Chapter 119: Xianglaier was sealed

Zhang Sigu was greeting the endless stream of customers in the shop when suddenly a group of yamen runners rushed in, scaring the women in the shop and making them scream.

The guests were rudely driven out, leaving only Zhang Sigu and a group of Xianglai'er's servants.

"Sir, what are you doing——"

Before Zhang Sigu could finish her question, the leading officer gave an order: "Search!"

The bailiffs began to search around the shop.

Xianglaier's goods were all packed in porcelain bottles and originally placed neatly on the counter. However, these yamen runners rummaged through the boxes and cabinets in a rough manner, and a lot of rouge and powder were dropped directly on the ground, making a mess.

Except for Zhang Sigu, the rest of the guys were so scared that they hid in a corner.

"If you have something to say, please talk nicely. You can't do this--" Aunt Zhang was heartbroken. Those cosmetics cost more than two taels of silver for each bottle!

What was thrown away was not just cosmetics, but pure silver!

She tried to stop him, but the next moment a shiny long knife was placed on her neck.

"How dare you stop the government from handling a case?"

Zhang Sigu turned pale, swallowed her saliva, and asked tremblingly: "Sir, can we wait until the boss comes back..."

The bailiff put away his knife and said coldly, "Don't worry, I've sent someone to look for him."

…

Qin Yuwei was in class when she suddenly heard a noisy sound of footsteps outside, followed by someone shouting her name.

The noise was so loud that students from several nearby classrooms poked their heads out to look.

Qin Yuwei walked out and asked them what was going on.

"The shop you run is suspected of poisoning people. Come with us." As they said this, two yamen runners went to arrest her.

Qin Yuwei glanced at him and said coldly, "Back off."

The momentum in his words startled the two bailiffs.

Qin Yuwei said in a voice that everyone could hear: "I am a good citizen of Daliang. You want to arrest me and ruin my reputation without any evidence. How can that be justified?

I can go with you, but we have to make it clear, I am going to cooperate with your government investigation, I am not a suspect.

Otherwise, when the truth is revealed, I will sue you for oppressing innocent people even though I am innocent."

The leading bailiff thought for a moment, waved his men away, softened his tone, and asked Qin Yuwei to go with them.

"Wait a minute, I have something to say."

The bailiff nodded slightly and said, "If you have anything to say, you have to say it in front of us."

Qin Yuwei glanced at him coldly, and then said to a student beside her:

"Please help me tell Zhu Lan that I want the painting of "The Picture of the Sages" and ask her to finish it as soon as possible and send it to me."

After saying that, Qin Yuwei held her head high and calmly followed the officers out of the academy.

Qin Yuwei was very popular in the academy. Although the student didn't understand what this sentence meant, he didn't dare to delay and hurriedly asked around. He learned that Zhu Lan had gone to see Ouyang Ye today.

Zhu Lan met the person who came to deliver the letter outside Ouyang Ye's study. When he heard that Qin Yuwei was taken away by the officials, he thought about her message and immediately understood.

He immediately asked Ouyang Ye for leave and hurriedly left the academy.

…

Xiang Lai'er had been sealed up, and Qin Yuwei was taken directly to the court of the government office. Zhang Sigu was already kneeling in the hall.

She was not unfamiliar with the furnishings of the court, as she had often seen them when filming costume dramas in the past. However, how could the majesty of a real court in ancient times be compared to that of a film set made up of props and extras?

In the hall, Bi Cong sat behind the desk, wearing a black gauze hat, a scarlet official robe, and an angry look on his face.

He slammed the gavel in his hand heavily, "My humble daughter Qin Yuwei, why don't you kneel before me?"

Qin Yuwei gritted her teeth secretly. She usually stayed in the academy and didn't need to bow down to others.

The humiliation and rejection that a modern person instinctively feels towards such things cannot be completely erased by just traveling through time for a few years.

But she also knew that there was no other way. She had indeed traveled to this ancient world where hierarchy was above all else, and there were some things she could not accept.

Qin Yuwei had a blank expression on her face. She forced herself to bend her knees and slowly kneel on the ground, but she did not lower her head.

A voice in her heart told her that she should just adapt to it, as it was nothing to be ashamed of in ancient times.

But another voice reminded her that from childhood to adulthood, she was the best among her peers in terms of family background, appearance, and education. She was someone that others looked up to, and even her biological parents had never knelt before her.

But now I have to kneel down like a criminal.

No, she couldn't adapt.

Qin Yuwei secretly calmed down her inner excitement and hinted that it didn't matter, it was just a movie shoot.

She is no longer Qin Yuwei, but just a character in the play, a character who can kneel down to the superior.

"Qin Yuwei, someone used the rouge in your shop and became poisoned. How do you explain this?"

"Sir, that rouge is definitely not from Xianglaier. You can compare it with all the goods in my shop and you will know the real one at a glance." Qin Yuwei, who was in the right state, answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"But how do I know that you didn't deliberately sell this only box of poisonous rouge to my maid Ah Lu?"

Qin Yuwei frowned, "Your Excellency has no evidence, and I have no motive. Your Excellency's malicious speculation is inappropriate, isn't it?"

She straightened her back and continued, "In addition, the county government has already found out yesterday that Zhang Youcai, the owner of Zhang's Rouge Shop, deliberately made poisonous rouge and secretly put it into Xiang Lai'er's warehouse.

The rouge has been taken away by the county government as evidence. If someone else has been poisoned in the same way, you should ask the county government, Zhang Youcai and his accomplices instead of questioning me here."

Bi Cong said nothing when he heard this. This morning he was processing official documents submitted by the county government. Before he finished, he was interrupted by his wife's affairs.

Could it be that the county magistrate has already dealt with this matter?

At this moment, a loud voice sounded——

"Mr. Ji Tian, ​​the county magistrate, has arrived."

Ji Tian walked hurriedly into the court, followed by Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan saw Qin Yuwei kneeling on the ground and nodded to her, signaling her to rest assured.

"Greetings, His Excellency the Prefect." Ji Tian bowed respectfully to Bi Cong.

"Sir, the poisonous rouge found in Xianglaier's shop was discovered by me yesterday. It was done by Zhang Youcai, the owner of Zhang's Rouge Shop, and his accomplices Wei and Xiaolian. The poisonous rouge has been confiscated by the county government. The goods being sold in Xianglaier's shop have been verified to be fine.

But according to Wei's confession, she originally brought a box of poisonous rouge to Xianglaier to cause trouble yesterday, but the fake rouge in her hand turned out to be real. "

"Become true?" Bi Chong asked with a frown.

"Yes, according to Wei's recollection, she bumped into someone at the door of the shop, and the rouge might have been taken by mistake at that time."

Bi Cong thought about it and asked someone to bring Wei up, and then called A Lu to confront her in court.

Wei, with disheveled hair, went to the court. When he saw A-lu, he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes, she was the one who bumped into me yesterday! She picked up the rouge in my hand and left. I called her and she didn't even turn around!"

Ah Lu's face turned pale instantly, realizing that she had taken the poisonous rouge by mistake and caused the lady to be poisoned. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed, begging the master for mercy.