“My men will make their own decisions, so there’s no need for you, Wang Sizhi, to worry about it,” Shen Yao retorted.
"This Lord Shen's attitude of asking for favors is as usual. No wonder he is almost thirty years old and still doesn't have a wife."
"Likewise, if Wang Sizhi is not anxious about the marriage, then I am naturally not in a hurry either."
Watching her senior sister and Lord Shen bickering, Su Yan was very curious about how the two of them had come to have such a grudge.
Although the two didn't get along from the very beginning, they didn't neglect their important business at all.
After examining the body, Wang Ruofu quickly identified the source of the poison.
It is a kind of poison in the martial arts world called "Gouwen". If ingested, it will cause the intestines to rupture and the stomach to rot. There is no antidote, and one can only die in agony.
The poison of Gelsemium elegans is not only rare but also extremely difficult to prepare. It requires the scales from the wings of a butterfly called the peacock butterfly to make, and it was almost extinct. Unexpectedly, it has reappeared in the world.
"Does this poison only affect men over thirty?" Su Yan asked curiously.
After hearing this, Wang Ruofu couldn't help but laugh. "How could that be? Gelsemium elegans is a poison that kills anyone, regardless of age, gender, whether they fly, walk, or swim. It's not like poison only targets men over thirty. Poison isn't like the King of Hell's spellbook, where he can take anyone he wants to die."
"That means the murderer's method of poisoning was targeted, so the possibility of poisoning through water sources can be ruled out first."
Shen Yao nodded in agreement, "The Wu, Sun, and Zhao families have a long-standing feud. No matter which of the Wu or Sun families poisoned the Zhao family, they will be on guard. I think we should first find out why the murderer targeted members of the Zhao family who are over thirty years old."
Watching the two men passionately discussing the case, Wang Ruofu couldn't help but tease them, "What's the point of you guessing here? Do you think the murderer will come knocking on your door? We should go to the village and find out more first. As for me, I'll take my leave now."
Upon hearing that Wang Ruofu was leaving, Su Yan excitedly grabbed her hand, "Where is Director Wang going? Aren't you going to help us investigate the case?"
Wang Ruofu looked at the young man who grabbed her hand. She had never seen a man so enthusiastic and unrestrained, touching her hand right away.
However, she didn't mind Su Yan's audacity, because she couldn't see any frivolity in Su Yan's eyes. Instead, she felt a long-lost sense of intimacy, as if they were old friends.
The sight of Su Yan always reminded her of people from her past.
She patted his hand with a smile, "Xiao Yan, I'm just here to help you with the source of the poison. I can't stay too long; I have important business to attend to."
Although Su Yan was reluctant to part with her, she couldn't force her to stay, so she had no choice but to say goodbye to her senior sister.
Shen Yao was furious when he saw Su Yan looking completely infatuated with Wang Ruofu.
Always sarcastic, he stood by and watched the two lovers say goodbye.
Before leaving, Wang Ruofu whispered something in Su Yan's ear, which aroused Shen Yao's curiosity.
As Wang Ruofu mounted his horse and rode away, he quietly moved behind Su Yan and asked abruptly, "What did she tell you?"
A voice suddenly sounded behind her, startling Su Yan. Still shaken, she patted her heart and scolded, "You blockhead, you almost scared me to death!"
Shen Yao's face instantly fell, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Who are you calling a blockhead, Su Yan? I'm your boss."
In the past few days, Su Yan had already figured out that Shen Yao was cold on the outside but soft on the inside and stubborn on the outside. Once they got to know each other well, Su Yan would fall into her old habit of not having any boundaries with people she knew.
Realizing she had misspoke, Su Yan smiled and explained, "My lord, you misheard me. I meant 'blockhead.' You are a good official revered by all the people."
Shen Yao didn't care about the nickname Su Yan gave him; what he cared about was whether Wang Ruofu was talking badly about him.
"Stop flattering me. What did Wang Ruofu tell you?"
Seeing that Shen Yao wasn't angry, Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief; she had thought she was doomed.
"Director Wang said there is a way to poison someone that is not only convenient but also difficult for others to detect."
"In what way?"
“There is an insect called the fire bee, which loves to suck human blood. It will crawl into a person’s ear, drink the blood, and then fly away without leaving any trace. Wang Sizhi guessed that the murderer trained the fire bees and coated them with Gelsemium elegans. Once a fire bee bites a person, even a great god would find it difficult to save them.”
Pear Blossom Village is located in the southwest, where strange insects and animals are common, so catching a fire bee is not difficult at all.
“What Wang Ruofu said makes sense, but investigating is not an easy task. Let’s go to Pear Blossom Village first,” Shen Yao suggested.
Su Yan agreed with Shen Yao's idea. The key was to find out the grudge between the murderer and the Zhao family, as well as the motive for the murder.
Su Yan and Shen Yao visited Pear Blossom Village once again. Perhaps knowing their identities as officials, the village was much more lively than the last time.
but……
However, it wasn't the lively scene Su Yan had imagined. As soon as the two entered the village, the Zhao family members chased them out with sticks, clearly showing their disapproval of the government officials.
Su Yan and Shen Yao were completely bewildered. How could they stand up for the victim and be kicked out?
"Lord Shen, what's going on with the Zhao family? Why did they kick us out?"
Shen Yao was also bewildered. "This is really strange. It seems like the Zhao family doesn't want us to continue investigating this case."
“Something is definitely amiss, sir. Do you think it’s possible that the Zhao family members have turned against themselves?”
After listening, Shen Yao couldn't help but laugh. "Are you stupid? Would you poison your own family? Even if you wanted to, why would you only harm men over thirty, while sparing women and children? That doesn't make sense."
"Lord Shen is right. To nip the problem in the bud, we must first understand the whole story. However, the Zhao family doesn't seem willing to cooperate with our investigation."
“Let’s go…” Shen Yao turned around and walked out of the village.
Su Yan called out to him, "Where are you going?"
"Go to the county government office and find Xu Qinghe. Perhaps the Zhao family can give him some face."
"No need, sir. I know who we can contact to conduct the investigation."
"who?"
…………
Soon, Su Yan led Shen Yao to the door of Yang Da Sao's house.
“Lord Shen, I’ve investigated. Among the Zhao family members, only Sister-in-law Yang’s family was not involved in this case. I think she must know something.”
"She's a member of the Zhao family, will she cooperate with our investigation?"
Su Yan refuted Shen Yao's words without hesitation, "Lord Shen, you don't understand. The relationships between clans are not simple. They are the best way to show how people treat each other."
Look at Sister Yang's family situation. Their house is dilapidated and no one helps them. The mother and son are living such a hard life. It's clear that the Zhao family hasn't offered them any assistance. Sometimes, standing on the opposite side reveals people's hypocrisy even more clearly.
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