Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 134: Unexpected disaster, being framed

Lu Changping, the yamen runner standing nearby, said "yes" and walked out the door with Mrs. Hu.

At this time, another yamen runner also called the coroner over.

Liu Sanjiang and Zhao Dayong quickly moved a small wooden table over.

The coroner was an old man with gray hair. He was dressed in a dark brown robe and carried a small wooden box on his back. After entering the court, he bowed to the county magistrate, placed the small wooden box on a small wooden table, opened the box, unfolded a rolled cloth bag, and took out a long and thin silver needle.

Shen Yu watched silently at the side, feeling a little worried. In this era, people really only use silver needles to test for poison. Can this be accurate?

The coroner opened a few dusty buns one by one, looked at them carefully, sniffed them carefully, twisted them with his hands, shook his head, picked up a silver needle and inserted it into the filling of a red bean paste and candied date bun, and paused for a while before pulling it out.

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the silver needle was still shining.

The coroner held up the silver needle and replied calmly, "Your Excellency, these buns are not poisonous."

After hearing this, the county magistrate's expression softened a little.

He stroked his beard with his hand and said lazily, "Then wait until Lu Changping comes back. You guys wait here. When Lu Changping comes, call me again."

Having said that, he stood up and left without caring what others thought.

Shen Yu was anxious. What was going on? Why did the county magistrate just abandon a room full of people and hide away in the middle of trying a case?

She glanced outside the door and saw that the people who were watching the excitement outside had left and there was nothing exciting to watch, so they gradually dispersed. She did not see Dun Dun.

Shen Yu stood aside helplessly, not daring to leave and having no place to sit. Everyone in the room just waited quietly, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The coroner stood aside and whispered to Liu Sanjiang from time to time.

The lawyer in the hall covered his mouth with his sleeve and yawned secretly out of boredom.

Zhao Dayong stretched his neck to look outside the door from time to time, hoping that Lu Changping would come back soon.

Shen Yu looked at his nose with his eyes, and his heart with his nose, secretly wondering what the problem was with this unprovoked injustice.

Just when I was thinking about it and had no idea what to do, the yamen runner Lu Changping came back with a pale child, about three or four years old, in his arms, followed by a group of people.

Shen Yu looked up and saw that the people following behind him were Mrs. Hu, her son, daughter-in-law Cui, and two old men in their fifties. One had shaggy eyebrows and triangular eyes, and stared at Shen Yu with a bad look as soon as he came in; the other had long eyebrows and narrow eyes, and a calm expression.

When the yamen runners in the hall saw Lu Changping coming back, they hurried to ask the county magistrate to come over.

Mrs. Hu had an excited look on her face and glanced at Shen Yu proudly.

Shen Yu was standing alone here, but there was a crowd of people standing on Mrs. Hu's side. Shen Yu felt a sense of oppression.

After waiting for a while, the county magistrate calmly sat back on the armchair.

After he sat down, Lu Changping handed the child in his arms to Cui and said, "My lord, this grandson of Mrs. Hu did have vomiting and diarrhea this morning. Fortunately, Doctor Jing from the pharmacy gave him acupuncture and treated him. He also prescribed medicine and drank it immediately. He is feeling better now."

As he spoke, he raised a lotus leaf bun in his hand and said, "This is from the Hu family. It is the leftover buns from this morning. Please check it, sir."

The county magistrate raised his chin and signaled with his eyes. The coroner next to him hurriedly stepped forward, took the two buns that were broken in half, and went to test for poison.

Lu Changping pointed at the people who followed and revealed their identities one by one. Shen Yu then learned that the old man with triangular eyes was Old Man Zhou, the owner of the street bakery, and the old man with long eyebrows and fine eyes was Doctor Jing, who was invited by the Zhou family to treat the disease.

The county magistrate looked at the group of people below and asked Doctor Jing, "Doctor Jing, since you are the one who treated this child, please tell me what symptoms this child has and what is the cause."

Doctor Jing came forward and was about to kneel, but the magistrate said, "No need to do that. Doctor Jing is a doctor, just stand and answer."

Doctor Jing bowed and replied respectfully, "Thank you, sir. From what I have seen, the child has a slippery, thin and soft pulse, weak limbs, vomiting and diarrhea. At first glance, it seems that he has eaten unclean food, but the child's mother said that she only ate the steamed buns she bought in the morning, and she was fine when she got up in the morning. So this is not an illness but a laxative. Fortunately, the child is young and eats little, so it is just diarrhea. If he ate too much, the child's life would be in vain."

The coroner next to him finished the inspection and replied, "Sir, this red bean paste and candied date bun has croton powder mixed in it. Because the red bean paste and candied date filling is sweet and oily, it is not visible. However, the buns are broken open. Was the croton powder added before steaming or after steaming? Small ones cannot be seen."

Shen Yu immediately understood that he was framed by Mrs. Hu's family.

I just don't know whether it was Mrs. Hu's family who poisoned her themselves or someone else did it.

After hearing this, the county magistrate looked at Shen Yu with disgust: "The criminal has already been found, and the evidence is all there, yet he still refuses to plead guilty."

Shen Yu knelt on her knees in panic and tried her best to defend herself, "Sir, I am innocent. It is true that I sold the buns, but that does not prove that no one tampered with the buns after I bought them. I have no grudge against this child, so why would I poison him? I don't even know what croton looks like, and I have never bought any. Where did I get them from? How can you conclude that I was the one who poisoned him based on Aunt Hu's one-sided statement? I hope you will understand."

Mrs. Hu said viciously, "I bought some buns from your house and went home. My grandson ate them and became like this. If it wasn't you who poisoned him, who else could it be?"

Shen Yu said without giving in: "Why did you break the unfinished buns into two halves? Which eye of yours saw that I poisoned them? Maybe you made unclean food and made your grandson sick, and you are afraid of being criticized, so you put the blame on me."

When Mrs. Hu heard this, she seemed to be surprised. A trace of panic flashed across her face, and she started to curse again, "You greedy mouth, now you put the blame on me."

For a moment, the only sound in the hall was Mrs. Hu's sarcastic voice.

The county magistrate was overwhelmed by what he heard. He frowned and slammed the gavel, saying, "Shut up, everyone. This case is complicated. I will stop here today. Come on, put the criminal in jail first. I will re-examine the case on another day after I find out the truth."

Shen Yu was completely confused. What was going on? Why were they putting me in jail?

This time she was really anxious. She didn't expect that this corrupt official would treat the case so frivolously. She stood up and tried to defend herself.

The county magistrate waved his hand and said, "Don't say anything. I will investigate and then justice will be done."

Having said that, he went downstairs.

Liu Sanjiang watched from the side and said to Shen Yu helplessly: "Miss Shen, the master has left."

Shen Yu gritted his teeth, smiled bitterly at Liu Sanjiang and said, "Are you going to take me to jail now?"