Chapter 130: Chapter 73 Poison Outbreak_3
He had just picked up a piece of baked pancake and taken a bite when suddenly a harrowing cry came from nearby, "Poison! Someone has been poisoned! Help——"
This voice came so suddenly, like a clap of thunder in the quiet Tribute Court, startling Old Master Xun so much that the pancake "rolled" out of his hand and onto the ground.
He had no time to pick it up, instead pushing the window of his cell open to try and catch a glimpse of what was happening outside.
To prevent cheating among the candidates, each cell in the Tribute Court had been locked, and even the windows were secured with iron bolts, allowing them to open only halfway.
Through the window that was only half-open, he could see clearly that it was early morning. A figure in vermilion clothing rolled out into the empty courtyard of the Tribute Court, landing right in the middle of the yard. The figure appeared so abruptly that the proctors and other candidates had yet to react. Old Master Xun was wondering whether this person had smashed through the cell door to escape—however, doing so would invalidate his examination results for the year, wouldn’t it have been a wasted year?
The next moment, the man’s harrowing cries could be heard once again.
"Fellow scholars, someone has poisoned the provisions, the provisions are poisoned——"
Poisoned provisions?
As if to prove his words, the figure rolling on the ground began to slow, limbs twitching uncontrollably, as he vomited mouthfuls of black blood, creating an ominous shadow on the ground.
Old Master Xun was startled, his gaze dropping to the pancake that had fallen on the floor, a chill suddenly running through him.
The provisions in the Tribute Court were all distributed uniformly. In the past, candidates would bring their own provisions, but due to the dampness in the cells, some candidates’ food would quickly spoil. Consequently, the Ministry of Rites arranged for the Tribute Court to provide provisions for the candidates during the examination period.
If this man said the provisions were poisoned, then these in front of him...
Old Master Xun hastily pulled back his hand as if it were a snake or scorpion and flung the examination basket away.
The pastries inside the basket scattered all over the ground with a "clatter."
Nearly simultaneously, a cacophony of shouts burst forth from the cells around—most candidates had already finished their exams by this time, and seeing such a ghastly scene, they were inevitably panic-stricken and agitated.
Old Master Xun clutched at his chest, his heart pounding furiously, feeling short of breath, yet at that moment, an odd thought occurred to him: Why did that crying voice sound so familiar? As if he had heard it somewhere before.
Entertaining this thought, he shakily pushed the window of his cell open again, musterig his courage to take another look at the person who had fallen to the ground.
Vermilion clothes, a scholar’s cap, a slim figure—the person lay on the ground, head askew, with blood from the mouth pooling beneath him into a muddled mess.
His eyes were wide open, a visage of agony frozen on his face, his skin seemed to have turned green, like a lifeless ghost, and his lifeless eyes happened to make direct contact with Old Master Xun’s.
Old Master Xun’s breath caught in his throat.
Moments later, he shouted, pressing his hand against his chest.
"Wu, Wu Youcai——"
...
Renxin Medical Hall opened its doors past the hour of si.
After the start of autumn, the days became shorter, the nights longer, and except for those selling breakfast, the street vendors of West Street opened their stalls much later.
Yin Zheng was wiping tea canisters on the counter when Tailor Sun’s apprentice hurried in from outside, running and shouting, "There’s trouble, something’s happened at the Tribute Court!"
Tailor Sun, holding a bowl for his mouth rinse, turned his head and asked, "What happened?"
"Just now, people from the watchmen’s quarters said they heard that a scholar has died in the Tribute Court, alleging that someone was poisoned in the cells. Right now, it’s causing a great uproar!"
Yin Zheng’s hand trembled, and one of the medicine tea canisters slipped and rolled onto the ground.
"Good heavens," Sister Song from the silken shoe shop came out upon hearing the noise, "Aren’t all the people in the Tribute Court students taking exams? Who would poison students?"
"I don’t know about that," the young apprentice scratched his head. "The news has spread all outside the Tribute Court, but they’re not letting anyone in until the appointed time, so no one knows what the situation really is."
Yin Zheng’s face changed, no longer concerned with anything else, she lifted the felt curtain and entered the courtyard. It was still early, Du Changqing and Ah Cheng had not arrived yet, Xia Rongrong and her servant had not come out from the house.
In the yard, Lu Tong was just gathering newly dried medicinal herbs into a wooden tray.
Yin Zheng quickly approached Lu Tong, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Miss, something terrible has happened, they are saying outside that a candidate has died in the Tribute Court!"
Lu Tong stopped in her tracks immediately.
"You’re saying a candidate is dead?" Her expression changed dramatically, "This is bad!"
Seeing her reaction, Yin Zheng grew even more nervous, "How can it be that it’s a candidate that’s in trouble? Could it be that Scholar Wu poisoned the wrong person..."
"No," Lu Tong set down the wooden tray, her eyes flickering with changing thoughts, "He poisoned himself."
Wu Youcai would not kill the chief proctor, nor would he likely kill anyone else; the only possibility was that he used the poison on himself.
She had incited Wu Youcai to kill the chief proctor, merely exploiting the resentment and anger in Wu Youcai’s heart. Yet facing a dead end, Wu Youcai had chosen to take poison himself.
In an instant, Lu Tong understood this scholar’s intentions.
The last examination was nearly at an end, and candidates’ families were already waiting outside the Tribute Court. The minds of the people inside the cells were also unsettled, and the fact that this news could spread from within the Tribute Court suggested that quite a commotion had been stirred up.
For Wu Youcai, it seemed his objective had been achieved. As long as he caused an uproar, prompting people to come, there might be a chance to expose the cheating that had taken place in the examination.
But, the death of an unknown scholar and that of a chief proctor would have different effects in Shengjing. If the gates of the Tribute Court remained closed, no one would know the truth inside, and with the examination not yet concluded, there was enough time to smooth over the incident quietly.
Wu Youcai had still thought too simply.
Anxious, Yin Zheng blurted out, "Miss, what should we do now?"
Lu Tong reassured her, "Don’t panic." She pondered for a moment, "Go to the Dong Family immediately."
"The Dong Family?"
Lu Tong nodded, leaning close to whisper a few words into Yin Zheng’s ear. Afterwards, Yin Zheng looked at Lu Tong, hesitant, "Will this really work?"
The morning sun was piercing, causing Lu Tong’s eyes to blur slightly.
She raised her head, staring into the distant void, and murmured.
"Who knows, let’s try."