Chapter 84: The Sudden Poisonous Scheme

That afternoon, Jiang Jiang Mingyu sat alone in the official hall of the county yamen.

Sunlight streaming through the window lattice cast a lazy atmosphere over the hall.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, dressed in pale green official robes, held a shriveled mantou in both hands, nibbling it slowly, yet an unmistakable look of despondency showed on his face.

Ever since Tu Tu Kesiluo went to train the troops and the newly arrived cook was sent to help at the city defense camp, Jiang Jiang Mingyu had not had a proper meal for days.

At first, he thought making do with anything would suffice, but after a few days, he felt his body growing weak and his spirit far from what it once was.

After much deliberation, Jiang Jiang Mingyu decided that even if he had no money left, he must hire a cook.

Otherwise, before the soldiers were fully recruited, he, the temporary acting commander and imperial envoy, might starve to death first.

So he called the guard stationed at the door: "Go to the city immediately, find a cook and bring him back. I cannot endure this any longer."

These guards had all been sent by Tu Tu Kesiluo to protect Jiang Jiang Mingyu after the bamboo-pole man and the mustached man failed in their assassination attempt more than ten days ago.

The guard quickly agreed, braving the wind and snow outside the window, and walked briskly out of the county yamen.

Just as he was waiting bitterly for the cook to arrive, the guard at the yamen gate suddenly reported: "My lord, the Inspector's lord has sent someone."

Hearing this, a look of joy instantly flooded Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes. He put down the mantou, straightened his official robes, suppressed the excitement within, and said with considerable dignity: "Quickly invite him in."

There walked in a middle-aged scholar wearing a dark green long robe, with a string of jade pendants hanging at his waist.

He was about forty years old, tall and thin, with graying temples, three long whiskers tied casually, his manner polite and refined, clearly showing the bearing of a scholar.

He bowed deeply to Jiang Jiang Mingyu and got straight to the point: "This humble one has come on the orders of Inspector Wang to inform you that the Inspector's lord has persuaded the inspectors of the Wangyun and Yu Gaoyang prefectures to sign a coal supply agreement for one million jin; this is the first installment of four hundred thousand taels as a deposit, please accept it, Lord Jiang."

Jing Jing Xingwang respectfully added: "The Inspector's lord went to great lengths to persuade the inspectors of the two prefectures; please, Lord Jiang, handle this matter with all due haste."

After hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt both joy and gratitude; a bright smile revealed his neat white teeth, and his eyes nearly squinted into a single slit.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu said excitedly, "Excellent. Return to the Inspector's lord and tell him that this official will act immediately."

As he spoke, he drew out ten thousand taels and handed them to Jing Jing Xingwang without blinking an eye: "This is a small token of respect for the Inspector's lord, nothing more."

Jing Jing Xingwang carefully accepted it with both hands and nodded respectfully. Jiang Jiang Mingyu then took out a stack of silver notes worth five thousand taels: "Master Jing has traveled far and worked hard; consider this a treat for tea from this official."

Jing Jing Xingwang, who had not expected any extra profit, was overjoyed and kept saying: "Where, where? Lord Jiang is too kind. Why must you spend so much..."

Yet his hands very quickly stuffed the silver notes into his wide sleeves, as if afraid Jiang Jiang Mingyu might change his mind.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled calmly and said slowly: "I know Master Jing is the Inspector's lord's most trusted confidant. If anything good comes up in the future, I hope Master Jing will speak a few good words for this official before the Inspector's lord; I would be eternally grateful."

Jing Jing Xingwang's face broke into a smile, revealing crow's feet: "Lord Jiang is indeed wise and has a boundless future. This humble one will certainly convey your kindness!"

Watching Jing Jing Xingwang leave, Jiang Jiang Mingyu sighed inwardly, feeling a bit of pain at parting with those hundred thousand taels of silver.

But having lived two lives, he understood clearly that this money must be spent.

If you are unwilling to sacrifice the child, you cannot catch the wolf; he must bring Wang Zhe to his side before he can oppose the Prince of Qi.

Maintaining a good relationship with Wang Zhe for the time being is most beneficial to the current situation.

Befriending Wang Zhe temporarily brings him a hundred benefits and no harm.

Just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu was lost in wild thoughts, his stomach growled loudly; Jiang Jiang Mingyu, having put away the silver notes, gave a bitter smile: "Thinking about these things is still too far off."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu couldn't help but smile bitterly at himself; exhausted by the struggles for power, he had almost forgotten the basic sensation of hunger.

"The most urgent now is to fill the stomach first."

Just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt he could no longer endure the empty hunger, the guard he had sent to the city to hire a cook finally returned.

Behind the guard walked a tall and burly man wearing a coarse cotton jacket stained with oil and missing several buttons, emitting the smell of stewed dishes and cooking smoke, clearly someone who often worked in the kitchen.

The guard respectfully bowed to Jiang Jiang Mingyu with clasped fists: "Reporting to my lord, this is the cook invited from the city. His name is... what was your name again?"

The man's voice was low, carrying obvious tension and unease, as he answered quietly: "Reporting to my lord, this humble one's surname is Che, and my given name is one character, Che Hongda."

This clearly did not match his tall and mighty physique, but judging by his full beard of twisted hair, his graying temples, and his restrained body language, his character was introverted and he was not good with words, especially when facing officials, where he was trembling with fear.

At this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, whose stomach was rumbling, had no mind to inquire about his background and hurriedly waved his hand, urging: "Enough, enough, go quickly to the kitchen to prepare the meal; this official is about to faint from hunger!"

Che Che Hongda nodded repeatedly, carefully lifting several bags of fresh ingredients beside him, his brows tightly furrowed, afraid of offending this newly arrived dignitary, and hurriedly followed the guard out of the reception hall.

Just as the steaming hot dishes were brought up and Jiang Jiang Mingyu was about to eat heartily, a faint squeaking sound suddenly came from the corner of the wall.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu turned to look and saw a skeletal rat poking its head out, staring at the delicacies on the dining table, looking utterly starved.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu first laughed, then soon felt pity; he waved his hand and said: "Looking at you, you must be as hungry as I am, to the point of madness? Come, we have fate to meet; I will first reward you with a piece of fatty meat. Catch it well."

Having finished speaking, he picked up a small piece of fragrant braised fatty meat from the table and threw it in front of the rat.

That rat seemed truly driven mad by hunger; it fearlessly bit into the meat in one mouthful and began chewing heartily, making contented noises.

Then it raised its head, its watery big eyes staring at Jiang Jiang Mingyu, hoping to receive more charity.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu helplessly shook his head and said: "Little one, this won't do; I have already given you a bit, and I haven't eaten myself yet..."

Before the words were finished, that rat suddenly convulsed violently all over, white foam seeping from its mouth; soon the foam turned red with fresh blood. It let out a weak whimper, curled into a ball, twitched a few times on the ground, and finally lay motionless.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, startled by this sudden turn of events, turned pale, with dense cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He instinctively dropped the chopsticks in his hand and shouted loudly: "Someone! The food is poisoned! Come quickly!"

Seeing the situation, the running guard understood that Jiang Jiang Mingyu had already deduced from the rat's reaction that someone had intentionally poisoned the food; he immediately commanded sternly: "Someone dares to ambush this official! Go quickly to the kitchen and catch that Che Che Hongda!"

One shichen later, the guard who had gone to catch the man walked in quickly, panting and sweating profusely, reporting: "My lord, we have searched every corner of the county yamen, but that Che Che Hongda has already disappeared."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his eyes as cold as ice, as he questioned: "Did you not personally say you met him on the street?"

The guard, terrified by his gaze, trembled and said: "Y-yes, we met him on the street."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face sank like water, his gaze sharp as lightning, and he spoke word by word: "This official has never known him; this matter is absolutely suspicious. I fear your 'chance encounter' was also part of his plan all along."

The guard's legs went weak and trembled as he asked cautiously: "What does my lord mean by this?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sneered, his voice gloomy as he replied: "It means he has been watching for the opportunity to poison; you were merely caught in his trap, exactly as he wished."

"Go quickly and order Lord Lord Murong to lead men to search every corner of the entire city; you must find this Che Che Hongda and bring him to justice!"

The guard agreed repeatedly and fled to carry out the task as if escaping death itself.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu knew the mastermind behind the scenes was most likely Huang Huang Chaoran and immediately said fiercely: "Huang Huang Chaoran, do you think plotting against this official will succeed? As long as I catch that cook, even if I have to raze your Huang family to the ground, I will show no mercy!"