As an official, Prefect Xu was quite eloquent.
It was clearly his plan that failed, but he twisted it into his own political achievement. The common people, unaware of the truth, genuinely believed that Magistrate Xu had sent men to kill these men in black, and that they simply hadn't had time to collect their bodies that night.
What followed was a happy ending. Amid the praise of the people, Magistrate Xu sent constables to remove the body of the man in black and clean up the bloodstains at the scene. After sunrise, the area outside Feng Family Restaurant had returned to normal.
He himself went to the Feng family.
This morning, I must obtain the property deed for Feng Family Restaurant.
When Magistrate Xu revealed that Jing Zhe was prepared to acquire Feng's Restaurant for 5,000 taels of silver, Feng, the wealthy man, flew into a rage.
"Dream on! Shameless! Delusional!"
Master Feng was getting old and his temper had gradually softened, but at this moment he was flying into a rage, which showed how angry he was.
"Please don't be angry, sir."
"Don't get angry. They've gone so far as to bully me, and I can't even get angry? Does he really think I'm dead? Cough cough cough~"
Because he was so angry, Master Feng started coughing violently after he finished speaking. Seeing this, Madam Feng quickly went over to pat his back.
Prefect Xu was right. Although Feng had never met Jing Zhe, he had a very bad impression of Jing Zhe. So when he heard this, he immediately flew into a rage.
"Don't even mention that I wouldn't sell my Feng Family Restaurant. Even if I were to sell it, I would never sell it to him. Besides—five thousand taels of silver, does he really think we, the Feng Family Restaurant, are just giving it away for free?"
After being beaten by Madam Feng, Master Feng calmed down a bit, but he still stubbornly expressed his dissatisfaction.
“Sir, I was also very angry when I heard his demands, but think about it, he is now a high-ranking official of the second rank. Even my mentor couldn't do anything about him, so how can we fight against him?”
Upon hearing the name of his mentor, Master Feng fell silent.
He knew who Prefect Xu's mentor was, because Bai Qingyuan was his patron when he served in the imperial court, so he was considered to be a member of Bai Qingyuan's or King Xiang's lineage.
At this moment, Magistrate Xu said again, "Sir, moreover, Jing Zhe came to open the Da'an Newspaper Office by His Majesty's decree. He not only has the gold medal bestowed by His Majesty, but also His Majesty's imperial sword. It is already quite good that he is willing to discuss restaurant business with us. Although five thousand taels of silver is indeed too little, sir, think about it, what if he didn't give us a single tael?"
"He wouldn't dare! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, does he really think he can just rob someone outright because he's a second-rank official?"
Master Feng glared and puffed out his beard.
“Sir, you haven’t met Jing Zhe, so you don’t know his character. He really is capable of doing something like this! And even if he did, we can’t accuse him of robbery! He can easily claim it’s His Majesty’s decree! With the imperial order as leverage, who would dare ask him for money?”
"..."
Master Feng remained silent, clearly beginning to ponder.
Seeing this, Magistrate Xu continued, "Sir, do you think this man surnamed Jing is planning to use diplomacy first and then force? He deliberately offered the low price of five thousand taels to buy the restaurant because he guessed that you wouldn't agree. Then he will write to His Majesty in advance to complain that you are not cooperating with his work in opening a branch of the Da'an Newspaper in Jiangling."
His Majesty trusts Jing Zhe implicitly and will surely believe him, allowing him to use the gold medal to acquire the restaurant! Therefore, he won't even need to spend five thousand taels of silver! You should think carefully, lest you lose both your wife and your army!
"..."
Upon hearing this, Master Feng frowned deeply, while Madam Feng glanced at Prefect Xu after hearing this, thinking that he had already lost his wife, and the army was bound to be lost as well, because selling the Feng family restaurant could have brought back 15,000 taels of silver, but she and Prefect Xu wanted to deduct 10,000 taels, so the Feng family would only get 5,000 taels in the end.
So even now, Madam Feng still naively believes that Magistrate Xu is so diligently persuading Master Feng so that they can earn ten thousand taels of silver themselves!
Little did he know, Magistrate Xu's efforts were solely for his own benefit, because Jing Zhe wouldn't contribute a single penny; the five thousand taels were his own money, and besides, that was all he had at the moment…
After a long silence, Master Feng finally looked up and said, "According to Prefect Xu's suggestion, we have no choice but to agree to his terms at a loss?"
Magistrate Xu nodded seriously and planned to deliver the final blow to Master Feng: "To be honest, after hearing Jing Zhe's offer yesterday, I was also hesitant. I was still thinking about whether or not to tell you, or how to tell you. But half an hour ago, I changed my mind and felt that you must sell to him!"
"..."
Seeing that Magistrate Xu's expression was becoming increasingly serious, Master Feng also became serious.
“The master was at home early this morning, and probably doesn’t know what happened outside! Just last night, Jing Zhe killed more than ten people outside the Feng Family Restaurant—of course, no one can prove that he killed them, but I know for sure that he did!”
"Hiss~"
Upon hearing this, Master Feng gasped in shock.
He first heard of Jing Zhe when Madam Feng returned home to attend Lin Qingshan's funeral. It was then that he learned that Lin Qingshan had been killed by a young boy, and his first impression of Jing Zhe was naturally not good.
Later, Feng heard more rumors about Jing Zhe from Bai Qingyuan. Based on Bai Qingyuan's impression of Jing Zhe, the information Feng heard from him made him even more disgusted with Jing Zhe.
Even with such a bad impression, he couldn't have imagined that killing one person was so commonplace for Jing Zhe, yet he had killed more than ten people at once, which was chilling.
Magistrate Xu continued, "Even though I have handled many cases, I still feel nauseous when I see that bloody and cruel scene! Let alone the common people! Those people died right in front of Feng Family Restaurant. I'm afraid the common people will be traumatized by Feng Family Restaurant. Who will dare to eat there in the future?"
"..."
When Madam Feng heard this news, she was stunned. She couldn't imagine how that handsome young man could be so cruel. She even suspected that it was fabricated by Magistrate Xu.
Meanwhile, Master Feng had already come to his senses: "You mean, he killed so many people just to force us?"
In Feng Da Yuanwai's opinion, Jing Zhe actually killed people to disgust them in order to make them obediently hand over Feng Family Restaurant. No wonder Bai Qingyuan, who is so old, can't beat such a young man. With such vicious and disgusting methods, who can compare?
Seeing that Master Feng was so cooperative, Magistrate Xu clapped his hands and said, "Master Feng is clever! So, Jing Zhe's offer of five thousand taels was not sincere. If you don't agree, Master Feng, the Feng family restaurant will most likely be taken over by him for nothing!"
"..."
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