Chapter 68: The cause of death is close to the truth.
The temple fair was in full swing, the market by the bridge was bustling, and painted boats filled the Han Canal.
The last family in the infant case was surnamed Liang. Both Liang's father and mother worked at the Suyang Mint. Liang's mother was responsible for cleaning up coal ash, and Liang's father was responsible for transporting copper materials.
Yue Yining had reviewed the materials beforehand. Although the work was hard, the Liang family's standard of living was quite good. Suyang's economy mainly relied on the minting industry, and anyone who could do this job in the area would not live too badly.
The Liang family's house was located in a small alley on the side of the street. The first floor was a craft shop jointly run by Liang's parents, who occasionally took on simple repair jobs to supplement their income. The second floor was where the five members of the Liang family lived. The house was not big, but it was clean and tidy. With its north-south orientation, the layout was open and bright.
Yue Yining carefully observed the expressions of Liang's parents and found that they only looked slightly haggard, which was much better than the tense and almost collapsing state of the first Li family.
Yue Yining greeted them, saying, "I apologize for bothering you. My surname is Yue, and I am currently in charge of investigating the Green Ghost case. I have come here today specifically to ask about some details of the case."
"How many children were there in your family before?"
Mother Liang replied, "Four. The oldest was eleven years old, and the youngest was only one year old. He was buried half a month ago. Now there are only three children, two boys and one girl."
I see. The Li family only has two children, while the Liang family's situation is clearly different. Yue Yining nodded: "Were you both home the day the child had the accident?"
Mr. Liang: "No, we're not here. We stay at the mint during the day and don't come back until after sunset. My mother passed away early, and my father took care of the children at home, just like that day."
“My father said that the child was fine in the morning, but the accident happened suddenly after he woke up from his nap. It was only a short time to get some water, and when he came back, the child was lying motionless. My father thought the child had fallen asleep again, but when he looked closely, he found that the child's eyes were open, but they were blank and rolled back. The child did not respond to his calls, so he knew something was wrong. He immediately took the child out to the hospital, but they still couldn't save him.”
The Liang family was much more cooperative than the Li family from the previous family, and their words were very organized, which might bring them a lot of new clues.
Yue Yining listened, her brows furrowing involuntarily. The descriptions of the child's treatment by Mr. Liang and Ms. Li were very similar, but she sensed something strange.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is the nearest clinic far from here?"
Mr. Liang rubbed his hands together: "Yes, the clinics are all in the center of the city. To get there, you have to cross several streets. My father is old and can't walk fast."
Even Fu Yao found it a bit strange at this point: "Do we really have to go to a clinic? The situation is so urgent, can't we just find a pharmacy or clinic nearby and have a doctor take a look first?"
Upon hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Liang were taken aback. They glanced at each other and then turned to look at each other.
Liang's father hesitated and asked, "Isn't the Yue people a local of Suyang?"
Yue Yining subtly cracked her knuckles, then suddenly smiled and said, "No, I'm from Yanjing. I only recently took over the investigation of this case, so I don't know much about it."
“I see.” Father Liang nodded. “You may not know, but in Suyang, the regulations for practicing medicine are very strict. Anyone who practices medicine without official permission will be arrested and imprisoned. If serious consequences result, they will be punished.”
Yue Yining was surprised: "Has it always been like this?"
Mother Liang: "When I was young, it wasn't like that. It started about a year ago. At that time, there were still many itinerant doctors, pharmacies and clinics in Suyang City. I remember there was one across the street. But as soon as the government issued the order, many clinics closed down overnight."
"If that clinic were still there..." At this point, Mother Liang showed a hint of sadness for the first time, shook her head and didn't continue, only raising her hand to wipe away the tears that overflowed from the corners of her eyes.
Liang's father also sighed: "My father has a back ailment and has been applying ointment all year round. The few shops where I used to get medicine are all gone, and I haven't seen the few itinerant doctors I used to recognize. I heard that they couldn't get the official seal, so they all left Suyang to make a living elsewhere."
"Although the medicines at large medical clinics are good, they cost several times more than those at small pharmacies. After my father found out, he forbade me from spending money on ointments anymore, saying that they were all old ailments and that spending so much money wouldn't cure them, and that he could tolerate it."
“But he was in so much pain at night, and I could hear the sounds he made as he tossed and turned,” Mr. Liang said, pounding his chest a few times. “How could I feel any better when he was like that?”
Yue Yining paused for a moment, as if suddenly realizing something, and tentatively asked, "Your father is now..."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Liang's eyes immediately reddened. He sniffed, covered his mouth and nose with his hand as if to hide it, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "He's gone too. He was buried on the same day as my daughter."
Even Yue Yining was stunned: "How could this be so sudden... What's the reason?"
Mother Liang just shook her head and sighed, "We didn't see a doctor, we didn't find anyone to see a doctor. The price of hiring a doctor from a clinic to come to our house is enough to feed our whole family for a month, we really can't afford it."
“When we got home, my father had already been gone for a while. There were no external injuries; he was just lying in bed. He must have passed away in his sleep. He was old and his health had never been very good. Perhaps he was too heartbroken about his children, which is why he passed away like this.”
"After the child died, my father insisted on reporting it to the authorities, saying that the child could not have died from poor health; he insisted that the child had been poisoned. He was very emotional, and I couldn't disobey him, so I accompanied him to report it to the authorities. After he came back, he kept repeating that it was good that it was reported to the authorities, that it was good that it was reported to the authorities, that they would definitely find out the truth. But who knew that less than three days after the child's death, he..."
Mr. Liang became increasingly emotional, and covered his face in despair. Mrs. Liang patted his shoulder reassuringly, and took over the conversation, her voice still tinged with apology, "Please don't blame him for getting agitated, sir. One thing after another has happened these past few days, and we're at a loss as to what to do."
Yue Yining quickly replied, "How could that be? Please rest assured, I understand how you both feel, and I have absolutely no intention of blaming you."
After waiting for a while, Mr. and Mrs. Liang finally composed themselves. Yue Yining asked in a gentle voice, "Why does your father believe that the child died of poisoning? Have you made any other discoveries?"
Mr. Liang said, “My father was a blacksmith by trade. He said that people in his line of work could easily get poisoned by metal powder, so he was quite knowledgeable about this.”
Yue Yining's expression turned serious: "So, your father suspects that the child accidentally ingested poison?"
Mr. Liang nodded: "Yes. He described that when he first noticed something was wrong with his child, the child's limbs were twitching, his eyes were rolling back, and after a while he started foaming at the mouth, which was very similar to the symptoms of metal poisoning."
Foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back—a sudden death. Yue Yining pondered; indeed. At least the children from both families died from the same cause, otherwise their descriptions wouldn't be so consistent.
Mr. Liang: "Although that's what they say, my wife and I checked the child's clothes and the surrounding objects at the time, and there were no metals or medicines that could cause poisoning. My father didn't prepare any food for the child either, there were only some fruits and snacks on the table, which are what the family eats every day. The idea of poisoning is really absurd."
Yue Yining: "That's strange. Besides, if it really was poisoning, it would be difficult to report to the authorities, wouldn't it? Did the government send anyone to search your house afterwards?"
"We've checked, and they said there's nothing wrong," Liang's father sighed. "To be honest, I also feel that reporting it to the authorities is useless. But my father is stubborn; once he's made up his mind about something, he won't change it. As his children, we prioritize filial piety and just let him have his way."
After pondering for a moment, Yue Yining asked, "Do you two still have any of your child's belongings? May I take a look?"
Mother Liang got up and went into the inner room to fetch a wooden box about two feet wide, which she placed in front of Yue Yining: "The child doesn't have many things, just some clothes and toys, and they're all here. We're keeping these things just as a keepsake."
The box contained only four items: several pieces of baby clothes, all made of patchwork of colorful fabrics, much like the bright and eye-catching paper coins scattered all over carts at today's temple fairs; a string of red rope with several copper coins strung together, and an old bell hanging in the center; several animal-shaped objects made from leftover wood; and a rattle drum covered with half a piece of colored paper.
Today, while passing by a temple fair, Yue Yining saw many children being held by their parents outside the car window, all wearing similar colorful clothes.
She first exclaimed, "The colors of this dress are so vibrant!"
"However, I see that all the children on the street are dressed like this, but is there any reason for it?"
Mother Liang nodded: "Yes, this is a tradition of Suyang."
In Suyang, newborns under one year old are required to wear colorful clothes from the day of their birth. After one month, a red string with copper coins strung around their necks is hung, symbolizing "five blessings protecting the body," which is believed to ensure the baby's safety, happiness, and healthy growth.
Metal. Yue Yining's gaze swept over all the objects, finally settling on the string of copper coins.
She picked up the string of copper coins, weighed them in her hand, and rubbed the edges with her long, slender, white fingers. These were official coins; the official seal engraved on them was clear, and such intricate craftsmanship could not be faked.
That makes perfect sense. When it comes to things done for good luck, people usually pick out the newest and best-looking coins from a pile.
However, if it were officially minted coins...
Seeing Yue Yining staring at the string of copper coins, Liang's mother couldn't help but ask, "Does the master think there's something wrong with these copper coins?"
"To be honest, we had our suspicions before. But these are official coins, so they must be made of pure copper. Copper is non-toxic and harmless; licking them wouldn't cause any problems, and since they were strung on a rope, it was impossible for a child to swallow them..."
Yue Yining stopped fiddling with the copper coins, lowered her eyes to stare at the patterns on the coins, nodded and smiled: "That's true."
That's true. Yue Yining herself knew that copper was non-toxic, and the string of copper coins couldn't possibly be the cause of the children's deaths.
But for some reason, she always had a vague feeling that she had missed something.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from the first floor. Yue Yining paused for a moment before turning around. Fu Yao, who was beside her, had already stood up and hurried downstairs to check the situation.
Not long after, Fu Yao came up to report to Yue Yining, saying, "Miss, the guards caught a suspicious woman outside."
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