Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 12 Croton? Arsenic?
Yuzhan's legs gave out and she knelt down, sobbing uncontrollably: "Your servant... Your servant..."

Wenrou was also frightened by this sudden scene and couldn't say a word.

Although Madam Wen's face was livid, she still stiffened her neck and pointed at Wen Xin, "Who do you think you are? You're just a charlatan hired by this little bitch! What qualifications do you have to speak here?"

Mo Yun stepped forward and slapped Madam Wen, then pulled out an official seal from his bosom: "Open your eyes and see, our master is not some charlatan!"

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the official seal. It was shining with golden light, and the words on it were clearly visible with strong and powerful strokes. The nine large characters "Ti Dian Hebei East Road Criminal Court Seal" exuded a chilling aura.

For a moment, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief, especially Rong Wanyin. They had never imagined that this seemingly frail Master Yan was actually the Chief Inspector.

You should know that the most important duty of the Chief Justice is to supervise and review local cases. What Wenrou did today is no less than digging the dirt on someone's head.

Wenrou was struck by lightning. Her face turned pale as paper in an instant. Her lips trembled slightly, and her hands unconsciously clutched the corners of her clothes tightly. Beads of sweat slid down her cheeks. She seemed to have lost her backbone, muttering to herself, "How could it be... No... Impossible..."

Mrs. Wen held her hand and motioned her to calm down.

Yan Mingzhang stood up and said in mock anger, "What's going on? Tell me now!"

Yuzhan glanced at Wenrou and trembled like a sieve: "I really didn't know! This is just croton powder... How could it be poisoned?..."

Yan Mingzhang stroked a jade flute in his hand and asked, "Croton powder? What croton powder?"

Mo Yun picked up the brown paper and smelled it, then whispered in Yan Mingzhang's ear, "Sir, it does smell like croton powder, but there's no way to tell if it contains arsenic."

Yan Mingzhang nodded and continued the interrogation: "The symptoms of poisoning clearly resemble those of arsenic! Yuzhan, you'd better confess the truth. This is a charge of murder..."

"Arsenic?" Yuzhan was extremely shocked, her pupils dilated, and she was stunned.

After a long time, Yuzhan finally came to her senses, her face showing embarrassment. If she told him, the Second Miss would definitely not let her go, but if she didn't, she would be charged with murder! Yuzhan hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, hardened her heart, pointed her finger at Wenrou and said, "It's...it's the Second Miss..."

Wenrou was furious and jumped up from her seat: "You bitch, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Yuzhan was hesitant and spoke incoherently, "It was given to me by the Second Miss. She said it was croton powder... She asked me to put it in..."

Wenrou's eyes widened as she angrily said, "You're talking nonsense! I only asked you to put croton powder in it, how could it turn out to be arsenic? And... and I asked you to put it in Wenxin's cup, how could you have made a mistake? You must be trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife... I only wanted to embarrass her in front of everyone. I really didn't put arsenic in it. It really wasn't me!"

Seeing her daughter so foolish and confessing without being asked, Mrs. Wen was so anxious that she almost cried, but the words had already been spoken and could not be taken back.

Wanyin was furious when she heard this, "No wonder you were so attentive just now. It turns out you put drugs in Sister Xin's cup! Why did you do that?" Wanyin quickly stepped forward and picked up the cup that Wen Xin had drunk from, but the tea had already spilled in the cup and there was no tea left, so there was no way to check.

Rong Wanyin's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with confusion. She murmured softly, "It's truly puzzling. Why would Wenrou poison Sister Xin? While their relationship isn't close, they are sisters after all. How could they do such a cruel thing?" Yan Mingzhang stood by, his expression solemn. Upon hearing Rong Wanyin's question, he turned slightly to look at Mo Yun beside him and asked, "Mo Yun, do you remember the rumors you've heard about the Wen family these past few days?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yun lowered his head slightly in thought for a moment, then raised his head and slowly said, "I heard that Master Wen was originally just a small trader. By chance, he married into the Xu family. With his own means and strategies, he continuously expanded the Xu family's assets and eventually became the richest man in Fengxian City. However, I heard that Master Wen had a previous wife, who also gave birth to a daughter for Master Wen." At this point, Mo Yun suddenly paused, a trace of panic flashing across his face, "Ah, could it be... Miss Wen is that..."

Mo Yun stopped talking after saying this.

Madam Wen's face flushed red as she said angrily, "So what? Wen Xin is definitely not my biological daughter."

Madam Wen thought for a moment and added guiltily, "But I've been serving her well over the years, and I've never treated her unfairly!"

As for whether she has really been treated unfairly, I guess only she herself knows.

Yan Mingzhang nodded, turned around and asked, "Yuzhan, what is the croton powder you wrapped in this paper?"

Yuzhan quickly pointed to the brown paper spread out on the table and said, "Your Excellency, this is the brown paper that I just used to wrap the croton powder. There's still a little bit of brown croton powder left on it. Your Excellency, please understand!"

Yan Mingzhang took the brown paper and examined it carefully. There was indeed some brown powder on it. "There is indeed brown powder on it, but arsenic powder is white and odorless. It is not ruled out that you may have mixed arsenic powder with croton powder."

Now we can only wait for the doctor to come and see what the tea in Master Wen’s cup is made of. After all, the only people who have touched this teacup are you and the Second Miss of the Wen family.

"Yes, that must be the case. I just wanted to use croton seeds, and you took the opportunity to mix arsenic into it?" Wenrou frowned coldly and said angrily, "My father wanted to take you as a concubine a while ago, and since you didn't want to, he did this to me! Is that right or not?"

In order to clear herself of suspicion, Wenrou impatiently pushed Yuzhan out as a scapegoat.

Yuzhan burst into tears: "My lord, you are wronged! I don't want to be your concubine, but I dare not poison you!"

Wenrou stepped forward, ripped open Yuzhan's collar, and rolled up her sleeves, only to see that Yuzhan's arms and neck were covered in bruises and redness. Yan Mingzhang quickly turned his face away, not wanting to look at anything inappropriate. Wenwen hurried forward, pulled Yuzhan's clothes in place, and glared at Wenrou in dissatisfaction: "Can't you come into the house to check the injuries?"

Rong Wanyin looked around, grabbed a tablecloth, and wrapped the jade hairpin tightly.

Wenrou rolled her eyes at the two of them, completely ignoring them, and said smugly:

"My father wanted to take this lowly maid as his concubine, but she was ungrateful and refused. I gave him an idea, and he used some tricks to get what he wanted. I guess Yuzhan is holding a grudge against him because of this!"

Wenrou had a confident look on her face, determined to clear herself of suspicion. As for the fact that she had done such a despicable thing, she had no regrets at all.

(End of this chapter)