Chapter 227: Poisoning

Inside the dim room with bunk beds, Chen Ji stood calmly by the beds, holding up an oil lamp to observe. He discovered that everyone had blood tears flowing from their eyes.

The blood tears didn't follow the tear ducts, but flowed outwards towards both temples, indicating that these people had died in their sleep while lying on the beds.

Chen Ji raised the oil lamp in his hand and lifted his head to look at the room beams.

There were no people hiding, so the murderer couldn't be found.

Just now, the sound of footsteps in the corridor came suddenly and disappeared just as quickly, as if a vengeful spirit was trapped in this post station, killing dozens of people.

The Chen family's maidservants, young servants, a total of thirty-four people across two bunk beds. More than ten days ago they were happily heading to the capital, and today they died so inexplicably in Guyuan.

Life's affairs are impermanent.

Xiao Man stood at the door, hesitant to enter the room: "Young... Young Master, they died so miserably! How can all seven orifices bleed, as if their souls were sucked away?"

Chen Ji turned his head and glanced at her: "I thought you were fearless."

Xiao Man's voice trembled as she asked: "Young Master, aren't you afraid?"

Chen Ji no longer bothered to pretend in front of Xiao Man. He reached out and touched the neck artery of one of the corpses; there was no pulse at all. The body still had residual warmth, so they hadn't been dead for long.

Thud, thud, thud, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

Liang Shi was supported by Dong Zhi and walked down the stairs slowly and deliberately: "What's the matter just now, making a fuss like this isn't your own home! Don't shout and yell, let outsiders hear that my Chen family people don't understand the rules... Ah!"

Liang Shi had just stepped into the room with bunk beds when she was immediately startled and retreated repeatedly, losing all composure. Fortunately, Dong Zhi was supporting her, otherwise she would have fallen to the ground.

Liang Shi took a deep breath for a moment, only then managing to swallow a mouthful of saliva, and looked at the dark room door to ask: "This... how can this be!"

Chen Wen Zong and Chen Wen Xiao heard her exclamation and rushed down the stairs: "Mother, what's wrong?"

Chen Wen Zong wanted to enter the room, but was held firmly by Liang Shi who grabbed his sleeve: "Wen Zong, don't go in, it's not clean inside!"

Chen Wen Zong said calmly: "Mother, I am a successful scholar with merit, full of vast righteous energy, ghosts and monsters cannot get near me."

Having said that, he struggled free from Liang Shi's hand and walked in to check.

Seeing so many corpses with blood tears lying together for the first time, Chen Wen Zong's body swayed a bit but he quickly composed himself.

He looked at Chen Ji: "Did you rush downstairs just now because of this matter?"

Chen Ji nodded: "Xiao Man wanted to find the post station attendant for a new quilt, but found the attendant dead behind the post station counter with seven orifices bleeding."

Chen Wen Zong endured his fear and checked the corpses one by one.

Zhang Xia took two steps forward and asked Chen Ji in a low voice: "How did they die? This room originally housed twenty young servants, but now there are only nineteen corpses..."

Before she could finish, the sound of footsteps came from the corridor outside again.

Xiao Man hid behind Chen Ji in one breath, peeking out half her head to quietly size up the corner of the corridor.

Liang Shi panicked and retreated, pulling Dong Zhi in front of her to block. Chen Wen Xiao fell to the ground and scrambled back with her hands and feet.

The next moment, however, Wang Gui's figure walked out from the corner. He was startled when he saw the crowd: "Madam, Young Master... why are you here?"

Chen Wen Xiao asked hysterically: "Are you a person or a ghost!"

Wang Gui was completely bewildered: "What do you mean, Second Young Master? I'm Wang Gui! Don't you recognize me?"

Chen Ji took a big step forward, first touching the temperature of Wang Gui's wrist, then lowering his head to look at his shadow on the ground, confirming that it was indeed Wang Gui: "Where did you go just now?"

Wang Gui said confusedly: "I went to the latrine."

Chen Wen Xiao climbed up from the ground and asked loudly: "An entire room of people died, why are you okay?"

"Died?" Wang Gui's voice rose in surprise: "Who did the Young Master say died?"

Chen Wen Xiao pointed at the dark room door: "Go in and see for yourself!"

Wang Gui walked into the room suspiciously, then exclaimed again and stumbled out, his legs completely weak with fright: "What's wrong? They were fine just now!"

The crowd retreated to the courtyard, keeping their distance from those rooms. Liang Shi stood in the cold wind and muttered: "Perhaps this post station is haunted? Why don't we leave this place quickly and go to the Commandery Governor Office to find the Master?"

Chen Wen Zong shook his head: "Mother, Guyuan is not peaceful at night. They dare to rob things in broad daylight, let alone at night. If we go out rashly, we might encounter bandits again on the road."

Chen Wen Xiao suddenly spoke: "Then someone still needs to go and tell Father, right? This is such a big matter, we need to ask him to come back and make a decision."

But who would go?

The crowd looked at each other, and no one spoke first.

Wang Gui looked at Chen Ji and said tremblingly: "Third Young Master, you go, you have that red date horse, it runs fast!"

Xiao Man immediately pointed her finger at Wang Gui's nose, her eyes full of anger: "Why let my Young Master go? Didn't your mother teach you..."

With a single point of her small hand, she started with his mother.

Xiao Man was truly angry this time and actually scolded Wang Gui a torrent of abuse without restraint.

Liang Shi interrupted angrily: "Enough! When did my Chen family produce such a vulgar maidservant? Tomorrow I will sell you off and let you stay in Guyuan."

Chen Ji said unmoved: "Madam, please calm your anger. This is not the time to sell maidservants. Let's think about how to get through this night."

Zhang Xia suddenly pulled Chen Ji aside and said in a low voice: "Four years ago, there was an unsolved case in the capital. A positive seventh-rank Supervising Censor suddenly died violently at home, and the cause of death was also said to be seven orifices bleeding. Six people in his entire family died. Seven years ago, there was also an unsolved case in Shan State. A positive fifth-rank Prefect died violently in his concubine's private residence with the same cause of death, and four people died. This cause of death is extremely rare. Ordinary people all rumored that it was a fierce ghost claiming lives, but I don't think so. It should be poison. Only... I haven't heard of such a ruthless poison before."

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at Chen Wen Zong: "Elder Brother, did you eat dinner at the post station?"

Chen Wen Zong shook his head: "No."

Chen Ji looked at Liang Shi again: "Madam, did you eat?"

Liang Shi replied: "No."

Chen Ji looked at Wang Gui once more: "What about you?"

Wang Gui answered with a pale face: "No, the food at this post station is coarse and bad, hard to swallow."

Chen Ji said calmly: "It should be poison."

Assassins are very particular about using poison.

In storytellers' tales, people often die with seven orifices bleeding after being poisoned to add dramatic color to the story. But in reality, it is not easy to make people die with seven orifices bleeding from poisoning.

But Chen Ji knew there was one kind of poison that could: cardiac glycoside drugs.

After an overdose of cardiac glycoside drugs, the poisoned person's heart muscle will contract rapidly, causing multiple organ failure and leading to a rapid rise in blood pressure, which bursts capillary vessels.

Combined with strong sedative drugs, it can quietly cause people to die with seven orifices bleeding.

Chen Ji was certain that the killer had poisoned the food at the post station, and Chen Wen Zong, Chen Wen Xiao, Liang Shi, and Wang Gui, who were used to fine clothes and good food, naturally did not get used to the post station food and luckily escaped a disaster.

He and Zhang Xia, etc., had eaten too much mutton at noon, so they couldn't eat dinner.

Chen Ji's heart stirred: Was it the border army who poisoned them?

Was the sudden delivery of mutton a coincidence, or was it done intentionally out of consideration for Mr. Wang, to let himself eat his fill in advance and avoid the poison?

Chen Ji lowered his head and thought: If the border army truly wanted to poison and kill the Chen family, what was their motive?

The Chen family had just arrived and had no recent grudges or previous enmity with the border army. The difficulties at the city gate were somewhat understandable, after all, it was just a small matter, and no one could do anything about this group of border army soldiers.

But now, thirty-four family members of a fourth-rank official from the court have been poisoned to death. If this spread to the capital, it would be a shocking major case. This matter was no longer a matter of the Chen family, but involved the court's face and would surely be investigated thoroughly.

Why would the border army do this, just to cut off the prince's wings?

Things were not that simple.

At this moment, Chen Wen Xiao said to Xiao Man: "Since you are unwilling to let Chen Ji go, then you go to the Commandery Governor Office."

Xiao Man rolled her eyes: "I'm not going. I am Young Master's maidservant. If Young Master tells me to go, then I will go."

Chen Wen Xiao said angrily: "Chen Ji, look at the maidservant beside you, so disrespectful, actually talking to the main family like this!"

Chen Ji said calmly: "You should still think about how to survive tonight. There are assassins who want to poison and kill the entire Chen family. We, etc., luckily survived because we didn't eat the post station food. If the opponent knows they missed, they might come again. If you want to live, quickly send someone to the Commandery Governor Office. The others here should huddle together and wait for Master Chen to lead the prince's guards to rescue us."

Zhang Zheng said carelessly: "You are all too slow. If it doesn't work, then I... Ai yo!"

Before he could finish, Zhang Xia fiercely twisted the soft flesh on Zhang Zheng's waist and said in a low voice: "Brother, shut up. Let's listen to Chen Ji's arrangements. Now is not the time for you to be reckless."

Chen Wen Xiao looked at Wang Gui: "You go!"

Wang Gui shrank back a bit: "Second Young Master, I don't know where the Commandery Governor Office is."

Chen Wen Xiao said angrily: "If you don't go, who will? My Chen family has raised you for so many years, even a dog should know how to bark a few times at this point!"

Chen Wen Zong said in a low voice: "Chen Wen Xiao! A gentleman is careful with his words!"

Chen Wen Xiao muttered in a low voice: "I'm not wrong either..."

Wang Gui's face changed several times. He looked at Liang Shi, but Liang Shi was looking elsewhere and didn't say a word.

He gritted his teeth: "Second Young Master is right, I'll go now..."

Before he could finish, Chen Wen Zong said in a low voice: "The Master said, do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself."

He turned his head and said to Zhang Xia: "Second Miss Zhang, I'll borrow your warhorse for a moment. I'll go to the Commandery Governor Office to ask Father to bring the prince's guards back."

Zhang Xia thought for a moment and said: "Date Date will definitely not let you ride. You take the one my brother is on."

Chen Wen Zong nodded: "Good."

Liang Shi hurried forward and grabbed his wrist: "Wen Zong, absolutely not! Your body is worth a thousand gold, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall!"

Chen Wen Zong took a deep breath, pretending to be calm, and explained: "Mother, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall does not apply here. It means a gentleman should prevent disaster before it happens, not teach a gentleman to be cowardly. You don't need to say more. Chen Ji is right, we cannot delay any longer, lest the assassins come to commit crimes again."

Having said that, he led the warhorse from the stable, and despite Liang Shi's attempts to stop him, he mounted it and galloped into the night.