Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

Jin Biao's expression obviously fluctuated.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Doctor Chen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "There is no need to open the coffin. Zhang did die from long-term arsenic poisoning."

Before Jin Biao could react, Mrs. Zhao said angrily, "Doctor Chen, don't talk nonsense!"

Jin Biao's face suddenly changed drastically. He wanted to rush over to question him, but was stopped by the yamen runners.

"Doctor Chen, my Jin family has treated you well over the years, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Doctor Chen ignored Jin Biao and continued with his eyes downcast: "Sir, Mr. Zhang, there is no need to open the coffin for an autopsy, so as not to disturb the deceased. I can prove that Zhang did die of arsenic poisoning. I just hope that you will be lenient with me because I was forced to do something for you."

After all, the Jin family was a prestigious local gentry. They could not find any evidence that Zhang had been poisoned, and the government could not force an autopsy on them.

Even if the prosecutor's office wanted to find Zhang's family members to agree to an autopsy, it would be difficult to find them.

Doctor Chen was certain that it would be difficult to implicate anyone in Zhang's death, so he tried to cover it up.

One reason is that Jin Biao will not be punished too severely for the crime he is charged with now, and he does not want to offend anyone; the other reason is that he knows that if the news of his concealing and delaying the death of Zhang gets out, no one will dare to look for him even if he is pardoned for reporting the crime.

But unexpectedly, the Zhang family came back at this time.

There is no way to save the situation.

God is helping Zhang to get justice.

Zhang Ben's eyes immediately turned red when he heard Doctor Chen say this, and he rushed towards Jin Biao in anger: "You beast! Since my sister entered your family, she has been taking care of the household affairs and being filial to her parents-in-law. How has she ever let you down?"

Zhang Ben himself knew some martial arts, and even though the yamen runners tried to stop him, he still inevitably landed some punches and kicks on Jin Biao.

Jin Biao just stepped forward to avoid his punches and kicks, his expression cold and gloomy.

"My sister was sick herself but she still went to take care of my sick mother-in-law. Is she the only one you have in the Jin family?"

Qin Yunhe sighed and tapped the gavel lightly: "Mr. Zhang, calm down. I will give your sister justice after I have finished my trial."

Zhang Ben then remembered that this was a court. He forced himself to suppress his anger and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Doctor Chen, please tell me what happened in detail."

"…..At first I didn't think of poisoning. At that time, Zhang's symptoms were mild, and it was indeed like a disharmony between the spleen and stomach. I was just wondering why both of Mr. Jin's wives had disharmony between the spleen and stomach? It is said that wealthy families are particular about food and will not eat food that is too pungent.

But I still asked about the Jin family's daily meals, wanting to see if there was a problem with their diet. After asking, I found that there was indeed no problem.

Because the Jin family is an old customer and the old man of the Jin family has done me a favor, I paid extra attention to it and also consulted several more experienced old doctors.

One day, an old doctor suggested that it might be a mild case of arsenic poisoning, so he decided to give it a try the next time he went to see a doctor.

At that time, Zhang had just vomited, so I used a silver needle to test it, and it seemed to have changed but not significantly. I also asked Zhang what she had eaten that day, but the food was tested and there was nothing wrong with it.

Later, Zhang's illness became more and more serious. I didn't give up, so when I went to see Zhang again, I suggested catching a chicken to try.

Old Lady Jin was nearby at the time, and she immediately asked the servants to bring a chick. The chicken pecked at the vomit and soon became abnormal. Although it did not die immediately, it was obviously poisoned.

At that time, both Mrs. Jin and I were shocked, thinking that it was an enemy or a servant in the family who was angry about being punished and poisoned the family.

Rich families always have some secrets, so how they investigate is naturally none of my business. I left the prescription for the detoxification and left.

However, unexpectedly, news of Mrs. Jin's death soon spread.

I was shocked at the time, but after thinking about the whole thing carefully, I roughly guessed the cause and effect, but I didn't dare say anything.

After Mrs. Jin's funeral was over, Mr. Jin found me and gave me a silver note, saying that it was to thank me for my hard work in treating Zhang. He also mentioned many past events in which I was harassed by others.

I knew it in my heart at that time.”

Qin Yunhe asked again: "What about Yang? Judging from her symptoms, is she poisoned?"

The servant of the Yang family was in the hall, and he had been wanting to ask the same question. He was ordered to come to the trial, and if he didn't figure out the matter, how would he explain it when he returned?

Doctor Chen shook his head and said, "In fact, Yang has been feeling unwell since she married into the Jin family, and I am often asked to treat her. Although the symptoms are similar, I feel that Yang is not suffering from poisoning.

But after so many years, I am not 100% sure that it was not poisoning. It's just that after Zhang's accident, I carefully recalled the symptoms and process of Yang's illness and deterioration, and I feel that there is still a difference.

Yang was already weak, and her spleen and stomach were out of balance and she couldn't take good care of herself. She was also caught in a cold and evil wind that eventually led to her death."

Qin Yunhe nodded.

"Yang Zhong, do you two have anything to confess?"

Yang Zhong was trembling at the question. Before he could think of what to say, he heard the little maid who had been shaking like a sieve suddenly speak up: "Sir, I, I don't know whether the master knew about the false accusation, but, but I saw it with my own eyes, I saw Yang Guanshi feeding Kou'er poison. The master was there at the time."

Yan Guixiang said to Jin Biao in a hateful tone: "It turned out that you poisoned Kou'er to death! Why would you poison Kou'er to death if you didn't feel guilty?"

Jin Biao was already a little bit unable to maintain his composure at this moment, but he still said contemptuously: "He is just a servant. Once he is sold to my Jin family, he becomes our property. If you want to kill him, you can do it. What else do you want?"

Everyone in the hall felt horrified after hearing this.

Although the maid had indeed been sold to the master, it was still a human life, but he treated it so lightly in his mouth.

There was not a single bit of his usual gentleness and kindness.

But according to the laws of this dynasty, the crime of killing a slave is not punishable by death.

The most important thing now is the evidence of his poisoning Zhang and Yan.

Qin Yunhe took a deep breath and exhaled gently, then turned his gaze to Yang Zhong, who had been slumped on the ground, trembling with fear since the maid spoke, and said in a deep voice.

"Yang Zhong, do you have anything to say about the little maid's accusation against you?"

Yang Zhong finally reacted and kowtowed repeatedly: "Sir, please spare my life, sir, please spare my life! I was also forced to do this. The master has given me an order and I have no choice but to obey."

"You can't escape the charge of being an accomplice to murder now. If you want a lighter sentence..."

Before Qin Yunhe finished speaking, Yang Zhong kowtowed and said, "My Lord, my Lord, I can prove that the master did poison the lady, and he ordered me to buy the arsenic. Please be lenient with him, be lenient with him."

Jin Biao couldn't keep his composure anymore. He took two steps forward and kicked Yang Zhong on the shoulder: "You bastard, you dare to betray me? Don't you want to live?"

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PS. In ancient times, poison testing was not that advanced. In addition to testing with silver needles, they did use "live testing", which means using living animals such as chickens, dogs (or even slaves) to eat suspicious food to test whether it is poisonous.