The chef, nad Li Jiudi, was rather obese. It seed that he had been kneading dough right before his death, as there was still a considerable amount of dried flour on his hands.
Next, Li Xuan walked into the teati room and looked around.
In one corner of the room, various kinds of tea cakes were stored along with the tools for processing tea leaves.
Tea during this age wasn’t loose leaf as it would beco in later generations but was made into tea cakes and bricks for preservation and transportation. Further processing would be done when it was ti to use it.
On the right side, there were three stoves, along with tables and chopping boards, all cluttered with various kitchen utensils. Bowls containing remnants of soup were also left out.
The back of the room was filled with dozens of bags of mung beans, glutinous rice, and barley – the ingredients for making pastries. There was also a wooden rack filled with dozens of plates of different pastries that had been prepared in advance.
Li Xuan looked around the room and then asked with a frown, "Has anything been moved in this room? Was it like this when you arrived?"
He noticed that the teati room was an utter ss with all the kitchenware and tableware haphazardly strewn about. In the corner, there were also so unwashed bowls.
"It was like this when we arrived. No one has touched anything since," Yu Yunhuang responded, watching Li Xuan with his hands behind his back. "This room has been under constant surveillance."
Li Xuan rubbed his chin, "Sothing is off. Firstly, the amount of Zinuo riceballs in the bodies of these three individuals is very little. The combined amount doesn’t even equate to a single person’s portion."
The people who had followed him into the room could not help but turn solemn. Back in the Hanyuan Pavilion, Li Xuan, the current Earl Jingan, had already proven that he was not soone to be underestimated.
Yu Yunhuang also fell into deep thought. "Perhaps Li Jiudi made it for himself, and just when the two inner supervisors ca by, he shared the Zinuo riceballs with them."
"That is indeed a possibility," Li Xuan nodded. "Another puzzle is that the dead were still kneading dough before they died. He must have been making so kind of pastry. Has anyone of you seen a person who knew they were going to die but still worked?"
"And the third point of doubt is that I haven’t found any tools or traces here for making Zinuo riceballs. Were they washed away by him? But looking at the state of this place, this chef doesn’t seem particularly diligent."
Upon hearing this, Zuo Daoxing couldn’t help but interject, "My subordinates have raised these two points of doubt before. They suspect that Li Jiudi didn’t commit suicide. However, even after intense interrogation, we got nothing from the other chefs. Even if so confessed under duress, their confessions didn’t add up."
After hearing this, Li Xuan had nothing more to say. It turned out that the inner Jishi Bureau and Xiuyiwei also suspected that Li Jiudi was silenced by murder. The problem now was that they couldn’t find the real murderer.
Just then, Li Xuan heard so commotion outside. Shortly after, a Xiuyiwei Qianhu from Zuo Daoxing’s team walked in with Yue Qianqian, Peng Fulai, and Zhang Yue.
Yue Qianqian hurriedly walked to Li Xuan’s side with excitent. "General Li, we have found out that this powder is called ’Snow White’. It is nontoxic itself, but when mixed with certain substances, it can turn into a highly potent poison. My parents have an old acquaintance who is an expert Imperial Physician. He speculates that soone might have modified the formula for Blood Cherry using ’Snow White’ as an auxiliary dicine."
"Snow White?" Li Xuan looked puzzled, wondering how this yellow powder could be considered white.
"When it’s exposed to low temperatures, it turns white. If it’s mixed with snow, it will manifest as white," Yue Qianqian explained while handing a stack of sheets to Li Xuan. "Not only did he provide with the formula for Blood Cherry and all its variants, but he also formulated two potential Blood Cherry formulas using ’Snow White’ as an auxiliary dicine.
This uncle of mine is very proficient. He currently serves as the Head Judge of the Imperial Physician Institute. His na is Liu Wentai. I heard that he is currently compiling the ’Compendium of Materia dica’, intending to record all dicinal and mineral substances in the world."
’Compendium of Materia dica’?
Li Xuan thought to himself, wasn’t this the precursor to the ’Compendium of Materia dica’? However, in his world, it was compiled during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, which would an it wouldn’t exist for another hundred years in this ti. That emperor was the third son of Zhu Jianshen, the Ming Dynasty emperor.
Li Xuan started to look through the stack of papers in his hands, but soon smiled bitterly. He didn’t understand any of this at all, and it would only serve as supplentary evidence for Fei Yuan’s death.
After a casual glance, he stashed the papers in his sleeve. "Qianqian, you’ve done a great job. However, our main concern now is identifying the real killer outside or proving that the chef indeed committed suicide."
Upon hearing this, Yue Qianqian appeared hesitant. "In that case, I might have a thod. I noticed that both of these ’Snow White’ auxiliary dicine formulas require a dicinal herb called ’Ghost Vine Grass’. The juice of this herb is quite unique. According to the text, it’s hard to wash off once it gets on your hands unless you can bear the high temperatures and soak it in boiling water. Otherwise, you would have to wait for a long ti for it to naturally fade."
Li Xuan’s pupils abruptly contracted, "Qianqian, can you distinguish it?"
At this mont, everyone in the roo – Zuo Daoxing, Yu Yunhuang, and the Slay Demons Xiaowei Zhen Chun – turned to look at Yue Qianqian with keen anticipation.
Although Yue Qianqian initially shrank back subconsciously, she resolutely responded after seeing Li Xuan’s encouraging gaze, "I can concoct a type of dicinal liquid. Anyone with the juice of the ’Ghost Vine Grass’ on their hands will have their hands turn black when they place them into the water."
Reviews
All reviews (0)