"Not only should we not shut down the Zhang family's property, but we should also send this Ah Kun back. If possible, give him enough benefits to ensure he won't say anything inappropriate at tomorrow's poetry gathering!"

Wu Yong nodded repeatedly after hearing Su Mowu's words.

If Jing Zhe says anything to Emperor An when the poetry gathering starts tomorrow, they will both be in trouble!

"Yes, Your Highness! Although this Ah Kun is a scholar, his manner of speaking and acting is almost like that of a scoundrel! I think as long as we offer him enough benefits, it shouldn't be a problem to stop him from talking nonsense!"

"Well, I'll leave this matter to you, Prefect Wu."

He glanced at Wu De as if to warn him, "Don't mess this up again! This Ah Kun isn't anyone formidable. We have many ways to teach him a lesson, but we mustn't do it openly! Once the poetry gathering is over, he'll be much easier to deal with!"

"Your Highness, please rest assured, I will handle this properly and will not let His Majesty blame you!"

Su Mowu took a sip of tea, then said calmly, "What does this have to do with me?"

Wu Yong was taken aback and quickly bowed.

"Your Highness, this matter was all done by me after I heard a report and acted impartially in accordance with the law!"

Su Mowu nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.

Wu Yong, who had brought Wu De out of the Prince of Xiang's mansion, felt bitter. Su Mowu meant that no matter what happened in the future, it had nothing to do with the Prince of Xiang, and he would have to take the blame if anything went wrong.

They thought that if the sky fell, there would be someone tall to hold it up, but who would have thought that before the sky even fell, the tall ones would be lying down, and the short ones would be suffering!

He had already planned that once he returned to the yamen, he would fulfill whatever requests Jing Zhe made, quickly getting rid of this plague god to avoid any mishaps the following night.

"Father, what does the Prince of Xiang mean?"

Looking at Wu De, Wu Yong was filled with mixed feelings: Is this idiot really my son?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she slapped him across the face. "What do you mean? Do I need to explain what I mean to you? From now on, talk less and do more!"

Wu De covered his face, "I've done quite a lot!"

"Smack!"

Another slap landed. "If you hadn't meddled, things wouldn't have turned out like this! You good-for-nothing scoundrel!"

Wu De stopped, covered his face and looked at Wu Yong's back with a mournful face: Should I do this or not?

Then she remembered that she had been slapped five times in one afternoon, all thanks to that man, and her anger flared up!

King Xiang said there are many ways to teach him a lesson, but not in the open—so why don't I do it in the shadows?

Thinking of this, Wu De praised himself for his cleverness, and his swollen face no longer hurt. He happily followed after them.

...

Although Wu Yong was wary of Jing Zhe and allowed him to feast in the yamen, he would not grant him the same request to sleep in the courtroom.

Fortunately, there were side rooms in the backyard of the yamen, and Jing Zhe wasn't a picky person, so he made do and slept there.

When Wu Yong returned to the yamen, it was already dark.

Where are they?

The constables led Wu Yong to the door of the side room and gestured inside with their chins: "Still asleep!"

After finishing his sentence, the constable couldn't help but complain: "Before going to sleep, I served him twelve meat dishes as instructed by the adults, and he ate them all! After eating, he went to sleep, and before falling asleep, he said that lunch was good and asked me to prepare the same for dinner. After he woke up, he wanted to eat more!"

"Pig!"

Upon hearing this, Wu De, who was standing nearby, cursed.

The constable nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. He was now starting to suspect that this fellow had come to the yamen just to freeload!

Actually, it's not Jing Zhe's fault. He doesn't usually eat that much, but the food he ate at the Zhang family's house these past two days wasn't very good. It was like eating at a buffet. If you go out to eat and don't eat more, you'd be a fool!

Wu Yong shook his head. "Go wake him up!"

Upon hearing this, the constable pushed open the door and entered, only to find Jing Zhe lying on the bed in an extremely comfortable position, fast asleep.

"Hey, wake up! Wake up!"

The constable shook him several times before Jing Zhe finally woke up.

She sat up, rubbed her sleepy eyes, glanced at the darkening sky outside the window, and yawned. "Is the food ready yet? Ouch, my legs are numb—help me up, I can still eat!"

"..."

After a moment of silence, Wu Yong said, "Young Master Kun, I've come to inform you of some good news!"

"Oh? At this moment, is there any better news than a delicious meal?"

"..."

"Young Master Kun, it's like this. After our investigation and interviews, we discovered that the Zhang family's liquor-making techniques were not stolen from the royal family. It was just a misunderstanding. Therefore, the ban on the Zhang family has been lifted, and Young Master Kun can go back now!"

"You're going back already?"

Jing Zhe was clearly still somewhat unsatisfied, and shook his head, saying, "No, I can't leave yet?"

Is this guy really trying to freeload here?

"Young Master Kun, why can't you leave?"

Jing Zhe walked over, his face serious. "Since Prefect Wu wants me to leave, then I'll have to settle things with him properly!"

"The Zhang family is making strong liquor. Since we've just started, production is low. We can only produce a little over a hundred jars a day. But I'm a kind person, so I'll give you a hundred jars!"

"..."

These words left Wu Yong dumbfounded. He thought to himself, "What business is it of my how much liquor the Zhang family produces in a day?"

Before he could ask a question, Jing Zhe continued speaking.

"As for the price of the spirits, the market price is twenty taels per jar, which isn't unreasonable, is it?"

"Isn't that excessive? Twenty taels for a jar? Why don't you just rob us?"

Wu De, standing to the side, looked disdainful. He could get a full package at Fenfangyuan for less than twenty taels of silver, just a jar of strong liquor. He was asking for twenty taels? He was dreaming.

Jing Zhe glanced at him. "What, do you think the strong liquor His Majesty ordered isn't worth the price? Should I go to the palace and speak to His Majesty about it?"

"Worth it, worth it! How could it not be worth it?"

After saying that, he glared at Wu De fiercely, "You bastard, what did I tell you? Less talk, more action, are you a pig brain?"

"..."

Wu De stepped aside and continued to glare at Jing Zhe.

"Good, Prefect Wu has good taste! Surely Prefect Wu doesn't think twenty taels is too much?"

"Not at all! Not at all! For items purchased by the royal family, not to mention twenty taels, even a hundred taels wouldn't be excessive!"

Jing Zhe waved his hand and said solemnly, "Prefect Wu is wrong. How can you be so heartless in business? Twenty taels, you can just make a little less profit!"

Wu Yong gave him a thumbs up.

"Young Master Kun is truly a Confucian businessman!"

Nodding very modestly, Jing Zhe changed the subject, "Prefect Wu, since you agree to this price, is it too much to sell the Zhang family's daily production of strong liquor for two thousand taels of silver?"

"Not excessive at all!"

You can sell it for five thousand taels or ten thousand taels, it's not excessive, anyway, it has nothing to do with me!

Wu Yong thought to himself.

"If that's the case, then—"

Jing Zhe stretched out his hand, "Give me the money!"

"..."

——