In addition to the ore, there was also a brocade banner presented to Xu Qinyu. Xu Qinyu took it carefully, looked at it, and then rolled it up and put it in the brocade box. After that, she thanked everyone again and said, "Because I still have a lawsuit to deal with, I have to go to the government office, so I will go ahead."

The judges naturally nodded in agreement, "Go ahead, young lady."

Xu Qinyu went to the government office with Lianhua again to find out whether these robbers had confessed. If not, they would have to live in fear in the future.

After she left, the judges returned to their inn to pack their things and made an appointment to go to a restaurant outside the city.

The other nine chefs also left one after another. Although some of them regretted not winning the championship, they also felt that their defeat was not unfair. Some of them were chefs from other places. Knowing that Miss Xu was the owner of Xu's Restaurant, they also planned to stay in the restaurant for a few days to taste Xu's signature food before leaving.

Only Kong Kun looked at Xu Qinyu's leaving back, feeling increasingly uneasy. He first went back to Zuixianlou. Recently, there were fewer customers at Zuixianlou because everyone knew Xu's Restaurant because of the cooking competition, so many people went out of the city.

Zuixianlou was still the same as usual. Seeing this, Kong Kun returned to the Kong Mansion and went to visit his father first.

He disappointed his father again and felt very sad. His father had always hoped that he could win this cooking competition and take the reputation of Zuixianlou to a higher level. In this way, they could open a branch in the nearby state capital and make Zuixianlou famous. However, he still let Kong's father down, and he did not win the championship this time, and his father's wish to open a branch was dashed.

The older my father got, the more he wanted to expand Zuixianlou and have branches all over the country. However, he couldn't even pass the first hurdle. He couldn't win the cooking competition, so no one knew about Zuixianlou.

Kong Kun went to see his father, but he saw no one in the yard except two servants. He asked, "Where has my father gone?"

The two servants were also confused. "At noon today, the master wanted to go to pay respect to his teacher, so he went out. We said we would go and tell you, but the old lady wouldn't let us. We wanted to follow him, but the old lady wouldn't let us either, so we simply packed our bags and went out."

Kong Kun knew about his father's experience when he was young. When he was ten years old, his family suffered a disaster. Later, he met his mentor and learned cooking from him. His mentor also suffered a disaster. In the early years, his father would always go to worship his mentor every year, but he never went with him. Later, when his father got older and could no longer travel, he only went to worship once every four or five years.

After my mother passed away a few years ago, my father's health seemed to collapse all of a sudden, and his legs and feet began to become unsteady. He wanted to go to pay homage to his mentor every few years, but he always held back. My father is now in his sixties, and he hasn't been to pay homage to his mentor for almost ten years.

Kong Kun was a little confused as to why his father suddenly wanted to go and pay tribute to his mentor without even waiting for him to finish the competition.

Could it be that his father also knew that he could not win the championship? After all, in recent days, Miss Xu's reputation has spread throughout Raozhou City, and even the nearby prefectures know about Miss Xu, so his father was angry? That's why he didn't tell him and went to pay tribute to his mentor directly?

Kong Kun asked hurriedly, "Did father bring anyone else?"

The two servants shook their heads. "No, the master took a bag and left in a hurry. He didn't even let the carriage and the driver go with him. He said he would rent a carriage himself."

Kong Kun was worried. His father was already so old. Was it really possible for him to leave alone to pay tribute to his mentor?

Kong Kun was extremely worried and wanted to catch up with his teacher, but his father did not tell him where his teacher lived or was buried. He only knew that his teacher was in Gyeongju. Gyeongju was so big, with many towns under its jurisdiction. His father did not even tell him where his teacher was in Gyeongju. How could he catch up with his teacher? He did not even know whether his father took the official route or the water route.

Kong Kun had no choice but to split his servants into two groups and chase after his father via the official road and waterway to persuade his father to come back first.

After sending good men to chase his father, Kong Kun finally calmed down.

But at this moment of calming down, Kong Kun had an indescribable strange feeling in his heart. He always felt that it was a little strange that his father left in such a hurry, saying that he was going to pay homage to his teacher?

What's wrong?

…

Xu Qinyu followed Lianhua to the yamen. The yamen was not far from the competition site. The carriage was unloaded on the road outside the city, and the horses were led to the yamen, so the two walked to the yamen. Along the way, Lianhua comforted Xu Qinyu, "Master, don't worry. If they don't confess, I have plenty of ways to make them confess."

Xu Qinyu didn't think much about it and just asked, "But what are some of the methods that Lianhua learned in the martial arts world?"

She had always thought that Lianhua was a martial artist. In the TV shows she had watched in the past, there were many strange and heroic figures in the martial arts world.

Lotus paused, then nodded slightly, not daring to say that she had learned how to confess from the black-armored guards.

Soon, the two arrived at the yamen.

The official of the yamen then told Xu Qinyu, "Young lady Xu is finally here. This is what happened. The robbers just now refused to confess who ordered them to commit the crime on the road. They also said that they saw Young lady Xu riding in a carriage and must be from a wealthy family. They wanted to rob her, so they targeted the carriage. But an hour ago, the governor came in person and said that robbers appeared outside the city of Raozhou. Such a heinous thing must be severely punished, so the three criminals were taken directly to the governor's mansion. Young lady Xu can go to the governor's mansion to ask."

Xu Qinyu nodded, thanked the official, and went to the prefect's mansion again.

The prefect's mansion was not far from the government office, it was right next to it. She went there through the main gate, but just as she arrived at the main gate, she saw the prefect, a group of soldiers, Zhizhi and Yunlan walking out from inside.

When Xu Qinyu saw the prefect, she bowed first.

The governor could only pretend that the two were unfamiliar with each other.

After Xu Qinyu finished her greetings, she asked, "Your Excellency the Governor, I am Xu Qinyu, and I would like to know if those robbers today are..."

The governor waved his hand and said, "I already know, and the robbers have confessed. I am planning to take people to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice."

Xu Qinyu knew that her great uncle must have known that she was almost killed by robbers, so he brought those robbers to the prefectural government for interrogation, hoping to solve the case quickly and arrest the mastermind as soon as possible.

Xu Qinyu finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her uncle say this. Before she could ask, the governor looked at her and said, "The three robbers have confessed that Kong Songkang from Zuixianlou gave them five thousand taels of silver to buy your life before the end of the cooking competition."

He was not only the prefect of Raozhou City, he also had his own way of interrogating prisoners. There were very few prisoners who would refuse to tell the truth in his hands.

Xu Qinyu was stunned when she heard this. "Kong Songkang from Zuixianlou?"

Governor Zhu nodded and said, "The head of Zuixianlou is his son Kong Kun now. He hasn't been in charge of Zuixianlou for more than ten years." In fact, he was a little surprised when he heard that it was Kong Songkang. Kong Songkang's story was not uncommon in Raozhou City. In the eyes of many people, he was also a poor man. His family suffered a disaster and he was the only one left after fleeing famine. Fortunately, he met a mentor who took him in and taught him cooking. Unexpectedly, when he was twenty years old, the master and apprentice encountered a disaster again. His mentor Kong Songkang did not survive and he was the only one left. He did not want to stay in his mentor's hometown and be reminded of him by the sight of his family members, so he came to Raozhou City.

I thought he was a kind-hearted person who knew how to be grateful, but who would have thought he would do something like hiring a killer and murdering someone.

Even if Kong Songkang wanted his son to win the championship, he couldn't do such a thing.

Besides, it's just the champion of a cooking competition. It's not worth buying a killer or killing someone.

Since he dared to hire a murderer, the things between him and his mentor were always strange. The governor planned to arrest him and interrogate him. In addition, he wanted to buy the helper chef of Xu's to learn from him, so it was foreseeable that he was not an upright person.

Xu Qinyu also frowned. As expected, she had heard something about Kong Songkang and his mentor before and felt something was wrong. If he really wanted to be grateful to his mentor, shouldn't he stay in his mentor's hometown and promote the recipes left by his mentor? He even brought all of his mentor's family business to open a restaurant in Raozhou City.

Xu Qinyu said: "Then I can go with you, sir."

But the prefect did not let them follow him, and asked them to wait in the prefect's mansion.

Xu Qinyu could only follow Lian Hua and two of her good friends into the prefectural government residence first.

Then he went to see the horse Qilin.

When her fourth brother brought the horse home to her, he told her that the horse was called Qilin.

Xu Qinyu went to see Qilin, who was resting in the stable of the prefect's mansion. He certainly couldn't go back with her for the next two days, so he could only be kept in the prefect's mansion for the time being.

Qilin also recognized Xu Qinyu and snorted at her, sounding a little aggrieved. Xu Qinyu immediately said, "Qilin, be good. You can go back after you stay in the prefect's mansion for a few days. When you go back, I'll give you roasted beans."

Qilin usually likes to eat beans. One time, Xu Qinyu roasted some black beans for it, and it started to like them. Normally, it would not eat unroasted beans.

However, Xu Qinyu was afraid that the food would get irritated if eaten too much, so she only gave a fixed amount of food every day.

The black beans roasted for Qilin are all original flavor, without adding any seasoning. They are directly placed in the oven and roasted until dry. Anyone can eat them, and they taste fragrant and crispy.

Qilin raised his head, seeming a little dissatisfied.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ponder, "Qilin, are you unwilling to do this? Could it be that you want me to replenish the black beans you haven't eaten in the past few days when I go back in a few days?"

Sure enough, when Qilin heard this, he immediately let out a long hiss.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help laughing, "You are almost catching up with Baiyu and Moyu, you are almost becoming a spirit."

He also asked her to give it some baked beans that it hadn't eaten in the past few days.

Xu Qinyu smiled again after she finished speaking, "Okay, I'll make it up to you when you get back."

Lianhua was amazed. The horses raised by His Highness were indeed different from ordinary horses. If Qilin had not been tied to the carriage that morning, he probably would not have been chopped on the horse's butt by the robber. Being tied to the carriage, he could not run around and could only take the blow.

After seeing Qilin, Xu Qinyu went to the front hall of the prefectural government to wait.

Zhizhi and Yunlan also told her some of the things that happened after they went to the yamen today.

The yamen runners had no way to deal with those robbers. Even when they were injured, they refused to speak out and would not tell the truth even if they were simply whipped.

Less than half an hour after being brought to the governor's mansion by the governor, the three men confessed. However, Zhizhi and Yunlan certainly didn't see how they were made to confess.

Seeing that Xu Qinyu's face was still a little pale, Xu Yunlan patted her on the back and comforted her, "Don't worry, Qinyu, we'll catch him soon."

Moreover, although what Old Man Kong did had nothing to do with his son, it would definitely affect Zuixianlou. It would even become a question whether Zuixianlou could continue to operate in Raozhou City in the future.

…

Zhu Taishou led a group of soldiers and officers to the Kong residence. The servant of the Kong residence opened the door and was about to go in and tell the others to come. But the soldiers arrested the gatekeeper and the Taishou led his men to search all the way inside. Soon they arrived at the main courtyard. Kong Kun was talking to his wife, "I don't know where father has gone. I don't know if he can be caught and brought back. I don't know what father is thinking. How dare he go to Gyeongju alone?"

His wife, Chen, said, "Don't worry, old man. Father has his own ideas. He may be getting older and homesick. It's our fault that he wants to go and pay respect to his mentor. We should take time to go with him every few years."

Kong Kun nodded and was about to say something when he heard noisy footsteps outside and the voice of the servant guarding the gate speaking hurriedly, "Greetings, sir. Why are you here so suddenly?"

Kong Kun was startled and quickly stood up and followed Chen to greet them.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw the governor and a group of soldiers rushing in. He went forward and knelt down, but heard the governor say in a stern voice: "Go in and search for him."

Kong Kun was stunned for a moment, "May I ask what you are doing, sir?"

The governor said, "Your father Kong Songkang bribed those robbers to rob and kill Xu Qinyu, the owner of Xuji. The robbers have confessed. They came to your Kong family now to arrest the criminal."

"No, it's impossible!" Kong Kun's face turned pale and he subconsciously wanted to defend his father. In his mind, his father was a good man who knew how to be grateful. He would always help those who needed help. How could his father hire a killer to kill people?

Although he felt that his father was a little strange today, he would never associate what happened to Miss Xu today with his father.

The governor said coldly, "We have witnesses. Those robbers have signed their names and confessed their guilt. How can this be impossible? Come on, go in and search for them!"

Chen's face was also pale and her body was staggering. If her father-in-law was such a person, it could only be said that he had concealed it too well over the years. Moreover, if her father-in-law really hired a killer to kill people, how would their family survive in Raozhou City in the future?

Before the governor could go in and search, Kong Kun murmured, "Your Excellency, there is no need to go in and search. My father said at noon that he wanted to go and pay respect to his teacher, and he has already packed up and left Raozhou City."

He knew in his heart that his father was probably not going out to pay tribute to his mentor, but because he knew that Miss Xu was fine and several robbers were captured alive, so they would definitely give him away, so his father ran away early.

It turned out that it was really my father who hired the killer to commit murder.

But why would a kind-hearted father do such a thing?

Could it be that he wanted to stop Miss Xu from taking the first prize, hoping that he could win the first prize and make Zuixianlou flourish? Is it really so important for Zuixianlou to become famous? Now things are pretty good, Zuixianlou makes a lot of profit every month, and he can let his wife and children live a rich life without worries about food and clothing, and he is already very satisfied.

The prefect frowned and sent half of his men to search the Kong Mansion, and the remaining half were divided into four groups to pursue Kong Songkang.

When no one was found in Confucius's mansion, the prefect took half of his officers and soldiers back to his mansion.

But the matter of hiring a killer and murdering people is related to the Kong family, and all the members of the Kong family will be arrested and interrogated.

The Kong family made such a commotion that the neighbors couldn't help but lean over the walls to see what was going on. When they saw that it was the governor himself who came to arrest people, they were a little confused, "What happened to the Kong family? Didn't the cooking competition just end today, and Mr. Kong was arrested by the soldiers and taken to the governor's mansion? Or did the governor personally bring people to arrest him?"

"Didn't something happen at the cooking competition today? Miss Xu, who won the championship, was besieged by robbers when she came to the city this morning. Fortunately, she was not injured. I heard that they wanted to stop Miss Xu from participating in today's cooking competition. Those robbers must be related to the chefs participating in today's competition. So, could it be that Mr. Kong bribed the robbers?"

"Oh my god, just to stop someone from taking the top spot, he hired someone to kill. How vicious a person must be to do this? So it was really Mr. Kong who hired someone to kill?"

"It's probably true. Otherwise, the governor would be alarmed."

People were talking about it.

Collaboration with bandits was a major case, and all the people in the Kong Mansion, whether they were old slaves or Kong Kun’s youngest grandson, were taken back to the prefectural government for interrogation.

When the prefect brought his men back to the prefect's mansion, Xu Qinyu learned that Kong Songkang had already escaped. The prefect also brought all the members of the Kong family back for interrogation.

The governor was a little apologetic. "Miss Xu, don't worry. I have already sent more people to chase after her. I will definitely seek justice for her. Miss Xu, just go home and wait for the news."

Now it is all that can be done.

Xu Qinyu thanked the prefect and then returned to Xu's house. The prefect still sent people to personally escort the young ladies back.

Qilin's horse's butt was injured and he couldn't move for the time being, so he had to stay in the prefectural government for treatment.

After Xu Qinyu returned, it was already dark and most of the guests had finished their evening meal. Xu Qinyu went to Xu Ji and Dong Qian told her that many guests had come before evening meal, and they were all older men.

Xu Qinyu knew that it was probably the judges. She said, "Don't neglect our distinguished guests. I will also come to the restaurant to help tomorrow."

She didn't know when Kong Songkang could be arrested and brought to justice. It would definitely be difficult for her to leave the restaurant during this period. Safety was the most important thing.

Dong Qian saw some blood and dust on her hood and asked in confusion: "Master, what are you doing..."

Xu Qinyu knew that this matter could not be kept secret. Dong Qian was helping in the kitchen at night. Even if the guests from the city talked about this during dinner, he would not know about it. But he would definitely hear about it from other people tomorrow.

Dong Qian was shocked after hearing this. "How dare he hire someone to kill people?"

Xu Qinyu shook her head, "I don't know about that."

But it’s probably because of the interests involved.

It seems that in her last life, she also encountered a car accident right after winning the world-class chef championship. It seems that the same thing happened in this life. Fortunately, Lianhua is very powerful and has always protected her.

Xu Qinyu said a few more words to Dong Qian before planning to go back to the house to rest.

Xu Qinyu, Zhizhi and Yunlan went back to the house first.

During this period, Zhizhi and Yunlan had been living in her house. Xu Qinyu was unwilling to charge them for meals and let them live in the hotel.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Wen standing at the door looking out. Seeing the three young ladies coming back, Wen was relieved. "Are you all okay?"

As the shopkeeper in the restaurant, she did not have to work in the kitchen. In the evening, many guests from the city came to the restaurant for dinner. During the meal, they naturally talked about the cooking competition and also talked about the incident in which Miss Xu was almost killed by robbers when she came to the city.

When Wen heard this, her body went limp. Fortunately, she was supported by the waitress. She hurried over to ask the chatting guest.

The customer was still a little confused, but the waitress quickly said, "This shopkeeper is Miss Xu's mother-in-law."

The guest came back to his senses and told her, "Don't panic, Madam. Miss Xu is fine. She has already finished the competition and is going to the government office. She should be back soon."

Even so, Wen's heart was still pounding, and she always made mistakes in the calculations. Finally, she called a literate waitress to come and help her with the calculations.

After the guests left, she hurried back to the house to wait for Yu Niang.

Now that he saw Yu Niang and the others coming back, he felt relieved. However, he was still worried, wondering who wanted to harm Yu Niang.

Xu Qinyu said gently, "Don't worry, mother. The governor has already interrogated the robbers and knows who is behind the crime."

Wen immediately asked, "Who is so cruel as to want to kill you?"

She asked herself, Yu Niang is kind-hearted and friendly to others, it is impossible for her to make enemies with others, so why would someone want to kill Yu Niang.

She even thought of Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor in the capital, but on second thought, she knew it couldn't be Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor. Even if they wanted to destroy her lineage, they should have sent people to kill her, Xuan Ge'er, Ning Jie'er, Feng Ge'er, and Yan Jie'er.

Xu Qinyu told Wen the truth.

Wen was stunned for a moment, and was somewhat unbelievable, "Just to prevent you, Yu Niang, from taking the top spot, he actually had the heart to kill you?"

Xu Qinyu nodded. Wen was so angry that even though she was gentle, she couldn't help but scold Kong Songkang. Finally, when she saw the three young ladies still standing at the door, she said, "Go inside and rest first. Were you injured by those villains today? Do you want to ask a doctor to come and take a look?"

Xu Qinyu smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, mother. We are not injured. Mother didn't know how powerful Lianhua was. She could easily defeat ten people alone. If it weren't for Lianhua, we would probably be in great danger today. But we still have to ask the doctor to come and take a look. Zhizhi is a little scared."

Although they were not injured, Zhizhi seemed to be frightened and her face was pale all the way. She and Yunlan were fine.

Yang Zhizhi originally wanted to refuse, but her heart was still beating fast, and she felt very sad when she thought about those broken limbs. Naturally, she did not dare to refuse and only thanked Wen.

Wen said hurriedly, "Then you all go back to your room and rest. I'll go call the doctor over."

The restaurant also hired an old doctor to take charge.

Wen made the trip in person, bringing a little maid with her.

Mrs. Wen did not tell Sister Ning about this. Recently, Sister Ning has been busy renting a shop and almost always comes home very late.

Soon, Mrs. Wen brought the old doctor back. The old doctor examined Yang Zhizhi's pulse and said that she had palpitations caused by a sudden surprise, but it was not serious and she just needed to drink some calming soup.

After the medicine was ready, Mrs. Wen asked Xu Qinyu and Xu Yunlan to drink a bowl of it before they went to wash up and go to bed.

After Lianhua came back, she told Huo Jiang about this. Huo Jiang left the restaurant overnight to track down Kong Songkang. Not only that, Huo Jiang also sent a letter to Pei Weixuan by flying pigeon to inform His Highness of what happened today.

Three days later, it was Huo Jiang who found Kong Songkang's whereabouts first.