Chapter 138 (Part 1): The Culinary Tycoon

Unveiling the Truth and the Outcome

Shi Sheng?

Upon hearing this, Jia Xiaoren was immediately stunned. He frowned and looked towards his father, who subtly nodded at him.

Was his father suggesting that they should put the blame on Shi Sheng?

Jia Xiaoren turned his head back, feeling conflicted. Although Shi Sheng was just his concubine, he was currently carrying his child. If they were to shift all the blame onto him, what would happen to their child…

“Shi Sheng?” Luo Mingda furrowed his brow and asked, “What’s going on? Speak the truth!”

The servant named Wu Shun replied, “Concubine Sheng wrote a note and instructed me to deliver it back to Qingzhou. After that, Niu San came over. Master Jia Xiaoren was unaware of this matter. Initially, I didn’t know why Concubine Sheng had called Niu San, but it wasn’t until the incident at House of Prosperity two days ago that Master Jia Xiaoren sent me to the yamen to investigate. I saw Niu San kneeling in the courtroom, so I immediately rushed back to the inn to inform my young master.”

“When my young master heard about this, he suspected that it might be related to Concubine Sheng because Concubine Sheng seemed to have some personal grievances with Yu Qingze, the owner of House of Prosperity. He had always disliked him. And now that Concubine Sheng is pregnant, my young master was worried about the impact on his mood, which could be harmful to the child in his belly. That’s why he didn’t resist when the yamen officers came to arrest him. Our young master was completely unaware. He wanted to shoulder the responsibility alone, fearing it would affect Concubine Sheng’s health.”

After finishing this long speech, the servant turned to Jia Xiaoren and said, “Young Master, things have come to this point. Don’t torment yourself any further for the sake of Concubine Sheng.”

“Stop talking!” Jia Xiaoren gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles bulging. He lowered his head, tightly clenched his fists, as if forcibly suppressing something.

Yu Qingze glanced at him and sneered coldly.

This servant’s words were like flowers, describing Jia Xiaoren’s deep emotions and the profound love between the couple. It was all nonsense. At a critical moment, they were using Shi Sheng as a scapegoat.

Disgusting!

He’s not even a real man!

In the current situation, if they let them shift all the blame onto Shi Sheng, wouldn’t Jia Xiaoren escape punishment?

Yu Qingze couldn’t help but frown.

Meanwhile, Luo Mingda asked again, “Do you have any evidence?”

Wu Shun nodded and said, “Yes. When I went to the separate villa in Qingzhou earlier, I found a note in Niu San’s room. I was afraid of being discovered, so I kept it. Here it is, the note called ‘Niu San to Tongshan,’ written by Concubine Sheng.”

As he spoke, Wu Shun took out a rolled-up note from his pocket.

One of the attendants stepped forward, took the note, and presented it to Luo Mingda.

Luo Mingda unfolded the note, examined it, and then asked the assistant to take a look as well. He then ordered, “Bring Shi Sheng here.”

Four attendants received the order and left.

This sudden twist bewildered the onlookers outside the courtroom.

“After all that effort, are they trying to blame it on the concubine?”

“Who knows? Anyone who can specifically raise a dozen thugs in another courtyard can’t be a good person, right?”

“Exactly, let’s continue watching. The outcome might surprise us.”

“…”

During the time they were waiting for the yamen runner to return with Shi Sheng, Luo Mingda and several other officials from the county yamen gathered in the back to discuss for a while.

When he returned, Luo Mingda had someone verify with Niu San whether the note was the same one he had received before.

Niu San nodded.

After the incident just now, he had already figured out Old Man Jia and Jia Xiaoren’s intentions. If he wanted to save his own life, it would be best to cooperate with them.

Seeing Niu San’s confirmation, Luo Mingda instructed someone to bring paper and pen to Jia Xiaoren and had him write a few words. Then he compared the handwriting with the writing on the note.

Indeed, they were different.

In a house in the eastern part of the city, Shi Sheng sat in a room by the fireplace, furrowing his brows and staring blankly at a spot.

In these past few days, because of Niu San’s drugging incident, both Niu San and Jia Xiaoren had been arrested and thrown into jail. Jia Xiaoren’s father and cousin had come over, but they hadn’t immediately bailed Jia Xiaoren out, which indicated that things were not going well.

Today afternoon, their entire family had gone to the county yamen. Shi Sheng, due to his pregnancy and drowsiness, wasn’t called by anyone, so when he woke up, only he and the two children of the main wife were left with a few servants.

After a while, a servant rushed in, flustered and said, “Concubine Sheng, something bad happened, something bad!”

Shi Sheng was startled and immediately scolded, “What are you doing, being so flustered? You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, Concubine Sheng, but something really bad has happened,” the servant said breathlessly, running a bit too fast.

“What’s wrong?” Shi Sheng asked.

“Someone from the yamen has arrived,” the servant replied.

“What?! Who has come? What do they want?” Shi Sheng immediately sat up straight in his chair and asked.

Before the servant could answer, a man’s voice came from outside the door.

“Is the person inside the house Shi Sheng, the concubine of Jia Xiaoren?” the man asked.

Shi Sheng stood up and mouthed to the servant, asking who it was.

The servant also mouthed back, informing him that it was a yamen runner.

He quickly shook his hand, gesturing for the servant to answer that he wasn’t present.

The servant nodded and then cleared his throat before walking out and saying, “Honorable sirs, my master Shi Sheng has gone out to buy something and hasn’t returned yet. Do you have any business with him?”

The leader of the yamen runners, Ding Lai, looked at the servant and then waved his hand towards the back, saying, “Go inside and check.”

The two yamen runners walked towards the house, causing the servant to panic and shout, “Hey, hey, hey! This is my master’s room! How can you just enter like this!”

However, no matter how hard he tried, the servant couldn’t stop the yamen runners. Inside the room, Shi Sheng heard the shouting and quickly looked around for a hiding place. In the end, he had no choice but to hide inside a box.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The two yamen runners searched the room but found no one inside. They reported this to Ding Lai.

Ding Lai frowned. They had seen the servant rush in a panicked state earlier. He personally went inside and ordered, “Search.”

The four yamen runners quickly pulled Shi Sheng out from the box where he was hiding.

“What are you doing? I have nothing to do with my husband’s affairs. Why are you arresting me? Moreover, let me tell you, I am pregnant. Are you prepared to take responsibility if something happens to my child?” Shi Sheng shouted, struggling to prevent the yamen runners from grabbing hold of him.

“We have been ordered to bring you back to the county yamen for questioning. Please cooperate,” Ding Lai explained, but Shi Sheng didn’t listen. He continued to struggle, so Ding Lai and the other yamen runners grabbed his limbs and lifted him up.

“Ah, let me go! Put me down!” Shi Sheng yelled.

Ding Lai and his team ignored him and carried him to the county yamen.

Once in the courtroom, Shi Sheng still hadn’t figured out the situation when Luo Mingda ordered him to write on a piece of paper.

“What’s going on, husband?” Shi Sheng looked at the paper and pen, hesitating, then turned to Jia Xiaoren and asked.

Jia Xiaoren’s gaze flickered, he opened his mouth, and finally said, “…Write.”

Shi Sheng’s heart sank as he trembled, writing according to the content provided.

After finishing, the yamen runner handed the paper to Luo Mingda, who passed it to his subordinates for handwriting analysis. Then, he pointed at Niu San and asked Shi Sheng, ” Shi Sheng, do you know this person?”

Shi Sheng glanced at Niu San, then looked at Jia Xiaoren, realizing that something was amiss. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know him.”

Luo Mingda anticipated this response and continued, “Two days ago, in the early morning, there was an incident of drugging in House of Prosperity. The person who administered the drugs was caught on the spot by the owner of House of Prosperity, Yu Qingze, and his accomplice. That person is Niu San. Now, Jia Xiaoren’s personal servant, Wu Shun, has identified you as the mastermind who instructed Niu San to administer the drugs. What do you have to say about this?”

Upon hearing this, Shi Sheng couldn’t believe it as he turned to look at Wu Shun, then at Old Man Jia, and finally at Jia Xiaoren. None of them dared to meet his gaze.

His heart turned cold as he finally understood that they had pinned the entire incident on him.

No wonder they couldn’t look at him directly!

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Thandar: Dear readers, brace yourself, the drama is here.