In the inn, Liu Qi invited famous scholars from Jiangdong to a banquet, and young talents such as Gu Tan, Zhang Dun, Lu Ji, and Zhang Wen all attended.
After the banquet, everyone dispersed happily. Liu Qi stayed with his cousin Liu Ji to reminisce about the past. As the eldest son of Liu Yao, Liu Ji was also a veritable relative of the Han royal family and was quite loved by Sun Quan.
With him came an old butler with a hunchbacked body. Only Liu Qi and a few others knew that this man was Taishi Ci who had arrived in Jiangdong earlier.
After the guests left, the inn became quiet in an instant. Everyone came to the rooms on the second floor. Shi A had already led people to search everywhere and made sure that there was no hiding place.
When they arrived at the room, Taishi Ci stared at the several pieces of pineapple cakes on the table with a slight stern look in his eyes. Hua Tuo separated them one by one and explained the differences between them to Yu Fan.
Some of them were given to Liu Qi and Zhao Yun to taste by Wu Guotai a few days ago, and some were given to Hua Tuo. Although there was no difference on the surface, the difference was discovered once they were tested.
There was nothing unusual about the pastry that Wu Guotai gave to Hua Tuo, which showed that the target was Liu Qi. And what Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci had eaten before was the pineapple cake mixed with poison.
Taishi Ci gritted his teeth when he heard this and said in a deep voice: "I have followed Sun Bofu and fought bloody battles for the great cause of Jiangdong, and tried my best to ensure that Sun Quan ascended to the throne. Gongjin was also loyal to me, so why would you repay me with evil?"
Liu Qi sighed and said, "General Taishi, have you ever thought that there are many doubts about General Sun's death? Although the assassin was the instigator, he was not the cause of death."
"You mean?" Taishi Ci's eyes widened, gleaming with brilliance. He couldn't help but take two steps back and muttered, "At such a young age, you have such a mind?"
Hua Tuo had made some preliminary inferences after conducting experiments in the past few days. He had to verify with Taishi Ci in person to confirm the facts. That was why he held this banquet and said, "Mr. Hua has found out that this pastry is poisonous. There are still some doubts that need to be confirmed with the general."
Taishi Ci took a deep breath to calm himself, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, please speak."
Hua Tuo said, "General, you and Sun Bawang are both heroes of the time. You have similar temperaments and strong wills. You must have been angry a lot. You were seriously injured in the battle of Huainan and almost died. General, think carefully, are there any differences between before and after you were injured and when you were angry?"
"This?" Taishi Ci pondered for a moment, frowned and said, "If I was angry before, it was just a surge of blood and qi, and I didn't feel any discomfort. After I was injured, I felt resentful that my great cause had not been accomplished, and I was angry and furious. That time, my mouth was bitter, my eyes were full of stars, my heart was pounding and I was short of breath. If General Liu hadn't arrived in time, I would have died of suffocation."
Hua Tuo twirled his beard and nodded, saying, "That's it. Although anger attacks the heart, it actually originates from the liver. The liver belongs to wood, and anger hurts the liver, because fire overcomes wood and becomes poisonous! The poison enters the blood and hurts the lungs. This is the poison in the general's body."
Taishi Ci was puzzled and asked, "If the poison was caused by anger, why was there no problem before?"
Hua Tuo said: "This substance is actually non-toxic, so it is not unusual in normal times. However, once it is injured by metal, it will turn into a strange poison. However, it has long been integrated into the blood, so it is not easy to detect. It will only cause death if it induces the anger of the liver."
"Hiss—" Taishi Ci was shocked and said in a trembling voice: "Bo Fu was killed by Yu Ji after being assassinated. I was seriously injured and almost died from anger. Gong Jin was also injured and fainted. How could there be such a rare thing in the world?"
Liu Qi was also shocked. He finally understood why Zhou Yu's blood was normal before, but became poisonous after he was injured and returned to Chaisang. It turned out that this was the key.
However, he was thinking more than others at this moment. Could it be that Zhuge Liang had angered Zhou Yu three times and that this strange poison was the root of the evil
There are also the later great generals Lu Su and Lu Meng. It is said that all the great generals of Eastern Wu died young, either from illness or mysterious deaths. The speculation that it was related to Sun Quan seems to be not groundless.
When everyone was shocked, Yu Fan slammed his fist on the table and said through gritted teeth, "It is indeed almost the same as I guessed. The second lady must have accidentally obtained this poison from the pirates in the East China Sea. She deliberately set up this plan to put us to death."
Taishi Ci was so angry that he was shaking all over. He stepped in front of Yu Fan and asked anxiously, "What secret did Zhong Xiang find out?"
Yu Fan said slowly, "In order to cure Ziyi and Zhou Lang of the poison, I sneaked into Lingnan three years ago and visited many strange people. Finally, I found a clue in the depths of the East China Sea: there is a kind of red-fin whale in the southeastern sea. The young ones are as big as a boat, and the adults are as big as a house. They are extremely powerful. Fishing nets and swords cannot kill them. However, a group of pirates can easily kill them. It is amazing."
"Is this pirate so capable?" Taishi Ci grew up on the coast of Donglai and had seen big fish in the sea. If you are in the water, no matter how good your skills are, you are no match for the big fish.
Yu Fan asked, "After my nephew returned to Jianye, he bought fish liver and fish oil every month and sent them to the mansion to make pineapple cakes for the Queen Mother. Ziyi, do you know about this?"
Taishi Ci frowned and said, "I knew about this a long time ago. I also bought the same thing and asked Li Dangzhi to check it. There was nothing unusual. Could it be related to this red-fin whale?"
"That's right!" Yu Fan nodded and said, "I asked someone to spend a lot of money and learned from a pirate that they hunt red-fin whales by shooting the gills with a rusty iron arrow. This secret technique is only circulated on the islands deep in the East China Sea. It has been passed down from generation to generation and no one in the Central Plains knows about it."
Liu Qi also discussed this matter with Hua Tuo and others during this period. After solving the most critical link, he finally got a clue and said, "It must be that the redfin whale was irritated by the pain after being shot by the arrow, and it struggled to death. If people take its cod liver oil for a long time, they will also have this disease. If they are injured by metal, they will die if they get angry."
"That's right!" Hua Tuo stroked his beard and said, "Mr. Yu and I have already guessed this. Today, we asked General Taishi to come and confirm it. It seems that this is already 80% certain."
Taishi Ci asked again: "The red-fin whale is so huge, it must be in the deep sea. If we provoke it, it may not be able to escape. How can we bring it back?"
Liu Qi laughed and said, "Pirates have lived on the island for generations. They knew that this big fish loves pineapples, so they feed small fish with pineapples in the bay and kill them when they grow up. They must have discovered that this big fish died from injuries by chance, so they used this trick, and it has worked every time."
Yu Fan said in a deep voice: "Those pirates are barbaric and cruel, and they would not use this poison. I don't know how the Second Madam learned about this and made pineapple cakes to harm people without making any noise. If I hadn't been searching for clues, I'm afraid no one in the world would know about this."
Taishi Ci couldn't help but think of Sun Ce's favorite pineapple cakes. Whenever he received a reward from the Second Lady, he would happily share it with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. At that time, Sun Quan was still young. If the Second Lady had this plan back then, it shows how scheming she was.
Thinking of this, his hair and beard stood up, and he clenched his fist and growled, "The old hag had planned this long ago, and she is so vicious. I must kill her with my own hands."
Yu Fan said, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. If we can expose this matter in front of the civil and military officials of Jiangdong, Ziyi and I can confront the old thief face to face, and perhaps we can uncover the mystery of Bo Fu's assassination."
Liu Qi said to Liu Ji, "Within five days, I want to know all the information about the second wife before she got married."
"Don't worry!" Liu Ji also knew that the matter was of great importance, and nodded solemnly.
Liu Qi was about to discuss the plan with everyone when Yu Fan's face suddenly changed and he exclaimed, "Not good!"