Chapter 115 Restaurant

Cui had always been filial, so after hearing what she said, she sent her maid back home to inform the steward.

When Tan Qingzhou leaves court, the steward will report this matter to him.

The old lady of the Duke of Qing waited for her to give the instructions, then said to Feng Qingsui, "The incense that Yunxiu and I burned together might have been affected. Could you please take a look at her as well?"

Feng Qingsui said hello.

After checking Cui's pulse, he frowned and said, "I thought you were still young and wouldn't be greatly affected by these poisonous incense, but I didn't expect... your kidney pulse is weak, and your liver is depressed and blood stasis. Are you taking medicine all year round?"

Since Cui came to visit her mother every day, she has been suffering from insomnia and nightmares and has not been able to sleep well.

She just thought it was because she was overly worried, but she didn't expect it was because of the poisonous incense.

But after hearing Feng Qingsui's question, she shook her head and said, "I seldom take medicine in recent years. Only in my early years, because I couldn't conceive, I sought medical advice and tried many folk remedies."

Feng Qingsui asked about her menstrual cycle and her daily life and diet, then said, "That's strange. Your pulse is sluggish and your fluids are irregular. It's obvious that you've been harmed by the medication, but you said you rarely take medicine these days..."

Before Cui could react, the old lady of Duke Qing's face turned cold.

"You mean, someone has been secretly drugging her, damaging her uterus and making her infertile?"

“How could it be!”

Cui was stunned.

"I haven't taken any medicine given to me by others..."

The old lady of the Duke of Qing snorted coldly, "You didn't even notice when they put spices in your sachet, so putting drugs in your food is no big deal."

Cui was speechless.

Feng Qingsui chuckled, "It doesn't necessarily have to be oral medicine, it could be incense or something else. There are many ways to secretly administer drugs."

After hearing this, Cui wanted to take her back home immediately and show her every item she used in her daily life.

He was also afraid of alarming the person who had given the medicine, so he did not dare to act rashly.

"Who is so vicious..."

She had a headache.

A kind and friendly face flashed through my mind.

The person who benefited the most from her childlessness was undoubtedly her eldest sister-in-law.

Yi'er, who was adopted by her, can inherit her dowry and the Tan family's property. The eldest sister-in-law does not have to pay anything to make her son rich and prosperous.

But the next moment, she denied the possibility that her eldest sister-in-law had harmed her.

The eldest sister-in-law treated her like her own sister, and sent her gifts all day long in various ways. Most of her clothes were given by her.

Whenever she had any trouble, her eldest sister-in-law would stay by her bed, serve her tea and water, and take good care of her.

Even her maidservant could not compare to her elder sister-in-law's attentiveness.

What's more, when she was diagnosed with a cold uterus and was worried about having difficulty conceiving, her eldest sister-in-law was still living in the countryside of Lizhou with her two children.

I've never met her in person, and as for the gifts... At that time, my eldest sister-in-law hadn't made a fortune yet, so she would just ask someone to send some local specialties like sweet potatoes, taro, and turmeric during the holidays. She would distribute them to the servants and never eat them.

There is absolutely no chance of a move, how could it be the eldest sister-in-law?

It can't be her.

But if it was someone close to her, she would never have thought of it.

The people she brought over from the Duke's Mansion were all loyal people who helped her to manage the Tan Mansion in order. The servants in the Tan Mansion were all bought by her personally from the pawnbrokers, and their origins were all clean.

Could it be... Qing Zhou?

After sleeping in the same bed for twenty years, the relationship between her and Qingzhou is not comparable to that of ordinary couples.

She still remembers the disappointment in Qingzhou's eyes when she was diagnosed with infertility. The person in the world who most hoped that she would give birth to a child was probably Qingzhou.

After all, he loved her so deeply that even if she was infertile, he was determined not to take a concubine.

"Having you in my life is enough for me. Even if I die without an heir, I will not take a concubine."

Who doesn’t hope to be together for the rest of their life?

Qingzhou treats her wholeheartedly, how can she doubt him?

Feng Qingsui saw that she looked distressed, and knew that she probably didn't want to doubt the people around her, so he didn't say anything. After chatting with the old lady of Duke Qingguo for a few words, he said goodbye and left.

After returning home, she called Yan Chi out.

It would be more convenient to let Yan Chi investigate the Beijing officials than Wuhua.

Yan Chi said respectfully: "What do you want, Madam?"

Feng Qingsui smiled and said, "Please help me check on Minister Tan and his sister-in-law, such as their past, daily interactions, and their properties."

"Okay!"

Yan Chi readily accepted the order and left.

Half a day later, a thin book was presented to Feng Qingsui.

Feng Qingsui praised: "As expected of the Second Master's man, he is efficient in his work."

Yan Chi smiled proudly.

"Madam, please tell me what you want. I don't have any other strengths, but I can run fast."

When Zhuying, who was hiding in the dark, heard this, he snorted coldly.

So what if I can run fast? My martial arts skills are not as good as his.

If the Madam knew their respective abilities, she would definitely choose him instead of Yan Chi.

Feng Qingsui had no idea about the rivalry between the two secret guards. After flipping through the thin booklet Yan Chi gave her, she discovered something quite interesting.

This uncle and sister-in-law rarely interacted with each other on weekdays. Jiao only visited the Tan residence when he went to court.

Tan Qingzhou was an honest man who lived a simple life. He seldom went out and would stay in the study in the outer courtyard when he returned home. He usually went between the palace, government offices and his home, and was a very diligent official.

His widowed sister-in-law Jiao was very capable and had a prosperous business career.

After she came to the capital from Lizhou, she made her first fortune by opening a restaurant, and then bought land and shops, quickly becoming wealthy. Now she is extremely wealthy, with property stretching all the way to the clouds, and is a wealthy businessman in the capital.

Feng Qingsui was amazed at what he saw.

Most people are lucky enough to support their families by running a restaurant, but Jiao family was able to become rich by running a restaurant. What is the secret?

She immediately sent Wuhua to the restaurant run by the Jiao family to find out the news.

This investigation revealed that Jiao's way of running a restaurant was completely different from that of other shops.

To buy food at her restaurant, you have to deposit a certain amount of money in advance.

If you deposit one tael of silver, the restaurant will give you four taels of silver; if you deposit ten taels, the restaurant will give you forty taels; and so on.

After making a deposit, diners will receive several meal bills, and the restaurant will stamp the bills every time they place an order.

Different dishes are stamped with different stamps. There is no limit to the types of dishes you can order each time, but each dish can only be ordered once - that is, you cannot order the same dish repeatedly.

Although there are more rules than other restaurants, diners flock here for the deposit-one-get-four-free offer.

Wherever her restaurant opens, it is always crowded.

The restaurant owner said that he came up with this business method out of sympathy for the poor and the weak, and that he was able to sustain this business entirely by selling at low prices and high volumes.

Feng Qingsui has never opened a restaurant, but he has been to many restaurants and has some understanding of the gross profit margin of restaurants.

With the way Jiao's Restaurant is doing things, it's lucky if it doesn't make a loss. How can it possibly make a lot of money and allow her to buy fields, land, and shops?

The trick is hidden in a small discovery of Wuhua:

"When I deposited silver, I peeked at the account book and found that the five taels that the shopkeeper recorded for me and the four taels that he gave me as a gift were all counted as my deposit."

In other words, the so-called "gift silver" became silver given by diners.

Where did this silver come from?

Most corrupt officials rely on money houses, pawnshops, and antique shops to sell stolen goods, but Tan Qingzhou relies on his widowed sister-in-law's restaurant to sell stolen goods.

It's really unique.

At night, Wuhua went to Jiao's house to steal the account book, but unexpectedly, he made another discovery.