"Slow-acting poison."
Shen Ling'er placed a small porcelain bottle on the table.
"And it wasn't a one-time addition; it must have been added to their diet intermittently for at least several months."
The bottle contains a small amount of fine powder.
"I tried to concoct this medicine based on the clues Sister Liu found. It's similar to the dregs left over from when Yang Tie refined pills. After refining it, the tea becomes very light in color, and ordinary people might not notice it."
Liu Ruyan opened the account book.
" Yang Tie was in charge of timber trading back then. Ostensibly, he transported timber, but secretly he used the Yun Clan's caravan to transport people."
Gu Moran looked up.
"Transporting people?"
"Girl."
Liu Ruyan lowered her voice.
"In those years, an old man who had received money from Yang Tie Tieyin said that every month when he transported timber to Cypress Village, the weight of the truckload was always two or three hundred jin more than the invoice indicated."
"The people escorting the wagons changed frequently, and the wagons were thicker than ordinary timber wagons, so there was likely an additional layer inside."
She turned to another page.
" Yun Zhengze is often away on inspections, and the Yun Clan has its own vehicle transport system with receipts and accounts, which are mostly kept in the care of Madam Shen."
"She doesn't deal with official accounts; she only checks the Yun Clan's own vehicles, goods, and money."
"After the weight of the timber didn't match, she first checked the Yun Clan's caravan, and then traced it to several warehouses under Yang Tie's name."
"But the accounts are kept very clean."
"The unusual expenses were broken down into fare for vehicles, porters, timber waste, and food and drink; each item, when examined individually, was flawless."
Liu Ruyan pressed her fingertip against the numbers on the ledger page.
"When Madam Shen gathered these scattered accounts together, she discovered that the days Yang Tie set off on all coincided with the times when missing girls in the city were reported to have gone missing."
"Her death was most likely related to this."
"I know all this because she left behind an account book."
Liu Ruyan took out half of a thin book from her bosom.
A corner of the cover was burned off, but scorch marks remained on the edges.
"This was only found yesterday. After Madam Shen died, her personal maid was kept in hiding. She had been working as an embroiderer under an assumed name. I told her my identity before she dared to hand her over."
"It contains the route of Yang Tie's convoy, as well as the names of several recipients."
Gu Moran looked at the half-finished ledger.
"She originally intended to hand it over to Yun Zhengze?"
I guess so.
"At that time Yun Zhengze was in charge of inspecting the waterway transport and rarely returned to Yi Prefecture, which was a real pity."
Once this ledger is submitted, Yang Tie's activities using the Yun Clan's caravan will be exposed.
Gu Moran frowned.
" Yang Tie used the Yun Clan's convoy? Could it be the Lady Wang?"
Liu Ruyan opened the account book.
There is an old finger mark in the middle of the page, the ink has been smeared by water, and there is only the word "" next to it.
The last stroke was drawn out very slowly.
Liu Ruyan said, "This may not directly point to the Lady Wang, but it is enough to show that Madam Shen had already realized that someone close to her was in cahoots with Yang Tie before the incident."
"At that time, Lady Wang was only a concubine."
"As long as Madam Shen lives, she will never be able to sit in the position of mistress."
Shen Ling'er looked up.
"I suspect that Yang Tie gave her the medicine to get rid of Madam Shen, and she bribed the caravan for Yang Tie."
"This is the smoothest line."
Liu Ruyan pressed the last page of the account paper flat.
" Madam Shen drinks the calming tea that Lady Wang brings her every day."
"At first, it was just a poor appetite, but later he even needed to hold onto the wall to walk. The doctors the Yun Clan hired all said it was due to overwork, and no one considered the possibility of poisoning."
Gu Moran lifted her fingers from the armrest and placed them beside the pulse table.
Where was Yun Zhengze when she died?
"Inspecting the canal transport in another region."
When he returned home, the body had already been buried.
The dark room fell silent.
Gu Moran flipped to the last page of the ledger and saw a line of text that had been soaked in water.
"Eight cars, Mr. Yang pays the bill."
Liu Ruyan said, "This corroborates the records of Eternal Prosperity Spirit Paper Shop."
"When Madam Shen was buried, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office only recorded three carriages. However, the paper horse shop's records showed that eight carriages were actually dispatched."
"The other five vehicles came from Cypress Village, and the person who paid the bill was also surnamed Yang."
"This doesn't prove what those five carts transported, but it does show that Yang Tie was involved on the day of Madam Shen's burial."
Shen Ling'er pushed the medical record table forward.
"There's one more thing."
" Lady Wang has also experienced symptoms such as palpitations, night terrors, and chest tightness in recent years."
Gu Moran up.
You mean, her too?
"She might not have been poisoned, after all, so many years have passed."
Shen Ling'er said, "My deduction is that she used to personally divide and crush medicine pills back then. The powder from these pills would accumulate between her fingers and on her skin, which would harm her health over time."
"Her subsequent inability to have children may also be related to this."
"But these can only be considered circumstantial evidence; they cannot be used to convict her."
Liu Ruyan said coldly, "She killed the mistress, took the position of the principal wife, and was plagued by the poison she herself had touched for half her life."
"Isn't the evidence sufficient?" Gu Moran asked.
Liu Ruyan closed the ledger.
"This proves that Madam Shen checked the caravan before her death, and it also proves that Lady Wang met with Yang Tie."
"Whether the vehicle carried a young girl, whether Yang Tie delivered medicine to Lady Wang, and whether Lady Wang poisoned her mistress are all speculations without concrete evidence."
Gu Moran thought for a moment.
"If we interrogate Lady Wang, she definitely won't confess."
"Why not let Yun Zhengze ask him himself? He's been going to the Prince's mansion every day these days."
Liu Ruyan looked at the visiting card on the table.
Tomorrow, Yun Zhengze bring Lady Wang with him to visit.
Gu Moran picked up the visiting card and pressed his thumb over the two characters " Lady Wang " on the card.
"What would Yun Zhengze do if he knew that Lady Wang had killed Madam Shen?"
Shen Ling'er and Liu Ruyan both fell silent.
Lady Wang was guilty, but she also bore him a son.
Liu Ruyan spoke first.
"What does Your Highness intend to do?"
Gu Moran looked up.
The lamplight reflected in his pupils, and the visiting card on the table was pressed into a shallow mark by his fingertips.
"Put Shen Ling'er's medical records, Yang Tie's old debts, and the paper horse shop's accounts all in front of him."
Liu Ruyan asked, "Are you going to expose me to my face?"
Gu Moran shook his head.
"You two are responsible for stalling Lady Wang. I'll first use official business as an excuse to invite Yun Zhengze to my study, then let him see these, and then let him choose."
Liu Ruyan nodded, then stopped at the door.
What about Yang Tie?
"The spies around the Yang residence are still there. Yang Tie hasn't left the house these past two days, only instructing his steward to frequently send medicinal herbs out of the city."
Gu Moran in a flat tone.
"Don't touch him yet, wait until Lady Wang confesses."
"Let's... just... lie to her like this for now..."
The following afternoon, the imperial carriage of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office stopped in front of Prince Yi's Residence.
When Yun Zhengze got off the carriage, he was wearing an ordinary dark blue casual dress, holding a newly made little wooden donkey in his arms, with a soft cushion sewn onto the saddle.
Lady Wang followed behind, with a maid carrying several lacquered boxes containing children's clothing, cakes, and small gold locks.
She was much more reserved today, with a smile on her face. As soon as she entered, she asked, "Where is my son?"
Uncle Fu gestured for them to proceed, his face still beaming with a smile, "The young master is eating hot pastries in the main hall."
Lady Wang quickened her pace.
In the main hall, Tiedan Dan sat cross-legged by the charcoal brazier, his hands covered in icing sugar, arguing with Yun Shuyue over the last piece of shortbread.