Chapter 203: Assassination Through Poison (2/2)
”What's wrong, Your Excellency?” Junior Leopard's expression shifted and he stood up. He didn't move, but he stared in Zheng Xi in astonishment. The other guests also sensed something was off. They could see Zheng Xi remained still with his hand raised and anger frozen on his face. Yet the brightness in his eyes had gradually dissipated and turning inane. Dark red blood was spewing from the seven apertures of his head, emitting bursts of fishy odor.
Junior Leopard's expression shifted sharply and he immediately covered his nose with his sleeve. ”Everyone, stop breathing! There's poison in the air!”
People were stricken dumb with a series of shocks. They didn't realize the urgent situation until they sniffed the fishy odor and their heads began to spin. Only then did they cover their noses and mouths. Some were so frightened that they left their seats and was about to run out of the hall.
”Men, block the hall! Don't let anyone leave!'
When he saw people escaping, Junior Leopard barked his order with Internal Qi. It made his voice sound thunderous.
A group of soldiers rushed in from outside the hall. In the beginning, they didn't realize what was going on but their expressions turned sharp when they saw the scene inside. With their unsheathed saber emitting chilling light, they stood in a line and blocked the entrance.
The guests who wanted to flee were forced to return to their seats, no matter how scared they were.
”P...Poison! There's poison here!”
The poison came from Mr. Zheng's blood. It's not that strong! We'll be alright!” said the man who tried to stop Zheng Xi from smashing his cup earlier. He covered his nose and stood beside Zheng Xi's corpse with a deadpan face.
”I'm really so sorry. It happened all of a sudden and Mr. Zheng has been killed. I'm afraid you all must stay in the Garrison Mansion tonight.”
Zhu Ba stood up with a rush and bellowed, ”What did you say?!”
”Sit down!” Junior Leopard reprimanded Zhu Ba, glaring at him. Zhu Ba felt a stream of chill rushing to his head from his spine. He immediately sat down, not daring to say another word.
”Thanks a lot, Mr. Zhou!”
”Never mind, it's my duty.” Junior Leopard saluted him. He learned from Jiang Xiao that he was called Cao Wenxiang. He came with Zheng Xi from the capital city. He was probably something like an assistant to Zheng Xi, who apparently greatly trusted him and allowed him to handle all affairs in the Garrison Mansion.
”Men, immediately gather all the cooks, maids, servants, and other related personnel from the kitchen and bring them to the backyard. And those dancing girls too! Leave no one behind!”
Yes!” Several soldiers rushed toward the kitchen.
”Everyone, please relax. I'm Cao Wenxiang and I'm not trying to make things difficult for anyone. But our Garrison has just been killed and we're all witnesses. To put it crudely, everyone, including me, can be the suspect. I kept everyone here so we can prove your innocence as soon as possible!”
”Yes, it should be so!” Shopkeeper Ding of Southern Bay Warehouse answered repeatedly. He still covered his nose with his hands and dared not to take them away. So did people around him. They were all afraid that once they loosened their hands, they would be killed by the poison gas.
The hall then fell into a silent atmosphere. After a while, a soldier of the Garrison Mansion came in and walked up to Cao Wenxiang. He wrapped his fist with his other hand and said, ”Your Excellency, everybody has been detained in the backyard. Please give us your order!”
Cao Wenxiang waved his hands and said feebly, ”Invite the Magistrate here!”
People gradually came to their senses. Some returned to the seats, while others gathered together and started whispering. Everyone appeared gloomy, some even exasperated. None of them were idiots and they naturally understood what the present situation meant. An imperial court official had been assassinated by poison in his own banquet. How terrifying! They were the unfortunate people caught in the wrong place.
It was impossible for them to rid themselves of the suspicion. They had no idea what the outcome of the investigation would be. They could only submit to the will of the heaven.
Junior Leopard remained seated where he was, his face gruesome. Chilling light glinted in his eyes as he glanced at people from time to time as if he was selecting someone to devour. Everyone who found themselves in his glance trembled. They felt as if his glance saw through them and they had no feeling of security left.
Luckily, this condition didn't last long. They heard a flurry of noise when the Magistrate came in.
”How could this happen? He was just fine during the day!”
When the Magistrate entered the hall, the blood spewing from the seven apertures in Zheng Xi's head had all dried up. The dried blood stuck to his face, forming pieces of red stain. It made him look even more ferocious and terrifying.
The Magistrate was a scholar. He rarely saw dead animals, let alone dead people. When he suddenly saw Zheng Xi's horrible appearance, he couldn't help quivering and taking a few steps backward. He slowly approached the corpse, muttering under his breath like he was chanting scriptures.
”Your Excellency, our Garrison was abruptly poisoned to death. There are many suspicious aspects in this affair. Please help us come to a conclusion!” Seeing the Magistrate was here, Cao Wenxiang dared not to slight him and stepped forward to give salute him.
”I know, I know! I'll help you come to a conclusion!” The Magistrate didn't actually have any ideas when confronted with such a circumstance. When he noticed Junior Leopard, he acted like he found his savior. ”Commander Zhou! Thank God, you're here! Thank God! What do you think happened here?”
Junior Leopard couldn't help rolling his eyes. What kind of words were those coming from a Magistrate?
Nevertheless, he stepped forward with a wry smile. ”Your Excellency, I'm also confused about what happened earlier. Today, the Garrison held a banquet to entertain the guests here. Everything was fine until His Excellency's sudden death. We didn't expect he'd be poisoned and die before finishing his words. We're all feeling at a loss now!”
”If you're feeling at a loss, then what are you still doing here and not investigating? Hurry up and go!”
”What? You want me to investigate?” Junior Leopard was truly surprised. ”Your Excellency, this...”
Cao Wenxiang interrupted in a panic, ”Your Excellency. this isn't appropriate!”
”Inappropriate? Why?”
The Magistrate was frowning.
”This...” Cao Wenxiang looked at the Magistrate with a conflicted expression, before glancing at the stony-faced Junior Leopard. ”Your Excellency, everyone's a suspect here in the Garrison's sudden death. If you get Commander Zhou to investigate, I think, well, that's not very appropriate?”
”You effeminate scoundrel, what are you implying?!” Zhu Ba immediately jumped up in anger and pointed at Cao Wenxiang when he heard these words. He was about to punch him.
Thud! Before he could throw his punch, he has knocked away.
”Sit there quietly!” Junior Leopard said coldly. Zhu Ba picked himself up from the ground and harumph. He then stayed quietly behind Junior Leopard. Though he said nothing, he shot Cao Wenxiang the occasional dirty look.
”Your Excellency, I think Mr. Cao has his point. Since the Garrison came to a violent death, everyone present is a suspect. It's therefore inappropriate for me to do the investigation. Your Excellency, please appoint some other people!”
”This...” The Magistrate hesitated, but immediately laughed as an idea came to him. ”Commander Zhou, you worry too much. You're an imperial court official and the Navy Commander. How can you poison the Garrison? I think...”
”This is really inappropriate!” Junior Leopard replied resolutely. ”I'm only a Navy Commander. Investigations are none of my business, let alone the fact that I'm a suspect for now. If I take charge now, it may be impossible for me to prove my innocence!”
There was nothing else the Magistrate could say when Junior Leopard was being so resolute, so he said, ”Then, how do you think we should handle this?”
Junior Leopard really wanted to kick this Magistrate to death. He was so obviously trying to stay out of this matter but the Magistrate kept pushing it to him!
Junior Leopard fought back his urge to kick the Magistrate and replied in a voice as gentle as possible, ”Your Excellency, this happened so suddenly that I don't have any ideas either.”
”Your Excellency, why don't we ask everyone to move to the backyard first? We can have the people from the County Administration to investigate everyone until we find the murderer!” Cao Wenxiang suggested.
”What if you can't find the murderer? Then are we supposed to stay in your backyard forever?!”
Someone from within the crowd raised an opposing opinion and continued, ”Your Excellency, since the Garrison was poisoned to death, the problem must come from the wine and food. What's more, all of us ate the same food and drank the same wine, yet only he was poisoned. If I speculate correctly, the servants who served his wine or the cooks are the most suspicious. We didn't even have the chance to leave our seats, so how can we have the opportunity to poison him? I hope Your Excellency will consider this!”
The one who spoke had an imposing aura and impressive appearance. He had a small beard under his chin and handsome facial features. Junior Leopard smiled inwardly when he recognized it to be Wang Peng, the brother-in-law of the Magistrate. His younger sister was the Magistrate's favorite concubine. Relying on the Magistrate's influence, he opened up several cloth shops and silk goods shops. The businessmen in the city all tolerated him for the Magistrate's sake, so his business went very well in recent years and he gradually made a name for himself.
”No, it couldn't be!”
”His deduction is reasonable!”
Cao Wenxiang and Junior Leopard started talking at almost the same time, but their words were complete opposites. They stared at each other.
”Mr. Cao, I think Mr. Wang's words really made sense. Why couldn't it be?” Junior Leopard was smiling yet his killing intent was glinting in the deep of his gentle and warm gaze.