Chapter 52 The Prince of Chang'an Arrives
"Why are you back again?"
Chunzhi thought Huo Qi had forgotten to bring something and came back.
She opened the door and found that the person pushing it was a strange middle-aged man.
Chunzhi was startled and quickly closed the door.
"Don't close the door..." The middle-aged man outside the door stretched out a foot and blocked the door.
Chunzhi was afraid of hurting the other person's feet, so she had to loosen the door.
"Girl! Don't panic!" the other person said quickly, "I'm here to buy tofu, I'm not a bad guy!"
Chunzhi said, "We don't have any tofu for sale today, and we only sell tofu in the morning. We never sell it in the afternoon."
"I know. I'm the manager of Zuixianlou, the largest restaurant in Nanzhou City. Our owner is from Linshui Town. When he came back earlier, he tasted the tofu you sell and thought it was much better than others. It just so happens that Nanzhou City has recently had a distinguished guest, so the owner specially sent me to invite you to make tofu at Zuixianlou. I'll pay you this amount per day!"
The middle-aged man said this and showed Chunzhi two fingers.
Chunzhi asked, "Two qian of silver?" Two qian of silver was indeed a lot.
If Chunzhi had not been kidnapped by Zhou Rong yesterday, she would have agreed immediately.
And now…
Huo Qi asked her to stay at home and wait for him to come back.
The steward of Zuixianlou quickly corrected him, "It's two taels of silver!"
"Two taels?"
Chunzhi was somewhat tempted, but no matter how good her craftsmanship was, the wage of two taels a day was really too high.
And she was going to Nanzhou City. If it was part of the Zhou family's plan, she would be trapped.
The middle-aged steward said, "Our boss said that Zuixianlou will be entertaining distinguished guests soon, so we have to use the best of everything. That's why I came to Linshui Town to ask you to make tofu. If you think two taels of silver is too little, we can negotiate the price."
We can talk more!
There is a big restaurant in Nanzhou City called Zuixianlou, which Chunzhi has also heard of.
But as soon as Huo Zheng left, she immediately agreed to go to Nanzhou City for the sake of two taels of silver. This was a bit like risking her life for money...
Chunzhi shook her head. "It's not about how much money it costs."
"What's that?" the middle-aged steward said anxiously, "Our boss said that we must invite the young lady over no matter what. Tomorrow's banquet is for the King of Chang'an!"
"King Chang'an?"
When Chunzhi heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Huo Qi's best friend works under Prince Chang'an. If she can see Prince Chang'an by going to Zuixianlou, she can testify in court when summoned.
And she is the victim.
"Oh... I let it slip." The middle-aged steward slapped his lips. "To be honest, young lady, Prince Ning is hosting a banquet for Prince Chang'an at Zuixian Tower tomorrow. Our boss is so anxious about this that his mouth is bubbling. Who is Prince Chang'an? He's a noble from the capital. He has seen all kinds of fine and expensive things. Our boss has racked his brains to come up with something new. So... he asked me to invite you over."
Seeing that he didn't look like he was pretending, Chunzhi said to the middle-aged steward, "Tofu doesn't need anything else. It tastes best when it's made fresh every day. If Zuixianlou really wants me to make tofu, I'll come back tomorrow morning."
"Then it's a deal." The middle-aged manager said as he was about to give Chunzhi a deposit of two taels of silver.
Chunzhi accepted the money and said, "You go back first. I will come directly to Zuixianlou tomorrow morning."
"How do we get there, young lady?" the middle-aged steward asked, "Do you want me to leave the carriage behind?"
Chunzhi said, "No need. I'll just take the boat from town to Nanzhou City."
"Okay." The middle-aged manager confirmed with Chunzhi again and again that she would definitely go to Zuixianlou early tomorrow morning before leaving.
Chunzhi nodded in agreement. After sending the middle-aged steward away, she deposited two taels of silver into the box.
Thinking about the 150 taels I gave to Huo Qi, I still felt a little painful.
She could only comfort herself that "all the money can be earned back".
Doesn’t this mean two taels are returned immediately?
On the other side, Huo Zheng entered the post station in Nanzhou City with the silver given by Chunzhi.
Jiang He brought a group of secret guards to welcome the prince in.
"Your Highness is finally back." Wuying, the secret guard who had been wearing a human skin mask to impersonate the Prince of Chang'an, removed his mask and stepped forward to salute. "These days, I've been forced to drink by those local officials every day. I'm almost an alcoholic."
Huo Zheng ignored Wuying and walked straight into the dark room.
After a night of torture, Zhou Rong was half dead.
When Huo Zheng entered the dark room, the smell of blood hit him in the face and he frowned slightly.
Jiang He walked behind the prince and whispered, "Zhou Rong has confessed to his crimes and has signed his name, but..."
This sentence has not been finished yet.
Huo Zheng heard Zhou Rong trying to hold on while yelling, "Who are you? How dare you torture me! I advise you to release me as soon as possible, otherwise—"
"Otherwise what?"
Huo Zheng stepped forward, drew his sword and chopped off Zhou Rong's right hand.
It was this hand that touched Chunzhi last night.
The severed hand fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Zhou Rong screamed miserably, "I'm the son of the Nanzhou prefect. In Nanzhou, no one dares to contradict me! How dare you, you dare to chop off my hand!"
Huo Zheng said in a low voice: "I will not only chop off your hand, but also your life."
Zhou Rong was tortured all night and confessed everything without suffering any punishment. He thought that in Nanzhou, no one could go against his father, and even if he signed a confession, he could regret it after the court session.
Unexpectedly, this man cut off his right hand as soon as he came.
Hands…his hands were gone.
Zhou Rong's whole body was convulsing in pain. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Who are you..."
Last night, just as Zhou Rong was about to attack Chunzhi, this man brought people in to kill him.
Almost all the servants in the Zhou family's old house were killed.
Ordinary people simply don't dare to kill people.
This one in front of me...
Huo Zheng threw the bloody sword to Jiang He and said, "Come here, bring Zhou Rong to the Nanzhou government office."
"yes."
The secret guards stepped forward, took Zhou Rong down from the rack, and dragged him to the Nanzhou government office.
Huo Zheng strode out.
Jiang He put away his sword and followed the prince out.
The inn was so quiet that only the sound of people's footsteps could be heard.
Huo Zheng personally visited the Nanzhou government office. The people in the government office were originally very lazy, but the cry of "The King of Chang'an has arrived" woke up the sleepy servants.
As Huo Zheng walked towards the court, he ordered, "Go call Zhou He."
The prefect of Nanzhou was named Zhou He.
"Yes, yes... Your Highness." The bailiff crawled to find Magistrate Zhou.
Huo Zheng walked up to the highest point in the court and sat down. The bloody Zhou Rong was dragged into the court, with bloodstains spreading all the way.
"Your humble servant Zhou He pays homage to His Royal Highness the Prince of Chang'an!"
Zhou He, the prefect of Nanzhou, came hurriedly and knelt down to pay his respects with his subordinates.
Huo Zheng knocked the gavel and said in a deep voice, "Master Zhou."
Zhou He didn't know what was happening yet, and was frightened by the bang of the gavel by Prince Chang'an. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the bloody man beside him crying out "Dad!"
Zhou He glanced sideways and saw Zhou Rong, who had a broken hand and was tied up. His heart instantly jumped into his throat...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
