Chu Nanzhi looked at Haikangyan shivering in silence, and asked someone to fetch a bowl of hot water. He smelled the salt in his hand carefully and sprinkled salt into the hot water.
There was nothing strange about the salt in my hand, and there was no other smell to it, but when the salt in the bowl slowly melted, a faint smell of rust gradually came out.
Chu Nanzhi finally nodded happily: "Tell me, who asked you to destroy this salt?"
Hai Kangyan looked at her secretly, hesitated for a long time, and finally answered vaguely: "Yes, the county magistrate."
"fart."
Chu Nanzhi was so angry that he cursed and put the knife on his neck angrily, and threatened: "If you keep talking nonsense, I will touch your neck with the knife."
Kang Mingyuan is already in prison. He confessed everything he knew yesterday, so why bother doing these futile things anymore.
Hai Kangyan was so frightened that his eyebrows stood up, he broke away from the yamen servant, knelt down and begged for mercy: "I really don't know, I just accepted Chen Wu's money. If anyone asked, he called me the county magistrate."
Just what you mean."
Chu Nanzhi glanced at Chen Si, who looked gloomy, and continued to ask Haikangyan: "How much money did he give you?"
"Twenty taels per year."
Haikangyan replied without thinking.
"How can a chef get so much money?"
"I really don't know. I am only responsible for sneaking brine and boiling salt from the well with Chen Si, and then handing the salt to Chen Wu. I don't know anything else."
Chu Nanzhi half-squinted her pair of narrow peach blossom eyes in thought, thinking that it must be the person behind Chen Wu.
Hu Maoxi is a relatively honest official and can make a lot of money every year. I am afraid that these dog officials in Haikang County must make a lot of money from top to bottom.
Now that the origin of the poisonous salt has been found out, all we need to do is figure out the person behind Chen Wu, and everything will be revealed.
She had already had a suspicion about the person behind Chen Wu, but unfortunately, this person didn't reveal any flaws, so she couldn't identify him yet.
At this time, what Chen Wu should have done has been done. Lin Jinxiao must have been arrested and brought to justice.
But what Chu Nanzhi is more worried about is that if this guy would rather die than reveal the person behind the scenes, now he has to think of a way to lure the snake out of the hole.
She looked at Chen Si tentatively and asked, "Is the person who sent you the letter Chen Wu?"
Or is there someone else?
Chen Si gritted his teeth, glanced at the cold knife in her hand, and hesitated.
"At this point, it will be useless for you to protect him. The fact that I can find him here means that he has been captured and brought to justice."
Chu Nanzhi deceived with a calm face: "Don't even think about it. If he hadn't betrayed you, how would I have known in advance that Kang Mingtang would assassinate us, let alone know that the poisonous salt came from your salt well."
"This bastard betrayed his own flesh and blood brothers. He is simply not a human being."
Chen Si was filled with indignation when he heard this. It was a shame that he wanted to die to protect him, so he quickly replied without thinking:
"Yes, it is indeed a letter from him. The unclean salt produced here was also personally delivered to the inn by Xiao Xiao.
I took an unlearned bastard boy from our village as my apprentice and introduced him to the inn. A few days ago, the bastard took the wrong salt and put the salt he brought here into the meals of the guests, and he threw it away.
It’s not just a job, but it’s causing trouble for me and others.”
Chu Nanzhi suddenly realized that it was Chen Wu's careless apprentice who put the poisonous salt into the food.
This is indeed the case, otherwise Chen Wu would not have dared to poison so many people with his great courage.
Chu Nanzhi said again: "What else do you know? Where did Chen Wu get so much money to give to you?"
Chen Si shook his head decisively: "I really don't know about this little one. He just came to see me last night. He got beaten up a few days ago and lost his job. He has been hiding in the Yamen to recuperate. Who knows that the new arrival
The disabled county magistrate"
"Shut up, don't be rude to Shangguan."
In the past two days, Chu Nanzhi kept hearing someone calling Lin Jinxiao "disabled county magistrate". No matter how he heard it, it felt a bit offensive. At this time, he finally couldn't help but scolded him. Chen Si was so frightened that he quickly changed his words: "That Shangguan was caught off guard.
The county government officials were suspended from their posts and investigated, so that bastard Chen Wu had no choice but to sneak out during the chaos."
"Well, he never told you whose courtyard he was hiding in?"
Chu Nanzhi looked at him closely with steady eyes.
Chen Si shook his head blankly, his eyes full of loneliness: "How can I know this?"
"Take it away and go back to the Yamen."
It seems that Chen Wu intends to protect this person, and even his own brothers are unwilling to reveal it.
Chu Nanzhi gave up and continued to ask questions. After giving Li Sanmu instructions, he prepared to return to the county.
Seeing this, Peng Pai quickly asked the several government officials around him: "The county officials are still under interrogation, so I have to trouble you to take care of this place. No one is allowed to take the brine from this well to make salt."
As soon as he finished speaking, Haikangyan immediately confessed: "The salt used to boil the brine taken from this salt well has been destroyed, and there is absolutely nothing hidden."
After a pause, he looked at the salt bag in Chu Nanzhi's hand, and added with fear: "Except for these in the lady's hand."
Chu Nanzhi looked at his frightened appearance and couldn't help but snickered secretly. He was quite honest at this time.
Chen Si also made a grimace and begged quickly: "Come on, everyone, I have already told you all the facts. Is it possible to survive?"
"You want to live?"
"certainly."
"Why didn't you expect this day to happen when you harmed people?"
"Young ones don't know that this salt can really kill people. Chen Wu only said that eating this salt can make people have diarrhea. It is specially used to punish prisoners."
Chen Si looked sincere: "In my home, I still have an old mother who is over sixty years old to support, as well as a wife and children. If Chen Wu hadn't tempted me with money from time to time, how would I have done this for him?"
"
"You have a wife, children, and children to support, so you are not honest in your work all day long. You are just thinking about taking advantage of others and killing people."
Chu Nanzhi glared at him coldly, and suddenly there was a hint of cunning in his eyes: "You have a way to survive. As long as you can persuade Chen Wu to confess in court, I will naturally be willing to appeal for you and ask for mercy.
Judgment."
"The younger one will definitely try his best to persuade him to confess."
Chen Si replied confidently.
Chu Nanzhi nodded with satisfaction.
Although this guy may not be a good person, he is not a heinous person after all. If he can really pry Chen Wu's mouth open, it will be considered a first achievement. It is not a big deal for him to appeal for a light sentence and be exiled for two or three thousand miles.
.
Whether he can come back alive or not is not something he can control.
Ma Laifu, who had been watching silently beside Chu Nanzhi for a long time, had finally figured out what was going on. No wonder Sister Zhi risked her life to investigate the salt well in the south of the city. It seems that Brother Zhu must have found out.
It was only with these clues that he was murdered by these people.
Thinking of Zhu Yue's usually approachable and kind attitude towards him, Ma Lai was so lucky that he picked up the brine bucket on the side and threw it at Haikangyan and Chen Si.
Chu Nanzhi was thinking about how to reveal the true identity of the man behind the scenes. When he looked up, he saw that the bucket in Ma Laifu's hand had hit Chen Si's head.
"Blessing."
Chu Nanzhi was shocked and went to stop him, then she heard a muffled sound of "pound". Chen Si was knocked unconscious and the bottom of the brine bucket immediately fell to the ground.
"Damn it, I asked you to harm my Brother Zhu."
Ma Laifu cursed and went to pick up another brine bucket and was about to smash it at Haikangyan, who looked panicked. Chu Nanzhi quickly stopped him and yelled: "Laifu, you stinky boy, they will wait."
If you plead guilty in court, there will be legal judgment, so don't be so reckless."
Ma Laifu puffed up his cheeks and cursed angrily: "These bitches did such unreasonable things and harmed Brother Zhu. I really want to kill them with one knife."
Chu Nanzhi glanced at the calm Peng Pai and signaled softly: "Peng Dianshi, take the prisoner away."
After waiting for Peng Pai to escort the two of them out, Chu Nanzhi patiently comforted Ma Laifu: "They are just errands. There is no point in venting your anger on them. The most important thing now is to point out the person behind it."
Ma Laifu pursed his lips and said in confusion: "Sister Zhi, we've caught everyone who deserves to be arrested, and those who deserve to die are dead. Who else is behind this?"
"We will see the results soon."
Chu Nanzhi lifted the salt bag thoughtfully, her eyebrows twinkling slightly, and she gradually had an idea in her mind.