Chapter 232 Restoring Innocence
Jiang Mi said frankly, "I'm not afraid of you knowing how my peach blossom wine is made, because you can't learn it anyway. Sir, I can let you search my entire restaurant in public to check whether I have kept anything harmful here."
Seeing Jiang Mi's frankness, the magistrate was already seven or eight parts convinced, especially by Jiang Mi's courage, which he admired. However, to silence everyone's gossip, he really had to conduct a thorough investigation; otherwise, it would be incredibly difficult for Jiang Mi to survive here in the future.
"Alright, then let's investigate on the spot." After saying that, the magistrate found a chair and sat down, clearly intending to supervise personally to prevent anyone from tampering with the investigation.
It is most appropriate, fairest, and most convincing for the people to have the government investigate.
Jiang Mi summoned all her men to the main hall and had the soldiers search them one by one. She was so open and fearless that the suspicions in the hearts of the people had dissipated considerably.
Looking back at the troublemakers, they seemed restless, as if something hadn't been done. One of them, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, quietly tried to leave. Zhang Min'en had been watching them closely, and when she saw one of them trying to run towards the backyard, she quickly called out, "Where are you going?"
At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to that person, who was acting suspiciously and clearly had ulterior motives, and no one knew what kind of tricks he was going to pull.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Mi shouted, startling the man.
"I...I..." the man stammered, glancing at his leader. "I just really need to pee, what's wrong with that? Can't I go to the toilet?"
Jiang Mi saw through his thoughts at a glance and said coldly, "No, who knows if you want to use the restroom or what? At such a critical moment, you're sneaking around trying to leave. You must have ill intentions."
"I didn't!" That person wouldn't admit it, and in front of everyone, he couldn't do anything, so he could only stand back awkwardly.
The magistrate coldly surveyed the crowd, noticing the varied expressions on everyone's faces. He had a general idea of what was going on. After everyone returned, he asked, "Did you find anything suspicious?"
The officer who went to search reported, "Sir, everything is normal inside the Jiang Family Restaurant; there is nothing suspicious."
The magistrate nodded and said to the man beside him, "In that case, bring over the peach blossom wine. I want to see if there are any poisonous substances like poppies in it."
To ensure fairness, the magistrate specially invited two doctors to come over, so as not to arouse suspicion. Now there are six doctors on site. These six people were invited from various medical officials, so there is no possibility of them colluding.
"Who wants to go first?" the magistrate asked.
One of the older doctors came over and examined the peach blossom wine first. He took a sip, then poured it out to look at it. He also went to the backyard to check the brewing vessels before standing aside.
This was the magistrate's idea. After each doctor had examined the patients in turn, he had them write down their results on separate pieces of paper. In this way, no one knew what the other's results were, and it was impossible for them to give the same explanation.
At this moment, Jiang Mi glanced at the doctor in the crowd, took two steps forward, and gestured for him to come over: "Is this also a doctor? Why don't you come over and have an examination with him as well?"
The doctor, however, was no longer as boastful as before. He declined, saying, "I am just a wandering doctor with only a little knowledge. I am not worthy of the title of doctor. Please listen to that other doctor."
Jiang Mi snorted coldly: "That won't do. Just now you were the one who confidently said that there was poison in my Jiang Family Restaurant, and that this old man was poisoned. You even called the others quacks. Now is the time to show off your superb medical skills."
The man tried to refuse, but the magistrate ordered his men to drag him over.
"Alright, no need for so much talk. Just get examined, just like these doctors. After you're done, write it down on a piece of paper, and I'll look at each one."
The man had no choice but to examine the body like the doctors, glancing at the document from left to right as he wrote it down. In the end, he was intimidated by the magistrate's gaze.
Only then did I finally finish writing it properly.
After collecting all the papers written by the doctors, the magistrate examined them one by one. When he saw the last one, he frowned, looked up at the man, and asked, "Do you know what you wrote?"
The man shrank back: "I am not a doctor, so naturally I cannot write anything useful. Besides, if this old man was not poisoned, why would he be foaming at the mouth? Perhaps the poison is colorless and odorless, and cannot be detected at all."
The eldest doctor coughed and said with slight anger, "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if there is a colorless and odorless poison, it can still be detected. The patient on the ground has a normal pulse and steady breathing, and looks like he is asleep. Unless the poison you are talking about is not from our place."
The magistrate glanced at the old man on the ground again and asked, "If you can't find anything wrong, does that mean there's no cure? You can't just let him lie there forever, can you? Help him up and take a look."
Only then did someone help the old man up and place him on a wooden couch to rest on. Several doctors took turns examining him, but still said there was nothing wrong.
If only one person says this, it might arouse suspicion. But if so many people say this, then it's very likely that they're asleep. So how could they be foaming at the mouth?
Jiang Mi asked, "Sir, why don't you reveal the opinions of the doctors? That way, everyone will know what's in my peach blossom wine and whether drinking it will kill people."
The magistrate nodded and had someone show everyone the doctor's notes: "As you can all see, these doctors did not communicate or exchange information at all, but the results they wrote were the same. This is enough to prove that Jiang Family Restaurant is innocent, and everyone can come and eat and drink with peace of mind."
Upon hearing this, everyone was relieved, and Jiang Mi also breathed a sigh of relief. Among these doctors, only the last one, the wandering swordsman, wrote something different from the others; the rest wrote the same thing.
"Now what do you have to say?" Jiang Mi asked the ringleaders of the disturbance.
The leader was very dissatisfied. Who knew that the county magistrate would actually come? If it weren't for the county magistrate's intervention, the Jiang Family Restaurant definitely wouldn't have been able to continue operating. It was just a little short.
"Since the leaders have made their decisions, we naturally have no objections. We're just worried about everyone. Someone's been killed; who wouldn't be afraid? It's always better to be cautious, isn't it?"
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