Chapter 311: Truth Revealed
“Gu Yi, tell everyone what you found!” Prefect Fang glanced at the coroner.
“Yes, sir.”
“Before Yao Dingyuan died, his whole body convulsed, he felt nauseous and vomited, suffered nonstop abdominal cramps, his consciousness became scattered. Upon examination, there was vomit in the deceased’s mouth with milky white lumps, a metallic taste in the mouth, bleeding in the digestive tract and intestines, lesions in multiple organs including the kidneys and liver, and severe damage to the brain!”
“I extracted two substances from Yao Dingyuan’s body. One is something everyone is familiar with: mercury, a dyeing substance used to dye red.”
“As soon as this is mentioned, everyone understands: this mercury is a banned item!”
The late Supreme Emperor Fengmian once had someone refine an immortality pill. After consuming it, he did not achieve immortality but was instead poisoned to death. It was later found that mercury had been added to the pill, causing the poisoning. Therefore, it was listed as a banned item.
Everyone nodded one after another, pointing at mulberry trees while cursing the locust tree: “Since it’s a banned item, yet they dared to add it to the glazed ware lamps and utensils—these unscrupulous merchants are truly capable of any evil, using any means for profit!”
Li Xi’er watched everyone’s reactions and knew they were cursing her, but she responded calmly:
“Because they couldn’t produce the vibrant multicolored hues in my glazed ware lamp, this mercury is also called quicksilver, a type of dye that can produce red, so they added this substance!”
Those people saw her confident demeanor, lowered their heads, and immediately started whispering: “So that’s how it is! Could it be that we were truly deceived by fakes!”
Coroner Gu Yi: “As for the other substance, that slightly off-white one, I think it’s also a toxic metallic mineral substance, powder from black gold ore, but strangely, it wasn’t extracted from the glazed ware lamp.”
Li Xi’er remained indifferent. “Not extracted? That’s exactly right.”
Prefect Fang was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Sir, the metallic mineral substance the coroner mentioned—I call it lead powder. Long-term heavy consumption of it can indeed cause organ failure, with clear symptoms like liver pain, abdominal cramps, brain damage, and so on.”
“How do you know?” Prefect Fang stared at her intently!
“When we at Heng Can Glazed Ware make these products, we pay great attention to the functionality of these added substances. Naturally, we cannot allow toxic things to circulate into people’s hands. We must research these things, after all, we are merchants supplying imperial utensils to the Imperial Palace. If we dared to make fakes, adding toxic substances recklessly for profit regardless of consequences, wouldn’t that be smashing our own signboard and sending ourselves to the execution block?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent!
“Prefect Fang, since the coroner didn’t extract it from the imitation glazed ware lamp, this person must be someone who knows his habits. Sir, may I ask Madam Yao a few questions?”
Assistant Magistrate Ma couldn’t hold back upon hearing this and abruptly stood up, his mind buzzing: “Reporting to Prefect Fang, how can this Li Xi’er take your place to investigate…”
This time, someone in the hall below cleared their throat loudly, as if coughing up a lung.
It was Xie Ajin.
This drew attention from Assistant Magistrate Ma and those around him. Xie Ajin cupped his fists politely to those around: “Sorry, I’ve caught a cold recently!”
But with the corner of his eye, he shot a cold, icy glare at Assistant Magistrate Ma, noticed only by him.
Chen Jinhui went further, making a gesture of chopping off arms and legs at the second-in-command.
Assistant Magistrate Ma jumped in fright!
“What is it?” Prefect Fang turned and saw Assistant Magistrate Ma startling about, then asked again: “Assistant Magistrate Ma, what is the matter? This official is asking you!” His emotions showed some impatience…
“This, s-sir, they…” Assistant Magistrate Ma stammered.
“Who?”
“N-nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, then step down!”
“Sir, I must pursue this matter to the end. You know, this concerns imperial utensils. I absolutely will not let bad people escape the law!”
“Right, this concerns imperial utensils and cannot be taken lightly. Li Xi’er, whatever you want to ask, this official permits you to question!” Prefect Fang’s face turned ashen.
“Yes. Madam Yao, does your husband have a habit of drinking alcohol on normal days?”
Prefect Fang: “Tell everything without reservation, no lying allowed!”
Madam Yao then said: “Reporting to sir, indeed he does. My master must drink alcohol every night before bed. It’s been a habit for many years, ever since I married him.”
“But sir, this doesn’t have much relation to the poisoning, right? If it were going to poison him, it would have happened long ago!”
Li Xi’er mocked lightly, “Yes! If it were like before, naturally he wouldn’t be poisoned. But what if someone deliberately poisoned his wine utensils?”
“What? Poison in the wine utensils?” Madam Yao couldn’t believe it. Why would they do that? For the house?
“Impossible…”
“Inspector Liu, quickly send people to the Yao manor to bring back the wine utensils that Yao Dingyuan usually used for drinking and inspect them.”
“Yes.”
“Reporting to Prefect Fang, to avoid making Inspector Liu run back and forth repeatedly, I suggest also summoning Yao Dingyuan’s personal servant!”
“Right, this official overlooked that. Inspector Liu, do as she says.” Prefect Fang felt embarrassed for a moment. This case had already been concluded as Heng Can Glazed Ware’s doing, but who knew there would be such a big reversal. Now with so many people watching, he hadn’t even handled this small detail, full of doubts, feeling a bit upset.
This was all Assistant Magistrate Ma’s fault; he had mainly been misled by him.
“Madam Yao, may I ask if your master has had any unusual behavior recently? For example, making any new friends, often drinking and carousing together?”
“Sir!”
Assistant Magistrate Ma spoke up again to stop her.
“Hm?”
Prefect Fang was already annoyed with him and glanced at Assistant Magistrate Ma—why was it him speaking out of turn again?
He hadn’t noticed before; was he really this kind of person?
But at this moment, Assistant Magistrate Ma was terrified; he saw Chen Jinhui across from him making a throat-slitting gesture at him with a fierce expression!
“Ah! No, no, this one is fine!”
“Assistant Magistrate Ma, what is wrong with you today? If you keep disrupting the trial like this, don’t blame this official for being impolite! Hm!”
He slammed the gavel!
Assistant Magistrate Ma kept apologizing! He shrank back. “Yes, yes! This one was wrong!”
His face formed a big embarrassed character, and he looked quite terrified.
“Friends?” Madam Yao thought darkly about Li Xi’er’s earlier words; there were indeed some strange things.
In the past half month, the master often returned late, drunk and staggering, always acting mysterious. Last time, he brought back that glazed ware lamp, saying it was from Heng Can Glazed Ware, showing it off like a treasure every day, using it to hold soup and water to drink, to show he lived superior to others.
She had thought he had another woman outside, perhaps keeping a concubine, which made him so smug. Earlier, she had probed him several times out of worry.
This Yao Dingyuan had somewhat of a nouveau riche nature. His family originally had a house outside the Imperial City, in a central location.
After his parents died, he sold it and bought an entire street on Xuanwu Street here in one go. Xuanwu Street was a remote old street back then, but now with Fengjing City’s economic development and expansion, this area has developed very well.
Fengjing City land is inch-of-gold expensive, especially in recent years, with house and land plot prices soaring. He sold several houses here, and the whole family became very wealthy.
Now the remaining houses could earn money from rent!
He loved showing off, acting flashy! Outside, he posed as a big boss, greatly enjoying others’ flattery and fawning.
Li Xi’er thought: if the wine utensils in the manor were poisoned, then who was the poisoner?
If the wine utensils in the manor had no poison, then this lead must have been added to the wine utensils by someone who was constantly with him—hence the question.
“This, this… it seems he recently befriended several big bosses, saying they were investing in some business, and that our good days were coming, that from now on we’d rise to the next level.”
As Madam Yao spoke, she started crying again, unaware it would end in his untimely death!
Those watching her cry felt pity, but some thought Madam Yao really didn’t know how to think.
For example, Aunt Wang beside her, whose eyes showed a trace of contempt.
This Yao Dingyuan was fat like a pig—she knew he wasn’t good to his wife at all, always messing around outside. Why was she crying? Now that he was gone, the property was all hers—how wonderful!
“Oh? What are the names of these bosses? Did you hear?” Li Xi’er pressed while it was hot.
“Seems like one was surnamed Meng, and another called Wang Zhangsong.”
Upon saying this, Assistant Magistrate Ma was scared out of his wits, fearing Madam Yao might suddenly say his name!
“Is it called Wang Zhangsong?”
“Right, exactly! Wang Zhangsong. The master came back every day calling him Wang Xiong, Meng Xiong, saying they would bring him to get rich!” Madam Yao said.
Hearing this, that Aunt Wang earlier was so scared she stealthily stood up, wanting to find a chance to slip away. Someone in the crowd had already hurried out.
“Sigh, after all this talk, I still don’t understand how you prove yours is genuine and ours is fake?” Someone who bought fake goods said dispiritedly.
“I don’t believe it. Even if it’s fake, you Heng Can Glazed Ware deliberately made it that way. You have to compensate me!”
“Right, compensate for the losses!” Someone echoed!
“Good, Oldest Brother, you don’t believe the flaws I explained, so I’ll make you convinced from the heart!” Li Xi’er calmly walked over, took the glazed ware lamp from Ling Ling’s hand, and held it up to the sunshine!
A magical scene occurred.
“Look, is there a brilliant multicolored little star inside?”
“What? Where?”
“How come we didn’t see it earlier?”
Immediately, many people wanted to come forward to look!
“Don’t rush, take it slow. When I designed this glazed ware lamp, I specially added a unique mark, but it’s invisible under normal conditions because it’s transparent. However, under sunshine, this little star will appear!”
“The fakes definitely don’t have it. Oldest Brother, if you want to know if yours is genuine, try shining it in the sun!”
That person, upon hearing this, immediately ran to the yard, held it high to shine. Others holding glazed ware lamps also rushed out in a swarm to try shining.
“Heavens, mine doesn’t have it!”
“Mine doesn’t either!”
“Damn! I was scammed, fake goods!”
Sighs—they wondered why they hadn’t known before?
“Reporting to sir, I have a witness who can prove that the flawed glazed ware I was about to destroy flowed into their hands. As long as it’s proven to be them, sir can immediately send bailiffs to search, and they will surely find many counterfeit, inferior, and toxic glazed ware lamps!”
“Good, bring him up.”
Anyway, any evidence now could be used as reference.
Moments later, everyone saw a man with blood-drenched arms and legs from beatings, groaning and wailing continuously as he was carried in!
No one knew who arranged it, but his miserable state shocked them.
“This is the traitor from my Glazed Ware Company. He is called Wu Dong. When our Glazed Ware Company destroys flawed products, they pass through his hands, so he hid them!”
Wu Dong was thrown to the ground, barely clinging to life, and honestly confessed.
“You beat him?”
Seeing his state, Prefect Fang asked disapprovingly.
“Correct. He stole my Heng Can Glazed Ware things, was caught red-handed, and refused to admit it, so he had to suffer a bit!” Li Xi’er said calmly.
The people around were half-scared to death. Who would dare openly steal now? Beaten was well-deserved!
Just as he confessed one by one when Li Xi’er beat him that morning, he recounted it word for word without discrepancy.
“Yes, it was Wang Zhangsong, and, and Boss Meng from the Meng Family Workshop. They were jealous… that Heng Can Glazed Ware’s glazed ware lamps sold for big prices, so they privately found me and had me steal flawed products to give them for imitation!”
With Li Xi’er’s morning reminder, Wu Dong gasped for breath and honestly said.
“Then why did you agree?” Prefect Fang seized the key point!
Wu Dong shrank back…
“Speak quickly!”
“Sir, this is the commission he gave him several times before completion: two hundred taels, found on him.”
Li Xi’er handed it to Prefect Fang. The people below started discussing.
“Two hundred taels?”
“No wonder he took the risk. He’s just a boiler tender—how much silver can he earn in a year?”
Wu Dong felt nowhere was safe to hide it, and having so much at once—he’d never seen such large banknotes in his life, so how could he bear to part with them?
Suddenly having such a large sum was clearly abnormal.
“Wu Dong, confess honestly!” Li Xi’er stared at him with a half-smile…
“After success, he would give me a share.”
That would be a fortune!
“Tsk tsk, no wonder!”
“Then the poisoned glazed ware lamps were made in the Meng Family Workshop based on the one I stole. They produced quite a few, at least two or three hundred pieces total, flowing into the market, including the previous several batches.”
“Outrageous!” Prefect Fang was furious to death. No need to shine in the sun for stars anymore; he knew the one in his manor was fake!
Anyway, he had already smashed it, and had regretted it earlier!
Regret what! No wonder it was so easy to buy, infuriating! And the price was quite high!
These unscrupulous merchants!
“Sir, I suggest you seal the yamen gates to prevent anyone here from running out to tip off. Otherwise, when we search later, those fakes will vanish!”
The person who tried to slip out midway had already been stopped by Bu Wei—no chance to tip off!
Inspector Liu, who went earlier for the wine utensils, also returned. After Coroner Gu Yi’s examination, there was no lead substance on them—this proved the poison was added outside!
Further info from Yao Dingyuan’s personal servant: Yao Dingyuan did keep a mistress, a young woman in a brothel. That Wang Zhangsong and Boss Meng were met there!
In other words, Yao Dingyuan was poisoned in two ways: one mercury, one lead. The mercury was from drinking in the fake glazed cup, the lead was deliberately added by someone!
Trying to frame Heng Can Glazed Ware.
Meanwhile, Boss Meng was anxious like an ant on a hot pan—why hadn’t the scout returned?
Seeing Wang Zhangsong made him even angrier. “Have you contacted Wu Dong? Things seem off. Find him, best if…” He made a gesture at him!
What he didn’t know was that Wu Dong had already revealed even their fake-making hideout, since he had personally been there. This was also why Li Xi’er deliberately let him steal flawed products a few times for delivery—to scout the interior.
