Record Bad Deeds in the Ledger

Edmund Hale didn't believe the rumors about the poisonous breast milk regarding the deaths of Lucius Blackthorn and others. In his view, it was certainly someone with a grudge against Lucius Blackthorn who poisoned him. Unfortunately, the clues about the poison were still elusive.

At this moment, Duncan Thorngate, accompanied by two patrol officers, carried a large chest from the town hall's inner courtyard past Edmund Hale, piquing his curiosity.

"What's in this chest?" Edmund Hale stopped the two men carrying the chest and asked.

Duncan Thorngate bowed and replied, "Honorable Royal Overseer, this chest contains the belongings of the former town mayor, Henry Vander. Ever since Henry Vander was killed by that scoundrel Sinbad, Magnus Valorion ordered us to seal the mayor's belongings. Now, Magnus has found a fellow townsman of Henry Vander who is returning home, so he plans to have this person take the mayor's belongings with him."

Edmund Hale nodded and was about to let Duncan Thorngate and the two patrol officers leave when a thought from his initial investigation in Green River Town suddenly popped into his mind, and he stopped Duncan Thorngate again.

"Wait, open the chest and let me have a look."

Following the instructions, Duncan Thorngate opened the large chest containing Henry Vander's belongings. Edmund Hale glanced inside and saw some ledgers and clothing. He casually picked up a ledger and began to flip through it, and what he saw surprised him.

On May 25, 203 of the Great Latium Imperium, in order to absolve the crime of caning the family servant Rowan to death, a special banquet was held at Venus Garden, inviting Aedile Percival Thorne and Governor Lucius Blackthorn, with a gift of three thousand taels of silver.

On July 6, 203 of the Great Latium Imperium, a new top courtesan, Elena, arrived at Venus Garden. Governor Lucius Blackthorn, unable to contain his excitement, spent a thousand taels of silver to buy her first night.

On August 7, 203 of the Great Latium Imperium, Governor Lucius Blackthorn, suffering from back pain, sent someone to buy two mighty pills, costing three hundred taels of silver. … The more he read, the more he found records of such sordid affairs.

Edmund Hale flipped through other ledgers and found records of other years' transactions. He hurriedly searched for this year's ledger, which was the 204th year of the Great Latium Imperium.

Randomly opening a page, he found a record that disgusted him.

On May 24, 204 of the Great Latium Imperium, oh dear, who would have thought that the dignified and proper Lucius Blackthorn knew so many positions behind closed doors. I finally understand what "Russian Roulette" means. It's a pity I had to spend another thousand taels of silver to learn this trick.

"Disgusting, utterly disgusting! To think that Lucius Blackthorn and Percival Thorne are court officials, mingling daily with such filthy merchants in these brothels!" Edmund Hale cursed after reading this ledger entry.

He continued to search patiently. Sure enough, on the last page of the ledger, he found a clue.

It recorded Lucius Blackthorn being bribed ten thousand taels of silver by Henry Vander for a position, which matched the records in Lucius Blackthorn's own ledger. However, Henry Vander's ledger also recorded another matter.

On July 15, 204 of the Great Latium Imperium, as I was about to take office in Green River Town, I met an Eastern merchant in Lionheart City who sold me two bottles of a colorless, tasteless poison called Nightshade Essence. The scoundrel Lucius Blackthorn loves fine wine, so I added a little to the wine I gave him as a bribe to enhance its effect.

Edmund Hale naturally didn't naively think that Henry Vander added some kind of tonic to the wine. From that moment, Henry Vander had referred to Lucius Blackthorn as a scoundrel instead of Governor.

"I knew it, the cause of Lucius Blackthorn's sudden death wasn't some poisonous breast milk." Edmund Hale was delighted to have figured this out.

Suddenly, another thought struck him, and he quickly searched through the chest again. Sure enough, he found a small porcelain bottle in the lining of a piece of clothing, labeled Nightshade Essence.

Edmund Hale uncorked the bottle and sniffed it closely. It was indeed colorless and odorless.

"This poison is truly formidable, being colorless and odorless, an excellent tool for plotting." He murmured softly.

Just then, an impatient voice came from outside the town hall, it was Magnus Valorion's voice.

"Why are you all so slow? The mayor's fellow townsman has been waiting outside for a long time, and you still haven't packed Henry Vander's belongings? How do you all handle things!"

Magnus Valorion walked into the town hall and saw Henry Vander's belongings scattered all over the floor, pretending to be shocked. "Honorable Royal Overseer, what is happening here..."

Edmund Hale, with a calm and even somewhat joyful expression, said, "Do you know about the recent poisoning case in Lionheart City involving officials?"

Magnus Valorion nodded slightly and said, "Our Green River Town is remote and news travels slowly. I only heard about it the day before you arrived, Honorable Royal Overseer. It's a pity that more than ten colleagues were killed, a great loss to our empire!"

"But what does that case have to do with Henry Vander's belongings?"

Edmund Hale showed Magnus Valorion the ledger, and after reading it, Magnus feigned shock and said, "Honorable Royal Overseer, could this be someone framing Mayor Henry Vander?"

The ledger was real, but the last entry about Nightshade Essence was a forgery. Magnus Valorion had it forged by Brian Davis, a man without hands or feet but with excellent penmanship, to imitate Henry Vander's handwriting.

Magnus Valorion, pretending to be angry, scolded the patrol officers in the town hall, "Didn't I tell you to seal off Henry Vander's room? How could someone sneak in and replace the ledger?"

Duncan Thorngate pretended to be aggrieved and said, "That's not true. We followed your instructions and locked Henry Vander's bedroom doors and windows. No one has been inside."

Edmund Hale patted Magnus Valorion's hand, signaling him to calm down.

"Magnus, I know you're kind-hearted and don't want Henry Vander to be defamed after his death. But that scoundrel not only deceived the emperor but also intended to extort the people. Such a person is better off dead, no need to preserve any reputation for him!"

Magnus Valorion sighed deeply, "Honorable Royal Overseer, while your words are true, there are still many doubts. What kind of gentleman would record all his bad deeds in a ledger or diary?"

Edmund Hale chuckled, "You're right, no decent person would keep such a diary. But the key is, neither Henry Vander nor Lucius Blackthorn were decent people!"

"Now, I have found the clue to Henry Vander's poisoning—this Nightshade Essence. Once the forensic examiner verifies its toxicity, if it matches the poison found in Lucius Blackthorn and others, the truth will be revealed."

Magnus Valorion bowed slightly and complimented, "Honorable Royal Overseer, your insight is truly sharp. I am ashamed, nearly losing these crucial pieces of evidence due to a moment of oversight."