eurekapd Chapter 76 076 The Coachman Without a Tongue
Chapter 76 076 The Coachman Without a Tongue
Chapter 76 076 The Coachman Without a Tongue
"'Puppet Master'?" Liu Lulu asked curiously. "That's an interesting name, but I've never seen such a poison before. Where did you hear about it?"
Chunyu Yang said, "At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, I personally witnessed a sudden change in the personality of a cousin of the Marquis of Anshi, who did many inappropriate things. Afterwards, I sent someone to investigate her and found out that she had been poisoned by a kind of poison called 'Puppet Master'."
Upon hearing that this matter was related to the Marquis of Anshi's mansion, Liu Lulu's expression became serious: "Tell me the details of what happened back then."
Chunyu Yang then recounted in detail what had happened in the main hall of the Qionglin Garden Palace, and specifically mentioned the death of Jin Ding Mohe and the subtle and strange smell he had detected.
After listening, Liu Luluo said thoughtfully, "If what you say is true, then these three poisons should all be made by the same person. The poison made by this person is extremely rare in the world, and I'm afraid only the Wan Ku Sect of yesteryear could rival it."
"Do you still remember what the symbol of the Wanku Gate looked like?" Chunyu Yang suddenly asked.
Seven years ago, a killer organization called "Wan Ku Men" suddenly rose to prominence in the martial arts world, using bizarre and ruthless poisons as weapons. They committed countless atrocities, killing indiscriminately and attempting to disrupt the world's order. Even the imperial palace was not spared from their infiltration, nearly causing the emperor to lose his heir. Although the current situation is not quite the same as it was back then, the bizarre and indistinguishable poisons make it hard not to draw parallels.
"It's a bird carrying a Gelsemium elegans flower." Liu Lulu's face was extremely grim. "What, is it really the remnants of the Wan Ku Sect causing trouble?"
Birds and Gelsemium elegans are not mistaken for spiders by any means, and the logo of Ronghua Tower is a nine-petaled lotus, which is completely different from spiders. Did Shu Wenda make a mistake, or did he investigate in the wrong direction?
"It's still uncertain. The clues we've gathered are too fragmented and complicated; it probably won't be cleared up in a short time," Chunyu Yang said, his brows furrowed.
"Just wait and see. As long as they have an ulterior motive, they will definitely reveal their weaknesses," Liu Lulu said.
"That's all we can do," Chunyu Yang said. Having found no clues he wanted, Chunyu Yang immediately took his leave of Liu Luluo. As he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something, stopped, and turned back to ask:
"By the way, did you cure the poison in the Lady of the Marquis's body?"
"Of course not, I haven't even made the antidote yet, how can I detoxify her?" Liu Lulu leaned back on the cushions and began eating the pastries Ye Pianran had brought her. Seeing Chunyu Yang's brows furrowed like a pretzel, she suddenly broke into a smile:
"Want to know how she detoxified herself? Beg me, and I'll tell you."
Chunyu Yang's gaze fell on the pastries she was holding. Sensing his intention, Liu Lulu quickly covered the pastries and said with a sour face, "What are you looking at? These are my good disciple's gifts to me. There are none for you!"
"I will come back in three days to ask you for the antidote for my mother." Chunyu Yang said nothing more, only uttering this sentence before turning and leaving. Only Liu Luluo remained, raging with fury.
"I said it would take two months! Two months! How can I possibly finish it in three days!"
But Chunyu Yang had already gone far away, and all that answered her was the empty echo of Xuanji Pavilion.
——※※※——
Ye Pianran had just returned to the Marquis's residence when a servant rushed in to inform her:
"Young Miss, Young Master Xun has brought that coachman back! The Marquis, Madam, and Old Madam are all in the main hall now! You should hurry over and see!"
Ye Pianran and Lingyi exchanged a glance, then instructed the servant to carefully return the medical book to Lanxin Courtyard before quickly walking towards the main hall.
Upon entering the main hall, everyone was indeed present, even Ye Bijun, who was masked and sitting inside watching the spectacle. In the center of the hall, Ye Yanxun had kicked a man who was bound hand and foot and covered in bruises and wounds to the ground, his face extremely cold and stern.
"Kneel down before the Marquis's wife!"
The man knelt on the ground trembling, his head bowed, not daring to look at the people in the main hall.
Seeing only his back, Lingyi recognized him as the coachman who had abandoned the carriage and fled. The experience on the desolate mountain that day flashed before her eyes again. Lingyi rushed forward and angrily said, "Li Daniu! You heartless, ungrateful bastard! Miss has always been good to you, why did you harm her and almost kill her!"
"So, Xun'er didn't arrest the wrong person?" Marquis Anshi sneered, saying, "Guards, drag this treacherous lackey away and beat him to death with clubs!"
"Wait!" Gongsun Yuan quickly stopped the servant who was trying to drag the coachman away. She looked coldly at the coachman and asked, "Li Daniu, the Marquis's mansion has treated you well, never short of your food, clothing and other necessities. The young lady has never been harsh with you either. Why did you do such a treacherous thing? Do you know that the crime of betraying one's master is a capital offense no matter where you go?"
Li Daniu's body trembled even more violently, but he didn't say a word from beginning to end, only kowtowing to Gongsun Yuan.
"Let me ask you, did you act on your own initiative, or were you instructed by someone else?" Gongsun Yuan asked coldly. "If you tell the truth, perhaps the Marquis and I will spare your body and make proper arrangements for your family. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to deal with you severely!"
Li Daniu looked up at Gongsun Yuan with anxious eyes, mumbling in a strange tone.
"Li Daniu, say something! Why did you do this!" Lingyi stamped her feet anxiously.
The steward glanced strangely at his mouth and, startled, rushed forward to protect Gongsun Yuan, saying, "Madam, be careful! His tongue has been cut off!"
Everyone was shocked by the butler's words, and Ye Pianran stared at Li Daniu in disbelief. His tongue had been cut out? Who did it? To silence him? Or…
"Xun'er, what happened? Why is his tongue gone?" Gongsun Yuan turned around in shock to look at Ye Yanxun.
"Mother, don't be afraid, it's alright." Ye Yanxun patted her hand reassuringly and said, "When I found him in Fenzhou a few days ago, he was already like this. I also found it strange at the time. After asking his neighbors in his hometown, I learned that he owed gambling debts and couldn't pay them back, so people spread rumors about him."
"What can we do? If he doesn't speak, how will we know why he wanted to harm Ran'er!" Gongsun Yuan wasn't afraid that the coachman had lost his tongue, but rather worried that the culprit who instructed the coachman to harm Ye Pianran would escape punishment again. If things continued like this, she didn't know when she would be able to find evidence against that person and avenge her daughter!
"He can't speak, he's not crippled," Ye Pianran said calmly. "If he really is acting under someone's orders, untie him and let him identify the person who ordered him. Then everything will be clear."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Song, standing behind the old lady, turned deathly pale and couldn't help but look up at Ye Yanxun. Would this little brat really keep his promise and keep the secret for her? What if he broke his word and the coachman identified her…?
"Ran'er has said exactly what I was thinking." Ye Yanxun said this, and he ordered someone to cut the ropes binding Li Daniu. He said, "Li Daniu, with everyone in the manor here today, you tell the Marquis's wife who instructed you to treat the young lady this way?"
Li Daniu raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the main hall. When he saw Aunt Song, he suddenly stopped. Aunt Song broke out in a cold sweat, her heart leaping into her throat.
Just as everyone was looking at Aunt Song with suspicion, Li Daniu shifted his gaze to the others.
Aunt Song breathed a sigh of relief. When she came to her senses, she found that her clothes were soaked with sweat. What on earth was Li Daniu up to?!
After looking everyone in the main hall over, Li Daniu shook his head and gestured to Gongsun Yuan in a babbling manner, his expression both anxious and strange.
"Oh dear, what are you talking about?!" Lingyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Does he mean that person isn't from the Marquis's household?" Old Madam Song immediately understood. Before he could reply, she continued, "If you can't speak, you can at least write, right? Write down that person's name, and we'll know who he is!"
Li Daniu gestured with trembling hands, and Lingyi understood what he meant. She hesitated and said, "It seems like he's saying he can't write?"
"Even if you can't write, you can at least draw a portrait, right?" Ye Yanxun looked down coldly at Li Daniu. Li Daniu trembled, hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes and nodded forcefully. Ye Yanxun turned to An Shihou and Gongsun Yuan and said:
"Father, Mother, drawing a portrait will take some time. I'll take him downstairs now, and I'll show the drawing to you when he's finished, okay?"
Gongsun Yuan wanted to know as soon as possible who had instructed the coachman to take Ye Pianran out of the city, so she immediately agreed, "Okay, tell him to draw it quickly!"
Ye Pianran watched all this coldly, without uttering a single word. What could she possibly say? From the moment Ye Yanxun took on the investigation of the coachman, she knew she would never get any justice. Now she wanted to see who Ye Yanxun would drag out as a scapegoat this time!