Cao's house was already full of people inside and outside. The people knew early on that the ginkgo paste was to be sold to the capital, and they also knew that Huo Jincheng, who had transported relief money and food last time, had already paid the deposit.
Ginkgo paste is related to the livelihood of the entire county. How can everyone not care about this matter? If someone really died after eating it, who would dare to buy it in the capital?
As Jian Ning and Cai Sibei rounded the courtyard wall, they heard a commotion in the Cao family's yard. Someone outside saw her approaching with her medicine box and shouted, "The official's wife is here. If you don't dare drink, make her drink it. Make her drink it in public for everyone to see!"
The person who shouted this was a skinny, yellow-skinned man. Jian Ning glanced at him and recognized him as the vendor who had been setting up a wonton stall diagonally opposite the yamen a few days ago.
Well, this was organized, premeditated, and planned long ago. She immediately realized that the mastermind behind this was definitely Prince Yong. Because the news of the ginkgo paste hadn't spread outside, only Huo Jincheng knew about it. Huo Jincheng would definitely mention it to the Crown Prince, so it seemed the news had most likely leaked from the Eastern Palace.
She wanted to tell Ma Fuquan and ask him to tell Huo Jincheng to purge Prince Yong's spies from the Eastern Palace. When she thought of Ma Fuquan, her heart skipped a beat, her steps faltered, and she hurriedly sent a message to Ma Fuquan.
Jian Ning: [Brother Ma, the ginkgo paste has been poisoned. Has my sister-in-law eaten it yet?]
Ma Fuquan replied immediately: [Not yet, I took it out, but I haven’t returned yet. What happened?]
Jian Ning breathed a sigh of relief: "Tell Huo Jincheng that the Eastern Palace is not clean. We'll talk about it later. I have something wrong."
Ma Fuquan: [Okay, be careful.]
Jane Ning: [I know, I will be careful.]
In the yard, there was the same old man from before. Five or six people gathered around him, led by him, and they were clamoring for Cao to open another can in public and drink it to see whether it was poisonous or not.
"Anyone who says the ointment isn't poisonous can come forward and drink some." The old man glanced smugly at the people in the yard, "Does anyone dare to stand up?
"We'll know if it's poisonous after testing it." Jian Ning shouted, and the people crowded at the door made way. Someone shouted to Cao, "Da Li's mother, the Madam is here!"
Cao had already rushed towards Jian Ning. She pulled Jian Ning to the old man and pointed at him, "I don't know where this damn old man came from. I don't know what evil intentions he has. He keeps insisting that we poisoned the ointment and killed Song Dazhi. This is really an injustice!"
She slapped her thighs repeatedly.
"Aunt, don't worry. Even if it's poisoned, we don't know who put it there." Jian Ning remained calm. She glanced at Song Dazhi, who lay on the ground and was probably dead. She then glanced at the old man and the people around him. She said coldly, "I've never seen you guys before today. I don't think you're from this county. I'm sorry you're so enthusiastic. This princess will definitely give you an explanation."
Since they were sent by Prince Yong, she naturally had to display her princess's aura to intimidate them psychologically. You have to know that she was not some grassroots princess. Behind her, Princess An Ning, stood the renowned Prince Pingnan!
Jian Ning calmly took out a silver needle from the medicine box. Before she could say anything, Cao had already peeled off the seals of several cans. When other people saw this, they also came forward to help.
"Why didn't I think of using silver needles to test the poison? I made them so angry that they lost their minds!" Cao had a silver hairpin on her head, while other women in the county had a piece of flowered cloth on their heads. The valuable items in their homes had been exchanged for grain and firewood over the years.
Jian Ning smiled, took out the silver needle, and waved it towards the old man and the others, "Look, the silver needle hasn't changed color, it's non-toxic."
The old man sneered, looking like he was enjoying a show. Someone beside him said, "If this jar isn't poisonous, how do you know the others aren't?"
Seeing the old man's calm demeanor, Jian Ning's heart skipped a beat. She then glanced at the rows of cans neatly stacked on the ground. She turned to look at Cao, then glanced at the dead Song Dazhi. "How many kilograms of cans did he drink? Was it thick, thin, or medium?"
"It's a pound of thin liquid." Song Dazhi's sister said first with red eyes, "I gave it to him. It's in the row at the very edge."
She pointed to the row of small jars on the left, and immediately some people came over with a jar, removed the sealing paper and handed it to Jane Ning.
Jian Ning inserted the silver needle, counted to three seconds silently, and took it out. The silver needle had become as thick as ink. Cao was stunned.
"Hehe." The old man chuckled sinisterly, then glanced at the people present and said loudly in a sinister tone, "This rare food must be sold exclusively to the common people. What a princess! Under the guise of benefiting the people, she first gained a good reputation and deceived the people's trust, but secretly poisoned us to death! Is she trying to kill us lowly people so that she can embezzle the relief food allocated by the court in the future? Huh?"
The people inside and outside the courtyard were in an uproar, just because the rare price was 180 wen. Some of them thought about buying a can and storing it at home. That thing can not only relieve coughs and be used as medicine, but also beautify the skin. Where can you find such a good thing?
People's hearts are easily deceived, not to mention that interests are involved. At that moment, some people looked at Jian Ning with suspicion, suspecting that she really wanted to murder them and embezzle the subsequent relief food.
There was more than just food, there was also silver and a lot of live poultry. Thinking of this, some of the people who were originally standing next to Jian Ning subconsciously took a few steps back.
Jian Ning saw this and felt upset. She had seen such things in her previous life. Anything related to interests can best test a person's true nature.
But now is not the time to worry about these things. Time will tell what kind of person Jane Ning is. She cannot let the people present be fooled by that old man.
Jian Ning glanced at him and snorted coldly, "If I wanted to harm the people, I wouldn't charge a penny. Wouldn't it be easier to just give each family a can?" She cupped her fists and bowed to the people present. Then she shouted, "I'd like to ask everyone, if ginkgo paste can be poisoned, can apples be poisoned as well? If I really wanted to harm you, I could just put the poison on the skin of the apples. Has anyone in your family had any problems after eating apples?"
"No! I believe Madam will never harm us!" Cao took the lead and shouted.
Many people followed suit and shouted, "No, we also believe the county magistrate's wife!"
The old man shouted, "How can it be the same? Don't be fooled by her words. Wash the fruit and the poison will be washed away. She won't leave any poison on the outside of the fruit."
"Yes, that's right! I almost got fooled by her!" The yellow-skinned man who was selling wontons outside the gate rushed in and shouted.
Cao and the man were arguing, each side recruiting supporters. As the argument escalated, Cai Sibei, who had inspected Song Dazhi's body and was still questioning his sister about what had happened, suddenly raised her arm and shouted, "I have a way to verify the cause of death!"
He shouted so loudly that the yard became quiet in an instant and all eyes turned to him.
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