After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 717: The Real Culprit

Su Jin furrowed her brow.

"What happened at the Beauty Pavilion?" Su Jin asked.

"All the koi fish in the Lotus Pond are dead," Bi Zhu quickly replied.

Su Jin’s brow knitted into a dead knot.

How could the koi fish in the Lotus Pond just die all of a sudden?

Feeling uneasy, Su Jin immediately stepped out of the mansion.

Xingxing tossed aside her small hoe, pulling cactus thorns from the back of her hand as she caught up with Su Jin.

Su Jin took a carriage to the Beauty Pavilion.

She happened to see the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice arriving with people.

A bad premonition surged in Su Jin’s heart.

Why would the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice come?

The koi fish at the Beauty Pavilion were indeed dead, but not to the extent of alerting the Ministry of Justice, right?

Once Su Jin entered the Beauty Pavilion and saw the steward, she realized that it wasn’t just about the koi fish; a life had been lost.

The deceased was a young lady from the Imperial Censor Mansion.

Initially, someone noticed the koi fish in the Lotus Pond turning belly up.

Gradually.

The number of dead koi fish increased.

The flowers, plants, fish, and insects at the Beauty Pavilion are all top-notch.

The goal was naturally to make the noblewomen who are used to seeing rare flora feel they were getting their money’s worth.

Just this pond full of koi fish cost Su Jin five thousand taels of silver.

Seeing so many koi fish turning belly up made those noblewomen feel distressed.

Especially the red-crowned white koi.

Entirely silver-white, with a bright red spot on the head, it’s the best among koi fish.

One is worth a hundred taels.

There were only three in the Lotus Pond, rarely seen.

Now dead, floating on the water’s surface, they stood out among the other koi fish.

The sudden death of so many koi fish at the Beauty Pavilion drew out those noblewomen and young ladies.

Everyone felt this was an ominous sign.

They thought it unwise to stay at the Beauty Pavilion and planned to leave.

At that moment, a young woman collapsed.

The bold checked her breathing; she was no longer breathing.

The noblewomen and young ladies were frightened and prepared to leave.

But the steward of the Beauty Pavilion wouldn’t let them go.

The inexplicable death of so many koi fish and a life lost; the culprit must be among them.

How could they clear the case if they let people go just like that?

The Beauty Pavilion did not want to offend these noblewomen, but it had no choice today.

At this moment, those noblewomen were upstairs, clamoring to return to their mansions.

Su Jin went upstairs.

It quieted down upstairs, Su Jin bowed slightly and said, "My apologies."

The noblewomen were scared.

Although the Emperor hadn’t issued an edict yet, Su Jin’s status as a princess was nearly certain.

Someone had indirectly inquired with Eunuch Fu; it wasn’t that the Emperor didn’t acknowledge his daughter, but Marquis Dongxiang wouldn’t allow it.

Having a princess apologize to them was too much to bear.

Su Jin apologized, "I apologize for alarming you all. The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice has already arrived and will investigate the cause of that young woman’s and the pond full of koi fish’s deaths."

"I must temporarily ask everyone to stay at the Beauty Pavilion. A maidservant will soon register everyone who came to the Beauty Pavilion today to facilitate the investigation."

"If anyone knows about those who left half an hour ago, please report the information."

"Once this case is resolved, my Beauty Pavilion will surely compensate those who were frightened today."

The steward, hearing Su Jin speak, admired her ability to handle matters.

Su Jin first apologized, then promised compensation.

How could those noblewomen and young ladies, in good conscience, insist on leaving?

The maidservant came to register names.

Su Jin went down to view the young woman who died suddenly.

The young woman’s lips were purple, clearly poisoned.

The lotus pond’s water was highly toxic; a silver needle could detect the poison.

A tall tree catches the wind; the Beauty Pavilion’s business was too good, inciting jealousy.

With such an incident, those noblewomen would surely be quite shocked; who would dare come to the Beauty Pavilion in the future?

This case must be solved, and quickly!

The steward of the Beauty Pavilion initially planned to report the case to the Ministry of Justice, but the Minister of the Ministry of Justice was dispatched by the Emperor to investigate the assassination attempt on Prince Cheng of Beimo.

The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice was the cousin of the Heir of Marquis Beining, and was closer, so they chose to report it to the Ministry of Justice.

Soon, Prince NanAn and others, learning of the incident at the Beauty Pavilion, also came by.

They own half the shares of the Beauty Pavilion.

With just the Beauty Pavilion and the Conscience Ice Shop, they don’t have to do anything. Even idling at home, they can live a life without worries about food and drink.

Having received such a favor from Su Jin, as if a pie fell from the sky, how could they stay uninvolved and indifferent when the Beauty Pavilion got into trouble?

They must lead and sacrifice themselves if necessary.

The tea cup the girl drank from was poisoned, and the steward confirmed it with a silver needle.

Now, the question to investigate is how the tea got poisoned.

Was it poisoned before being served, or was it poisoned after being served when the girl was not vigilant?

And there was a pool of koi fish.

The koi in the lotus pond were all poisoned to death.

Yet, the order of death occurred in a sequence.

The first place where deaths were observed is the location where the poison was introduced.

Su Jin examined the toxicity to determine the time needed for the poison to take effect, then deduced the hour when the poison was administered.

She then probed to find out who were around during that hour.

The poison that killed the koi and the one intended for humans were not the same.

After all, water dilutes the poison, and it’s not an ordinary toxin that could kill so many koi at once.

Using such a potent poison on humans would be lethal instantly, leaving no time to savor the drama.

However, the first instance of koi death appeared near a pavilion.

At that time, there were several ladies in the pavilion.

It was easy to sneak in poison when no one was looking.

After questioning, none of the ladies in the pavilion had left; they were all upstairs.

Listening to this, Su Jin smiled and went upstairs. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Her beaming smile bewildered the noble ladies.

The Beauty Pavilion had suffered such a disaster, yet the Princess Consort Zhenbei could still smile?

"Did you find the culprit who poisoned?" Princess Ning asked.

Su Jin gave a faint smile and said, "No need to look. As long as you stay in my Beauty Pavilion for another hour, the culprit will naturally be caught."

Princess Ning was puzzled, "I don’t understand what the Princess Consort means by this."

Su Jin explained, "Even dumping a bottle of Crane Peak Red into the lotus pond wouldn’t kill all my koi; the poison used today in my Beauty Pavilion is extraordinary."

"The poisoned koi became highly toxic, but precisely because the poison is so powerful, I don’t need to investigate; just wait for the culprit to reveal themselves."

Some of the ladies were still confused and asked, "Why?"

"Because such a potent poison would affect even through oil paper," Su Jin said.

"But the toxicity is weaker, requiring more time to take effect. Just wait another hour, and it will manifest."

"Whoever collapses later will be the real poisoner."

Su Jin cast a glance around.

A girl’s body swayed and fell backward.

She knocked over a small table with teacups, which shattered on the ground.

The sharp sound caught everyone’s attention.

The girl’s face turned pale.

The girl was none other than the eldest daughter of Uncle Wen Yuan.

Coincidentally, she was also one of the girls present in the pavilion at the time.

Su Jin looked at her and said, "It seems you are the one who poisoned my koi."

The eldest daughter of Uncle Wen Yuan shook her head in denial, "No, it wasn’t me..."

Su Jin interrupted her with a smile, "If you insist on denying, I won’t stop you, but don’t blame me for not warning you; there’s still time to take the antidote. If you’re late, not only will you accompany my koi in death, but Uncle Wen Yuan’s mansion will also have to compensate me for the koi."

The eldest daughter of Uncle Wen Yuan turned white as a sheet, grabbing Su Jin’s hand and pleading, "We are cousins, please save me..."

Su Jin’s lips twitched slightly.

Is that pig brain hanging on her neck?

When she was plotting against her, she didn’t remember they were cousins.

Being this stupid and still trying to scheme against her?

But luckily she is stupid, Su Jin pulled away her hand, and wiped it vigorously with a handkerchief, "Such a powerful poison, I can’t cure. Didn’t you carry the antidote when you brought the poison?"

"If you hurry back to the mansion now and take the antidote, there’s still time to save your life."

The eldest daughter of Uncle Wen Yuan was truly frightened.

She believed Su Jin’s words without a doubt.

She rushed down the stairs in a flurry.

The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice was full of admiration for Su Jin.

He didn’t expect her to find the culprit so easily.

The action of the eldest daughter of Uncle Wen Yuan was as good as admitting her guilt.

She poisoned an entire pond of koi but didn’t harm human life, so the crime wasn’t punishable by death.

The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice couldn’t tell whether what Su Jin said was true; he had to stay and continue the investigation, so he sent someone to follow to Uncle Wen Yuan’s mansion.

After taking the antidote, they would then bring her to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation.

But the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice never expected that the officials following the carriage from Uncle Wen Yuan’s mansion ended up at Duke Chong’s Mansion.

The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, "...."