After calming the two down, the Crown Prince of Yu turned around and examined Jing Zhe for the first time, a man he had heard about countless times in letters and from the Prince of Jin and Su Xinping.

Sure enough, it was just as I had heard.

No, it must be more dangerous than what he heard!

The first confrontation with Jing Zhe ended in a temporary defeat for the Crown Prince of Yu, and the prince's dislike for Jing Zhe changed from an impression to a concrete form.

"President Jing, I've long admired your name, and meeting you today, I can confirm that it truly lives up to your reputation!"

"The Crown Prince of Yu said in a deep voice."

"I dare not accept such praise! I have long admired your name. I should be the one saying this. Moreover, just as I imagined, Your Highness can persuade two suspects with a single sentence. Those who know you will say that Your Highness is very skillful, while those who don't might think that Your Highness is in cahoots with them!"

"..."

With his sharp tongue and uncompromising nature, Jing Zhe made the Crown Prince of Yu feel his incisiveness in their first encounter under his true identity.

"Hehe, hehe..."

The Crown Prince of Yu was speechless. He first chuckled twice to ease the awkwardness, and then said, "President Jing is joking. How could I possibly be in league with two suspects?"

"It would be best if they weren't in cahoots. If they were, then the Crown Prince of Yu would be in trouble. I always suspect that Manager Hu's ability to collude with Prefect Liu must involve some kind of power and money transaction!"

"..."

Upon hearing the last sentence, the Crown Prince of Yu felt a pang in his heart.

"President Jing...you're really joking!"

The crown prince of Yu replied awkwardly.

At this moment, Yu Li came to the rescue, saying, "President Jing, I heard you won the bet against this Juxianlou restaurant yesterday?"

"Yes, but we haven't received the land deed yet."

Jing Zhe glanced at the Crown Prince of Yu and said, "It just so happens that the Crown Prince of Yu is here as well. He witnessed the entire bet last night. Doesn't the Crown Prince agree?"

"Hehe, yes, actually the land deed is just a formality. So many people have witnessed it. Whether there is a land deed or not, this Juxianlou belongs to President Jing."

The matter was already settled, and the Crown Prince of Yu planned to do Jing Zhe a favor, which might make it easier to win over Prefect Liu and Manager Hu later.

He then continued, "Moreover, what happened today might be a misunderstanding. I hope President Jing won't take offense."

However, Jing Zhe was not impressed by his kindness: "There is no misunderstanding here, and the land deed should still be obtained. Governor Yu, since you are here, please send someone to help me find the land deed for Juxianlou. I have a feeling that the land deed is in the building, but Manager Hu just doesn't want to give it to me."

"Okay, President Jing, please wait a moment."

Yu Li agreed and first sent people to take Prefect Liu and Manager Hu away. Then he sent people to the counter, and before long, the land deed of Juxianlou was found.

After the handover was completed, Juxianlou changed hands.

Holding the land deed, Jing Zhe laughed and said, "Great! This Juxianlou is mine now, so I have the right to check the accounts, right?"

"President Jing, of course you can investigate!"

Yu Li had been in Ruzhou for many years, and he knew about the open and covert dealings between Prince Yu, Prefect Liu, and Manager Hu, among others. There must be something fishy about the accounts of Juxianlou!

Then he ordered, "Someone, find the account books of Juxianlou and give them to President Jing to review!"

"yes!"

So the soldier ran back to the counter, searched around for a while, and then said, "Governor Yu, there are no account books!"

"..."

Normally, any business that is open for business will have its ledgers on the counter, since customers are constantly coming and going, making it convenient to keep track of accounts.

Upon hearing this, Yu Li frowned, pulled over a waiter, and asked, "Doesn't your Juxianlou restaurant keep account books?"

"Yes...yes, Your Excellency Governor!"

The waiter stammered.

"Where did the ledger go?"

"I...I just saw it, the bald guy...the bald guy took the ledger and went to the back..."

The waiter continued.

Upon hearing this, Yu Li and Jing Zhe exchanged a glance, and Yu Li immediately ordered, "Quickly go to the back and find Baldy!"

Upon receiving the order, the officers and soldiers immediately ran to the backyard of Juxianlou.

As the soldiers ran past him, the Crown Prince of Yu trembled. He felt relieved that he had ordered the bald waiter to take the account book away immediately, but he also began to worry that the bald waiter had not yet finished handling it.

Not long after, the soldiers returned with the bald waiter.

Upon seeing this, the Crown Prince of Yu was filled with anxiety.

"Baldy, where's the ledger?"

Yu Li asked first.

"Governor Yu, he burned the account books! By the time we got there, it was too late, and this was all we found!"

Before the bald man could speak, a soldier walked in from behind, carrying an account book that had been burned down to its spine. The main pages had been burned to ashes, and only the spine, being so thick, had survived. But what was on the spine?

Therefore, the evidence was destroyed.

Upon hearing this news, the Crown Prince of Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly rejoiced: This bald guy is still quite clever!

Jing Zhe was almost furious: I was careless!

"Baldy, do you know what you're doing?"

The bald man didn't know who Jing Zhe really was. Although he held a high official position, in Ruzhou, what did it matter how high his position was? He still had to be mindful of King Yu's wishes.

He was working for the crown prince of Yu the Great, so he wasn't afraid of him at all!

"I was originally going to pick up the account book, and when I passed by the woodshed I happened to see the firewood burning, so I thought I'd go and put the firewood in. I didn't expect the account book to fall into the fire and burn like this. I didn't mean for it to happen!"

It's just burning the ledgers, I didn't commit a crime, what can you do to me?

Bald-headed waiter, seemingly unfazed, shrugged and said nonchalantly.

"You should know what's in the ledger. I'm going to ask you a question, and this is the last time I'll ask you. You can think about your answer before you answer me."

Jing Zhe glanced at the bald waiter and said coldly, "Besides the accounts of Juxianlou, does the ledger record any transactions involving power and money between Manager Hu and other people?"

"..."

For some reason, the bald waiter could sense a terrifying chill in Jing Zhe's eyes, but he didn't intend to say anything.

So he pretended to be stupid and said, "This ledger only has the accounts of Juxianlou, what else is there? President Jing, are you overthinking this?"

"Governor Yu, take him back and execute him."

"Yes, President Jing!"

Yu Li agreed, then immediately shouted, "Men, take him back and execute him!"

"..."

The officers were taken aback for a moment, but immediately agreed and then pulled the bald waiter away.

"..."

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