Chapter 150 Ye Jing's Situation
The exterior of the charred pharmacy was scattered with bits of black kerosene.
Du Zhengming then bent down and collected all the kerosene, and then had someone investigate the source of the kerosene.
Then he called out all the neighbors around the pharmacy and asked them one by one.
"Shaoqing, his name is Wang Er. He works at the grain shop next door and was the first to discover the fire."
His men quickly came to report.
Even though Wang Er had never met Du Shaoqing, he could still deduce his identity.
The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, so young, and with such a cold face, who else could he be but the Cold-Faced Judge?
So he said with a face full of respect, "This humble subject, Wang Erlang, greets Du Shaoqing."
No need for formalities.
"Tell me in detail what happened on the day of the fire?"
Wang Er thought for a moment and replied, "That night I got up to use the bathroom and suddenly saw flames shooting into the sky from the courtyard next door."
We were thinking that since our shop was in the grain business, it would be bad if the fire spread to our area.
So I quickly woke up everyone in our yard.
When our manager saw that the fire was too big, he called us to go next door to help put out the fire and try our best to extinguish it.
But the fire that day was very strange; not only could it not be put out, but it was also burning from the outside in.
Finally, after burning all the medicinal herbs stored in the backyard, the fire was put out.
Du Zhengming understood that the fire was burning from the outside in, which must be because the outer perimeter had been covered with black kerosene.
"How many people work in their shop?" Du Zhengming asked.
"About fifteen or sixteen. But strangely enough, not a single person came out of there that day."
Later, the Jingzhao Prefecture came to investigate and said they had found fifteen corpses.
I figured none of them must have escaped.
After Wang Er finished speaking, he scratched his head, seemingly still puzzled as to why no one had run out.
Du Zhengming took out the results of the on-site investigation from the Jingzhao Prefecture, and sure enough, it stated that there were fifteen corpses.
Then he asked, "Are you sure there are fifteen people here in total?"
Wang Er scratched his head and said, "This little guy is uncertain."
Du Zhengming turned around and instructed the people from the Dali Temple:
"Go and find out exactly how many people work at this pharmacy, and make sure the deceased and the bodies match one by one."
The work done by the Jingzhao Prefecture was too sloppy; the records were not detailed enough.
The people from the Dali Temple withdrew in response.
At this moment, a bystander suddenly said:
"Shaoqing, I know how many people are in his family."
Du Shaoqing turned to look at him, and Wang Er explained:
"This is the manager of the silk shop next door."
The pharmacy clerks' regular uniforms were all custom-made from them.
Du Zhengming nodded to the silk shop owner:
Tell me about it.
“Their pharmacy staff always wear a linen overcoat, and these are all custom-made from my shop.”
Previously, there were fifteen items per quarter, but last month there were sixteen.
They said one of the porters had injured his back and was too old to continue, so they hired a younger one.
"Young?" Du Zhengming frowned.
"Ah, I know that. That dark-skinned, muscular young man is called... Stone."
He's the new guy; I heard the manager mention him last month.
Someone interrupted.
Wang Er then introduced, "This is the waiter at the wine shop over there. He injured his foot and has been going to the pharmacy a lot these past few months."
Du Zhengming asked the waiter at the wine shop, "How tall is that burly man you mentioned?"
"He's quite tall, about the same height as the guard behind you, but a bit stronger."
Du Zhengming turned to look at Wan Yi, the guard beside him, and asked:
"how tall are you?"
“Eight feet two inches,” Wan Yi replied.
"Among the fifteen dead people, are there any who are eight feet two inches tall?"
"Here you go."
After making a thorough investigation, Du Zhengming led his men back to the Dali Temple.
He was now almost certain that the eight-foot-tall man was not among the corpses.
He either escaped, or he was the executor.
The truth about the arson must be revealed once the perpetrators are found.
Du Zhengming's progress was rapid, while Xiao Ling and Xie Yunman went to see the Crown Prince as soon as they woke up.
The crown prince had just received a message by carrier pigeon and was looking quite grim when he saw the two men approaching. He immediately covered his head with his hand.
"Yan Chi is already on his way. On the way, he received a message from his father's aunt that the eldest prince was going to see Ye Jing."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling smiled slightly.
"Don't panic, Ye Jing's situation is easy to resolve. I'll take care of it for you, and I guarantee he'll cooperate with us obediently."
"Perhaps we can use him to infiltrate the Crown Prince's inner circle and then use him to betray us at a crucial moment."
Xie Yunman and the Crown Prince turned their heads and looked at him in surprise.
Seeing this, Xiao Ling looked slightly embarrassed and coughed, clenching his fist at the corner of his mouth.
Do you still remember Chen Jiatao?
"I remember, wasn't the illegitimate son of the Vice Minister of Rites killed by the Chen family? His body was burned to ashes."
Xie Yunman answered.
"I set the fire. The man didn't die. I changed his name and identity. He's studying at Qingya Academy now."
Xiao Ling shrugged and answered casually.
Xie Yunman rolled her eyes at him in disbelief:
"Don't you dislike meddling in other people's business? You actually have this kind intention?"
Xiao Ling pursed his lips: "It was Yu'er who said he was innocently implicated and shouldn't have died, so I just saved him."
I never expected it would come in handy like this.
The crown prince looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about?"
"Yes, Ye Jing went to the border because he fell in love with Chen Jiatao, the illegitimate son of the Vice Minister of Rites."
So he was sent away by the Marquis of Guangping.
Xiao Ling organized his thoughts and explained.
"What? You mean they...they...are homosexuals...?"
Xie Yunman didn't speak, but Xiao Ling coughed:
"Yes, love, love..."
After a moment of surprise, the crown prince understood the situation by considering the context.
"Are you planning to use Chen Jiatao to subdue Ye Jing?"
Xiao Ling nodded: "Yes, after all, when he heard that he was so angry when he learned of Chen Jiatao's death that he vomited blood."
After that, her personality changed drastically, and she was no longer the same as before.
After saying that, he looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Send a message to Yanchi, and tell him that when he arrives at the Western Regions border army, he should ask Ye Jing if he still wants to see Chen Jiatao."
"Don't say anything else; just this one sentence will be enough to control Ye Jing."
The Crown Prince nodded and sent someone to deliver a message to Pei Yanchi.
"By the way, the confessions you investigated ultimately pointed to Consort Shu, but something feels off to me."
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's question, Xiao Ling answered:
"You felt it too?"
"If Consort Shu were to poison the Emperor, it would be something as potent and deadly as arsenic, such as poison with arsenic or arsenic-containing powder."
Xie Yunman frowned upon hearing this: "I knew very little about Consort Shu before. Is she really like this?"
"Hmph, back then, Imperial Censor Pan impeached Consort Shu's family in court, which led to the tragic death of her younger brother."
Consort Shu cried to her father, the Emperor, and in the end, when Imperial Censor Wu was being demoted to Xiangzhou, his large ship reached the north bank of the Yangtze River, but he was intercepted and killed.
The family consisted of 137 people, and not a single one survived.
First he was killed with a single blow, then his ship was set on fire, and his body was never recovered.
Xie Yunman frowned as she listened: "That's quite a violent temper."
"The eldest prince learned from her since he was a child, and his usual method is to either not make a move at all, or make a move that kills the person instantly."
This is why we've always believed that she wasn't the one who poisoned our father.
The crown prince patiently explained.
"If that's the case, then this poison for the elderly doesn't seem to have been administered by Consort Shu. Rather, the poison given to Princess Yongning is very much in line with her style."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling suddenly interjected, asking, "Is there any news from Wei Ningyan?"
"Yes, the eldest prince went to the Western Regions, taking his inseparable male favorite with him."
Therefore, news from Wei Ningyan kept coming in.
The prince answered.
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