"Young master, may we speak now?"

Manager Song was getting impatient.

Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself first. I am Jing Zhe, the president of Da'an Newspaper."

"..."

Manager Song had no idea what the Da'an Newspaper and its president were, but he had certainly heard of Jing Zhe's name!

Who in Jingzhou City doesn't know the formidable man who single-handedly defeated several others to win first place at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering?

"So it's Young Master Jing..."

"I came here today because of the Du brothers."

Upon hearing that the topic had been brought up, Manager Song immediately focused his attention.

"Perhaps Manager Song is unaware, but my official position as the editor-in-chief of the Da'an Newspaper is not high. I am just a minor official of the fifth rank. However, I know quite a few people, such as Li Haoyun, the prefect of Jingzhou."

"Yesterday, Prefect Li led a team to shut down a casino in the city. The dealers were the three Du brothers, and Zhang Xuehou, the manager of the newly opened Zhang Family Winery, was also there. They were taken back to the jail for interrogation, and their testimonies revealed a strong connection to Manager Song!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Manager Song's face darkened.

After hearing what Zhang Xiaoyu said last night, he sent someone to deliberately stroll around outside the Du family's casino. They found that the place was deserted, but no one knew where they had gone.

So he really got arrested!

"Manager Song, do you know that the Du family's casino is the largest casino in Anguo's history in terms of gambling funds? Yesterday, they seized tens of thousands of taels of gambling funds. If this is reported to His Majesty, do you think all the people involved will be dragged out and beheaded?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Song felt his legs go weak and he could no longer hold on, collapsing into his chair.

He muttered to himself, "It's not my fault, it's not my fault..."

In fact, Jing Zhe had only come after hearing Zhang Xiaoyu's speculation. He originally wanted to refute Manager Song's words, but seeing that he was terrified and at a loss, he immediately said sternly, "Isn't this your fault? The three Du brothers and Zhang Xuehou have all told you about your affairs. Your crimes are so serious that you should be dragged out and beheaded!"

"They're lying! They're lying!"

Manager Song shouted, "I've never gambled myself. At most, I introduced those who were addicted to gambling to the Du brothers. How could that be such a big crime?"

Wenxiangju was renowned, and many high-ranking officials and nobles in Jingzhou City would gather here to eat, especially the sons of powerful families. They would spend a lot on food and drink each time they came, but rarely paid for it.

Manager Song wouldn't ask for it either—this was the secret to Wenxiangju's survival in Jingzhou for so many years; only by winning over these high-ranking officials and nobles could Wenxiangju survive forever.

However, these young masters have to earn back the money they owe, so the prices at Wenxiangju are much higher than those at ordinary restaurants. But after offsetting the profits and losses, they don't actually make much money.

Not content with this, Manager Song introduced him to the three Du brothers. Later, the Du brothers revealed their identities and promised him that if he introduced wealthy out-of-towners to their casino, they would return 20% of the gambling money to him.

This was a highly profitable business. At first, he was indeed worried about the consequences of being exposed, but once Manager Song did it, he couldn't stop. Especially since no one reported him, he began to escalate his activities and become even more reckless.

I never expected that this day would finally come.

Jing Zhe sneered, "If it weren't for you, the Du family casino wouldn't have become the largest casino in Anguo! How many people did you introduce into it? How much kickback did you take? How many families were torn apart by you? You're even more hateful than the three Du brothers! Killing you wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

No...no...

Upon hearing the word "execution," Manager Song began to stammer incoherently: "No...you can't execute me! I know many...that's right, I know many adults, and there are still quite a few adults eating upstairs! I'll go beg them right now, beg them to spare my life!"

As he staggered towards the door, Jing Zhe sneered again, "You're overthinking it, aren't you? Gambling is strictly prohibited by the laws of Anguo, and His Majesty hates gamblers more than anything else! You participated in the biggest gambling game in Anguo's history. Do you think His Majesty will let you off the hook? And you're going to ask someone to plead for you? At a time like this, who would dare to protect you? They'd probably all distance themselves from you, and might even push you out to curry favor and claim credit!"

"And it's not just you. I've discovered that everyone in your Song family who runs this restaurant is well aware of this. Everyone is condoning the crime. So even if someone has to be executed, it won't just be you. Your entire Song family will be executed along with you. Thinking about it this way, it's actually a good thing for you. At least you won't be alone!"

"..."

It's a good thing, damn it!

Upon hearing this, Manager Song turned ashen-faced.

If the entire Song family were executed, their lineage would be wiped out! How could he face his ancestors? With a thud, he knelt on the ground, his eyes vacant, trembling as he said, "We...we didn't gamble, so how about I return all the silver I received? Is that alright?"

"Hehe, do you think it's okay?"

"..."

"If you give someone a knife, let them kill someone, and then take the knife back, do you think that's acceptable?"

"..."

Shopkeeper Song was speechless. Suddenly, he realized that since Jing Zhe knew about his crimes, he had come to tell him these things not just to mock and berate him. He immediately pleaded, "President Jing, please save me!"

"hehe."

Jing Zhe sneered, "At least you have some sense!"

So he said, "To be honest, if this matter were to reach the imperial court, the Song family wouldn't be able to afford to lose even two heads! However, I have a very close relationship with Prefect Li, and after discussing it with him, he kept it quiet beforehand. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to open this door today!"

Without hesitation, Manager Song nodded repeatedly.

"Moreover, very few people know about this matter. If Prefect Li doesn't spread it, Manager Song's matter isn't a big deal. We can just pretend it never happened!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Song burst into tears of joy, "Thank you, President Jing!"

"You don't need to thank me too much. As the saying goes, no one gets up early for nothing. I don't know you, so I won't help you for no reason!"

"I understand, I understand everything!"

Shopkeeper Song was moved to tears, "President Jing wants money, right?"

Jing Zhe smiled and nodded, looking like he was a promising student.

Problems that can be solved with money are not problems. Manager Song was overjoyed to see that Jing Zhe wanted money. He was afraid of encountering people who were neither greedy nor lustful. If that were the case, there would be no way to plead for them!

Upon learning that he wouldn't have to suffer, he seemed to instantly regain his previous arrogance. In a moment of impulsiveness, he patted his chest and said, "Of course, of course! Young Master Jing saved our Song family's life. Let alone money, I would give you the entire Wenxiang Residence without hesitation!"

"..."

————