vrcanaries Chapter 234 Prove your innocence
Chapter 234 Prove your innocence
When the plaintiff arrived and saw them, he quickly knelt down, pointed at them, and said, "Please, sir, the county magistrate, I ask you to judge for me. The milk tea sold by Mingyuelou is poisonous and killed my father. Cruel merchants like them should be sentenced to death."
"Zhao Ergou, are you done?" asked County Magistrate He.
Zhao Ergou nodded and said, "My Lord, I have finished speaking. I want to sue Mingyuelou for intentional homicide and the murder of my father."
"Well, does the county lady have anything to say?" County Magistrate He turned his gaze to Shen Wanning.
"Sir, I don't know the whole story yet. I hope you can ask the owner of my shop to explain the whole story in detail first." Shen Wanning said with a bow.
"Then please tell us the whole story, Manager Yang!"
Shopkeeper Yang reminisced, "Three days ago, I was doing business in my shop when I heard a commotion outside. I went out to see that it was Zhao Ergou who had placed his father's body in front of our Mingyue Building. He claimed that we had poisoned him after drinking our milk tea."
Zhao Ergou immediately continued, "Sir, my father died because he drank their milk tea. I beg you to help me."
Shen Wanning asked again, "Shopkeeper Yang, do you still remember whether Zhao Ergou's father went to Mingyue Tower that day?"
Shopkeeper Yang recalled, "I asked a few other people, and Mo Xi admitted that he was the one who hosted Zhao Ergou's father, and that he did drink milk tea at Mingyue Tower that day."
"Sir He, has Zhao Ergou's father had his body examined by a coroner?" Shen Wanning looked at County Magistrate He.
County Magistrate He replied directly, "The coroner has examined the body and confirmed that the cause of death was poisoning."
"May I ask, Zhao Ergou, why did you poison your father when our Mingyue Tower is open for business? What was your motive for the poisoning? Besides, if I'm not mistaken, your father's eyes have turned black and one of his legs is broken. He probably won't live long, right? Could it be that you poisoned your father to kill him and framed our Mingyue Tower?" Shen Wanning's sharp words scared Zhao Ergou.
Zhao Ergou pointed at Shen Wanning, almost wanting to jump up, "You're talking nonsense, I didn't harm my father. He died because he drank your milk tea, it was you, Mingyue Tower, who harmed him."
"Silence! Zhao Ergou, these two Japanese officials have sent people to inquire. Your father was originally blind and accidentally broke his leg some time ago. Is this true?" asked County Magistrate He.
Zhao Ergou's eyes flickered, but he still replied stubbornly, "It's true that my father is blind and has a broken leg, but what does that have to do with them killing my father?"
At this time, the people outside had begun to gradually lean towards Shen Wanning and the others. The onlookers couldn't help but talk about it.
"I think it's this guy called Zhao Ergou. He despises his father's disability and doesn't want to take care of him, so he wants to use this to extort money."
"I think so too. Mingyuelou has been open for such a long time, and I've never heard of anyone getting hurt after drinking milk tea."
"This Zhao Ergou is such a piece of shit, he actually killed his own father with his own hands."
"Hey, stop talking nonsense here! The county magistrate hasn't made a decision yet! Are you jumping to conclusions?"
County Magistrate He sneered, "Zhao Ergou, besides all this, I've also heard a piece of news. You're a gambler by nature. You owed a gambling house three hundred taels, and the owner threatened you with your life. And the day after your father passed away, you paid him back. Is that true?"
Zhao Ergou didn't answer, but instead questioned, "My gambling has nothing to do with this case. I can refuse to answer."
People outside the venue sighed.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I think Zhao Ergou is guilty. I guess someone ordered him to frame Mingyue Tower. Look, he's already got the money."
"Who says it's not true? Zhao Ergou is a gambling addict. When his father was alive, he often beat and scolded him at home. We neighbors have heard it many times."
"Then there's no doubt about this case. It must be Zhao Ergou who framed the county lord."
"I think so too. A good person like the county lord would never do something like poisoning others, let alone a disabled old man."
"Well, you have a point. The county lady looks like a fairy and seems kind."
"His appearance is just one of the county lord's insignificant advantages. Last year during the drought, he discovered cassava and told everyone about it, which helped many people survive."
"Yes, the county magistrate said it. It was the county lord who said that we need to ventilate the space when burning charcoal for heating in winter. The county lord always has us common people in mind!"
County Magistrate He slammed the gavel and said, "Zhao Ergou, I ask you a question, answer truthfully!"
Zhao Ergou insisted, "This matter has nothing to do with this case. I refuse to answer."
Shen Wanning said, "Master He, since Zhao Ergou's father died of poisoning, can the coroner determine what the poison was?"
The coroner stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Excellency, County Magistrate, Zhao Ergou's father died from taking arsenic."
"Arsenic? I remember that arsenic is highly toxic, so Daxia has a regulation that anyone who buys arsenic must be registered, right?" Shen Wanning said slowly.
County Magistrate He agreed, "It is true. If we want to find out who poisoned us, we can ask all the pharmacy owners in the county."
After saying this, County Magistrate He ordered, "Come here, call the three drugstore owners over. Remember to bring their arsenic purchase registration list."
After a while, three drugstore owners arrived at the courtroom. After looking through the booklet, they replied, "We three have calculated that only two people purchased arsenic within the past month. One is Wu De, the owner of Jufulou, and the other is Qian Duoduo, the owner of Xianrenzui."
After listening to their report, County Magistrate He said again, "Go, summon Wu De and Qian Duoduo to the court."
After a while, Wu De and Qian Duoduo came to the classroom.
After the two exchanged greetings, County Magistrate He asked, "Did you two buy arsenic in February? What was it for?"
Qian Duoduo was vague and unwilling to speak. County Magistrate He slammed the gavel and said, "Why don't you tell me quickly?"
Qian Duoduo quickly replied, "Your Excellency, rats often appear in the kitchen, and I bought arsenic to poison them."
As soon as he said this, the people outside started talking again.
"So the food we eat has been crawled over by rats? How filthy!"
"The kitchen must be dirty, otherwise how could there be rats?"
"Oh my God, I love their food the most. The thought of it being eaten by rats makes me want to vomit."
"Fortunately, I didn't have money to eat out in a restaurant. Poverty saved my life."
"I will never eat at Xianrenzui again. It's too disgusting. Yue~"
Then, County Magistrate He turned to Wu De. Wu De gritted his teeth and continued, "I also bought some poisoned rats. There are no rats in my restaurant, but there are too many rats at home."