Although the boss behind their Imperial Kitchen was the county magistrate, the imperial court had regulations that officials were not allowed to compete with the people for profit, that is, officials were not allowed to do business.
On the surface, everyone naturally abides by the rules, but there are many officials who do business in private.
Since it was not convenient for officials to come forward themselves, they would let their servants and family members take care of it on their behalf. The officials would then use their power to open up back doors for their own businesses.
This is what County Magistrate Cai Kuo did.
But this kind of thing cannot be done without words, and Cai Kuo cannot openly support the Imperial Kitchen. Otherwise, Cai Fu can directly rely on the power of the county magistrate to snatch the peppers. Why bother with so much trouble?
But this time, Cai Fu didn't see Zhao Xiaoxian at all.
Xue Huan was too lazy to deal with the people from the Imperial Kitchen, so she simply avoided them and asked the butler to come out to receive them.
"What a coincidence! Our daughter has just gone out and hasn't said when she'll be back. Why don't you come back another day, Master Cai?"
Cai Fu said with a forced smile, "That's really unfortunate. It's okay, I'll just wait here. Miss Zhao can't possibly never come back, right?"
Chen Tian thought to himself, that is really possible. After all, their girl is so elusive that no one knows when she will go out or when she will come back.
"I really didn't know that. The young lady is usually elusive. Even my housekeeper sometimes doesn't see her for three or five days in a row."
What I mean is that if you can wait here for three to five days, you might be able to wait for our girl.
"Miss Zhao is really a busy person. Even though I, the owner of the Imperial Kitchen, came to see her in person, I couldn't even see her. It seems I can only find another way to invite her to come."
Cai Fu looked at Chen Tian meaningfully, then stood up and left.
Chen Tian seemed not to understand and continued to see him out the door with an apologetic smile. Until he saw Cai Fu get into the sedan chair, the businesslike smile on his face disappeared and his expression became a little solemn.
"Another way to invite me to your house?" Xue Huan smiled after hearing Chen Tian's report. "Okay, I'll wait."
Chen Tian said worriedly, "Miss, the person behind the Imperial Kitchen is the county magistrate. What if the county magistrate deliberately finds an excuse to arrest you and take you to the county government office?"
Xue Huan looked calm, "Don't worry about that. If the county magistrate really does that, then you can go find Young Master Ye."
Chen Tian agreed, but he was still worried in his heart.
Two days later, what he worried about happened.
A group of yamen runners broke into the mansion without saying anything, saying they were arresting a fugitive criminal.
The leader of the team was called Bao Ming. His position was one level lower than Guan Yue's, but he was also a small leader with more than a dozen people under him. He was planted in the Wei Si by Cai Kuo. On weekdays, when Cai Kuo had some things that were not easy for him to do, he usually asked Bao Ming to do them.
After all, Guan Yue is the second-in-command in Wei Si and holds an important position, so it is impossible for him to run errands for him frequently.
Chen Tian looked at the group of yamen runners wreaking havoc in the house like wolves and tigers, and said bitterly, "Sir, there are no criminals in our house. Are you mistaken?"
At the same time, he quietly stuffed a purse into his hand.
Bao Ming didn't shy away from it. He directly poured out the money in his purse and weighed it in his palm. "Such a small amount of money, you're just giving it to a beggar! Search it for me! The criminal must be hiding here!"
Seeing those yamen runners rushing into the inner courtyard, Xue Huan appeared at this time.
Ah Man followed behind her, glaring at the yamen runners angrily, his fingers cracking.
"Hey? This is Miss Zhao, right? I've heard a lot about you."
Bao Ming's official uniform was loose and crooked, looking dishonest, as if this would make him look particularly cool and handsome, but in fact he looked like a second-rate person.
Xue Huan ignored him and said to Ah Man, "Stop those people."
Ah Man had been ready to fight for a long time. When he received her order, he immediately rushed over and threw those yamen runners out one by one.
Bao Ming's expression changed immediately. "How dare you touch a government official? You're so brave!"
"Government officials? How can you prove it? Do you have a search warrant? You broke into people's homes without a warrant, and I called you robbers!"
"Listen, this woman actually said we are robbers and bandits?" Bao Ming pointed at Xue Huan, as if he had heard a huge joke, and the other yamen runners also laughed.
Xue Huan's expression remained unchanged, and she didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed about being laughed at.
Bao Ming's face suddenly darkened. "Are you blind? Have you ever seen any gangster wearing the clothes we are wearing?"
"Who knows where you got it from? If you can't produce a search warrant, then I can only treat you as trespassers. Butler——"
Chen Tian immediately called over his servants. Everyone of them had a weapon in their hands, be it a kitchen knife, a hoe, or a stick. In short, they were united in facing the outside world.
Xue Huan nodded with satisfaction.
This was the first time Bao Ming had encountered such a tough guy. In the past, ordinary people would just give in when they saw him, never mind getting a search warrant, let alone openly confronting them.
However, it is a fact that they broke in without showing a search warrant, and if this matter were to be made public today, they would be in the wrong.
But if this woman thought he would just leave like that, she would be naive.
Today he was following the instructions of the county magistrate. Could Zhao Xiaoxian possibly surpass the county magistrate?
"Zhao Xiaoxian, stop talking nonsense with me. Be smart and follow us. Otherwise, if the county magistrate gets angry, a little merchant like you won't be able to withstand it. If that happens, you won't be able to do business in Fengchi County anymore. You won't even be able to enter the city!"
This is already a blatant threat.
Xue Huan's face instantly turned extremely ugly. Of course, she was mostly pretending for the county magistrate's lackeys to see.
Seeing this, Bao Ming thought she was scared and smiled even more smugly, "What do you think, Miss Zhao? Have you thought it through?"
Ah Man said worriedly, "Miss, you can't go with them! Even if you want to go, I will go with you!"
She held Xue Huan's arm tightly.
Chen Tian and others also looked over worriedly.
Bao Ming looked at the master and servant standing close together and smiled meaningfully, "The little girl is quite hot. Since you two are so affectionate as master and servant, take her away together!"
"Wait! You are going to take me away, not this maid. If you insist on implicating others, then I, Zhao Xiaoxian, will not be a pushover."
Xue Huan looked directly at Bao Ming, and the threat in her words was obvious.
Bao Ming stared at her for a while and snorted coldly, which was considered as his agreement.
Ah Man wanted to say something but was stopped by Xue Huan. She patted her head and said, "Just wait for me to come back. I'll be fine."
Just like that, Xue Huan was taken away by a group of yamen runners. Before leaving, she gave Chen Tian a look.
Chen Tian understood and nodded imperceptibly.
When they arrived at the county government office, Xue Huan was taken to a room alone. It was pitch black inside and she couldn't see anything when she first entered. But after a while, her eyes got used to the darkness and she could roughly see what was going on inside.
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