Not long after the scholar entered Shuangqiao Town, Cui Siniu also arrived at the town gate. She was covered in sweat and went straight to the spice shop. Her youngest daughter-in-law was feeling unwell and was clamoring for brown sugar and eggs.
It was supposed to be the youngest son who bought it.
But because he accompanied Lifang back to her parents' home, he accidentally fell on the way, and his ankle swelled up badly, so he had to buy it himself.
Of the three daughters-in-law, only the youngest daughter-in-law's womb was somewhat reliable.
For the sake of her eldest grandson, Cui Siniu naturally had to indulge her.
After buying brown sugar, she went to the butcher shop to buy some fatty pork. The lard at home had been used too extravagantly during the New Year and was almost gone. After buying it, she left the butcher shop with a bamboo basket on her shoulder.
As he walked onto the bustling street, he bumped into a scholar.
Upon seeing Cui Siniu's face, the scholar subconsciously released the gifts in his hand. His face was stiff, and his fingertips were trembling. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds.
"Ouch, that hurts so much! Are you blind? You kept running into me! If it weren't for the New Year, I would have made you pay for it!"
Cui Siniu rubbed her arms, muttering curses under her breath, completely oblivious to the scholar's expression.
Just as she was about to leave, the scholar grabbed her arm.
"You, you! You liar! You dared to sell poisonous flower cakes, and you still wanted to run away! Thank God, I finally caught you!"
The scholar's name was Chen Jinyan. He was a student and the only son in his family. His father died when he was young, and his elderly mother raised him by doing embroidery and also sent him to school. Last year, after buying flower cakes from Cui Siniu, he couldn't wait to take them home.
To let his mother try it, he handed her the first piece. Unexpectedly, although his mother swallowed the flower cake, she looked distressed.
They said it was a waste of money to buy this awful stuff.
Chen Jinyan found it strange, since he had eaten flower cakes before.
It tastes delicious! Why did Mom say it tastes bad?
With a puzzled look, Chen Jinyan put the half piece that her mother had left over to her mouth and took a bite.
"Pah, pah, pah! What is this? I've been tricked, Mom. You wait, I'm going to find them."
Chen Jinyan was furious.
Although the flower cakes in his hand weren't bought for half a tael of silver, they weren't cheap either, costing a full fifty coins. He bought two bags. His mother only earned a dozen coins for embroidering a handkerchief. This much money would have been enough for his mother to stay up for many nights.
Although he earned the money by copying books.
Can....
The thought of his mother's cloudy eyes, which had become blurry from doing more embroidery to earn money for his education, filled Chen Jinyan with immense guilt.
His original intention was simply to let his mother try this new thing, but he ended up wasting money.
He grabbed the remaining flower cakes and ran out in a flash.
It took a while to get to the place where I had just bought the flower cakes, but the couple was long gone.
Not only that, but there are also many people here looking for that couple, all of whom have discovered they were scammed and want to return the goods.
Disappointed, Chen Jinyan intended to throw away the flower cakes, but his mother ate them all for dinner while he was reading.
Chen Jinyan vomited and had diarrhea during the night, so she went to call a doctor.
However, all the doctors had been hired by other hospitals.
After searching through all the pharmacies in the town, he finally managed to find a traveling doctor.
He's only a mediocre doctor, but the medicine he prescribes is surprisingly strong.
Chen Jinyan's mother was already in poor health and had a hidden illness. After one night, she not only became dehydrated from diarrhea, but also vomited blood. She died on the third day.
After Chen Jinyan finished arranging his mother's funeral, he learned that the people who had bought flower cakes with him all had the same symptoms: vomiting and diarrhea. They ate little, so they recovered after taking the medicine for two days.
Chen Jinyan reported the incident to the authorities, but because Cui Siniu and her husband were not from the county, and the county officials were very perfunctory in handling the case.
So the matter was left unresolved.
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Chen Jinyan brought gifts to pay New Year's greetings to his late father's friend.
I bumped into the woman who sells flower cakes on the street.
His hands trembled with shock as he grabbed Cui Siniu and headed to the county government office.
They didn't even want the things on the ground anymore.
"Let go, you little beast! What are you doing grabbing me? Who lied to you? I never sold any flower cakes! Let go! Help! Robbery!"
Cui Siniu had long forgotten who Chen Jinyan was, but when she heard him say that he sold poisonous flower cakes...
Still terrified, she tried to break free from Chen Jinyan's grasp and flee.
However, Chen Jinyan, though a weak scholar, possessed extraordinary strength.
Facing the murderer of his mother, his hands gripped Cui Siniu's clothes like a lock, holding on tightly.
"What's that noise? Let's go outside and take a look."
Outside the county government office, the noise from Cui Siniu and Chen Jinyan disturbed Zuo Li.
He picked up his sword and led his brothers outside.
"Oh dear, Your Honor, please save this humble woman! This little beast is out of his mind. He bumped into me on the street and didn't even apologize. He's trying to extort money from me, saying I cheated him. Your Honor is my witness, I've never even seen this little beast before! Are you out of your mind? You dare to bother me in broad daylight! I think you're just trying to extort money from me!"
Cui Siniu saw the officials.
They were crying and howling.
They first falsely accused Chen Jinyan of being a liar.
“I am Chen Tongsheng from Anning Town, Pingdu County. Last winter, this woman and her husband were selling flower cakes in Anning Town. They were selling them as Yan's pastry shop flower cakes for a low price of 50 wen. Because I have a friend in Shuangqiao Town who had eaten Yan's flower cakes when he came to visit, and thought they tasted very good, I believed it and bought two bags. However, when I got home, I found that the flower cakes this woman was selling were simply inedible. So I went back to look for her, but I didn't expect that the woman had already run away. Not only that, many people who found out that they had been cheated also went back to the original place to look for her.”
Chen Jinyan stood straight, unperturbed by Cui Siniu's false accusations.
Instead, he explained everything to Zuo Li in a methodical and orderly manner.
"I returned home disappointed. My mother, because she was reluctant to spend 100 coins, secretly ate all the flower cakes. That night, she vomited and had diarrhea, and later even started vomiting blood. She died on the third day. Not only my mother, but everyone who bought flower cakes from this woman also vomited and had diarrhea, with the same symptoms. I quickly reported it to the authorities, but because this woman is cunning and not from Anning Town, we haven't been able to catch her. You can go to the county government office in Anning Town to inquire. Today, I was visiting a friend's house for the New Year and happened to run into her, so I arrested her and brought her to the county government office. Please, officers, do justice! She killed my mother. Selling these poisonous flower cakes is a crime deserving of death!"
Chen Jinyan released Cui Siniu's hands, bowed to Zuo Li, and gave a deep bow.
Scholars are often proud, and he was a student who had only completed the preliminary examinations.
Therefore, there is no need to kneel before officials without official rank.
His bow was enough to prove his sincerity.
Cui Siniu was so frightened that her legs went weak. She never expected that the scholar next to her would say that the flower cakes she sold had killed his mother.
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