After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 206 Poisoning [Updated with the latest chapter]

inside the house.

The young man was leaning back on the soft couch reading a book when suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps entered the room.

There was a knock on the door, and Da Yan's voice came in: "Husband, I have something important to report."

"Come in."

Gu Lin spoke, and Da Yan opened the door and walked into the room, then quickly came to Gu Lin's side.

Before the other person came in, Gu Lin had already changed his posture and sat up straight.

Without pausing, Da Yan blurted out the matter she was about to report: "Husband, a dozen young men from a village in the suburbs went to the government office to cause trouble, saying that the waterwheel was located by the water, which angered the Dragon King and the Earth God, who then punished them. In every village where there is a waterwheel, the villagers have been poisoned after drinking the river water!"

Without hesitation, Gu Lin put down his storybook and his expression turned serious: "Tell me the whole story clearly, in detail!"

"Yes." After replying, Da Yan immediately recounted the entire incident.

After speaking, Da Yan observed Gu Lin's solemn expression: "Guard Zhuo has already reported this matter to you, sir."

Gu Lin stood up and instructed Da Yan, "Keep things under control inside the manor."

Then, he left the courtyard and went to the study in the front yard.

There were guards outside the study. With Lord Zheng's orders in place, no one dared to pass by the study casually on ordinary days. However, when the guards saw that the person who came was Gu Lin, they all bowed respectfully and did not stop him to wait outside. They went in first to report.

Gu Lin walked past them, but did not push open the door to the study.

Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock on the door, a deep voice came from inside: "Uncle Gu, come in."

Without hesitation, Gu Lin pushed the door open and entered.

Zheng Hao saw an elderly gentleman he didn't recognize in the study. He said to the gentleman, "I understand your meaning, sir. Please return first, and I will reply later."

The old gentleman bowed and took his leave, then bumped into Gu Lin. As if recognizing the other's identity, he bowed in return.

The person opposite him was an elderly man. How could Gu Lin accept the man's greeting for no reason? He raised his hand and bowed in return.

After the old man left, Gu Lin was curious about his identity, but unlike usual, he didn't have the leisure to ask.

He walked towards Zheng Hao and saw that the other man looked normal, not at all bothered by the incident of the waterwheel offending the gods and the villagers being poisoned. He asked, "How did those villagers get poisoned?"

Although Da Yan had just told him the cause and course of events, Gu Lin still felt that it wasn't that simple, which is why he rushed to the study, because Zheng Hao must know what had happened.

Zheng Hao calmly got up and left his seat. He reached out and took Gu Lin's wrist, then gestured for Gu Lin to sit in his seat.

Gu Lin remained seated, his gaze fixed on Zheng Hao, awaiting his reply.

The young man lowered his head and said patiently, "Uncle Gu, let me explain slowly."

"The local legend that the construction of waterwheels by the river caused the local Dragon King to punish the people by poisoning their drinking water is a rumor."

Gu Lin was aware of this. Although he himself had transmigrated from the modern era and was no longer a staunch materialist, it did not mean that he believed the rumors circulating outside that could be easily debunked.

Zheng Hao's eyes were indifferent, and he spoke bluntly: "If the gods are so narrow-minded, how are they any different from demons if they can't stand the waterwheel's convenience for the people?"

The young man spoke of deities, but Gu Lin, understanding him perfectly, quickly realized something was amiss.

He looked at Zheng Hao, his tone uncertain: "Are you saying this was done by someone?"

Before Zheng Hao could answer, Gu Lin began to think about it himself and became increasingly convinced that the villagers' drinking water poisoning was a deliberate act.

Zheng Hao picked up a piece of paper from the edge of the table and handed it to the young man. Gu Lin reached out and took it. As Gu Lin lowered his head to read it, Zheng Hao said, "I had a premonition that the merchants of Youzhou Prefecture would cause trouble soon after, and that the local gentry and landlords would also stir up trouble."

"No matter how wealthy the merchants are, no one in the court can easily bring them down. The gentry and landlords are different. They have cultivated their family members to serve as officials in the court for generations. They believe that their backing is solid and no one dares to touch them easily."

A while ago, I punished the merchants in the city. Because it didn't affect the interests of the local gentry and landlords, they chose to remain silent. But after the government built waterwheels for every village in the suburbs, they couldn't hold back anymore.

After reading the contents of the paper, Gu Lin looked up at Zheng Hao, somewhat puzzled: "Why would these landlords and gentry, who own countless plots of land and also farm, poison the river after the waterwheel was built, as they would benefit more than ordinary people?"

In Daqian, if an ordinary farmer's farmland is a dozen or so acres, the land of these big gentry and landlords is calculated in the thousands of acres. After the waterwheel is built, the gentry and landlords will definitely benefit more.

"Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant." Zheng Hao used this proverb to describe this group of people.

He asked Gu Lin, "Uncle Gu, do you know that in many villages in Youzhou Prefecture, villagers have to pay money to the landlords when they draw water from the river?"

After hearing Zheng Hao's words, Gu Lin found it hard to believe, but thinking about what he had just seen on the paper, he realized that although some things defied common sense, they did indeed exist.

Zheng Hao: "After the waterwheel was built, the common people benefited. Not only did they no longer have to pay water taxes to the gentry and landlords, but they also no longer had to exert themselves to carry water to irrigate their fields. The powerful families were different. They had many servants and hired laborers under their command. They did not have to worry about farming, but the water tax was a steady source of income. How could they be willing to swallow this insult?"

The powerful gentry never had to work in the fields themselves. They had many hired laborers under their command, and for just a few coins, they could have countless people working for them like cattle and horses. If any of them were unwilling, they would not be able to survive in the countryside.

Hearing Zheng Hao's apparent expectation that the villagers would be poisoned by drinking water, Gu Lin's expression became complicated: "You knew all along that they would poison the water, didn't you?"

He lowered his eyes slightly and saw the young man in front of him with an unreadable, restrained expression, instantly understanding what the other was thinking.

Zheng Hao said decisively, "I guessed they would take action, but I never imagined they would poison the river."

Zheng Hao has always liked to maximize his interests. As long as he can achieve his goal, he is not stingy with sacrificing people and things. But these were his thoughts in the past. Since he met Uncle Gu and realized that the other party was soft-hearted, Zheng Hao has become more cautious.

“After this incident, I had people track and monitor the person who poisoned the poison.”

Zheng Hao said to the young man whose expression had softened and whose suspicion of him had disappeared, "Uncle Gu, rest assured, I will not let this matter go unpunished."

.

Late at night, several furtive figures emerged from the bushes. They looked around and, seeing no one passing by, began to whisper among themselves.

"This job is truly despicable. If I weren't short of money, I wouldn't do this kind of dirty work that shortens my lifespan." One man spat on the ground.

Another man said, "Alright, given that you indulge in all sorts of vices like eating, drinking, gambling, whoring, and disregard the lives of your elderly parents, how much good karma do you have left? You can fool yourself, but if people heard it, they'd get goosebumps."

The man said menacingly, "Try saying that again?!"

"Scare me? You think I'm afraid of you?!"

In the darkness, the leader said in a deep voice, "Shut up, all of you!"

The two who had been arguing immediately shut up for some reason. The leader said in a sinister tone, "I don't care what personal grudges you have, but when it comes to doing serious business, you must not let personal grievances interfere. If you mess things up, you can forget about ever working in Youzhou Prefecture again!"

"Master Yang, please forgive me, it was my fault for being ignorant!" the man pleaded.

Another person followed closely behind.

The man, whom the two men called Master Yang, had no interest in settling their scores and directly ordered, "Quickly, poison them!"

Upon hearing this, the others, including the two who had just argued, took out poison powder wrapped in oil paper from their pockets. Instead of pouring it directly into the river, they turned and walked towards the waterwheel.

No matter how much poison is poured into a river, it will be diluted completely. However, if the poison is poured onto a waterwheel, it will be sprayed into the water every time the waterwheel turns, polluting the surrounding river water. The effect of the poison will be far more significant.

The group arrived at the water canister and, according to their assigned tasks, were about to pour poison into it when they heard an angry shout from behind: "Stop!"

The group was startled. Turning around, they saw a cluster of torches lit up in the woods behind them, and a moment later, dozens of people emerged from them.

Seeing this, Master Yang understood perfectly well: they were trapped like turtles in a jar.

He shouted to the men behind him, "What are you all standing there for! Run!"

As the others reacted and tried to run away, they saw that Master Yang had already run a considerable distance. Just as they were about to lift their legs, they saw the leader throw a cold, gleaming object from not far away, which struck the fleeing figure. With a "thud," the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was very clear in the dead of night, and Master Yang fell to the ground.

The man at the head, his back to the firelight and shrouded in darkness, spoke in a voice as gentle as a stream: "Bring them here!"

"Yes!"

Da Zhuo led his men forward and captured all the poisoners with ruthless force. Da Zhuo was displeased that the lord had to personally deal with this group.

Bringing the man before the official, Zheng Hao stepped out of the darkness, glancing down at the poisoners with unreadable dark eyes. Upon seeing this, Da Zhuo recalled how, when wealthy merchants in the city sent men into the government office to burn the accounts, the official had ordered everyone to be beheaded and dismembered before returning the bodies to the merchants.

He lowered his eyes.

Hurried footsteps sounded behind them, and an old man led a young man forward, saying, "Thank you, Lord Zheng, for catching the poisoner and protecting the safety of us common folk."

Zheng Hao raised his eyes, all his emotions hidden deep within. He turned to look at the village chiefs of the nearby villages, his expression calm yet gentle: "This is my duty."

“After the water truck was installed, many bad people had malicious intentions. As the village chief and neighborhood head, you should be even more careful.”

Although the prefect did not speak harshly, the village chief dared not be careless.

He cautiously replied, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Then, he shifted his body, revealing the young man behind him, and said to the prefect, "Lord Zheng, these two are a father and son who have suffered greatly from the poisoner in the village. They want to thank you in person."

As soon as the village chief finished speaking, Li Wutie and his son stepped forward to express their gratitude: "Thank you, sir, for saving us and my son, and for your magnanimity in not holding our rudeness against you."

These were the words the village chief had taught him beforehand.

Li Wutie was furious when his son was poisoned that day. Then, dozens of people in the village were poisoned one after another. His uncle said that the gods were displeased with the prefect's construction of the waterwheel and were punishing him. He and a group of villagers went to the government office to cause trouble.

Unmoved by the other party's apology, Zheng Hao said indifferently, "Gathering villagers to cause trouble at the government office may exempt you from the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment. All those who cause trouble, including you, will have to serve three years of military service."

When Li Wutie went to the prefectural government office to cause trouble, he was hot-blooded. But as he gradually calmed down, he quickly realized what a foolish thing he had done. He was already grateful to the prefect for not losing his head or implicating his family.

After capturing the poisoner, Zheng Hao did not linger there and instructed Da Zhuo, "Return to the manor."

Da Zhuo responded seriously.

When Zheng Hao went to bed, Gu Lin was half asleep. He had known beforehand that Zheng Hao had gone out to arrest the poisoner, and he wanted to wait for Zheng Hao to come back before going to sleep, but he fell asleep while waiting.

Gu Lin struggled to open his eyes and looked at the person beside him. He opened his mouth slightly as if to say something, but was too sleepy to speak.

Zheng Hao stretched out his arm and pulled the young man into his embrace, whispering, "It's alright, go to sleep."

The next day.

The court was convened in the main hall of the government office. The people who had poisoned the plants the night before were kneeling below, but sitting in the courtroom was not Zheng Hao, but Judge Wan.

Judge Wan slammed his fist and shouted, "You poisoner, confess the whole story!"

The group consisted of street ruffians, who were usually not to be trifled with. But when faced with the official, they trembled with fear. Only the man in the lead, known as Master Yang, remained composed. However, he had been stabbed in the back the night before and was now kneeling in the hall, his face ashen.

When he heard the interrogation of Wan Tong, he looked at the people kneeling beside him with a threatening look in his eyes, as if to say, "If you dare to reveal anything you shouldn't say, you'll suffer greatly in the future."

For a moment, none of them dared to speak under the other party's sinister gaze.

Seeing this, Judge Wan raised his eyes, as if he had been given a signal, and said, "Take Yang Da away first!"

After Master Yang was taken away by the officials, only a few people remained in the courtroom.

Judge Wan interrogated again: "In the courtroom, you must not remain obstinate. Accomplices, if you turn back, there is still room for redemption."

The men looked grim. Although it was Master Yang who led them to poison the drugs, they knew that Master Yang was not the one in charge. Behind him was a powerful figure they could not afford to offend.

The group was certain that if they dared to truthfully reveal who was behind it all, they wouldn't have an easy time even after they left.

They knew their own lives were in danger, but they feared they would also endanger their families, wives, and children. So they gritted their teeth and remained silent.

After they take the blame, the person behind them might take care of their family.

However, the man who frequented gambling dens and had no family ties wanted to speak, but was watched closely by the others and dared not utter a word.

Seeing that the men were unwilling to confess, Judge Wan narrowed his eyes: "If you remain silent to the death, you will not only implicate yourselves, but also your families and children."

As soon as these words were spoken, several men looked up at Judge Wan, their faces showing hesitation, doubt, and panic, but they remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't until they heard the crowd below the hall speaking up: "I remember my young master saying that the poisoner and his accomplices would be exiled three thousand miles away. These people have really committed a heinous crime. In the end, the child will have to go with them!"

"That's right! It's just a pity for the child!"

"What's there to pity? We poisoned people are the innocent ones!"

He had kept silent to protect his family, but after hearing that he had been sentenced to prison and exile, his children wanted to go with him.

The men hurriedly said, "Your Honor, please forgive us! We confess!"