and he had been the one doing all the work.

As for the waiter, he was Xie Changsan's nephew, who was only fourteen years old this year. Xie Changsan usually doted on this nephew and would give him extra copper coins as pocket money every time he gave him his monthly allowance.

Therefore, Xie Changsan's nephew is most likely also ruled out.

The strange thing is that since no one poisoned the restaurant, it can't be that the customers are maliciously smearing the restaurant. If that were the case, why have people who have eaten at Furong Restaurant in the past two days experienced symptoms ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to life-threatening situations?

The case was like a swamp with no clues, and even the usually intelligent Magistrate Duan couldn't find a way out for a while.

"Alright, alright, let's take him into custody for now!" Magistrate Duan said helplessly, glancing at Xie Changsan below the court.

"My lord! Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Could you please make an exception and let me have a happy reunion with my family?" Xie Changsan kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy upon hearing that he was to be detained.

Now Magistrate Duan was in a dilemma. From some perspectives, Xie Changsan did not have the motive to actively poison the poison, but it was also impossible to prove that he did not poison the poison. It was impossible to release someone in such an unsolved case.

Just as Xie Changsan was about to be taken to the prison by the yamen runners, a scene flashed through his mind.

He hurriedly struggled to speak to Magistrate Duan, saying, "Your Honor! Your Honor! I've remembered something! I beg Your Honor to investigate!"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Duan immediately ordered his constables to release Xie Changsan. Xie Changsan knelt on the ground again and said to Magistrate Duan, "Your Honor, on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, an old woman came to my Furong Pavilion. She said she had a batch of salt that she could sell at a low price..."

"How dare you! Xie Changsan, do you know that the most serious crime of illegally buying and selling salt is death?!" Before Xie Changsan could finish speaking, Magistrate Duan slammed his gavel heavily onto the table.

Xie Changsan knew this principle all too well. Now he truly regretted why he had been so greedy as to buy the old woman's salt. Now, not only was he being talked about by everyone, but he also couldn't go home and could only kneel on this cold ground, living in fear.

"My lord, please...please forgive me! I...I was blinded by greed! I promise I won't do it again! Please forgive me, my lord, for this is my first offense!" Xie Changsan kowtowed several times.

Magistrate Duan was in a terrible headache. He hadn't expected such a mess to happen at the end of the year.

Last night, someone reported that after eating at Furong Restaurant, all the diners experienced vomiting and diarrhea, and some even fell into a coma. Upon hearing this, Magistrate Duan immediately sent people to seal off Furong Restaurant and arrest the manager.

After an afternoon and a morning of interrogation, no valuable information was obtained.

Everything in the Hibiscus Pavilion has been tested for poison, and there are no problems whatsoever.

Hearing Xie Changsan say this, Magistrate Duan seemed to see a glimmer of hope. He knew that scolding Xie Changsan would be futile, so he rubbed his throbbing temples and angrily rebuked him: "Xie Changsan, I'm only doing this because it's your first offense. You'd better tell me everything you know clearly. If you miss a single thing, you'll be punished!"

After listening, Xie Changsan shrank his neck and cautiously glanced at Magistrate Duan before saying, "A few days ago, the chef at Furong Pavilion asked for a few days off because of some business. I figured it was almost Chinese New Year anyway, so I gave the chef the day off. I'm a chef by trade, so I can manage for the next few days. But because I've been quite busy these past few days, the kitchen is almost out of salt. I was going to go to the general store to buy some, but as soon as I stepped out, I ran into an old lady!"

"My nephew has bought vegetables from that old lady's stall a few times and had her deliver them. Her vegetables are of good quality, and we've gotten to know each other over time! Yesterday, the old lady mysteriously pulled a cloth bag from her pocket; it was filled with snow-white salt. She told me it was a gift from a relative, and since she couldn't eat that much, she decided to do me a favor and sold me three pounds of salt for less than half the price of what you'd find at a grocery store!"

At this point, Xie Changsan regretted it even more. He pounded his chest a few times and continued, "At first, I was scared too. After all, buying and selling smuggled salt is illegal. But looking at the old lady and thinking about the previous transactions, I decided to take a gamble! After all, the price was cheap! And I tasted it lightly, and this salt was saltier than the salt I usually buy, and it was even a little bitter."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Duan frowned and interrupted, "What? It tastes bitter? Don't you think there's something wrong with it? Why did you accept it so rashly?"

"I...I thought I had dipped it in too much, and when I used it to cook later, it didn't taste bitter at all. Who...who would have thought..."

At this point, Xie Changsan burst into tears, looking extremely disheveled.

Magistrate Duan shook his head helplessly, glanced at Zhao Liu beside him, and instructed, "Liu Zi, go and bring the salt from Furong Pavilion!"

Zhao Liu nodded and disappeared from everyone's sight like a gust of wind.

"Xie Changshan, I ask you, do you recognize that old lady? What is her name? Where does she live?"

Xie Changsan bit his lip and darted around for a long time before saying, "I don't know what that old lady's name is. I only heard that her surname is Lu, and she seems to be from Lujia Village, which is under the jurisdiction of Changning Town!"

"Lu Family Village?" Magistrate Duan frowned upon hearing these three words.

"What did the old woman look like?" Magistrate Duan asked, barely suppressing his anger.

“Dark skin, thin build, sharp face, and small eyes,” Xie Changsan replied after a moment’s thought.

Magistrate Duan nodded and continued to press, "I'll take you to identify the person. Can you recognize who it is?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Changsan nodded vigorously, muttering repeatedly, "I recognize him! I recognize him!"

Just then, Zhao Liu brought the cloth bag back. Magistrate Duan looked inside and saw that the salt inside was as white as snow and seemed to be finer than ordinary salt.

After Magistrate Duan whispered something to Zhao Liu, Zhao Liu led several constables to escort Xie Changsan towards Lujia Village.

Lujia Village, Jiang Family.

As Jiang Ling looked at the bright red cloth bag in the room, a modern idea suddenly popped into her mind.

Would it be better to sell some of the actions as lucky bags or blind boxes?

Thinking of this, Jiang Ling glanced outside the door. Everyone was outside, and she was the only one in the room. Jiang Ling quickly pulled out a small notebook and ballpoint pen she had bought from the mall from under the bed and began to sketch out the relevant matters about the lucky bag blind box.