“Now that I’ve reported him and got him arrested, his distillery has also been shut down, so it’s perfect for his older brother, Manager Zhang.”
Upon hearing this, Su Xinping's eyelids twitched.
Then he sneered, "Although I don't know this Zhang Xuehou you're talking about, what you're saying is far too frivolous. They are brothers, so how can you say they stole something?"
"Yeah, they're brothers, so what if they steal? The authorities can't do anything about it anyway..."
Jing Zhe smiled, then suddenly changed the subject: "But Zhang Xuehou was arrested for gambling and probably will never be released. Besides Zhang Xuexian, he has no other relatives. It's only natural that this distillery would belong to his brother."
"bet?"
Su Xinping was stunned.
He gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly: "Damn it!"
When he sent someone to the countryside to look for Zhang Xuehou, he heard that the guy was a gambler and always lost, which is why he was in such a sorry state and even his own brother didn't like him.
Fortunately, he wasn't very brave and played relatively small games.
Su Xinping had been in Jingzhou for some time, but he didn't gamble and was unaware of any casinos in the city. Besides, Zhang Xuehou had only been there a few days. Even if there were casinos, he didn't think Zhang Xuehou could find them…
But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Xuehou actually found him!
He composed himself and said, "Is that so? If it's gambling, then we should definitely arrest him."
But then he added, “Although the laws of Anguo explicitly prohibit gambling, if the amount involved is not large, the punishment may not be very severe. In the end, you can just lock him up for a while, fine him some silver, and then release him. Isn’t shutting down his winery a bit excessive?”
Jing Zhe gave Su Xinping a strange look and deliberately said sarcastically, "Since you're speaking up for Zhang Xuehou like this, does this winery really belong to you?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Su Xinping quickly rebuked, "I'm just stating the facts! If every gambler is thrown into jail for life, will Anguo's prisons be enough? How can His Majesty's benevolence be demonstrated?"
"Yes, small bets are only detained for two days, but what if the stakes reach five thousand taels?"
"Five...five thousand taels?"
Upon hearing this number, Su Xinping stammered.
How could there possibly be five thousand taels?
Zhang Xuehou said that Jing Zhe ordered 1,000 taels of silver worth of strong liquor yesterday. Could it be that he ordered another 4,000 taels today?
Thinking this, she looked up at Jing Zhe and found him calm and smug, so she figured he probably wasn't talking nonsense.
He couldn't help but curse inwardly again: "Old scoundrel! He received another four thousand taels of silver and not only didn't tell me, but he also gambled it all away! He deserves to be arrested! He should be locked up for life!"
But after the anger, I felt heartache.
He spent so much money buying the shop and equipment, and yesterday, after hearing that Jing Zhe wanted to buy a large quantity of spirits, he was afraid it was a scam, so he ordered a lot of cloudy liquor from various distilleries in the city in advance, and paid for it all...
If the distillery were given to Zhang Xuexian, how much would he have to pay in compensation?
Moreover, he knew that Jing Zhe now owned half of Zhang's Winery, and the thought of Jing Zhe reaping the benefits made him furious!
Why is it always him?!
...
Su Xin calmed down and began to think of a solution.
Why don't you just admit it?
Anyway, Zhang Xuehou's gambling was his own business, and it had nothing to do with me.
He went to jail, then he took back the distillery, found a trustworthy person to transfer it to, and just like that, the distillery was still his, and Jing Zhe didn't benefit from it!
Seeing Su Xinping momentarily dazed, Jing Zhe sneered inwardly.
“Persimmon, let me confirm with you again, are you really not connected to this distillery? Because when Zhang Xuehou was arrested just now, he swore that the mastermind behind this distillery was Persimmon. Although I don’t think it’s possible—Persimmon seems to be very shrewd, how could he do something so brainless?”
"..."
"Although this winery has only been open for a few days, thanks to my efforts, their turnover has already exceeded five thousand taels. Isn't that amazing?"
"..."
"Furthermore, I know that Anguo's laws stipulate that princes and their sons are not allowed to run private businesses, especially if the amount exceeds two thousand taels of silver. In that case, His Majesty can arrest them, right?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Su Xinping's expression finally changed.
If it were any other official, perhaps out of fear of his position, he would say a few nice words and promise some benefits, and the matter would be dropped.
But who is Jing Zhe?
That's the kind of person who would want to stab themselves to death if given a stick!
Getting him to let me go is as difficult as climbing to the sky!
Su Xinping thought it over and over, and finally chose the Prince Baojin Mansion over the Baojiu Workshop—even a fool would know that was the right choice, and there was no other way but to accept it, even if it hurt.
"President Jing is overthinking things. I've never even heard of Zhang Xuehou, so how could he possibly be related to that winery? President Jing had better not make things up. Without evidence, I might report you for defamation to His Majesty!"
If this matter reaches Emperor An's ears, what will he think? Will he summon his father for a talk? Will it affect his father's plans?
If the amount involved were small, Su Xinping wouldn't be so nervous, but that damned Zhang Xuehou had embezzled so much money behind his back, so he had to give Jing Zhe a heads-up in advance to prevent him from talking nonsense.
"Don't worry, Persimmon, you can trust my word!"
Jing Zhe patted his chest, gave his assurance, and left with his men.
"..."
Watching Jing Zhe's retreating figure, Su Xinping always felt that he couldn't trust anything he said!
...
Emerging from the alley, Xiong San asked, "President Jing, when we write it, should we leave out the section about the Prince of Jin's heir and delete everything Zhang Xuehou mentioned about him?"
Jing Zhe glanced at him. "Why?"
"..."
Xiong San remained silent, thinking to himself, "Didn't you just make such a solemn promise to them? Can you really trust your words?"
Seeing Xiong San hesitate, Jing Zhe patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Xiong San, you're still too young. There are some things you should believe, and some things you shouldn't!"
"Does President Jing mean that your words cannot be trusted?"
Xiong San humbly sought advice.
"You can try it and see if I kick you."
"..."
Seeing Xiong San's simple-minded look, Jing Zhe laughed and said, "Of course you should believe what I say, but it depends on who you're talking to. Have I ever lied to you? No, right? But it's different with the Prince of Jin's heir, because he's not a good person!"
Jing Zhe didn't shy away from the situation and said in a cold voice.
“You can use your brains to think about it. Zhang Xuehou is a penniless gambler. Even if he stole his older brother Zhang Xuexian's liquor-making technology, he has no money. How did he manage to open such a large store, hire so many employees, and maintain connections with various distilleries in the city in just a few days?”
After Jing Zhe finished speaking, everyone fell into deep thought.
————
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