The entire Guogong Mansion covers an area of about 120 acres. The front yard is mainly a place for visitors, and the back yard is a place for resting and reading. If it weren't for this poisoning incident, it would be difficult for ordinary people to enter the backyard.

The buildings of the Guogong Mansion are arranged along the central axis, and there are more than two zhang wide roads on each side of the houses on both sides. Further out to the wall, it was empty. It is planted with a lot of vegetation and is very dense, especially against the wall, which is covered with thorns. Not only that, but there was not a single tree within four or five feet of the wall. Judging from a professional thief like Song Zheng, it is difficult for someone to sneak into the house with such an arrangement.

The middle part of the building is divided into many small courtyards from south to north, and the entrance and exit are through passages on both sides. The kitchen was at the back of the entire Guogong Mansion, and Song Zheng and Bi'er walked back along the corridor on the left.

Song Zheng chatted with Bi'er as he walked. He didn't want to say it too explicitly, but he slowly started the topic around the poisoning.

"Bi'er, looking at the layout around, it can be seen that the Guogong Mansion is heavily guarded, and the person who poisoned it should not have come in from the outside."

Bi'er hummed softly. She is about the same age as Song Zheng, very well-behaved, and does not speak casually.

"In that case, maybe someone from inside did it. I don't know if there have been some thefts or private meetings in the house recently? ”

Bi'er waved her hand again and again, "No, no, the old lady governs the mansion very strictly, and the servants and maids are loyal and honest, and that kind of thing will never happen." ”

Song Zheng smiled softly and turned to inquire about other things. Bi'er answered them one by one, so that Song Zheng knew a lot about the Guogong Mansion. For example, there are more than 40 servants in the Guogong Mansion, all of whom are people who followed Xiaotong in the early years to join the army, or their sons. These men patrol day and night at the hour of the day, and the guards can be called tight.

In addition, in addition to having a study and a resting place in the front yard, there is also a study in the backyard. As long as it is in the house, it will generally be in the backyard study.

And for most of the year, Xiaotong was not in the house, but in the Rujiang Courtyard in the north of Jiangning City. Only in winter, that is, from November to January of the following year, do you stay in the Guogong Mansion for a long time. I usually go home, but I only stay for three or two days, and then I go back to the other hospital.

Why is this so, Song Zheng also asked. Bi'er said that Grandpa Guo thought that the city was too noisy and the house was too lively, so he lived in the Rujiang Courtyard for a long time in order to be quiet and read and write poems.

Song Zheng smiled secretly in his heart, this grandfather is also interesting. A little bit of the thoughts of the people in the city in later generations, in the face of the hustle and bustle of the city, always yearn for some idyllic scenery.

After passing through more than ten small courtyards, the front is cheerful, and a large pond appears in front of you. The pond is four or five acres large, and in the center, there is a pavilion, and there is a covered bridge in the east and west to connect with the pavilion.

The pavilion and the covered bridges on the left and right divide the pond into two parts, north and south. The south side is smaller, and there are a lot of lotus flowers and water lilies planted in it, but at this time, the lotus flowers have naturally been all gone, leaving a lot of lotus canopy and dry lotus leaves standing, like a sentinel. The pond on the north side is large, but it is empty, and there is not even a single remaining lotus leaf.

To the north of the pond is an earthen embankment, which is so large that it is almost half of the pond, forming a large platform. There is a pavilion on the platform, and around the pavilion, there is a rockery. Mountains and mountains, undulating endlessly. This rockery area is not small, with twists and turns, like a small continuous mountain. From Song Zheng's point of view, he could see several holes under the shadow of the rockery. The whole building is like the lion forest in the later Suzhou garden. On the slope of the earthen embankment, some flowers and trees were also planted, but they were not very lush, and those trees did not look long to transplant.

What surprised Song Zheng the most was that there were walls on the left and right of the rockery and the causeway, and he couldn't go up directly.

Song Zheng wondered in his heart, and said quietly, "The scenery here is really good." The last time I came to the house, I talked with Grandpa Guo and Mr. Buzhou. didn't mention that there was such a good place in the house. By the way, look at this look, the large half of the lake behind it is newly excavated, right? ”

"There was originally a small lake here. In September this year, Grandpa Guo ordered the pond to be dredged, the lake expanded, and many stones were brought in to build this rockery and pavilion, which became what it is now. ”

Song Zheng said enviously, "Grandpa Guo is really an interesting person, such a good place, you can be regarded as a blessing to serve your master here." ”

"We don't have that blessing, we can only accompany the old lady to the pavilion in the middle of the lake, as for the rockery, I heard that the construction has not been completed, and the people in the house are not allowed to go up."

"Oh, that's a shame. When it was finished, I begged Grandpa Guo to take a look at it. There are so many rockeries, I have never seen them before. Compared with the Hualin Garden in the imperial city, it is still magnificent. ”

Song Zheng compared this place with the emperor's Hualin Garden, Bi'er didn't dare to say anything, but pointed to the front and said, "General Song, further back is the kitchen." ”

Song Zheng nodded and walked forward. After passing by the wide earthen embankment, we came to the courtyard at the back.

There are many people in the Guogong Mansion, and the kitchen is divided into two large and one small, two courtyards. He and his maidservants, servants, and guards were to be kept in a small courtyard alone. For example, the old lady and some of her children use a slightly larger yard for cooking. Because the food and accommodation are not with the Tongtong. This made the poisoned people all the people around him, and the other family members and servants had nothing to do.

In front of the small kitchen courtyard, the two housekeepers were standing there upright, looking very nervous. These two family members were arranged by the old lady. No one is allowed inside until an official investigation is made.

After Bi'er introduced Song Zheng to the two family members, the two family members opened the door.

The whole yard was a mess, with chopsticks and plates thrown everywhere, and some of them had been broken to the ground. Leaning against the wall of the east courtyard, there are several sheds, in which there are two large stoves, and on top are two large cauldrons. And against the wall of the west courtyard, there is a hut, the door is very wide, and there are two stoves inside, but they are relatively small, next to the stove, there are two rows of bookcase-like things, on which are all kinds of spices.

According to Bi'er, the big stove in the shed on the east side is a place for the servants and maids to cook, while the small stove in the west is owned by Xiao Tong alone. And grain, vegetables and other raw materials are all in the North House.

After checking the leftovers in detail, Song Zheng had a score in his heart. The food used by Xiaotong was much more elaborate and very different from that of the servants and maids. Even if you eat rice, it's not the same. Could the poisoner have poisoned both meals? It was possible, but there were a lot of people in the kitchen at the time, and it was difficult for the poisoners to have a chance to do it.

That being the case, then the poisoner most likely put arsenic into the water. Song Zheng looked at the big water tank in the courtyard and didn't find anything wrong. Then, Song Zheng went to the north house to search carefully, and suddenly saw the salt in the big altars.

In fact, when Imperial Physician Xi said that poisons include arsenic and sweat medicine just now, Song Zheng secretly guessed whether those poisonous salts would fall into the Guogong Mansion. But it's unlikely when you think about it. That salt is for the military, how can it end up outside, or even into the national government? Although he had heard that there were people in the city guards or the capital guards who smuggled military funds outside, and even some people were beheaded, he didn't expect that things would be so unbelievable. As soon as Song Zheng saw these jars of salt, he knew it in his heart. This salt was made by his own hands, and it looked like a first-class salt, but it was slightly whiter than first-class salt, and even had a slight difference in smell.

Song Zheng secretly wondered, how could this poisonous salt fall into the Guogong Mansion? How did it get into Xiaotong's stomach? What a surprise.

Despite this, he checked and even tasted the ingredients used at noon today before focusing on the salt. He pretended to pinch a little and put it in his mouth, then frowned.

"Bi'er, you go and make a fire on the small stove." Then, he grabbed a handful of salt and followed Bi'er to the small stove.

Bi'er quickly lit the fire, Song Zheng picked up a clean iron pot, put salt in it, and as the pot got hotter and hotter, a garlic stench spread.

"Let's go, I think I've found the source of the poison."

Bi'er looked at Song Zheng in surprise, "General Song, you mean these salts?" ”

Song Zheng nodded, "Don't make a noise yet, go back and report to the old lady and Xiangye." ”

When Song Zheng returned to the place, the servant of the criminal department was unscrupulous, and he was sent by the little emperor to arrive and brought the good hands of the headquarters. After Qi Wuji greeted Huang Yuandu and Xie's family, Song Zheng immediately said the results of his inspection.

This result surprised everyone, and everyone didn't expect that there was arsenic in those white salts. Immediately, Qi Wuji took someone to the kitchen to investigate, which proved Song Zheng's judgment. These experts in the criminal department themselves are much more professional than Song Zheng, not only have they tested arsenic, but also sweat medicine and alum, which made Song Zheng secretly scream.

There was a problem with the salt, and Qi Wuji sent someone to interrogate the two cooks on the spot, as well as all the people who had been in and out of the small kitchen, almost all of them were poisoned, but after treatment, they were no longer in serious trouble. Qi Wuji interrogated the confessions of the people separately to see if there were any discrepancies. Obviously, he still suspected that the inner part of the crime was committed, and Song Zheng and Huang Yuandu were both behind the screen to observe.

Two hours later, all the people had been tried, but nothing came of it. He was in a hurry, and it was inconvenient to use the punishment in the Guogong Mansion, and the trial could not be concluded, but he could not explain to Huang Yuandu and the people in the Guogong Mansion.

"Xiangye, he is ashamed of his position, and he can't identify the traitor. He recommended that all these people be sent to the Criminal Department for retrial. ”

Huang Yuandu shook his head, "These are all people from the Guogong Mansion, so it's not good to be punished directly." Moreover, I have just listened to their confessions, and there is nothing wrong with them, and they can all corroborate each other, and there are no discrepancies. It seems that something is missing. ”

Beads of sweat appeared on Qi Wuji's face, "Xiangye, the thief dared to poison the Guogong Mansion, he must be a cunning person." Just because these people weren't poisoned doesn't mean that no one else in the mansion has been in or out of the kitchen. ”

Huang Yuandu snorted, "Did you take all the people in Hefu to the Criminal Department?" ”

"Don't dare!" The period of the unscrupulous period Ai Ai is authentic.

Song Zheng frowned, "Lord Qi, I think the poison this time is very clever, using alum, arsenic, and sweat medicine, mixed with salt, and dissolved into one, ordinary people can't do it in a short time." Moreover, these jars of salt have seventy or eighty catties, if it is only one or two people, it may not be easy. ”

Huang Yuandu pondered for a while, then patted his thigh, "Yes, there may be a problem with these salts when they enter the mansion, quickly, ask when these salts were sent to the Guogong Mansion." ”

Qi Wuji also suddenly realized, and immediately asked the housekeeper who purchased the degree of the national government. It soon became clear that the salt had just been bought from the Xianxian Salt Shop yesterday afternoon, and it was the first time that it had been used at noon today.

Qi Wuji immediately sent someone to Xianxian Salt Shop. Half an hour later, the messenger came to report that poisonous salt had been found in the salt shop, and the salt shop had been sealed, and the shopkeeper was arrested on the spot. Qi Wuji immediately left the house and went to the lobby of the Criminal Department to try the case.

At this point, Song Zheng also knew in his heart. Someone must have stolen and sold the poisonous salt from the army and sold it through the Xianxian salt shop. I just don't know which army this poisonous salt comes from.

Huang Yuandu and Song Zheng did not immediately go out to the criminal department, because Xiao Tong had already woken up.