Peerless Pirates

The entire Guogong Mansion covers an area of ​​about 120 acres (the latest chapter has been targeted). The front yard is mainly a place for guests, and the back yard is a place for Pang Tong to rest and study. If it weren't for this poisoning incident, ordinary people would be very

Difficulty accessing the backyard.

The buildings of the Duke's Mansion are all arranged along the central axis. On both sides of the house next to the house, there are corridors more than two feet wide on each side. From outside to the wall, everything is empty. There are many vegetations planted, and they are very dense, especially

The area against the wall was covered with thorns. Not only that, there was not a single tree within four to five feet of the wall. From the perspective of a professional thief like Song Zheng, it would be difficult for someone to sneak into the house with such an arrangement.

This part of the building in the middle of the Duke's Mansion is divided into many small courtyards from south to north, with entrances and exits through passages on both sides. The kitchen is at the back of the entire Duke's Mansion. Song Zheng and Bi'er walked back along the corridor on the left.

Walk.

As Song Zheng walked, he chatted with Bi'er. He didn't want to be too explicit, so he just slowly started to expand the topic around the poisoning.

"Bi'er, looking at the surrounding layout, it can be seen that the Duke's Mansion is heavily guarded. The person who poisoned it probably did not come in from outside (read the full text of Six Nights in Sleeping)."

Bi'er hummed softly. She was similar in age to Song Zheng, very well-behaved, and did not talk casually.

"In this case, maybe it was done by someone inside. I wonder if there have been some thefts or private meetings in the house recently?"

Bi'er waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, the old lady manages the government very strictly, and the servants are all loyal and honest. That kind of thing will never happen."

Song Zheng smiled softly and turned to ask about other things. Bi'er answered them one by one, which made Song Zheng know a lot about the Duke's Mansion. For example, the Duke's Mansion had more than forty servants, all of whom had followed Pang in his early years.

They are usually people who have served in the army, or their sons. These people patrol at different times day and night, and the defense can be said to be very tight.

In addition, in addition to having a study and resting place in the front yard, Duke Pangtong himself also had a study in the backyard. As long as Pangtong was at home, he would usually have a study in the backyard.

For most of the year, Pang Tong is not in the mansion, but in the Yijiang Villa in the north of Jiangning City. Only in winter, that is, from November to January of the next year, does he live in the Duke's Mansion permanently. Usually

When I returned home, I only stayed there for three or two days and then returned to the other courtyard.

Song Zheng also asked why this was the case. Bi'er said that the Duke of Guo thought the city was too noisy and the palace was too lively, so he stayed in Yijiang Villa for a long time in order to have some peace and quiet, so he could study and write poems.

Song Zheng secretly laughed in his heart, this prince is quite interesting. He is a bit like the city dwellers of later generations. Facing the hustle and bustle of the city, he always longs for some pastoral scenery.

After passing more than a dozen small courtyards, the front suddenly opened up, and a large pond appeared in front of us. The pond was four or five acres in size. There was a pavilion in the center, and there were covered bridges on the east and west connected to the pavilion.

The pavilion and the covered bridges on the left and right divide the whole pond into two parts, the north and the south. The south is smaller, and there are many lotus and water lilies planted in it. However, the lotus has naturally faded by this time, and there are still many lotus pods and dried lotus.

The leaves stand like sentinels. The pond to the north is large, but empty, not even a single remaining lotus leaf.

Immediately to the north of the pond, there is an earth embankment with a large area, almost equivalent to half of the pond, forming a large platform. There is a pavilion on the platform, and around the pavilion, there is a rockery. There are many mountains and undulating hills.

Continuously. This rockery is quite large, with twists and turns, like a small

It looks like a series of mountains. From Song Zheng's perspective, several cave entrances can be seen hidden under the rockery. The whole building is like the lion forest in later Suzhou gardens. And on the slope of the earth embankment, there are also planted

There are some flowers, plants and trees, but they are not very lush. It seems that those trees have not been transplanted for a long time.

What surprised Song Zheng the most was that there were walls blocking the rockery and the long embankment, making it impossible to go up directly.

Song Zheng was puzzled in his heart and said calmly, "The scenery here is so beautiful. Last time I came to my house, I had a great chat with Mr. Guo and Mr. Bu Zhou. But I didn't mention that there is such a beautiful place in my house. Yes.

Okay, look at this, most of the lake behind is newly excavated?"

"There was originally a small lake here. In September of this year, the Duke of Guo ordered the pond to be dredged to expand the lake surface. Many stones were also transported and the rockery and pavilion were built. This is how it looks now.

"

Song Zheng said with envy, "The Duke of Guo is really a very interesting person. It is a blessing for you to serve the master here in such a beautiful place."

"We are not so lucky, so we can only accompany the old lady to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. As for the rockery, I heard that the construction has not been completed yet, and the people in the mansion are not allowed to go up."

"Oh, that's such a pity. When it was completed, I begged the Duke to come up here and have a look. I have never seen so many rockeries. Compared with Hualin Garden in the Imperial City, they are even more impressive.

style."

Song Zheng compared this place with the emperor's Hualin Garden. Bi'er didn't dare to say anything, but pointed to the front and said, "General Song, beyond that is the kitchen."

Song Zheng nodded and walked forward. After passing by the wide earth embankment, he came to the yard at the back.

There were many people in the Duke's mansion, and the kitchen was divided into two courtyards, one large and one small.

Yard.And,

For example, the old lady and some of her children use another slightly larger courtyard for cooking. Since food and accommodation are not shared with Pang Tong, the people who were poisoned were all Pang Tong and the people around him, but other family members and servants were not.

What's up.

In front of the small kitchen door, two servants stood upright and looked very nervous. These two servants were arranged by the old lady. No one else is allowed to enter before the official investigation.

After Bi'er introduced Song Zheng to the two servants, the two servants opened the door.

The whole yard was in a mess, with bowls, chopsticks and plates thrown everywhere, some of which had been smashed to the ground. There were several sheds near the east courtyard wall, with two large stoves inside and two large pots on them. And against the west courtyard wall.

The place was a small house with a wide door. There were two stoves inside, but they were relatively small. Next to the stoves, there were two rows of bookcases with various condiments on them.

According to Bi'er, the large stove in the east shed is where the servants cook, while the small stove in the west is for Pang Tong alone. Grain, vegetables and other raw materials are all in the north room.

After checking the leftovers in detail, Song Zheng had a clue in his mind. The food used by Pang Tong was much more refined and completely different from that of the servants. Even the rice they ate was different. Could the poisoner be poisoned?

What about poisoning the food in both places? It is possible, but there were so many people in the kitchen at that time that it was difficult for the poisoner to take action.

In this case, the poisoner most likely put arsenic into the water. Song Zheng looked at the large water tank in the courtyard and found nothing wrong. Then, Song Zheng went to the north room to search carefully

After a moment, I immediately saw the large jars of salt.

In fact, when Imperial Physician Xi just mentioned that poisons include arsenic and Mongolian sweat medicine, Song Zheng secretly guessed whether those poisonous salts would end up in the Duke's Mansion. But thinking about it, it was unlikely. Those salts were only used by the army, so how could it be possible?

Living outside, or even entering the Duke's Mansion? Although he had heard that there were people in the city guard or the capital guard.

He was stealing military supplies, and some people were even beheaded, but he didn't expect that things would be so incredible. As soon as Song Zheng saw these jars of salt, he knew it. This salt was prepared by himself.

It seems to be good first-grade salt, but it is slightly whiter than first-grade salt, and even has a slightly different smell.

Song Zheng secretly wondered, how did this poisonous salt end up in the Duke's Mansion? How did it end up in Pang Tong's belly? It's really surprising (Latest Chapter of Mother of Strange Beasts).

Despite this, he first inspected and even tasted each of the ingredients used at noon today before focusing on the salt. He pretended to pinch a little and put it in his mouth, then frowned.

"Bier, go and light a fire on the small stove." Then, he grabbed a handful of salt and followed Bi'er to the small stove.

Bi'er quickly lit the fire, and Song Zheng picked up a clean iron pot and put salt into it. As the pot became hotter and hotter, a smell of garlic filled the air.

"Come on, I think I've found the source of the poison."

Bi'er looked at Song Zheng in surprise, "General Song, are you talking about these salts?"

Song Zheng nodded, "Don't make any noise for now. Go back and report to the old lady and the Prime Minister."

When Song Zheng returned to Pangtong, the Minister of Punishment, Ni Wuji, was sent by the young emperor to arrive and brought with him the experts of his department. After Ni Wuji met with Huang Yuandu and Xie, Song Zheng immediately said

View your own results.

This result surprised everyone. No one expected that there was arsenic in those pure white salts. Immediately, Ni Wuji took people to the kitchen to investigate and proved Song Zheng's judgment. These experts from the Ministry of Justice were better than Song Zheng.

Zheng was much more professional. Not only did the test show arsenic, but also the sweat medicine and alum, which made Song Zheng secretly scream.

There was a problem with the salt. Ni Wuji sent people to interrogate the two chefs and everyone who had been in and out of the small kitchen. Almost all of these people were poisoned, but after treatment, they were no longer serious. Ni Wuji interrogated everyone separately.

He took the confession to see if there were any discrepancies. Obviously, he still suspected that the internal team committed the crime. Song Zheng and Huang Yuandu were both listening behind the screen.

Two hours later, everyone had been tried, but there was no result. Wuji was in a hurry, and it was not convenient to use torture in the Duke's Mansion. The trial could not produce a result, but he could not explain it to Huang Yuandu and the people in the Duke's Mansion.

"Prime Minister, I am ashamed of my humble position, but I am unable to identify the traitor (read the full text of Red Mansions Bagua Weekly). I suggest that these people be taken to the Ministry of Punishment for further trial."

Huang Yuandu shook his head, "These are people from the Duke's Palace. It's not easy to punish them directly. Moreover, I just listened to their confessions. There is nothing wrong with them. They can be corroborated by each other and there is no discrepancy. It seems that what is it?"

The place is missing.”

Beads of sweat broke out on Ni Wuji's face, "Prime Minister, the thief dared to poison the Duke's Mansion, he must be a cunning person. Just because these people didn't poison, it doesn't mean that other people in the Duke's Mansion have not been in and out of the kitchen."

Huang Yuandu snorted, "Did you take everyone from the Hefu to the Criminal Department?"

"I don't dare to take such a humble position!" Ni Wuji said in an authentic voice.

Song Zheng frowned and said, "Sir, I think the poison administered this time was very clever. It used alum, arsenic, and sweat medicine, mixed with salt, and dissolved into one body. Ordinary people cannot do it in a short time. Moreover, this

Several jars of salt weigh seventy or eighty kilograms, so if just one or two people do it, it may not be easy."

After Huang Yuandu pondered for a while, he slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, there may be problems with these salts when they entered the palace. Quickly, ask when these salts were delivered to the Duke's palace."

Ni Wuji also suddenly realized it, and immediately asked the steward who purchased the money for the Duke's mansion. It soon became clear that the salt was just bought from Xianxian Salt Shop yesterday afternoon, and it was used for the first time at noon today.

Ni Wuji immediately sent people to the Xianxian Salt Shop. Half an hour later, the police came to report that poisonous salt was found in the salt shop, and the salt shop was sealed. The owner was captured on the spot. Ni Wuji immediately left the house and arrived.

The case is being heard in the lobby of the Criminal Department.

At this point, Song Zheng had an idea. Someone must have stolen the poisonous salt from the army and sold it through the Xianxian Salt Shop. But he didn't know which army the poisonous salt came from.

Huang Yuandu and Song Zheng did not go out to the Punishment Department immediately because Pang Tong had already woken up.~

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