Finally, they reached the kitchen and smelt the faint scent of vinegar as soon as they arrived. Inside, the servants were busy doing various chores, but as soon as they saw the visitors, they stopped what they were doing.
Ji Yunshu rushed to a maidservant and inquired, “Are the utensils prepared for your lord and mistress on the night of the banquet still here?”
The maidservant stammered at first while repeatedly nodding, “They are still here.”
“Bring them to me.”
“Yes.” The maidservant hurriedly fetched the tableware.
Except for the wine bottle and wine cups “robbed” away by Jing Rong, what remained in the tray was two exquisite water patterned porcelain bowls, two white jade porcelain spoons and chopsticks, made from a precious tree, placed on ivory supports. Ji Yunshu only picked up one of the chopsticks and meticulously observed it.
She shook her head. “It’s not that one.”
She picked another chopstick and shook her head again. “Not that one either.”
Next, she picked up the third chopstick but suddenly became greatly alarmed. “This is it! It’s this chopstick.”
Everyone looked at Ji Yunshu, watching her as she was doing her one-man show. None of them understood why she was shouting.
Jing Rong remained composed as if he knew what she was thinking of. He turned to a servant and ordered him. “Bring some phosphorus powder.”
Suddenly, the servant became intelligent. Unfortunately, Ji Yunshu had no time to praise him. She took some of the powder and sprinkled it on the chopsticks as soon as the servant came back with it. In the blink of an eye, the chopstick turned completely black!
“There’s poison on it.” Her tone appeared casual but still contained shock within.
She repeated the procedure with the other three chopsticks and another turned black.
The maidservant closest to her was extremely confused about the phenomena. “Miss Ji, h-how could this happen? How can there be poison on the chopsticks?”
Ji Yunshu also wanted to know. After pondering over this problem, she looked at Jing Rong and said, “We investigated in the wrong direction from the start. The wine wasn’t poisoned. It was the chopsticks instead. The chopsticks entered their mouths. The poison on the sawdust remained in their mouths and when they drank the wine, it contaminated the cup and some stuck to the rim.” Everyone started to understand after she explained.
However, Jing Rong was still doubtful. “Since only two chopsticks had poison on it, then how did two people ended up getting poisoned?”
“I think that Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei used one poisoned chopstick each.”
‘That’s logical!’
Jing Rong grimly asked the people within the kitchen. “Who was part of the feast staff and in charge of the tableware?” His tone was biting like a flame which caused the servants to suddenly tremble.
Further inside, two little girls peeked out their heads and came over in a panic. “I-it’s the two of us.”
“Why is there poison on the chopsticks? Can you explain this to me?” interrogated Jing Rong.
The two girls shook their heads in fear. “Your Highness, we didn’t smear poison on it. These are the chopsticks that our master used daily. There weren’t any problems before. We absolutely don’t bear any ill-will toward milord and milady. We beg your highness to investigate the situation clearly.”
They didn’t seem to be lying.
“Then, who else came in contact with the chopsticks on the banquet night?”
She shook her head. “No one else. We were the ones who personally arranged the tableware. Milord and Milady’s tablewares were handled by us only and no one else. No one else could have tampered with it.” She spoke without hesitation, no trace of any doubt about her words.
Jing Rong had nothing else to ask. He saw the expression on Ji Yunshu and put back the chopsticks before tentatively asking, “These chopsticks… are they from your Wei mansion?”
The maidservants looked at each other, then something sparked within their mind. They widened their eyes and examined the chopsticks. They exclaimed, “Those aren’t our Wei mansion’s chopsticks!”
To prove her words, one of the girls pointed at the chopsticks and hurriedly explained. “Our chopsticks all have one of their corners shaved, but this pair of black chopsticks doesn’t have a shaved corner. It is certainly not one of our chopsticks.”