"My lords, arrest everyone at the noodle shop immediately! Don't let them harm anyone else," someone shouted.
The crowd of onlookers joined in the clamor.
The leading yamen runner waved to the other three, who then advanced towards Qi Zhenzhen.
"Hold on," Tang Duo said slowly, rising to his feet with unhurried grace. "I ate noodles just now, almost at the same time as them. Why am I unaffected?"
"And who might you be?" the leading yamen runner asked.
"Just a diner," Tang Duo replied nonchalantly. "I eat here every noon." Despite his casual demeanor, his presence was commanding.
The yamen runners, not entirely inexperienced, sensed he was no ordinary person and maintained a respectful attitude.
"But these people did indeed collapse after eating the noodles..." the yamen runner pointed to the people on the ground. "The physician examined them and found no pre-existing conditions. Since these individuals fell ill at the noodle shop, how can the staff be absolved of responsibility? Furthermore, a few days ago, the owner of this noodle shop was arrested because a pregnant young woman ate noodles here and suffered severe abdominal pain, nearly losing her child."
Tang Duo let out a cold snort. "Do you have any proof that the shopkeeper intended to harm them?"
"What more proof do we need? These people fell to the ground after eating noodles, and the physician confirmed it was poisoning. Poison was also found in the noodle soup. Aren't these all evidence?" someone in the crowd yelled. "You're showing such favoritism to the noodle shop's staff. Are you in league with them?"
"I know this man. He won the grand prize on the day the noodle shop opened. Now that I think about it, it was probably all arranged beforehand, just to lure everyone here to eat and then harm them at opportune moments."
"I think so too."
"Officer, why are you still wasting words with them? Arrest them all."
The yamen runners were in a difficult position. The people were lying on the ground, and so many witnesses were pointing fingers.
"Arrest them," the leading yamen runner decided.
Tang Duo's expression darkened. Before he could react, the curtain behind the counter was lifted, and Wen Cen walked out to everyone's gaze.
"What brings you here?" Wen Cen asked the four yamen runners.
"Sir, someone reported to the yamen that the noodle shop owner poisoned people," the leading yamen runner replied respectfully.
"Did you arrive before or after the physician?" Wen Cen inquired.
"After. When we arrived, the physician had already confirmed poison in the noodle soup," the yamen runner answered.
"So, before the physician examined them, someone knew they were poisoned and reported it to the yamen? Who reported it, and are they still here?" Wen Cen asked, frowning.
The yamen runner looked around but couldn't find anyone. "They were just here."
Wen Cen glared at the yamen runner. "You failed to notice such an obvious oversight? How have I been teaching you?"
The yamen runner lowered his head in shame. "I saw everyone lying here, and so many citizens were testifying."
Wen Cen cupped his hands towards the onlookers. "May I ask if any of you personally witnessed the noodle shop staff administering poison? If so, please step forward and tell us when you saw it and how the poisoning was done. Our county yamen will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let a guilty one go free. Please speak your minds."
At Wen Cen's question, no one spoke. They hadn't seen anything.
"If it wasn't the noodle shop staff who poisoned them, then why are they like this?" someone in the crowd questioned. "We still ask the officers to explain. As I said, the incident happened at the noodle shop, so the shop cannot escape responsibility."
"And who are you?" Wen Cen narrowed his eyes, sizing up the speaker.
"Who am I? Just an ordinary citizen who wants to know the truth," the person replied.
"Very well, I will tell you the truth now." Wen Cen gave the person a deep look.
Qi Zhenzhen handed a cloth bag to Wen Cen. Unfolded, it revealed needles, neatly arranged, thicker and longer than the embroidery and sewing needles typically seen.
Wen Cen took the needles and, under the astonished eyes of the crowd, crouched before the four men lying side-by-side. "My ancestors passed down a miraculous antidote. If someone is poisoned, we use thick needles to draw blood from the nail beds. With the ten fingers connected to the heart, the poisoned blood flows to the heart's pulse. By inserting a needle into each nail bed, allowing the poisoned blood to flow down, the poison can be dispelled. Let's not discuss who administered the poison for now; the most important thing is to detoxify them. Poisoning is no small matter; if delayed for too long, it can be fatal."
Everyone knew that the ten fingers were connected to the heart. Even pricking a finger while sewing was painful. The thought of using such thick needles to pierce the nail beds made everyone gasp, instinctively drawing their hands behind their backs.
"Then I shall proceed," Wen Cen said, taking out a needle that gleamed with a faint light. He grabbed one of the man's hands, preparing to insert the needle.
While Wen Cen had been speaking, the eyelids of the four men on the ground had twitched slightly. He wanted to see if they could truly maintain their composure or if it was an act.
The man whose hand Wen Cen had grabbed suddenly sat up, forcefully shaking off Wen Cen's hand. He yelled, "I'm not doing this anymore! When you told me to act, you never mentioned anything about needles. Good heavens, such thick needles! If you stick them into my nail beds, my nails will be ripped off! You only gave me a meal and two taels of silver. Do you think I'm stupid enough to endure this for such a small amount of money?"
His voice was full of vigor, showing no signs of poisoning whatsoever.
Moreover, he had just admitted he was there to act.
The other three also sat up, their heads hanging in guilt.
The most vocal person in the crowd inwardly cursed his bad luck and tried to leave. However, Zhang Xiaoniu, quick as lightning, grabbed him. It was the very person who had been so insistent on knowing the truth. "Brother, you wanted to know the truth, didn't you? The truth hasn't been revealed yet, and you're already leaving?"
The man struggled to break free, but Zhang Xiaoniu's arm was strong, and he couldn't escape.
"How dare you attack someone in front of the officers? I'm just an onlooker, and I suddenly remembered something urgent at home. How can you forcibly detain me?" the man said, feigning composure.
Zhang Xiaoniu spat. "You're an onlooker? I suspect you're the one inciting the crowd and causing trouble!"
Wen Cen signaled to the yamen runners, and immediately, someone stepped forward to replace Zhang Xiaoniu and restrain the man.
"Speak, who hired you to act?" Wen Cen stood up, asking from his superior position.
"It was him," the four men said in unison, pointing at the man being restrained by the yamen runners. "He gave us five hundred wen for a meal and told us to throw a small pill into the noodle soup after eating, and then to pretend to faint as we walked out."
Wen Cen's gaze turned to the physician. Without needing to ask, the physician confessed everything. "It was also him who hired me to play the role of a physician and confirm to everyone that these four were poisoned!"