Chapter 39 Strict Investigation
After the incident, the Crown Prince ordered everyone present to stay where they were and not to move around.
The Crown Prince himself was also sitting in place, but his guards surrounded him and the Prince of Qi, watching everyone around them with great vigilance.
Such a big thing happened at the birthday banquet, the first thing to be held responsible is the Imperial Household Department.
The emcee and her other aunts were completely baffled.
Everything was fine, so how could such a big mistake have occurred?
Now there's nothing they can do but wait for someone from the palace to come and investigate everything.
Soon, the people from the imperial city arrived.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Medical Academy, and even the Palace Attendant, Aunt Cui, came with several of her capable aunts.
Everyone looked unwell.
Minister Ye of the Ministry of Justice breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone remained still.
He first bowed to the Crown Prince, several princes, and princesses before leading the coroners from the Ministry of Justice forward.
Cai Boju still stared with wide eyes, looking as if he was in great pain.
The coroner in the Ministry of Justice was an old man who had worked there his entire life and had trained many apprentices.
He went up and glanced at it briefly before giving the result.
"Poisoning, from eating something you shouldn't have eaten."
To find out what they ate, they'd have to cut them open!
"Sir, shall we open the abdomen? I've brought everything!" the old coroner asked calmly.
Minister Ye quickly waved his hand.
This is the young marquis of the Wu'an Marquis's mansion, not some nameless corpse on the street. How could you just cut him open like that?
If they really did that, wouldn't the old lady of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion tear down the main hall of the Ministry of Justice?
"Okay, as long as it's confirmed to be poisoning."
Since it was poisoning, the food that was ingested must still be at the scene.
First, do a preliminary examination to determine the direction. Only when there is absolutely no other way should we consider whether to perform a cesarean section!
"Director Liu, is this alright?" Minister Ye asked Director Liu of the Imperial Hospital.
Imperial Physician Liu nodded, signaling the imperial physicians behind him to step forward.
"Check first, look at the food, drinks, utensils, chopsticks and other utensils on the table to see if there is anything unusual."
They examined it together with people from the Ministry of Justice.
"Aunt Cui, what do you think of this?" Director Liu looked at Aunt Cui, who had a serious expression.
Aunt Cui nodded.
"His Majesty has decreed a thorough investigation! Since it is a thorough investigation, all those involved must be investigated."
From the kitchen staff and cooks to the eunuchs and servants who served the food, everyone who had come into contact with the food was subject to strict scrutiny.
"Lord Ye, Chief Physician Liu, you are the main force in investigating the case, and our Imperial Household Department will do its utmost to cooperate."
After Aunt Cui finished speaking, she looked at the crowd on the Xiaoyao Platform.
After bowing respectfully to the Crown Prince, Aunt Cui finally spoke.
"The incident happened suddenly, and we apologize for the inconvenience to Your Highnesses and Gentlemen!"
No one objected.
Cai Boju's sudden death was unexpected by everyone.
They also wanted to find out what happened as soon as possible.
...
"All the ingredients, utensils, and even the charcoal used for grilling in the kitchen are fine," the first group of people reported back.
"The clothes, nails, and jewelry of the palace servants and eunuchs who handled the food have been checked, and there are no problems," the second group of people reported back.
"We checked the places we passed along the way and found no unusual items," the third group of people reported back.
"We've also checked the area around Xiaoyao Terrace, and found nothing unusual," the fourth group of people reported.
Aunt Cui breathed a slight sigh of relief.
So far, the matter has nothing to do with the people in the Imperial Household Department...
Minister Ye of the Ministry of Justice nodded and then looked at Chief Physician Liu.
"Then all that's left are the food and drinks on the table."
Imperial Physician Liu nodded, signaling the imperial physicians behind him to come forward and examine the patient.
The two imperial physicians examined each of the dining tables for quite some time.
"There's no problem with the drinks."
"There are no problems with the diet!"
"It's just... this roast meat on the young master's table... it doesn't look cooked yet!"
"Is it not fully cooked yet?"
Dean Liu frowned, about to speak, when Aunt Cui spoke up.
"Please, Imperial Physician, take a look and see what kind of meat is undercooked?"
Today there is roasted food, but there will be an eunuch in charge of roasting at each dining table.
It's impossible for them to serve undercooked cured meat.
The two imperial physicians immediately examined the undercooked meat carefully...
"It looks like rabbit meat!" The imperial physician recognized the undercooked meat dish.
Minister Ye frowned, about to send Chief Physician Liu to check if there was anything wrong with the rabbit meat...
"Wait a minute!" Aunt Cui suddenly walked towards the dining table where Cai Boju had been sitting.
"Does the Palace Attendant have something to say?" Minister Ye hurriedly walked over there.
Everyone was looking at Aunt Cui.
Aunt Cui glanced at the food on Cai Boju's table and frowned.
"I remember clearly that when the Imperial Food Bureau sent over the menu for Her Highness the Princess's birthday banquet a couple of days ago, there was no rabbit meat on it."
The ingredients for grilling include pork, mutton, beef, venison, and roe deer, but not rabbit.
So where does the rabbit meat on the dinner table come from?
Who altered the meal plan without authorization?
"Why wasn't the change reported?" Aunt Cui asked sternly.
All the people from the inner court on Xiaoyao Terrace knelt down.
The people in the kitchen were sweating profusely with anxiety.
"Auntie, please understand that we prepared the meals according to the menu and did not add anything on our own."
The rule of the Imperial Food Bureau is to prepare meals strictly according to the meal list.
Even if the masters suddenly want to eat something, it must be recorded and the head cook notified in time.
"Today...the masters didn't add any dishes, and we in the kitchen didn't prepare any rabbit meat ingredients either!"
As they were talking, the kitchen staff brought over today's meal list.
Aunt Cui glanced at the meal list and confirmed that it was the same as the meal list she had seen.
Meanwhile, the palace servants and eunuchs who were serving the meal all denied that roasted rabbit meat had been served.
Aunt Cui glanced again at the roasted rabbit meat on the table.
"The kitchen staff did not prepare this dish."
The palace servants and eunuchs who were in charge of serving meals had never served this dish before.
How did this dish end up being served?
"Did it fly out of thin air?" Aunt Cui questioned.
"This is..." The eunuch serving Cai Boju at the dining table trembled and dared not speak.
"Speak! What exactly happened?" Aunt Cui looked at the young eunuch.
“Aunt, those two rabbits were brought by Cai Boju himself!” Princess Yongxin, who was not far from Cai Boju’s dining table, suddenly spoke up.
Aunt Cui, Minister Ye, Chief Physician Liu...
"Princess, you can't say things like that!" Aunt Cui quickly looked at Princess Yongxin.
“It was Cai Boju who brought it! Everyone saw it!” Princess Yongxin insisted.
Minister Ye and Imperial Physician Liu's hearts sank.
This is more serious than I thought...
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