Inside the dim and gloomy Man-Character common sleeping quarters, Chen Ji stood calmly by the side of the bed. Holding up the tallow-dreg lamp, he leaned over to observe, only to discover that everyone had tears of blood flowing from their eyes.
The tears of blood did not flow down along the tear troughs, but rather flowed outward toward both sides, passing over the temples to flow to the sideburns. This indicated that these people were lying on their beds and died in their sleep.
Chen Ji raised the tallow-dreg lamp in his hand high, tilting his head up to look at the roof beams.
No one was hiding; the murderer couldn't be found.
Those footsteps in the corridor just now arrived abruptly, and vanished abruptly as well. It was as if a vengeful spirit was trapped in this Relay Station, killing dozens of people.
The maids and pages of the Chen Estate, two common sleeping quarters totaling thirty-four lives. Over ten days ago, they were still overjoyed to be heading to the Capital City, yet today, they died in such an unclear and inexplicable manner in Guyuan.
The affairs of the world were impermanent.
Xiaoman stood at the doorway, stubbornly not daring to enter the room: "Young... Young Master, they died so tragically, ah! Why are they all bleeding from their seven orifices? It's as if their souls were sucked away by someone!"
Chen Ji turned his head to cast a glance at her: "I thought you were afraid of nothing in heaven or earth."
Her voice trembling, Xiaoman asked: "Young Master, aren't you afraid?"
Chen Ji no longer cared about keeping up his disguise in front of Xiaoman. He reached out to feel the carotid artery of a corpse; there was absolutely no pulse. The body still retained residual warmth; the time of death wasn't long ago.
Thump, thump, thump
, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs.
Supported by Dongzhi, Madam Liang walked down the stairs unhurriedly: "Why were you crying out in alarm just now? This place is not like our own estate; do not shout and yell loudly. If outsiders heard it, they would say we Chen Family members do not understand Propriety and rules... Ah!"
The moment Madam Liang stepped into the Man-Character common quarters, she instantly retreated backward repeatedly in shock and terror, losing all semblance of etiquette and bearing. Had Dongzhi not supported her, she would have collapsed onto the ground.
Madam Liang took deep breaths for a moment. Only then did she forcefully gulp down a mouthful of saliva. Looking at the pitch-black room doors, she asked: "What... What happened?!"
Hearing her cry of alarm, Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao hurriedly dashed downstairs: "Mother, what happened?!"
Chen Wenzong wanted to walk into the Man-Character room, but Madam Liang grabbed his sleeves tightly as if her life depended on it: "Wenzong, don't go in! It's unclean inside!"
Chen Wenzong said calmly and composedly: "Mother, I am a Juren with Official Honors! With my body full of Noble Righteous Qi, ghosts and monsters cannot approach me!"
After saying that, he broke free of Madam Liang's hand and walked inside to inspect.
When he first saw so many corpses bleeding tears of blood and lying together, Chen Wenzong's body swayed, but he quickly steadied his mind.
He looked at Chen Ji: "The reason you hurried downstairs just now was precisely because of this matter?"
Chen Ji nodded: "Xiaoman wanted to find the Relay Station official to ask for a new set of bedding, but found the Relay Station official dead behind the Relay Station counter, bleeding from his seven orifices."
Suppressing his fear, Chen Wenzong inspected the corpses one by one.
Stepping forward twice, Zhang Xia asked in a low voice beside Chen Ji: "How did they die? This room originally housed twenty pages, but now there are only nineteen corpses..."
Before her voice fell, footsteps transmitted from outside the corridor once more!
Xiaoman instantly scurried to hide behind Chen Ji like a wisp of smoke, poking out half her head to stealthily size up the corner of the corridor.
Panicking and at a loss for what to do, Madam Liang retreated backward, pulling Dongzhi in front of her to block herself. Chen Wenxiao collapsed onto the ground, retreating backward using both his hands and feet.
In the next moment, Wang Gui's figure was actually seen walking out from the corner. Seeing everyone, he blanked out for a moment: "Madam, Young Masters... Why are you all here?"
Chen Wenxiao asked hysterically: "Are you a human or a ghost?!"
Wang Gui was utterly confused: "What does Second Young Master mean? This lowly one is Wang Gui, ah! Do you not recognize this lowly one anymore?"
Chen Ji took large strides forward. He first felt the temperature on Wang Gui's wrist, and then lowered his head to look at the shadow beneath his feet, confirming it was undoubtedly Wang Gui: "Where did you go just now?"
Wang Gui was puzzled: "This lowly one went to the latrine, ah."
Scrambling up from the ground, Chen Wenxiao asked loudly: "A room full of people has died! Why are you the only one who is fine?"
"Died?" Wang Gui raised his voice, endlessly astonished: "Who did Young Master say died?"
Chen Wenxiao pointed at the pitch-black room door: "Go in and see for yourself!"
Suspiciously, Wang Gui walked into the room. Then, he let out a cry of alarm and retreated back out, his legs turning to jelly from fright: "What happened?! They were perfectly fine just now!"
Everyone retreated into the courtyard, keeping far away from those several rooms. Standing in the cold wind, Madam Liang muttered: "Could this Relay Station be haunted?! How about we hurry and leave this place, and proceed to the Regional Military Commission to look for Old Master!"
Chen Wenzong shook his head: "Mother, Guyuan is not peaceful at night! Even under the bright light of day, they dare to snatch things, much less at night?! If we rashly go out, I fear we will encounter violent criminals on the road again."
Chen Wenxiao suddenly spoke up: "Then someone still has to go and tell Father somehow, ba! Such a massive matter, we must invite him back to make the decisions."
But who would go?
Everyone Looked at One Another, no one speaking first.
Wang Gui looked at Chen Ji, trembling and shivering: "Third Young Master, you go, ba! You have that jujube-red horse; it runs fast!"
Instantly, Xiaoman pointed her finger at Wang Gui's nose, glaring at him angrily: "On what basis are you making my family's Young Master go?! Did your mother not teach you..."
A point of the small hand, starting from the mother.
This time, Xiaoman was truly enraged from anxiety. Regardless of the consequences, she cursed out Wang Gui until he was drenched in dog's blood!
Madam Liang interrupted with suppressed anger: "Enough! When did our Chen Estate produce such a vulgar and coarse maid?! Tomorrow I will sell you off and leave you in Guyuan!"
Chen Ji said without a change in expression: "Madam, please quell your anger. Right now is not the time to sell off maids. We should rather think about how to survive, ba."
Zhang Xia suddenly pulled Chen Ji aside, saying in a low voice: "Four years ago, there was an unsolved case in the Capital City. A Rank 7a Investigating Censor suddenly died suddenly at home. It's said the state of his death was also bleeding from his seven orifices. Six people in his entire household died! Seven years ago, there was also an unsolved case in Shanzhou. A Rank 5a Prefect died suddenly with the exact same state of death in the private residence where he kept his concubines; four people died. This kind of state of death is extremely rare. Rumors spread among the populace that malicious ghosts came to demand their lives. However, I don't think so; it should be Poisoning! It's just that... In the past, I've never heard of such a ruthless and vicious poison!"
Chen Ji pondered for a moment. He turned his head and looked at Chen Wenzong: "Eldest Brother, did you eat dinner in the Relay Station?"
Chen Wenzong shook his head: "No."
Chen Ji looked at Madam Liang again: "Madam, did you eat?"
Madam Liang answered: "No."
Chen Ji looked at Wang Gui once more: "And you?"
His face deathly pale, Wang Gui answered: "No. The food in this Relay Station is coarse and crude beyond belief; it was hard to swallow."
Chen Ji said calmly: "It should be Poisoning."
Assassins were extremely particular when using poison.
In the tales of storyteller masters, there would often be people bleeding from their seven orifices and dying after being poisoned, so as to add a terrifying and thrilling color to the story. But in reality, making someone bleed from their seven orifices after being poisoned was no easy task.
But Chen Ji knew of a type of poison that could do it: Cardiac glycoside drugs!
After consuming an excessive amount of cardiac glycoside drugs, the poisoned person's heart muscle would rapidly contract, causing multiple organs to fail and decay. This would also lead to a rapid spike in blood pressure, causing blood to rupture the capillaries!
Combined with strong sedatives, it could silently cause a person to bleed from their seven orifices and die.
Chen Ji was certain in his heart. The killer had poisoned the Relay Station's food. Meanwhile, Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Madam Liang, and Wang Gui—these people who were used to fine clothes and fine foods on normal days—naturally couldn't grow accustomed to eating the Relay Station's food, thus luckily escaping disaster!
As for himself, Zhang Xia, and the others, it was because they had eaten too much mutton at noon, so they couldn't eat dinner.
Chen Ji felt a stir in his heart. Was it the Border Army who poisoned them?
Was the other party suddenly sending mutton over a coincidence? Or did they intentionally make him eat until he was overly stuffed ahead of time out of consideration for Mister Wang's face, so as to avoid him being poisoned?
Chen Ji lowered his head in deep thought: If the Border Army truly wanted to poison the Chen Family, what was the other party's motive?
The Chen Family was freshly arrived. They had no recent resentments and no past grudges with the Border Army. Intentionally making things difficult before the city gates was still understandable; after all, it was a minor matter, and no one could do anything against this group of mere frontline soldiers serving in a border military town.
But now, thirty-four family dependents of an Imperial Court Rank 4 official taking up his post had been poisoned to death! Once this reached the Capital City, it would be an earth-shattering major case! This matter was no longer an affair of the Chen Family; it involved the face of the Imperial Court, and would inevitably be thoroughly investigated to the bitter end!
What did the Border Army have to gain by doing this?! Was it merely to clip the Crown Prince's wings and feathers?
The matter wasn't that simple.
At this time, Chen Wenxiao said to Xiaoman: "Since you don't wish for Chen Ji to go, then you make a trip to the Regional Military Commission!"
Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "I'm not going! I am Young Master's maid. I'll only go if Young Master tells me to go."
Chen Wenxiao said angrily: "Chen Ji! Look at the maid by your side; she is so unruly and lacks rules! She actually dares to speak to her master's family like this!"
Chen Ji said calmly: "You should rather think about how to survive past tonight, ba! There are assassins who wanted to poison the entire Chen Family! We managed to survive merely by a stroke of luck because we didn't eat the Relay Station's food. What if the other party learns they failed? I fear they will make a comeback and return! If you want to keep your lives, then hurry up and send someone to the Regional Military Commission! The rest of you huddle together here and wait for Lord Chen to bring the Crown Prince's personal guards here to mount a rescue."
Zhang Zheng said carelessly: "You all are way too dilly-dallying. If all else fails, I'll... Aiyo!"
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Xia ruthlessly twisted the soft flesh by Zhang Zheng's waist. Lowering her voice, she said: "Brother, shut your mouth! We'll listen to Chen Ji's arrangements. Now is not the time for you to act recklessly."
Chen Wenxiao looked at Wang Gui: "You go!"
Wang Gui shrank back: "Me? Second Young Master, this lowly one doesn't know where the Regional Military Commission is, ah."
Chen Wenxiao said angrily: "If you don't go, who will go?! Our Chen Family has fed you for so many years; even if you were a dog, you should know to bark a few times by now!"
Chen Wenzong shouted in a low voice: "Chen Wenxiao! A gentleman must be prudent with his words!"
Chen Wenxiao muttered in a low voice: "I didn't say anything wrong either..."
Wang Gui's expression changed back and forth several times. He looked at Madam Liang, but Madam Liang looked elsewhere, not uttering a single word.
He gritted his teeth: "Second Young Master is right... This lowly one will go right now..."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Wenzong said in a low voice: "Confucius says: Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire!"
He turned his head and said to Zhang Xia: "Second Miss Zhang, may I borrow your warhorse for use? I'll make a trip to the Regional Military Commission to ask Father to lead the Crown Prince's personal guards back."
Zhang Xia thought for a moment and said: "Zaozao definitely won't be willing to let you ride her. How about you lead my brother's horse, ba."
Chen Wenzong nodded: "Good."
Madam Liang hurriedly walked forward and grabbed his wrist: "Wenzong, you absolutely must not! You have a body worth a thousand pieces of gold. A gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall, ah..."
Chen Wenzong took a deep breath. Feigning composure, he explained: "Mother, 'A gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall' is not used in this context. It means a gentleman must Nip it in the Bud and take preventative measures before trouble occurs, not teach a gentleman to be cowardly and timid! You need not say more. Chen Ji is right. We cannot delay time any longer, lest the assassins return to commit murder."
After saying that, he led a warhorse out from the stables. Ignoring Madam Liang's obstruction, he flipped onto the horse and galloped off into the darkness of the night.
(End of this chapter)