Henry Thompson glanced at the slender and graceful Sarah Walker, thinking to himself that this guy must not use his brain when bragging.

Chapter Five: Lamb Kidney and Goji Berry Soup

"You really need to be careful, Robert. That Chief Sutton is acting strange." Richard Palmer was clearly trying to change the subject. But his words still made his two friends' expressions turn solemn.

"I know." Henry Thompson narrowed his eyes. "This person definitely comes with ill intentions."

Thomas Bolton looked puzzled. "But where does he get the nerve? How dare he try to arrest you without any evidence? The Earl of Sincerity's family isn't someone just anyone can mess with."

"He must be acting on someone's orders." There was a look of speculation in Richard Palmer's eyes. "Or maybe it has something to do with that major case on the river that Lieutenant Johnson mentioned?"

Hearing this, Henry Thompson's heart sank slightly. He recalled that the Earl of Sincerity's family had served as the 'Commander of the River Navy' for generations in the Jin Dynasty, responsible for the navy's training and river defense from Jingzhou to Zhenjiang. And Henry Thompson's original body's father was the current Commander of the River Navy.

If something major really happened on the Yangtze River, there was a ninety percent chance their family would be implicated.

He felt both uneasy and suspicious, but Henry Thompson forcibly suppressed these feelings. He knew that the most urgent task at hand was to get himself out of this case as soon as possible.

While they were talking, Sarah Walker had already signed and stamped her confession. Richard Palmer sighed, putting on an expression like he was heading to his execution, and walked over to Edward Sutton.

Henry Thompson felt no schadenfreude. He began to gather everyone's confessions together, carefully flipping through them page by page.

"The Cui family refuses to allow an autopsy." As Henry Thompson was reading and pondering, Grace Johnson returned with a few constables, her brows deeply furrowed. "The storekeepers at Lanyue Brothel all claim to know nothing. Little Ray and I didn't find any clues in the storeroom either. We'll have to look elsewhere."

Henry Thompson wasn't surprised at all. He had actually glanced at the storeroom earlier. It was located in the left courtyard, a hidden spot, unlikely to be witnessed at night. Plus, Lanyue Brothel's management of the storeroom was chaotic, with many people having access.

Under these circumstances, even with a three-tailed spirit fox, Grace Johnson might not be able to find any useful clues.

As for the reaction of the Cui family from Boling, it was even less surprising to Henry Thompson.

"The storeroom can be sealed off for now. I happen to have made some new discoveries here."

Henry Thompson continued reading. Only after going through all the confessions did he look up and scan the people around him. Finally, his gaze locked onto a man in the crowd wearing an apron and reeking of oil: "Are you the head chef here?"

The man tensed slightly. "I'm the second chef here. The head chef went to rest at the start of the Hai hour (9 p.m.) last night."

"So after the Hai hour, you were in charge of the kitchen?" Henry Thompson's face was cold. "Explain to me why almost all the guests at Lanyue Brothel fell into a deep sleep after the second quarter of the Zi hour (11:30 p.m.) tonight?"

The second chef looked bewildered, completely at a loss. Edward Sutton, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes and snatched all the confessions from Henry Thompson, flipping through them one by one.

Grace Johnson also looked excited. She couldn't be bothered to read the confessions and asked Henry Thompson directly, "Was it this guy who drugged the food?"

"There were over forty guests in total. It's impossible they all came to a brothel just to sleep, right?"

Henry Thompson's expression was icy. "But all the girls, procuresses, and servants at Lanyue Brothel were perfectly fine. So the drug could only have been put in the food served exclusively to the guests."

"It was the lamb kidney and goji berry soup at Lanyue Brothel!" Having finished his confession, Richard Palmer slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "No wonder I slept straight through till morning—it was the drug! Their lamb kidney and goji berry soup is famous for boosting kidney health and vitality. Almost every guest has a bowl, but the girls never touch it."

He then glared fiercely at the madam. "You owe us compensation!"

The madam's scalp tingled. "Mr. Thompson, could this be some kind of misunderstanding?"

"It's impossible," Henry Thompson shook his head, his eyes icy as he looked at the chef. "There are guests on all seven floors of Lanyue Brothel who were affected. It can't be the person delivering the soup. Tell me, how many people were in the kitchen at the time?"

"At the time, it was just me and my apprentices. But why would we drug the food? It doesn't make sense, we—"

The second chef was both anxious and confused, but then his expression changed slightly. "Besides us, Lucy also came into the kitchen. I thought she was acting sneaky and suspicious at the time."

Henry Thompson raised his eyebrows slightly. "Who is Lucy?"

"She's Emily Moore, Miss Moore's maid!" The second chef's voice grew shrill. "She said she wanted a bowl of lotus seed soup to cool off for her mistress, and stayed in the kitchen for quite a while. I saw her pass by the pot of lamb kidney and goji berry soup—"

At this moment, a young girl standing next to Emily Moore immediately turned pale and shouted, "Don't you slander me! I did go into the kitchen, but I stayed at the door the whole time."