Chapter 396 A Series of Deadly Schemes, Turning the Tables
Qin Zheng's jeep came to a stop at the gate of the courtyard, the tires screeching on the bluestone slabs.
He jumped out of the car, his face ashen.
"Young Miss, something has happened."
Su Wantang was watering the crabapple blossoms in the yard when she heard this and looked up.
Qin Zheng walked up to her and lowered his voice: "You should check the trunk."
Lu Jingyan came out of the house, holding a document in his hand. He glanced at Qin Zheng's expression, threw the document on the table, and then walked to the back of the car.
Qin Zheng opened the trunk.
There was someone lying inside.
His neck was twisted at an eerie angle, his skull was collapsed, and brain matter mixed with blood flowed out of his ears, congealing into a blackish-red puddle on the canvas.
The dead man's eyes were still open, his pupils dilated, his eyes wide open in death.
Lu Jingyan narrowed his eyes.
"who?"
“A maintenance worker from the waterworks,” Qin Zheng said. “I caught him outside the wall of the Lu family’s old house at 11 p.m. last night.”
Su Wantang walked over and glanced at the corpse.
What is he trying to do?
"Poisoning the water source." Qin Zheng took a small porcelain bottle out of his pocket. "I sent this to be tested, and it's mercuric chloride."
Lu Jingyan took the bottle and smelled it.
Is the dosage sufficient?
“That’s enough,” Qin Zheng said. “The well in the old house is separate. If we drink this bottle, the whole family will be poisoned.”
Su Wantang turned around and went back into the room, taking a magnifying glass out of the drawer.
She walked back to the car, squatted down, and carefully examined the corpse's fingers with a magnifying glass.
There is dirt under my fingernails.
There are two very shallow calluses on the pads of my right index and middle fingers.
She stood up.
"A person who holds a pen all year round."
Qin Zheng nodded: "I noticed that too, so I checked his file."
He took a document out of his pocket and handed it to Su Wantang.
"This man is called Wu Cheng. On the surface, he is a maintenance worker at the waterworks, but in reality, he is a temporary worker at the Institute of Botany."
Su Wantang opened the file.
The person in the photo is in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and looks very refined.
"Plant Research Institute?"
“Yes,” Qin Zheng said. “I sent someone to investigate. This person suddenly resigned a month ago, saying that there were family matters.”
Lu Jingyan took the file from her and quickly scanned it.
"The Eagle's Nest's eyes and ears."
Su Wantang didn't speak, she just stared at the corpse.
After a while, she said, "Take the body to the basement and freeze it, so no one will find it."
Qin Zheng responded and closed the trunk.
After the jeep drove away, the yard became quiet.
Lu Jingyan stood beside her, his voice low: "What are you thinking about?"
“Eagle Nest has its eye on Jingyue,” Su Wantang said. “And they know I’m helping her detoxify.”
"what to do?"
Su Wantang turned her head and looked at him.
"Go against the grain."
Lu Jingyan raised an eyebrow.
"What's the meaning?"
“Since they want to know what medicine I use, then let them know,” Su Wantang said. “But what I give them isn’t the real thing.”
Lu Jingyan understood.
He smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"You've got a really bad brain."
Su Wantang slapped his hand away.
"Stop talking nonsense and go call Wang Ma."
Ten minutes later, Wang Ma came out of the kitchen.
She hadn't taken off her apron yet, and her hands were covered in flour.
"Young Miss, what brings you here?"
Su Wantang pointed to a pile of medicine dregs on the table.
"Put these things in a sack and have someone throw them in the Xicheng District garbage collection point tonight."
Wang Ma was stunned for a moment.
"Just throw it away like that?"
“Yes, just throw it like that,” Su Wantang said. “Don’t cover it up, let people see.”
Although Wang Ma didn't understand, she still nodded.
"I see."
She packed up the dregs of the medicine, picked up the sack, and went out.
Lu Jingyan leaned against the door frame, looking at Su Wantang.
"Do you really think they'll take the bait?"
"Yes," Su Wantang said. "Eagle Nest is now eager to know what medicine I will use to detoxify Jingyue. These medicine residues are their lifeline."
Lu Jingyan lit a cigarette.
"So what did you add to the dregs of the medicine?"
Su Wantang smiled.
"Heartbreak Grass".
Lu Jingyan almost dropped his cigarette.
"Are you crazy?"
“I’m not crazy,” Su Wantang said. “The toxicity of the poisonous plant Gelsemium elegans is doubled when it comes into contact with mercuric chloride.”
She paused.
"Anyone who takes this dregs for testing and inhales it through their nose will die on the spot."
Lu Jingyan remained silent for a few seconds.
"Wantang, you're so cruel."
Su Wantang didn't reply, but walked to the window and looked at the sky outside.
Night falls.
At a garbage collection point in Xicheng District, a man in a Zhongshan suit stood in a corner.
He was in his forties, with his hair neatly combed and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
This man is Wu Zhengping, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Botany.
On the surface, they are engaged in scientific research, but in reality, they are core members of the Eagle's Nest, codenamed "Gardener".
He was holding a flashlight and rummaging through the garbage.
After searching for more than ten minutes, we finally found the burlap sack.
He opened the sack and shone a flashlight inside.
It was full of dregs.
Wu Zhengping's eyes lit up.
He carefully grabbed a handful from the sack and smelled it.
A strong herbal aroma.
He smiled.
"Found it."
He hoisted the sack onto his shoulder and hurried away.
It was already 1 a.m. when I got back to the research institute.
Wu Zhengping opened the laboratory door and placed the sack on the table.
He put on gloves and began sorting the dregs of the medicine.
He meticulously categorized, weighed, and recorded each type of medicinal herb.
He worked until 3 a.m. before finally recording the ingredients of all the medicinal herbs.
He sat in the chair, looking at the list with a greedy glint in his eyes.
"Atractylodes macrocephala, oh Atractylodes macrocephala, I've finally gotten my hands on your formula."
He stood up, walked to the medicine cabinet, and began dispensing the medicine according to the ingredients on the list.
Half an hour later, a bottle of colorless and odorless liquid was prepared.
Wu Zhengping picked up the bottle and examined it against the light.
“A catalyst,” he muttered to himself. “This stuff will accelerate the eruption of the toxins in Lu Jingyue’s body. She will die suddenly in three days at most.”
He put the bottle in his pocket, turned off the light, and left the lab.
The next afternoon, Su Wantang gave Lu Jingyue acupuncture in the basement.
Lu Jingyue lay on the bed, her face pale and her breathing weak.
Su Wantang picked up a silver needle, about to insert it, when she suddenly stopped.
Her nose twitched.
There was a faint smell of bitter almonds in the air.
She squinted.
"Qin Zheng".
Qin Zheng walked in through the door.
"Young Miss".
"Check the ventilation openings," Su Wantang said. "Someone has put something in them."
Qin Zheng immediately turned around and left.
Five minutes later, he returned with a small porcelain bottle.
"Found in the vent."
Su Wantang took the bottle, opened the cap, and smelled it.
The bitter almond flavor is stronger now.
She smiled.
"They arrived quite quickly."
Qin Zheng frowned: "What is this?"
“A catalyst,” Su Wantang said, “used to accelerate the bursting of toxins.”
She placed the bottle on the table.
"However, they miscalculated one thing."
"What?"
"When combined with Gelsemium elegans, it produces a highly toxic gas," Su Wantang said. "If anyone inhales it, not even a miracle can save them."
Qin Zheng was stunned for a moment.
"You mean..."
“Yes.” Su Wantang nodded. “The person who prepared this medicine is already dead.”
Meanwhile, in the laboratory of the Institute of Botany.
Wu Zhengping lay face down on the table, foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
His skin began to fester and become a bloody mess.
The assistant pushed open the door, saw this scene, and screamed in fright.
"Help! Help!"
He rushed out of the lab and ran into the corridor.
Before he could run more than a few steps, he was stopped by several people dressed in black.
Leading the group is Lei Dun.
He grabbed his assistant by the neck and dragged him back to the lab.
"Shut up."
The assistant was trembling with fear.
Lei Dun glanced at Wu Zhengping on the table and frowned.
"He died a truly tragic death."
He turned his head and looked at his assistant.
"Tell me, what has your professor been up to lately?"
The assistant stammered, "I...I don't know..."
Lei Dun slapped him across the face.
"have no idea?"
The assistant covered her face, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I really don't know! The professor has been busy with experiments lately and won't let me get involved!"
Lei Dun sneered.
"Do you know who his superior is?"
The assistant was taken aback.
"Log...on?"
Lei Dun slapped him again.
Stop pretending.
The assistant was so badly beaten that he saw stars.
"I...I really don't know...but...but I overheard the professor making a few phone calls, and the other person's name seemed to be...a banker..."
Lei Dun narrowed his eyes.
"banker?"
“Yes…yes…” The assistant nodded vigorously.
Lei Dun released his grip, and his assistant collapsed to the ground.
"Take him away," Lei Dun told his men. "Don't let him die."
Two men in black grabbed the assistant and dragged him outside.
Lei Dun walked to the table and looked at Wu Zhengping's corpse.
He pulled a walkie-talkie out of his pocket.
"Young Miss, the person is dead. The assistant has been caught."
Su Wantang's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Did they find anything out during the interrogation?"
"The investigation is complete," Lei Dun said. "The gardener's superior is called the banker, and he's preparing to cut off the Lu family's funding chain."
There was a few seconds of silence on the walkie-talkie.
Then Su Wantang spoke up: "Bring the body back."
Lei Dun was stunned for a moment.
"A corpse?"
“Yes,” Su Wantang said, “I want to use him to send a big gift to Eagle’s Nest.”
Lei Dun smiled.
"clear."
He hung up the walkie-talkie and told his men, "Pack up the body and take it back to Courtyard No. 1."
Late at night, in the basement.
Su Wantang stood in front of Wu Zhengping's body, holding a silver needle in her hand.
Lu Jingyan leaned against the door frame, looking at her.
What are you going to do?
Su Wantang didn't reply, but bent down and poked a hole in the corpse's pocket with a silver needle.
Then she picked up a piece of paper from the table, folded it into a small square, and put it in her pocket.
The paper had a string of Morse code written on it.
Lu Jingyan walked over and glanced at the paper.
"What's this?"
“A letter to Mr. Shadow,” Su Wantang said. “Tell him that his gardener is dead, and the next one will be his banker.”
Lu Jingyan smiled.
"You're provoking him."
“No.” Su Wantang stood up and looked at him. “I’m telling him that I can kill his people whenever I want.”
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