"Come here, search for me." the prefect shouted.

Then a team of yamen runners responded and left.

"Dad, go and take a look." He Siyi said in Chen Chen's arms.

Upon hearing this, Chen Chen mentally gave his son a thumbs-up and said, "Let's go. We have nothing to do now anyway, so Daddy will take you to see it."

After that, he said to the crowd, "If anyone wants to know more about running a business, we can talk while we walk."

So those who wanted to know about this matter followed Chen Zhen outside.

After following the officers and soldiers to the kitchen helper's residence, Wen Feng, who was guarding nearby, nodded silently to Chen Chen, then turned and left.

The only people in the yard were his wife, two sons, and a daughter. Suddenly, so many yamen runners showed up. They all huddled together in fear, then timidly asked, "What's going on?"

The bailiff ignored them and rushed directly into their bedroom, then pulled out a black wooden box from under the bed.

A yamen runner was about to take a look inside when Chen Chen interrupted, "Since this is important evidence, I think it's best to examine it in court, otherwise others will think you are an accomplice."

After hearing what Chen Zhen said, the yamen runner paused, then came out of the room holding the box in his hand and led everyone back to the government office.

In court, after the evidence was submitted, Wang Erpi said, "Your Excellency, you can ask the coroner to verify the fingerprints above. They should match mine."

He Jinshu also interjected at this time: "The prefect should also ask the doctors to verify the contents to see if it is arsenic."

After verification by all parties, everything was consistent with what Wang Erpi said.

The Luozhou prefect slammed the table and shouted, "Chef Sun, do you have anything else to say?"

When Chef Sun saw what had happened, he shouted, "Sir, this is unjust. I really didn't put arsenic in the vinegar. I bought it for another purpose."

"Didn't you say before that it was for treating diseases? What diseases exactly?" He Jinshu asked in a deep voice, "You'd better think it over before answering, otherwise, when evidence is found later, you'll claim that I wronged you again."

Upon hearing this, the kitchen helper just knelt there and stammered without saying anything.

Seeing that he was silent, He Jinshu said to the prefect in a calm voice: "Sir, now that we have the witnesses and evidence, it's your turn to judge."

Upon hearing this, the Luozhou prefect glanced at He Jinshu and said to the kitchen helper, "Chef Sun, I'll give you one last chance. Did you put the arsenic there?"

At this time, He Jinshu said something else: "Think about your own children and wife. If you can confess the person behind the scenes, perhaps the prefect will give you a lighter sentence."

After hearing this, Chef Sun wanted to look up, but finally lowered his head and admitted his crime.

The Luozhou prefect finally ruled: "For framing others without cause and damaging their reputation, considering this is a first offense, he shall be fined thirty strokes of the cane and sentenced to one year of hard labor."

After the verdict was made, the prefect of Luozhou asked He Jinshu with a sullen face, "I wonder if Mr. He is satisfied with this verdict?"

"The verdict is up to the prefect. I have no right to interfere. Now that the fault is not ours, shouldn't the prefect release our people?" He Jinshu said lightly.

"Come here, release him." the prefect shouted.

When Wang Zhengkun and his group were brought to the lobby, He Jinshu asked them, "Are you injured? Answer truthfully."

"The injury is not a big deal, but they took all our money," said Wang Zhengkun.

"How much is it in total?"

"The 80 taels of silver we earned from selling the goods, plus the small change we each had on us."

Upon hearing this, He Jinshu said to the prefect, "I didn't expect the people in Luozhou Prefecture to be so open-minded. Then, can I go directly to your residence and take something back?"

The prefect's face darkened even more when he heard this, so he shouted, "Hurry up and return their things."

As a yamen runner hurried back to retrieve something, He Jinshu spoke again: "Today's incident was caused by the people of Luozhou City trying to harm us. We cannot bear this injustice in vain. I hope the prefect can give us an explanation."

"What do you want to say?"

"We have worked hard to come here to prove our innocence, and Brother Wang and his men have been detained for so many days for no reason. We can't just let it go like this, otherwise anyone will come and frame us in the future. Then, will our business be any better?

I hope that you can come forward and compensate us for our losses of 100 taels of silver each," He Jinshu said.

100 taels? The crowd exclaimed in surprise. He Jinshu was really bold in asking for this. For more than ten people like them, this would cost more than 1,000 taels of silver.

Upon hearing this, the Luozhou prefect said in a cold voice: "Mr. He, please be careful. This is Luozhou, not your Cangzhou. This is not a place where you can act wildly."

"So what?" He Jinshu said nonchalantly, "Today's incident was caused by you. Not only have you ruined our reputation, but you've also delayed our business. It's not unreasonable for us to ask you for some compensation."

The Luozhou prefect was silent for a moment after hearing this, then he said, "If that's the case, then you should ask Chef Sun for it. This matter was caused by him, so he should be held responsible."

Upon hearing this, Chef Sun shouted, "Sir, I don't have that much money. Even if you sell me, I can't come up with that much money!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't have money. You can ask Yumi Township to pay for it. No matter what, this is all paid for by your restaurant. If Yumi Township doesn't pay, then I will take our people to eat there every day. After each person has eaten enough 100 taels of silver, we will return to Cangzhou. Anyway, I don't have to take the exam now, and I have plenty of time to waste with you." He Jinshu said nonchalantly.

He added, "Please find someone to invite the shopkeeper or boss of Yumi Township to come over to discuss compensation. We must get compensation today. If Yumi Township doesn't pay, then the government office will."

After He Jinshu finished speaking, the prefect said with a dark face: "Mr. He, don't go too far. You are just a scholar. It is not your turn to show off in front of me."

"I am indeed just a scholar," He Jinshu said calmly, "a mere scholar who had a plaque personally inscribed by His Majesty. That plaque is still hanging in the main hall of my house. Would you like to go back with me to take a look?"

After hearing this, the prefect of Luozhou sat there with a gloomy face and said nothing.

Seeing that he was silent, He Jinshu said to the outside, "Has anyone gone to call the boss of Yumixiang?"

"Someone has gone." Chen Chen told him. Anyway, there are always people who like to watch the fun and don't mind making trouble. The servants in the house and the people who watch the fun have gone. I'm sure someone will come soon.

He Jinshu smiled faintly at Chen Zhen and nodded when he heard this, while Chen Zhen raised an eyebrow at him.

He Sixuan in his arms asked at this time: "Dad, Father, come out?"

"Wait a little longer and father will come out." Chen Chen said to him.

He Sixuan nodded his head when he heard that.