Chapter 4774 — Who Do You Say It Was?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Precisely. This Heart-Piercing Sea Anemone is very common in the ocean, but since people so rarely venture beneath the waves, they know nothing of it. Only a very few pharmacological texts record it—and I happened to see it in my father's study." Ren Zhongyuan smiled smugly and looked at Wei Zhao. "So you had no need to carry any poison aboard at all. You simply waited until no one was watching, dove into the sea to gather a few Heart-Piercing Sea Anemones, ground them into powder, and slipped that into the food. The substance dissolves on contact with water and is colorless and odorless—no one could possibly detect it!"
This reasoning, which sounded so well-founded, was in truth nothing but a public confession of what he himself had done—only with the blame pinned on Wei Zhao's head.
The Heart-Piercing Sea Anemone was his own secret specialty. Had he not spoken of it himself, very few others would have known of such a toxin. The sea, after all, was the domain of sea beasts; even the most accomplished physician could scarcely come into contact with marine creatures, let alone study them closely.
At these words the crowd had a sudden revelation and turned reverent gazes upon Ren Zhongyuan, while Wei Zhao was effectively confirmed as the true poisoner. Of everyone present, only he had both the means and the opportunity to commit the poisoning. Whatever else might be said, he was the prime suspect—and on that point there could be no escaping it!
"That still doesn't prove Wei Zhao did the poisoning. You know so much about it—who's to say you didn't gather those Heart-Piercing Sea Anemones yourself to frame him?" Ning Xuefei retorted without hesitation.
"Exactly. From beginning to end it's all your own word. None of us know anything about the Heart-Piercing Sea Anemone—only you do. Doesn't that mean you yourself are a strong suspect?" Huo Yudie said with a cold stare.
"Junior Sister Yudie, don't let this wretch pull the wool over your eyes. As the old saying goes, the bystander sees clearest. Between him and me, who is more likely to have done the poisoning—I trust everyone present can see it plain as day!" Ren Zhongyuan wore the expression of a man grievously wronged, then abruptly turned to the crowd. "Wei Zhao and me—who do you say it was?"
"Wei Zhao! Of course it was Wei Zhao!" More than half the Eastern Continent disciples here had to look to him for their cues; at a moment like this, the choice was obvious.
Huo Yudie and Ning Xuefei were secretly frantic. At this rate these people would again pressure Liu Ziqi into using the soul-search on Wei Zhao. Then Liu Ziqi raised a hand to the crowd and finally declared her position. "Wei Zhao is indeed a suspect in the poisoning. But until evidence is found, I will only place him under surveillance and house arrest. You two—if you dare lay a hand on the Western Island consort without authorization, by all means, try it."
This one sentence left Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian, who had schemed so painstakingly to create this scene, staring at each other in silence. Damn this old woman—she was too much of an obstacle!
But grumble as they might, Liu Ziqi's absolute strength was there for all to see. To step forward again at such a moment would be to offer oneself up as cannon fodder, and no one was a fool. The crowd could only sulk and shut their mouths.
"Very well. Since you all agree we cannot act rashly, then think hard about how to cure the poison. As for investigating the truth, that can wait. With no conclusive evidence and only this endless squabbling, we might as well all sit here and wait to die." Liu Ziqi's tone was unyieldingly firm.
Wei Zhao glanced at Liu Ziqi with some surprise. He had not had much contact with this academy magnate before—especially after that business of forcing Huo Yudie into a trade with Ren Zhongyuan, his impression of her had not been favorable. But now it had improved somewhat.