He tensed instantly: "It's milk!"
Milk?! Xie Lanzhi lowered her eyes.
"Quickly test the poison and prepare an antidote."
She tried to induce vomiting again, but no matter how hard she tried to force the emetic down her throat, she couldn't get it down. Xie Lanzhi took a mouthful and was about to feed it to Si Xitong when the physician quickly stopped her: "Marshal, this poison takes effect very quickly. Even if you induce vomiting, it won't work, and it will only accelerate the onset of the poison. It would be better if I used medicine to suppress the poison and slow it down."
Xie Lanzhi put down the bowl, gasping for breath, her eyes bulging, suppressing her emotions. She then ordered Wu Qiu to bring the bowl of milk. The physician immediately tested it with a silver needle and found the poison; the needle instantly turned half black.
"It's truly poisonous! And it's colorless and odorless!" the physician exclaimed in surprise.
Then, the physician's hand slammed down on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. When Xie Lanzhi looked down, her eyes were filled with icy coldness: "Poison? My wife has been poisoned?"
She looked around at the people, and the old woman and Xiao Xiu who had rushed over were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.
The old woman reacted quickly: "Marshal, the mistress drank the second bowl of milk. Someone must have tampered with it later."
“This servant can also testify that the Fourth Prince was fine after drinking the first bowl, but the Princess fainted.”
Xie Lanzhi tried her best to calm herself down, and asked again in a confirming tone, "Doctor, what kind of poison has the madam been poisoned with?"
The physician said fearfully, "I will immediately prepare the medicine; perhaps it will alleviate the symptoms somewhat..."
"Go and do it. I'll leave the treatment of Madam to you." Xie Lanzhi's eyes were terrifying, and her calmness was equally frightening.
After giving her instructions, she looked at Si Xitong, who was already sweating profusely, and reached out to brush away the bangs on her forehead. In an instant, all her emotions became deathly still.
After taking one look, she pulled Si Xinian out of the Imperial Hospital and headed towards the Department of Cautious Punishment.
Wu Qiu stayed behind.
All the staff from the Imperial Kitchen and Lanzhang Palace were taken to the Department of Penal Justice and interrogated one by one.
Xie Lanzhi stood at the prison gate, a shadow darkening her face, while Xie Jun behind her dared not utter a sound.
Si Xinian stood aside, repeatedly saying as if possessed, "This shouldn't be. I clearly checked it. I should have checked the second bowl. No, no, I should have drunk it all. I shouldn't have let my elder sister drink it."
"Why...why? Who is it?!"
Seeing that he was on the verge of collapse, Xie Lanzhi walked up to him without hesitation and slapped him across the face: "Slap!!"
Si Xinian touched her face, looked up, her eyes filled with helplessness, but she finally calmed down a little.
Now that things have come to this, Xie Lanzhi is too lazy to say anything more.
A silence fell between the two.
The Shenxing Division was filled with screams, whippings, and torture. No matter who you were or who you were, once you entered the Shenxing Division, you could get a straight answer out of anyone.
The Censorate holds the power over these people's relatives. With just a word from Xie Lanzhi, they could be crushed at will.
The Ministry of Justice did not disappoint, and brought out a corpse, which was Xie's personal guard.
The head of the Shenxing Division, Zhang Ju, immediately said in a panic, "Marshal, Xie Bing just died after being tortured."
Xie Lanzhi said coldly, "Kind words can't persuade a damned ghost. What did he say before you hit him?"
"He just said he was innocent, and then he died." Zhang Ju breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that she didn't blame him.
The body that was carried out soon had purple lips, clearly indicating that it had also died from poisoning.
Zhang Ju had just killed one of Xie's men and was in fear. He hurriedly brought the body out to apologize without personally confirming its existence.
The body showed signs of poisoning even before it was brought out.
Xie Lanzhi's eyes turned cold: "Does the Censorate have anyone who knows how to test for poison?"
Zhang Ju said, "I will go and invite the poison master immediately."
Soon a man dressed in a gray official's uniform was brought up. He first took the body's pulse, then examined its mouth, nose, and eyes, and quickly made the identification.
"Reporting to the Marshal, this person has been poisoned by the Flower Special Poison of the Northern Region. It is made from the sap of poisonous flowers. One drop has a pleasant fragrance that can temporarily intoxicate, two drops are colorless and odorless and can make a person faint, and three drops will kill silently."
"Madam..." Xie Lanzhi paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "What medicine is needed to cure this poison?"
The poison master said, "Yes, otherwise, within half a month, the poisoned person will die in a deep sleep."
"I understand. Go to the Imperial Hospital and assist the imperial physicians in finding the antidote."
The poison master said, "Marshal, the antidote for Flower Poison must be its branches and leaves, but Flower Poison is rare and probably hard to find. And the person who poisoned it usually has an antidote."
We must start the investigation with this elite soldier.
Xie Lanzhi immediately ordered Zhang Ju to arrest the family member of this imperial guard.
The Imperial Criminal Investigation Department acted swiftly, sending intelligence frequently. Zhang Ju had not found his family, but he learned from the Fengxi Town government office that a merchant from the Imperial Guard was passing by and said he was going back to buy grain before returning to the capital.
A minor official from the local criminal justice department tried to intercept the merchant next to Fengxi Town, but the merchant simply vanished into thin air.
As if he had found a glimmer of hope, Si Xinian hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Marshal, may I give it a try!"
Xie Lanzhi did not agree. She was thinking about what price she would have to pay to ensure that he would not be killed by the power of the original story while he was away.
This time, the little girl was poisoned by mistake, which is already a consequence. If Si Xinian is allowed to risk going out again...
Xie Lanzhi clenched her fists instantly. She had to think it over carefully. She couldn't use him unless absolutely necessary.
Si Xinian said nervously, "Don't hesitate, my method is very simple. I will impersonate this soldier and send a message to Fengxi Town, asking his relatives to write to him."
“If a dead man intended to live, he wouldn’t have committed suicide by poison.” Xie Lanzhi stared at him and said, “Your reasoning doesn’t convince me.”
Si Xinian quickly said, "What if the Imperial Guards reveal that the Xie family of Fengxi Town poisoned the poisoner? What do you think would happen?"
Xie Lanzhi looked at him intently: "The mastermind behind poisoning you will make sure this businessman disappears without a trace. The Xie family will also not let you off the hook in this storm."
"So I want to take a gamble, to see if that merchant is saving his own life or protecting the mastermind behind it all." Si Xinian gritted his teeth, bowed his head to Xie Lanzhi, and pleaded, "Please. Please."
"Okay, go and do it."
Xie Lanzhi finally relented. Since she had taken it upon herself to save the child and change his fate, then his life was hers.
She tossed him her Xuan Tie Commander's Token.
Si Xinian took the token and hurriedly left the Department of Penal Justice.
Once the man had gone far away, Zhang Ju revealed everything: "Marshal, the dead man once said that he had a passage in a private courtyard and often contacted the people there."
The reason I didn't elaborate earlier was because of the Fourth Prince. It was also at the Marshal's behest.
Now that he was leaving, Zhang Ju said again, "It happens to be Fengxi Town. I wonder if you have any information about Fengxi Town..."
Having said this, Zhang Ju dared not say any more. After all, he was a former official who had come to serve the Xie family, unlike even an ordinary member of the Xie clan.
Xie Lanzhi said to him openly, "As the Chief Clerk of the Censorate, you are my right-hand man. The Censorate has the right to investigate anyone under my command."
“Fengxi is an important town. When I attacked Tianjing, the Xie generals specially left it to garrison. Even though most of the Xie army has moved to the capital, the 10,000 Xie troops there have never been moved.”
After saying that, she tossed her waist token to Zhang Ju.
Zhang Ju respectfully accepted the document, his back straightening. If he were to succeed this time, he would truly become the Emperor's personal chief clerk. This opportunity was not to be missed!
"I will definitely follow this lead and find out the truth."
Xie Lanzhi said, "If my brother-in-law notices you, send him home and never let him interfere again."
Chapter: "Yes!"
Soon, the cellar of a small courtyard on Northwest Street in Tianjing was opened, and indeed there was a passage. The people from the Censorate went down and passed through, only to find that the exit was blocked.
But those who went in counted their steps along the way and measured that it was nearly a kilometer away, just at the entrance to Fengxi Town.
The fact that this passage was blocked proves that the dead royal guard was a scapegoat.
The Ministry of Justice immediately dispatched personnel to Fengxi Town.
At the same time, Si Xinian found the Duke of Zheng and asked for one hundred men to spread the word among the imperial guards.
The news that someone had poisoned Xie Shuai's soup bowl, causing the mistress to accidentally eat it, came from a member of Xie's personal guards in Fengxi Town.
The Xie family of Fengxi Town was immediately thrown into turmoil. The two charges of poisoning the marshal and the mistress were a devastating blow.
General Xie Yongding, the garrison commander of Fengxi Town, personally wrote a letter to Xie Lanzhi to explain. Strangely, the letter circulated around but could not reach Tianjing.
Rumors even began to circulate in Tianjing that Xie's matriarch, for upholding justice in a case, had been poisoned in retaliation by her relatives. This thrust Xie Yongxin's family into the spotlight, and Xie Yongxin's father went to the clan to apologize early on.
However, Xie suspected him because of Xie Yongxin's case.
The news caused quite a stir in Tianjing, with the people of Tianjing spreading the word throughout the streets and alleys.
The Xie family of Tianjing, having entered the capital as relatives, faced frequent scrutiny regarding their family's reputation, which had been previously salvaged, and suffered another blow.
This matter even escalated to the point of reaching Xie Guangfu's residence.
Xie Guangda went to visit Xie Yan in the East Courtyard early in the morning, only to find that the old man had gone south back to the region the day before yesterday without even leaving a message. His departure was suspicious.
Xie Guang was never good at handling things, and now he's even more troubled.
He wanted to find a way to recruit Jiang Jinshi or Wu Qiu, but both of them were high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War, and he couldn't just summon them at will.
Xie Guang had a bad feeling, so he went to the post station official in the clan to inquire about Xie Yan's whereabouts and found that he had indeed gone south back.
He sent another urgent letter to the Southern Region to confirm when Xie Yan would arrive there, but the letter would take time to travel back and forth.
At this time, Xie Meixiang and his disciples came to visit. Together they inquired about the mistress's poisoning.
Xie Guang frowned as he received them: "You want to see the Marshal? Why aren't you at home studying diligently? What are you doing meddling in court affairs?"
Xie Meixiang said, "Uncle Guang, this is also a matter of Xie family affairs. Now that the mistress is poisoned and unconscious, how can we sit idly by?"
The other disciples chimed in, "We had heard that the mistress had dealt with Xie Yongxin for offending Seventh Uncle. We initially thought it was Seventh Uncle's doing, but he has already returned to the Southern Region. The mistress was poisoned after he returned, so could it be... that Seventh Uncle wasn't involved?"
"Who said it's his business? Where did you all hear this from?" Xie Guang was immediately alarmed. The rumors within the clan had spread like this. Who knows, the capital might launch a public opinion campaign to kill people tomorrow.
Xie Meixiang said worriedly, "We all know what Seventh Uncle's temper is like. If it weren't for the poison he used, it would be fine, but I'm afraid..."
Xie Guang began to pace restlessly, and his unease made the younger generation uneasy as well.
What are you afraid of?
"I'm afraid something might happen to the mistress, but I'm even more afraid of the marshal's current attitude." Xie Meixiang was very impressed with Si Xitong. She was a woman who didn't know martial arts, but she won the support of the young members of the Xie family with just a few words.
They had long since come to believe in this mistress.
The matriarch was also the ruler of Jiu Jin. The matriarch's misfortune was not only a domestic matter for the Xie family, but also a major national event for Jiu Jin, which had just regained its status.
Xie Guang also said uneasily, "Don't worry, I am the General and the Marshal's closest person. I know her very well. She won't resort to violence like before. You don't need to be afraid."
"Go back to your studies and stop getting involved."