Tian Sangui then burst into laughter and looked at Lord He, who was sitting in the hall.
Can someone who is full of lies be used as a witness to testify against someone?
These words left everyone present completely bewildered and confused.
"What does Miss Tian mean?"
The bewildered Lord He clearly did not understand the conversation between Tian Sangui and Granny Long.
"Lord He, I am from Tianjia Village in Jizhen. The grains and vegetables grown on the more than one hundred acres of land in the village are all supplied to my Hefang Restaurant. This is why I never purchase the restaurant's needs from merchants."
The vegetables grown in Tianjia Village are completely different from those found in the market. Lord He has been to Hefang Restaurant and seen the dishes on the menu, so he knows that what I said is true.
Secondly, the chili peppers grown in our village come in red, green, and yellow varieties, as all of you who have dined at my Hefang Restaurant know very well.
The adults could simply find someone and ask them a question to find out the answer.
Every seven days, my parents or the village headman deliver goods to my restaurant. I can't even use all the food there. Why would I need to contact another old woman who only has a small plot of land?
"Besides, those dishes you mentioned, haha, I don't have any of them at home!"
After Tian Sangui finished speaking, everyone was shocked. Among those present, it could be said that not one of them had not been to Hefang Restaurant.
What Tian Sangui said was all true. When the restaurant opened, everyone was very curious about the menu they had never seen before, so the waiter specially introduced it to everyone in detail.
He Quanyin's memories were stirred by Tian Sangui. He had been wondering why he didn't recognize any of the words on the menu when they were put together.
It turned out that he had never seen these dishes before. When they were served, they were indeed much more pleasant to eat than the dishes he usually saw.
There's no need to boast about this to outsiders; he can prove it to Tian Sangui.
Seeing that things were not going well, Granny Long's eyes darted around, and she immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense!"
Then he stood up and roared at Tian Sangui menacingly: "I'm just here to supply you with vegetables. You just need to collect the corpses. Whether the vegetables are used or not is none of my business."
You can't deny that I've been supplying you with food just because the dishes are different; that corpse is the best proof!
Granny Long pointed to the corpse of Lou Yuanwai's daughter, which was parked at the very back of the government office, and cried out.
"Yes, it's just vegetables. Whether or not to use them is entirely up to her. It doesn't count, since the body was indeed found in her yard, along with the murder weapon!"
The crowd outside the gate made a fuss and accused the intruders.
Granny Long saw the beam of light that seemed to favor her, and hearing the people behind her discussing Tian Sangui on her behalf, she once again provoked Tian Sangui with a smug look in her eyes.
You think you're so capable? You talked a lot and even invited Madam Shen, but you still couldn't do anything to her, could you?
“Miss Tian, I am well aware that your family’s cuisine is different from others, but this alone is not enough to prove anything!”
Lord He wanted to remind her that she should find another way out as soon as possible so that she could explain herself.
She knew, of course, that these things couldn't prove anything for her, but they could serve as a comprehensive explanation of the origins and uniqueness of her family's dishes.
At the same time, it's also about buying more time for those working tirelessly for her outside, since moving a body takes time.
Tian Sangui remained calm and composed, not even glancing at Granny Long, and bowed to Lord He with a nonchalant air.
"Does Your Honor remember the murder weapon you found in my room?"
"Of course, bring it here!"
The soldiers entered the main hall carrying daggers. Tian Sangui looked at the blood-stained daggers and sneered repeatedly.
"The murder weapon is right here. Are you trying to confess?"
Lord He really couldn't understand Tian Sangui. What exactly was she trying to do? If she had confessed, why did Old Madam Shen show up and even take out the imperial token to make decisions for her?
"Your Excellency misunderstands. I only wish to invite a coroner to examine the murder weapon in public!"
"What?"
Is she sick?
"The murder weapon was found under her closet. It's obvious to everyone that she used the weapon to commit the murder. What else is there to verify?"
"I think she's desperate to live!"
Ignoring the unpleasant words outside the door, Tian Sangui glanced at Granny Long's expression.
Seeing her looking at him with a confident expression, Tian Sangui withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and focused on listening to Lord He's instructions.
"Go and invite Coroner Xu!"
A moment later, the upright, middle-aged, short coroner was led into the main hall by soldiers.
"This humble servant greets Lord He!"
"No need for formalities, Coroner Xu. I have summoned you to verify whether this dagger is the murder weapon!"
Upon receiving the order, Coroner Xu quickly opened his backpack, took out professional protective gear and tools, and dressed himself in full protective gear under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
He approached the corpse, examined the wounds with bamboo tweezers, and then knelt down in the hall to give his report.
"Sir, the deceased's wound is three inches long, and it shows signs of spreading to both sides. This was caused by the murderer inflicting secondary damage during the process of pulling out the knife. The total length of the wound is more than three inches!"
"The murder weapon was a dagger that was nine inches long and three inches wide!"
The coroner clearly announced the conclusion. When they heard about the secondary injury, everyone gasped at the same time, and their resentful eyes once again attacked Tian Sangui.
Lou, the wealthy man, overheard everything at the door. His heart ached so much that he could hardly breathe. In a panic, his concubine hurriedly ordered the servants to carry him home to fetch a doctor.
As he left, he didn't forget to give Tian Sangui a gloomy look.
Lord He waved his hand, and the officers and soldiers holding the evidence in both hands understood, presenting the murder weapon to the coroner for identification.
"Take a look, is this the murder weapon?"
The coroner merely glanced at him sideways and calmly replied, "No!"
"What?"
The crowd outside the door exclaimed in astonishment, wondering if the coroner had made a mistake. It was clearly the murder weapon, yet he said it wasn't.
Could it be that this coroner Xu was bribed by Tian Sangui?
It's unlikely. Coroners live and eat at the government office, and they can only see outsiders when they are summoned out. Tian Sangui doesn't have the ability to bypass the government office.
Lord He was also greatly shocked and asked seriously, "Can you tell clearly that this is really not the murder weapon?"
"Your Excellency, as I just stated, the deceased's wound was three inches wide and nine inches long!"
"The weapon in front of me, though similar in length, is only two and a half inches wide, which is completely inconsistent with the wound, so it cannot be called a murder weapon!"
Lord He leaned back abruptly, and before the coroner could finish speaking, he added another sentence.
"Furthermore, the bloodstains on this are from domestic animals such as pigs and sheep, not human blood!"
Damn it, after all this time, it turns out to be a butcher's knife?
Lord He's face turned red with embarrassment at his own stupidity.
The common people were even more unable to accept this fact, which came as a complete shock.
Thus, Tian Sangui had no connection to the disappearance case, and naturally, Lou Yuanwai's daughter was not killed by Tian Sangui.
"Could the murderer be someone else?"
The people started talking again, and two men in black looked at Xiao Tang, who was trembling beside them, with unfriendly expressions.
He clearly put the knife under her wardrobe that night, so how could it have shrunk?
Xiao Tang was both scared and confused.
Granny Long gritted her teeth and looked at Tian Sangui. He was clearly a fish on their chopping board, at their mercy. Now that the skin had been peeled off, how could they expect him to come back to life and run away?
She had never experienced anything like this while working in the palace; it was the only time. Otherwise, she would still be the most capable palace maid by her master's side.
"Hmph, she deliberately created a fake murder weapon to mislead everyone and use it to prove her innocence. Even so, it doesn't change the fact that Miss Lou's body was found in your backyard!"
Just as Granny Long was pointing at Tian Sangui and shouting, trying to guide the people to what she was saying.
Unexpectedly, she was stopped by a young voice: "You're talking nonsense. Do you think she can earn a thousand taels of silver with just that small plot of land?"
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