The middle-aged woman's eyes flickered, then she cried out in sorrow: "Princess Consort, you've come at the right time. My husband came here to eat medicinal cuisine, but he died. Don't you think this is the responsibility of Zuixianlou?"
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened: "Your husband is ill?"
"He's not sick." The middle-aged woman hurriedly shook her head: "He just thinks the medicinal food tastes good, so he comes to eat it every ten days or so!"
Shen Lixue looked at the middle-aged woman and said coldly, "You and your husband ate the medicinal meal together, so why did he have an accident but you were unharmed?"
"I ran into a good friend at the door just now, and we chatted for a bit. When I came back and was about to have my meal, my husband collapsed on the ground!" The middle-aged woman wailed, "My poor husband, he died so unjustly! This Drunken Immortal Pavilion deserves to be smashed!"
"Smash it! Smash it!" Many voices echoed in the hall, as people picked up chairs and prepared to start smashing things again.
"Wait!" Shen Lixue's cold gaze swept across the hall, and wherever it passed, the men who were about to smash the shop were all terrified, secretly marveling at how sharp the Princess Consort's eyes were: "I can understand that your husband died mysteriously and you are heartbroken, but while you are grieving, you must also find out the truth and not wrong an innocent person!"
“My husband died right here, eating his meal. I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be false?” The woman persisted, screaming sharply, sounding as if Shen Lixue was wrongly accusing her.
Shen Lixue's cool gaze swept over the guests in the hall: "Zui Xian Lou has been open in the capital for more than a year or two. Its reputation, the taste of its food, and its quality are all well-known. This medicinal cuisine has been launched for more than a day or two. Many guests have eaten it and there have been no problems!"
Some regular customers nodded in agreement. Since Zuixianlou opened, they had been dining there every day, coming and going countless times, and there had never been any problems.
The shopkeeper's eyes darted around, he cleared his throat, and said loudly, "The ingredients and materials used in our Drunken Immortal Pavilion are all carefully selected. We would never add anything poisonous, so it's impossible for anyone to die from eating it. Madam, did your husband eat anything else before this meal?"
“My husband had urgent business to attend to and didn’t even have breakfast. In other words, he didn’t drink a drop of water from the moment he woke up until he arrived at Zuixianlou.” This statement denied the possibility that he was poisoned first and then went to Zuixianlou.
The middle-aged woman glared at Shen Lixue and burst into tears again: "The food at Zuixianlou killed people! As a member of the royal family, Princess Consort, you not only fail to uphold justice but also openly side with the culprit. It's truly chilling!"
"That's right, that's right! Officials and businessmen collude to harm ordinary people!" someone in the crowd echoed.
The middle-aged woman cried miserably and screamed loudly, but a strange smug light flickered in her eyes.
Shen Lixue smiled slightly and said, "Everyone, the food you ate was made with the same ingredients as the food on this table. Why are you all fine, but he got into trouble?"
"Yes, yes, what's going on?" The crowd realized and whispered among themselves, puzzled.
Under the middle-aged woman's flickering gaze, Shen Lixue looked at the small table beside her. The table had long been smashed, and the food on it was scattered all over the floor. It was impossible to tell which food the man had eaten, so naturally, it was impossible to use the silver needle to detect poison.
She frowned, squatted down next to the dead man. His face was pale and his lips were purple, and he really looked like he had been poisoned. She reached out to check his breathing.
"What are you doing?" The middle-aged woman hurriedly waved her hand away from Shen Lixue's fair hand.
"Let me investigate the cause of your husband's death!" Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at the middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman sneered, "My husband was poisoned after eating food from Zuixianlou Restaurant. What's there to investigate!"
"What if he wasn't poisoned by the food?" Shen Lixue's lips curled into a slight smile.
"I don't need your fake kindness!" The middle-aged woman protected the man's body, insisting that Shen Lixue not touch it.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, feigning doubt, and said, "Generally speaking, when a husband dies mysteriously, the wife is heartbroken and tries her best to find out the truth about his death. But why do I feel that you have been hiding something, as if you are afraid that others will know the cause of your husband's death?"
The middle-aged woman was startled and cried out, "I have no guilty conscience!" Taking advantage of the moment she was wiping her sweat, she gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with her long sleeve.
"If you're not guilty, why won't you let me check the cause of your husband's death!" Shen Lixue coldly stared at the middle-aged woman.
"Which lady is it? Please have the Princess Consort investigate. Everyone is watching; it can't be faked!"
"Yes, even if you don't believe the Princess Consort, you should believe Prince An, the God of War Qingyan, who is very upright!"
"Are you really feeling guilty?" the guests murmured among themselves.
"I'm not feeling guilty." The middle-aged woman's eyes flickered unnaturally. She gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, took a step back, and gave way. "Princess Consort, please investigate carefully and be sure to clear my husband's name!"
"Of course!" Shen Lixue said calmly. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she took out a silver needle and pricked it into the man's face. When she pulled it out, the silver needle was black.
When the needle was inserted into the throat, it was still black. When it was inserted into the stomach and then pulled out, the silver needle was shiny and did not change color at all.
Shen Lixue's cold eyes narrowed instantly. If there was no poison in the stomach, it meant that the toxin had not yet reached the stomach. The stomach is the digestive system. If the poison had not been digested, how could it be fatal? This man was definitely not poisoned to death.
But why are his face and throat black?
Shen Lixue slightly pulled open the man's collar, revealing a fair complexion below his neck, while the area above his neck was dark.
Whispers arose in the crowd: "What's going on? If it were poisoning, shouldn't the whole body turn black?"
"not understand!"
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened as she carefully examined the distinct dividing line on the man's neck, then looked at his fair hands, feet, and arms. A cold smile curled her lips; she knew what was going on.
"Princess Consort, have you found out the cause of your late husband's death?" Listening to the discussions of the crowd, the middle-aged woman lowered her eyelids, her eyes flickered unnaturally, and her tone was somewhat urgent!
Shen Lixue suddenly looked up at the middle-aged woman, a faint cold light flashing in her clear eyes. The middle-aged woman shivered and lowered her head, not daring to meet her gaze. Had the Princess Consort of Anjun discovered something?
As she secretly speculated, Shen Lixue parted her thin lips slightly: "The cause of your husband's death has been found, Madam, please take a look!"
With a flick of his wrist, several silver needles were inserted into the man's acupoints. The seemingly dead man coughed lightly a few times, complaining, "It's finally over. I'm exhausted. Playing dead is such a tiring job!"
He slowly opened his eyes, and the astonished faces of the crowd came into view. He was startled and sat up abruptly. What was going on? How did he end up waking up in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion?
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged woman's tear-streaked face instantly turned ashen, and she thought to herself: It's over, I've been exposed.
"Congratulations on your resurrection, young master!" Shen Lixue smiled slightly, but her eyes were filled with a chilling coldness.
"So they were just two swindlers, faking their deaths to fool us!" The guests realized what had happened and angrily hurled accusations at the middle-aged couple.
"They almost ruined such a fine restaurant as Zuixianlou..."
The middle-aged couple, unable to lift their heads due to the scolding, supported each other as they tried to break through the crowd and escape from Zuixianlou. Just then, the sound of galloping hooves rang out, signaling the arrival of the Shuntian Prefecture's soldiers. The couple's expressions instantly changed.
A constable dismounted and rushed into the Drunken Immortal Pavilion: "What exactly happened?"