Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 131 - 130: From Shuo Country

The post station in Dongchuan County was a distance away from the imperial guard camp, but still outside the county town. It took the five riders about the time it takes to burn an incense stick to arrive.

The Posthouse Minister might not have expected such an important figure to visit, and when he took the special golden waist card handed over by the Golden-faced Imperial Censor, his hands couldn’t help but tremble. He dared not look too much, quickly returned it, and anxiously led the group inside, arranging for others to prepare food and drink.

The post station in Dongchuan County was far better than the remote mountainous one Zhu Yu and Lu Qing had stayed at before—not only cleaner and tidier, but also more efficiently staffed. It didn’t take long for them to arrange a sumptuous spread of hot dishes.

The Posthouse Minister was also perceptive. Seeing how the group was attired, even though he was in a remote place, a tiny post minister, and didn’t recognize the Golden-faced Imperial Censor, he knew it was inconvenient for them to eat outside. So, he had the meals and hot water for washing sent upstairs directly to the rooms.

Zhu Yu was already hungry, but being trapped inside a mask was uncomfortable, so she chose to wash up first before heading to Lu Qing’s room to eat, feeling refreshed and wearing a veil hat.

Unlike the previous time at that post station, this time Zhu Yu felt much more relaxed. Voluntarily coming out was quite different in feeling from being tricked and taken out.

She knocked on the door, entered, and took off her veil hat to sit by the table.

The unique medicinal fragrance of bath beans accompanied her seating, wafting like a gentle breeze across Lu Qing’s face. He snapped out of a slight daze and glanced at Zhu Yu, seeing her usual expression. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating, followed suit quietly, saying nothing.

Yan Daoxin was there too. Seeing Zhu Yu enter, he wanted to speak to her but, noticing she seemed hungry and immediately started eating, hesitated. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Qing stepped on his foot under the table.

The sudden, firm step took him by surprise, making him inhale sharply in pain, and swallowed the words back down his throat.

So none of the three spoke, focusing on eating, and soon cleared the table of all the dishes.

The two keeping talisman still wore their masks, tidied up the tableware and sent it out, then stood at the door to ensure the three inside could converse in peace.

"Can I speak now?!" Yan Daoxin glared at Lu Qing, a bit annoyed.

Lu Qing ignored him, instead asking Zhu Yu, "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"Yes." With her stomach full, Zhu Yu felt more at ease, emboldened by the illusion of security. She hadn’t planned to keep anything from Lu Qing, knowing she’d have to report sooner or later. "Today, when observing the poisoning symptoms on Pang Centurion, I may not recognize all of it, but I do know the source of one particular poison."

Seeing Zhu Yu voluntarily bringing up the matter, Yan Daoxin quickly adjusted his posture, ready to listen carefully.

Lu Qing poured her a cup of tea. "I’m all ears."

"When I was fifteen or sixteen, I once accompanied my father and brothers on a hunting outing." Although Zhu Yu was mentally prepared to speak frankly, she couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious when she started, "While the men rode to hunt, we sisters stayed on the grassland, some flying kites, and others weaving toys from grass."

My youngest sister, only seven or eight, was weaving a grass ring from picked flowers and plants when a nearby nanny spotted it, immediately turning pale and quickly intervened, picking out several stalks from the mix.

She told us the grass was called Lai grass, harmless enough, but sometimes it could contract a disease producing something called Lai Jiao among its seeds.

Lai grass seeds were ordinary, but Lai Jiao could be lethal.

That nanny said, when she was a girl, before serving in the Prince Mansion, she worked on the estate and saw someone accidentally ingest Lai Jiao, acting bewitched though surrounded by ordinary people, claiming they all had many arms.

People thought he must have disturbed something and was possessed, wanting a shaman to exorcize him, but before she arrived, he rolled on the ground screaming of being burnt alive and died shortly after.

Afterward, the government took his body for examination and found fresh blisters on his arms and legs, as if he had been scalded.

If many hadn’t witnessed it, with corroborating personal accounts, he might have been wrongly believed to be harmed by someone.

Later, someone recalled him chewing on a stalk while working before the incident, and the coroner found a Lai Jiao among his teeth, clarifying a thing otherwise hard to explain.

The nanny said, even if someone accidentally consumed Lai Jiao and received timely treatment, they would still end up losing fingers and toes, left crippled."

Upon hearing her mention the sensation of burning, both Lu Qing and Yan Daoxin understood the matter.

"This thing called Lai Jiao only exists in the unique climate of Shuo Country, correct?" Yan Daoxin guessed the reason for Zhu Yu’s unusual expression.

Zhu Yu calmly nodded.

Lu Qing pondered before turning to Yan Daoxin. "And you? Have you anything you haven’t disclosed today?"

Yan Daoxin grinned. "I didn’t find any poisoning unique to Shuo Country, but... there is something related to Jie Country."

Lu Qing nodded, indicating for him to continue, as Zhu Yu turned her attention to Yan Daoxin.

She hadn’t realized he had discovered anything, being too preoccupied with dealing with the corpses and post-incident arrangements, only belatedly grasping his reactions.

Yan Daoxin looked at Zhu Yu. "You mentioned not knowing the source of the other symptoms on that Centurion."

"That’s where I differ. Besides those blisters, which perplexed me, I discovered the source of the rest."