Chapter 2812: Chapter 3813: Rouge Tears
"Yizi, inform the members of the Medical Alliance to come and treat the injured; all medical expenses will be waived," said Bai Ruozhu.
"Yes, I’ll go right away." Yizi accepted the order and left.
With an expression of appreciation, Meng Liangshen said, "The Medical Alliance has always benefited the people, Ruozhu, well done! I’ll report to the Imperial Court later to commend the achievements of the Medical Alliance."
Bai Ruozhu smiled and shook her head, "Don’t mention me, just reward the doctors who contributed their efforts."
They had recently returned from Fusang and brought back an envoy from there, which had made them very prominent. Being in the limelight everywhere might not be a good thing.
Having been in the officialdom for many years, Meng Liangshen instantly understood her considerations and nodded in agreement.
At this moment, the head constable approached and said, "Reporting to the City Lord, after some inquiries, Old Ding’s family has been in the lantern business for generations. His craftsmanship is somewhat famous in the city. Besides the fifteenth day of the first month each year, many aristocrats usually commission him for flower lanterns and festival lanterns. Old Ding has a good temper and is honest, and doesn’t really have any enemies."
"What about competitors?" Xu Huilin asked.
"Nowadays, every fifteenth of the month, there is a Lantern Festival in the city. Every street benefits from it. Old Ding’s lanterns do get some attention, but they haven’t taken much business from others. It’s unlikely that ordinary folks would kill someone to tarnish his reputation," replied the head constable.
Xu Huilin nodded, "This should not be an ordinary murder case."
"I’ll go take a look," said Bai Ruozhu.
Meng Liangshen was a bit concerned, "The state of the corpse is quite frightening; perhaps you shouldn’t see it."
Bai Ruozhu smiled, "Foster father, don’t worry, I’m a doctor. These things don’t scare me."
She almost blurted out that she had dissected corpses before, so what was this?
"Then let’s go together," Meng Liangshen said, leading the way as the three of them moved closer.
It was now surrounded, with government soldiers all around. Only an old man dressed like a commoner was crouching and crying, feeling utterly hopeless.
"How am I supposed to keep my business going after this? The sign handed down by our ancestors can’t be lost," Old Ding muttered to himself while crying.
Indeed, with such an incident at his stall—having a dead body hanging inside a Bodhisattva lantern—was extremely inauspicious. Who would dare to buy his lanterns after this? People wouldn’t even dare to look at them anymore.
Bai Ruozhu felt some sympathy for him and went over to say, "Don’t worry, the truth will come to light. The Government Office will help clear your name, and everyone will know you are a victim who had nothing to do with this."
Old Ding looked up, his eyes bloodshot, "Really?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Absolutely, but you need to cooperate with the Government Office. First, think carefully about whether there have been any anomalies in recent days. Have any suspicious people visited your home? With such a significant tampering with your lanterns, there must be a clue left behind."
After some thought, Old Ding said, "No one has come to my house in the past few days. When I’m delivering orders, I always take them myself. My wife is in poor health and stays at home all year round, but she hasn’t mentioned anyone coming over."
"Where is your wife? Please bring her over," Bai Ruozhu said.
The head constable beside them said, "Reporting to Lord Bai, I’ve already sent someone to bring her."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, this head constable was doing well.
"Do you have any other relatives or children in the city?" she asked further.
"My family has been a single branch for three generations. I have only one son, but..." Old Ding sighed, "The child is clever and started some small business of his own, unwilling to inherit our lantern-making skills. Our relationship hasn’t been very good.
People like Old Ding seem honest, but honest people often have a one-track mind. On the subject of inheriting family craftsmanship, he was stubborn, even threatening to sever ties with his son. So a few years ago, his son moved to settle in another city nearby with his family.
"With what’s happened at home, you should send word to your son," Bai Ruozhu said.
"That unfilial son will surely be unwilling to come back," Old Ding said angrily.
Bai Ruozhu turned to the head constable and said, "Send an officer to deliver the message."
"Okay."
Old Ding hesitated, not wanting to worry his son.
"The matter is not yet clear. If this was an intentional act to affect the morale of Beiyu City, it would be relatively easy to solve. If it’s a vendetta against the Ding Family, it becomes more problematic," Bai Ruozhu analyzed, "But I think it’s more likely the former."
Meng Liangshen nodded, "It could be the same people spreading rumors about the Turkic invasion."
Bai Ruozhu scoffed, "Trying to use public opinion to disrupt the city’s morale? That’s not a very sophisticated tactic."
At this moment, the coroner was brought over and bowed to Meng Liangshen, "City Lord, the victim is approximately thirty years old, with a disability in one leg. The body’s eyes are bleeding, indicating the person was poisoned before death. However, what ultimately caused death was the marks on the neck. But judging from the state of the corpse, it wasn’t hanging that killed them but strangulation, and then they were hanged afterwards."
"Did you find anything else?" Meng Liangshen asked.
"There is one more odd thing; before death, the victim hardly struggled. Whether strangled or hanged, one would usually struggle," the coroner explained.
"Poisoned?" Bai Ruozhu furrowed her brow, "I’ll go take a look."
She walked over; the body lay flat on the ground, eyes wide open in a state of eternal unrest. Indeed, blood tears flowed from the eyes, with the tongue protruding significantly from the mouth, giving it an intimidating appearance.
Bai Ruozhu took a silver needle and inserted it into his throat. The needle didn’t change color, indicating the poison wasn’t administered orally.
So, it was a poison inhaled, leading to eye bleeding and confusion, which explained the lack of struggle before death.
"What did you find?" Xu Huilin asked.
"It’s Rouge Tears," Bai Ruozhu frowned. She had seen this poison in the "Poison Classic."
It was said that a Poison Master once married an exceptionally beautiful woman, but his heart was set on poison skills, so he rarely accompanied his wife. One day, after concocting poison, he returned home and caught his wife in infidelity.
Of course, he poisoned the adulterer, but he had conflicting feelings of love and hate for his wife. Outwardly, he pretended to forgive her, but secretly he concocted a poison.
His wife was poisoned, her eyes shed blood tears, and she became confused, unable to understand her suffering. Ultimately, she was tortured to death by him. When she died, her skin was pale like porcelain and appeared extraordinarily beautiful, but with two lines of blood tears from her eyes, which is why the poison was called Rouge Tears.
"Rouge Tears?" Meng Liangshen had never heard of it before.
"It’s likely the work of a Poison Master, but typically a Poison Master would just poison someone. Strangling the victim too seems redundant," Bai Ruozhu was also puzzled.
From the habits of a Poison Master, they preferred watching their target die from their poison. Strangling them afterward would waste the laboriously crafted poison.
"First, investigate the victim’s identity, and check for any suspicious characters in the city, especially Poison Masters," Meng Liangshen instructed his subordinates.
After a while, Old Ding’s wife was brought over. She was in poor health and could barely walk upon hearing the news.
"Sir, I thought about it on the way here. It seemed a bit odd the night before last," Mrs. Ding said.
