Chapter 191 Does Prince Su know the real culprit behind Luo'er's murder?
Several burly men jumped into the river with a few "plop" sounds.
However, the man was probably too stunned by the cold to realize that he was about to commit suicide. In the blink of an eye, several burly men who had jumped into the river gagged him and pulled him back.
The others in the lobby had all committed suicide by poison and were no longer breathing.
Leng Dian bent down and skillfully examined the mouths of these people: "They have poison hidden in their mouths. It seems their master doesn't want to reveal his identity."
Li Qingluo never expected that she had only just opened for business, and already someone was eager to ruin her.
If we sit idly by and wait to die, who knows how many more such incidents will happen in the future, and it will be impossible to prevent them all!
She sent someone to report to the authorities first, and then had the surviving one taken to the back.
After this incident, most people are no longer in the mood to eat.
Li Qingluo had no choice but to take a stand: "Esteemed guests, this incident has occurred at our Zhenxiu Restaurant, which has frightened you all and spoiled your enjoyment of the meal."
"Fortunately, with Captain Yang and some nobles from various families witnessing this again today, it's clear that these are all just schemes by petty people. They have absolutely nothing to do with our Zhenxiu Restaurant itself."
"However, to express my apology, all meals today will be charged only 60% of the cost price. If any table finishes all the food, I am willing to reduce the price by another 10%, charging only 50% of the total cost for today!"
"Then, we'll serve each of you a pastry!"
"Someone, hurry up and bring all the pastries prepared in the kitchen to each table of guests to have a taste!"
Li Qinglu waved his hand, and instantly all the waiters and even the managers and shopkeepers got busy.
As for all the guests, who had been hesitating about whether to leave without eating, after Yang Qinwu and Pei Sanlang took the lead in sitting down, the rest of them also sat back down.
Li Qinglu directed people to quickly remove the corpses, and the ground was quickly cleaned up.
Once the pot started bubbling again and the exquisite and delicious pastries were served, everyone finally got to work.
"To hell with it, people die every day anyway. If we waste this whole table of delicious food for a few people who are deliberately looking for trouble, wouldn't that just be letting those wicked people have their way?"
"That's right! It's not easy for Jinling to have a hot pot restaurant, and such a generous young owner. We should definitely support them."
"Eat, eat, eat! We paid for all the food ourselves, are we really going to waste it?"
"That's right, if you finish everything, you only get 50% of the price!"
"What are we waiting for? It's such a great deal today, let's order more meat! Waiter, bring the pork belly!"
The lobby was bustling with activity again, as if the scene of someone dying had never happened.
Some people who were still queuing at the door hesitated when they heard that they would only be charged half the price of their meal today. They had originally planned to leave, but now they asked, "If we eat later, will we still only be charged half the price?"
Mei Shuang smiled and explained, "Of course. Our boss said that since we're opening for business today and this is such an unlucky day, we're offering a special introductory price to all our customers to bring good luck."
Even if we lose money today, we still have to make sure all of you have a good meal and drinks, right?
Upon hearing this, those who were waiting in line naturally stopped leaving.
Many people on the second floor also came out to see what was going on. Seeing how Zhenxiu Restaurant handled things, they all nodded in approval and praised it as impressive.
"This young master is quite interesting."
"The fact that he could stabilize the situation with just a few words shows that he is a shrewd and calculating person."
"Without shrewdness, who would dare to open such a restaurant? How many restaurants in the entire city of Jinling have such a unique and distinctive flavor?"
"He is decisive and unpretentious, and he made so many arrangements in advance, which shows that he was well prepared to deal with the situation."
"I wonder who came looking for trouble today. But luckily, the young master of this Zhenxiu Restaurant is not someone to be trifled with. I hope no one will come looking for trouble again in the future."
"You're oversimplifying things. Today's plan has failed, and all those assassins who came have never returned. Do you think the mastermind behind this will let this matter go so easily?"
Princess Nanping, along with Cui Jiuniang and the others, were watching the commotion at the top of the stairs. Upon hearing these words, they all looked at each other in bewilderment.
Back in her room, Princess Nanping slammed her hand on the table in anger: "If I find out which treacherous villain is behind this, I will never forgive him!"
Cui Jiuniang said, "She is quite capable. Even in such a dangerous situation, she remained calm and handled things properly, and even managed to keep all these guests here."
"He really does have the makings of a businessman."
A sense of pride welled up within Nanping: "Of course. So what if my sister Luo'er grew up wild in those mountains? Wasn't she the same when she saved us that day?"
"She is both steady and reliable, as well as intelligent and alert, and she is still the same today. She can always handle these unexpected situations with adaptability."
Cui Jiuniang's eyes were deep.
"I heard she doesn't get along with her brother?"
Princess Nanping: "It's not just discord, it's downright enmity. Her own brother's most beloved sister is my fourth uncle's concubine. I've heard that since Sister Luo'er came back, she has suffered countless grievances at home."
"If she hadn't carved out her own path, she wouldn't have regained her status as the true eldest daughter of the General's Mansion today."
The others who heard this also showed sympathy.
"Yes, last Mid-Autumn Festival, when the General's Mansion celebrated the mistress's birthday, they didn't even let Miss Li come out."
"Furthermore, I heard that at the Qishan Pass cliff, the bandits forced the general's wife to choose only one daughter to live, and she, as the mother, actually chose Liu Qingzhu..."
"What's so strange about that? When Liu Qingzhu faked her death by self-immolation, the General's Mansion didn't investigate the matter at all, did they?"
"Ha, the most shameful thing is that Liu Qingzhu and Prince Yun had an affair. It was known to everyone in Jinling City, but the General's Mansion only banished her from the family and sent her back to her own family."
"Liu Qingzhu's life is just too good..."
"It's just that Miss Li has suffered."
Cui Jiuniang gave a cold laugh.
"I think the entire General's Mansion, apart from Old Madam Pei and Miss Li, is full of utterly muddle-headed fools! How despicable is such a family?"
After settling things in the front, Li Qingluo quickly went to the backyard.
The only survivor had already had the poison ripped from his mouth by Leng Dian, and was now tightly bound to a pillar in the woodshed.
"Let me go! What...what do you want to do? Ah—"
"I...I don't know anything...Ah!! I...I'll tell you—"
Leng Dian had dealt a fatal blow; by the time Li Qing landed, he had already tortured the man until he was covered in blood.
Seeing Li Qing land, he kindly said, "Miss Li, you don't need to be so polite. You saved our prince last time, this is just a small token of my appreciation."
Li Qingluo: ……
As expected of someone from the Prince Su's mansion.
"Thank you, Cold Lightning Gentleman. Just who is this person? Has he confessed?"
Leng Dian: "Anyone who falls into the hands of the four of us or the prince will suffer a fate worse than death unless they confess honestly. Naturally, he confessed."
Li Qinglu bowed to express his admiration.
Leng Dian then explained, "However, this person was captured by those people halfway and forced to participate in the opera, so he doesn't know much. Although they also hid poison in his mouth, this fool didn't know it was real. He had two taels of silver given to him by them, yet he still dared to come and cause trouble."
"Fortunately, he could still utter three words from that dog's mouth: Fu Man Lou."
Fu Man Lou?
It's that grand restaurant located on the Qinhuai River, packed with guests every day!
Li Qingluo had also been to Fumanlou several times, and this method of taking a number and queuing was taken from Fumanlou's expertise!
Could it be that these fearless people who came to cause trouble today are the owners behind Fu Man Lou?
He was afraid that his restaurant, which specializes in delicacies and hot pot, would affect his business, so he did this despicable and insidious thing.
But to lose several lives for this... Li Qingluo always felt that things couldn't be that simple.
The government officials arrived quickly. Leng Dian, wearing a mask, displayed the sign of the Dali Temple. The officials naturally dared not question him any further and immediately took away the bloodied sole survivor.
They even took away the corpses that were lying at the door.
Leng Dian was about to leave, carrying a food box and many extra pastries given to him by Li Qingluo, when Li Qingluo suddenly called out to him, "Young Master Leng Dian, could you please pass on a message to someone for me?"
Prince Su's Mansion.
A table full of steaming soups, dishes, and pastries was laid out.
Eunuch Wu went in to serve Prince Su. Duan Rong had been recuperating and healing his injuries in the mansion lately and had not gone out for a single day.
Therefore, even though he knew that Li Qingluo's restaurant was opening, he only sent Leng Dian there once.
Leng Dian reported what had happened at the restaurant to Prince Su.
Prince Su, still holding his chopsticks, asked, "Fu Man Lou?"
Leng Dian: "Yes, Your Highness, what that person said is indeed Fu Man Lou. But I don't know if it's true or not."
Eunuch Wu exclaimed in a drawn-out voice, "But isn't Fu Man Lou the private property of our Princess Qin Yu? How could Princess Qin Yu do such a thing?"
"She has always been open, straightforward, and honest. She would never resort to such underhanded tactics to frame someone over business matters, would she?"
Duan Rongshi: "Are you a servant of my household, or Qin Yu's?"
Eunuch Wu was startled, realizing that His Highness despised traitors. He quickly knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. But I grew up with you and the princess since I was little, so I said a few extra words. I will never dare to do it again..."
Duan Rongshi picked up a slice of mutton with his chopsticks.
She bit her lip and frowned slightly: "I'm getting old."
Leng Dian: "The young lady did say that the cooked mutton slices might get tough if brought back, so she asked me to pack some fresh ones. If Your Highness is not satisfied with the taste, you can ask me to wash them fresh for you to eat."
Duan Rongshi put down his chopsticks and waited for the cold electricity to start.
The refrigeration unit dared not delay and quickly got to work.
As he cooked the meat, he couldn't help but wonder: how did I inexplicably become His Highness's cook today?
Duan Rongshi could still accept taking another bite.
After Duan Rongshi finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and then told Eunuch Wu to get up.
"Go ask Qinyu if she did this."
Wu Gonggong retreated tremblingly.
Leng Dian was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.
"Your Highness, the young lady asked me to pass on a message to Zhuiyu."
Duan Rongshi: "Give a message to Zhuiyu?"
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