“Wuwu… Sisi…”
Facing the sudden accusation, Chen Rao wanted to speak in his defense, but could only let out whimpers of unbearable pain.
“Audacious Chen Rao, for the sake of obtaining the Chen family’s fortune, you colluded with Liu Jinhua to kill your second brother, Chen Chong. Do you plead guilty?”
Hearing Lin Qingge’s interrogation, Chen Rao was unable to speak and could only shake his head repeatedly.
Liu Jinhua, whose name was called by Lin Qingge, was so frightened that she knelt on the ground with a thud, crying with pear blossoms and rain, “My lord, I know nothing! I know nothing at all!”
But Lin Qingge, with a stern face, shouted, “Audacious Liu Jinhua, you conspired with Chen Rao to kill Chen Chong. Do you plead guilty?”
“My lord, please investigate, I am but a mere woman, truly ignorant of everything!”
“Guards! Bring forth the foreign merchant who sold the incense!”
At Lin Qingge’s command, Lu Mingxuan, who was serving his sentence at the yamen, brought the person forward. Although called a foreign merchant, he was in fact a genuine resident of Da Xia. Because he sold rare items from overseas, the search was not difficult. At least, that’s what Hua Jinrong himself said.
“Who goes there?” Lin Qingge inquired as per custom.
“Reporting to my lord, my full name is Bo Li, and my given name is Cha Zi. I have traveled extensively with my father since childhood and now engage in the trade of foreign goods.”
Bo Li Cha Zi? Finding the name truly exotic, Lin Qingge was momentarily speechless, thinking, Are the names of witnesses always so distinctive?
Forcefully composing himself, Lin Qingge pointed at Chen Rao and asked, “Do you recognize him?”
“Yes, yes, this is the third young master of the Chen family. He often buys some foreign goods from me.”
“Do you recall what he bought from you?”
“This…” Bo Li Cha Zi scratched the back of his head and chuckled, “Reporting to my lord, this Third Young Master Chen is most fond of matters between men and women. Therefore, he buys mostly thin-as-cicada-wing gauze inner garments, stimulating incense, and aphrodisiacs that can make women lose their senses.”
Lin Qingge, surprised that the merchant also sold contraband, immediately her gaze turned cold, and she asked word by word, “Do your incense and aphrodisiacs cause harm to the user’s body?”
“Perhaps, maybe, seems like, possibly, should… have a tiny bit.” The merchant, Bo Li Cha Zi, intended to lie, but upon meeting the county magistrate’s overly sharp gaze and imposing demeanor, he, who relied on his mouth to make a living, became somewhat incoherent. With his lips brushing against each other, he blurted out the truth.
“Reporting to my lord, when I purchased these items from the foreigners, they informed me that the aphrodisiac can easily cause infertility in women. As for the incense, although it has aphrodisiac effects, it exhausts the body’s energy, and after use, one will feel noticeable fatigue, even collapse.”
“Did you inform Chen Rao of these circumstances?”
“Reporting to my lord, naturally, I did.”
After saying this, Bo Li Cha Zi, fearing Lin Qingge wouldn’t believe him, quickly added, “Reporting to my lord, I open my shop to do business, aiming for a long-term relationship, not a one-off deal. My ancestors have been in the trading business for three generations. Even if I were foolish, I wouldn’t jeopardize my reputation for a few pieces of silver! Furthermore, Third Young Master Chen is a regular customer of mine. Whenever I get new rare items, I let Third Young Master Chen examine them first. And this incense and aphrodisiac were bought by Third Young Master Chen from me, and he repurchased them multiple times because he found them effective.”
“So, Chen Rao, knowing the harm the incense could cause, still gave it to his elder brother, Chen Chong. Therefore, do you have a permit to sell incense and aphrodisiacs?”
Lin Qingge’s sudden shift in topic left Bo Li Cha Zi completely bewildered, “Permit? What permit?”
“Naturally, it is my permit!” Lin Qingge said coldly, then heavily struck the gavel. “Audacious merchant, for selling dangerous goods within Changzhou County without my permission, disturbing the peace of Changzhou County, and indirectly causing Chen Chong’s death, your heart is wicked, and your crime is unforgivable! Guards, give him twenty strokes of the cane and imprison him for ten days as a minor punishment. Simultaneously, confiscate all dangerous goods in his possession. Execute immediately!”
“Yes!” Er Niu, familiar with the process, dragged the unlucky fellow who had run into trouble to be punished.
“Pa—” Lin Qingge struck the gavel again, refocusing everyone’s attention on her, and then returned to the main point, “Audacious Chen Rao, now that there is a merchant who sold the incense as evidence, what else do you have to quibble about?”
“My lord, injustice, injustice!” Chen Rao, about to be declared the murderer, ignored the wound on his face that bled with every movement and gritted his teeth, saying, “That… that incense, I also use it myself. Although after using it, I do feel weak and my legs lack strength, I recover after a night’s sleep. It’s impossible for it to be fatal!”
“The incense alone would not be fatal, but what if it were paired with spiked wine that is incompatible with the incense?”
With that, Lin Qingge clapped her hands. The tool, Lu Mingxuan, brought a wine pot on a tray. The wine pot had many cracks, which were the result of Qin Han’s day and night labor.
“These are fragments of a wine pot that I found in the deceased Chen Chong’s room, pieced together. Although only a small amount of undissolved powder was found at the bottle’s mouth, it is sufficient to prove that this pot of wine was spiked. As for who spiked the wine, it was none other than Chen Chong’s concubine, and also your paramour, Chen Rao, Liu Jinhua!”
“What paramour? My lord, do not speak nonsense just because you are the county magistrate!”
Lin Qingge scoffed disdainfully, “Chen Rao, you know best whether I am speaking nonsense or not. As soon as you heard that your brother died of sudden impotence, you cursed Liu Jinhua when she walked in from the door. This indicates that you know Liu Jinhua, or at least know her relationship with Chen Chong. Furthermore, my subordinate personally witnessed you going to the courtyard that Chen Chong purchased for Liu Jinhua after leaving the Xiang Tang Guan, and having a clandestine meeting with Liu Jinhua. A lone man and woman, staying for half a day. Do you still dare to claim that you and Liu Jinhua are innocent?”
“Uh…” As if surprised that his relationship with Liu Jinhua was exposed so quickly, Chen Rao was momentarily speechless.
Lin Qingge pressed her advantage, “Audacious Chen Rao, you and Liu Jinhua conspired to kill Chen family’s second son, Chen Chong. The evidence is conclusive. I sentence you both to immediate execution! Guards!”
At this moment, Tang Wan’er, who had been silent throughout, suddenly spoke to interrupt, “My lord, please wait.”
“What? Madam Chen, do you have any dissatisfaction with my judgment?” Tang Wan’er bowed slightly and said disapprovingly, “My lord, I believe my younger brother-in-law, though harboring ill intentions, only ordered someone to add ground sand ginger powder to the wine. Although sand ginger is incompatible with the musk in the incense, it can only be considered a contributing factor, not enough to cause death. Ultimately, it is simply that my husband’s fate was unfortunate. The Chen family has no heir, and my eldest brother has a hidden illness and is unable to conceive. Therefore, I implore my lord to spare the life of my younger brother-in-law, who is the only male descendant of the Chen family capable of continuing the lineage!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingge’s lips curved into a sly arc, “Madam Chen, I never mentioned what was added to the wine. How did you know?”