Chapter 142 Where did the white arsenic come from? (1/2)

What old madam asked was something everyone present wanted to know.

Gu Xuan was locked up in the woodshed and Gu Xiren was punished at the ancestral hall. There were people keeping watch on them. They simply didn’t have the personal freedom. It was impossible to put white arsenic in Fang shi’s food unless they have a spy inside of Red Cloud Yard to help them.

Yingluo also obviously thought about this. She sobbed while answering, “After my miss went back yesterday, she only drank a bowl of medicine and half a bowl of lotus seed soup. Aside from these, she hasn’t eaten anything…The medicine and lotus seed soup had been made by Shixiang. After, she brought it over, I fed miss…I have asked Shixiang. She didn’t leave when she was making the medicine and soup. Also, no one had entered the small kitchen…I also don’t know where this white arsenic came from…”

Gu Xihe’s mind turned quickly. When he listened till here, he blurted, “The white arsenic wouldn’t have grown feet and walked into eldest sister-in-law’s belly. From what you said, if the person who put the poison isn’t you, then, it is Shixiang!”

“Fourth young master, we are innocent!” Yingluo kept kowtowing. “I’ve followed my miss from since I was young. How could I have this kind of thoughts…? After I harmed my miss, what benefits will I get…?”

The status of a dowry maid was usually higher than ordinary maids. Their food and clothing wouldn’t be much worse than their master’s. Yingluo was also Fang shi’s confidante. As long as Fang shi had a good life, she (Y) would be able to live well. From the usual reasoning, she truly had no motive to harm Fang shi.

Gu Xihe scratched his head somewhat embarrassed and said, “Then, it must be Shixiang! Bring her here and beat her to see whether she would admit or not!”

“Don’t speak more nonsense!” Old madam immediately reprimanded him. “Shixiang had followed your eldest big brother ever since she was young. She also wouldn’t have such thoughts!”

“Then…,” Gu Xihe was at his wit’s end and closed his mouth.

Shu Huan asked, “Can you be sure that there is no poison inside the medicine and the lotus seed soup?”

“I don’t know if there is any in the medicine,” Yingluo said as she shook her head. “But there was a lot of the lotus seed soup left. It would be a waste if it was thrown away. We have split it and eaten it. No one else was poisoned.”

“What about the dregs of the medicine?”

“I already let doctor Ji have a look. There was no problem with it.”

At this time, Shu Huan’s mind turned very fast. She asked, “Were eldest young mistress’s cutlery only used by her?”

Yingluo went blank and said, “Yes! Second young mistress is saying…”

“I don’t know,” Shu Huan was only guessing. She shook her head and said, “It’s useless if we go check it now, right? It must’ve been cleaned already.”

“No!” Yingluo suddenly said, “The cutlery that eldest young mistress usually used came in a set…”

That was to say that if someone wanted to put poison on the cutlery, that person couldn’t be certain which one would be used. To ensure that everything would go well, that person must poison all the cutlery…

Old madam’s eyes revealed ruthlessness and said, “Investigate!”

“Ay!” Yingluo wiped her tears, stood up from the ground and wanted to rush out.

“Wait…,” Gu Xiran who had been silent this whole time suddenly opened his mouth. “The white arsenic wouldn’t be placed on the cutlery. It’s useless to check.”

Shu Huan was a bit surprised. Old madam also looked at him with confusion.

Gu Xiran didn’t answer but instead asked, placing poison on the cutlery could only have been done by Red Cloud Yard’s maids. However, how likely does old madam think that it was a maid who placed the poison?”

At this time, old madam had recovered a bit from the blow of her grandson being murdered. She could calmly think about this matter. After a short while, she shook her head and said slowly, “Eldest had been an amiable person and rarely offended people. He even treated the servants well. Who would have the mind to harm him? Besides, he had already died. Even if someone hated him, it was unlikely for him/her to go so far as to even not let his posthumous child off the hook. This was also probably done by little third.”

Gu Xiran obviously knew that the mastermind must be Gu Xuan, but he didn’t reveal it at this moment. He said, “Since you said that. Little third hasn’t set a foot in Red Cloud Yard these few days. Even if it was little Xuan, she didn’t have a reason to go to the small kitchen there. Hence, this grandson thinks that the both of them didn’t have the opportunity to place poison on the cutlery. Then, there couldn’t be any poison on those utensils.

Right!