Chapter 37 Lord Zhou took the initiative.
The next day at dawn.
While everyone was having breakfast in the flower hall of the princess's residence, a servant came to report that Zhou Wenbin was requesting an audience.
The princess said with a forced smile, "This Lord Zhou can be so enthusiastic at times."
Before long, Zhou Wenbin was seen walking briskly into the flower hall, carrying a roll of paper in one hand and a portrait in the other.
"Your Highness! Lord Pei! Lady Pei!" His voice carried a barely perceptible hint of excitement.
"We've found out! Before the incident yesterday, Shen Chengzhang was drinking with a pharmaceutical merchant from out of town in a private room at Yunheju!"
Xiao Yunzhan: "What did the coroner say?"
"The coroner said that if you mix Cold Food Powder with wine and drink it, the effects of the drug will take from 15 minutes to 1 hour to go mad and start killing people."
Shen Chengzhang left the restaurant a little after 1:15 PM, and we witnessed him stabbing someone at the end of 1:30 PM.
"It all happened to fall right at this hour; they must have drunk that drugged wine at the restaurant!"
Zhou Wenbin then pointed to the portrait and said, "The portrait of the medicine merchant has also been drawn. The yamen runners have already taken it to various pharmacies to ask if anyone recognizes him and where he lives. Once we find him, we will take him to a restaurant so Your Highness can question him."
Pei Zhiwei was about to drink the porridge in her bowl when she heard these words and paused.
This Zhou Wenbin not only investigated the restaurant, but also took the initiative to have someone draw a portrait of the drug dealer to ask other pharmacies.
Even when sealing off a restaurant, he remembered to have the coroner and the yamen runners check for traces together, which was much more reliable than his perfunctory attitude when we first met.
It seems he was genuinely afraid of making another mistake and wanted to use this case to atone for his sins.
Pei Lin had just finished a bowl of porridge and wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.
"Currently, the case of Shen Chengzhang has not been found to be related to the case of the missing girl. Since Your Highness and Zhiwei witnessed Shen Chengzhang killing someone, let's investigate this case."
Regarding the missing persons case, I'll keep an eye on the men Lord Zhou sent. We'll meet up again when we have any news.
Xiao Yunzhan nodded in agreement, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Wenbin.
"Then I'll trouble Lord Zhou to lead the way. Let's go to Yunhe Residence first."
Zhou Wenbin hurriedly replied, "It's no trouble at all," and followed the others outside.
After the group boarded the carriage, Zhou Wenbin, having just sat down, took the initiative to recount Shen Chengzhang's background.
“Your Highness, Madam Pei, Shen Chengzhang’s family background is quite impressive.”
The Shen family used to be a prominent family in Jiangnan, and their ancestors even produced a minister. However, they later declined for some unknown reason, and by the time of Shen Chengzhang's generation, most of their wealth had been lost.
He was born out of wedlock. When the family property was divided, his brothers, who were born of the principal wife, took all the farmland and shops, leaving him only the Suhetang pharmacy.
He paused, then added, "Shen Chengzhang is quite capable. Over the years, he has managed to keep Suhetang from collapsing and has preserved its reputation as the largest pharmacy in Suzhou."
However, his family affairs were rather complicated. His first wife had passed away early, and he later remarried, marrying a woman surnamed Li. Li brought a son with her, named Shen Yizhi.
Shen Yizhi was a typical playboy who spent his days either loitering in brothels or gambling in casinos.
The shop assistants at Suhetang all said that if Shen Chengzhang were to pass the pharmacy on to his stepson, it would surely be squandered within three years.
Pei Zhiwei sat to the side listening. Born out of wedlock, her family had fallen on hard times, and she made a living by running the only pharmacy she owned.
Who would such a person offend to the point that they would be poisoned with cold food powder to silence them?
The carriage moved smoothly, the street scene outside the window slowly receding, the steam from the breakfast stalls still lingering, and the soy milk vendor hurried past, pushing his cart and calling out his wares.
Pei Zhiwei lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked towards Yunhe Residence.
Yesterday, when she and Xiao Yunzhan were testing whether the alley was passable by carriage, they paid special attention to the route. From Yunhe Residence to the crime scene on the main street, it would take about half an hour to walk.
The coroner said that the onset of the cold food powder mixed with wine takes from half an hour to an hour.
The initial symptoms of Hanshisan are dizziness and nausea, which are very similar to the symptoms of being drunk. Shen Chengzhang himself probably didn't even realize it and just thought he was feeling unwell from drinking too much alcohol.
Once the poison has fully taken effect, the person is already insane, and how can they distinguish between poisoning and drunkenness?
"Your Highness, Madam Pei, we have arrived at Yunhe Residence."
Zhou Wenbin's voice interrupted Pei Zhiwei's thoughts.
She lifted the carriage curtain and got out, only to see two constables standing at the entrance of Yunheju, with knives at their waists, blocking diners who wanted to go in.
As soon as I entered, I saw a middle-aged man in a gray cloth robe stamping his feet anxiously. He was the manager of Yunheju.
He saw Zhou Wenbin as if he had seen a savior, and looked so anxious he was about to cry.
"Lord Zhou, you've finally arrived! I've been wronged!"
As you know, I've been running this restaurant for over ten years, and I've always done business honestly and never dared to do anything illegal.
"Manager Shen's accident really has nothing to do with me!"
Before Zhou Wenbin could even speak, Pei Zhiwei asked directly, "Manager Wang, what was the situation when Shen Chengzhang came to the restaurant yesterday? Tell me slowly, don't panic."
The shopkeeper then calmed down a bit.
"Manager Shen is a regular customer here. Every time he entertains guests, he always books the 'Listening to the Tide' private room on the second floor."
This time was no exception; he personally made the reservation a few days ago and arrived precisely at the end of the 11 AM yesterday.
He tried hard to recall: "The person who came with him was a medicine merchant. I have some impression of this medicine merchant. Manager Shen invited him here a few times before."
The two stayed in the private room for about an hour. Around 1:15 PM, they came out together. Manager Shen exchanged a few words with the young man at the door before they parted ways.
He thought for a moment and then added, "When Manager Shen left, he seemed a little drunk. He was unsteady on his feet and even had to lean on the stone block outside the door for support."
The younger one wanted to help him up, but he waved his hand and said no, then walked towards the pharmacy. Who knew...who knew that such a thing would happen so soon after.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Coroner Chen emerged from behind, carrying his autopsy kit, followed by two constables.
“Lord Zhou, Madam Pei,” Coroner Chen approached, his face grave.
"I checked all the wine stored in the restaurant, including the bulk wine in the lobby and the jarred wine in the cellar. I tested them all with a silver needle and found no trace of Cold Food Powder."
Another constable reported, "Sir, we thoroughly searched the restaurant's kitchen, storeroom, and even Manager Wang's house, but we couldn't find any Cold Food Powder or any medicinal herbs related to it."
Just as Zhou Wenbin was about to speak, a yamen runner came running in, panting.
"My lord! We've found him! We've found the out-of-town medicine merchant! He's staying at the Yuelai Inn in the south of the city. I've brought him here!"
Everyone turned to look and saw a man in his thirties wearing a cross-collar of dark-patterned silk woven with brocade.
He saw Zhou Wenbin in his official robes inside the room, a hint of nervousness flashed in his eyes, and his steps subconsciously slowed down.
"This is a medicine merchant from Huzhou, surnamed Wu," the yamen runner introduced.
Pei Zhiwei took out a piece of paper from her brocade bag; it was something she had just asked the restaurant manager to write.
The list above contains the dishes and wines that Shen Chengzhang ordered in the private room yesterday.
She handed the paper to Wu the pharmacist: "Manager Wu, take a look. Did you and Shen Chengzhang order these things in the private room yesterday?"
Wu, the pharmacist, took the list, looked at it carefully, and nodded, saying, "Yes, these are the names."
Manager Shen said this restaurant's braised duck was excellent, so he ordered it specifically, and he also chose the "Daughter's Red" wine for it.
"After you went back from the dinner, did you feel unwell?" Pei Zhiwei asked.
"No," Wu Yaoshang shook his head, his tone very certain.
"After I finished discussing business with Manager Shen, I went back to the inn to rest. Apart from being a little drunk, I felt fine."
"Did you eat and drink all the food and drinks you ordered?"
"I've tried them all."
After thinking for a moment, Wu Yaoshang added, "However, when discussing business, we drank a lot of wine and didn't touch the food much."
Manager Shen did the same, only taking a few bites of drunken shrimp and spending most of the time drinking.
Pei Zhiwei frowned. If the two of them ate and drank the same things, why was Shen Chengzhang poisoned by Hanshi San, but Wu Yaoshang was fine?
Could it be that Hanshi San (Cold Food Powder) is added to the dishes or wines listed in this menu?
"Manager Wu, think carefully again. Did Shen Chengzhang drink or eat anything you didn't touch in the private room yesterday?" Pei Zhiwei pressed.
The pharmaceutical merchant paused for a moment, pondered for a long time, and then suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Oh right! I remember now!"
Halfway through the meal, Manager Shen suddenly said he had brought a pot of medicinal wine, claiming it was prepared in his own pharmacy and could be beneficial to health, and invited me to try it.
He seemed to have thought of something, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.
"Although I deal in medicinal herbs, I've always disliked bitter things since I was a child."
I only took a small sip of the medicinal wine, and it was so bitter that my tongue went numb. I quickly pushed it back, saying that I was simply not worthy of it.
Later... later, Manager Shen drank the entire pot of wine himself.
"Medicated wine?" Xiao Yunzhan's voice deepened. "Do you remember what color that medicated wine was? Did it have any special taste?"
"The color was dark brown," Wu, the pharmacist, recalled.
"Besides being bitter, it has a strong medicinal taste, so it must contain a lot of medicinal herbs."
But I can't say for sure what the specific medicinal material is.
After all, I only took a sip; I didn't really taste it properly.
Pei Zhiwei and Xiao Yunzhan exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Cold Food Powder itself tastes bitter, and if mixed with medicinal wine, it is completely undetectable.
But this medicinal wine was brought by Shen Chengzhang himself. It's perfectly normal for a pharmacy to sell medicinal wine, so this wine was prepared by a doctor at Suhetang.
Was it because Suhetang already had Hanshi San (a traditional Chinese medicine for cold food), or was this pot specially spiked with something?
Did Shen Chengzhang know that the medicinal wine contained Hanshisan (a traditional Chinese medicine)?
If he knew, why did he drink it?
If we don't know, then who poisoned the medicinal wine?
A series of questions swirled in Pei Zhiwei's mind.
Just as she was about to ask Wu the pharmacist a few more questions, a yamen runner rushed in in a panic.
"My lord! Something terrible has happened! There's been a disturbance at the entrance of Suhetang!"
Shen Chengzhang's stepson, Shen Yizhi, led a group of people, claiming to be the new owner of Suhetang. They insisted that we unseal the pharmacy, and threatened to smash the door if we obstructed them!
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