The Cui family people looked at each other, and a bad premonition arose in their hearts.
The clan elder looked around at everyone behind him and called over a teenager, telling him to go down the hill on the pretext of chopping firewood and take a look.
Of course, the news they would get would surely make the Cui family people even more worried.
...
Mo Jiuye and Fifth Elder Brother drove the carriage and soon arrived at the county government.
They happened to run into Mo Chuhan who had just finished lunch and was taking people out on business.
Seeing his brothers come at this time, Mo Chuhan instinctively felt something was up.
"Fifth Elder Brother, Ninth Younger Brother, why are you here at this time?"
Mo Jiuye was the first to jump off the carriage. Without saying a word, he dragged the Cui family member who had poisoned the soup out of the carriage and threw him heavily on the ground.
"Eighth Elder Brother, this is a Cui family member. He actually dared to put poison in the workers' soup!"
When Mo Chuhan heard this, he was also furious. He walked over and kicked Cui Xing viciously.
"You really are shamelessly audacious. Do you know what crime poisoning is? Severely, it's punishable by death."
This kick landed right on Cui Xing's waist. It was no light kick. Cui Xing yelped in pain.
The clerks who were following Mo Chuhan also heard the brothers' conversation. Very cleverly, they came over, picked Cui Xing up, and walked towards the yamen.
Someone shouted, "Go invite the magistrate to hold court and try this poisoning case!"
Seeing someone had gone to fetch Magistrate Meng, Mo Jiuye said to Eighth Elder Brother, "Eighth Elder Brother, go to the medicine hall and ask a doctor to come."
Mo Chuhan had been a catcher in Yun City for several months. He was extremely familiar with everything here. Without Mo Jiuye telling him, he already knew which doctors were better.
"Alright, I'll go now."
With Little Sister Nine's amazing medical skills at home, they never needed to ask for an outside doctor when the family got sick.
Mo Chuhan thought the poisoned workers at home were already showing symptoms. Little Sister Nine alone couldn't handle it, so Ninth Younger Brother was anxious for him to fetch a doctor.
Poisoning is no trivial matter. If not handled properly, it can cost lives...
Indeed, Mo Chuhan did not listen carefully to his younger brother’s words. When Mo Jiuye asked him to invite one doctor over, the location he meant was the county yamen, and the number was one. But Mo Chuhan didn’t catch that at all.
He went into town and brought over all the famous doctors from several medicine halls to Xi Ling Village.
But that’s for later.
Fifth Elder Brother tied the carriage in the horse yard outside the yamen entrance, and followed Mo Jiuye inside.
Upon hearing it was the Mo family members, Meng Huaining ran to the court hall faster than a rabbit.
When Mo Jiuye and Fifth Elder Brother saw him, he was still straightening his magistrate hat that had tilted.
Seeing them, Meng Huaining enthusiastically walked out from behind the desk and stood in the middle of the hall to talk with them.
"Fifth Elder Brother, Ninth Elder Brother, what exactly happened?"
If outsiders heard this form of address, they would have thought these few were blood brothers meeting.
Mo Jiuye and Fifth Elder Brother were still quite furious at the moment, so they didn't engage in small talk with Meng Huaining.
"Magistrate Meng, I saw this man put poison into those workers' food with my own eyes."
Inside the yamen, Mo Jiuye felt it would be better not to address Meng as Brother Meng.
Meng Huaining also understood this was not the time to bond with his future uncle.
He turned around, walked behind the desk, and his expression immediately became grave.
With a resounding crack of the startling block, Meng Huaining said, "Bring him in to stand trial!"
Immediately, rows of clerks wielding fierce-looking staffs marched into orderly positions on both sides.
Seeing this battle array, Cui Xing was already scared stiff, even having trouble kneeling steadily.
Meng Huaining asked sternly, "Who is the man kneeling in the court?"
Accompanying Meng Huaining, the clerks' staffs rhythmically struck the ground.
Never having seen such a scene before, Cui Xing curled up trembling on the ground, repeatedly knocking his head on the floor towards the magistrate.
"This... this lowly one is Cui Xing from Xi Ling Village."
Meng Huaining struck the startling block again. "Cui Xing, speak. Why did you poison the Mo family workers?"
If this was in Xi Ling Village, Cui Xing would still have a ray of hope.
Even if Mo Jiuye actually didn’t see anything and was just bluffing, as long as he adamantly denied it, the other side would have nothing on him.
But it was different in the court. The common folk of Yun City all said this man was Honorable Magistrate from High Heaven, and no case stumped him.
Cui Xing had seen with his own eyes Mo Fifth Elder fill a porcelain bottle with the poisoned soup.
With just a doctor's examination, the poison added would surely be discovered.
Cui Xing knew there was no escaping this. Rather than suffer torture before confessing, he might as well speak out early and suffer less himself.
"Your Honor, this lowly one is guilty. But it wasn't my idea alone..."
Meng Huaining shouted sternly again, "Speak!"
"It was my clan elder and some clansmen. They were jealous the Mo family nowadays is living so well, so they wanted to add difficulties for them.
Later, we all gathered to discuss, thinking to put poison in the Mo family workers' meals. That way, the compensation money would make the Mo family go bankrupt."
Hearing this, wasn't it perfectly clear to everyone present the motive behind the Cui family's poisoning?
Nothing more than jealousy that the Mo family in Xi Ling Village was better off day after day, while decline crept up on the Cui family.
The usually composed Fifth Elder Brother became angrier the more he thought about it.
The Mo family people only wanted to live peacefully in Xi Ling Village. Who would have thought in an inconspicuous rural village, there would be so much deceit?
In fury, Fifth Elder Brother strode forward to grab Cui Xing by the collar and growled, "What poison did you put in the soup?"
Seeing someone violently lay hands on him again, Cui Xing panicked and quickly said,
"I don't know what poison it was. My clansmen obtained it. Anyway, it was potent enough that the Mo family wouldn't get far after eating it."
Fifth Elder Brother knew Cui Xing wouldn't dare conceal anything now. Since he said he didn't know, he likely truly didn't know.
He flung the man back to his former spot and turned to look towards the entrance.
"I remember there is a medicine hall nearby. Why hasn't Eighth Younger Brother returned with a doctor yet after going to fetch one?"
At this time, Mo Chuhan was already leading over a dozen doctors rushing swiftly towards Xi Ling Village...
Hearing Mo Chuhan had gone to find doctors, Meng Huaining was in no hurry to send more people.
Since the Cui family members all took part in the poisoning, naturally they wouldn't be let off easily.
He sent Prefect Shi to interrogate Cui Xing on how many clansmen took part, who the ringleader was, what all they did, and so on.
At the same time, he dispatched clerks to swiftly travel to Xi Ling Village and surround the Cui residence. Regardless if they were involved or not, until there was a definite conclusion, not a single person could be let escape.
While Prefect Shi took Cui Xing aside for questioning, Meng Huaining also had tea brought for the Mo brothers in the back hall.
After waiting for about an hour, Prefect Shi had finished transcribing all the records, but there was still no sign of Mo Chuhan returning...
Mo Jiuye and Fifth Elder Brother really could no longer sit. Both were worried Mo Chuhan might have run into some difficulty.
The two stood up at the same time and told Meng Huaining they were going to look for Mo Chuhan.
Feeling something was off by now, Meng Huaining sent a few clerks along with the brothers in their search.
