As Qi Huan was questioning Lu Baiian nearly to death, the onlookers also began to offer their own opinions.
"Hey! So it was Lord Lu who bribed the maid. I bet ten cents that Lord Lu is the mastermind."
"I bet fifteen cents!"
"I get it now, Lord Lu must have hired someone to bribe Mei Chun in Miss Lu's name. Mei Chun mistakenly thought it was Miss Lu trying to poison someone, so she accused the wrong person."
"Huang the Clever is right, that makes sense!...Everyone, use your brilliant minds and think, who benefits most from Mrs. Lu's death? That person must be the killer."
"It's Lord Lu and his illegitimate son!...I bet two taels of silver that Lord Lu is the killer."
The discussion was incessant, and Lu Baiian grew slightly flustered, hastily shouting, "Sir, silver can falsely accuse, it's not credible evidence. Sir should investigate the source of the poison further."
Chen the county magistrate slammed his wooden staff, scolding, "I'll make my own judgment, it's not up to a suspect like you to instruct me."
At noon, he sent people to inquire with the pharmacist, who examined, smelled, and analyzed the poison to identify its components. Another team of constables visited several pharmacies in the city, gathering all records of Miss Lu's medicinal purchases.
Indeed, among the ingredients Miss Lu had purchased were some that could be used to make this poison.
Upon hearing the constables' report, Lu Yueming's face flushed with anger as she bit her lip. The prescriptions were from her mother, who had her procure the herbs herself.
The evidence again seemed to point to Lu Yueming.
The onlookers became restless again, and some began to waver.
"I think the source of the poison is most crucial. I bet twenty cents that Miss Lu is the killer."
"With one less person to split the inheritance with, how could Miss Lu not be angry at her foolish mother? I bet fifty cents that Miss Lu poisoned her."
Several people took out money and placed it on the gambling table newly set up by the manager of the Rong Easy Gambling House.
Dong Geqiu surveyed the odds on both sides, murmuring "seeking riches amidst danger," and wagered the two taels of silver he had left from selling his house to pay off debts, betting that Lu Yueming was the killer.
In his eyes, men tended to act like thugs from gambling houses, resorting directly to knives. Poisoning was just a petty trick used by women in the inner quarters.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. He stared confidently at the scattered silver and copper coins on the gambling table, thinking those would soon be his winnings.
Suddenly, a fair hand reached out and placed a silver ingot on the table.
"I bet that Lu Yueming is innocent," Qi Huan said with a smile.
After placing her bet, she turned her gaze to the courtroom, casually patting Heizi the dog's head with her palm.
Chen the county magistrate slammed his staff again, shooting a piercing glare at Lu Yueming, "How do you explain these medicinal purchase records?"
"I was just procuring the herbs according to the prescriptions my mother gave me. I don't know medicine and wouldn't know how to make poison."
"Sir, don't listen to her lies. She's close with Qi Huan, the daughter of Doctor Qi. Qi Huan must have helped her make the poison!" Lu Baiian's eyes bulged as he tried to implicate them both.
Qi Huan stepped into the courtroom, calmly asking, "Does Lord Lu mean that I personally made these poisons and personally handed them to Yueming?"
"Exactly!"
Qi Huan smiled faintly, unfazed, and turned to ask Mei Chun, "And then Miss Lu personally handed the poison to you?"
"Yes!"
Seeing their affirmative answers, Qi Huan's smile deepened, "Everyone heard them confirm that this poison went through my and Yueming's hands.
I have a dog named Heizi who is skilled at scenting. Sir, why don't you have it smell the poison package, and see if it can detect whose scent is on it."
Chen the county magistrate didn't believe it, but agreed to her request.
Heizi wagged its tail and trotted over to sniff at the poison package. It twitched its nose a few times, then ran over to the constables who had handled the package.
Lu Baiian scoffed. This stupid dog could at most detect who had most recently touched the package - any older scents would have dissipated long ago. He wasn't worried.
Originally, he had begged Mrs. Lu, saying he wanted to drink medicinal herbs personally procured by her daughter, gave her the prescription, and had her trick Lu Yueming into gathering the ingredients, all for this moment.
The herbs were indeed procured by Lu Yueming herself; she couldn't wash away that connection even if she jumped into the Yellow River. Lu Baiian smiled smugly.
Then, he saw Heizi sniff the poison package again.
After a long while, Heizi excitedly trotted over to Mei Chun, drawing gasps of amazement from the crowd.
"This dog really has some skill."
"A divine hound!"
Amid the discussion, Heizi wagged its tail even more vigorously. It sniffed the package intently, detecting the faintest traces of scent.
After a very long time, it finally ran over and bit into Lu Baiian's robes with its mouth.
Seeing this, Qi Huan smiled contentedly. Li Shuchen had indeed not deceived her - Heizi was truly a one-in-a-million divine hound.
With two pieces of physical evidence now pointing to Lu Baiian, Chen the county magistrate was gradually reaching a verdict.
In terms of motive and evidence, Lu Baiian seemed more suspicious.
The only issue was that the sole witness, Mei Chun, still refused to change her testimony. But no matter, he had his punishment boards!
He knew commoners had given him the nickname "Board Magistrate," but his boards never beat people without reason.
He weighed the pros and cons carefully. He only needed to observe the courtroom crowd's eyes and small movements to discern truth from falsity. Combined with evidence and testimony, his boards only struck the deserving.
Sure enough, when Chen the county magistrate raised his hand, the commoners remarked, "Oh! This maid is going to be beaten. Let's see if they can beat the truth out of her."
The constables deftly brought out a long bench, tying Mei Chun's hands and feet to it and gagging her mouth, before beginning to beat her.
Yet she remained as stubborn as a rock, refusing to change her story even after being beaten bloody and near death.
Seeing she was about to pass out, Chen the county magistrate called for a stop.
He had met his match here.
At that moment, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground interrupted his thoughts. Chen turned to see it was the divine hound Heizi, who had run over and jumped up, resting its front paws on the edge of the table and knocking over a small wooden box at the corner.
"Get out! How dare you disrupt the courtroom's order. If you don't leave, I'll have someone break your dog's legs."
His words were harsh but without ill intent. Heizi gave a soft woof and trotted outside, sitting down with its rear and hind legs while obediently placing its front paws in front.
As Heizi's owner, Qi Huan naturally went to help collect the fallen wooden box and silver ingots.
Suddenly, she paused, exclaiming in shock, "What is this?"
"It's paper," Chen the county magistrate glanced over and casually replied. For such a clever girl to be so alarmed by a simple sheet of paper.
"......"
Qi Huan was speechless, asking her inner system, "Do we have any brain restoratives in the Express repository? Wait, urgent need!"
However, she couldn't afford to be distracted at the moment. She unfolded the paper and continued, "Your Excellency is wise indeed. This is indeed a paper. But it is a paper that fell out from the evidence. Could it possibly be a letter of agreement from the mastermind who bribed Mei Chun?"
"Show it to me quickly!" Chen the county magistrate was intrigued.
