Suotou squatted beside his mother, holding his head, his face covered in tears. He probably had no idea what the people around him were arguing about! He was just worried that his mother would never wake up again.
"So you're saying there's something wrong with the food you brought home with this lock? You're trying to extort me, aren't you? We'll talk about this later!"
"Doctor, how is Aunt Suotou's condition?"
Seeing the old woman's expression, Qin San Niang felt that now was not the time to deal with other problems, especially since these people clearly had premeditated this! Trying to extort her?! She'd have to turn them upside down sooner or later!
Upon hearing the inquiry, the doctor looked up, thinking that after all this time, finally someone sensible had come. He then said, "The old woman with the lock-head is indeed showing symptoms of poisoning. She's old, and her condition is not good!"
Qin San Niang stepped forward and placed three fingers on Suo Tou Niang's wrist. Her pulse was weak and her lips were cyanotic, indicating moderate dehydration. It was estimated that her diarrhea was too severe!
"Doctor, please prescribe some antidiarrheal medication for Suotou's mother to drink, it will also help her regain some fluids." After saying that, he turned to Suotou, who was squatting beside him, and said, "Suotou, do you want to save your mother?"
Suotou's eyes finally focused, and he nodded at Qin Sanniang. This was the older sister who had served them meals during the day; she was a good person!
"Suotou, bring over the food you ate tonight. Is there anything left?" Qin Sanniang said slowly, her tone calm and firm. Even Suotou's brothers didn't dare to disobey! The man who had spoken earlier paused for a moment, then stopped her.
"Lockhead, don't listen to this poisonous woman's nonsense. She's planning to poison you and your mother! Besides, didn't you already eat your food?"
Wu Chunhua wasn't going to tolerate him, and immediately slapped him across the face. "Bullshit! How dare you call our Third Sister a poisonous woman? You scorpion, your whole family are scorpions!"
"You're so capable and filial, why don't you think about treating your sister's illness? Wasn't this doctor invited by our village head? How come you arrived so promptly? You don't usually see each other, do you? What a coincidence that you came today! The moment you arrived, Suotou's mother fell ill. I find this all too coincidental. It's quite possible you poisoned her, trying to extort money from us!"
Wu Chunhua was a woman, and Qiu Laoda was furious that he had been slapped for no reason, but he couldn't hit a woman! He could only swallow his anger and wait and see how he dealt with them later!
"Oh dear, now that you mention it, it really is true! I always felt something was off. Lock-Head's brothers only come once a year, and they usually just come to freeload! What's going on today? It's almost night, and they're already visiting. Lock-Head couldn't have gone to call them, he doesn't even know the way!"
"Yes, that's really strange. Who went there and made that call?"
...
Everyone started chattering amongst themselves. Uncle Suotou, his face dark with anger, stared at Wu Chunhua, unable to utter a single word. Wu Chunhua, like a victorious hen, stood there proudly and defiantly.
“If you discover that there’s more to today’s events than meets the eye, don’t blame me for being ruthless. We’ll see you in court! Maliciously causing someone’s death and framing someone else for financial gain—both crimes combined—is enough to keep you in jail for a few years!” He Yingyuan said softly.
“Who are you? What are you saying about going to the yamen? What are you trying to scare people with? Is the yamen a place you can just go to? Does the county magistrate even know you?” said another of the lock-head woman’s brothers.
"This is our Shiligou scholar, the top scholar in the imperial examination! He doesn't even have to kneel before the county magistrate! Do you think he can see the county magistrate? Can he punish you?" Chen Sheng shouted sternly. These people were simply going too far! Just now, they were all so arrogant, not taking him, the village head, seriously at all. They were utterly despicable!
Upon hearing He Yingyuan's identity, the Qiu brothers fell silent, stammering and mumbling something unintelligible.
Uncle Suotou hated Chen Guang'an even more for bringing him the message. They met at the casino and had some interactions. He said that Suotou's mother had been poisoned and had eaten the food of the new rich family!
A thought flashed through his mind. He had heard that the family was very wealthy. If that was the case, his sister's poisoning wasn't such a bad thing. In fact, it might even be somewhat useful, as he could at least extort some money from them!
Sigh, my sister's health isn't very good anymore, so this is her way of helping her brothers out in the end...
So, as soon as he got off the shadowy figure, he gathered a few other brothers and came to Shiligou in a grand procession.
Unexpectedly, the village head of Shiligou was a tough nut to crack; he simply refused to hand over the family, and the surrounding villagers kept trying to defend them. Didn't Chen Guang'an say that this family had just settled in Shiligou? Why are so many people speaking up for them? Could they be lying to him?
Regardless of what they were thinking, Suotou acted as if he hadn't seen his uncles at all, and quickly went to the kitchen stove to take out a rice bowl, which contained some leftover sorghum rice and half a piece of meat!
Qin San Niang tried to look closely, but the light was too dim, and she couldn't see anything at all! Helpless, she had to take out her flashlight.
As soon as the lights came on, it was as bright as day! This drew a sigh of admiration from everyone.
Qin San Niang picked up a piece of rice in front of everyone, and there were indeed some crumbs in it.
He Yingyuan was the first to react, turning to signal Luo Huan to take a look. He knew Luo Huan's abilities; he was quite accomplished in the field of poisons.
Although Luo Huan was surprised, he didn't have time to think too much and quickly stepped forward to examine it. Almost at a glance, he said with certainty, "This is croton seed. Although it's been crushed, it's definitely croton seed!"
It's understandable that Qin San Niang, a forensic doctor, would know about Croton tiglium, but I'm surprised at how she knew about it.
"Did you hear that? This is croton! Who put croton in the rice? And the croton isn't evenly distributed, so it must have been put in not long ago."
"If the problem originated in my house, Suotou should have shown symptoms after lunch, so the perpetrator must have committed the crime during the time Suotou returned home," Qin Sanniang said to Suotou's uncle and the others, also for the people of Shiligou present to hear.
However, from this perspective, Suotou's uncles also have alibis.
"Suotou, give this to your mother. It's medicine, don't worry. Doctor, please prescribe an antidote for croton poisoning." Qin Sanniang took out a bag of pure milk and handed it to Suotou. Since it was croton poisoning, milk could also protect the gastric mucosa.
The doctor had initially wanted to examine the packet of liquid, wondering what it was that he'd never seen before. But when he heard that he needed a prescription, he couldn't worry about that anymore; saving the life was the priority!
Now that he knew it was croton poisoning, things became much easier. He quickly wrote out a prescription and gathered the necessary herbs. None of the herbs were expensive; they were all common stock in his medicine chest. How lucky he was!
This woman was truly remarkable; she could recognize croton seeds at a glance. He knew he didn't have that ability, but he was just a traveling doctor, so he shouldn't have too high expectations. Being able to treat minor ailments like headaches and fevers was already quite good!
When Qin San Niang took the prescription, she saw that it contained calamus, coptis, phellodendron, and gypsum, all of which were indeed for treating croton poisoning.
Lockhead's mother loved her son dearly. She was probably afraid that Lockhead would be hungry at night, so she didn't finish her food and only ate a small portion. This actually saved her life!
The love of parents for their child is truly touching!
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