Chapter 99 You just wait!

Chapter Ninety-Nine: You just wait!

Upon hearing the voice, everyone inside looked up towards the door and saw several patrolmen dressed in black.

These men were the ones who patrolled North Street every day. Most of the business people knew them. This man was acquainted with Lu Zhao, and Shen Tang had met him a few times before. She quickly and politely greeted him as Lord Chen.

Chen Yanjin nodded in return, but when he turned around and saw the man's face, his eyebrows immediately shot up and he said angrily.

"Zhao Ergou, you're causing trouble again!"

Zhao Ergou was a notorious thug in the south of the city. He had done a lot of bad things, such as fighting, brawling, and petty theft, but the bad things he did were not the serious kind.

Every time they were caught, they were flogged and imprisoned for only a few days before being released. But after just a few days, they would cause trouble again and be imprisoned once more.

This government office is practically his hometown.

Everyone in the government office knew him; he was like a persistent leech, and even Chen Yanjin found him annoying.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ergou immediately shouted, "Sir, I'm innocent! This time it really wasn't me who caused trouble. It was this heartless boss who sold spoiled pastries, which made my brother so weak he almost collapsed. I'm here to demand an explanation. Please, sir, see the truth."

Chen Yanjin scoffed: "Serious? If you, Zhao Ergou, were ever serious, you wouldn't be constantly locked up in jail."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ergou's face immediately turned somewhat embarrassed.

Chen Yanjin gave him a cold look and ignored him.

He turned to Shen Tang and said, "Mr. Shen, you tell me, what exactly happened?"

He had met Shen Tang a few times and knew Lu Zhao's feelings for her, but he had never spoken up. He had also advised him that if he liked her, he should take the initiative.

But this usually generous and decisive person became hesitant and indecisive on this matter, saying that the timing was not right.

Compared to the notorious Zhao Ergou, he naturally leaned more towards Shen Tang's side.

Upon hearing his question, Shen Tang quickly replied, "As soon as this brother arrived, he insisted that my pastries were spoiled and poisonous, causing his brother to have an upset stomach."

“I personally handled all the ingredients for these pastries, so I can guarantee there’s absolutely no problem with them. Besides, I sell so many pastries every day, if there really was a problem, it’s impossible that only this one batch would have an issue.”

"I just saw that the young man with diarrhea had a rosy complexion and was full of energy. He didn't seem like the weak man he described. I was just about to ask a doctor to take a look at him, but he didn't want to."

Shen Tang paused here, glanced at Zhao Ergou, and Zhao Ergou's expression immediately became somewhat unnatural.

Shen Tang withdrew her gaze and said firmly to Chen Yanjin, "Therefore, I suspect that this person is faking it. Firstly, he is maliciously damaging the reputation of my shop, and secondly, he is deliberately trying to extort money. Please investigate thoroughly, sir!"

Before Chen Yanjin could even speak, Zhao Ergou exploded, grabbing a stick and charging forward: "You son of a bitch! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Shen Tang hadn't expected him to be so arrogant in front of the officials. She quickly dodged, but the stick still grazed her arm. A dull pain shot through her, and Shen Tang couldn't help but frown.

When Zhao Ergou saw that she had dodged, he was furious and picked up his stick to come back for a second time.

But Chen Yanjin kicked him to the ground with a "bang," and Zhao Ergou groaned in pain.

When the two younger brothers saw that their eldest brother had been beaten, they rushed over to him, shouting, "Big Brother!"

Chen Yanjin saw that his second brother, who had just looked like he was in excruciating pain and about to die, was now full of energy and rushing towards Zhao Ergou.

Is there anything else you don't understand? This person was indeed faking it, just as Shen Tang said.

The onlookers weren't fools; upon seeing this, they all started pointing and whispering about the three of them.

Chen Yanjin felt disgusted even by looking at him, and ordered his men, "Tie them up and take them to the yamen to be dealt with by the prefect."

Then he turned to Shen Tang and said, "You are the aggrieved party, so I will trouble you to come with me to the yamen."

Shen Tang naturally had no objection and nodded.

With things escalating like this, business was impossible to continue today, so Shen Tang had no choice but to close the shop and go to the yamen with Chen Yanjin.

Zhao Ergou was a regular at the yamen. Even when he was arrested, he acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water. He figured it was just a few lashes and a few days in jail, and he'd be a hero again when he got out.

The prefect was also annoyed when he saw Zhao Ergou kneeling below the court: "Why is it you guys again?! Can't you guys shut up for once?!"

Zhao Ergou and his two henchmen knelt on the ground, speechless and embarrassed.

The prefect sighed helplessly. After finding out what had happened to Shen Tang, he was about to have them beaten a few times and locked up in jail when...

Chen Yanjin, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up: "Sir, Zhao Ergou and his gang have repeatedly failed to learn their lesson. Today, they even attacked Boss Shen in front of me."

"If I hadn't intervened, I'm afraid that one blow would have killed Boss Shen."

"Although no serious consequences have occurred this time, it is hard to guarantee that they will not cause any more trouble in the future. Given that they have been committing crimes and have shown no remorse, I request that Your Excellency punish them severely this time so that they may learn their lesson!"

After listening to Chen Yanjin's words, the prefect stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.

Upon hearing Chen Yanjin's words, Zhao Ergou felt an urge to kill him.

Seeing the prefect pondering his suggestion, he immediately became anxious: "Sir, I'm innocent!"

"I was just joking with Boss Shen this time, I didn't cause any trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Tang snorted coldly at Zhao Ergou: "I've never seen anyone joke like that while wielding a stick with such menacing force."

Then he said to the prefect in the hall, "Your Excellency, this Zhao Ergou attacked me with a stick just now. If it weren't for Lord Chen intervening, I'm afraid my life would be in danger now."

"Having failed this time, there's no guarantee he won't seek revenge against me again after he gets out." Shen Tang kowtowed heavily to the ground: "I beg Your Honor to punish him severely!"

The prefect frowned upon hearing this. This Zhao Ergou had committed numerous evils and refused to change his ways despite repeated warnings, which gave him quite a headache.

Although he wanted to severely punish Zhao Ergou, they only ever caused minor disturbances and never caused any major trouble, so he could only punish them according to the laws of Liang.

In the end, Zhao Ergou was sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane and imprisoned for a month.

Although Chen Yanjin and Shen Tang were slightly dissatisfied with the verdict, they had no choice but to accept it since the prefect had made his decision.

Upon hearing the verdict, Zhao Ergou knelt down and kowtowed, saying happily, "Thank you, Prefect! You truly deserve to be called the upright and just magistrate of Nancheng! Your handling of matters is fair and just!"

The prefect snorted angrily and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Zhao Ergou and his group were quickly taken away by the yamen runners. As they passed by Shen Tang, they gave her a hateful and provocative look.

Silently: "You bitch, you just wait!"