Even Scholar Chen, who favored Concubine Qiu more, gradually pieced everything together.
Concubine Qiu made Scholar Chen injure his leg, preventing him from going out as originally planned and forcing him to stay home. Then she had Old Lady Jiang cook bland dishes, resulting in Chen Ji having no appetite and eating little at night.
By the second watch of the Xu hour, Chen Ji was unbearably hungry, and at home, there was only the inexperienced cook, Zhiyou. He couldn't go out due to his injured foot and didn't know how to cook for himself.
Coincidentally, there was a piece of instant noodles at home that tasted good whether eaten dry or soaked in hot water, and it was the only piece, simple and easy to prepare.
Most people would choose this block of noodles, so he soaked the instant noodles and ate them.
But arsenic had been sprinkled on the instant noodles, and after he ate them, he was poisoned, thus losing his life.
