Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 156 Division of Labor
But Jia Chuan didn't give Zou a chance. Seeing the fierce glint in Zou's eyes and her eagerness to speak, he preemptively spoke:
"You'd better tell me the truth when I ask you questions. Zhou Cheng is useless to me. I hate nonsense. If you displease me, you'll have to endure physical pain. Don't do anything foolish. Do you understand?"

"Where is Zhou Cheng now?"

Jia Chuan frowned and said, "I'm asking you, not the other way around! I'm asking you, how many lives do you have on your hands?"

Zou stared wide-eyed at Jia Chuan, then suddenly seemed to understand something. She struggled to stand up, muttering curses, "Zhou Cheng sent you, didn't he? Is he feeling sorry for that little slut? That whore can't live without a man for a night. Look at Zhou Cheng, his eyes are all blackened! Does he want to keep her alive? Does he want to die?"

Zou tried to get up several times, but Gao Yunduo had injured her thigh, and the pain made her wince, but that didn't stop her from finishing her sentence.

Jia Chuan rubbed his forehead. He couldn't understand this kind of thought process. He turned to Gao Yunduo and asked, "Does she not understand human speech?"

Gao Yunduo had just taken a step forward when Zou Shi cried out in alarm, "Don't come any closer! Zhou Cheng only wants to spare that slut's life. I'll stay. After this matter is over, he'll still have to listen to me, and then..."

Gao Yunduo stepped forward and kicked Zou Shi, who screamed and fell to the ground.

Gao Yuntian said to Jia Chuan, "If you ask me, we need to make this woman suffer a bit, otherwise you'll just keep saying one thing and another, and we won't get anything out of her even if we keep asking her until dark."

Dong Yuanyuan was quick and efficient. She ran out and came back with a fire poker, then struck Zou Shi on the back. Jia Chuan raised his hand to stop her, but it was too late. Dong Yuanyuan comforted her, saying, "Don't be alarmed, I know what I'm doing."

“You answer whatever my brother asks you. Zhou Cheng is nothing to my brother. Do you understand?”

Zou was in pain all over, and her back was burning. She looked at Dong Yuanyuan in despair and asked, "Are you bandits?"

Gao Yuntian grew anxious: "Isn't there anyone else to ask? Zhou Cheng married someone like this, isn't he afraid that his ancestors will crawl out in the middle of the night to settle scores with him?"

Dong Yuanyuan poked Zou Shi with a fire poker and asked, "My elder brother asked you how many lives you have on your hands? Answer!"

"I...I...it's not my fault. Since I've joined the Zhou family, my life and death are my own responsibility..."

"How many lives have you taken?!"

Dong Yuanyuan tightened her grip, and Zou hurriedly shouted, "Five, six, seven, eight!"

"Where are the remains now?" Jia Chuan followed up with another question.

"In the pond in the backyard."

Did Zhou Cheng return home yesterday?

"I came back at noon."

"What did you say?"

Ms. Zou was stunned for a moment. Dong Yuanyuan pressed harder, and Ms. Zou hurriedly said, "I, I didn't see him. I only know that he came back, went to the study, and then left."

How many people were serving him?

"Normally there are four people with him, but I heard yesterday that only Shunzi came with him, and the others were left at home by him."

"Shunzi? No, change the name!" Dong Yuanyuan said anxiously.

Gao Yunduo quickly grabbed Dong Yuanyuan's wrist, otherwise Zou Shi would have been in excruciating pain.

"Do you know why the other servants were left behind?" Jia Chuan pressed.

Madam Zou was already in pain and dared not delay any longer, so she hurriedly said, "He rarely speaks to me these days. If he weren't afraid I would cause trouble at the Prince's residence, he would probably have already started his own household outside..."

"Bring those three people here."

"They weren't in the house."

"what for?"

Madam Zou hurriedly said, "Those who can go out with him are all people he thinks are worth taking with him. They are also people of importance in the mansion. Unlike the other people in the mansion, they have homes outside. When they don't need to follow him, they naturally go back to their own homes to rest. This is how it is on weekdays. When Zhou Cheng returned, they all went home. There are people in the mansion to serve them."

Jia Chuan looked at Commander Lu, who understood and went straight out of the house.

"What you just mentioned... is it Zhou Cheng's concubine? Has Zhou Cheng been spending every night in her room these days?"

Mentioning this topic, Ms. Zou suddenly became interested, ignoring her pain, "That woman has had countless men before, yet he still treats her like a treasure..."

"Bring her here!" Jia Chuan shouted impatiently.

……

Yue Niang was helped by her maid and walked slowly. Before she even entered the room, she was startled by the 'scenery' inside and involuntarily took a step back. Fortunately, her maid caught her and she didn't fall.

Dong Yuanyuan saw this and muttered, "So thin and weak, wouldn't she be easily blown away by the wind?"

Moon Lady dared not enter the room, looking timid, hiding behind the maid and covering her face with a handkerchief.

Enraged by this, Zou shouted, "You can't walk properly when you see a man? You wait until I break your legs!"

Only then did Yue Niang notice Zou Shi lying on the ground. She couldn't help but smile, shook off the maid's help, stepped over the threshold and into the house, then squatted down to look at Zou Shi and asked sarcastically, "Does Madam find the ground cool?"

Zou raised her hand to grab Yue Niang's hair, but Dong Yuanyuan was very familiar with this move. She quickly stopped her, and then the two women started cursing at each other with extremely offensive language.

Jia Chuan was getting anxious. Seeing that he had wasted a lot of time here without getting anything out of her, he suddenly stood up. Before he could even speak, Yue Niang, who was obviously more clever than Zou Shi, immediately knelt down and began to accuse Zou Shi of all the mistreatment she had suffered at Zou Shi's hands...

Jia Chuan's mind was buzzing; the room was filled with Yue Niang's sobs and Zou Shi's curses. Jia Chuan couldn't understand how Zhou Cheng managed to have so many women in the backyard and couldn't control them. He sighed, gave Gao Yunduo a wink, and then the two of them left the room.

"I have to go back first. The body hasn't been examined yet. I'll leave this place to you and Yuanyuan. I'll leave Commander Lu with the Imperial Guards. You need to help me find out a few things..."

While at the small temple, Jia Chuan realized that it would be difficult for him to consider all aspects of a case on his own. Even if he could, relying solely on himself for investigation, interviews, and verification would delay the investigation. He needed to train a few people to help him.

Gao Yunduo is smart; if you let her do it a few more times, she will grasp the idea.

Gao Yunduo was eager to try.

Before leaving, Jia Chuan summoned Lu Baihu again. Lu Baihu had just arranged for someone to find the three servants. In Kaifeng, there were some things that Lu Baihu could do more easily than Chen Mo. Jia Chuan emphasized that the three should be taken to the herb-gathering bureau so that he could question them personally.

Jia Chuan gave three more instructions: First, Zou's family owned a pharmacy, so send someone to check immediately to see if they had any special medicinal herbs hidden there. Also, make sure Zhou Cheng had any instructions before his death, and keep a close watch on the pharmacy. Second, thoroughly search Zhou Cheng's study, and bring back any suspicious items to show him, especially manuscripts and letters. Third, Zou had a murder on her hands, so after Gao Yunduo and the others finished questioning her, send Zou and all her maids and servants to the government office. They couldn't investigate the case at the herb-collecting bureau, but the government office could handle the case of Zhou Cheng's mistress beating and killing her concubine. He also instructed the government office not to be afraid of the cold and to find the victim's remains first.

Then Jia Chuan found the Zhou family steward, servant, and maid, who accompanied Jia Chuan and Gao Yuntian back to the herb-gathering bureau to identify the body. The Jinyiwei guards who came with them were left with Gao Yunduo and Commander Lu.

……

Back in the courtyard, Old Zheng was still examining Zhou Cheng's body, Cai Lian stood by watching, and Chen Mo sat to the side sipping tea.

As soon as Jia Chuan entered the courtyard, he saw a large yellow dog tied up under the eaves. When the dog saw Jia Chuan, it seemed to know that he was the one who could decide its fate, and it wagged its tail and made a whimpering sound.

Jia Chuan frowned, went inside, and asked, "Why did you bring a dog here?"

Gao Yuntian didn't go inside; he stayed in the yard and got to know Da Huang.

Chen Mo pointed at Cai Lian and said, "She wanted to feed the vomit to the dog to see if the dosage was large enough. I told her to wait for you to come back."

Cailian pointed to the corpse and explained, "I think he used more than one kind of poison. He might not have used a second one when he vomited. If we had used something smaller, like a chicken or a cat, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to detect it."

Old Zheng looked up and said, "I just poured mung bean juice into a small portion of the vomit, and the green juice turned blue. I asked her why, but she wouldn't say."

Cailian waited for Jia Chuan to ask her, but Jia Chuan didn't even look at her. He first had the three of them identify the bodies. Regardless of their expressions, they all nodded. Then Gao Yuntian led the three of them to the side room to identify the bodies. The three of them entered the side room one by one, shouting and making a lot of noise. In the end, it was confirmed that the two deceased were Zhou Cheng and Shunzi, master and servant.

Jia Chuan then asked Zhou Cheng about his daily life at home. The steward was so frightened that his mind was no longer sharp, and he answered whatever was asked. Unfortunately, Zhou Cheng had not spent much time at home in the past year, and he never mentioned his work at the herb-gathering bureau at home. As for those things at home... Jia Chuan had no interest in listening.

The three were taken away by the Imperial Guards.

Jia Chuan stood in the courtyard for a while, then went inside, squatted down, and whispered to Old Zheng, "Since your father taught you to use a vinegar-soaked cloth to wipe your mouth to determine if you've been poisoned, there should also be a way to examine the cloth to identify the poison. Think about it carefully."

“I’ve thought about it, and there is indeed a second half to the sentence, but… look,” Old Zheng took a handkerchief out of his toolbox, “My father said that if the handkerchief is pale yellow, you can put it on a charcoal fire to heat it. If the pale yellow turns orange, it’s arsenic. If it really is arsenic, I don’t need to go to all this trouble; I can test it with a silver needle. If something white appears in the pale yellow, it’s mercury poisoning. But it’s yellow with a hint of green, which I don’t understand.”

"It should be Torch Flower, which is also a type of Gelsemium elegans. In southern Yunnan, it has red flowers, while in other places it has small yellow flowers, so it is called Torch Flower in southern Yunnan. Its poison is so strong that cattle and horses will die instantly if they eat it. In other places, Gelsemium elegans is often confused with Tripterygium wilfordii. Tripterygium wilfordii is also poisonous, but it is only poisonous to humans, dogs, and pigs. Sheep, rabbits, cats, rats, and fish are not seriously affected."

Jia Chuan knew that Cai Lian was showing him her usefulness, and Jia Chuan naturally wanted to use it, but not in the way Cai Lian wanted.

So Jia Chuan pretended not to hear and said to Old Zheng, "You take a rest first, and we'll discuss it later..."

“What this girl said makes a lot of sense. Zhou Cheng probably used more than one kind of poison.”

Old Zheng struggled to his feet, and Jia Chuan rushed forward to help him up. This surprised Cai Lian a little. She naturally knew that Old Zheng was a coroner. Why would Jia Chuan go forward to help someone who was just a coroner?
The two walked to the door and saw Shunzi talking to Gao Yuntian. When Shunzi saw the two of them come out, he quickly walked a few steps to help Old Zheng and said to Jia Chuan, "I just went with Vice Envoy Zhao to check the medicine storehouse. The guard said that since the end of the twelfth lunar month, the medicine storehouse has only been receiving medicine and not taking it out."

Jia Chuan nodded in satisfaction; at least Shunzi was taking the initiative to investigate something. Chen Mo followed behind, saying, "It's past noon, and we haven't had lunch yet. I'll go ask..."

"All food must pass through the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. For the time being, no one in the Herbal Medicine Bureau can be trusted."

Chen Mo thought for a moment, then strode toward the courtyard gate.

Old Zheng stretched for a bit and then didn't need anyone's help. He turned his head to look behind him and said, "My suitcase is still inside the house."

Just as Shunzi was about to turn around to get it, Cailian, who was standing at the door, quickly went inside and took out Old Zheng's box. As if finding an excuse, she followed them to the east wing.

Zhao Dewen did not come to the courtyard. He had his own courtyard to go to, and could only go to. Right now, he hoped that Jia Chuan would forget about him. Although he knew that the case would not be solved in a short time, and therefore he could not leave the herb-gathering bureau, not only him, but everyone in the herb-gathering bureau could not leave, he would rather stay in the guarded courtyard than face Jia Chuan.

The government office sent yamen runners, and the prince's palace also sent guards.

The herb-gathering bureau is so large that the Embroidered Uniform Guard alone cannot protect it properly, so the prohibition is just a formality. However, the yamen runners and the guards of the Prince's Mansion can be trusted.
When Chen Mo asked this question, all the personnel had arrived, and Jia Chuan only answered with three words: "Cannot be defended against."

……

After making the arrangements, Chen Mo returned to the east wing, where Jia Chuan was sitting with Gao Yuntian, Shunzi, and Old Zheng, discussing the case, while Cai Lian stood to the side.

Chen Mo looked at Cailian with a puzzled expression, then at Jia Chuan. He didn't understand why Jia Chuan would let her stay here if he didn't intend to use her. Could it be that he had really taken a liking to her?
"...I went to check the medicine storehouse just to see if anyone had moved any medicinal herbs in the past few days. Zhou Cheng's death must be related to our trip to Kaifeng..."

“You don’t understand. How could these things be displayed openly? The person who could harm Zhou Cheng might not necessarily be in charge of the medicine storehouse. In other words, the things in the medicine storehouse might not be able to make that kind of poison. It has little to do with the medicine storehouse,” Old Zheng retorted to Shunzi.

Gao Yuntian nodded and said, "If the murderer needs to take medicinal materials from the pharmacy to make poison, and Zhou Cheng can obediently drink it, then Zhou Cheng's actions are no different from suicide, and the murderer's actions are no different from surrendering. It's unnecessary for you to check the pharmacy."

"At least he knew to check. How can you know the murderer didn't touch the medicine in the pharmacy if you don't check? There are some things I don't do because I can't manage them all, so I try to save time. If you can all help, there are many places that need to be investigated. When these clues are put together, it will be easier to determine whether the direction of the investigation is correct."

Chen Mo casually found a chair and sat down, saying, "The person who could poison Zhou Cheng's residence must be someone Zhou Cheng trusts. If you ask me, we should take those four deputy envoys to the government office and torture them severely. One of them must be the murderer."

Jia Chuan asked, "What did the Imperial Guards who stayed behind to investigate last night say?"

(End of this chapter)