110 Raising an army to punish
◎I, your mother, have drunk the wine given by the Queen Mother!◎
The shout of "Got it!" was like thunder, silencing all the diners in the room.
Two ferocious-looking officers immediately stepped forward to arrest the man.
"Wait a minute!" Song Jinyi's clear voice suddenly rang out, and she met the gaze of the leader of the officers and soldiers calmly and complacently.
"Song, we've caught the perpetrator red-handed. What else do you have to say?"
Before Song Jinyi could speak, a voice suddenly rang out: "Sir! Why are you wasting time talking to her? The wine is right here, and everyone in the room is drinking it!"
"We've caught her red-handed, the evidence is irrefutable! What else can she possibly say? Catch her right away!" His words were filled with urgency.
A barely perceptible trace of displeasure flashed across the face of the chief official. He glanced at the man coldly without responding.
Song Jinyi looked at the person who was speaking. Who did she think he was?
It turned out to be Huang Yan. She raised the corner of her mouth slightly and looked over with a smile, "The wine was indeed brewed by me."
Just as Huang Yan showed a smug look on his face, she suddenly changed the subject and her tone became sharp, "But it's not homemade!"
Huang Yan snorted loudly upon hearing this and pointed at the bamboo cup on the table, "Bullshit! If it's not private brewing, then what is this? Madam Song, if you have the guts, take out the official brewing certificate right now!"
"I really don't have a winemaking license." Song Jinyi admitted frankly, which surprised everyone.
Song Jinyi's eyes fell on Huang Yan's face that showed an ecstatic expression. When she thought about what she was going to say and what kind of expression would appear on his face, she almost couldn't help laughing, "Because--"
Her gaze suddenly passed through the crowd and cast towards the staircase behind them. Her voice suddenly rose, "Because this wine was brewed as an offering for the Empress Dowager to worship Buddha! Attendant, you've come just in time. Please bear witness for me."
Everyone's eyes suddenly followed her line of sight and focused on the stairs.
A man came in from the stairs. He was a middle-aged man in dark blue brocade uniform and had a calm demeanor. He was walking up the stairs. He suddenly saw the tense scene on the second floor with soldiers surrounding him, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"offerings?!"
"Empress Dowager?!"
These two words were like drops of water dropped into boiling oil, instantly exploding in the deadly silent restaurant! The diners were stunned, and Huang Yan kept saying, "Impossible..."
"My Lord, the Crown Princess likes the snacks I make, so she often sends her attendant to buy them. A few days ago, I learned that the Crown Prince was offering a ceremony to the Empress Dowager, so I am preparing the offerings.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kindhearted and had saved my life before. I am willing to help the Crown Prince share some of the burden. So I presented this 'Kumquat Wine' and entered the palace.
"After the ceremony, I was fortunate enough to be summoned by the Empress Dowager. She mentioned that she had once gifted me with a piece of calligraphy. This time, she gave me a jar of the wine she had once offered to the Buddha."
The leading officer's eyes darkened. He could smell that the yellow tangerine wine was made with mandarin oranges, a specialty of Dongting Lake. These mandarin oranges were only available in the inner court. Without the approval of the people in the palace, she really could not brew this wine.
The attendant roughly figured out what had happened from the few words and stood up to verify what Song Jinyi said.
Huang Yan saw the situation take a turn, and gritted his teeth, refusing to let Song Jinyi off so easily. He demanded, "How dare you sell the fine wine given by the Queen Mother? You are offending the royal family and showing great disrespect to the Queen Mother."
Song Jinyi really didn't expect Huang Yan to be involved in this. It was purely random talk.
Her dark eyes rolled, and she immediately thought of a response, "The Queen Mother's grace is like a gentle rain! How can such kindness be enjoyed by a common woman alone?
"Therefore, I have the audacity to divide this jar of 'Heavenly Blessings' bestowed upon me by the Empress Dowager into bamboo cups. I wish to share this 'Heavenly Blessings' with diners from all corners of the world! May the Empress Dowager enjoy a long and healthy life, and may her blessings continue to last!"
Her words not only cleared her of the "crime" that Huang Yan had put upon her, but also gave everyone present a high hat of "being showered with the emperor's grace"!
Huang Yan still refused to give up and shouted, "Just because she said that, you guys believed her?"
The attendant standing aside had a slightly gloomy expression on his face, "Do you think what I just said was false? Or do you want to go to the Empress Dowager's palace to verify it in person?" His last sentence, although with a flat tone, revealed the pressure of a superior in his words.
The leading official looked embarrassed by the wrath of the Recorder. He glared fiercely at Huang Yan, who was lost in thought beside him, and clasped his fists towards the Recorder. "It was all a misunderstanding! We are just doing our job, and we apologize for any disturbance!"
After saying that, he quickly left the restaurant with his men.
The attendant took the snacks that had been prepared long ago and left.
It was like a big play had ended, the actors left the stage one after another, leaving Huang Yan alone, standing opposite Song Jinyi with self-pity.
The buzzing discussions of the guests in the room turned into surging waves that swept him over. He clenched his hands tightly, thinking that if he went back like this, he would definitely be ridiculed by everyone.
How did things turn out like this?!
He slowly raised his head and met Song Jinyi's gaze. He saw provocation in her eyes, as if to say, "Look, you're a defeated soldier, what can you do to me? I love seeing you so frustrated yet helpless."
This silent mockery was like a poisoned needle, piercing Huang Yan's eyes.
He was so angry that he was shaking all over, and his fat face turned the color of liver.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a thick pillar behind Song Jinyi - Zhang Yao was leaning lazily against the pillar with her arms folded, a smile on her lips.
Her attitude of enjoying the show seemed to have stepped on Huang Yan's tail.
In a flash, he understood everything.
He pointed at Zhang Yao fiercely, "It's you! You bitch! You...you are in the same group! You conspired to trick me!!"
Zhang Yao, who was named, walked to the front without any expression and said to Huang Yan in a mocking tone: "Huang Yan, you said I lied to you?
"When did I, Zhang Yao, ever say I would cooperate with an ungrateful person like you who would sell out his conscience for a few lousy bucks and secretly make trouble for Master?"
"—Junior sister, you have excellent cooking skills but nowhere to display them. You must be very sad, right?"
…
Zhang Yao rolled her eyes. Did Huang Yan think everyone was as despicable as him? She wanted to rant and rave about him, just to vent her anger, but when the words reached her lips, she thought, wasn't this too easy for him?
She lowered her eyes, made a gesture of struggle and hesitation, and even nodded slightly.
When Huang Yan saw this, his eyes flashed with ecstasy, thinking that he had succeeded in inciting rebellion.
After she turned and left, the "hesitation" on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by obvious disgust.
She returned to her courtyard and told Song Jinyi everything about Huang Yan's intention to sow discord between the two of them.
At that time, Song Jinyi heard from Shen Lingyuan that the court was going to abolish the liquor monopoly system to stimulate private economic consumption, so she bought some wine yeast and started brewing wine.
After hearing what she said, I thought about it carefully and decided to take advantage of her and give him a "handle".
It just so happened that Song Jinyi planned to sell alcohol in the future, and staging this play could also provide her with free publicity.
"Heh, what makes you think that I would betray my friends and master just because of your despicable provocation?" Zhang Yao's tone was full of contempt, and every word was like a slap in Huang Yan's face.
Huang Yan was dizzy and overwhelmed by the barrage of questioning. He was filled with shame and indignation. Seeing that he could not turn the situation around, he could only leave in disgrace.
A sharp-eyed customer looked at Huang Yan's back and said, "I recognize him! He wasn't the apprentice of the owner of Juxinglou. He was a chef here. How did he end up at Zhaixinglou across the street?"
"So he's such a traitor! I don't think the Star Picking Tower is any good. They accepted a guy like him and used such despicable tactics!"
"Bah! You're a bunch of snakes and rats! You can't do business with others, so you resort to dirty tricks!"
Wang Minzhi hummed along, then turned around and saw the empty bamboo cup on the table. She felt heartbroken. This was a gift from the Empress Dowager! And she just drank it like that?!
If I had known this earlier, I would have savored it slowly.
Looking at the faces of the other sisters, they were all in the same boat. One of them, whose son was studying at the same Imperial Academy as her son, said, "If I had known this wine was so precious, I would have sent it to the chief priest."
Wang Minzhi curled her lips. If there was good wine, why not drink it yourself? Women, you should be nicer to yourself first. She wiped her mouth with a clean handkerchief and prepared to go home and brag to her son, "I, your mother, have drunk the wine given by the Empress Dowager!"
******
The diners were discussing what had just happened, and the back and forth was even more interesting than the opera in the theater.
Song Jinyi and Zhang Yao smiled at each other. When they turned around, they found that Li He was standing with his hands on his hips, puffing up his cheeks, staring at them like an angry puffer fish.
"Hey, you two! You guys really sang a brilliant piece!" She deliberately dragged out her tune, her eyes darting back and forth between Song Jinyi and Zhang Yao's faces. "But—yes! From beginning to end, I'm the only one who knows nothing?"
As soon as she showed her intention to accuse someone, Song Jinyi laughed and was about to leave. Seeing that her teammates had ruthlessly abandoned her, Zhang Yao betrayed them without hesitation, "Ahe, this was not my idea."
"Who is it?"
Zhang Yao glanced at Song Jinyi and then imitated her tone, "We can't tell Li He about this. She's more talkative than a rooster crowing at dawn. If we tell her this morning, even the mice napping in their burrows will know the news before noon!"
"Pfft!" A diner with sharp ears couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Song Jinyi held her forehead, looking at this like-minded little girl with a helpless smile, who had suddenly turned into a traitor.
"Sister Jinyi!" Li He shouted at her loudly, her pretty face flushed red, with three parts of anger and seven parts of grievance, "You big bad guy!", and then she trotted towards Song Jinyi.
Seeing this, Song Jinyi hurried downstairs without looking back. Although Li He was thinner, he was still as strong as before. If he started to "play around", he might get bruised all over, so she might as well get away with it!
…
At the hour of You, Juxinglou closed and the shop was packed up. After locking the door, Song Jinyi did not take Li He and the others back to Zhang's house directly. Instead, she smiled mysteriously at them and said, "Come on, I'll take you to a nice place."
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