The mind-reading coroner drove the court crazy

Lu Qingchen frowned and asked in confusion, "What is a rice bag flower?"

Qin Miaoxi's expression was solemn as she spoke in a serious tone, "This is a poison that can become addictive if taken long-term. It's quite toxic."

"How powerful is it?" Lu Qingchen asked.

"Once you become addicted, even if you don't eat for a day, you will become anxious and irritable, your limbs will become limp and weak, and your whole body will feel as if all your energy and spirit have been drained away."

Qin Miaoxi said slowly that when she smelled the medicine just now, she guessed it was this thing. She didn't expect that there would be such an unscrupulous merchant. It was really crazy.

When Lu Qingchen heard this, he was shocked. He turned his head to look at her, his voice trembling: "But...but I just drank a bowl..."

Qin Miaoxi waved her hands helplessly and sighed softly: "Now that things have come to this, you can only wish for the best."

Lu Qingchen suddenly felt his stomach churning. With a "vomit", he leaned over and vomited violently. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and his body trembled slightly.

This immediately attracted the attention of the people around him, "What happened to him?"

Qin Miaoxi said seriously: "I ate too much and felt full."

Shi Xinzhe: “…”

He was about to seal up the store, but Qin Miaoxi stopped him and said, "Wait, don't reveal your identity."

"But they..."

"Rice sac flower has astringent and firming properties. As long as it's not consumed in large quantities, one or two times won't cause any problems. So they're either fine or addicted. We should first investigate what other hidden secrets this tofu shop has."

In a flash, Shi Xinzhe's eyes caught her movement. She raised her bare hand and slowly pulled out a cloth bag from her sleeve.

However, before he could take a closer look, a black shadow flashed past him like a ghost.

"Ah! A rat!"

Qin Miaoxi's face turned pale and she suddenly jumped up from her seat. Her sharp scream immediately broke the silence.

Her fingers trembled as she pointed at the ground, her eyes wide open, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "There! The rat is there!"

In a flash, the diners' attention was also attracted by the black shadow on the ground.

It was a small but extremely agile mouse. In an instant, screams and shouts were intertwined, as if they were going to overturn the roof, and the whole scene was instantly in chaos.

Qin Miaoxi pretended to jump in fear to avoid the rat, while paying attention to the movements of the people around her. Taking advantage of the chaos, she quietly approached the kitchen of the tofu shop.

She scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, not missing any corner.

After Lu Qingchen had vomited almost everything in his stomach, he avoided the panicked crowd and followed.

The kitchen was filled with a mixture of the aroma of beans and broth. Several large pots were placed steadily on the stove, and the full soup in the pots was bubbling happily, making gurgling sounds.

Qin Miaoxi stepped forward and stirred the bottom of the pot, then scooped up a few bones that had been stewed until they were soft and tasty. The bone marrow had been completely cooked through and was covered with thick soup.

"This doesn't look like pork bones, could it be..."

Lu Qingchen exclaimed with his eyes wide open: "Could this be human bones?"

Sun Dong said that Tofu Xishi was missing, and now her bones were found in the tofu shop. It is hard not to make associations.

Qin Miaoxi said calmly, "This is beef bone. The soup made with beef bones is richer and more mellow. It is precisely because of this rich aroma that the smell of rice sac flowers is masked."

Then she opened the baskets one by one, which contained various cooking utensils. Suddenly, the buzzing of a few flies attracted her attention. There was a meat cleaver hidden inside.

As they concentrated on examining the items, the noise outside gradually died down.

Lu Qingchen came to the door and peeked out. He saw that most of the people in the house had run away. He hurriedly shouted, "Let's go!"

Qin Miaoxi quickly hid the meat cleaver in her arms. However, just as they turned around, a deep voice came from behind: "What are you doing in there?"

The two men turned around suddenly and saw a short, burly-built shopkeeper standing at the door.

His eyes, wide as copper bells, were staring fiercely among his fleshy face. He looked around vigilantly, looking like a real evildoer.

Lu Qingchen's whole body was tense, like an arrow on a bowstring, ready to attack at any time. There was a coldness in his eyes, as if he would attack without hesitation if the other party showed any signs of making any rash moves.

Qin Miaoxi was startled and quickly reached out to grab him, while anxiously signaling him with her eyes not to act impulsively.

Then, she forced herself to remain calm, forced a smile on her face, and said to the shop owner, "Boss, I'm so sorry, we just saw a mouse running in from outside, so we rushed in anxiously, wanting to help catch it as soon as possible to avoid disrupting your business."

The shopkeeper frowned, his eyes full of suspicion. He looked back and forth between the two of them, finally landing on Qin Miaoxi.

"So what were you doing?"

"What did I do?"

"You took my knife."

The smile on Qin Miaoxi's face froze for a moment. She took out the meat cleaver and said, "Oh! I was too scared just now, so I used this to protect myself. I'll put it back now."

The shopkeeper snorted coldly and didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took two steps forward, snatched the cleaver, and asked, "You two look very unfamiliar. Are you from around here?"

The shopkeeper's voice was low and hoarse, like the friction of sandpaper, which made people feel uneasy.

Qin Miaoxi's mind raced as she quickly said, "Boss, we came here from out of town because we heard your tofu is so good, so we wanted to try it and see the tofu beauty. I'm so sorry for what we did just now."

The shopkeeper clearly didn't believe it. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the two of them. His gaze instantly became extremely sharp and he said coldly, "There's no tofu beauty here. You two little thieves sneaked around in my shop and even took my knife. If you don't explain everything clearly today, don't even think about leaving!"

"Boss, we're not thieves. Look at how we're dressed. Do we look like people who could steal anything?"

"You can't tell a person by his appearance."

Qin Miaoxi met the shopkeeper's gaze, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. What was that look in his eyes?

Hatred and...jealousy? It had some indescribable meaning.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise of footsteps and shouts outside the store, "The soldiers are coming!"

The shopkeeper's face changed, and he cursed under his breath. He turned and walked towards the back of the store, saying as he walked, "Get out of here! Don't let me see you again!"

[Why are the government officials here? Could it be that someone witnessed what happened?]

Qin Miaoxi's eyes suddenly became stern, and without thinking too much, she hurriedly followed.

At the door of the shop, Shi Xinzhe stood in front with a stern expression. Behind him, the yamen runners surrounded the small tofu shop like wolves and tigers.

Shi Xinzhe said expressionlessly, "Someone has accused you of deliberately poisoning the broth. You must return to the yamen with me now and explain the matter clearly."

In an instant, the people watching around were in an uproar, and everyone started talking about it.

"I was wondering why this soup tastes so good, I guess they added something else to it!"

"That's right! If I don't drink a bowl of this broth every day, I feel weak all over. It turns out it's because of his poisonous hand!"

"Beat this black-hearted bastard to death. He's so wicked!"

Faced with the accusations from the crowd, the shopkeeper looked flustered, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He waved his hands repeatedly to deny, "No, I really didn't poison you! Folks, there must be a misunderstanding!"

[What kind of poison is this? Who is trying to frame me? ]

Qin Miaoxi hid in the crowd, her eyes fixed on the shopkeeper, watching his expression quietly. Unfortunately, she only saw innocence and panic on his face, which did not seem fake.

Shi Xinzhe took out the bag of rice flowers and snorted coldly, "Whether it was poisoned or not, we'll know after we return to the yamen and conduct an interrogation. Take him away!"

The bailiffs immediately stepped forward, roughly grabbed the shopkeeper's arm, and tried to forcibly take him away.

The shop owner struggled desperately, his eyes full of fear and despair, and he kept shouting that he was innocent.

At this moment, Qin Miaoxi noticed a figure flashing by in the crowd, and his behavior was very suspicious.

"Xiao Xixi, shall we go?"

Unexpectedly, when Lu Qingchen turned around, Qin Miaoxi had disappeared.