The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

"Poisoned?" Liu You asked in surprise.

He only employs very close people in this hot pot restaurant, so it is absolutely impossible for them to poison the hot pot ingredients.

"Yes, I have been in this business for many years, and I am very sure that this man died of poisoning." The coroner continued, "But to find out why he was poisoned, I still need to test the food on the table."

The little girl had been standing aside when the coroner was looking for her father. She clenched her teeth and her face was tense. Guo Xin was holding her hand.

The coroner picked up a silver needle and placed it in the hot pot and the ingredients. He then picked up the man's tea, fanned his nose with his hand, and checked the teapot and the girl's teacup again.

He turned around and said, "The problem lies with the tea. There is nothing wrong with the teapot and the girl's teacup. Only the man's tea is poisonous. I checked it carefully and found that the poison was smeared inside the teacup. When the tea is soaked in it, the poison will be dissolved."

Liu You immediately said, "The servant in charge of tea and other things, come out for me."

The leading officer waved his hand, and a group of yamen runners took the servants aside and asked, "You are the owner of this hot pot, right?"

Liu You nodded.

"Something has happened to this hot pot restaurant. It is absolutely not allowed to open until the situation is investigated. As for the opening time, we will wait for the government to send a letter."

After saying this, he was about to leave with the servants.

Guo Xin, who had been silent, said, "Wait, I have something to say."

The leading officer looked back at her impatiently and said, "If you have anything to say, come on. I'm very busy every day and I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."

Guo Xin didn't care about the officer's attitude at all, and said, "Just now, this little girl, that man's daughter, said that when she went out today, the man invited his wife to go out for a drink, but his wife kept refusing, so he only brought his daughter out. So is there another hidden story in this case?"

The officer looked down at the little girl who had been tense all the time, forced a stiff smile and said, "Little girl, be good~ Was what this person said just now true?"

The girl nodded. She didn't know what this meant. She only knew that her father was really dead. Before he died, he kept telling her that he loved her very much. She couldn't bear to leave her father.

The officer in front of her was the good man who punished evil and promoted good as her father had always told her before he died. He was a good man who could help the people solve cases, so she chose to believe him.

"Can I take you home?" the officer asked again, but the rough voice seemed a little ridiculous under his forced gentleness.

The girl nodded again, took her hand out of Guo Xin's and handed it to the officer.

The officer half-bent his body, took the little girl's hand, and walked in another direction.

……

"Sister Guo Xin, this must have been a frame-up by someone else, but I have been very careful in managing the young chefs in the hot pot restaurant, how could something go wrong?" Liu You said.

Guo Xin kept staring at the remaining non-toxic food on the table, thinking about the crying of the little girl just now, and said: "No matter who did it, it caused the death of a healthy person. Tsk, this world really takes human life lightly."

She recalled what the little girl said, as if this was an agreement reached between the man's family and the person who committed the crime. But what kind of conditions would make a person willing to give his life?

He even brought his daughter with him, letting a little girl of only a few years old witness her father's death with her own eyes. No matter how much money or good conditions are offered, this would not be acceptable to anyone, right?

Seeing Guo Xin staring at the food on the table, Liu You sighed and said, "The little girl's life is indeed pitiful. She lost her father at such a young age, and he died in front of her eyes. How is she going to live in the future? If the man was a normal person, he would definitely not take the little girl with him."

Yup!

A normal person wouldn't bring his or her children to witness his or her own death.

So what if this man didn't know the truth of the matter, or was fooled by a half-truth when he did this?

But why didn’t the man’s wife want to come along? If both of them were kept in the dark, shouldn’t the three of them have dinner here together?

However, the truth of the matter still needs to be investigated by the government, so I can only sit here and wait. Maybe I can visit the little girl's home in a few days to comfort them.

……

The official followed the little girl to a small courtyard, which was crowded with several families. The little girl led the official to a spacious house and said in a baby voice, "Mom, I'm back!"

After a while, a woman opened the door. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the woman had just been crying. The little girl rushed over and hugged the woman, saying, "Mom, wuu ...

The officer took out a token and said, "This is an official business. Please cooperate with the investigation. I now suspect that you are a colluder. Please tell me everything you know. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

The woman said coldly, "What joint crime? I don't know. I wanted to ask you why my husband died. You didn't give me a result, but you forced me to answer. You are really a good official!"

"You tell me or not. If you confess, your daughter will have someone to rely on. If you don't, your daughter will suffer in the future. Don't even think about the money from the person behind the scenes. Once I investigate the case, I will investigate it to the end, and the person behind the scenes will not be let off!"

The woman hugged the little girl tightly in her arms, looked at the official, and then looked back at the small courtyard where she was.

She kept thinking of her husband's words before he died. He said that after he was gone, she and her daughter would have a good life and would no longer have to share a small yard with those people. Her daughter would also be able to find a good family and she wouldn't have to worry about her going astray in the future.

The little girl suddenly said, "Mom, I'm scared. Daddy suddenly collapsed while we were eating. He ignored me no matter how I called him. Is it because I was disobedient that Daddy doesn't want us anymore?"

The woman's face froze. That's not what the restaurant's steward told them. He said that after taking the medicine, it would take about quarter of an hour for it to take effect. By then, the woman at home would trick her daughter to go somewhere else before it took effect. How could she see her father die with her own eyes?

She knew her own daughter very well. She was the easiest to fool and would never disobey.

I recalled again the time when they were chatting in the past, when the man said that he admired the investigators in Suining City the most. Every case they handled was investigated thoroughly and cleanly, and they treated women and children very well.

The woman's face flashed with hesitation, and after a long while, she said, "I will go to the government office with you, but I need to help settle my daughter."