The cruel little princess

Shen Youyou circled around the male corpse, and the woman stared at Shen Youyou fiercely without blinking. Her eyes, as if she wanted to eat someone, made people shudder.

Shen Youyou bent down and carefully examined the man's fingers, noting that his knuckles were slightly thick and covered with calluses. His complexion was dark, but his skin was a little loose, making him look slightly older than the woman. Shen Youyou was about to use her handkerchief to lift the man's mouth to see what kind of poison he had been infected with, but the woman waved her hand away.

"Take your hands away! Don't touch my master!" she growled angrily, "Do you want my master to have no peace even after his death?"

Shen Youyou laughed out loud in anger, "You keep saying that your master was poisoned by eating our medicinal food and you want justice! But instead of reporting to the authorities, you brought him to my shop crying! I wanted to find out how your master died, but you wouldn't let me touch him! Could it be that you know your master didn't die from eating our medicinal food, but from some other reason?"

Shen Youyou sneered twice, with a mocking look on her face: "Okay! An Er, go to the Ministry of Justice and report to the police! Just say that someone is suspected of murdering others and pretending to be Master Ma to frame me!" Her voice was crisp and firm, as if declaring her determination and courage to everyone.

"Yes, Miss!" An Er's resounding voice echoed behind Shen Youyou. He straightened his body, his eyes revealing his loyalty and support for his master. Then, he snapped his fingers, signaling his brothers hidden in the shadows to take action.

Following An Er's command, several figures immediately emerged from the shadows and quickly departed. They would report the case to the Ministry of Justice and have the authorities investigate.

"What? Impersonating Master Ma?!" The crowd exclaimed, and everyone started talking. "Could this not be Master Ma?!" This question spread like ripples through the crowd.

Some of the bravest and most curious couldn't help but lean forward, hoping to get a better look at the man lying on the ground. "He's so black and swollen, his face is so distorted, I can't tell! I really can't tell!" They shook their heads and sighed, unsure if this man was truly Master Ma.

"So is this Mr. Ma?" People began to question his identity. "I don't know! Mrs. Ma can't possibly be mistaken for her husband, right?!" Some believed that Mrs. Ma knew Mr. Ma best, but others held different opinions.

"But the Ruian County Lady said it wasn't Master Ma!" This point of view triggered more people's thinking. After all, as the Ruian County Lady, Shen Youyou's words also carried a certain weight.

The entire scene descended into chaos, with people mired in confusion and debate. Who was this man? Why was he there? These questions plagued everyone, and everyone waited eagerly for the truth to be revealed.

Mrs. Ma quickly calmed down after a moment of panic, thinking to herself: You stinky girl, I'll destroy you!

Her face showed an expression of grief, and she cried, "How can this not be my master! This is my master! We all saw with our own eyes that the master died of poisoning after eating your medicinal food! Don't even think about denying it! Master! You died so tragically!" After saying that, Mrs. Ma wiped her tears with her hands, her eyes were red, and she looked pitiful.

Seeing this, her children behind her also began to sob softly, and from time to time they looked at the people around them out of the corner of their eyes, as if seeking sympathy and support.

"Hmph! Whether it's true or not, we'll know after the coroner from the Ministry of Justice arrives and examines it!" At this time, An Er brought a throne from somewhere, and Shen Youyou sat down on it without any courtesy, staring at Madam Ma with sharp eyes and said, "My shop sells medicinal food, not poison! Besides, your master and I have no grudges or enmity, so why would I poison him?"

Shen Youyou's tone was firm and powerful, which made the people around her feel a little trust in her.

Yes, isn't this just destroying your own reputation? Moreover, why would you poison someone when there's no grudge?

"This...you...you..." Madam Ma was speechless and didn't know how to respond. She simply acted like a rogue and started to throw a tantrum: "Who would know this? Anyway, my master died because of eating your medicinal food!"

At that moment, Lord Wu Siqi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, arrived with a group of yamen runners. Originally, such a minor matter would have required only a few runners to carry the body back to the Ministry for interrogation. However, upon learning that the secret guards had reported that the Princess of Rui'an was in trouble, Lord Wu, without hesitation, donned his official uniform and personally led the runners to the scene.

"Princess Ruian!" Lord Wu bowed slightly to Princess Ruian to show his respect.

"Lord Wu!" Shen Youyou nodded slightly in response. In this situation, she couldn't show an overly close relationship with Wu Siqi.

Lord Wu looked at the woman in front of him with a serious expression and said loudly: "Madam, since you are suing the Princess of Rui'an, why don't you report the case to the Ministry of Justice? Let's go to the Ministry of Justice for trial now!" After that, he signaled to the bailiffs beside him and asked them to carry the stretcher.

However, Shen Youyou immediately spoke out to stop him, saying, "No need!" Her voice was firm and powerful, drawing attention. She continued, "This matter concerns the reputation of my shop. Sir Wu, please conduct the trial in public! This will clear my name!"

Wu Siqi frowned slightly upon hearing this, but then nodded in agreement. He then ordered the yamen runners to bring a table and chair from the shop, and he sat down on them.

When everything was ready, Wu Siqi cleared his throat and officially began the interrogation. He fixed the woman with a sharp gaze and asked sternly, "Madam, what is your name? You are accusing the Rui'an County Lady of her medicinal food of causing death. Do you have any evidence?" His questions cut to the point, as if to expose the woman's lies one by one.

"My lord, my surname is Wang, my husband's surname is Ma, and the dead man is my husband! My lord, you are asking me for evidence? What evidence do you need? My master was poisoned to death! He is lying here! You are asking me for evidence! Are you protecting her because she is a county lady?!" Madam Ma roared at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face, wetting her clothes.

"How dare you!" Wu Siqi slammed the table hard, making a muffled sound. "This is just a routine inquiry. Just answer truthfully and don't make random accusations against others!" He looked at Mrs. Ma majestically, with a stern light flashing in his eyes.

"What evidence do I have? There is just a jar of medicinal food at home. It was brought back from here by our servants this morning. My master became like this after eating it! Woo woo..." Mrs. Ma wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, her voice choked, her face full of grief and helplessness.

"Princess Ruian, did Mr. Ma buy the medicinal food in your shop?" Wu Siqi turned his head and his eyes fell on Shen Youyou who was silent beside him. His tone was serious and fair, as if he was judging a major case.

"Your Excellency, Boss Ma has indeed been ordering medicated meals from my shop since the third day I opened it," Shen Youyou replied, handing over an account book for Lord Wu to read. "It clearly records that Boss Ma has been ordering medicated meals for kidney nourishment and strengthening the body since November 20th, which is a month already."

Wu Siqi took the account book and looked over it. He saw that it clearly recorded the information of the people who ordered medicinal food from the shop on a long-term basis every day and the efficacy of the ordered medicinal food.

What Boss Ma ordered was indeed a medicinal diet for nourishing the kidneys and strengthening the body.

"How did the medicinal food get to the Ma Mansion?" Wu Siqi asked.

"Your Excellency, we have two kinds of takeout medicinal meals in our shop. One is to pay extra money and have our shop assistants deliver them to the houses of the owners at the designated time as required by the owners. Such medicinal meals are directly served in our shop's special medicine bowls and delivered in food boxes. They are also delivered to the people in charge by our shop assistants in person to ensure that there are no loopholes in the middle." Shopkeeper Wang stepped forward and replied to Lord Wu.

"Another way is for each government office to send people to pick it up. In our shop, we simply tie the medicinal food jars tightly with oil paper, and then cover and seal them with red mud. We have also informed each government office in advance that if the medicinal food arrives at home without mud sealing, it is not recommended to be eaten. We are just afraid that someone will tamper with it along the way." Shopkeeper Wang answered calmly.

"And at Boss Ma's house, the servant comes to get it himself every day." Shopkeeper Wang added, and motioned for a young man to come over and answer.

"Yes, sir, it was his servant who came to pick up the medicinal food early this morning. I sealed it with red clay before giving it to him according to the custom." The shop assistant stepped forward and answered.

"Is the servant who brought the medicinal food this morning here?" asked Lord Wu.

The shop assistant looked around the crowd and said, "Your Excellency, I didn't see that boy!"

"Sir, the servant went back to his hometown after taking the medicinal food!" Mrs. Ma stepped forward and said to Sir Wu.

"Why didn't you come home earlier or later, but only came home after your own master died of overeating?" Wu Siqi looked at Madam Ma with sharp eyes. He then ordered the yamen runner beside him to go to the Ma Mansion to inquire about the news.

Shen Youyou quietly said a few words to An Er, and An Er left the crowd.

"Someone come! Ask the coroner to perform an autopsy!" Lord Wu shouted.

"No! You can't do an autopsy! My master's death was already unjust enough. If you do an autopsy on him, won't he rest in peace even after death?" Mrs. Ma lay on the corpse and cried bitterly.