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Chapter 254: Perfect Poisoning

Now that you've made your decision, it's time to take action.

Chu Lu returned to the imperial study and called the eunuch.

The young eunuch bowed and saluted: "What do you want, Your Majesty?"

"Tell the commander of the Imperial Guards, Lin Xiao, to come and see you immediately."

"Here."

The young eunuch took the order and left, and the study returned to silence for a while. Chu Lu tapped the imperial desk unconsciously, quickly organizing his thoughts in his mind, thinking about how to get more information from Lin Xiao later.

Not long after, a steady and powerful sound of footsteps came closer and closer.

"Your Majesty, the commander of the Imperial Guard, Lin Xiao, has been summoned to appear before you," the eunuch reported at the door.

"Xuan."

As the words fell, a burly, resolute middle-aged man strode in. He was dressed in the dark uniform of the Imperial Guards, with a sword at his waist, and walked with a soldier's calmness and solemnity. However, there seemed to be a hint of fatigue and worry between his brows.

"I am General Lin Xiao, and I kowtow to Your Majesty!" Lin Xiao knelt on one knee and gave a standard military salute.

"Stand up." Chu Lu raised his hand, his eyes fell on Lin Xiao, and he asked directly: "Commander Lin, I summoned you here today to ask about the case of poisoning in the imperial kitchen the other day. How is the investigation going?"

Lin Xiao stood up, and immediately a look of shame appeared on his face. He bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent, and so far... I have not found any useful clues. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Chu Lu was not surprised to hear this answer. After all, Qin Su said that the court had not found the real culprit in the end. However, he pretended to be worried on the surface and sighed, "Alas, this matter concerns my safety and I really can't take it lightly. I have been thinking about it over and over again in the past two days, and I always feel uneasy. When you came to report the case last time, it seems that you did not elaborate on the details. Why don't you tell me in detail now? How was the poison administered? What kind of poison was administered? Where was it administered? What obstacles did you encounter during the investigation?"

Although Lin Xiao was a little surprised to hear the emperor's detailed questioning, he immediately sorted out his thoughts and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, the poison was put in the dinner prepared for Your Majesty - the yokan soup. This poison is very insidious, colorless and tasteless, and it seems that a special method was used to cover it up, and it was able to hide from layers of inspection."

"Oh?" Chu Lu pretended to be surprised, "You couldn't find it after so many tests?"

"That's right." Lin Xiao's expression became more serious, and he began to explain in detail, "Your Majesty, you don't know that the rules of the imperial kitchen are extremely strict, especially when it comes to the preparation of imperial meals, which cannot be sloppy at all. This bowl of yokan soup has gone through dozens of processes from selecting ingredients to the final presentation. Every link has a dedicated person in charge, and it is strictly recorded."

"First of all, this soup is the responsibility of the 'Meat Bureau', which is supervised by the eunuch in charge. He has summoned a chef, two deputy chefs, and twelve skilled kitchen servants, and used the 'Tangzihao' stove that is specially used for making soup."

"In terms of ingredients, the sheep are three Chahar sheep carefully selected by the Qingfeng Division from the sheepfold outside Xihua Gate, and they are escorted by a special person; the water is the running water transported from Yuquan Mountain; the spices are the Sichuan peppercorns that are the annual tribute from the Governor-General of Sichuan, and they are stored in a special blue and white porcelain jar; even the ginseng slices used as an ingredient require a "Medication Note" stamped by the Imperial Hospital before they can be obtained."

"The slaughter and cleaning is done at the 'cleansing house' by Hui Hui cooks who are proficient in this. They strictly follow the rules and have written records of the meat parts to be used. Only the most essential lamb legs are used. Each piece of meat is tested for poison with a silver medal. Only after it is confirmed to be free of poison can it enter the next process."

"The cooking process is of utmost importance. The chef personally cooks the food, wearing a white gauze mask throughout the process. The Shangshen Zheng Lord even brought two guards to supervise, and he personally tested the poison every half an hour."

"The serving vessel is a yellow-glazed bowl with a 'Longevity' motif, specially supplied by the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln. Three sets are kept as backup, just in case. The tray is made of golden nanmu wood, and is padded with cloud-patterned brocade donated by the Suzhou Weaving Bureau."

"The final link of the delivery is carried out by four eunuchs in the Imperial Kitchen. When the badge is handed out from the Imperial Tea and Food Room to the Qianqing Gate, it needs to be checked by the commander of the guards. When it is handed over from the Qianqing Gate to the Yuehua Gate, it needs to be registered by the eunuchs in the Internal Memorial Office. When it is handed over from the Yuehua Gate to the outside of the Yangxin Palace, it will be handed over by the palace maids."

Lin Xiao finished speaking in one breath, his tone full of helplessness and confusion: "With such a strict process, it is impossible to poison the soup! Even the final stage of the poison test by the eunuch himself passed safely! If it weren't for the eunuch in charge of the final presentation, who accidentally saw a very faint fluorescence reflected on the soup by candlelight before handing the soup bowl to the palace maid, and became suspicious, and asked someone to test the poison again... I'm afraid the consequences would be disastrous!"

After hearing this detailed description, Chu Lu nodded and asked, "Have you ever checked whether there is any possible omission in any link? For example, someone took a nap while on duty, or was temporarily sent away by someone?"

"Absolutely impossible!" Lin Xiao said firmly, "Afterwards, I have isolated and interrogated all the people involved, whether eunuchs, kitchen servants, guards, or servants responsible for delivering food and water. I have also carefully checked the duty records of the day and the records of entering and leaving the palace. I have even repeatedly questioned the details of their handover of utensils, but found nothing abnormal! Everyone can explain what they were doing at the time, and there is circumstantial evidence to corroborate each other. So... I really can't figure out when, where, and how the other party poisoned!"

Chu Lu pretended to be silent, tapping his fingers on the table. He silently asked Qin Su in his heart: "Qin Su, does what Lin Xiao said match the original plot? Is there anything wrong?"

"No." Qin Su's voice sounded quickly, "The original plot is consistent with what he described." Chu Lu suddenly felt relieved and thought that it seemed that this part was not affected.

He raised his head and looked at Lin Xiao, who had a worried look on his face. His tone suddenly became serious: "Commander Lin, poisoning and assassination is a serious crime of treason! Now that the murderer is unknown, it is like a sword hanging over my head. I will not be able to sleep or eat well until it is removed! This matter is of great importance and cannot be delayed any longer!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao immediately bowed and said, "I understand! I will definitely send more people, working day and night, to make sure..."

"No need." Chu Lu interrupted him, "Since you can't figure it out, I will investigate it myself!"

"What?!" Lin Xiao raised his head suddenly, his face full of shock and disbelief. He immediately tried to dissuade him: "Your Majesty! You absolutely cannot do that! You are worth a fortune, how can you personally risk your life to deal with such trivial criminal investigation matters? If Your Majesty makes any mistakes, then I, I..."

At the end of his speech, he couldn't help but choke up and looked genuinely worried and scared.

But he was thinking: What is His Majesty doing? I am the commander of the imperial guards, and I have used so much manpower and resources to investigate this case, but I still can't find any clues. How can he, an emperor living in seclusion and enjoying a life of luxury, find out? Isn't this nonsense? It must be some eunuch who made up such a foolish idea.

Chu Lu took in the flash of contempt and disapproval in Lin Xiao's eyes and sneered in his heart.

He first discussed it with Qin Su in his mind, and then he did not refute directly, but changed the subject and said in a seemingly casual tone: "Commander Lin seems to think that I am fooling around?"

Lin Xiao was startled and lowered his head quickly: "I dare not! I am just worried about your majesty's safety..."

"Safe?" Chu Lu chuckled, leaned forward slightly, and stared at Lin Xiao meaningfully. "Compared to the risk of investigating the case, I think it's more dangerous to have an affair with a married woman in secret."

Lin Xiao's heart suddenly jumped, and an ominous premonition came to his mind: "Your Majesty... why do you say that?"

Chu Lu said slowly, "Commander Lin seems to have a faint scent of jasmine powder on him. As far as I know, the only person in the capital who prefers this kind of powder is the wife of Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Personnel, Liu, right?"

Lin Xiao's face turned pale in an instant, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

Chu Lu did not stop, and continued: "Also, I noticed that the soles of Commander Lin's official boots seemed to be stained with some red mud. This red mud has a special texture and can only be found by the moat in the south of the city. But this is strange. It has not rained in the capital in the past few days. The commander is busy with official duties, so he would not run to such a remote and muddy place for no reason, right?"

Lin Xiao's breathing began to become rapid, and panic appeared in his eyes.

"Look at the fine Hetian jade pendant on Commander Lin's waist," Chu Lu pointed at Lin Xiao's waist, "The jade is good, but the rope knot of the jade pendant is quite exquisite. It uses the 'double fish knot' popular in the water towns of Jiangnan. This knot is complicated and delicate, and requires practice from a young age. It is difficult for others to learn it. And as far as I know, that Madam Liu happened to be from Suzhou?"

Lin Xiao's body had begun to tremble slightly, and he subconsciously wanted to cover the jade pendant around his waist.

"Besides this," Chu Lu's voice hit Lin Xiao's defenses like a heavy hammer, "Commander Lin would take half a day off on the tenth day of every month, on the grounds that he would go back to his hometown in the east of the city to visit your mother. But I sent someone to check, and your mother is in good health and doesn't need such frequent visits. What's more, Madam Liu would also tell her servants at home that she was going to the Jingci Temple in the south of the city to burn incense and pray for blessings on these days. This is really a coincidence, don't you think? Commander Lin?"

A series of reasoning instantly broke down Lin Xiao's psychological defenses.

Lin Xiao was completely stunned. He stared at Chu Lu with wide eyes, looking at him in disbelief, as if he was meeting the emperor for the first time. He could never have imagined that Chu Lu could discover these details about him that ordinary people would never care about, and could connect them clearly and finally reveal the secrets he had carefully hidden!

Is the Emperor so powerful?!
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back. The huge shock and the subsequent fear made his legs go weak. He fell to his knees again with a plop. His voice was trembling, without any falsehood as before: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please forgive me! I... I deserve to die! I..."

Chu Lu looked at his terrified look and said, "No need to beg for mercy. I am not interested in your private affairs. It's just about investigating the case..."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! I will do my best to assist Your Majesty in investigating the case, even if it means going through fire and water!"

"Very good." Chu Lu nodded with satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)