Seeing this, He Jinshu pretended to be heartbroken and said, "It is really disheartening that such a big city like Luozhou, while enjoying the convenience brought by our Wujia Village, turns around and slanders our Wujia Village.
Regarding the fact that Mr. Jiang was not poisoned but pretended to be, please give us an explanation, Mr. Prefect."
After that, he added: "As for the matter of arsenic in vinegar, please investigate again. All the seasonings produced in our Wujia Village are sealed with special adhesive when they are sold. When they are used, they must be burned at high temperature around the mouth of the jar before opening the lid.
Moreover, when we produce vinegar, we will put the same batch into dozens of jars. If the problem really is during our production, then it doesn't make sense that only that jar of vinegar has a problem, nor does it make sense that only Luozhou has a problem.
Also, when we sell, we will sign a sales agreement with the salesperson. Once the jar is accidentally opened, we are not allowed to sell it to others. If any violation is found, we will no longer sell Wujia Village seasonings to this person.
So if our villagers sold vinegar to Yumi Township and the jar was not opened, then the responsibility does not lie with Wujia Village. As for who is responsible, it depends on the prefect's ability to handle the case."
At this point, the case reached a bottleneck, and the prefect of Luozhou looked gloomy.
At this time, Jiang Xiucai's classmate in the crowd asked in confusion: "If Jiang Xiucai was not poisoned, then why was he vomiting and unconscious?"
"Who knows what evil ways he's taking," Chen Chen said disdainfully. "There are so many things that can make people vomit and pass out, and it doesn't necessarily require poisoning."
After that, he continued, "I think you Luozhou people are quite interesting. Our merchants have traveled thousands of miles to transport spices to sell here. Is it just to harm one of your scholars?
You don't know how popular our seasonings are. We can earn tens or even hundreds of taels of silver by traveling to other provinces. How can a scholar like you earn tens or hundreds of taels of silver in a year? We might as well make one more delivery instead of wasting your time."
As soon as Chen Zhen said this, the crowd began to talk again. Dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver? This is much better than working outside.
So someone asked curiously: "Brother, how do you get the goods? Are there any restrictions?"
Before Chen Chen could even open his mouth to speak, the Luozhou prefect slammed the table and said, "Silence."
Then he loudly rebuked, "Jiang Xiucai, do you know your crime by slandering others at will?"
"Sir, I'm innocent," Jiang Xiucai shouted. "The doctor did find arsenic in the dish, and also in the vinegar. These are facts, right? I have no grudge against them, so there's no need for me to wrongly accuse them!"
He Jinshu said, "If that's the case, then the root of the problem lies in that jar of vinegar. I'd like to ask the chef, did you open that jar of vinegar yourself when you used it?"
"No, it was the kitchen helper who opened it." The chef replied.
He Jinshu then turned to the kitchen helper and said, "Did you open the vinegar jar? Did it pass through other people's hands before it was used?"
"Yes." The kitchen helper nodded.
"So that means you didn't plant the arsenic?"
"Of course it wasn't me." The kitchen helper said loudly.
"Are you sure?" He Jinshu pressed on.
"Of course I am sure." The kitchen helper responded.
Upon hearing this, He Jinshu turned to the Luozhou prefect and said, "Sir, I want to summon a witness."
"allow."
"Come in." He Jinshu said lightly to the crowd.
At this time, a thin man walked out of the crowd. When the kitchen helper saw him for the first time, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
After arriving at the lobby, he knelt on the ground and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
"What do you know? Tell the truth." The prefect of Luozhou ordered.
"Yes, sir," Wang Erpi said, "I was a street thug. Someone paid me to buy some arsenic from a store that day, saying I could take it back to treat a disease. I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought it was just an errand and I got paid, so I went to the pharmacy, bought the arsenic, and gave it to him."
"Who instructed you to buy arsenic?" asked the prefect.
"That's him," Wang Erpi said, pointing at the kitchen helper. "He gave me one ounce of silver as a reward. When I gave him the arsenic, I got greedy and stole his purse. Here, this is it."
Wang Erpi took out a dark blue purse from his bosom and showed it to the prefect.
After the evidence was handed over, the prefect pointed at the purse and asked the kitchen helper, "Is this your purse?"
"No, no." The kitchen helper stammered.
"Your name is embroidered on it. It must be a gift from your sweetheart, right?" Wang Erpi said shamelessly.
"Is it true?" the prefect asked, slamming the table.
"Yes, it was my wallet," the kitchen helper said timidly. He then argued, "Even if it was my wallet, that doesn't prove I was the one who planted the arsenic!"
"If it wasn't you who put it there, then where did the arsenic you bought go?" He Jinshu asked.
"Of course it's used to treat illnesses." The kitchen helper said stubbornly.
"What disease do you want to treat?" He Jinshu asked again. "You'd better tell me the specific purpose truthfully. With so many doctors here today, I think no matter what disease you have, they will give you a satisfactory answer."
The kitchen helper was so nervous when asked that he started sweating and stammered, unable to speak.
"Did you ask anyone to buy arsenic?" the prefect asked sternly.
The kitchen helper was immediately awakened when he heard this, and then shouted loudly: "Sir, I am innocent. I don't even know that man. Who knows when he stole my purse, and then he framed me and asked him to buy arsenic."
He Jinshu glanced at the prefect indifferently when he heard this, then asked Wang Erpi, "Do you have any evidence to prove that you gave him the arsenic?"
"Of course there is," Wang Erpi said. "I've been a gangster since I was a kid, and I don't really care about cleanliness. When I was delivering the arsenic to that person, some dirt on my hands accidentally got on the wrapping paper. If we can find that wrapping paper, it will definitely prove what I said."
After saying that, he continued, "Are you wondering where the wrapping paper is? I know the answer to this question. Ever since this man asked me to buy arsenic, I've been following him for a while, hoping to get some more, but I never found the opportunity.
But I discovered a secret about him. He likes to put any important things in a box and put it under his bed. I don’t know if you can find it if you go there now.”
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