Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 163 Drug Trial?

As the name suggests, the Grass and Tree Garden is all plants and trees. Apart from the courtyard where the old prince rested, wrote, and chatted with others, which contained some valuables and was guarded by special people, the rest of the garden was just a place for plants to grow and for the people who served them to live. There was nothing to guard. It would be a sin to kill any of the plants. So many people had the key to the lock on the back door, so they could take a shortcut and throw something away nearby. There was even a key that was kept in the gatehouse, which anyone could use and then put back.

Jia Chuan stood at the north gate of the herb-collecting bureau, staring blankly at the back gate of the herb garden in the corner across the alley. It was already dark, and he wondered what he could find in this light. But he couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Jia Chuan turned to look at the people Chen Mo had transferred over, and sighed. What did he do to deserve always encountering such major cases!
……

Jia Chuan thought the herb-gathering bureau was big enough, but he didn't expect the herb garden to be even bigger, with countless greenhouses. Looking around, Jia Chuan felt a chill in his heart.

There are only so many trustworthy Imperial Guards, and they can't all be brought here to dig up the body. But in such a big place, if those people go further away from this back door to bury the body, when will they ever find it?

"Search separately. Don't shovel everywhere. Just check if the soil has been disturbed. Do a general search first. If you don't find anything, I'll think of something else," Jia Chuan said to Chen Mo, turning his head.

Just as Chen Mo was about to make the arrangements, Jia Chuan said, "Send someone to the Prince's Mansion to borrow manpower."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and asked, "You don't trust the government office, but you trust the Prince's Mansion?"

"Zhou Cheng's changes occurred around the time of the old prince's death. This shows that he was still wary of the old prince. When the old prince was alive, he certainly wouldn't dare to mess with the herb garden or be too unruly in the herb-gathering bureau. After the old prince passed away, the prince's interest was no longer in the herb-gathering bureau and the herb garden. If he were still alive, the Prince of Runan probably wouldn't have been able to cause these troubles. The prince's mansion should be unaware of this."

Chen Mo leaned closer and said, "This matter can't be absolved simply by knowing or not knowing. No matter the outcome, the Prince's Mansion will likely be held responsible. I'm afraid Your Highness won't understand..."

“I really can’t believe that the Prince of Runan has inherited the throne. This Prince Zhou is a very shrewd person. It would be troublesome if this case wasn’t investigated thoroughly, but it would be a small matter if it was investigated thoroughly.” Jia Chuan looked around and saw that only Gao Yuntian was beside him. He then whispered, “If it is investigated thoroughly, whatever the Emperor says goes. If it is not investigated thoroughly, he will lose his throne even without the Emperor’s permission.”

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Are you absolutely certain he wasn't involved?"

“If that fake Shunzi is one of the Prince of Zhou’s men, then he would have been talking to the Duke of Qian’s mansion instead of the Prince of Mu’s mansion.”

Gao Yuntian leaned closer and whispered, "That's true. Common people call it the Mu Prince's Mansion, but officials call it the Duke of Qian's Mansion. And most of them are from Yunnan. Not many people here know about this Duke. I do know about him, but I only heard about him from my uncle. We common people just call it the Mu Prince's Mansion."

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "The yard is full of grass and trees, so don't forget to tell them to be careful with the torches, lest they catch fire."

……

Just as Jia Chuan had thought, Prince Zhu Youdun of Zhou cooperated fully, sending two hundred guards from the palace to help with the search. These two hundred men were scattered throughout the garden, and there were only scattered fires.

At this time, Jia Chuan had Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian stay by his side at all times. He thought that the King of Zhou was a wise man, but what if he was not?
Killing Jia Chuan at this point would be equivalent to cutting off all the clues, but letting Jia Chuan die in the Grass and Tree Garden... If Zhu Youdun really did this, it wouldn't matter if he didn't become the Prince of Zhou; all his unfinished plays would have to be written underground.

Gao Yuntian was puzzled. He asked Jia Chuan, "If what Ruo Mulian said that night was true, and those people really did bring the body into the Grass and Tree Garden, wouldn't they have buried it near the back gate? Why would they go so far to bury the body? Weren't they afraid of being seen?"

Jia Chuan, accompanied by several Imperial Guards, carefully examined the soil around him by the light of the torches. Without even looking up, he replied, "It depends on how many times they buried it in total, and also on what the mole in the Herb Garden is responsible for. Places near the back gate are certainly safe, but we also have to consider that it won't be discovered after it's buried."

"You mean... there's more?" Gao Yuntian took a deep breath.

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "If my deduction is correct, then it's not just what Mu Lian happened to see. They were quite careful. I don't think they would easily bury it near the back door, or perhaps there's no room left nearby."

……

The herb garden was so large and adjacent to the herb-gathering bureau that with so many people running around in it, there wasn't even anyone outside spreading rumors. If someone nearby couldn't sleep at night and stood in the courtyard looking up at the starry sky, they might see the lights flickering above the herb garden in the darkness, and hear cheers coming from time to time in the dead of night. They might think that the withered trees were bearing fruit and the ironwood was blooming, never imagining that the jubilation was because they had found horrifying skeletons.

……

By dawn, a total of twelve corpses had been found, including men, women, and children. The corpses were in two different states of decomposition: nine of them showed signs of putrefaction with abdominal distension, while the remaining three were just skeletons.

But Jia Chuan knew there were more corpses than that.

After working all night, Jia Chuan ordered everyone to rest first and continue in the afternoon. They could split into two groups to take turns, as it would take some time to check the entire plant garden.

……

Exhausted, the three returned to the courtyard of the herb-gathering bureau. Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo collapsed and fell asleep, while Jia Chuan was thinking of taking Old Zheng and Cai Lian to have the remains that had been brought back examined.

The bodies were all placed in a dilapidated courtyard near the North Gate of the Herb Gathering Bureau. This courtyard was originally built as a residence for the herb farmers who planted herbs when the Herb Garden was constructed. After the Herb Garden was completed, they naturally had a place to live in the Herb Garden, and this courtyard was abandoned.

There are indeed several such abandoned courtyards north of the herb-gathering bureau.

Shunzi was worried and wanted to go with them. Dong Yuanyuan didn't know where the danger came from, but if Shunzi went, Yuanyuan would definitely go too. Gao Yunduo was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

Jia Chuan felt incredibly warm inside. And indeed, the weather wasn't so cold anymore; it was springtime.

The courtyard wasn't far from Cailian's residence. She said she needed to go back to get some things, and Jia Chuan didn't stop her, but Gao Yunduo followed her. ...

The group followed the Imperial Guards to the courtyard, but were immediately driven back by the stench of the corpses.

Old Zheng said that other smells could be washed off, but the stench of a corpse was impossible to wash off.

The group retreated several steps.

Old Zheng took a face towel from his toolbox, poured some freshly added vinegar on it to prevent the smell of the corpse, handed it to Jia Chuan, and then took out cotton gloves for Jia Chuan to put on. He waited for Mu Lian to come and put them on for her as well. The others could wait at the gate of the courtyard.

Before long, Mu Lian and Gao Yunduo arrived. Mu Lian was carrying a cloth bag. She walked to the door, opened it, and took out a small white thing. When she unfolded it, it turned out to be a glove as thin as a cicada's wing.

Jia Chuan glanced at the cotton gloves on his hands and asked excitedly, "What are these made of?"

"Made from sheep intestines and fish glue, and soaked in medicinal juice, these corpses were probably poisoned and buried underground for several days. This stuff can prevent poison from entering the body."

Jia Chuan quickly took off his cotton gloves and put on the ones Mu Lian handed him. They felt very similar to the medical gloves from his previous life, both of which were tightly bound to his hands.

Mu Lian put on the vinegar-stained face towel, and the three of them entered the courtyard.

Gao Yunduo, Dong Yuanyuan, Shunzi, and the Jinyiwei were outside the courtyard. Gao Yunduo's ears were always perked up, but the bodies were not placed in the courtyard, but in different dilapidated rooms. How could she hear clearly from outside the courtyard?
Gao Yunduo stood at the gate of the courtyard, feeling somewhat uneasy.

After a long while, the three of them came out. Gao Yunduo immediately noticed that Jia Chuan's eyes were bloodshot. She frowned and said, "Go back to sleep!"

Jia Chuan smiled and said, "Okay." Then, wearily, he took off his face towel and gloves, turned to Mu Lian and said, "If possible, make more of these gloves. Name your price."

Jia Chuan had a bold idea in his mind: if he had these gloves, could he dissect corpses and perform a real autopsy when he encountered some difficult cases? Of course, the problem with the dissection was not just the gloves. First of all, his memories of his previous life were intermittent, which made him very uncomfortable. If he could not recall some knowledge points, even if he could overcome the difficulties in dissection techniques, it would be useless.

Jia Chuan thought he would write down everything that came to mind when he had some free time.

Shunzi followed Jia Chuan's steps and asked in a low voice, "Have you found anything?"

Jia Chuan sighed, his thoughts returning to the present. He had considered this possibility before, and frankly, he hoped that this deduction was wrong. Otherwise, he didn't know how many remains were still in the Grass and Tree Garden, nor did he know whether the Duke of Qian's Mansion and the Prince of Zhou's Mansion were involved. If not, what kind of repercussions would they suffer?
Jia Chuan sighed again.

Shunzi frowned and asked, "Didn't you see anything?"

Old Zheng stepped forward and whispered, "He's terribly worried. These skeletons look like they were used to test poison."

"Huh?! Testing poison? That's just a death sentence, isn't it? Where did all these people come from? Should we order the Imperial Guards to conduct a thorough search? Could there be any living people hidden in the herb-gathering bureau?" Shunzi asked anxiously.

Jia Chuan just kept walking forward without saying a word.

When he saw the several corpses that had begun to decompose, each with a different manner of death, his first thought was to search the herb-gathering bureau thoroughly. But how could he say thoroughly? He had seen the secret passages beneath the house before. If Zhou Cheng's courtyard at the herb-gathering bureau had secret passages that were being monitored, what about other places?

The night Mu Lian saw someone transporting corpses at night, Jia Chuan had just visited the herb-gathering bureau that morning and said something to Zhou Cheng that kept him awake all night. Which sentence made Zhou Cheng uneasy? Although the weather has warmed up considerably, the nights are still cold. How were those corpses preserved before being buried? Did the poison affect the decomposition process? These factors make it impossible to determine the time of death. Did they die from poisoning after the drug trial that night, or had they already died before the trial?
But the actions that night must be related to Zhou Cheng's poisoning the following night.

The person who poisoned Zhou Cheng was 'Shunzi,' who had always followed him and was treated as a servant by others. This has been confirmed by Mu Lian. Why did she poison Zhou Cheng that night? Did 'Shunzi' dislike Zhou Cheng's actions, or did she sense that the matter was about to be exposed? Was it related to Zhu Youxun?
Jia Chuan wearily stepped across the threshold of the courtyard, mechanically walked towards the main house, and went straight to Zhou Cheng's resting room. He lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, continuing to think. He had asked Prince Zhou, Zhu Youdun, if he knew of any hallucinogenic drugs. Zhu Youdun said he could ask Zhou Cheng, but not his brother. If Zhou Cheng obeyed Zhu Youdun, then secretly giving Zhu Youxun such drugs must have been with Zhu Youdun's permission. Zhu Youdun would not let such a good opportunity pass. These two brothers would not hesitate to stab each other in the back if given the chance.

Zhu Youxun did indeed possess this secret medicine, but now that Zhou Cheng was dead, he could simply pin the blame on Zhou Cheng. Perhaps it really was given to him by Zhou Cheng.

Was Zhu Youxun the mastermind? Jia Chuan shook his head. This Prince of Runan lived in Beijing, with neither money nor power. If Zhu Zhanji hadn't wanted to use him, he wouldn't even have had the chance to return to Kaifeng. Who could he lead? Besides, when he had Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo beat up Zhu Youxun that night, Zhou Cheng had already reached the point of saying goodbye to this world. Zhu Youxun didn't have time to make arrangements.

Zhu Youxun feigned madness because he knew there was no way to help him for the time being, so he could only pretend to be crazy and see if he could fool him. If he knew that Zhou Cheng was dead at this time... he didn't know. Zhu Youdun would keep a close eye on him. This time, Zhu Youxun could forget about having another chance to be granted a general amnesty.

But who knows, was Zhu Qizhen supposed to be born yet?

Jia Chuan changed his position and lay on his side. He felt he needed to sleep for a while, otherwise his brain really wouldn't work. He had just told himself to clear his mind when he thought of "Shunzi" again. He wanted to know how "Shunzi" would clear his name if he hadn't been poisoned by Mu Lian.
There's no doubt that Zhou Cheng was poisoned. 'Shunzi' couldn't possibly be unaware that Jia Chuan brought the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Kaifeng. Therefore, he had to anticipate that the case might not be handed over to the government. Given the possibility that the government might not investigate, how should 'Shunzi' behave to ensure a smooth passage?

Jia Chuan sorted out the sequence of events. He arrived that morning, and that evening Zhou Cheng ordered his men to bury the body in the grass and wood garden. The next day at noon, Zhou Cheng returned home to retrieve a set of jewelry and left behind his three other attendants, only taking with him the non-attendant 'Shunzi'.

So, if 'Shunzi' already planned to poison Zhou Cheng that night, why the rush? Perhaps Zhou Cheng said something that suggested he was backing down after meeting Jia Chuan? Or perhaps the decision to move the body that night was disagreed with 'Shunzi', and Zhou Cheng forced the move?
That means this "Shunzi" might hold a certain position within the gang. By staying by Zhou Cheng's side, he can both monitor him and issue orders at any time, and even decide Zhou Cheng's life or death...

Jia Chuan finally fell asleep.

Gao Yunduo stayed in the hall until she heard Jia Chuan snoring before leaving the main room.

(End of this chapter)