Chapter 170: Poison
"What did you say?"
"Reporting to you, sir, the night watchman found the prince of the Jin Kingdom lying on the side of the road in Changshun Street last night. He was already dead."
Luo Zhao, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, was shocked when he heard the news and immediately stood up and asked, "Where is the body?"
"Someone has been sent to the morgue, waiting for the coroner to perform an autopsy."
"Quick, take me over to have a look!" Luo Zhao was extremely confused. He had seen the prince of the Jin Dynasty in the palace last night. He was tall and strong. How could he suddenly die out of the blue?
The coroner was performing an autopsy in the morgue. Yeluta, who was nearly nine feet tall, was lying naked on the autopsy table.
His face was pale and his lips were black, with no obvious external injuries on his body. His body was completely stiff because he had been freezing outside all night.
Although Prefect Luo could not perform an autopsy, he could tell at a glance that the man must have died of poisoning. The lips would not be so black if he died normally.
Sure enough, after the coroner examined the body, he said, "This man's lips are black, there are blood clots under his body, and his ten fingers have no signs of frostbite. I guess he died of poisoning around midnight last night. However, no deadly poison was found in his mouth or stomach, so I can't tell what poison he was poisoned by."
"Hurry, put on your clothes."
The matter was of great importance, so Luo Zhao did not dare to delay and reported it immediately.
Song Yuzhu was also surprised when he received the news that Yelu Ta had been poisoned to death. Although he disliked the Jin people, the death of the Jin prince in Daqi was a bit tricky.
This matter was of great importance, so Song Yuzhu immediately asked the Dali Temple to take over the case and asked them to find out the cause of death of the Jin prince as soon as possible.
Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. All the ministers in the court have been given holidays. Wang Yunshu, the Minister of the Dali Temple, was temporarily called in to work overtime. He did not dare to complain at all and immediately took his subordinates to investigate the case.
The palace banquet ended at 10 p.m. last night and everyone left the palace, including Yelu Ta.
However, something went wrong along the way. He took advantage of being drunk and kicked and injured a eunuch in the palace, so the captain of the guards sent someone to stop him.
The Dali Temple Chief brought all the people involved in last night's incident to the Dali Temple for questioning.
The young eunuch who was kicked had not yet recovered and was carried here on a stretcher.
Wang Yunshu said, "I heard that the prince of the Jin Kingdom had some conflicts in the palace last night. Tell me in detail what happened last night. Don't dare to lie in the slightest!"
The injured eunuch was called Xiao Fuzi. He didn't know that Yeluta was dead yet. He covered his chest and told the story of what happened last night.
"After the palace banquet ended last night, when I was clearing the dishes, I was bumped by someone and accidentally spilled the dishes on the Jin prince. As a result, he kicked me hard."
The chief guard next to him said, "Yes, that kick was very heavy. The doctor from the Imperial Medical Garden checked and found that Xiao Fuzi had at least three broken ribs. When we stopped the prince of the Kingdom of Jin, he kept making noise in the palace. It was too late and we were afraid that it would affect His Majesty, so we temporarily released him."
Wang Yunshu stroked his beard and frowned: "What happened next?"
"Afterwards he left the palace, and I don't know what happened after that."
The palace guards also confirmed that Yeluta did walk out of the palace alone last night.
Yeluta's body was found at three o'clock in the morning. The murderer was not seen nearby at the time, and the clues of the case were cut off here.
The cause of Yeluta's death is also a mystery. No fatal external injuries were found throughout his body, and no poison was found in his stomach. Who killed Yeluta?
Wang Yunshu asked his men to send Xiao Fuzi back, and sent people to the mansion to investigate whether Yelu Ta had any conflicts with others during these days.
As a result, before they even arrived, envoys from the Jin Kingdom hurried over.
Amudan had an unpleasant argument with Yeluta last night and returned to the mansion early. The next morning, he heard from the servants that Yeluta had not returned yet.
Amudan's first thought was that this idiot must have gotten into trouble again! The Khan shouldn't have let him come in the first place.
He immediately sent people out to look for the third prince. Not long after, a young eunuch suddenly came to the mansion and told them that Yelu Ta was dead and his body was kept in the Dali Temple.
Amudan's eyes went dark and he almost fainted. He didn't have time to ask the young eunuch about his authenticity and took a carriage directly to the Dali Temple.
When he arrived at the Dali Temple and asked, although the other party did not say it directly, from the hesitant tone, Amudan could conclude that something must have happened to the third prince!
Although Yeluta was not favored by the Khan, he was still a prince of the Great Jin Dynasty. How could he let it go after such an unclear death in Daqi? !
"Please return Prince Yelu's body to us immediately!"
Upon hearing the news, the Dali Temple Minister rushed out and said, "We all don't want to see this happen, but Prince Yelu's body cannot be handed over to you for the time being."
Amudan asked anxiously, "Why? Our Third Prince died in Daqi in an unclear manner, and they didn't even return his body!"
"It is precisely because the Third Prince's death was unclear that we must find out the cause of death and the murderer and give an explanation to the Kingdom of Jin."
Amudan's expression changed again and again, "Then please let us take a look at the prince's body."
His request was not excessive, so Wang Yunshu agreed and took them to the morgue.
Upon seeing Yeluta's body, Amudan's face darkened. Several Jin envoys who were traveling with him began to sob and cry. It was unclear whether they were sad about Yeluta's death or worried about their own future.
Amudan said: "We will give you five days at most. If we cannot find the murderer, please return the body and let us take it back."
"This...we're doing the best we can."
After sending off the Jin envoy, Wang Yunshu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Don't rest, start investigating now."
"Yes, sir!"
*
In the palace, Zhao Xiao hurried back from the parade ground after receiving the news.
"Yeluta is dead?"
Song Yuzhu nodded: "The one who was found this morning must have died of poisoning."
"This is a bit troublesome." Yelu Ta's death is not a problem. The problem is whether the Jin Kingdom will use this as an opportunity to launch an attack on Daqi.
Although Daqi is powerful now, if a war breaks out, the people at the border will be the first to suffer. Secondly, going to war with the Jin Kingdom will inevitably affect the business in the north. In addition, the Xiongnu Kingdom in the northeast has also been making moves recently. In short, now is not a good time to go to war.
Of course, if a real war breaks out, Da Qi is not afraid of them. Even if the Jin Kingdom and the Xiongnu Kingdom unite, Da Qi can still fight against them.
Song Yuzhu pondered for a moment and said, "We will make two preparations. On the one hand, let the Dali Temple investigate the case, and on the other hand, I will issue an order to the Northwest Army to increase their precautions and be ready for battle at any time. You should also make arrangements for the West Camp, enter a wartime state, and be on standby at all times!"
"good."
"By the way, ask the people from Xuanyi Tower to help investigate. Yeluta's death is suspicious and happened at a critical time when other countries were paying tribute. I'm afraid it will cause other troubles."
Zhao Xiao said: "Leave these matters to me. Take a good rest these few days and take care of yourself."
Song Yuzhu nodded.
Although he could not leave the palace at will, thanks to this bug in the system, he could check the movements of envoys from various countries at any time.
After Zhao Xiao left, Song Yuzhu opened the system and took a look around the Shangjing Mansion. This place belonged to the imperial court, so the entire mansion was within the scope of the inspection.
Song Yuzhu first went to the place where the Jin envoys lived and saw Amudan hurried back with his subordinates.
"Master Dan, we must report this matter to Master Khan immediately!"
Amudan said solemnly, "Herdo, don't act on your own. The cause of the prince's death is still unclear. If you rashly pass the news back now, what if the Khan gets angry and declares war?"
"So what if we declare war? When have we ever been afraid of the people of the Central Plains?"
Several people nearby echoed, "That's right! We must seek justice for the Third Prince!"
Amudan narrowed his eyes and said, "Since you are so belligerent, if a fight really breaks out, I will give the Khan the opportunity to recommend you to fight on the battlefield."
These people fell silent instantly. They all knew that Amudan was favored by the Khan and the Khan would most likely agree to the person he recommended.
"Before the cause of the Third Prince's death is found, no one is allowed to mention this matter again. If Daqi cannot find the murderer, it will not be too late for us to make trouble again!"
“Yes, sir…”
Song Yuzhu nodded slightly. This Amudan was quite smart. He knew that rashly sending back the message might not be a good thing. He was a talent who could judge the situation.
After leaving the courtyard where the Jin people lived, Song Yuzhu went to the courtyards of envoys from several other countries.
Others did not know about Yeluta's death for the time being. Some were resting, some were eating. Only in the courtyard of the Japanese prince, the door was closed and it was quiet inside.
Song Yuzhu controlled the perspective and looked over, and saw Matsumoto Tsuru writing at the desk in the study.
The language used in Japan was the Daqi language. Song Yuzhu wanted to see what he wrote, but there was only one sentence in the letter: "The matter has been settled. Please send the message as soon as possible."
Matsumoto Tsuru folded the letter, put it in an envelope and sealed it with wax.
He knocked on the table, and a servant came in from outside, knelt down, took the letter from his hand, and left in a hurry.
Song Yuzhu instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the letter and it might be related to Yeluta's death.
He immediately came out of the system and asked someone to call Heidao and Bai Xiu, and ordered them to go to the mansion and snatch the letter.
*
On the other side, Zhao Xiao went to Xuanyi Building to find Liu Yanzi first. As soon as he entered the door, he caught up with Liu Yanzi walking out.
"You've come at the right time. I was just about to look for you. The person who asked me to help investigate last time actually found some information." Liu Yanzi took out a letter from her arms and handed it to him.
"This Lin Canzheng and the previously demoted Minister of Rites are master and disciple. It is very likely that he was the one who instigated the riots by the students in Suzhou last time."
"Don't be fooled by the old guy's incorruptible appearance. He is a man of no morals behind the scenes. Just the financial transactions between him and Yin Bogeng amount to this amount." Liu Yanzi held up five fingers.
"Fifty thousand taels?"
"Five hundred thousand taels! I don't know why this old guy wants so much money. You can't bring it with you when you are born, and you can't take it with you when you die."
Zhao Xiao put the letter into his arms and said, "I am not here today for this matter, but more importantly, I want to give it to you."
Seeing his serious look, Liu Yanzi asked curiously, "What's the matter?"
"The Jin Dynasty's prince, Yeluta, was poisoned to death last night."
“This is a good thing!”
Zhao Xiao raised his eyebrows: "It's a good thing that he can't die in Shangjing. If the two countries go to war, it may not be a good thing."
Liu Yanzi said: "I understand. I will send someone to investigate secretly immediately."
There are many capable people in Xuanyi Tower. Liu Yanzi sent Chu Jing with her badge to Dali to help.
Chu Jing is an expert at poisons. He can identify the poison at a glance even when more than a dozen coroners cannot identify it.
He looked pale and sick, with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He said in a mosquito-like voice, "He probably didn't die from eating something poisonous."
The coroners thought, this is nonsense, the stomach is almost empty, how can they not find out if he has eaten something poisonous?
Chu Jing walked around the corpse again and found a small round wound on the back of the hand.
“That’s the fatal injury.”
Several coroners' eyes widened in unison, "What?!"
"Sir, you are too careless. How can such a small wound kill someone?!"
Chu Jing coughed twice and said, "Don't worry, I'll tell you in detail. The poison in his body is called blood-killing poison."
"Strychnos nux vomica? I've never heard of such a poison."
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it. This is a poison unique to the South. The local barbarians apply this poison on arrows and use it specifically to shoot prey."
"You can see that the wound on his body is in the shape of a ring. Someone must have used a hollow needle dipped in poison and pierced his hand, and the poison entered his body."
Chu Jing looked at the corpse's limbs and eyelids again.
"But the dosage is relatively low. If you don't die immediately, you will die from the poison in about half an hour."
The coroners all looked at each other with different expressions. One of them couldn't help but ask, "Young man, how come you know so much at such a young age?"
Chu Jing waved his hands embarrassedly: "I used to use this kind of poison to kill people, but I don't use it now."
(End of this chapter)
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