Chapter 20: Who Wants to Poison Them?

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Song Shiyue felt somewhat disappointed. "Second Brother was too gentle. I heard Song Shilan still had the strength to shout."
"And Aunt Qin, Second Brother hardly even hit her."
Song Shiwei smiled helplessly and gently tapped her forehead twice. "Don't say things like that outside from now on, understand?"
No matter how much the family detested Aunt Qin and Song Shilan, such talk must not be spoken publicly, lest others take advantage of it.
Song Shiyue stuck out her tongue playfully and obediently replied, "Big Sister, with Song Shilan like this, are we really going to keep her here?"
Song Shiwei saw through her thoughts and scolded gently, "Silly girl, keeping her here would only benefit her."
"What could be more painful than being injured and exiled?"
Song Shiyue thought about it and realized she was right, which lifted her spirits even more.
After setting off tomorrow, she would see how Song Shilan would be humiliated.
Usually, that woman never stopped humiliating her.
Song Shiwei searched for her mother and the others, intending to discuss borrowing the inn’s kitchen to prepare some long-lasting food for the journey.
At that moment, the inn steward’s angry voice rang out: "Who on earth would poison the stable and kill two fine horses?"
Song Shiwei’s heart skipped a beat.
She hurried over to the steward and politely asked, "May I ask, steward, you said someone poisoned the stable’s horses?"
"Could you please tell me exactly what happened?"
The steward’s attitude was quite good.
He frowned deeply, clearly annoyed. "I don’t know how it happened either. Just now, I brought a bucket of sweet potatoes to feed the horses, and suddenly two of them foam at the mouth and died."
"Upon inspection, I found out those two horses died from poisoning."
Song Shiwei’s brow twitched sharply as a suspicion formed. "Sweet potatoes?"
"Why would the steward feed horses sweet potatoes? They usually eat hay, right?"
The steward was no fool; hearing this, he too realized something was amiss.
It seemed this poisoning was targeted at the Song family but was accidentally thwarted by him.
"Those sweet potatoes were just delivered to the inn," he said, clenching his trembling hands, his face pale.
"I noticed some of the sweet potatoes weren’t of good quality, so I sent them to the horses."
"This is common; horses eat all sorts of things, mostly hay."
Seeing his expression, Song Shiwei knew he understood the critical point.
She once again regretted not learning medicine.

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Back then, she had no interest in medical arts and since she didn’t need to, she never studied it—only keeping some herbs in her space.
If she had studied medicine, she could now examine the sweet potatoes thoroughly.
"Steward, could the doctor please examine the food we all ate today?"
The steward wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly. "Miss Song, rest assured, I will have the doctor check everything."
If something really happened to the Song family at the inn, his position as steward would be over.
Song Shiwei thanked him and then asked, "Steward, were there any strangers or unfamiliar people here today?"
The steward thought for a moment before replying, "No."
"This is an imperial inn; ordinary people can’t enter. Those who come are either officials or people delivering food."
Song Shiwei now understood where the problem lay: either the sweet potato delivery person was bribed, or the sweet potatoes were secretly poisoned.
Moreover, if the sweet potatoes could be poisoned, many other things in the inn could also be tampered with.
"Steward, may we buy our own ingredients and cook?"
He said, "Yes, but the kitchen might not be safe."
He planned to thoroughly clean the inn later to prevent a repeat incident.
Song Shiwei said, "Then we’ll buy a pot and cook in our rooms."
"Could you arrange for someone suitable to accompany us when we buy supplies?"
"We’re unfamiliar with this place."
She wanted to use this opportunity to buy more items and would need a local to bargain for them.
The steward readily agreed and assigned an attendant to accompany the Song family.
After thanking him again, Song Shiwei went to find her mother and the others.
They were in the inn’s backyard, standing under a peach tree, staring at the ripe peaches and salivating.
Peaches—before, they hadn’t cared much for them, but now they longed for even a single bite.
"Madam, shall we ask the steward to send us a few peaches?"
"No, I don’t want to trouble the steward. Besides, we can’t owe favors; those are the hardest to repay."
"It’s only been two days since the exile, but it feels like decades."
Seeing this scene, Song Shiwei felt a pang of sadness and sighed. "Mother, we’re going out to buy some things."
Her mother and the others turned to her quickly, all looking a bit embarrassed.

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"Shiwei, what good reason do we have to go out and buy things?" her mother asked, cheeks flushed.
Song Shiwei glanced at the peach tree and replied, "We’re running low on food supplies at the inn."
"I just asked the steward, and he said we can buy pots and ingredients to cook in our rooms."
"Perfect timing—we’ll get pots, bowls, utensils, and food we can use on the road."
None of her mother or the others had ever bought such things before, so they were a bit confused.
"Buy pots and bowls? Do we really need those?"
"What kind of pots and bowls should we buy? And the food—can we carry it on the road? Won’t the guards say anything?"
"Should we buy a carriage? We could take turns riding to make it easier."
Hearing “carriage,” Song Shiwei tapped her chin lightly. "We can’t buy a carriage—it’s too conspicuous. But we can buy a donkey cart."
"We can use it to carry things, and sometimes we can even ride on it."
That old saying was true: three ordinary minds can equal a clever strategist.
See how, when they gathered to discuss, they managed to prepare everything needed for the journey.
Her mother hesitated. "Shiwei, we only have so much silver."
"What if we spend it all here and don’t have enough later?"
Song Shiwei reassured her, "Don’t worry, Mother. I asked the steward’s attendant to help; we won’t waste money."
"Besides, these are things we’ll need on the road."
She had always planned to prepare what was necessary in this town and now had a fitting excuse.
Her mother knew her daughter was capable and decisive and said no more.
While they talked, the steward arrived.
With medicine on their feet, the pain had lessened, and the excitement of shopping helped them walk better.
The steward’s attendant led Song Shiwei and the others to the town market.
Though it wasn’t market day, the stalls were still plentiful.
Just as they arrived, a commotion broke out.
"You little brat! I told you to deliver the sweet potatoes to the inn—where are they?"