The woman’s sudden death in prison only added to the already baffling and enigmatic case.
Rumors spread among the people, with so saying the family had been claid by malevolent spirits, others suggesting the family’s Feng Shui was at fault, and a few suspected that the family had been hiding sothing deadly...
In any case, this case beca a topic of conversation for many, and wherever one went, there were ntions of it. anwhile, the residents who had lived nearby felt a creeping fear, with so unable to bear it and relocating their families, others inviting monks and priests to perform rituals, all in the hopes of securing peace at ho.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruiyuan had an idea and dispatched a large number of people to conduct confidential inquiries into the households of ordinary citizens in Jing City. Should they discover any symptoms similar to the poisoning of that family of seven, they were to imdiately investigate the cause and report back.
It wasn’t long before the dispatched individuals relayed ssages back, reporting nurous instances of illness in residents’ hos that roughly matched the symptoms of the family of seven, albeit milder; shockingly, so families reported similar conditions in relatives who had recently passed away.
Xiao Ruiyuan took stock of this information, put it all together, and then had them look into the origins of these households’ grain supplies to determine if they had been regularly buying moldy grain from the grain shops.
Following this lead, the investigation ultimately implicated the moldy grain.
Despite having ample evidence that long-term consumption of moldy grain could lead to death by poisoning, now was still not the appropriate ti to act.
Xiao Ruiyuan was waiting, waiting for news from the military camp at the border. Once the soldiers there began showing the sa symptoms, he would disclose everything about the moldy grain before the news could reach the Imperial Case. Only in this way could he capture the attention of the Emperor Huian and all the officials and eradicate the scourge of moldy grain completely.
Soon enough, a soldier from the border began suffering from uncontrollable diarrhea, and shortly after, several others showed similar symptoms. With the strategic manipulations of soone with an agenda, the situation escalated much more rapidly than it had in Mo Yan’s dreams, occurring a full half month earlier.
Upon receiving the news, Xiao Ruiyuan swiftly passed on the evidence collected during this ti through his clandestine channels to several of Prince Heng’s archrivals.
From there, Xiao Ruiyuan didn’t need to lift a finger, as Prince Heng beca the target of attacks by the other Princes. Under the instigation of these Princes, their affiliated factions launched a fierce offensive against Prince Heng’s camp.
Yet, for reasons unknown, Emperor Huian withheld action on the morials that condemned Prince Heng for secretly selling moldy grain and poisoning innocent civilians. To others, this inaction appeared as an unusual form of protection for Prince Heng, escalating the dissatisfaction of the other Princes, who began to conspire more actively behind the scenes, determined to unseat Prince Heng no matter what.
Subsequently, the matter of Prince Heng secretly selling moldy grain and poisoning the populace was spread amongst the people by those pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
The people were abuzz with discussion, and recalling the horrifying demise of the family of seven due to the moldy grain, they turned pale with fear and hurriedly checked their own grain supplies for contamination.
Those who had suspected that the moldy grain had caused the deaths of their family mbers were filled with indignant rage. They gathered a crowd and stord to Prince Heng’s Mansion to demand justice.
The numbers were too great for Prince Heng’s Mansion to handle. Considering the sensitive situation, the guards at Prince Heng’s Mansion dared not lay hands on the commoners, opting instead to secure the mansion’s doors, preventing the troublemakers from bursting in and hurting the nobles within.
The developnt of the situation was under the control of both Xiao Ruiyuan and Chu Heng, and even though Emperor Huian seed to harbor a protective stance towards Prince Heng, the two weren’t worried.
Once news of the border soldiers being massively poisoned due to moldy grain reached Jing City, even if Emperor Huian wanted to shield Prince Heng, he would have to consider whether the fifty thousand border troops would agree with his decision.
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