After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

He Laonian was originally the steward of the He family in Ganzhou City, in charge of grain and fodder. However, he offended the second young master of the He family and was framed by the second young master for arson and burning the family's grain.

Master He knew that Old Man He was innocent, but he still had to side with his son, right? So, Old Man He was imprisoned.

He Laonian was a tough nut to crack; no matter how the government interrogated him, he resolutely refused to confess. Without a confession, there could be no verdict. He Laonian was thus imprisoned for a full three years.

Three years later, the Second Young Master He was arrested for other reasons. During the interrogation of his subordinates, in order to save their own lives, they revealed all the things he had done in the past, including the case of Old Man He.

He Laonian was released without charge, but he had nowhere to go in Ganzhou City.

Later, he met Gu An and told him what had happened. Gu An then took him back to the Taoist temple.

At this point, Gu An suddenly became agitated: "Even if Old Man He dies, he wouldn't die with the grain in the granary. He spent his whole life guarding the grain, and that grain was what he cared about most. Besides, he knew how important that grain was to us, and he wouldn't burn it all down."

"What's going on between him and that Mr. He?" Lu Zhiyuan examined the deceased's nostrils.

Gu An shook his head and squatted down next to the charred corpse: "I don't know. He Sheng was brought back by He Laonian. He said that was his son. We all have our own little secrets. As long as it doesn't harm the interests of our Taoist temple, we'll let people talk about what they want to talk about and not talk about what they don't want to talk about. We won't force them."

Where does Mr. He live?

“It’s in the tomb next to the granary.” Gu An pointed to the pit: “Next to the tomb where the grain was stored, there are two side chambers for storing burial goods. After they were cleared out, one was given to Old Man He and the other to He Sheng. Apart from them, no one else lived near the granary.”

"None of you knew He Sheng was a woman?"

Gu An raised his hand: "I don't know, I really don't know. As you can see, there are no women in this area. She was brought by He Laonian. She usually stays by the granary and doesn't see us much. We never thought of verifying her identity or anything. If we had known she was a woman, we would never have let her stay here."

Lu Yun asked Gu An, "We don't have any women here? I mean, besides He Sheng, there aren't any?"

Gu An explained that there were such people, but the women didn't live here; they lived in nearby villages. Although they were special, they weren't monkeys that sprang from a rock. Some had parents, some had wives and children, and some had relatives. To prevent these people from being implicated, they were dispersed and resettled. Apart from the individuals themselves, no one knew who their relatives were, how old they were, or how many people were in their families.

The autopsy results showed that He Laonian was burned after death, and the cause of death was alcohol poisoning.

"Alcohol...alcohol poisoning?" Gu An scratched his head. "I know the wine is poisonous, but what is alcohol poisoning?"

"He Laonian has a long-term drinking habit."

"Yes, Old Man He is nothing special, he just likes to have a drink or two when he has nothing to do. He doesn't drink much, I've never seen him drunk."

"Drinking homemade wine?"

“Yes, he brews his own wine using grains from the granary.” Gu An said, “He let me taste it; it was just so-so, not very good.”

When Gu An was still the young master, the Gu family was a prominent family in the capital, and Gu An always had the best of everything. Naturally, the wine he drank was also of high quality. After joining the army, he rose to the rank of general, and the wine a general drinks is naturally of considerable quality. After the incident, he couldn't even afford food, and he gave up drinking.

Giving up alcohol doesn't mean you can't tell good from bad.

This homemade wine was astringent and full of sediment. One sip burned his throat. He had only tasted it once and had never drunk it again.

"It's not that the homemade wine is bad, but that Old He's wine is bad. The method is wrong, and it contains some things that are not suitable for drinking. It's like millet. Millet itself is not poisonous, but once it sprouts and grows hair, it becomes poisonous. Eating a small amount will not cause death, but eating too much will lead to your death at some point in the world."

Gu Anchang said, "I understand. Old Man He was poisoned by that bad stuff in the wine."

“It’s not just the wine, but also these things in his stomach.” Lu Zhiyuan covered her nose and pushed those things aside one by one: “The pot of wine that Old Man He drank before he died was not homemade wine, but baijiu, the famous Chunfengzui from Ganzhou City.”

"Spring Breeze Intoxication" is only sold at Spring Breeze Pavilion. To find out who bought it, just ask the staff at Spring Breeze Pavilion.

“The cook put thought into this dish; it contains many ingredients that shouldn’t be eaten with baijiu (Chinese liquor).” Lu Zhiyuan picked out one item: “This is a sweet potato! Sweet potatoes are a good thing; they can replace grains to fill one’s stomach. But if you eat them with baijiu, it will cause symptoms such as bloating, early satiety, and nausea. At this time, people who like to drink will usually drink some more alcohol, which will worsen their symptoms.”

“Besides sweet potatoes, there are also pickled products.” Lu Zhiyuan poked around with her hairpin: “There’s salted fish in here. Salted fish is fine for everyday consumption. However, if you eat it with baijiu (Chinese liquor), it will increase your risk of esophageal and stomach cancer.”

The cook deliberately heated the salted fish and added coarse salt to the pot. Such a strong flavor can directly damage the stomach lining, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

Upon hearing this, Gu An quickly patted his chest and said, "Fortunately, I've given up drinking. I never drink alcohol when I'm eating salted fish."

"He Laonian's cause of death was alcohol poisoning, but what caused his poisoning was his long-term drinking habit and the intentional act of the cook. On the surface, He Laonian was He Sheng's father. On the surface, He Laonian was He Sheng's husband. Whether it was overt or covert, He Laonian's death was inextricably linked to He Sheng."

Gu Anchong shouted to his subordinates, "Bring that He Sheng here!"

Unlike her earlier commotion, He Sheng was now completely different. She held her child, looking at them with disdain. Sensing something was wrong, Lu Zhiyuan asked Lu Yun to take the child from her arms.

The child died from suffocation caused by having his mouth and nose covered.

"Why?" Lu Zhiyuan asked He Sheng, "He's your son, the child you carried for ten months and finally gave birth to. He struggled, he begged you for mercy, how could you bear to do this..."

“He shouldn’t be alive!” He Sheng said coldly. “His very existence is a sin.”

He Sheng, whose real name was He Sheng, was the youngest daughter of Master He. After the He family's downfall, she was sold into prostitution. On her escape, she met He Laonian, who was in town buying wine.

Old Man He took off his own clothes and gave them to her, ruffled her hair, and hid her among the beggars. After those who had captured her left, he took her back to the Taoist temple and lied that she was his son.

She thought He Lao Nian was her savior, the one who brought her new life and hope. Little did she know, he had come to show her how many layers of hell there are.

Tears streamed down her face, one after another.