Chapter 77: Guilty conscience, why is wangfei hiding? (2/2)
He had a guilty conscience!
First, because he came to ask for a favor. Secondly, because he told Han Yunxi to find him if she ever needed anything, but now he was troubling her again without ever having helped her first.
So that was it. Han Yunxi didn’t think it was a big deal. Actually, she was pondering the issue before as well. After all, Ten-Thousand Snake Poison wasn’t easy to administer. She’d only forgotten about everything in light of being so busy.
Han Yunxi paused before asking, “How did you investigate?”
“We interrogated the kitchens, personal servants, and attendants,” Mu Qingwu said honestly. He lived a simple life between the house and military barracks. People that kept close to him were the primary poisoner suspects. Although interrogation wasn’t the best method, it was still an investigation method in the end.
“Were there any changes in personnel in the house or barracks recently?” Han Yunxi asked again. The news of her curing Mu Qingwu’s poison had long spread. Add that to the interrogations within the general’s house and the poisoner would definitely hold some amount of fear and take action.
“Not at all, so…”
Mu Qingwu really wanted to tell Han Yunxi that the Duke of Qin had inquired into this matter as well. But the Duke of Qin said to keep it a secret, so he decided not to say anything. “So in the end, we could only find you for help.”
“I’m not some master sleuth,” Han Yunxi had no choice but to grin.
He was already embarrassed to find her in the first place, but Han Yunxi’s words made Mu Qingwu a little speechless. He shook his head, his feelings clearly written on his face. Seeing him act like a little boy, Han Yunxi couldn’t help but imagine him fighting enemies courageously on the battlefield. The contrast must be huge.
Han Yunxi could only speak up to end his awkwardness. “Then what would you like me to do by inviting me over?”
She really wasn’t some detective. The poison had been administered, then cured. Even if she went, it wasn’t a favorable position to use her skills.
“Ten-Thousand Snake Poison is a seldom seen toxin. You’re more familiar with it than we are, so maybe you can find some traces of it,” Mu Qingwu said seriously. Actually, finding Han Yunxi was their last shot. But his words reminded Han Yunxi of something, and a complicated gaze flitted past her eyes.
She pondered for a while before frankly agreeing with her requests. “How’s this? Tomorrow morning I’ll go take a look. Just treat it as though I’m coming for a consultation and don’t make things public, in case we startle the snake hiding in the grass.”
Han Yunxi couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t easy to poison anyone within the military. To find any clues, she’d have to look in the general’s estate; after all, the people there were much more varied than the rank-and-file soldiers in the barracks.
Her words made Mu Qingwu rejoice. He rose to cup his fist in a respectful bow, extremely earnest. “Many thanks to esteemed wangfei, if there’s anything you need, would esteemed wangfei please…”
Before he could finish, Han Yunxi had to cut him off. “Young General, if you say anymore we’ll be regarding each other as outsiders. Is this some sort of business deal between us?”
After all, he’d said the same thing the last time he visited.
Mu Qingwu never had to ask many people for favors before. For a moment, he felt embarrassed again before making a slight bow. “Qin Wangfei, this official absolutely didn’t mean it in that way. It’s just…aye…I’ve troubled Qin Wangfei again!”
The more Han Yunxi saw him, the more amused she felt. She wasn’t trying to get on good terms with Mu Qingwu on purpose, but since he’d come knocking at her door, it was still possible to be on friendly relations. After all, the general’s estate was still a powerful influence in the capital. In this time period, birth and status determined one’s fate. Her maternal family was already such a mess, so it was no harm to find a few friends and backup forces.
After Mu Qingwu left, Han Yunxi went over his words: if there’s anything you need, please say it, and couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t take these words to heart, but Mu Qingwu used the rest of his life to fulfill his promise. Of course, these are just words for later.
—
Morning the next day, Han Yunxi took little Chen Xiang with her to the general’s estate and went directly to Mu Qingwu’s courtyard. General Mu was there to especially wait for her.
“Qin Wangfei, this poisoner has to be a traitor within our ranks!” General Mu sounded dignified and imposing.
“If not for the fact that the Young General’s poisoning caused the Ten-Thousand Snake Poison to react, this poisoner might have had a few more years before it reacted,” Han Yunxi said mildly.
To find the culprit, there were two things to consider: one, the method of poison and its administration; two, the source of the poison itself.
Let’s talk about the first part first.
Ten-Thousand Snake Poison might be hypertoxic, but it was also slow-acting. The reason it was hypertoxic was because it could kill a person within two hours of reacting within the body. The reason it was slow-acting was because Ten-Thousand Snake Poison needed to sink into the body over the course of multiple years before it acted up. So someone who could administer the poison to Mu Qingwu months after years had to be someone close to him.
Mu Qingwu took out a name list. “Qin Wangfei, have a look. These are the servants who can approach me in the estate and a list of their names. We’ve interrogated all of them, and they’re currently all locked up.”
General Mu had deep affections for his late wife and took in no other concubines, so besides General Mu and Mu Liuyue, there were only these servants who could get close to Mu Qingwu. Han Yunxi skimmed past the name list and saw that there were only about seven or eight people if one included the kitchens.