Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 280 - 279: Deer Blood Wine

"Have you received any letters from Jia Jun while you visited your family?" Zhu Yu asked.

"No," Mrs. Jia felt a bit puzzled by the question, "Even when I stayed at my family’s place longer than this, he never sent any letters to me.

My husband isn’t the type to enjoy writing. If he truly had something urgent to communicate, he’d rather send someone swiftly on horseback to deliver the message than write a letter."

"Then let me ask you, the day you returned home, was it a pre-arranged date, or did you decide suddenly?" Zhu Yu inquired again.

Mrs. Jia didn’t quite understand what she was getting at, but dared not avoid answering: "I was supposed to return a few days later, but I missed my child at home, so I came back a little early."

"Where did you encounter Chief Historian Zuo?" Zhu Yu asked, and added, "As I understand, Chief Historian Zuo has never been a guest in your home, and you usually have no dealings. How did you recognize him?"

Mrs. Jia thought for a moment: "Near the front yard, close to the main gate. I walked a few steps inside and saw someone hurriedly walking toward me, a face I didn’t recognize.

However, a servant from our household was following behind him. Noticing the confusion between Chief Historian Zuo and me, he introduced me as Jia Jun’s wife.

Then Chief Historian Zuo said he had been waiting in the study for my husband, but since he couldn’t wait any longer, he decided to leave.

Naturally, I couldn’t hold him back, so I politely saw him out the door and went to the study to find my husband... 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Never expecting... what I found..."

She choked up, her body trembled, and she began to cry again, tears seeping from her swollen eyes, making her look even more pitiful.

"So you went straight to the study after Chief Historian Zuo left and found Jia Jun dead?" Zhu Yu questioned relentlessly, "There was no delay, was there?"

That day, she estimated that the Jia Family’s house wasn’t large. If you walked directly from the main entrance to the study, you’d get there in no time.

If Mrs. Jia had indeed discovered Jia Jun’s death immediately, she could’ve sent someone to pursue, possibly even catching up with Wen Qiming right after he left.

Mrs. Jia thought carefully and shook her head, "I didn’t go to the study immediately.

After Chief Historian Zuo left, I intended to visit my in-laws at the back, having been away from home for days, but the servant following Chief Historian Zuo stopped me. He said he had to ask about the guest list for the old master’s birthday next month. He couldn’t find my husband, so he asked me instead.

If the list was ready, he’d take it to find a scribe with good handwriting to prepare the invitations.

His inquiry reminded me that before I left, my husband seemed to have drafted the guest list and placed it in the study, so I changed my plan to go fetch that list..."

"Is that servant born and raised in your household? Why entrust such an important task to a servant instead of someone more reliable?"

"He’s not a native here; my husband was gifted him. He is clever and more reliable than other servants in the house, so my husband often used him," answered Mrs. Jia.

"Who gifted him to your family? How long has he been with you?"

"I don’t know; my husband never told me, but he’s been with us for two or three years now, working diligently without any issues."

Zhu Yu inquired about the servant’s name. Lu Qing stood up and whispered a few words to a guard nearby, who nodded and turned to leave.

Mrs. Jia, unsure of what was happening, looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"By the way, did Jia Jun drink Deer Blood Wine?" Zhu Yu asked suddenly when her gaze shifted toward Lu Qing.

Mrs. Jia’s gaze barely shifted back when her mouth instinctively answered: "Yes, my husband said Deer Blood Wine is good for health, so he drank it regularly for years to nourish himself."

"When did he usually drink it?"

"During dinner every night." As she recalled the daily routine that would no longer be, Mrs. Jia began to choke up again, "My husband liked that Deer Blood Wine could strengthen the body, but disliked its lingering taste, so he’d drink a cup after dinner, which would suppress the aftertaste.

This had been a routine for many years, never missing a day, and there was never any problem!"

Based on her final reaction, Mrs. Jia seemed to misunderstand, thinking Zhu Yu intended to attribute Jia Jun’s death to the Deer Blood Wine, thus exonerating Chief Historian Zuo, and her tone carried a hint of annoyance.

Pretending not to notice, Zhu Yu asked again, "Does anyone else in your house drink Deer Blood Wine? Where is it usually kept?"

"Besides my husband, no one else drinks Deer Blood Wine at home.

The Deer Blood Wine my husband drank is usually stored in the wine cellar at home, along with other wines for entertaining guests."

"Does Jia Jun often dine with his parents and brothers?"

"My husband is usually very busy, often returning home late at night, so the family can’t wait for him. The kitchen prepares his meals and wine separately, which are sent to his room for him to eat alone."

After listening to Mrs. Jia, Zhu Yu stood up and gestured to the prison guard, "It’s getting late; make sure she eats."

Mrs. Jia watched bewildered as Zhu Yu prepared to leave, unable to grasp why she was detained there, nor why he had asked her so many questions, only watching them leave in a daze.

The somewhat bewildered prison guard, following Zhu Yu and Lu Qing’s instructions, led them to the cell where Jia Jun’s two brothers were held. Zhu Yu, still holding a bowl of food, picked at it occasionally, engaging in a desultory conversation with the two brothers.

The food was hardly appetizing, but for someone who was already stomach-growling, it was quite tempting, at least for Mrs. Jia.

However, Jia Jun’s two brothers seemed to have more composure than their sister-in-law. Regardless of how many times Zhu Yu picked at his food, they didn’t display any signs of hunger, only mournfully lamenting their brother’s tragic death and their own confusion, pleading with Prince Shuo to seek justice for their brother.