Chapter 138 (Part 3): The Culinary Tycoon

Shi Sheng stared fiercely at Madam Jia and sneered, “Lin Lian, you wicked person. You deserve to die a miserable death.”

Madam Jia didn’t look at him and silently gazed at the floor, offering no response.

Luo Mingda asked Shi Sheng, “Shi Sheng, what’s your explanation for what Madam Jia just said?”

Shi Sheng coldly replied, “It’s not only me and Niu San in the study. Jia Xiaoren was there too. It was Jia Xiaoren who instructed Niu San to acquire the drug powder, and he also provided the powder to Niu San. I merely uttered that one sentence during the entire process, and he happened to hear it.”

Luo Mingda said, “Jia Xiaoren, is there any truth to this?”

Jia Xiaoren vehemently denied it and said, “There is absolutely no such thing. I had no knowledge of Niu San going to Tongshan.”

Shi Sheng snorted and said, “Lord Luo, in order to motivate Niu San beforehand, Jia Xiaoren took him to the Wangchunlou in the city a few nights ago for some fun. Niu San spent the night there, and you can easily send someone to inquire about it.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Mingda sent bailiffs to question the madam of Wangchunlou and the ger who was with Niu San that night. After thorough questioning, it was confirmed that Niu San was indeed brought there by Jia Xiaoren, and the ger was the one who spent the night with Niu San.

With the facts clarified, the case reached this point.

After consulting with several officials, Luo Mingda returned to the courtroom, slammed the gavel, and declared, “In the case of Yu Qingze accusing Jia Xiaoren of orchestrating Niu San’s infiltration and drugging at House of Prosperity with the intention of causing harm for personal gain, after thorough trial in this court, the facts are evident, and their actions are heinous. Jia Xiaoren is the mastermind, while Shi Sheng is an accomplice. In accordance with the laws of Dasheng, I hereby sentence Niu San to exile of two thousand li and one hundred strokes of the cane, Jia Xiaoren to exile of two thousand li and one hundred strokes of the cane as the mastermind, and Shi Sheng to three years of penal servitude as an accomplice. The execution will take place after approval from the governor’s office.”

(T/N: 1,000 li = 500 km = 311 miles approx.)

(T/N: Penal servitude = hard labor)

“Jia Mingzhi, Wu Shun, for lying and deceiving the court, disrupting the order of the court, I sentence you both to fifty strokes of the paddle, to be carried out immediately! Yuan Changhe, for threatening the merchants with severe misconduct, I sentence you to twenty strokes of the paddle as a warning, to be carried out immediately!”

Upon hearing this verdict, Old Man Jia and Jia Xiaoren slumped to the ground, both looking towards Lord Lu with despair.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Hold on! Lord Luo!” Lord Lu shouted loudly.

Luo Mingda frowned and asked, “Lord Lu, what’s the matter?”

“Niu San’s attempted drugging didn’t succeed. Lord Luo, your punishment is too severe!” Lord Lu said.

Luo Mingda replied, “Lord Lu, do you know how much croton powder Niu San used? One jin. If he had succeeded, who knows how many people would have died in Tongshan City by now!”

Lord Lu argued, “But he didn’t succeed. This hypothetical situation doesn’t exist.”

Luo Mingda responded, “You’re resorting to sophistry.”

Before Lord Lu could continue speaking, a voice suddenly shouted from outside the door, “Governor Cai is here!”

Upon hearing this voice, everyone turned around in surprise.

“Lord Cai is here?”

“Where?”

Yu Qingze, Luo Mingda, and the others were also surprised, but the most surprised were Lord Lu and Lord Zhang.

Cai Wendong was in Yunzhou, and it would take at least a day and a half to travel here. Even if the people from the Cai Residence had hurriedly notified him two days ago, it shouldn’t be possible for him to arrive so quickly, right?

The situation was really bad.

Lord Lu frowned. If Cai Wendong saw him here, he would surely make trouble for him. At the very least, he could be accused of dereliction of duty, and at worst, he could be accused of protecting his relatives. That would be disastrous.

Thinking of this, Lord Lu dared not say anything more to Luo Mingda. He quietly retreated, taking advantage of everyone’s attention being focused on Cai Wendong, and quickly slipped away.

“Oh, Lord Lu, and is this Lord Zhang? What a special occasion today to have both of you in Tongshan!”

Lord Cai walked out from the dispersing crowd, looking at the retreating Lord Lu and Lord Zhang, and then said with a smile.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Recognized, Lord Lu had to turn back and said, “Oh, Lord Cai, what a coincidence. I heard that the efficiency of resolving cases in Tongshan has been high lately, so I specially brought Lord Zhang here for a visit and learning.”

“Oh? Is that so? Welcome, welcome,” Lord Cai entered the courtroom and then said to Luo Mingda, who came to greet him, “Lord Lu is a colleague who has come over. Why not let him come inside and have a seat?”

Luo Mingda replied, “The culprit in this case is Lord Lu’s cousin. For Lord Lu’s sake, it is not appropriate for him to enter the courtroom.”

“Oh…” Lord Cai looked inside the courtroom and then at Lord Lu. He said to Lord Lu, “I’ve been here for a while. Is the case finished?”

Luo Mingda nodded and said, “Just finished.”

Lord Cai said, “That’s perfect. Lord Lu can come in and have a seat. I happened to come to Tongshan with Lord Huang from the Ministry of Revenue and Lord Li from the Ministry of Works for some business, and I didn’t expect to run into you while you were handling a case.”

Lord Lu and Lord Zhang broke out in a cold sweat when they saw the two people following behind Lord Cai, officials from the capital. They were being seen by officials from the capital, which made them uneasy.

Lord Lu quickly said, “We’ve also finished watching. We should return to Qingzhou and not disturb you any longer.”

Lord Cai looked at him and said, “Why in such a hurry?”

“Yes, we made a special trip and took time off these past few days. We can catch up with Lord Cai another time when we have the opportunity,” Lord Lu replied.

Lord Cai didn’t insist further and said, “Very well then, Lord Lu, Lord Zhang, take care.”

Lord Lu hurriedly left and didn’t pay any further attention to Jia Xiaoren’s situation.

Afterwards, Luo Mingda and the county magistrate were dealing with the follow-up matters, while Lord Cai and the others chatted casually at the entrance, waiting for them to leave the courtroom.

The onlookers gradually dispersed when they saw the courtroom emptying. Yu Qingze also returned to the restaurant with his companions.

In the adjacent room, Madam Luo, who had been observing the situation, saw Lord Cai and the officials from the capital arrive. He whispered something to a servant boy, and the boy went downstairs.

Soon, the servant boy returned with two people.

Madam Luo gave them some instructions, and their eyes lit up. They exited through the side and made their way to the entrance of the courtroom. They knelt down and began shouting, “Lord Cai, please help us! Lord Cai, please help us!”

Lord Cai and the other officials turned around upon hearing the commotion.

“Lord Cai, please help us!”

Lord Cai bent down to lift the two individuals and said, “Please, quickly rise. What grievances do you have? Come inside and tell me slowly.”

Luo Mingda and the others are preparing to have the constable put shackles on Jia Xiaoren and have Jia Mingzhi, Wu Shun, and Yuan Changhe whipped. Upon hearing the commotion, they also looked outside.

The two men shouting grievances were a middle-aged man and a man in his mid-twenties. They saw Jia Xiaoren inside the house, and the younger man immediately exclaimed loudly, “Master Cai, we want to accuse Jia Xiaoren of killing our loved ones. We also want to accuse the two unjust officials appointed by the imperial court – county magistrate and the governor of Qingzhou – of sheltering the murderer Jia Xiaoren!”

Upon hearing this, Lord Cai and the two officials from the capital were stunned.

“What’s going on? Follow me, my fellow villagers. Tell me the whole story,” said Cai Wendong. With the two officials from the capital and the two men, he went to the adjacent room and listened carefully to their grievances.

Before Jia Xiaoren was taken away, he saw those two men and felt a sudden shock, as an ominous feeling flashed through his mind.

These two individuals were none other than the victims of the Qingzhou restaurant incident over a year ago—the mother of the deceased child and the wife of the owner who jumped into the river.

The two men recounted the events of the previous year to Lord Cai and the others. Afterwards, Lord Cai took the two men back to his residence to provide them with accommodation.

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Thandar: Things really don’t look good for Jia Xiaodumb hahahahahah