In the dark herringbone room, Chen Ji stood calmly beside the bed. He held up an oil lamp and leaned over to observe, but he found that everyone's eyes were filled with blood and tears.

The blood and tears did not flow down the tear trough, but flowed to both sides, passing through the temples and flowing to the temples, indicating that these people lay on the bed and died in their sleep.

Chen Ji raised the oil lamp in his hand and looked up at the rafters.

There is no hidden person, and the murderer cannot be found.

The footsteps in the corridor just now came and disappeared suddenly, as if an evil spirit was trapped in this inn and killed dozens of people.

Chen's maids, servants, and two generals totaling thirty-four people, who were happily leaving for the capital more than ten days ago, died in Guyuan without any explanation today.

Things are unpredictable.

Xiao Man stood at the door, not daring to enter the house: "Mr... Young Master, they died so miserably. Why are they all bleeding from their orifices, as if their souls have been sucked away?"

Chen Ji looked back at her and said, "I thought you were not afraid of the sky or the earth."

Xiao Man asked with a trembling voice: "Master, aren't you afraid?"

Chen Ji didn't care about pretending in front of Xiao Man anymore. He reached out and touched the carotid artery of a corpse. There was no pulse at all. The body was still warm, and he died not long ago.

Thump thump, there was the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.

Mrs. Liang was supported by Dong Zhi and walked down the stairs slowly: "Why did you exclaim just now? This place is no better than your own house. Don't yell and scream, and outsiders will hear it and say that my Chen family does not understand the rules...ah!"

As soon as Mrs. Liang stepped into the bunk of the herringbone house, she was immediately frightened and stepped back, losing her bearings. Fortunately, Dongzhi held her, otherwise she would have fallen to the ground.

Mrs. Liang took a deep breath for a moment, then swallowed forcefully, looked at the dark door and asked: "What...what's going on?!"

Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao heard her exclamation and hurried downstairs: "Mom, what's wrong?"

Chen Wenzong was about to walk into the herringbone room, but Madam Liang grabbed his sleeve tightly: "Wenzong, don't go in, it's not clean inside!"

Chen Wenzong said calmly: "Mother, I am a famous scholar. I am full of awe and righteousness, and ghosts and monsters cannot get close to me."

After saying that, he broke free from Liang's hand and walked in to check.

When he first saw so many corpses lying together with blood and tears, Chen Wenzong swayed, but quickly regained his composure.

He looked at Chen Ji: "Is this why you hurried downstairs just now?"

Chen Ji nodded: "Xiao Man wanted to ask the postman for a new bedding, but he found the postman bleeding to death behind the counter of the post station."

Chen Wenzong endured his fear and looked at the corpses one by one.

Zhang Xia took two steps forward and asked in a low voice beside Chen Ji: "How did they die? There used to be twenty boys living in this house, but now there are only nineteen corpses..."

Before he finished speaking, footsteps were heard again outside the corridor.

Xiao Man quickly hid behind Chen Ji, sticking out half of his head to look around the corner of the corridor quietly.

Mrs. Liang stepped back in panic and pulled Dongzhi in front of her to block her. Chen Wenxiao fell to the ground and backed away using his hands and feet.

The next moment, he saw Wang Gui's figure walking out from the corner. When he saw everyone, he was startled: "Madam, Young Master... why are you here?"

Chen Wenxiao asked hysterically: "Are you a human or a ghost?!"

Wang Gui was confused: "What do you mean, Second Young Master? The villain is Wang Gui! Don't you recognize the villain?"

Chen Ji strode forward, first touched the temperature on Wang Gui's wrist, then looked down at the shadow on the soles of his feet, confirming that it was Wang Gui: "Where did you go just now?"

Wang Gui said doubtfully: "The villain has gone to the latrine."

Chen Wenxiao got up from the ground and asked loudly: "Everyone in the room is dead, why are you the only one who is fine?"

"Dead?" Wang Gui raised his voice and was surprised: "Who did you say is dead?"

Chen Wenxiao pointed to the dark door: "Go in and see for yourself!"

Wang Gui walked into the house suspiciously, and then exited with an alarm, his legs were weak with fear: "What's going on? I was fine just now!"

Everyone retreated to the courtyard, far away from the rooms. Mrs. Liang stood in the cold wind and murmured: "Is this inn haunted? How about we leave here quickly and go to Dusi Mansion to find the master."

Chen Wenzong shook his head: "Mother, it's not peaceful in Guyuan at night. They dare to rob things in broad daylight, let alone at night? If we go out rashly, I'm afraid we will meet the murderers again on the road."

Chen Wenxiao suddenly said: "Then you have to go and tell your father personally. For such a big matter, you have to ask him to come back and make the decision."

But who will go?

Everyone looked at each other and no one spoke first.

Wang Gui looked at Chen Ji and said tremblingly: "Third Young Master, go ahead. You have that bay-red horse that can run fast!"

Xiaoman immediately pointed at Wang Gui's nose and glared angrily: "Why should I let my young master go? Your mother never taught you..."

With one finger, it starts with mom.

Xiao Man was really angry this time, and he scolded Wang Gui bloody without any regard.

Mrs. Liang interrupted angrily: "That's enough. When did our Chen family have such a vulgar maid? I will sell you out tomorrow and let you stay in Guyuan."

Chen Ji said calmly: "Madam, calm down, now is not the time to sell your maid, you should think about how to survive."

Zhang Xia suddenly pulled Chen Ji aside and said in a low voice: "Four years ago, there was an unsolved case in Beijing. A seventh-level censor suddenly died violently at home. The death was said to be bleeding from all the orifices. Six members of the family died.

People; Seven years ago, there was also an unsolved case in Shaanzhou.

A fifth-grade magistrate died suddenly in the same private house where he kept his concubine, killing four members of his family. This kind of death is extremely rare. There are rumors that evil spirits seek their lives, but I don't think so. It should be poisoning.

It’s just... I’ve never heard of such a powerful poison before.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Wenzong: "Brother, can you have dinner at the inn?"

Chen Wenzong shook his head: "No."

Chen Ji looked at Mrs. Liang again: "Have you eaten, madam?"

Liang replied: "No."

Chen Ji looked at Wang Gui again: "What about you?"

Wang Gui replied with a pale face: "No, the food at this inn is crude and unpalatable."

Chen Ji said calmly: "It should be poisoning."

Assassins are very particular about using poison.

In the storybooks of storytellers, people often bleed to death after being poisoned to add to the horror of the story. But in fact, it is not easy to make people bleed from all orifices after being poisoned.

But Chen Ji knew there was a poison that could: cardiac glycosides.

After excessive consumption of cardiac glycosides, the heart muscle of the poisoned person will contract rapidly, multiple organs will fail, and the blood pressure will rise rapidly, and the blood will break through the capillaries.

Combined with strong sedatives, it can cause people to bleed to death silently.

Chen Ji was convinced that the killer had poisoned the food in the inn. People like Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Liang, and Wang Gui, who were well-dressed and well-fed people, were naturally not used to the food in the inn, so they were lucky enough to escape.

Tribulation.

He, Zhang Xia and others couldn't eat dinner because they ate too much mutton at noon.

Chen Ji's heart moved, was it poisoned by the border troops?

Was it a coincidence that the other party suddenly sent mutton, or was it because of Mr. Wang's face that he deliberately made himself full in advance to avoid poisoning?

Chen Ji lowered his head and pondered: If the border army really wanted to poison the Chen family, what was the other party's motive?

The Chen family had just arrived, and they had no grudges against the border troops recently or in the past. It was understandable that they would make things difficult in front of the city gate. After all, it was just a trivial matter. No one could do anything to these big-headed soldiers in the border army town.

But now thirty-four members of the family of a fourth-rank official in the imperial court were poisoned to death, and it was reported to the capital as a shocking case. This matter is no longer a matter of the Chen family, but involves the face of the imperial court, and must be investigated thoroughly.

Why did the border army do this just to cut off the prince's wings?

Things are not that simple.

At this time, Chen Wenxiao said to Xiao Man: "Since you don't want Chen Ji to go, then go to the Dusi Mansion."

Xiaoman rolled his eyes: "I won't go. I am the young master's maid. I will go only if the young master asks me to go."

Chen Wenxiao said angrily: "Chen Ji, look at the maid next to you. She is so unruly and talks to her master like that!"

Chen Ji said calmly: "You should think about how to survive tonight. There was an assassin who wanted to poison the entire Chen family. We survived by luck because we didn't eat the food at the inn. If the other party learns of the mistake, they may come back. If you want to survive,

, I quickly sent people to the Dusi Mansion, and the others gathered together here, waiting for Mr. Chen to lead the crown prince’s bodyguard to come to the rescue.”

Zhang Zheng said carelessly: "You guys are too ink-stained. If you can't do it, I'll be the only one... Oops!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Xia twisted the soft flesh around Zhang Zheng's waist and lowered his voice and said, "Brother, shut up. We will listen to Chen Ji's arrangements. Now is not the time for you to be reckless."

Chen Wenxiao looked at Wang Gui: "Go!"

Wang Gui shrank back: "Me? Second Young Master, I don't know where the Dusi Mansion is."

Chen Wenxiao said angrily: "If you don't go, who will? My Chen family has raised you for so many years, and you are just a dog. You should know how to bark twice now!"

Chen Wenzong shouted: "Chen Wenxiao! A gentleman should be careful what he says!"

Chen Wenxiao whispered: "I'm not wrong either..."

Wang Gui's expression changed several times. He looked at Liang, but Liang looked away and said nothing.

He gritted his teeth: "Second Young Master said that he is a villain, so go ahead..."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Wenzong whispered: "The Master said, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you."

He turned to Zhang Xia and said: "Miss Zhang Er, let me lend you your war horse. I will go to the Dusi Mansion to ask my father to bring back the crown prince's bodyguard."

Zhang Xia thought for a while and said, "Zao Zao definitely doesn't want you to ride. You can lead my brother's horse."

Chen Wenzong nodded: "Okay."

Mrs. Liang hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist: "Wen Zong, you must not do it. You are a man of gold, and a gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall..."

Chen Wenzong took a deep breath and pretended to be calm and explained: "Mother, the purpose of a gentleman not to erect a dangerous wall is not to use it here. It means that a gentleman should nip danger in the bud, not to teach a gentleman to be timid. You

Needless to say, Chen Ji is right, we can’t waste any more time, lest the assassin comes back to kill us again.”

After that, he took out the war horse from the stable, turned over regardless of Liang's obstruction, and galloped into the night.
Chapter completed!