Jing Zhe teased Zhou Ziqiong, hoping to make her blush, but ended up being teased instead, which he found a bit overwhelming.
You can't take this money!
Manager Hu became more and more upset. In the end, he couldn't stand that Jing Zhe had taken more than 10,000 taels of silver for no reason. Although he should be able to get it back later, if he really left Juxianlou in front of so many people, where would he put his face in the future?
"Oh? Why can't I take it? Is Manager Hu really going to renege on his debt?"
Jing Zhe sneered.
"I'm not trying to renege on my bet! If you can guess the riddle correctly based on your own ability, then I'll give you the money. I'm willing to accept defeat!"
Shopkeeper Hu sneered, "But if you didn't guess the riddle through legitimate means, then you can't take it!"
"Oh? Then Manager Hu, you must tell me how I didn't obtain it through legitimate means?"
Ask him!
At this moment, Manager Hu pointed at the bald waiter and pulled him in front of Jing Zhe.
"I just heard someone say that he was in cahoots with you. I didn't believe it at first, but Baldy has a conscience. He just told me the truth. Let's see how you deny it now!"
"..."
Jing Zhe crossed his arms and sneered.
"Baldy, you tell me yourself, I've treated you well, did you collude with him or not!"
Manager Hu gave the bald waiter a cold look and said.
"..."
At this moment, the bald waiter was almost scared to death. As Jing Zhe guessed the riddles correctly one after another, he was worried that Manager Hu might suspect him. If he were to be used as a scapegoat, he would be ruined. The key was that he had no way to defend himself.
However, after Jing Zhe guessed all three hundred riddles that Manager Hu had brought out, his worries lessened. Manager Hu would certainly not suspect him anymore, otherwise wouldn't he himself be a suspect?
However, when Manager Hu said that, the bald waiter knew what to do.
So he knelt down in front of Manager Hu with a thud: "Manager, spare my life! I was blinded by greed and believed his lies, which is why I conspired with him and told him the answers to the riddles!"
Shopkeeper Hu nodded, somewhat satisfied: You've got it!
So he sneered, "Listen to this, everyone! He colluded with my waiter to cheat and swindle this old man like me. He's completely immoral, so of course we can't give him this money!"
"..."
The crowd below whispered among themselves, glancing at Manager Hu and then at Jing Zhe, seemingly discussing something.
Manager Hu, seeing Jing Zhe's repeated sneers without any intention of handing over the money, immediately retorted angrily, "If you know what's good for you, hand over the money now, and I'll let it go! If you don't, then—"
"Then what?"
After Jing Zhe finished speaking, Chen Jiannan and the others all swarmed around him again.
Seeing this, Manager Hu knew that he wouldn't gain any advantage by forcing the issue: This idiot actually brought more than twenty people with him when he went out, is he crazy!
So he went to see Prefect Liu: "Prefect Liu, you must judge this for me! He colluded with my servant to cheat me out of my money!"
"Cough cough!"
Prefect Liu coughed twice and stepped forward: "Young master, as Manager Hu said, you really can't take this silver with you. You'd better hand it over quickly!"
Why?
"Because you and Xiao Er cheated and knew the answers in advance."
How did Prefect Liu find out?
"Because the waiter himself said so!"
Jing Zhe laughed: "He said I cheated, so I cheated? Then if I say I didn't cheat, does that mean I didn't cheat?"
"you…"
"Prefect Liu, you are supposed to be the prefect of a city. Can't you put a little more effort into handling cases? If you can just parrot what others say and don't need evidence when handling cases, wouldn't the world be in chaos? For example, if I say that Manager Hu's wife is having an affair, does that mean Manager Hu's wife is really having an affair?"
"You...you're spouting nonsense and making baseless accusations!"
Manager Hu had originally planned to have Prefect Liu mediate with him while he remained neutral, but after Jing Zhe's words, he could no longer stay out of it: he was lucky he didn't spit out a mouthful of blood!
"Manager Hu, please don't be angry. Judging from your expression, I can tell that what I said is false. If you insist that your husband has cheated on you, then I must provide evidence. After all, the one who suspects must provide evidence. If you don't have any evidence, then what are you even saying?"
Jing Zhe said with a grin.
"Besides, saying I colluded with this bald guy? The last three hundred riddles were personally set by Manager Hu, and I answered them all correctly. How can you say that Manager Hu also colluded with me? You can't just deny it because you lost money. That's too narrow-minded. I don't think this Juxianlou restaurant will last long!"
"..."
Manager Hu has been in Ruzhou for so long and is considered a prominent figure. When has he ever been humiliated to his face like this?
So for a moment, I couldn't accept it. I was trembling all over, like I had Parkinson's disease, and I couldn't speak.
Prefect Liu's face also darkened.
The first time he tried to arrest Jing Zhe, he was rebuffed by his sharp words. Now, he's been rebuffed again for the second time. Where is he supposed to put his face in front of the people of Ruzhou? How can he carry out his work in Ruzhou in the future?
So he hardened his heart and said, "Whether you cheated or not, we'll have to take you back for questioning before we can find out!"
"Prefect Liu, isn't this too hasty? Are you going to arrest me just because someone reports me?"
"Why did he report you instead of someone else? The problem lies with you!"
"..."
Haha, what a perfect example of victim-blaming!
If it weren't for Jing Zhe's desire to take them all down, given his fiery temper, he would have slapped them twice across the face—no, it should be one, because one slap would have been enough to bring him down.
"Following Prefect Liu's logic, if I report Prefect Liu for stealing Shopkeeper Hu's wife last night, should I arrest Prefect Liu, Shopkeeper Hu, and Shopkeeper Hu's wife? After all, why would I report you specifically instead of someone else?"
"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll immediately convict you!"
"Prefect Liu, you really have quite the airs of an official! When you criticize others, you speak eloquently, but when others criticize you, you just spout nonsense. You arrest people based on rumors rather than evidence, and you handle cases based on personal connections rather than procedures. I'm starting to wonder how you even became a prefect!"
However, I must advise Prefect Liu: Heaven is watching what people do. As the magistrate of Ruzhou, if you continue to act this way, be careful you don't incur divine retribution—you might even be unable to have children!
"You're talking nonsense!"
Prefect Liu launched into a tirade of curses.
Why doesn't my dad have any children?
At this moment, Liu Piaopiao stepped forward, her face full of anger.
"..."
Upon seeing the black bear monster appear, Jing Zhe was instantly stunned: It seems that Prefect Liu has already suffered divine retribution!
————
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