Sisley Choi was the only educated member of his family, but as a young boy he learned autopsies from an old coroner who lived on the same street. Personally, he preferred to be a coroner, but his father wouldn't let him.
For no other reason than that being a coroner, like being a constable, was considered a lowly profession, and even their descendants were barred from taking the imperial examinations. After becoming county magistrate, he quietly revived his old hobby and paid close attention to it, making it easy for him to spot details that others had overlooked.
After he shouted, he saw that everyone in the courtyard had quieted down. He bowed to the old men and said calmly, "I just heard that you, like Cai, are not from this county. Cai came here to look for relatives. I guess you are here to do business. May I ask which of you is engaged in the oil cake business?"
"It's this old man!" After he finished speaking, some people pointed at the old man and shouted.
"That's right, it's me." The old man folded his arms and looked at Cai Sibei. Although he said "I'm a little old man", his attitude was "I'm the boss", as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
A barely perceptible smile appeared on Cai Sibei's dark and thin face. He asked the old man, "Did you give the copper money for the deceased's ointment?"
"He is not my son, why should I give him copper coins to buy ointment?" The old man denied it without thinking.
Jian Ning now understood Cai Sibei's intention. She asked, "Brother Cai, do you need a basin of clean water?"
"That's right." Sisley Choi nodded and looked at her approvingly.
Actually, Jian Ning had seen this in a costume drama—she forgot which one it was, but she remembered it involved throwing a copper coin into a basin of water and identifying its owner based on the oil splatter that floated on the surface. When Cai Sibei asked them who was selling the oil cakes, Jian Ning thought of the money Song Dazhi had used to buy the ginkgo paste.
Cao brought a basin of hot water. She wrapped the copper coins that Song Dazhi brought in a cloth and kept them in her arms. Jian Ning asked everyone to check the water in the basin first and found there was not a trace of oil, and then asked Cao to throw all the copper coins in.
At this time, Song Dazhi's sister had also realized that the pile of copper coins was counted by her and Cao together. She felt that it was a bit slippery when she counted it, but she didn't think much about it at the time. What was there that she didn't understand now?
She pointed at the old man and cursed, "What grudge do you have against my brother? Why would you poison him? He's never had a single bite of food in your house. I'll fight you to the death!"
Seeing that she was about to rush towards the old man, Jian Ning was afraid that if she started fighting, she would hurt the people present, so she quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Wait a minute!" Jian Ning said, "The copper coin is his, and there's no poison in it. The poison was put into our ginkgo paste. I was there from the time the fire was lit to the time the paste was canned. I only occasionally went to the next two courtyards to take a look. They hadn't been to this courtyard before I took Qiao Feng away. Think carefully about who came here after I left, and when did they come?"
As she finished speaking, Cao and the people gathered around the basin became excited, pointing at the water and shouting, "It's greasy! Look, there's a layer of oil!"
In an instant, everyone in the courtyard looked at the old man and the people beside him.
"Hahaha!" The old man threw his hands behind his back, raised his head and laughed a few times. Then he glanced at everyone fearlessly and said, "So what if I gave it to him? He didn't die of poisoning from eating my cakes and copper coins! Don't forget, he died of poisoning from eating the ointment that the princess had you make!"
"Bullshit!" Cao was furious, pointing at him and cursing, "You're definitely involved in this. I was told you're jumping around like that. You're not related to him at all, so how can a pancake seller like you be so kind?"
"Maybe he was the one who gave the poison to Song Dazhi. I don't know what words he used to trick him into putting the poison in the ointment. It turns out that they are the ones who want to harm us!" Some people shouted angrily.
"That's nonsense!" Having failed to frame someone, the old man's face fell, and his voice became extremely fierce. He shouted at the shouting people, "What a bunch of idiots! He's not a fool. Even if I told him to poison him, why would he drink it?"
His voice was like a loud bell, and it was obvious that he had used some internal force. Everyone present, except Jian Ning, had their ears buzzing from the shock.
After roaring, he turned around and was about to leave, but the people present were not happy with it!
"What are you yelling about? The loudest voice doesn't necessarily mean you're right." Not all the city's young and strong citizens had gone out to sell apples. Nearly two hundred strong men had gathered in and outside the Cao family's courtyard. Someone immediately jumped out to block the way and shouted at him, "You old man have had bad intentions from the beginning. You keep saying the princess wants to harm us. You gave Dazhi the copper coins to buy the ointment, and he died inexplicably. How can you leave now that the truth is out?"
"Yes! He's inextricably linked to this, and so are the others. No one can escape!"
A group of young and strong men rushed over and blocked their way.
Jian Ning also stepped forward. She glanced sideways at the old man, then glanced at the people beside him. Her voice was not loud, but it was cold, "Until the person who poisoned you is found, none of you can walk out the door straight away."
The old man chuckled sinisterly twice, then turned sideways to meet Jian Ning's gaze. "My Lady, are you kidding me? With your own strength and this bunch of foolish, unworthy people, you think you can stop us from going forward? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"
"Hmph, you can try." Jian Ning waved his hand, signaling the people to retreat. "Why should we bother the common people to deal with a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp like you? Just take a step forward and try."
"You stinky bitch, I'm going to tear you apart alive!" The yellow-skinned man who was selling wontons was the first one who couldn't hold back. He roared and was about to rush towards Jian Ning, but was grabbed by the old man.
"Eldest sister!" Duan Xinyan rushed over with Chun'er and Qiu'er. Because the people who had been blocking the gate had asked Jian Ning to wave her hand and step aside, the gate was clear. As she approached, she saw the yellow-skinned man about to rush towards Jian Ning. She blurted out "Eldest sister" and rushed over, pointing at the man and saying, "You have such a big guts! Who the hell do you think you can yell at my eldest sister? Do you think your life is too long?"
"Miss." Chun'er pulled Qiu'er over and stood beside her, her little face turned pale with fright.
Her young lady is really good at causing trouble. Chun'er saw that although those people were dressed like small vendors, they all looked ferocious. Who could her young lady beat?
Chun'er was so worried. What if the young lady got beaten by these people and the eldest lady didn't help her?
She couldn't help but glance at Jian Ning, but she didn't want to meet Jian Ning's cold gaze, which scared her. She unconsciously reached out and gently tugged at Duan Xinyan's sleeve, calling out softly, "Miss."
"Why are you pulling my leg?" Duan Xinyan slapped her hand away. She secretly winked at Duan Xinyan and grumbled towards where Jian Ning was standing. Duan Xinyan raised her eyebrows and glanced at Jian Ning. "I'm hungry. I asked them to let me out. If you want to fine me, just fine me. It has nothing to do with them!"
"Are you sure you don't want to get involved in their business?" Jian Ning asked back, glancing back and forth at Chun'er and Qiu'er.
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