After that, Village Chief Wu asked again, "How did you determine that the problem lies with the vinegar we produce?"
"Mr. Li, you will explain what happened," said the prefect of Luozhou. This man was the lawyer that the poisoned scholar had sought out.
"Yes, sir." Lawyer Li bowed and saluted.
"That day, Jiang Xiucai went to Yumixiang for dinner with his classmates. During the meal, he ordered Yumixiang's latest sweet and sour fish. Out of curiosity, he tried it himself. As a result, he vomited immediately after finishing the meal and fell into a coma. He has been bedridden ever since.
Jiang Xiucai's classmates witnessed the incident and were furious. They demanded an explanation from Yumi Township. Later, they discovered that the vinegar they had just purchased from a vendor contained arsenic, which had caused Jiang Xiucai's poisoning.
"That's not right. Our vinegar jars are sealed with special glue. It's impossible for us to put poison in them." Village Chief Wu shouted.
"The chef and kitchen helper at Yumi Township confirmed that the jar of vinegar they used was newly opened and had just been bought from a merchant. They also had a doctor examine it, and it indeed contained arsenic. If you don't believe it, the evidence is here. You can go and see for yourself." Lawyer Li said disdainfully.
"Where is Mr. Jiang now? Why can't I see him?" asked Village Chief Wu. The cook, the doctor, and the jar of vinegar were all there, but there was no sign of Mr. Jiang.
"Of course he can't get up due to illness, so I have to do it for him." Lawyer Li said proudly.
At this point in the conversation, there was a moment of silence in the lobby. Village Chief Wu looked at He Jinshu, not knowing what he would do next. The other party's evidence was all there, so how could they find a breakthrough?
Seeing that Village Chief Wu had nothing to say, the Luozhou prefect asked directly, "Wu Minxian, now that we have witnesses and evidence, will you plead guilty?"
As soon as the Luozhou prefect finished speaking, someone in the crowd shouted, "Mr. Jiang is here!"
When everyone heard the voice, they looked outside the door and saw Jiang Xiucai coming in with someone.
The crowd quickly made way for him, and Jiang Xiucai and the man entered the lobby smoothly.
At this moment, He Jinshu gave Village Chief Wu a look, and upon seeing this, Village Chief Wu immediately shouted in fear, "Sir, didn't Lawyer Li say that Scholar Jiang was bedridden? He, he doesn't look sick at all."
When Jiang Xiucai heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He first looked up at the prefect, only to see him sitting there with a gloomy face. Then he looked at Lawyer Li, whose face was also gloomy. Then he looked at the person standing next to him, who looked calm and composed. He immediately knew that he had been cheated.
So he made a quick decision and said, "Sir, my condition has improved since yesterday, and I am no longer in danger. That's why I came to the government office to see how the person who hurt me is being punished."
At this time, Lin Liu, who was standing beside him, knelt down and shouted, "Sir, I want to report him. He is lying. He is not sick at all. I have been with him for the past two days. When he was chased, he ran faster than me. He didn't look like he was poisoned at all. He also told me that someone ordered him to fake illness, saying that if he could accomplish this task, he would be able to pass the imperial examination directly."
"Nonsense."
"That's nonsense."
Mr. Jiang and the prefect scolded loudly in unison.
"Do you know what crime you will be punished for slandering the imperial examination system?" the prefect of Luozhou said sternly.
Lin Liu said calmly at this time: "I am not talking nonsense. I am just repeating what Jiang Xiucai said. I was injured because of saving Jiang Xiucai. You can see for yourself." As he said that, he took off his coat and exposed the wound on his shoulder.
Then he said to Jiang Xiucai, "Jiang Xiucai, it is said that scholars are the most trustworthy. Someone was chasing you, and I was injured while saving you. Isn't that right?"
Jiang Xiucai just frowned and said nothing when he heard that. He only realized now that perhaps the chase he had been going through was a trap, waiting for him to jump in.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lin Liu continued, "I have been staying with Jiang Xiucai for the past two days. Because he saved my life, he trusts me very much and revealed some things to me.
Jiang Xiucai told me that this vinegar incident was specifically aimed at Wujia Village. Not only did they want to destroy their reputation, but after locking people up, they would also force them to reveal the recipe for making vinegar. Once Wujia Village's reputation was ruined, it would be easy for them to get the recipes for other seasonings.
And he was just pretending to be sick. If you don't believe me, you can ask a few more doctors to check his body to see if he has been poisoned."
"Stop slandering me." Jiang Xiucai said angrily.
Lin Liu said calmly, "If I tell you whether I'm lying or not, Jiang Xiucai can find out by checking his body with a doctor."
Village Chief Wu also cooperated at this time and said, "Sir, please make sure to investigate thoroughly. Even though Mr. Jiang's condition improved yesterday, he must have been very weak since he was poisoned before. But now I see that his face is rosy and he doesn't look like he's been seriously ill at all. And considering what Lawyer Li said before, I suspect his poisoning is all fake."
"How is it possible? I saw him pass out on that day and he was saved by the doctor." A classmate of Jiang Xiucai shouted in the crowd.
"I examined Mr. Jiang that day and was very sure that he was poisoned by arsenic." The doctor also agreed.
"The witnesses and evidence all come from your Luozhou Prefecture. Of course, whatever you say is true," Village Chief Wu shouted angrily. "I suspect you are colluding to frame our Wujia Village. It's a pity that this incident didn't happen in our Cangzhou. Otherwise, our prefect would definitely clear our Wujia Village's name."
"Silence." The prefect of Luozhou slammed the table and shouted.
At this time, He Jinshu interrupted and said, "Since that's the case, why don't you find a few more doctors to check on Jiang Xiucai's health? It would be best if they were well-known and had high medical skills."
The prefect of Luozhou didn't know what He Jinshu was up to, but since things had come to this point, he could only ask someone to invite a doctor to examine Jiang Xiucai.
After the examination, all the doctors said that Jiang Xiucai was in good health and had no signs of poisoning.
Seeing this, Lin Liu shouted, "Sir, am I right? I said he was faking his illness, and it turns out to be true."
The doctor who examined Jiang Xiucai that day was unconvinced and took his pulse himself. He found that it was indeed normal, without any feeling of weakness, and even no signs of poisoning could be found. He immediately doubted his medical skills.
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