Chapter 134: The Culinary Tycoon

Gathering in the Courtroom

Yu Qingze didn’t expect someone to recognize the thief on the spot and even point out that he was a servant of the Jia Family.

Both he and Lord Luo knew in their hearts that this person was sent by Jia Xiaoren, but it wasn’t easy to make him confess in the courtroom, especially since he had lied about his name just now.

Based on the previous thief’s performance, deliberately fabricating lies was a refusal to reveal the person behind the scenes. Yu Qingze thought he would have to spend a long time with him before extracting information about the person behind the scenes from his mouth, or perhaps he would have to wait for Lord Luo to administer severe punishment before he could speak. Unexpectedly, two onlookers recognized him.

What a coincidence!

Opportunities should not be missed; they will not come again. Yu Qingze seized the opportunity and immediately sued Jia Xiaoren.

When the onlookers heard that Yu Qingze was suing the owner of Xiang Man Yuan, they immediately connected the words of the two brothers just now with the previous incidents.

“So, you mean the owner of Xiang Man Yuan instructed him to drug someone?”

“How can that be?”

“Why not? They must have been jealous of the good business!”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“…”

The crowd started another round of discussion.

Upon hearing this, a person squeezed out of the crowd and hastily ran away.

Old Master Cai and his wife noticed this and exchanged a glance. Then Old Master Cai whispered a few words to his attendant, who nodded and left.

Upon learning of the matter, Lord Luo hurried to the courtroom to observe the situation. He frowned, pondered for a moment, and then whispered a few words to his own attendant, from Luo residence, who also hurriedly left.

Outside the courtroom, there was a lot of chatter and discussion for a long time. Suddenly, Luo Mingda slammed the table, his voice resounding, “Silence!”

Immediately, both inside and outside the courtroom became quiet.

Luo Mingda looked at the people below the platform, waiting for everyone to settle down and stop making noise. Only then did he ask, “Yu Qingze, what is the basis for accusing Jia Xiaoren, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan, of premeditated murder? Speak the truth.”

The thief known as Niu San, upon hearing the words of the two brothers, looked at them in astonishment. He never expected that someone on the other side of the river would recognize him!

The people in their courtyard were specifically brought by the Jia family to handle certain inconvenient matters. They rarely appeared in the city and only showed up when their services were required. Even in the entire Qingzhou City, there were only a few people who could recognize them. Normally, they would wander around the nearby hills and occasionally visit the nearby villages.

Originally, they thought that coming to Tongshan City would ensure even fewer people recognized them. But unexpectedly, they ran into two villagers from Wulipo!

It’s really a stroke of bad luck!

Niu San’s mind was in chaos, his brow furrowed as he contemplated what to do.

Now, upon hearing that Yu Qingze was going to sue Jia Xiaoren, he immediately turned his head to look at Yu Qingze, glaring at him with malice.

But Yu Qingze was not afraid of him. Lord Luo could deliver messages to him, indicating that Lord Luo was on their side. Moreover, during the court session, there was no sign of partiality towards the thief. On the contrary, the thief was severely punished, which further reinforced Yu Qingze’s belief in his own ideas.

He raised his eyes and said to Luo Mingda, “Sir, at the beginning of this month, Jia Xiaoren, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan, instructed his uncle, who is the owner of Hongyun Shipping, Boss Yuan, to threaten the seafood stall owners and the owners of the grain and oil stores who bought their supplies from Boss Yuan. He forbade them from selling seafood and flour to my snack shop and restaurant. However, with the help of friends, this matter was resolved a few days ago.”

“Now, just a few days later, there was an incident where a servant of the Jia Family sneaked into House of Prosperity and secretly tampered with the food. This leads me to believe that this person, Niu San, received instructions from his employer, Jia Xiaoren, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan, and intentionally framed House of Prosperity. The purpose was to cause a food poisoning incident, tarnish its reputation, and drive away customers, thereby improving the business of Xiang Man Yuan.”

“I humbly request that you discern the truth and grant us justice.” After Yu Qingze finished speaking, he slowly bent down and knocked his head.

Upon hearing this, Luo Mingda asked about the seafood stalls and grain and oil stores involved. Then, without discussing with his assistants and other officials, he directly ordered, “Bring Jia Xiaoren, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan, the owner of Hongyun Shipping, the seafood stall owners, and the owners of those grain and oil stores to the courtroom for questioning.”

“Yes, sir.” The yamen runners received the order and went out to carry out their duties.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he managed to bring Jia Xiaoren and the others to the court.

He turned his head and looked at the two brothers, feeling grateful. If it wasn’t for them recognizing Niu San, who knows how long it would have taken to expose Jia Xiaoren.

The two brothers exchanged a glance with him and nodded slightly.

Yu Qingze looked at them and felt a bit familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen them before.

While waiting for the bailiffs to fetch the people, Luo Mingda further questioned Niu San. The man refused to confess, insisting that he was not a servant of the Jia family and claiming that the two brothers were spreading false accusations.

However, the two brothers knew a great deal about him. They not only mentioned the address of that courtyard but also revealed some information about the other people in the courtyard.

“Nonsense! I have never been to Qingzhou, let alone Wulipo! Who are you people? Did Yu Qingze send you to frame me?” Niu San retorted fiercely.

The two brothers were somewhat afraid when they saw his aggressive manner, but the younger brother gathered his courage and said, “You’re the one spouting nonsense! Sir, if you don’t believe us, you can ask any villager from Wulipo. Everyone knows about that courtyard, and many people have seen them. The courtyard used to be occupied by an old man who was looking after the house five years ago. Then a group of people arrived, around a dozen of them, all with the same fierce appearance as him. One time when I returned to the village, I saw him and two others catching five chickens and a lamb in our village without paying a dime. That’s when I saw him, and everyone was afraid of them.”

“After that, I encountered them two more times, and the villagers told me that they would come to the village every now and then to catch our chickens and ducks. They would even pluck vegetables from the vegetable gardens without paying. Not only our village, but the neighboring Yangshu Village also suffered greatly. We later found out that they were servants of the Jia family, and the villagers dared not speak up against them despite their anger.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze’s brow twitched, realizing that the people in that courtyard were likely brought by the Jia family to carry out illicit activities in secret.

Upon hearing the discussion outside, people began to speculate about the character of the master who employed such servants, realizing that he couldn’t be a good person.

Luo Mingda, upon hearing this, called four bailiffs and handed them a letter, instructing them to bring back witnesses from Wulipo in Qingzhou and investigate the matter.

The elder brother of the two siblings bravely led the four bailiffs and set off for Wulipo.

After the bailiffs left, no matter how much Cao Yuan tried to persuade him, Niu San adamantly refused to admit his involvement.

Luo Mingda was no longer in a hurry. He knew that such a person would only confess in the presence of irrefutable evidence. He would wait until the witnesses returned from Qingzhou to see how Niu San would try to deny it.

However, in order to prevent the culprit from having time to devise a plan, Luo Mingda kept questioning him and engaged in a confrontation with Cao Yuan, ensuring that he had no idle time.

Meanwhile, a figure swiftly ran to Xiang Man Yuan on North Street. Upon seeing Jia Xiaoren, the person quickly pulled him into a private room and said, “Bad news, Young Master! Two people have recognized Niu San!”

“What? How is that possible? This is Tongshan City, not Qingzhou. They hardly ever showed their faces in Qingzhou, let alone in Tongshan City. How could anyone recognize them?” Jia Xiaoren exclaimed in shock.

When House of Prosperity caught the person who had drugged the food last night and sent him to the county government office, Jia Xiaoren heard about it as soon as he arrived at his shop in the morning. He immediately sent his personal servant to gather information.

According to his expectations, with Luo Mingda’s help at the county government office, Niu San, being a tough guy, would never confess and would not implicate him even if he was taken to court.

He never expected that someone would actually recognize Niu San.

The servant nodded and said, “It’s true. The person who recognized him said he is a villager from Wulipo. Our villa is located there, so it’s possible that they have seen him.”

If it was someone from Wulipo, then it was indeed possible that they had seen Niu San.

Jia Xiaoren was stunned. “Why would people from Wulipo come here?”

The servant shook his head and replied, “I’m not sure either. As soon as I heard that he identified Niu San, I hurried back to report.”

Jia Xiaoren furrowed his brow and paced in place for a few rounds. Then, he reached into his pocket and handed a handful of silver coins to the servant, saying, “Go home immediately and inform my father about this matter. Tell him to go find my cousin. Hurry!”

“Yes, Young Master. I’ll go back right away,” the servant replied, taking the silver coins and quickly running towards the pier.

After the servant left, Jia Xiaoren paced back and forth in the private room, trying to come up with a solution. But before he could figure it out, four constables arrived outside.

“Are you Jia Xiaoren, the owner of Xiang Man Yuan?” one of the constables asked.

Jia Xiaoren crossed his hands behind his back, lifted his chin slightly, and said, “Yes, I am. What brings you here?”

The constable replied, “Yu Qingze, the owner of House of Prosperity, has filed a complaint against you for intentional murder. Please come with us.”

“I haven’t done anything. I’m not going,” Jia Xiaoren denied.

“You don’t have a choice. Take him away!” the constable declared. The four constables then approached, apprehended Jia Xiaoren, and escorted him to the door.

“Let me go! I’ll walk by myself!” Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Jia Xiaoren had no choice but to preserve some face and called out in a low voice.

The difference between being escorted out by the constables and walking out on his own accord was significant.

As Jia Xiaoren was surrounded and led away by the four constables, the employees in the shop were stunned. They immediately stopped working and followed along to witness the spectacle.

Jia Xiaoren, along with Yuan Boss Yuan and the owners of the seafood stalls and grocery stores, were brought to the yamen one by one. The crowd of over a dozen people knelt on the ground.

Once everyone had arrived, Luo Mingda slammed his hand on the table and asked, “Where is Jia Xiaoren?”

Jia Xiaoren’s temples twitched, and he replied, “I’m here.”

Luo Mingda said, “State your name, age, and place of origin.”

Jia Xiaoren looked at Luo Mingda. The situation had caught him off guard, and he had forgotten to inquire about the situation in the hall earlier. He still had the notion that Luo Mingda was on his side, so he cooperatively replied, “This humble one is Jia Xiaoren, 32 years old, a resident of Qingzhou City. May I ask why the honorable sir has summoned me?”

Luo Mingda then recounted the details of the accusation made by Yu Qingze and asked, “What do you have to say about this?”

Jia Xiaoren said, “Sir, I have not committed the acts claimed by this person. I implore the honorable sir to investigate this matter thoroughly.”

“Oh? And do you recognize the person on your right?” Luo Mingda asked.

Jia Xiaoren glanced at the person on his right, Niu San, shook his head, and replied, “I do not recognize him.”

Luo Mingda paused for a moment, then asked again, “Yu Qingze accuses you of instructing Hongyun Shipping’s owner to threaten the seafood and flour merchants. Is there any truth to this?”

Jia Xiaoren firmly shook his head and said, “There is no truth to this. It is purely a defamation by Yu Qingze. I will sue him for this.”

Yu Qingze sneered but remained silent.

The round-faced owner of Hongyun Shipping, seated in the back row, broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing the matter. How did this issue end up in the courtroom? The county magistrate would undoubtedly question him, and how should he respond? Should he answer affirmatively or deny it?

This situation was truly putting him in a rush.

Before he could come up with a solution, Luo Mingda’s voice echoed through the room.

“Boss Yuan, the owner of Hongyun Shipping, step forward and respond.”

Here it comes…

The round-faced owner’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly crawled a few steps forward, bowing his head as he replied, “This humble one is here.”

Following the usual protocol, Luo Mingda had him state his name, age, and place of origin, and then he asked, “Yuan Changhe, what is your relationship with Jia Xiaoren?”

The round-faced owner replied, “Reporting to Your Honor, Jia Xiaoren is my nephew, and his mother is my brother.”

Luo Mingda continued to inquire, “Do you know Yu Qingze, the owner of House of Prosperity and Yu’s Delicious Delights?”

The round-faced owner nodded and said, “I know him.”

Luo Mingda then asked, “Has your nephew, Jia Xiaoren, instructed you earlier this month to threaten the owners of the seafood stalls and grain stores who purchase from you, prohibiting them from selling seafood and flour to Yu Qingze?”

The round-faced owner paused for a moment, instinctively glanced at Jia Xiaoren, who narrowed his eyes at him. He quickly averted his gaze, looking back at the seafood stalls and grain store owners kneeling behind him.

Finally, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and answered, “Reporting, Your Honor… Yes, it is true.”

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Thandar: oh how many chapters have I been living in anxiety because of this Jia Xiaodumb???!!!