Volume 6, Chapter 24: The Real Nature of the Poison (2/2)

Amidst the shock, Rahan leaned forward. “Then, can we interpret this as an attempt to frame Airin-dono, Great Uncle?!”

He sounded happy. It was true. If the person he had won over in the first place caused trouble, the responsibility would also fall unto him. This would become nothing more than an incident outside of his calculations for the small man.

“I only said that the poison wasn’t incense powder,” Dad said.

Dad’s roundabout way of speaking sometimes aggravated others. Maomao spoke up to move the discussion along; to put forward the facts as objectively as possible, so that those present won’t get carried away by Dad’s words.

“As for the priestess and the other food taster, both experienced similar degrees of abdominal pain and nausea. Their symptoms appeared much milder in comparison to Yao’s, and their physical conditions improved somewhat after three days. If there is a point of concern with regards to the mushroom poison hypothesis, I feel that the doses ingested by the priestess and the other food taster were nowhere near sufficient and that the poison itself acted too quickly.”

Poisonous mushrooms—from the symptoms, it reminded her of the destroying angel(毒鶴茸). It contains a strong toxin with a delayed onset. It was frightening in the way it takes effect as it’s absorbed by the body; a terrifying poison where the next set of symptoms take hold just as you start to think you might be cured. It’s not that she thought Dad’s treatments inadequate, but if Yao’s condition was due to mushroom poisoning, he’d have to treat it more seriously than shikimi.

Maomao had also considered poisonous mushrooms, but had eliminated that possibility as symptoms take over six hours to develop. It was a little too soon for the poison to take effect right after food tasting.

(Dad should already know all this.)

And yet, despite all that, there must be a reason he brought it up. Is there a drug that can accelerate the effect of the poison? Or was he saying that it wasn’t the destroying angel, but a poisonous mushroom of a different variety? Or was it—

(that they ate it long before the food tasting….?)

….

Maomao found herself slapping the table.

How did she miss it? She recalled the conversation in the villa just then.

“Jinshi-sama,” she said.

“What is it?” Jinshi asked.

“Was the Sha’ou priestess told that Consort Airin is the suspect?”

“We have no intention of informing her until it’s been confirmed. We don’t want to cause pointless anxiety.”

That’s it, that’s the case. However, the attendant at the villa said:

“That’s due to her frame of mind. With someone like that as the other party, there’s no way she’d feel well.”

“…yes. She was originally among those who had shown up as the next priestess candidate.”

From that exchange, Maomao had concluded the priestess had already been made aware of the suspect’s identity. Since Maomao had also heard the news, she didn’t think much of it, assuming they, too, had caught wind of it.

(How did the priestess’ attendant hear of it?)

The explanation for why Yao’s condition was critical while the priestess and the other food taster only experienced minor symptoms. The mismatch in the time taken for the poison to set in—all will be adequately explained from here on.

“Dad… this is only a deduction, but can still I say it?” Maomao said, facing Dad with earnest eyes.

Dad looked troubled. “Can you take responsibility for what you say?”

Once it’s out in the open, there’s no way she can stop herself.

“But, there are times when you just need to say it, right?” she said.

Dad was silent. Maomao took that as acceptance.

“There seems to be something,” Jinshi said.

“Yes. This is nothing more than deduction though,” Maomao said.

Perhaps, by phrasing it this way, she’d left herself a way out. Even Maomao didn’t have enough confidence to declare it with conviction.

“It would seem that Consort Airin wasn’t the one who served the poison.”

“Your basis being?” Jinshi sought for an explanation without taking her words at face value. Rahan and Basen also observed Maomao.

“It’s because Dad, no, Court Physician Kan proposed the poison to be mushroom poison. In that case, it’d difficult to justify Consort Airin as the one who served the poison.”

The time at which the poison started to take effect. For it to be the destroying angel, it needed to be served before the banquet. Airin had been under constant surveillance since leaving the inner palace. Although her maid had taken her eyes off her, with no allies, the consort herself couldn’t leave the room. It would be impossible for her to serve the poison before the banquet.

“Then, are you saying someone served the poison before the banquet?” Jinshi supposed.

“Yes. The poison must’ve been served at the villa,” Maomao said.

Yao had stayed at the villa for a couple of days beforehand to eat the same meals as the priestess. It’d be reasonable to presume that the poison had already been ingested while they were at the villa. In that case, the person who served the poison would have to be…

“It would have to be someone among the priestess’ attendants. In other words, it’s a charade.”

““!?”” Whilst everyone looked shocked, only Dad’s expression stayed the same. He’d probably reached the same conclusion. However, he won’t simply voice speculation on his part—that was Dad.

If it was a charade, she could account for why the two aside from Yao had milder symptoms. The only one who ingested the poison was Yao, and the other two were acting, or had eaten a different poison that was a lot weaker. Besides, it also explained why they knew who the suspect was, even though they shouldn’t have known.

If it was a charade, and it was to pin the blame on Airin… If they were old associates, they would probably know, at the very least, that she habitually used incense powder with a similar toxicity to poisonous mushrooms.

Don’t speak of speculations—Maomao understood the reason behind her dad’s teachings. But there were times where she would get pissed off.

(The reason Yao got dragged into it is this!)

If a food taster from Rii became terribly ill, death from poisoning alone would have a significant impact. Yao was exploited for such a reason. She has a slightly haughty side to her, but in essence, she’s an honest and diligent girl.

She was no En’en, but Maomao still felt indignant.

Belatedly noticing her numb hand, Maomao reflected on whether she had lost her cool when she spoke. She looked around—Dad was silent, Jinshi and the others were taken aback.

“A question.”

The one who spoke first was Basen. In times like these, he reacts quickly. “Why did the priestess set up Consort Airin?”

“I have an idea about that.” Rahan raised his hand, taking over for Maomao. “To me, Consort Airin had hinted at the possibility of the priestess giving birth at some point, and whether the child could be Lady Pai. Therefore, I asked Maomao to investigate whether the priestess had ever given birth.”

If the priestess lacked the qualifications to be one, she would be expelled from her position and have it snatched from her. If anything, she might receive punishment instead.

“Is the priestess… Lady Pai’s mother? This, too, is a huge blow,” Jinshi said.

With this, the reason she defected was not only due to the existence of a political opponent, but also that she had grasped part of the priestess’ secret.

And the reason why the priestess came all the way to Rii as well.

“If we think that it was to keep her mouth shut…”

At Rahan’s remark, Maomao felt like she was stuck on something.

Why? There’s nothing off about her deduction. So what’s with this unpleasant sensation, like there’s something stuck between her teeth?

Maomao looked at Dad.

Dad sat silently, neither affirming nor denying.