Ni Keng handed over the complaint, and the group settled down at the inn, waiting for the Prefect of the Capital to hold court.

Gu Shaoyu had been sending Nanxing to keep an eye on Ni Keng. Apart from contacting the few people who came with him to pick up the goods, Ni Keng did not contact anyone else.

Meanwhile, Xie Zhaozhao met with Dong Qin and told him about the situation at the ice shop.

“Miss, Ni Keng is trustworthy, and all his information is true. I am only doing this in case the Grand Secretary investigates him seriously one day.”

Now that the Grand Secretary has intervened, Miss's original plan may not be able to be realized.

Dong Qin's reply was factual and largely devoid of personal emotion, making it easier for Xie Zhaozhao to make a decision.

"Dongqin, is the business of transporting goods from Nijiawan to Lingxi really true?" With the plan changing, Xie Zhaozhao's decision had to change as well.

Dong Qin nodded seriously: "It's true, and because of the heat, no one else can transport it. If it's really transported to Lingxi, we'll make a fortune."

"Alright, you tell Ni Keng to accept Grand Secretary Gu's proposal without making a sound, and to have the people of Nijiawan deliver this shipment to Lingxi. All refrigeration costs and losses will be reported to the Marquis's residence for compensation. In addition, the penalty for breach of contract can be refunded, and doubled will suffice."

Double the penalty is almost the mildest penalty in the contract, and Grand Secretary Gu will definitely accept it.

Dong Qin nodded: "I understand, I will handle it personally."

Ni Keng reported the case to the authorities. The Prefect of the Capital saw that the defendant was "Tu Qianyue," an ice shop owner. He originally intended to arrest Tu Qianyue and punish him accordingly, or imprison him if necessary. However, before he could even bring him to justice, several uninvited guests arrived at the courtroom.

It wasn't Tu Qianyue who responded to the lawsuit, but Cheng'en Gong's steward, along with Shi Xiu from the Crown Prince's residence!

The Duke of Chengen was the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather, and Shi Xiu was the Crown Prince's personal attendant.

The Prefect of the Capital is confused. How could he be someone from the Crown Prince's residence?

Before he could even process what was happening, another important person arrived.

Grand Secretary Gu?

"Grand Secretary Gu, what brings you here?"

Gu Shaoyu came with Gu Chengyan and Gu Boyu.

Gu Boyu had already learned from the Tu family that Gu Chengyan was going to lose 300,000 taels of silver in a business partnership, and he was furious.

He took an iron whip and lashed Gu Chengyan, but Tu stopped him: "Don't hit him. He's getting married in a little over a month. You can't let him miss the wedding ceremony."

Having no other choice, he came to the courtroom with his third brother and his rebellious son to listen to the trial.

Upon arriving here, seeing that the people responding to the lawsuit were the steward of the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion and Shi Xiu, not to mention Gu Shaoyu and Gu Boyu, even Gu Chengyan was so surprised that his eyes popped out.

What happened?

If it weren't for Ni Keng kneeling on the ground, they would have thought they had gone to the wrong place.

Gu Shaoyu's original intention was to say something that turned out to be: "I heard that a batch of ice has affected the livelihoods of the people, so I came to take a look."

He was being extremely polite.

The Prefect of the Capital immediately bowed and scraped, saying, "This humble official will investigate immediately and will certainly uphold justice."

The entire trial process was very simple: Ni Keng accused Tu Qianyue of violating the contract and hiding away to refuse compensation, causing huge losses to the people of Nijiayan.

Shi Xiu did not deny it and admitted everything, only saying, "Miss Tu's ice-making secret recipe is beneficial to the country and the people. His Highness and Duke Cheng'en could not bear to see a gold shop of the common people ruined like this, so the Duke Cheng'en's mansion is willing to give Miss Tu 30,000 taels of silver so that Ni Keng can buy ice elsewhere."

Ni Keng was also somewhat surprised; how did the other party have a background as the Crown Prince?

He stubbornly insisted on the 300,000 taels penalty for breach of contract, fearing that he might get the money but not leave the capital alive.

However, requiring only 30,000 taels of silver clearly did not complete the task.

He remained silent for a moment.

The Prefect of the Capital most hoped that Ni Keng would agree, as this would be the best of both worlds: he would not offend the Crown Prince, nor would he leave any grounds for Grand Secretary Gu to impeach him for favoritism and perverting the law.

Ni Keng said, "Your Honor, I am not greedy. According to industry practice, it is normal for the penalty for breach of contract to be no less than three times the amount of the fine. It is not considered us being unreasonable. I do not want Your Highness to be in a difficult position. I hope that the penalty will be three times the amount of the fine, 90,000 taels, so that I can give my fellow villagers an explanation."

The steward of the Duke of Chengen's mansion said firmly that he would give a maximum of 60,000 taels of silver, and that would be all he could offer.

Gu Shaoyu looked at both sides and said, "I have a suggestion for you. The Duke of Cheng'en's Mansion shall pay a penalty of 60,000 taels of silver and then help Ni Jiayan transport this batch of seafood to Lingxi intact. The Duke of Cheng'en's Mansion shall bear the losses caused by insufficient freezing."

Shi Xiu thought for a moment and realized that the Crown Prince's residence could find an ice storage facility to sell a batch of ice to Ni Keng, so the losses shouldn't be too great.

So he nodded in agreement.

Ni Keng had no choice but to agree.

That day, Ni Keng received 60,000 taels of silver and, along with his companions, bought dozens of cartloads of ice at the official ice cellar in Bingzhen and returned to Nijiayan.

The next day, they took the seafood, sealed it with ice, covered it with cotton quilts, and shipped it to Lingxi.

Later, this batch of goods sold out in Lingxi, earning more than 20,000 taels of silver.

The loss was only four thousand taels, so Gu Chengyan gritted his teeth and accepted the loss.

Dong Qin delivered 64,000 taels of silver to Xie Zhaozhao. Xie Zhaozhao kept only 30,000 taels and told Dong Qin to give 30,000 taels to Ni Keng, while keeping the remaining 4,000 taels for his own use.

Ni Keng was overjoyed to receive 30,000 taels of silver. He then distributed another 10,000 taels among all the fishermen in Nijia Weir. The fishermen and Ni Keng were of one mind and their stories were completely consistent, like an iron barrel, and no one could find any flaws.

The Marquis of Pingyang's residence.

The three brothers, Gu Boyu, Gu Zhongyu, and Gu Shaoyu, sat on the high seat, with the old lady in the very center. All the wives of the two families and their legitimate sons were also present.

In front of all the masters of the Marquis's mansion, Gu Chengyan was forced onto a stool and given 50 solid lashes.

They beat Gu Chengyan unconscious.

Because of Tu Qianyue's problem, the old lady punished Tu by making her kneel in the ancestral hall for seven days and forbidding her from returning to her room to sleep.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!