Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

He ordered Xu Guohui to be sent down, and then he and Lin Feng and the others prepared to go to the prison to check on the captured people. Just as they arrived outside the prison gate, a jailer happened to run out of the cell door with an anxious look on his face. He saw Mu Cheng, who slid to his knees on the ground, panting and saying in fear, "Sir, they're all gone. Not a single one is left."

"Lao Qi, tell me clearly what is missing!" Lin Feng asked with a frown.

Mu Cheng had already hurried into the prison, and Lin Feng and others immediately thought of something and hurried to follow him.

Inside the cell, only a few oil lamps cast a faint light. In this dim glow, Mu Cheng watched as the more than one hundred people captured today died, including the archer captured by the secret guards and Liu the clerk. All of them had died of poisoning. Fortunately, the prisoners who were originally imprisoned in the cell survived.

It had only been three quarters of an hour since Lin Feng and the others had brought the people back. They had thought they'd settle the merchants first before interrogating the mastermind behind the thieves, but they'd unexpectedly... been taken advantage of first.

Mu Cheng closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he could barely suppress the anger in his heart. Even the jailers in the cell were not spared, but they were not poisoned, but killed by their own knives. Lin Feng, who was still checking the bodies, found that a jailer who was stabbed in the abdomen still had a faint breath, so he woke him up. Seeing that he was awake, Mu Cheng asked Afeng to find a doctor. The man just opened his mouth to say something, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He seemed to want to say something, but the sound was so soft that it was like a mosquito's hum. Lin Feng had to put his ear close to his mouth to barely hear what he said: "Mao, Mao, Mao San, strong, has... poison, poison." He wanted to point with his hand, but he could no longer lift it, and the man was completely dead.

Lin Feng relayed what he said to Mu Cheng, "He said Mao Sanqiang is poisonous."

Lao Qi, standing by, asked in confusion, "But Mao Sanqiang is dead too?"

Everyone looked at him. He walked over to a man in prison uniform and pointed, "That's Mao Sanqiang." His gaze followed him, landing on two men still kneeling. The man Lao Qi pointed at had been stabbed in the chest with a saber by a man wearing the uniform of a prison boss. He was already dead. The prison boss had no external injuries, but black blood was flowing from all seven orifices, clearly poisoned. Lin Feng searched Mao Sanqiang's body, finding nothing special but a sachet. Mu Cheng told him to put it away.

He turned to ask Lao Qi: "When exactly did it happen?"

Lao Qi replied, "My lord, it should have been a quarter of an hour ago. I went to the toilet a quarter of an hour ago." Afraid that Mu Cheng would suspect him, he added, "The guard at the door can testify for me. When I went there, the jailer and the others were all fine." After his eyes caught sight of Mao Sanqiang, he added, "Mao Sanqiang hadn't come when I went there. There are too many prisoners tonight, and the jailer called back some of us who were guarding during the day, but he didn't call Mao Sanqiang." Looking at his former colleagues lying in a pool of blood, some bleeding from all seven orifices, his nose felt sore and he couldn't help crying. He knelt on the ground with a thud, "My lord, they all died in vain. You have to do something for them!"

Mu Cheng rubbed his brow. He'd been unconsciously frowning lately, and the wrinkles between his brows had grown deeper and deeper. He looked visibly exhausted. As one crisis arose, another arose. He sighed and ordered, "Send the guards outside to come in."

The two guards at the gate came in and saw the scene in the cell, their legs weakened. "Greetings, sir!" After the two of them exchanged greetings, Mu Cheng asked, "Did you two hear any noise outside?"

The two exchanged puzzled glances, recalling what had just happened. The one kneeling on the left replied, "No, sir, but he went out about a quarter of an hour ago." He pointed at Lao Qi and continued, "A few breaths after he left, Mao Sanqiang returned with a lunch box, saying he was delivering food to the fellow guards in the cell. Then Lao Qi just returned, and everyone knew about it after that!" The other guard on the right nodded in agreement, "Yes, apart from the man brought in by the black-clad man and the men brought in by Constable Lin, there's no one else."

Mu Cheng walked through the prison cells again. In the resting area of the prison, several prison guards were lying on the ground or lying on the table, all bleeding to death. The prison guards in the corridor of the prison were killed by daggers or swords. After passing several cells, the prisoners inside, except for a few extremely vicious ones, were all trembling. Mu Cheng came to the door of the cell closest to the hundred or so prisoners and asked the prisoner inside: "What did you see? Tell me, and I can reduce your sentence."

Ben, who was still trembling and covered in dirt, suddenly brightened up. He asked excitedly, "Is what you said true? Is it true?" He looked at Mu Cheng with fervent eyes. Mu Cheng nodded and assured him, "I never lie."

The man then leaned over the cell's guardrails, straining to peer outside. Seeing him do this, Mu Cheng made way for him; the others behind him followed suit. The man pointed at Mao Sanqiang, who was kneeling on the ground behind them, and said, "That's him. He was just walking around outside these cells when these people suddenly grabbed his neck, clutched his chest, and then blood started flowing from all seven orifices, and he died." He demonstrated this.

"Later, the two wardens realized something was wrong and came to check, and they were stabbed to death by him with a dagger. The other wardens must have heard the noise and came to check, and a fight broke out among them, but they were no match for that...that Mao...warden. Later, the head of the prison staggered over, with black blood still in his mouth and eyes. He took advantage of the fact that Warden Mao was caught by the warden lying next to him and killed him with a single knife." He spoke while lying on the fence, pointing at the corpse lying on the ground outside.

The prisoner in the cell next to him nodded frequently in agreement, "Yes, yes, that's right." His voice was still full of fear.

Mu Cheng asked, "Is there anyone else? For example, has anyone else been here before?"

The man thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "No, there are no others today except these people." Then he looked at Mu Cheng expectantly. Mu Cheng understood what he wanted to say and said, "Tell Master Shen your name and the crime you committed. I will consider reducing your sentence."

The man kowtowed excitedly, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

Afeng arrived with several doctors, but the people were all dead. Mu Cheng asked them to take a look at how the people died. After checking, they all had the same answer: the jailers and prison bosses who died of bleeding from all seven orifices had eaten food containing Broken Heart Powder, and the other jailers were killed by knives and daggers, not poisoned. The way the prisoners died was more strange. There were no external injuries, no poisoning, just blood vessels burst and bleeding from all seven orifices. However, a doctor found that there seemed to be something moving under the skin of these people. He asked the doctor next to him to have a look. The man lowered his head and looked at the squirming thing under the skin. He squinted his eyes, took out a silver needle from the medicine box, and quickly pierced the squirming place. Then he asked Lin Feng for a dagger, gently cut open the skin, and saw the things inside. Everyone's pupils shrank. The doctor just now said in horror: "Gu?"

A poisonous insect that looked like a short, fat earthworm or a silkworm pupa was still wriggling under the silver needle, swaying left and right in an attempt to struggle out.

The doctor who cut open the skin said solemnly, "Yes, when I was young and studying medicine abroad, my master told me that there is a place called Pu Luo City in Youdu that specializes in breeding Gu. Gu can save lives, but it can also kill people."

"I've also heard from my master that these poisonous insects are all kinds of strange and bizarre. Seeing them today is really eye-opening! It makes my scalp tingle!" The doctor just now said with sympathy.

The doctor who had cut open the skin said again, "Sir, we can't keep these bodies. Burn them quickly!"

Only then did Mu Cheng carefully examine this doctor, who was younger than the others. He looked to be in his late twenties, with a delicate and dignified face, his brows radiating a calm and focused expression. His eyes were bright and expressive, revealing his dedication to medical skills. He had a straight nose, pale pink lips, and a gentle smile that often played at the corners of his mouth, as if bringing comfort and hope to his patients. His hair was jet-black, simply tied back, giving him a neat and capable look. Dressed in a simple medical robe, his every move exuded a calm and composed demeanor. He stood tall and straight, his steps steady, each one confident and resolute, highlighting his composure and professionalism as a doctor.

Seeing Mu Cheng seemed hesitant, he bowed and said, "I am Baili Zhong of the Baili family. I can guarantee with the Baili family's centuries-long reputation that I have no ulterior motives. These people's deaths appear to be caused by the golden silkworm Gu that my master told me about. This Gu... is extremely poisonous. I hope you can make a quick decision. These people are already dead, and the Gu will soon leave their bodies."

Mu Cheng knew the Baili family, the number one medical family in Zhao State. The Baili family's clinics were spread all over Zhao State, and they were well-known to everyone.

Mu Cheng pondered for a moment, then ordered in a cold voice, "Send someone to carry them out and burn them all."

He then ordered, "Jingba, hurry to Kyoto and report this matter."

Jingbaying left again.

"Remind everyone to be careful when carrying the corpse." He ordered Afeng, who walked out of the cell in a somewhat depressed manner.

"The clues are completely cut off, and I'm still thinking about interrogating a few leaders. Ha! Ha! It's useless... useless!" Mu Cheng said self-deprecatingly with a wry smile.

Shen Yitai comforted him, "We don't blame you. You tried your best. We all saw it."

Thinking of the disgusting poisonous insect, he said worriedly, "I'm afraid the Chen family is the same."

Mu Cheng was also in a state of panic! He immediately sent someone to Roma Village to inform Yu Xikun of the matter to prevent any accidents to the people there. Thinking that the merchants might have also been poisoned by the Gu, he turned around and pulled Baili Zhong and quickly ran towards the courtyard where the merchants lived. Baili Zhong also knew that he was anxious and ran after him. The merchants who were already resting were all dissatisfied when they were called up, but since Mu Cheng was the governor of a state, they didn't dare to say anything. After Baili Zhong took their pulses one by one, Mu Cheng asked, "How is it?"