Chapter 99: Admission

Before long, Yun Shan dragged the woman back.

Seeing that the man had already awakened, the woman's face was ashen.

Knowing the matter had been exposed, she trembled like a sieve, knelt on the ground and shivered nonstop.

"Now you're scared," Chi Nan Yi sneered. "When you framed and plotted against him, why didn't you look frightened? When you poisoned him, why weren't you afraid?"

Hearing this, the woman shouted loudly: "Not me! Not me! I didn't poison! Not me!"

"Not you? If not you, then who?" a nearby diner spat. "If you didn't poison him, how did you know he was poisoned? And you still dare to masquerade as his wife, which shows you had been eyeing him for a while."

The poisoned man finally cleared things up, looking at the woman in bewilderment: "I should have never met your ladyship before; why would you poison me?"

The woman lowered her head and said nothing; no matter how others pressed, she pretended not to hear.

Chi Nan Yi examined the situation, smiling: "No problem, we don't have the skill to pry your mouth open; others can. When the officials arrive and the Great Prison is enforced, even if you refuse to speak, it won't matter." Her gaze swept over the woman's pallid face: "I don't know the details, but I've heard the Great Prison's tortures are myriad; there will surely be one suitable for you."

The woman's body trembled, she rolled and crawled to Chi Nan Yi's feet, crying: "I know I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong. I was blinded by pork lard; I just wanted to extort some silver. I didn't expect…"

"Such a lowly lie shouldn't be brought before me. Since you dared to impersonate his wife, you should have investigated him thoroughly from the start. Moreover, you just said the poison wasn't yours; I indeed haven't seen you in the shop before, so you must be a first‑timer. How then did you put the poison into the soup?" Chi Nan Yi looked around, her gaze scanning the faces: "That means there is another accomplice in this shop."

Hiss…

Around, a series of inhaling sounds rose.

"And… another accomplice?"

At that moment, a group of officials marched in, and the person who followed them was Xie Yuwei.

"What's going on?" he looked at Chi Nan Yi, slightly surprised: "Miss Chi?"

"Sir Xie."

Xie Yuwei waved his hand: "What exactly happened today?"

Chi Nan Yi recounted the whole incident verbatim, without any exaggeration.

"So, you mean someone deliberately caused trouble in your shop?"

"Exactly. If it were only a minor scuffle, a common woman wouldn't disturb the authorities, but it almost caused a death, so the woman seeks justice for herself."

Xie Yuwei nodded, his gaze falling on Yun Shan a short distance away.

He remembered clearly that this man was a close guard of Prince Li.

Now dispatched to Miss Chi's side, he evidently didn't mind others knowing that Chi Nan Yi was under his protection.

Chi Nan Yi's medical skill is outstanding; being favored by Prince Li is not surprising, but having Prince Li relinquish his own guard shows this is no ordinary favor.

"Since this incident occurred in your shop, I will not let Miss Chi suffer an unjust accusation. I will uncover the whole truth, after all you are the great benefactor of our town and even the county."

Great benefactor?

At that moment, a diner suddenly said: "I remember, the person who offered a method to control the locust plague was a Miss Chi."

"Right, right, right! Could it be Miss Chi, the shopkeeper?"

Xie Yuwei heard this and did not deny it. What else is unclear to everyone?

If it weren't for Miss Chi, not only Changxi Town but the entire Qingjun County would have been severely damaged.

"Miss Chi is our town's benefactor; now someone is causing trouble in her shop, we simply cannot tolerate it!"

"Exactly! Unbearable! Absolutely unbearable!"

"We must capture that accomplice and beat him to death!"

In an instant, the crowd boiled with anger; if the troublemaker in the shop weren't a woman, he would already have been devoured alive.

Chi Nan Yi lowered her head, looking at the woman, and said calmly: "If you are willing to confess truthfully, you can still atone and earn merit; if you refuse, that's also fine, I have my own way to find that person." Chi Nan Yi produced a vial: "Death-Ending Powder differs from other poisons; once it contacts, it can be detected with a special solution, and those who have never touched it will not cause the solution to change color." She looked at the people in the shop, apologetic: "Everyone, I sincerely apologize. All today's meal costs are on me; I just hope you can cooperate, okay?"

"Fine! No problem!"

"A righteous person fears no slanting shadow; we have done nothing, what is there to fear?"

"Exactly, this also gives us a chance to see which black‑hearted scoundrel committed such heinous acts in Miss Chi's shop; if we catch him, he'll certainly get what he deserves!"

The crowd nodded in agreement.

At that moment, a man standing on the outer first floor showed a fleeting panic, his fingers constantly rubbing his clothes, his eyes darting, clearly looking for a chance to slip away.

When Chi Nan Yi finished speaking, her gaze already swept the surroundings.

In such a moment, the extremely guilty person in the crowd became unmistakably obvious.

When Chi Nan Yi looked at the man, Yun Shan also noticed, lightly tapping his toe, leapt forward, and seized the man's collar: "Where are you going?"

"I… I… I just need to pee."

"Need to pee? Ha, you look guilty!" Yun Shan brought the man before Xie Yuwei: "Sir, this man is trying to run."

"Sir! I only… I just need to pee and go to the latrine."

At that moment, a diner recognized him: "Isn't that 'Haozi'?"

"Haozi?"

"You don't know, he used to be called Zhang Qiang, but after constantly stealing and skulking, people started calling him Haozi."

Seeing his panicked look, what else could Xie Yuwei not understand?

"Since it's a need to pee, let you test first!" Xie Yuwei waved his hand, and several guards brought a basin of water.

Just as the man's hand was about to enter the basin, Chi Nan Yi murmured: "By the way, I forgot to mention something. When Death-Ending Powder meets this solution, it not only changes color; more importantly, it reacts like a corpse‑turning liquid, corroding skin and even bone. The solution will gradually rot wherever it touches."

Chi Nan Yi's words landed like a heavy blow, shattering Zhang Qiang.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

He fell with a splash and knelt: "Spare me! Sir, I beg you, spare me! I was momentarily clouded by pork lard; someone gave me ten taels of silver and asked me to sprinkle the powder into that man's rice bowl. I didn't know what the powder was; the person only told me it was Batu. They hold a grudge, so they wanted him to suffer for a while. Sir, I may steal chickens and dogs in daily life, but I've never killed or set fire to anyone. Please grant me mercy! Please, sir, have mercy!"