"So, that means something that could trigger the You Lian poison was present at the Lantern Festival?"
Having figured it out, Nan Shiying stood up abruptly. She called Xuan Yi into the room, "Bring me the maps of Yun Lan Street and Chang Ling Street, and mark the locations where those five people died. Also, list what the vendors selling nearby were selling, where they lived, and who their ancestors were for three generations."
"Yes!"
Xuan Yi took the order.
He first drew maps of the two streets and then marked the locations where the five people died. During yesterday's investigation, the dark web had already recorded the layout of the entire street, the positions of all vendors, and what they were selling. Now, the only thing left to investigate was their family history going back three generations.
Du Lao twitched his mouth, directly experiencing the capabilities of the Wang Fu's secret guards. With what Nan Shiying had ordered, if it were a normal government office, it would be considered an elite force if they could prepare all the information and start the investigation in a single day.
The five deceased: one died in front of a dough figurine stall, one in front of a wonton stall, one at a lantern riddle game, one in a tea shed near the lakeside, and the last one in front of a mask stall.
Two died on Yun Lan Street, and three died on Chang Ling Street.
They seemed to have no connection.
Nan Shiying first ruled out the vendors.
However, she did not stop the secret guards from investigating them.
The substance that could trigger You Lian seemed to be present on these two streets, but aside from the lanterns hanging along the roadside, there seemed to be nothing else in common between these two streets.
Wait, lanterns?
"Which department was responsible for the lanterns at the Lantern Festival?"
"Lanterns?"
Du Lao thought for a moment and replied, "It should be the Ministry of Rites."
"Xuan Yi, go and see if the lanterns from last night are still hanging on the streets. If they have been taken down, secretly retrieve a few."
"Yes!"
Du Lao watched the busy Xuan Yi and felt that he would eventually be worked to death.
At this moment, she was issuing orders one after another, calling for Xuan Yi, Xuan Yi, Xuan Yi. He was tired of hearing it.
However, judging by her actions, she suspected that someone had placed the substance that triggered You Lian inside the lanterns? Or perhaps it had infiltrated the lantern shades or wicks?
But for what purpose?
Could it be just to create panic?
Yesterday, there were deaths. The Ministry of Rites did not immediately focus on the lanterns. In fact, the deaths had nothing to do with the Ministry of Rites; that was the concern of the Jingzhao Prefecture. However, since the deaths occurred at the Lantern Festival, the Ministry of Rites, adhering to humanitarian principles, still sent officials responsible for planning and decorating the Lantern Festival to the Jingzhao Prefecture. They were more knowledgeable than the Jingzhao Prefecture officials about where people could hide, escape, or set up ambushes on these two streets.
However, the deaths last night were most likely not man-made. The Jingzhao Prefecture had indeed identified the identities of these individuals. They were all hardworking, ordinary citizens with no enemies and certainly no feuds. The coroner's examination concluded that all five died of myocardial infarction.
The only suspicious aspect was that these five people died of the same illness.
So, the people from the Ministry of Rites went to the Jingzhao Prefecture and then returned. When Xuan Yi was retrieving the lanterns, the people from the Ministry of Rites were also taking down lanterns.
"Why are a few missing?"
The person responsible for packing felt it was strange, but lanterns were lost every year. It was just that people dared not take them away privately. Therefore, in previous years, damaged lanterns were collected and then destroyed or had their shades re-covered. Missing lanterns were rarely seen.
"Forget it, forget it. Given the situation this year... it doesn't matter if a few are missing!"
Since last year, the unrest in the capital had not stopped. They thought that after the New Year's Eve, everything would get better. But now, in the middle of the year, trouble had arisen. Compared to the deaths last night, a few missing lanterns were nothing. If it weren't for the timely prevention by the patrol battalion and the Ministry of War, and the Jingzhao Prefecture, there would have been great chaos. At that time, it wouldn't just be lanterns, but people would be carried out in droves.
"That's right. Have they finished over there? Let's go to Yun Lan Street after we finish!"
...
Xuan Yi brought back the lanterns, and Nan Shiying examined them, then glanced at Du Lao.
"What?" Du Lao raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't find anything on them that could induce the onset of You Lian."
Not inside the lanterns?
Upon hearing this, Du Lao picked up a lantern, slit the paper shade with a knife, dismantled the frame, and removed the candle inside. He meticulously examined everything, then swept the disassembled lantern parts aside. "There really isn't any."
The trigger wasn't inside the lanterns?
Du Lao frowned and murmured, "There are many drugs that can induce the onset of You Lian, such as Golden Cordyceps, Fragrant Honey, Jue Pen Zi..." As he spoke, Du Lao paused. He suddenly remembered one type of trigger.
"Yes, yes, how did I not think of it before?" Du Lao slapped his thigh excitedly, his face beaming. "I said before that You Lian poison isn't a fatal poison for robust individuals, but once You Lian enters the body, unless it's completely removed, it will still be triggered by a substance, albeit with different symptoms."
"For healthy people, it's still like a cold; but for the elderly and weak, it will accelerate heart failure, leading to death from a heart attack. This poison can spread through the air but cannot survive in the air. Therefore, You Lian poison, while it can be considered terrifying, is also not terrifying. Even though there are relatively many substances that can induce You Lian poison, in terms of toxicity and harm, You Lian is considered safe."
"Things like Golden Cordyceps need to be ingested or ground into powder and made into candles. When burned, their medicinal properties are released. But there is something that requires no grinding and no burning; as long as it's placed in a windy spot, it can induce You Lian poison."
"Purple Golden Orchid, the fragrance of Purple Golden Orchid."
Nan Shiying nodded, then said to Xuan Yi, "I need to know if Purple Golden Orchid appeared at the Lantern Festival last night, and also, go and retrieve a few peace lanterns that were released by the people."
"Yes!"
Xuan Yi took the order without asking further questions.
Du Lao, however, asked with some confusion, "Why do you need peace lanterns?"
Nan Shiying looked at him, her gaze strange, and her face full of question marks, "You just said it. If those triggers want to induce You Lian poison, they need to be made into candles. Peace lanterns also have candles!"
Du Lao coughed. "Ah, yes, yes, peace lanterns!"
Besides the decorative lanterns, peace lanterns flowed with the water currents throughout the city. If the inducing substance were placed inside them, it would also be a good choice. Moreover, the decorative lanterns at the festival were from the Ministry of Rites, but the peace lanterns were not. People could make their own peace lanterns or buy them by the shore. If one wanted to tamper with them, peace lanterns would be the best choice.
"I was just testing you, yes, testing you!"
Nan Shiying: "..."
I believe you!