Chapter 203: Assassination Through Poison
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The moon glowed faintly in the cool night.
The lamps were all lit inside the Garrison Mansion of Jiang City, turning the surroundings as bright as daytime.
Eminent guests occupied every corner of the Garrison’s banquet hall, making a show of happiness and prosperity. The guests toasted and goaded each other with wine, laughing cheerfully as they engaged in drinking games. This was a banquet at its most intense.
Junior Leopard gently shook the golden cup in his hand. The aureate liquor inside the cup flickered with a golden glow, giving off a mellow scent. When it reached his nose, every facet of that scent seemed to penetrate deeply into his heart and lungs. “What on earth is this Zheng Xi thinking about?”
The discussion last night bore no fruit. Besides Zhu Ba harping on how he wanted to teach Zheng Xi a lesson, the rest of them, including himself, had no good ideas to suggest.
They were all aware that they were no more than an insignificant piece of the puzzle in the eyes of the high and lofty eminences. Never mind replacing a commander, it would take more than a mere word to dismantle the entire Navy of Jiang City.
Since this matter was implicitly related to the struggle for the throne, they had no solutions no matter how they wanted to help.
None of them were idiots. They would naturally run as far as they can from such life-threatening endeavors.
What was beyond Junior Leopard’s expectations was the banquet invitation from the new Garrison of Jiang City after hearing about his return the next day. The other heads of the Navy, such as Wang Cheng and Jiang Xiao, were also invited.
Since he was back, there was no way for him to refuse the invitation. Therefore, he decided to attend the banquet on time. He wanted to see what kind of person this new Garrison was.
Unexpectedly, he only managed a word and salute with Zheng Xi. The Garrison then left him aside to greet the other guests, not showing him any face.
Junior Leopard was already prepared for this to happen. Though Zheng Xi had only been promoted not too long ago, his domineering side was apparent. He not only wanted to control the entire Army of Jiang City, but also the Navy. However, Junior Leopard was a unique existence in the Navy, making it difficult for him to do so.
Putting aside his fearsome cultivation, Junior Leopard had brought a string of benefits to the Navy after assuming the office. That was enough to earn the loyalty of the entire Water Army Camp.
Hence, if one wanted to control the Navy, he must first control Junior Leopard. But was Junior Leopard the kind to be so easily controlled?
Junior Leopard understood himself best. Even if Zheng Xi’s was ranked one level higher, he wouldn’t hand over the Navy without a fight. This was especially true for the River Heart Island that he had laboriously captured. Therefore, there was completely no way for the two of them to ease their conflicting views.
Since that was impossible, there was no need to put a show of goodwill.
Zheng Xi didn’t plan to take any surface acting. He even wanted to suppress Junior Leopard by this dinner party. Junior Leopard naturally wouldn’t play up to Zheng Xi. Therefore, he just sat there quietly all the time, waiting for Zheng Xi to say something. Though Zhu Ba, Wang Cheng and Jiang Xiao wanted to propose him a toast, they were held back by Junior Leopard’s eye expression. At last, they could only sit in the chair and drink in a gloomy mood.
If someone wanted to make things difficult for him, they still ought to come up with an excuse, no?
The minute Junior Leopard entered the hall, he knew what excuse Zheng Xi was going to use. That answer was Shopkeeper Ding of the Southern Bay Warehouse being seated across him, looking astonished.
Junior Leopard had a good eyesight with a 360-degree angle of view. Therefore, though it seemed he was drinking gloomily alone, he could see everything happening in the banquet. Until now, Zheng Xi had refused to talk to him but he clearly saw Zheng Xi stealing glances at him several times. During the banquet, Zheng Xi also made eye contact with the Shopkeeper Ding from time to time. But since Junior Leopard remained quiet and didn’t toast anyone, he couldn’t find an opportunity.
Junior Leopard secretly sneered to himself. If Zheng Xi won’t open his mouth, he would really sit here and drink from the beginning to the end. The new Garrison better not expect him to talk. He wanted to see how Zheng Xi would deal with him.
That was his plan.
But the problem must, in the end, be solved.
After everyone had made a round of toasts, the dancing girls excused themselves. Shopkeeper Ding picked up his cup and staggered toward Junior Leopard.
“Here he comes!” Junior Leopard thought.
“Commander Zhou, don’t sit there drinking alone. Come, I’ll toast you!”
Ding Deshui dragged his fat body before Junior Leopard, smelling strongly of alcohol. “Your honor, you must look after our warehouse properly from now on! You can’t give us a hard time as you did before!”
Junior Leopard smiled and picked up his cup. Their cups touched and he downed his wine. He still said nothing and didn’t even look at Shopkeeper Ding.
Ding Deshui was an experienced man. Facing such a situation, he merely chuckled and finished the wine in his cup. He returned to his seat without another word.
“Hold on, please. What did you say just now. Shopkeeper Ding? Why I haven’t heard about any news that someone dares to obstruct you in Jiang City?”
The minute Zheng Xi’s voice rang, the noisy hall fell into silence. Those who received invitations were all well-known people in Jiang City. They were, of course, no less well-informed than Junior Leopard. They naturally understood the power struggle between Junior Leopard and Zheng Xi. Besides, it was only to be expected that a new official would implement strict new policies. Zheng Xi was Junior Leopard’s immediate superior and before he even gained a firm foothold in Jiang City, he already had threatened to withdraw Junior Leopard’s authority in public several times. Even an idiot could tell there was a great conflict of profit between them.
The only reason the conflict had not reared its ugly head was Junior Leopard’s absence. The minute he returned, Zheng Xi threw a banquet and invited so many influential people in the city. Besides fame, those people had another thing in common: They had planned to occupy the port of the River Heart Island once. They had, more or less, conflicts of interest with Junior Leopard. But due to his strength, few dared to provoke him.
Now Zheng Xi was here and even invited them to this banquet. He obviously wanted to support them and crack down on Junior Leopard. If not, why didn’t he invite Supervisor Zhao of the Wu Family?
When they saw Shopkeeper Ding standing up, they knew the climax of the show was coming. Unexpectedly, Junior Leopard didn’t answer at all. While they were feeling disappointed, the new Garrison held up the end of the conversation. How could anyone still be ignorant of Zheng Xi’s intention? He wanted to take this opportunity to suppress Zhou Bao.
When he heard Zheng Xi’s question, Shopkeeper Ding immediately answered with a bow, “Oh, it’s just a small understanding! I wouldn’t dare bother Your Excellency with such affairs.”
“What kind of words are those? Small or large, misunderstandings are still misunderstandings. We should clear them up. I’m the Garrison of Jiang City. All military affairs within the city are in my jurisdiction, including the Navy. You can tell me about the misunderstanding. Perhaps I can solve it for you.”
“Er…” When Shopkeeper Ding heard this, a conflicted expression crossed his face and he turned to Junior Leopard with a pleading look.
Could this two-man show get any more obvious? Junior Leopard sneered. He then saluted Zheng Xi and said, “Your Excellency, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to clear up this misunderstanding!”
“Oh? Not easy? Are there any misunderstandings in Jiang City that will be too difficult for you?” Zheng Zi’s face turned joyful when he heard Junior Leopard answering as if he had succeeded in a trickery.
“Of course! I suspect the Southern Bay Warehouse is colluding with the water bandits in Luo River, so I ordered my brothers to examine them carefully every time. I didn’t think the guilty party will come complaining to Your Excellency first. How evil!”
Ding! A crisp sound reverberated in the hall. Within the banquet, someone couldn’t hold onto his cup and accidentally dropped it. The sound of the cup hitting the ground became the only noise audible in the hall.
Everyone looked at each other in speechless despair. No one expected these words to come out of Junior Leopard.
That included Zheng Xi and Shopkeeper Ding. Their smiles froze on their face and neither knew how to respond.
Shopkeeper Ding didn’t react until several minutes later. “I’m innocent, Your Excellency. That’s not true! How can we collude with water bandits? You really do me wrong! Mr. Zhou, please don’t frame me. We at the Southern Bay Warehouse do a clean and proper business with our conscience. You accuse us of collusion with the water bandits, but do you have any evidence? If you don’t, we won’t leave the matter at that.”
“Shopkeeper Ding, you should listen carefully. I said I suspected, not that I was certain. It’s exactly because I have no evidence that I tolerated your warehouse. If I have evidence, do you think you will have a chance to speak here?”
“You… !”
Experienced as he was, Junior Leopard’s fallacious argument made Shopkeeper Ding tremble with anger. He stared at Junior Leopard, speechless for quite a while.
Junior Leopard sneered even more openly. He gently picked up his cup and drank from it. He turned to Zheng Xi and said, “This wine is truly delicate! Here’s to you, Your Excellency.”
Zheng Xi’s expression darkened but he still raised his cup and drank. “Mr. Zhou, I accept your toast. But we must solve the problem. You’re the Navy Commander of Jiang City, so your words represent not only yourself but also the whole Navy. You said you suspect the Southern Bay Warehouse of collusion with the water bandits. We can’t take your word alone for such an accusation. Like what Shopkeeper Ding said earlier, you need evidence! If you don’t have any, you can’t say nonsense. If it’s just a suspicion, investigate it first. When you have evidence, then we can talk!”
“It’s not me who brought this up. It’s Shopkeeper Ding who forced me to speak, no? He said my navy brothers obstructed him and Your Excellency also asked. You’re the Garrison. How dare I refuse to answer or lie to you?”
Junior Leopard smiled, skilfully deflecting Zheng Xi’s words. Zheng Xi’s expression shifted and his grip on his cup tightened. He raised his hand, about to smash the cup.
“Your Excellency!” Seeing Zheng Xi’s impending rage, the guests had a change in expression. The one sitting beside Zheng Xi immediately stood up, wanting to stop him. But he had barely said two words when someone interrupted him.
“What’s wrong, Your Excellency?” Junior Leopard’s expression shifted and he stood up. He didn’t move, but he stared in Zheng Xi in astonishment. The other guests also sensed something was off. They could see Zheng Xi remained still with his hand raised and anger frozen on his face. Yet the brightness in his eyes had gradually dissipated and turning inane. Dark red blood was spewing from the seven apertures of his head, emitting bursts of fishy odor.
Junior Leopard’s expression shifted sharply and he immediately covered his nose with his sleeve. “Everyone, stop breathing! There’s poison in the air!”
People were stricken dumb with a series of shocks. They didn’t realize the urgent situation until they sniffed the fishy odor and their heads began to spin. Only then did they cover their noses and mouths. Some were so frightened that they left their seats and was about to run out of the hall.
“Men, block the hall! Don’t let anyone leave!’
When he saw people escaping, Junior Leopard barked his order with Internal Qi. It made his voice sound thunderous.
A group of soldiers rushed in from outside the hall. In the beginning, they didn’t realize what was going on but their expressions turned sharp when they saw the scene inside. With their unsheathed saber emitting chilling light, they stood in a line and blocked the entrance.
The guests who wanted to flee were forced to return to their seats, no matter how scared they were.
“P…Poison! There’s poison here!”
The poison came from Mr. Zheng’s blood. It’s not that strong! We’ll be alright!” said the man who tried to stop Zheng Xi from smashing his cup earlier. He covered his nose and stood beside Zheng Xi’s corpse with a deadpan face.
“I’m really so sorry. It happened all of a sudden and Mr. Zheng has been killed. I’m afraid you all must stay in the Garrison Mansion tonight.”
Zhu Ba stood up with a rush and bellowed, “What did you say?!”
“Sit down!” Junior Leopard reprimanded Zhu Ba, glaring at him. Zhu Ba felt a stream of chill rushing to his head from his spine. He immediately sat down, not daring to say another word.
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Zhou!”
“Never mind, it’s my duty.” Junior Leopard saluted him. He learned from Jiang Xiao that he was called Cao Wenxiang. He came with Zheng Xi from the capital city. He was probably something like an assistant to Zheng Xi, who apparently greatly trusted him and allowed him to handle all affairs in the Garrison Mansion.
“Men, immediately gather all the cooks, maids, servants, and other related personnel from the kitchen and bring them to the backyard. And those dancing girls too! Leave no one behind!”
Yes!” Several soldiers rushed toward the kitchen.
“Everyone, please relax. I’m Cao Wenxiang and I’m not trying to make things difficult for anyone. But our Garrison has just been killed and we’re all witnesses. To put it crudely, everyone, including me, can be the suspect. I kept everyone here so we can prove your innocence as soon as possible!”
“Yes, it should be so!” Shopkeeper Ding of Southern Bay Warehouse answered repeatedly. He still covered his nose with his hands and dared not to take them away. So did people around him. They were all afraid that once they loosened their hands, they would be killed by the poison gas.
The hall then fell into a silent atmosphere. After a while, a soldier of the Garrison Mansion came in and walked up to Cao Wenxiang. He wrapped his fist with his other hand and said, “Your Excellency, everybody has been detained in the backyard. Please give us your order!”
Cao Wenxiang waved his hands and said feebly, “Invite the Magistrate here!”
People gradually came to their senses. Some returned to the seats, while others gathered together and started whispering. Everyone appeared gloomy, some even exasperated. None of them were idiots and they naturally understood what the present situation meant. An imperial court official had been assassinated by poison in his own banquet. How terrifying! They were the unfortunate people caught in the wrong place.
It was impossible for them to rid themselves of the suspicion. They had no idea what the outcome of the investigation would be. They could only submit to the will of the heaven.
Junior Leopard remained seated where he was, his face gruesome. Chilling light glinted in his eyes as he glanced at people from time to time as if he was selecting someone to devour. Everyone who found themselves in his glance trembled. They felt as if his glance saw through them and they had no feeling of security left.
Luckily, this condition didn’t last long. They heard a flurry of noise when the Magistrate came in.
“How could this happen? He was just fine during the day!”
When the Magistrate entered the hall, the blood spewing from the seven apertures in Zheng Xi’s head had all dried up. The dried blood stuck to his face, forming pieces of red stain. It made him look even more ferocious and terrifying.
The Magistrate was a scholar. He rarely saw dead animals, let alone dead people. When he suddenly saw Zheng Xi’s horrible appearance, he couldn’t help quivering and taking a few steps backward. He slowly approached the corpse, muttering under his breath like he was chanting scriptures.
“Your Excellency, our Garrison was abruptly poisoned to death. There are many suspicious aspects in this affair. Please help us come to a conclusion!” Seeing the Magistrate was here, Cao Wenxiang dared not to slight him and stepped forward to give salute him.
“I know, I know! I’ll help you come to a conclusion!” The Magistrate didn’t actually have any ideas when confronted with such a circumstance. When he noticed Junior Leopard, he acted like he found his savior. “Commander Zhou! Thank God, you’re here! Thank God! What do you think happened here?”
Junior Leopard couldn’t help rolling his eyes. What kind of words were those coming from a Magistrate?
Nevertheless, he stepped forward with a wry smile. “Your Excellency, I’m also confused about what happened earlier. Today, the Garrison held a banquet to entertain the guests here. Everything was fine until His Excellency’s sudden death. We didn’t expect he’d be poisoned and die before finishing his words. We’re all feeling at a loss now!”
“If you’re feeling at a loss, then what are you still doing here and not investigating? Hurry up and go!”
“What? You want me to investigate?” Junior Leopard was truly surprised. “Your Excellency, this…”
Cao Wenxiang interrupted in a panic, “Your Excellency. this isn’t appropriate!”
“Inappropriate? Why?”
The Magistrate was frowning.
“This…” Cao Wenxiang looked at the Magistrate with a conflicted expression, before glancing at the stony-faced Junior Leopard. “Your Excellency, everyone’s a suspect here in the Garrison’s sudden death. If you get Commander Zhou to investigate, I think, well, that’s not very appropriate?”
“You effeminate scoundrel, what are you implying?!” Zhu Ba immediately jumped up in anger and pointed at Cao Wenxiang when he heard these words. He was about to punch him.
Thud! Before he could throw his punch, he has knocked away.
“Sit there quietly!” Junior Leopard said coldly. Zhu Ba picked himself up from the ground and harumph. He then stayed quietly behind Junior Leopard. Though he said nothing, he shot Cao Wenxiang the occasional dirty look.
“Your Excellency, I think Mr. Cao has his point. Since the Garrison came to a violent death, everyone present is a suspect. It’s therefore inappropriate for me to do the investigation. Your Excellency, please appoint some other people!”
“This…” The Magistrate hesitated, but immediately laughed as an idea came to him. “Commander Zhou, you worry too much. You’re an imperial court official and the Navy Commander. How can you poison the Garrison? I think…”
“This is really inappropriate!” Junior Leopard replied resolutely. “I’m only a Navy Commander. Investigations are none of my business, let alone the fact that I’m a suspect for now. If I take charge now, it may be impossible for me to prove my innocence!”
There was nothing else the Magistrate could say when Junior Leopard was being so resolute, so he said, “Then, how do you think we should handle this?”
Junior Leopard really wanted to kick this Magistrate to death. He was so obviously trying to stay out of this matter but the Magistrate kept pushing it to him!
Junior Leopard fought back his urge to kick the Magistrate and replied in a voice as gentle as possible, “Your Excellency, this happened so suddenly that I don’t have any ideas either.”
“Your Excellency, why don’t we ask everyone to move to the backyard first? We can have the people from the County Administration to investigate everyone until we find the murderer!” Cao Wenxiang suggested.
“What if you can’t find the murderer? Then are we supposed to stay in your backyard forever?!”
Someone from within the crowd raised an opposing opinion and continued, “Your Excellency, since the Garrison was poisoned to death, the problem must come from the wine and food. What’s more, all of us ate the same food and drank the same wine, yet only he was poisoned. If I speculate correctly, the servants who served his wine or the cooks are the most suspicious. We didn’t even have the chance to leave our seats, so how can we have the opportunity to poison him? I hope Your Excellency will consider this!”
The one who spoke had an imposing aura and impressive appearance. He had a small beard under his chin and handsome facial features. Junior Leopard smiled inwardly when he recognized it to be Wang Peng, the brother-in-law of the Magistrate. His younger sister was the Magistrate’s favorite concubine. Relying on the Magistrate’s influence, he opened up several cloth shops and silk goods shops. The businessmen in the city all tolerated him for the Magistrate’s sake, so his business went very well in recent years and he gradually made a name for himself.
“No, it couldn’t be!”
“His deduction is reasonable!”
Cao Wenxiang and Junior Leopard started talking at almost the same time, but their words were complete opposites. They stared at each other.
“Mr. Cao, I think Mr. Wang’s words really made sense. Why couldn’t it be?” Junior Leopard was smiling yet his killing intent was glinting in the deep of his gentle and warm gaze.