Bai Sheng gave a cold smile, "Are there not many people in this world who would harm their own kin? With the drought these past two years, to survive, where has there not been someone selling their children? Where has there not been cannibalism?!"
"Only scrupulous merchants like you would sell their children and practice cannibalism! Don't try to smear us! Our family got poisoned by your moldy grain!" the woman in colorful clothes scolded in a rough voice.
"Is that so? Then let us verify it," Bai Sheng looked at the woman, smiling menacingly.
"H-how do we verify?" The woman in colorful clothes flinched.
"You all claim these poisoned individuals ate our moldy grain, is that correct?"
"Of course!" Several families nodded in unison.
Bai Sheng smiled, "May I ask if you ate the wheat or the corn from our grain shop? Yesterday, our shop only sold wheat and corn."
"Our family ate wheat!"
"We did too."
"Us too!"
All three families answered wheat. After all, once flour entered the stomach and was digested, it was hard to tell. Corn, however, was different; even when excreted, it remained yellowish.
Bai Sheng continued, "All three families ate wheat. So, please tell me, specifically, how did you eat it? Did you cook the wheat grains directly without removing the husks, or did you remove the husks and eat the flour?
If you ate flour, how was the wheat de-husked, and where did the husks go? Can you show them to us? The husks from our grain shop are quite unique."
The expressions on the families' faces grew increasingly grim. They worried this dark-skinned girl was setting a trap and didn't know how to answer.
After all, in those times, every household was reluctant to discard wheat husks. Most would boil the wheat with the husks still on, or grind it into coarse flour with the husks.
The man in gray gritted his teeth and replied, "The wheat was not de-husked; we cooked and ate it directly."
"Us too," the other two families, seeing the man in gray take the lead, immediately followed suit.
"Excellent!" Bai Sheng clapped her hands and laughed, "Let me tell you a story. In ancient times, there was a righteous scholar named Cai Li. He went to a noodle shop to eat, and although he only ate one liang of noodles, the owner falsely accused him of eating two liang.
To prove his innocence, Cai Li cut open his abdomen and took out the noodles, letting the owner weigh them. It was proven that it was indeed one liang, but Cai Li died on the spot as a result. Cai Li, willing to die to protect his dignity, is truly admirable and regrettable!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present turned ashen.
"You... what exactly do you want to do?" The man in gray pointed at Bai Sheng, his voice changing pitch.
"You dare to cut open someone's stomach? This is... this is a capital offense!" The woman in colorful clothes spat far.
Wen Zhi Mo distastefully wiped his face with a handkerchief, moving further away from the woman in colorful clothes.
Someone in the crowd also said, "Young lady, you wouldn't actually cut open someone's stomach to prove the truth, would you?"
Bai Sheng burst into laughter and declared loudly, "Of course not! This young lady is beautiful and kind-hearted; she would naturally not cut open people's chests and abdomens!"
Beautiful and kind-hearted? Kind-hearted, perhaps, maybe, possibly. Beautiful???
Many people looked at Bai Sheng's face and sighed inwardly. This must be an extremely confident woman.
Bai Sheng continued, "Wheat bran is fiber and very difficult to digest. If they all ate it with the husks, and not much time has passed since last night, some traces should still be found in their bellies.
If we give them a laxative to expel it from their rear ends, we can tell at a glance whether they ate the wheat from our shop."
The onlookers found this idea utterly disgusting, but it was also a way to verify if these people were lying, and much better than cutting open stomachs. Moreover, watching these people defecate on the spot would be too... too bizarre!
They were eager to watch!
The three troublemaking families couldn't resist the collective will of the crowd. Their objections were invalid.
"Which doctor can bring some laxatives? I'll pay two taels of silver per packet!"
As soon as Bai Sheng finished speaking, the doctor from earlier immediately responded, "I can. I live nearby; I'll go get some."
"No need! This old woman has a way to make them all defecate!"
An old woman in ragged clothes and a thin young man walked out from the crowd.
The old woman's hair was long, coiled and knotted atop her head, covering half her face.
The young man's hair was half-tied; he was handsome but also covered in dirt, making his original skin tone indistinguishable.
Bai Sheng scrutinized the two, suddenly feeling their gazes towards her were a bit too... excited? Enthusiastic?
It was truly peculiar.
However, perhaps it was because she had exposed the ugliness of these people earlier, once again showcasing her personal charm, and thus gained another elderly fan and a young admirer.
Much like how she gained the A Qiu brothers after resolving the traffic jam last time.
The old woman approached Bai Sheng, her eyes earnestly fixed on her, and said with a smile, "Little girl, this old woman has a few pills. If they eat them, everything in their bellies will be expelled immediately."
Bai Sheng came back to her senses, cupped her fists in a salute, and said gratefully, "Then I'll trouble you, Grandma. I'll pay you for the medicine later."
"No! Where did this dirty and smelly old beggar come from? Who knows what medicine she'll give our family? What if it's poison?" The man in gray stepped forward and shouted.
Bai Sheng rolled her eyes at the man in gray, "A person who doesn't keep their word and doesn't bark like a dog is not worthy of yapping here. Get lost!"
"You—" The man in gray was furious and raised his fist to strike.
Bai Sheng tilted her head up, giving him an extremely disdainful look, "Not barking like a dog, but still wanting to hit like a dog?!"
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
The old woman also chuckled, revealing a mouth full of black teeth, and raised her voice, "Whether this is poison or not, I'll know by eating one myself. However, I haven't eaten in days, so I won't be able to expel anything."
After speaking, the old woman popped a pill into her mouth, making sounds of enjoyment as she ate.
After the old woman finished, and seeing she was unharmed, the crowd urged them to quickly administer the medicine to the three poisoned individuals. They were eager to witness the defecation!
The troublemaking families still tried to stop them, saying it would bring shame upon their families.
Immediately, many people in the crowd retorted, "If you falsely accuse the grain shop, don't you also bring shame upon them?"
"That's right. Only by making these poisoned people defecate can it be proven that you are telling the truth. Otherwise, you three families are fabricating accusations, and everyone present will report you to the authorities!"
"Yes, we are all witnesses!"
With that, the crowd blocked the exits, giving the three families no chance to retreat.
They didn't care; they were determined to witness the defecation today, and these three must defecate!
Bai Sheng looked at the three families, shrugged her shoulders helplessly, and said, "It's the will of the people. If they don't defecate, they'll be sent to the authorities. However, I can use something to shield them and protect their privacy, and at the same time, invite three members of the public to come and witness."
Bai Sheng had her third uncle bring three screens, covering each person. Three members of the public volunteered to supervise, drawing boisterous laughter from the crowd.
The old woman also chuckled and walked towards the three lying on the ground, feeding each one a pill.
Soon, through the screens, the three began to fart with a 'poof poof' sound, followed by sounds of diarrhea from their rear ends.
Everyone present immediately covered their noses and mouths, but their eyes remained glued to the scene.
The three witnesses, covering their noses and mouths, came out with the "evidence."
Bai Sheng then invited another group of onlookers to identify the evidence.
None of the three individuals' feces contained wheat bran.
Bai Sheng had already noticed that the three had vomited clear, watery fluids without any food residue, leading her to deduce that they had not eaten at all the previous night.
To save grain, many families ate only two meals a day, or even just one. If these individuals had eaten last night, their vomit this morning would not have been just clear water.
Bai Sheng raised her voice, "The truth is now clear! These three families were lying! They slandered our Mo Sheng Grain Shop! They did not eat any grain from our shop last night!"
"That's right! They did not eat any grain from our shop last night!"
A clear male voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, repeating Bai Sheng's words.