Chapter 443: Completely soaked (1/2)

Previously, Han Yunxi had ordered men to deliver the exploded charcoal ash to a specialist for study, but the specialist hadn’t found any traces of explosives in the samples. Because of that, the case of the exploding stove had stalled.

Now that they had proof, follow up investigations were easy. They would figure out if this was a premeditated attack very soon! When Han Yunxi and Baili Mingxiang left the study, they didn’t disturb Zhao mama or Su Xiaoyu, but silently went to the storehouse by themselves. Aside from the remnants of that day’s charcoal, which was in Han Yunxi’s hands, the rest of the unburnt pile had been stored with all of Leisurely Cloud Pavilion’s charcoal supply in this storehouse.

“Esteemed wangfei, are we going to burn the rest of that charcoal to ashes so we can mix the remains with the poison as well?” Baili Mingxiang asked.

“Xu Donglin’s already checked through the entire pile and didn’t find anything suspicious,” Han Yunxi explained.

Baili Mingxiang grew alarmed. “But judging from the pile that exploded that morning, it’s obvious someone sabotaged the charcoal!”

“Not necessarily. We got a specialist to analyze the samples. Some explosive substances only go off at specific times after being ignited, while others explode right away. There are other points of reference that differ too. It’s possible that someone really sabotaged the pile that morning, but it’s also possible that it was just a coincidence that the charcoal had the right quantity of materials to blow up just on that day.” Han Yunxi might not know the finer details of charcoal, but she understood enough of its variations from her own knowledge of poisons and how time, quantity, heat, water and water temperature could all affect the original substances. Thus, the specialist’s explanation had made perfect sense to her.

For example, there were some poisons that could be used in conjunction with changes in the weather, such as the poison fog at Fishery Island. Then there were poisons that might have existed in the air itself but never turn toxic unless it was under very specific climate changes. That was why they needed full proof before declaring the explosion from that morning a manmade plot. The residue dregs of explosives she found from the ashes was the first step to determining the verdict!

As long as they could burn samples of charcoal from Leisurely Cloud Pavilion’s store, that morning’s charcoal’s pile, and the rest of the estate’s reserves, they could see which one created a successful reaction when mixed with Han Yunxi’s poison. If explosive substances were present in all of the charcoal samples, then it would show that the explosion that morning had been an accident. At the very least, Leisurely Cloud Pavilion’s servants wouldn’t be the sole source of suspicion.

However, if no such reaction happened, then it would fully prove that the exploding charcoal from that morning was an exception. In other words, someone might have sabotaged the pile intentionally!

Han Yunxi was a careful type and had kept her reservations about the suspects in this case. The last thing she wanted to do was over think things before she had enough evidence to prove herself and Long Feiye otherwise. When she saw that Baili Mingxiang didn’t speak up, she asked, “Have you figured it out?”

Baili Mingxiang creased her brows in thought before breaking out into a smile. “I have! Esteemed wangfei, you’ve really thought this through.”

“It’s the same principle with poisons. Every aspect must be considered; we can’t just rely on making the poison itself.” As Han Yunxi spoke, Baili Mingxiang silently commited her words to memory.

They walked as they talked until they reached the storehouse, but Xu Donglin suddenly came running to meet them, panting for breath. “Esteemed wangfei, bad news!”

“Speak sensibly, what’s the rush?” Han Yunxi scolded unhappily.

Xu Donglin was still anxious. “Esteemed wangfei, all of the charcoal’s soaked through.”

“What?” Han Yunxi grew restless as well.

“It was raining over the past few days and the storehouse was leaking from the roof. We only discovered it today. Many of the other things inside are wet as well,” Xu Donglin explained.

“Let’s go have a look!”

Han Yunxi’s heart was heavy. This felt like too much of a coincidence. In the Duke of Qin’s estate, even the storehouses had glazed tile roofs that could stand up to strong storms. It was rare for them to be worn away by the weather, so how could leaks appear in the roof? And in the roof of the storehouse, of all places?

By the time they rushed to the storehouse, there was already a craftsman inspecting the roof. He’d been brought there by the guards.

“What’s the situation?” Han Yunxi asked.

“Esteemed wangei, it looks like this was intentional sabotage.”

Han Yunxi’s heart sunk again. “Why do you say that?”

“The leak came from a raised tile on the roof. It was displaced with large amounts of force, but judging from its position, it was pushed aside by an object from the inside. It didn’t loosen by itself on the roof,” the craftsman explained.

Everyone was startled by the revelation! This meant that someone had used the rainy days as a way to ruin the charcoal samples below!

“It’s certainly a spy with finesse. Instead of destroying the charcoal directly, they used the rain to fabricate an accident. They’ve really thought into this,” Baili Mingxiang remarked.

Since things had come to this, there was no need to verify the presence of a culprit with the poison testing anymore. Neither was the explosion any accident, but manmade. Whoever ruined the charcoal pile was trying to destroy the evidence of their deeds! Unbelievably, the suspect had not only slipped into her Leisurely Cloud Pavilion, but the storehouse as well.

“Who came to this storehouse in the past few days?” Han Yunxi asked seriously. Aside from the person in charge, no one else could enter or exit without making a record first. Xu Donglin quickly obtained the records of the storehouse. When Han Yunxi flipped through the pages for the past few days, she didn’t see either Zhao mama or Su Xiaoyu’s names in the ledgers. Aside from Steward Luo and two little pageboys, no one else had dropped by at all.

Typically speaking, Zhao mama and Su Xiaoyu wouldn’t come to the storehouse either. Could it be they’re not the suspects? Or maybe there’s more than one?