How to work

This maid is a little different.

She was wearing a plain blue bijia, with a light blue silk sash around her waist, her oval face was pure and white, her willow eyes were slightly closed, and she was holding a tray with a teapot and two teacups on it. The faint white smoke that comes out... It seems that she is here to bring tea to the eldest son Cui Zhi.

She is different because of her demeanor and temperament.Her eyelashes are very long, the corners of her eyes are slightly upturned, and her slightly retracted eyelids cover one-third of her pupils. Her eyes, which are clearly very bright, look introverted after covering them like this.Every movement of her hands and feet is full of rules, but the rules don't mean that she is rigid, but that she behaves elegantly, which is very in line with the results of the training of servants in ancient times, and she looks very comfortable.

This servant girl is different from most of the servant girls who are used to, she clearly has an aura of spirituality on her body, but she doesn't show her mountains and waters. If she didn't observe carefully, no one would think that she might be hiding her clumsiness on purpose.

Shen Wansha would lead Lu Li to look at it, maybe because of the single environment, he noticed the difference in this person.

Lu Li was holding the teacup, his eyes slightly raised, "Interesting..."

"Huh?" Shen Wansha didn't understand, "What's interesting?"

Lu Li: ...

"You show me this maid—"

Before Lu Li finished speaking, Shen Wansha smiled and pointed at the light blue silk sash around the maidservant's waist, "That's very beautiful, don't you think? It's dull in the dark, bright in the sun, with a drapey texture... But this year's Suzhou-Hangzhou new material!"

Lu Li: ...

How could he have forgotten that as a businessman, the things that are most likely to arouse the young master's interest are fresh and expensive things.

So Shen Wansha didn't think this maid was wrong?

Lu Li turned his gaze to Zhao Zhu, Zhao Zhu nodded at him, at the same time the corners of his lips slightly raised, and he blinked quickly at him.

Zhao Zhu could also see that, as expected, the two of them had the best understanding!King Ping was very satisfied.

Lu Li: ...

At the window, Cui Zhi called the maid Mei Xiang, "Put it down, I'm not in the mood to drink now."

Mei Xiang knelt down and blessed her body, put the tea on the table, and did not leave.

……

On the side of the main hall, as expected, more and more witnesses were called by Ponzi.Finally, a daughter-in-law who worked in the small kitchen murmured: Before Hou Ye died, she saw with her own eyes that his wife put arsenic into a bowl of soup, and finally this bowl of soup was delivered to the Hou Mansion.

Li Tuiguan looked solemn: "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"It is indeed the servant who saw it with her own eyes. At that time, the madam waved back the servants and personally started to prepare the meals for Lord Hou, and finally poured them into the soup bowl..." The voice of the daughter-in-law was trembling, and she lowered her head heavily, not daring to look at others, "The servant was accidentally Passing by, just seeing this scene, she was too scared to make a sound. Madam walked out of the small kitchen, called the servants over, brought the meal to Master Hou, and said that she was worried that Master Hou would be unhappy, so that the servants would not say that the meal was made by herself I did it. Later, martial law was enforced in the mansion, and later the Marquis passed away, slaves, slaves, never dared to speak..."

As soon as she said this, the surroundings were immediately quiet, the atmosphere was dignified, and needles could be heard.

Mother Du snorted coldly, "Don't say what you said is true or false, even if you did see Madam put something into the soup bowl, how would you know it was arsenic? Master Hou hangs around with his aunt every day, and his body is not good enough. Well, it's normal for Madam to be concerned, maybe it's just a tonic for strengthening the body?"

The daughter-in-law took a step back, "Your Majesty treats Madam badly, Madam will feel resentment, we all understand, if Master Hou just had a diarrhea or something and didn't die, slaves naturally wouldn't dare to guess like that..."

When Madam Du was about to continue questioning, Pang sneered, "After all, paper can't cover fire. God has eyes. No matter how secretive some people are, they will be seen by people who happen to pass by. This daughter-in-law doesn't see much. Seeing Madam poisoning, maybe someone else saw that Lord Hou did drink that bowl of soup. Mama Du kept trying to stop her again and again, because she had a ghost in her heart, and she didn't want your lord to solve the case!"

When she said the last sentence, she even bowed to Li Tuiguan Fu in the hall.

Li Tuiguan twirled his beard and felt a headache.

It's really asking something terrible... Keep asking, Madam Hou is in danger!

But when he looked over, Mrs. Zhang was still sitting upright, with no expression on her face, very calm... Does this mean that it all depends on him as the pusher?

Looking at King Ping and Mr. Lu, both of them were watching from the sidelines, they didn't mean to speak at all, and they couldn't tell which side they were on.

Tuiguan Li was very worried. On the surface, the case had to continue to be solved... He asked a few questions slowly, and waved for someone to continue bringing witnesses to the main hall.

……

Cui Zhi had been watching all this through the window, slowly, his lips were tightly pursed, and a trace of determination flashed between his brows, as if he had made a decision in his heart.

Yan An glanced at him, patted his tense shoulders, "Don't worry."

His own mother was on the other side, and he was about to be convicted. Even though Cui Zhi was young and intelligent, and his character was considered stable, he still couldn't help being anxious.He knew what his master said was right, and he also knew that he should trust his mother, but he just... couldn't control himself.

Yan An also understood, took two shots and ignored it, and quietly looked towards the main hall.He stood upright and calm, his temperament was like a bamboo, and Hui Chi's eyes showed no expression except for some fluctuations in Zhang's profile.

The direction where Mei Xiang was standing was facing Yan An's right cheek.Yan'an has a long scar between his eyebrows on the left side, but his right side is flawless.Slender eyebrows, handsome eyes, bold nose, jade-like skin...

This person is a bit older, and there are fine lines around his eyes, but the precipitation of the years has made his temperament better.Yan An is a person who is hard to be disgusted at first glance.Even if others are not amazed by his appearance, they will be amazed by his temperament.

Mei Xiang's eyelashes drooped even deeper, she poured a cup of tea with her plain hand, and walked slowly to Yan An, "Drink tea, sir."

Yan An frowned slightly, "I'm not thirsty, you can put it back."

Mei Xiang bit her lips: "Sir, don't worry, Pang... can't beat Madam."

"What is fighting?" Yan An turned her head slowly, her eyebrows frowned slightly, her eyes were sharp, "Pang's concubine is a slave, a slave sues the master, a death penalty! She is not worthy to stand on the same stage as Madam and speak, The word 'fight' is too flattering! Madame doesn't need to fight with her at all, as long as she presses down casually, she can only have one end."

Mei Xiang seemed frightened by his sharp words, she shook her hand, and the hot tea spilled out onto Yan An's hands.She immediately took out the handkerchief, intending to wipe her hands for Yan An.

"No, you go and put down the tea." Yan Angu took out a handkerchief and wiped it for herself.

Mei Xiang's eyelashes trembled, and she bowed deeply, "Mr. is a great talent, and his vision is naturally different from that of a little girl."

She bit her lower lip tightly, wondering if she was not reconciled, and wanted to stab Yan An, her voice was very low: "It's just that the husband and the little girl are trapped in the same deep house, and their talents have not had a chance to display their talents. Isn't it a pity?"

Only now did Yan An look at Mei Xiang, her slender eyes narrowed: "I don't need you to remind me what to do."

In other words, which onion are you, to manage my affairs?

Mei Xiang's face turned red, Gu Zi stepped back, put the tea on the table, covered her face and rushed out.

While the two were talking, the case in the main hall was still going on, Cui Zhi was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to what happened here.It wasn't until Mei Xiang put down the teacup and hurried away that he frowned and turned around, looking at the back of the woman who ran out, "What's wrong with her?"

Yan An was still calm, and his complexion did not change, "I don't know, maybe it's because of my urgency."

Cui Zhi: ...

"It's true of you, other people are girls." Even if you are really anxious, it's hard to tell.

Yan An smiled at him, but said nothing.

……

There are more and more witnesses on Ponzi's side, and soon, a clear thread emerged.

Xiaonan was ordered by Mrs. Hou to buy arsenic at the pharmacy. Perhaps in order to avoid suspicion, Mrs. Hou did not take any action after buying the arsenic for several days.Half a month later, Mrs. Hou cooked in person, made soup for Master Hou to wash his hands, and poisoned the soup bowl. When the poison was being poisoned, a passing daughter-in-law saw it.

At that time, Master Hou and Mrs. Hou had a very bad relationship. Madam Hou was worried that Master Hou would not eat the food she cooked, so she ordered the servants who delivered the food not to say that she cooked the food.

The food was delivered to Lord Hou's room smoothly all the way, and many servants saw it during the period, and they could all testify.

Hou Ye was playing with the maid at that time, and the servants sent the food to the outer hall, and raised their voices to tell Hou Ye.

No one saw Hou Ye eating, but Hou Ye did eat that meal.Because the news of Hou Ye's death came out later, the young man who personally participated in Xiao Lian's work said that the corner of Hou Ye's mouth was stained with food, which matched the food Mrs. Hou sent, and the taste in his mouth was also the same as that food.

Mrs. Hou's cooking must be different from that of the cooks. At least the ingredients must be special. Two days before and after Master Hou's death, only Mrs. Hou used such ingredients.

……

Therefore, although no one saw a series of things happen with their own eyes, everyone connected the things they saw, and the 'truth' appeared.

In the end, Pang's eyes were tearful, and he stared at Zhang bitterly: "Although Hou Ye is not on good terms with you, if he doesn't come into your room, it's because of your lack of virtue. Hou Ye can't care about it, and it's already very difficult to support you." With the utmost benevolence and righteousness, you are so vicious that you killed Lord Hou!"

"Master Hou married you, respected you, let you give birth to a son-in-law, who will be relied on for life, why are you so cruel! You are so cruel...My concubine, Lord Hou...God, open your eyes and see Look, why didn't this murderer of a husband be struck to death by lightning!"

After howling, she took a few steps toward Li Tuiguan and slammed her head on the ground, "Now that the witnesses and the physical evidence are convincing, please file a case, Mrs. Zhang will be punished immediately, and his son will be deprived of his title of grandson!"

Lu Li was a little confused, and asked Zhao Zhu: "If Mrs. Hou is really wrong, does the seizure affect Cui Zhi? Will Cui Zhi be deprived of the throne?"

"It depends."

Zhao Zhu only said three words before being cut off by Shen Wansha, "I know, I know!"

Lu Li turned his head, and saw the young master's eyes were clear, revealing the spirit: "We Daxia Dynasty are not unruly savages, sons are born to follow the father, not the mother. Generally speaking, even if the mother has made a big mistake, It can't endanger the children either. The children follow the father's surname and grow up under the father's family. But if it doesn't affect it at all, it's impossible. The children's reputation will definitely be bad. Not to mention, marriage is a big problem. And There is a folk saying, 'If you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather'. Children without a mother must have different growth environments and various resources, which will also affect their future prospects."

"This is the case in ordinary families. People with titles are naturally more severe. For example, in the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion, if Pang has a background, and his father and brother are capable, they will seize Zhang's crimes and severely punish him. After some operations, it is not impossible to achieve the goal. After all, the crime of 'husband-killing' is too serious. Once crucified, it is difficult to turn over. The Cui clan does not want a 'stained' Marquis. If there is no better choice, they can only do their best for a long time to clean up; If there is a more suitable one, one that can lead the clansmen out of a sunny road... Hehe, it's hard to say."

Lu Li understood.

Ponzi's abacus is good, but she still has too little knowledge, she can't see through it, and thinks that such a plan will succeed.But even if this is true, there is no one behind Pang, but there is a family behind Zhang...

Schemes are schemes, power strife is power strife, Lu Li is more concerned about the facts themselves, Zhang is so calm, is it because he is confident that he has the means to keep his position... Or is there a way to prove that he has not done such a thing?

He didn't wait for long, and soon, someone from the mansion came to report: Mrs. Pei, the daughter-in-law of the Cui family in Shangjing, has arrived.

When she came, it was the time when all the witnesses in the hall gathered together to prove that Mrs. Zhang killed her husband, Mrs. Pang abused her righteously, and Mrs. Li Tui was shaken.

Mrs. Zhang asked her servants to invite Mrs. Pei in, and when she was in the door, she bowed deeply, "My brother and sister are not talented, but I have a husband to manage the house. This time I will trouble my sister-in-law."

Ms. Pei is worthy of being the wife of the Cui family. She is over forty years old and has a beautiful appearance. Because her temperament is too strong, her appearance has become a foil, and her every move is elegant.Hearing this, she didn't turn her eyes away, and didn't even look at Pang on the ground: "I said earlier that in running a family, the rules are the top, and the servants are the servants. No matter how meritorious, you can't get used to it."

The words were not serious, and the voice was not sharp. Pang was inexplicably guilty, and trembled for no reason, "Master Li..."

Li Tuiguan ignored her, and bowed his hands to Mrs. Pei, "I don't know if Ma'am is here this time—"

"I'm here to testify." Mrs. Pei sighed slightly, "Originally this matter is a stain on our family, but it is related to Madam Hou's reputation and the reputation of his son Cui Zhi, so I have to speak out."

Li Tuiguan saw that there was new evidence!It is also beneficial to Madam Hou Zhang!

He immediately got excited and invited Mrs. Pei to take a seat again and again, Mrs. Pei bowed to Zhao Zhu and sat down calmly.

After the servants served tea, Li Tuiguan couldn't wait to ask, "Madam, what evidence do you have?"

Pei's eyebrows raised slightly: "Fortunately, Mr. Li has not yet filed a case. It is not appropriate to spread what I said. If possible, please cooperate."

Li Tuiguan nodded again and again: "If Mrs. Hou can be proved innocent, this is just a family matter of the Hou's family, and no one else is allowed to comment on it. I am an official appointed by the court and shoulder the trust of the Holy Majesty. I can still trust my integrity. As for the mansion—"

"The affairs of the mansion are under the control of the mistress, and there is no need for adults to worry about them."

The two talked for a while and reached a consensus before Mrs. Pei let out a long sigh, "Marquis Wu'an died of horse wind."

These words made the main hall silent.

Immediate wind, also known as death, is called sudden death in modern times... Obviously, the deceased had an accident during intercourse.

Shen Wanshala pulled Lu Li's sleeves, gossiping excitedly: Cui Luo died like this!

"Because this method of death is extremely disgraceful, Mrs. Hou asked the clan for help. I brought someone into the mansion to have a look, and it was determined that the cause of death was the same. After discussing with everyone, we decided to suppress this matter together." Pei's brows slightly raised, "We know about this matter. Not many... But I don't understand, why did Lord Hou have another cause of death?"

Only then did Mrs. Zhang explain, "Seven years ago, the weather was strange, there was no rain in the late spring, and the weather was dry. The people in the mansion often suffered from asthma, there were a lot of skin sores, and there were also rats. The servants asked I just found out that it was at Mama Du’s place, and ordered Xiaonan to buy some arsenic. Five cents may seem like a lot, but because of its many uses, it’s almost enough.”

Lu Li suddenly realized.

According to the calculation, five coins is about eighteen grams, but arsenic is very poisonous, even if it is poisonous to rats, the dose needed is very small. He has been struggling with this problem just now, and it turns out that it is so...

Arsenic has a miraculous effect on many stubborn diseases, such as skin cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, etc. It is still effective for such malignant diseases, not to mention such diseases as long-term non-healing sores, asthma and cough.There are various precedents of using arsenic to treat diseases in ancient times. As long as you pay attention to the dosage, not only will you not die from poisoning, but your condition will also improve.

Every time the season changes, it is an area with a high incidence of diseases, especially at the turn of spring and summer. What's more, Mrs. Zhang also mentioned a premise: the weather was strange that year.There are many people in the Hou Mansion, so there are many people who are naturally ill. Besides, there are so many people together, if you don't pay attention, it is easy to spread the disease.

In special seasons, you can buy more to be prepared... Lu Li thinks this explanation is reasonable.

"Although Lord Hou hates me, I dare not disrespect my husband. I wash my hands and make soup for my husband. Everything comes from my heart. I am worthy of the world and my own conscience. But I don't know, you—" Zhang said Looking at the daughter-in-law, "Why did you see that I was poisoned? No one else saw it, but you did?"

The daughter-in-law got stuck, "Servant... slave..."

"How much money did someone give you to make you lie?" Mother Du continued, "It's as if it's true, hmph! It's not that the old slave said that if Madam really has that plan, she won't be able to hold back the door and let you sneak in. Did you happen to see it?"

The daughter-in-law immediately knelt down, sweating all over her head.

Seeing this, Pang rolled his eyes and screamed at Mrs. Pei and Mrs. Zhang, "How did you say that Mr. Hou died? Is this how Mr. Hou died? There are no official posts, no jobs, you two will decide." Wouldn't it be strange to find out the cause of Lord Hou's death!"

Pei's eyebrows twitched, and he sneered: "I'm losing my temper, and the sun is still standing, so what's the wind? I'll ask you to test it, it's not enough to be embarrassing!"

"I don't accept it!" Pang Shi bit this point, "Master Xu just died of arsenic poisoning!"

……

Lu Li sighed silently, and then rushed to Pang's nonsense, if she didn't convince her, the show would not be over.

He stood up and bowed hands with Li Tuiguan, Mrs. Zhang, and Mrs. Pei respectively, "I will do this for you, and I am willing to help resolve the cause of death."

The faces of several people were solemn, and they nodded: "Please."

Arsenic is a poison, and the manifestations of arsenic poisoning are very familiar to Quercus vulgaris. The poisoned person will vomit, suffer from diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and highly dehydrated...

He only asked a few questions.

"When Master Hou died, there was dirt on the bed?"

"Is there jaundice on the face?"

"Has a thin face, sunken eye sockets, dry lips, wrinkled skin?"

……

In order to show justice, Lu Li asked these questions not only to Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Pei, but also to all the servants who could see Cui Luo's body at that time and who were close to him, he asked Li Tuiguan to come up and ask them one by one.

The result... Naturally, none of the above symptoms.

The physical signs of the deceased cannot be fooled, especially the facial expression. Not to mention the servants in the mansion, those who come to condole outside have seen it; the deceased has a certain identity, and the servants will clean up his bedding room. So it is obvious that the deceased did not die of arsenic poisoning.

Mother Du was very angry, "Hou Ye obviously didn't die from poisoning, where did my aunt get the witnesses, and the words are true? Dare to murder the mistress, but my aunt doesn't want to die?"

Seeing that the plan failed, Ponzi turned pale.

Obviously it shouldn't be like this... Obviously she is fully prepared...

She trembled for a while, then jumped up suddenly, pointing at Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Pei, and then at Lu Li: "You are all in the same group! I don't believe what we discussed earlier!"

"Yes, what you said is all false! It's all false!" Pang's eyes rolled like crazy, "You are worried that I will invite a banquet master for my son! Gao Cheng promised that the banquet master will definitely meet me Teach me, my son will be successful, he will become a marquis, you are afraid, that's why you reverse right and wrong and deal with me like this!"

Mrs. Zhang sighed, "Master Yan is the teacher of Shizi, Master Hou personally pointed out. Everyone in the house knows that Master Yan is of high character, and accepting disciples depends on qualifications. Why do you have so much confidence in Gao Cheng and think he will talk about moving banquets?" Master?"

Everyone was also shocked, yes, isn't this Gao Cheng just a servant!

"Even if he really has a close relationship with Mr. Yan, what's wrong with asking for something, asking for help to teach his son?" Zhang's voice was flat, "Gao Cheng just took your money and agreed to it casually, and you will be the one." Really... Ponzi, are you stupid?"

Pang screamed loudly: "Gao Cheng will not lie to me!"

Her words were too firm, and her expression was too excited, as if she could be uncertain about everything before, and she could lie. Only in this point, she has absolute confidence.

"Oh? Why? He is... very special to you?" Mrs. Zhang seemed to understand something, closed her eyes slightly, and said in a sigh, "If so, I won't be able to forgive you."

She understood, and everyone in the hall saw it one after another.

Mother Du took two steps forward and asked sharply, "You and Gao Cheng really have an affair!"

Ponzi subconsciously stepped back half a step, his expression was shocked, and he didn't speak for a while.

Mother Du bullied her, "No matter what the result is, it's a dead word for a slave to sue the master, but you still can't resist stealing... You don't want to die so happily!"

"What did you say...death?" Pang fell down weakly, would she die?

She subconsciously turned her head and looked around the hall, so people's faces were written 'Yes, according to the regulations, you must die'...

Her eyes opened wider and wider, and her face became paler and paler... Finally, her eyes suddenly stopped on Cui Jie's face, and she gritted her teeth: "It's you!"