“Big Brother Gu!” Zhang Nian instinctively caught Gu Qingyan.

“Young Master!” Hongdou, who came out to greet him, was so scared she was nearly stunned.

Gu Qingyan felt his stomach convulsing in unbearable pain — classic symptoms of poisoning.

Lu Yanhe had gone completely mad, poisoning him openly in broad daylight?

Gu Qingyan quickly took out an antidote pill from his system and swallowed it, trying to calm the terrified people nearby: “I’m fine.”

“You’re coughing up blood, how can you be fine? Hurry, call the doctor!” Hongdou shouted.

Just then, Zhang Nian was about to run, but Gu Qingyan grabbed him: “No, take this and find Zhang Cheng. If he’s also poisoned, make him take the antidote immediately.”

“But—”

“No buts, go now!” Gu Qingyan snapped.

He feared that Lu Yanhe’s madness would not stop at poisoning just him.

Zhang Nian dashed off at full speed.

Hongdou clenched her teeth and tried to get up: “I’ll go get the doctor.”

“Wait,” Gu Qingyan held her hand, “I really am fine. I already took the antidote a moment ago.”

“This antidote is extremely effective; the pain in my stomach is already gone.”

The antidote pill made by the system worked very well. In just a short time, Gu Qingyan’s previously pale face had regained color, though his lips were still slightly blue-purple.

Hongdou trembled all over: “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Young Master wouldn’t have suffered this.”

“It’s not your fault. He just can’t stand me and is deliberately making things difficult.”

Gu Qingyan exhaled sharply: “I was just worried about lacking evidence. This time he poisoned me openly. Sister Hongdou, help me onto the cart. We’re going to the government office to bang the gong of injustice and see how he escapes then.”

Hongdou’s legs went weak from fear but she forced herself up, supporting Gu Qingyan as they headed out.

No matter what, she couldn’t let Young Master suffer in vain.

Zhang Nian ran so fast he left afterimages behind, rushing all the way to the Zhang family estate.

Before even entering, he already knew something was wrong — it was chaotic inside.

Several servant boys brought by Zhang Cheng were crying helplessly as their master coughed up blood. No one had thought to call a doctor.

Zhang Nian rushed in and pushed people aside to feed medicine.

“What are you doing?!” one servant shouted.

Zhang Cheng’s condition was worse than Gu Qingyan’s. He writhed on the ground in pain. Zhang Nian alone couldn’t hold him down: “What are you waiting for? Hold him down, I have the antidote!”

Only then did the servants react.

Several people restrained Zhang Cheng while Zhang Nian tilted his chin and shoved the pill into his mouth.

Fortunately, Zhang Cheng was still rational and forced himself to swallow.

The antidote took effect immediately; as soon as it was swallowed, the pain lessened. But he was scared: “What exactly happened to me?”

“You’ve been poisoned,” Zhang Nian said furiously. “Big Brother Gu just got home and the poison hit — it has to be that Lu family man.”

“What?!”

Zhang Cheng was both scared and shocked. He never imagined this would happen.

At such a busy place like Qingzhou Pavilion, the Lu family openly invited Gu Qingyan to reconcile, but poisoned his food.

“Does he even care about the law? We all have official ranks.”

Zhang Cheng felt relieved; he hadn’t eaten much because he was uneasy, only a cup of wine and two bites of food.

Otherwise, he might have already died from the poison by now.

Zhang Nian cursed: “He’s just a madman, abusing the Lu family’s power.”

“Cousin, I’m glad you’re alright. I have to hurry back now,” Zhang Cheng hurried to his feet.

Zhang Cheng struggled up: “Wait, what about Brother Gu? Is he alright? Lu Yanhe actually dared to poison him — we can’t let this go quietly.”

“Big Brother Gu took the medicine too. I’ll have to hurry back and find out more.”

Watching Zhang Nian leave in a rush, Zhang Cheng rubbed his stomach, worrying for his own life.

“Young Master, I already sent someone to get a doctor. You absolutely must be alright!” one servant cried, nearly in tears.

Zhang Cheng sighed: “My stomach doesn’t hurt as much as before. Luckily, Brother Gu is here.”

“The Young Master should thank him. If not for him, how would he have gotten poisoned?” the servant said angrily.

Zhang Cheng shook his head: “You can’t blame Brother Gu for this. Who could’ve thought Lu Yanhe would be so heartless? Doesn’t he fear we’ll report him to the authorities?”

Gu Qingyan got on the ox cart and was heading to the government office.

After calming down, he also sensed something was wrong.

The Lu family held a banquet to reconcile. Even if Lu Yanhao was unwilling, directly poisoning someone was truly unfathomable.

Precisely because Qingzhou Pavilion was such a bright and public place, Gu Qingyan had felt safe entering.

But now, the blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth told him he had been careless.

“Young master, are you really alright? Maybe we should still go to the clinic first,” Hongdou asked worriedly.

Gu Qingyan felt his pulse. The antidote pill was extremely effective; aside from some surging qi and blood, the poison had already been neutralized.

“We need to go to the magistrate’s office first. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll destroy the evidence.”

Gu Qingyan reassured her, “At that time, I had no appetite, only took a bite of the osmanthus cake. Even if poisoned, it couldn’t be too deep.”

Otherwise, even with the antidote, the effect wouldn’t be so quick.

Gu Qingyan thought to himself: No wonder Lu Yanhao had repeatedly urged him to eat — it was to poison him.

He had seriously underestimated the cruelty of human hearts. If he had lost his life, even if Lu Yanhao were to be punished, his own life would be lost.

Suddenly, Hongdou cried out in alarm, “Young master, so many soldiers!”

Gu Qingyan poked his head out and saw a column of soldiers rushing over, surrounding their ox cart tightly.

This wasn’t right!

Could it be that Lu Yanhao and the villains had already accused him first, just like the Xu family mother and son, setting a trap to ruin him?

Gu Qingyan’s face hardened: “You came just in time. The Lu family held a banquet to reconcile, but who would have thought they poisoned the food and wine? Please seal off Qingzhou Pavilion quickly to prevent them from destroying the evidence.”

The lead officer was stunned: “You were poisoned too?”

Gu Qingyan frowned, “Who else was poisoned?”

Could it be as he guessed—Zhang Cheng was also poisoned? Lu Yanhao was utterly ruthless.

The officers noticed the bloodstains on his collar and exchanged glances.

But they didn’t answer Gu Qingyan’s question. Instead, they said, “Young master Gu, please come with us to the magistrate’s office.”

Gu Qingyan felt a chill in his heart.

The officers’ expressions were grim and even fearful — clearly something serious had happened.

He asked in a low voice, “What exactly happened?”

“Could it be that he’s pretending to be poisoned to frame me?”

Lu Yanhao was so deranged, he might do that.

Still, the officers did not answer: “Young master Gu, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

“Take him and the cart directly back.”

Hongdou was furious, “It’s clearly my young master who was poisoned. Why aren’t you arresting the culprit, but taking us to the magistrate’s office instead? What kind of justice is this?”

“Hongdou,” Gu Qingyan held her back.

In a low voice, he said, “Something’s not right.”

Hongdou angrily said, “It must be because they see the Lu family as powerful and rich, so they collude with them. Young master, what do we do now?”

Gu Qingyan felt the attitude of the officers was not as Hongdou suspected.

He frowned and decided to take it step by step.

“Don’t rush. The Qingzhou prefect is fair and just; he won’t wrong innocent people.”

The officers were clearly anxious and kept urging the ox cart to move faster.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the prefecture office.

Gu Qingyan was helped down, and at first glance, he saw rows of people gathered outside the office.

“That’s him!”

Someone shouted, and those people tried to rush forward, clearly intent on tearing Gu Qingyan apart.

The officers drew their blades: “Clear the way! The magistrate has not yet finished the trial. Who dares to obstruct official business?”

“He killed my son! I want him to pay with his life!” an old man roared, ignoring the blades and trying to strike.

Gu Qingyan’s expression changed slightly.

“Pay with his life?” Who had died? One of the scholars today?

His mind raced: Could it be that Lu Yanhao poisoned and killed someone, then framed him?

For a moment, they were blocked at the gate, and several officers were pushed and staggered.

Hongdou stood firmly in front of Gu Qingyan, forbidding anyone to come close.

Just as Gu Qingyan was about to act, a group of officers rushed out from inside, dragging those people away.

“Hurry inside.”

Only then did they finally enter the courtroom.

Inside the courtroom, Elder Lu, tears streaming down his face, cried out: “Magistrate Ding, you must do justice for the Lu family! My second son was at fault, but his crime does not warrant death. My eldest and third sons are honorable friends.”

“I have made the second son admit his mistakes and even held a banquet to reconcile, but who would have thought Gu Qingyan was so cruel and ruthless as to poison the food?”

“As head of Hongshan Academy, I have taught and nurtured students all my life and believe I have done no wrong. Why does heaven treat me so unjustly, allowing white-haired parents to bury black-haired children?”

“Now Yanhao died suddenly from poisoning, and Yanjun and Yanchi are both unconscious, their lives unknown. If you do not deal with this fairly, magistrate, I will risk my reputation and petition the capital.”

“I want to see whether the laws of the Great Zhou and justice under heaven matter more, or the influence of the Pei family’s connections.”

Magistrate Ding was sweating profusely.

Previously, he had revealed Gu Qingyan’s background to Elder Lu, which led to the Lu family’s banquet and attempt at reconciliation.

But who would have expected that such a tragic incident would occur in Qingzhou Pavilion, such a bustling marketplace.

Lu Yanhao died on the spot from poisoning, blood gushing from his seven orifices.

Among the five students from Hongshan Academy present, three, like him, died suddenly with blood flowing from their seven orifices; the remaining two survived but also suffered poisoning and were still being treated at the medical hall.

Even worse, the heirs of the Lu family, Lu Yanjun and Lu Yanchi, had both been poisoned!

Prefect Ding still retained some rationality and found the situation hard to believe.

He had met Gu Qingyan before — a young man who knew when to advance or retreat, was strategic, and could even turn retreat into advance through careful thought.

Such a person would not just directly poison food at Qingzhou Pavilion.

That was why he had taken the initiative to bring Gu Qingyan here before the Lu family could act.

“Bring Gu Qingyan in,”

Prefect Ding said hurriedly, “Quick, bring him inside.”

Director Lu looked up, his eyes full of ruthlessness, no trace of affection left.

Whoever killed his son—even if they were from the Pei family—would pay the price.

Leaning slightly on the bailiffs, Gu Qingyan entered and immediately called out, “Please, Your Honor, help this student.”

“Your Honor, this student sincerely attended the banquet, but Lu Yanjun poisoned the food. If I hadn’t carried an antidote pill with me, I would have died from the poisoning by now.”

Prefect Ding’s expression changed: “What? You were poisoned too?”

Director Lu sneered, “He claims to be poisoned, and now that death is near, he’s still making excuses.”

“If you don’t believe me, just have the doctor check my pulse,” Gu Qingyan said coldly.

This was why he rushed here—so that the antidote pill from the system wouldn’t act too quickly and erase the traces of poison in his body.

Prefect Ding had already prepared and gave a signal.

Immediately a doctor stepped forward to check his pulse.

“The young master is indeed poisoned, but it’s mild. After taking the antidote pill, he should recover quickly.”

Director Lu shouted coldly, “He must be cunning, and knowing he couldn’t escape once discovered, he’s gone so far as to poison himself to clear suspicion.”

Gu Qingyan looked at him, guessing his identity.

“The banquet was held at Qingzhou Pavilion—the time and place set by the Lu family. I’m just a humble, newly arrived scholar. How could I have the ability to poison the food?”

“Director Lu, Gu Gongzi’s reasoning makes sense,” Prefect Ding also found the situation suspicious.

But Director Lu refused to let go: “If not him, then who? Only a scholar who knew he would be poisoned would carry an antidote pill on him.”

Gu Qingyan explained coldly, “I’ve been physically weak since childhood, and I like to carry pills for health. Is that wrong? I don’t just have antidote pills but various health pills.”

Prefect Ding cleared his throat, “Let’s first have the doctor examine these antidote pills. If they’re effective, give them to the others quickly. The longer we wait, the worse it will be.”

Gu Qingyan took out the antidote pill.

“Besides me, if anyone else is poisoned, just use this.”

He silently cursed, thinking Lu Yanjun was crazy to eat poisoned food himself without fear of dying.

At that moment, Director Lu actually threw the medicine bottle to the ground.

“This man caused my son’s tragic death! Before Lu Yanjun died, he identified this man as the murderer! Prefect Ding, at this point, do you still want to protect this criminal?”

Gu Qingyan’s heart skipped a beat.

“Lu Yanjun is dead!”

Director Lu seemed to want to tear him apart with his bare hands, “Stop pretending—you’re the one who poisoned and killed him!”

Gu Qingyan’s heart sank to the bottom.

Even if Lu Yanjun was crazy, he wouldn’t poison himself just to frame him.

This was serious.

With Lu Yanjun dead, the Lu family would never let this go.

Gu Qingyan wished Lu Yanjun had died earlier—but not like this, bearing the innocent label of murderer.

“Please, Your Honor, see clearly—before now, I only thought Lu Yanjun poisoned me, not that he was already poisoned to death.”

Director Lu roared, “If not you, then who? Recently, Lu Yanjun has only offended you.”

Gu Qingyan ignored him and looked up at Prefect Ding.

“Your Honor, first, before today, I had never been to Qingzhou Pavilion, nor did I know anyone there—poisoning would have been next to impossible.”

“Second, when I arrived, the other guests were already present; all my movements were in full view and can be verified by those alive. The banquet was prepared by the Lu family, and the food was served directly by Qingzhou Pavilion. How could I have poisoned it?”

“Third, poisoning to harm others indiscriminately requires a large amount of poison. Where did the poison come from? Was it all used? Where is the rest hidden? Surely there must be some clues.”

Gu Qingyan spoke in a clear voice:
“My lord, the top priority right now is to seal off the scene and conduct a thorough investigation. For someone to be able to poison within Qingzhou Pavilion, they must be closely connected to it—possibly even one of its own.”

“If we delay, the real culprit may escape.”

Prefect Ding quickly responded, “Dean Lu, I understand the pain of losing your son, but there are still doubts surrounding this case. It would be best to draw conclusions only after a careful investigation.”

“You wouldn’t want your son’s killer to go unpunished while an innocent person is blamed, would you?”

Dean Lu’s expression was as dark as water. He slowly closed his eyes.

“My lord, if you don’t give me a proper explanation today, I will not leave.”

“A brutal murder in the heart of Qingzhou city—rest assured, I will see that the truth is revealed to the public.”

Soon, Prefect Ding ordered someone to bring a chair for Dean Lu and invited him to sit.

Prefect Ding glanced at Gu Qingyan and saw that his robes were stained with blood. He sighed inwardly but didn’t dare show him any special treatment.

In his heart, he knew that regardless of whether Gu Qingyan was the killer, the Lu family had been thoroughly offended this time.

Lu Yanhe was dead, and both Lu Yanjun and Lu Yanchi were still unconscious. Dean Lu probably wished Gu Qingyan dead at this moment.

Even as the local prefect, Ding didn’t dare provoke Dean Lu any further.

Unknowingly, members of the Lu family had already surrounded the entire yamen.

Prefect Ding understood clearly: if it was confirmed that Gu Qingyan was the murderer, no one would be able to protect him.

Gu Qingyan furrowed his brows. Lu Yanhe’s death was something he wouldn’t mourn—but with both Lu Yanjun and Lu Yanchi poisoned as well, it meant that everyone present was implicated.

“Dean Lu, the antidote pill I used is extremely effective. If the two young masters haven’t woken up yet, it might be worth a try.”

Dean Lu, eyes still shut, replied coldly, “Spare me your crocodile tears.”

Since he refused, Gu Qingyan could only fall silent.

“Young Master, would you like to sit and rest?” Hongdou asked with concern, seeing the look on his face.

Gu Qingyan shook his head.

[You have successfully checked in at Qingzhou Prefectural Office. You received a Qingzhou Prefecture Official Register.]

Gu Qingyan closed his eyes and pretended to nap while quickly flipping through the contents.

This major case had put the entire yamen on edge.

Outside, more and more people gathered. The incident involved Qingzhou Pavilion, the Lu family, and scholars—poison and murder, every element stirring the people’s nerves.

Vice Magistrate Zhang personally led a team to Qingzhou Pavilion.

The Lu family also responded swiftly, surrounding the Pavilion inside and out.

“Where’s the manager?”

The manager was already terrified, his legs trembling. “My lord, I’m innocent! Qingzhou Pavilion is a reputable establishment—how could we possibly be involved in poisoning and murder?”

And the victim was from the Lu family—he was facing a storm of trouble.

But Vice Magistrate Zhang paid no heed to his grievances. “This happened at Qingzhou Pavilion. You can’t escape responsibility.”

“But I’m innocent…”

Vice Magistrate Zhang cut him off. “Enough. You, go count the staff at Qingzhou Pavilion and interrogate them one by one.”

“You, go check the ingredients.”

“And those who were present when Second Young Master Lu was poisoned—step forward. I’ll question you personally.”

Vice Magistrate Zhang was highly capable and quickly reconstructed the scene, including what happened before and after Gu Qingyan arrived. There had indeed been a conflict between him and Lu Yanhe.

After Gu Qingyan left, Lu Yanjun and Lu Yanchi couldn’t tolerate staying any longer and left in anger.

Zhang Cheng, a student from the same Lingchuan County, left with them.

However, the remaining five students from Hongshan Academy stayed and continued drinking and carousing with Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe was arrogant by nature. It was common for him to insult and belittle scholars in public.

But this day was different. After being thoroughly humiliated by Gu Qingyan, he was in a foul mood and took it out even on his drinking buddies.

He drank heavily and ate greedily, downing an entire large jug of wine.

Not only that, he dragged over a musician and insisted she drink with them, even making lewd advances.

The musician was terrified and kept crying out, “Second Young Master Lu, I’m here to perform music, not sell myself!”

Lu Yanhe became even more displeased. “Aren’t you all selling yourselves? What difference does it make what you sell? It’s not like I won’t pay!”

As he spoke, he tried to force himself on her, frightening the musician into screaming repeatedly.

The manager of Qingzhou Pavilion was overwhelmed and sent a waiter to defuse the situation, only to be kicked aside by Lu Yanhe.

“Young Master Lu, please don’t be like this. If you like girls, I’ll go fetch some for you—however many you want. But Miss Xu is already married, she has a husband. She agreed only to play music. If you do this, it’ll ruin Qingzhou Pavilion’s reputation.”

With no other option, the manager invoked the name of his powerful backers to plead with him.

Lu Yanhe merely sneered coldly. “What’s there to be afraid of? If I sleep with her today and marry her tomorrow, that’ll be her good fortune.”

“They’re just a bunch of merchants—how dare they even think they’re worthy of speaking in front of the Lu family?”

At the time, the situation had gotten completely out of hand. The innkeeper, taking a few hits himself, desperately told Lady Xu to flee.

Lu Yanhe was furious and even laid hands on the innkeeper. Several attendants couldn’t hold him back.

Now, recalling it, the innkeeper touched his wounds and cried out, “Everyone in Qingzhou knows what a temper Second Master Lu has! Once he loses it, who can stop him?”

“If it weren’t for the fact that there were so many attendants in the Qingzhou Pavilion, I would’ve been beaten to death on the spot.”

Magistrate Zhang frowned.

He had heard of Second Master Lu’s arrogance and tyranny, but he hadn’t expected him to act so brazenly even at the Qingzhou Pavilion.

“Weren’t there still five others from Hongshan Academy with him? Didn’t they try to stop him?”

“How could they? They were all in it together—none of them were decent people.”

The innkeeper was indignant when mentioning the five.

When Lu Yanhe was harassing the musician and beating the innkeeper, those men sat nearby drinking and laughing.

Two of them couldn’t stomach it and quietly slipped away, but didn’t dare say anything—clearly afraid of the Lu family’s power.

The remaining three were even worse.

One said, “Brother Lu, you don’t have enough charm. Even a songstress doesn’t want you.”

Another laughed, “Brother Lu, are you even capable? You’ve been at it this long and she’s still screaming. No wonder even the chambermaids at your house are taken by others.”

A third chimed in, “That Gu fellow’s behavior—he clearly doesn’t respect our Brother Lu.”

“Of course not—he’s clinging to Eldest Master Lu and Third Master Lu now. Naturally, he looks down on our Second Master Lu.”

The innkeeper cried, “Not only did they not help or try to stop him, they actually egged him on!”

Magistrate Zhang’s frown deepened. “Just now, you said that everyone in Qingzhou knows about Second Master Lu’s arrogant and tyrannical behavior. Who exactly knows? And what do they know?”

The innkeeper opened his mouth but didn’t dare speak further.

“Answer me,” Magistrate Zhang barked.

The innkeeper looked even more distressed. “I—I was just talking nonsense, really, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“If you don’t speak, I’ll think you’re the murderer. You must’ve held a grudge after being beaten and poisoned the food in revenge,” Magistrate Zhang snapped.

Frightened, the innkeeper dropped to his knees. “It wasn’t me! I wouldn’t dare! Besides, when Eldest Master Lu left, I hadn’t even been beaten yet!”

“My lord, please don’t wrongly accuse an innocent man!”

Magistrate Zhang scolded, “Then answer honestly—how exactly is Second Master Lu arrogant and tyrannical?”

The innkeeper no longer dared to hide anything.

“Though Second Master Lu is a member of the Lu family, he’s nothing like the others. He’s had a bad temper since he was young—beating, scolding, and bullying commoners was a regular thing.”

“When he was younger, it was just yelling and hitting. But as he got older, it became worse. Whenever he fancied a pretty girl, he would snatch her.”

The innkeeper looked at Magistrate Zhang. “My lord, you work in the yamen—do you really not know?”

Magistrate Zhang frowned.

He had indeed heard about this before. Several people had filed complaints, accusing Lu Yanhe of forcibly taking local women.

But in the end, every case was withdrawn by the victims’ families, dismissed as a “misunderstanding.”

Magistrate Zhang knew the truth—most likely, the Lu family had paid them off, and the families agreed to marry their daughters off to Lu Yanhe as concubines. With a single brocade quilt over the matter, the case was settled.

With both parties having “reconciled” and no victim to pursue the matter, the authorities had no reason to investigate further.

In the courtroom, Prefect Ding was also growing anxious.

Dean Lu sat there like a stake, refusing to budge until the truth was uncovered.

Finally, Magistrate Zhang returned.

Prefect Ding quickly asked, “Did you find any evidence? Have you identified the culprit?”

Magistrate Zhang looked uneasy. “Not yet—but we did make some discoveries.”

“What kind of discoveries?”

Magistrate Zhang glanced at Dean Lu, then answered, “There are seventy-three people at the Qingzhou Pavilion—one innkeeper, thirty attendants, ten musicians, twelve kitchen staff, and twenty laborers.”

“Of those seventy-three, more than half had been beaten or cursed by Young Master Lu. All of them have a motive.”

“What?” Prefect Ding was stunned. In one breath, the number of suspects had jumped to over forty.

Dean Lu’s expression twisted, and he shot to his feet.

“Very well! So this is how Prefect Ding investigates a case? My son is already dead, and now you want to tarnish his name?”

“If the prefect cannot get to the bottom of this, then I shall bring in someone who can!”