Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 5 Impossible Poisoning?

"What are you yelling about so early in the morning?" "What happened?" "A dead man... Li Weining? Ah!!"

The screams alarmed many people. When the students walked out and heard the tragedy over there, their faces changed.

Prince Li Weining of Annan...

Killed?
"We were drinking together last night! Why this morning...?"

"Did the traitor really send assassins?"

"Hiss, thank goodness Brother Yue forced them to move to the designated room!"

After being shocked, everyone started talking and subconsciously moved towards the yard of the cell.

"Come back! Everyone, come back!!"

At this moment, an old voice was heard, and the old teacher appeared, with a rare stern light in his turbid eyes.

After stopping the students from going to the cells to watch the fun, he instructed the two instructors, "Instructor Huang, keep an eye on these kids and don't let them get into trouble! Instructor Liu, quickly go to the government office and report this. Have Magistrate Shao bring the arresters!"

"Yes!"

The two instructors did as they were told.

In the Ming Dynasty, the provincial school had one professor and four instructors; the state school had one principal and three instructors; and the county school had one teacher and two instructors.

Except for the professor of the provincial school, who was of the lowest rank of ninth grade, the rest of the school principals, teachers and instructors were all miscellaneous positions. Historically, when Shanghai Ruichu was appointed as the teacher of Nanping, Fujian, he was in a miscellaneous position and did not even have a rank.

But in official schools, these people are similar to principals and deans, and they still have real power. Although the students were curious, they did not dare to disobey and went back to their rooms obediently.

Seeing this, Hai Yue also picked up a stick and turned back, followed by his brother Hai Rui.

As soon as the two entered the room, Haiyue immediately asked, "Did Li Weining really get murdered? What happened?"

"The person... is probably gone! Those guards' shouts couldn't be fake, the cell is in chaos!"

Hai Rui was also shocked. He slowly said, "It should have been after 11:30 PM. When I brought you back with me, I saw Ruan Zhengyong following Li Weining towards the cell. Li Weining was sober at the time, though his steps were a little unsteady, but he still asked me to make you some sobering soup..."

'Three quarters past midnight... a little after nine forty at night...'

Haiyue pressed her eyebrows and asked, "From the time I returned to my room last night until you woke up this morning, was there any sound of fighting or shouting for help in the room?"

Hai Rui shook his head: "No, just stay quiet until dawn!"

On weekdays, between the two brothers, Haiyue would get up earlier because he had to do morning exercises, but last night Li Weining hosted a banquet for the students of the academy, and Haiyue joined the table. The atmosphere was lively, and everyone toasted each other and drank fine wine.

Haiyue likes wine, but his previous life had a low alcohol tolerance. He would blush after drinking a few glasses. Outside the academy, it was usually his fourth brother or eighth brother who carried him back, and inside the academy, it was naturally his fourteenth brother.

Last night, Hai Rui sent the half-drunk Hai Yue back to the house and slept until dawn. So his first reaction to the bad news was that assassins came from Annan last night and successfully assassinated Prince Le Vining, preventing the Le Dynasty's envoy from going on a mission.

But Hai Rui said that last night was quiet and nothing happened.

This is strange. Could it be that the assassination was silent and the body was not discovered until this morning?

"How dare this thief come to commit murder in the Ming Dynasty!" Hai Rui, focused on the murderer's recklessness, clenched his fists, "I hope the government will quickly apprehend the murderer and avenge Envoy Li!"

"Li Weining... Li Huaide... was murdered..."

Haiyue murmured.

The prince who was obsessed with Journey to the West, approachable and humble, and who wanted to put his arm around someone's shoulder when they toasted last night, has now become a cold corpse?

He suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

The surprise and doubt that had just emerged turned into grief and sadness at this moment.

"He's a nice guy!"

"Capture the murderer? A foreign envoy was murdered in our Ming Dynasty's official school. Naturally, the local government will do its utmost to search for him. However, since he was able to succeed despite such heavy security, I'm afraid he will be difficult to catch..."

Haiyue was not optimistic.

This is not a classical detective novel. Snowstorms at Manor are standard. After killing someone, the murderer will stay at the scene for various reasons and wait for the detective to investigate.

In reality, after the assassin succeeded, would he stay in the area? He might not have fled thousands of miles away, but it was hard to say whether he was in Qiongshan. Where could he be found?
"Murderer! Hand over the murderer!!"

Just as this sigh rose from my mind, there was a noise outside again.

The students who had been ordered to return to their rooms and not to come out all leaned out and asked, "What's going on?"

"Get out of here!" So, what everyone saw was the instructor who was ordered by the old instructor to keep an eye on everyone. He was pushed to the ground and was unable to stop the group of big men who rushed in angrily.

Leading the group was none other than Ruan Zhengyong, followed closely by a dozen Annan guards, all of them fierce-looking and shouting, "Where's Haiyue? Let him out!"

Seeing the instructor being pushed, Hai Yue's eyes darkened and she picked up the wax stick again. Hai Rui prepared to follow without hesitation.

But when the Annan guard called out his brother's name, Hai Rui's heart sank, and he quickly stepped in front of him, "Brother! Wait a minute, get out!"

Haiyue also realized that something was wrong, and anger surged in her heart: "I want to go out and listen to what these Annan people are talking about! I failed to protect myself, and now I want to slander me as a murderer? And I want to ask the stick in my hand if it agrees!"

After traveling through time, due to the extreme lack of entertainment in ancient times, he could not appreciate the folk operas and miscellaneous arts, nor could he read the ordinary novels in the bookstores. In the end, the way he passed the time was to practice spear and stick skills externally and practice magic skills internally.

This is also the ability to make a living.

The ancient times were not like the peaceful times of later generations. Even if one was promoted to a high position, he might still beat officials in the court. Without a good physique, how could he carry the two capitals and thirteen provinces on his shoulders?
Haiyue's shoulders are empty now, but the long stick in her hand can suppress evil spirits!

"No! Never!"

Hai Rui trusted his brother's skills, but he shook his head repeatedly. "If we clash now, even if you knock them all to the ground, you'll give them a handle and affect the subsequent investigation! Mr. Ma has just arranged for Instructor Liu to go to the government office. Once the officials arrive and control the situation, it won't be too late for you to show up and explain things clearly!"

"Huh! Whatever!"

Hai Rui's words were well-reasoned and he even offered a solution. Hai Yue wasn't stubborn and refused to listen. She calmed down a bit and said, "It's just that everyone's here. If I don't leave, they'll break in anyway!"

"I'll take care of it!"

Hai Rui calmed himself down and walked out.

Annan's guards indeed rushed into the courtyard, and it looked as if they were searching every room.

As soon as Hai Rui appeared, Ruan Zhengyong's gaze immediately fell on him and he said coldly, "Where's your brother? He was the one who murdered His Highness! Let him come out!"

Ruan Zhengyong, who was nearly thirty years old and burly, faced Hai Rui, who was only seventeen years old and thin. There was a clear gap between their physique and aura.

At this time, the Annan general strode towards him, and there was a strong sense of oppression that cast Hai Rui under his own shadow.

However, Hai Rui remained calm, his back straight, his eyes calm as he looked over. "Excuse me, Guard Ruan, are your men guarding outside the school?"

Ruan Zhengyong was stunned: "Huh?"

"On the first day the Annan delegation moved into the academy, they used the excuse of having lost tribute in the government office and demanded a body search at the entrance to the academy. This absurd and rude behavior was stopped by Envoy Li. And now..."

Hai Rui's tone was filled with sadness as he spoke. "Now that Envoy Li has suffered misfortune, I imagine you will be even more indiscriminate and surround my academy!"

"So what? His Highness was murdered by you Ming people, and you still want to escape?"

Zheng Wu became furious upon hearing this and immediately started yelling.

Ruan Zhengyong raised his hand and said coldly, "That's right! My men are guarding outside. Everyone in your academy is suspected of harming His Highness. No one can escape!"

"This is Daming Qiongshan, Dongpo Academy. We won't leave, and there's no need to leave!"

Hai Rui's voice wasn't as cold as the other's, but it was filled with confidence and self-assurance. "You come from Annan, a remote corner of the country, and your country is experiencing a period of turmoil. I'm sure you're unaware of the tribute dispute in the second year of the Jiajing reign! Back then, two Japanese envoys crossed the sea to the court, but they resorted to fighting in Ningbo, killing each other. This angered the Emperor, who expelled them all, permanently terminating their tribute. Judging from your actions, are you planning to repeat the Japanese's mistakes and offend the majesty of our Celestial Empire?"

"I never thought that Mr. Tao, who is usually taciturn, could be so powerful?"

These powerful words echoed all around, and all the students were amazed and impressed. Even the instructor Huang Hui, who had been pushed down and was reluctant to step forward, gave Hai Rui a look of approval.

Ruan Zhengyong stared over, as if he was meeting this skinny young man who had been following Haiyue for the first time. He asked coldly, "What do you mean?"

"My brother drank last night and went back to his room. He didn't come out all night. Besides me, my classmates in the dormitory can also prove this!"

Hai Rui then turned back to the specific evidence and said in a deep voice, "I don't know why you conclude that my brother is the murderer who killed Envoy Li. But since you've already surrounded the school, why not wait for the government to come and conduct a thorough investigation? If we rashly resort to violence, not only will it be useless, but it will also allow the real culprit to go unpunished, which would be exactly what they want. I hope you will think twice before acting!"

"The real murderer? Ha! We, the guards, stood guard by His Highness's side, and would never allow the assassin to attack. Yet, despite all our precautions, we never anticipated His Highness would be poisoned... I stood guard outside all night, and when I entered this morning, His Highness was already dead!"

Ruan Zhengyong sighed deeply, his eyes red and his expression filled with grief and indignation: "Your Highness, everything was normal before the banquet last night! After the banquet, he did not eat again! The poisoning only occurred during the banquet!"

"Last night's meal was shared by more than one person. Now that His Highness has died of poisoning, the students in your academy are all safe, proving that the meal was not poisonous!"

"At first, the wine was also shared. Later, when everyone got drunk, they each took up their own wine jugs. His Highness, however, had been holding his own wine jug the entire time. He only handed it to Haiyue when he blocked the wine. No one else touched it since then. I saw it clearly!"

"Just ask..."

"If this person didn't poison the wine and kill His Royal Highness the Prince of Annan, who else could it be?!"

(End of this chapter)