A moment later, the identified Steward Xu was brought over.
Also accompanying them was Manager Zhou from Fukang Restaurant.
"This humble citizen, Xu Tai, greets Your Excellency."
"This humble citizen, Zhou Chunrong, greets Your Excellency."
Prefect Qin gave Manager Zhou a meaningful look, then slammed his gavel and shouted at Xu Tai.
"Xu Tai, Zhang Ju accused you of instructing him to falsely accuse Weimanzhai. Is this true?"
Xu Tai immediately kowtowed and confessed, "My lord, I confess. Because Wei Man Zhai has recently taken away many customers from the restaurant, I was indignant and wanted to find someone to teach them a lesson. I only asked Zhang Ju to cause some trouble for Wei Man Zhai and disrupt their business, but who knew that he would make false accusations."
"You're talking nonsense! You clearly said that there's something addictive in Wei Man Zhai's food, and asked me to expose it!"
Zhang Ju immediately retorted angrily.
Xu Tai said, "The food at Wei Man Zhai is so delicious that people linger there. No wonder I have such suspicions. But I only told Zhang Ju to expose this matter so that the guests would know. I did not order him to make a false accusation."
"You!" Zhang Ju was furious, but the other party had never said that he should make false accusations.
But in his mind, exposing someone was just like reporting a case to the authorities.
"My lord, I... but he did indeed imply that."
At this moment, Manager Zhou suddenly spoke.
“My lord, no matter what, Xu Tai’s actions have indeed harmed people. I never knew he was so narrow-minded, causing Wei Man Zhai to suffer. Although it was only his doing, I am willing to compensate Wei Man Zhai for part of the losses on behalf of Fu Kang Restaurant.”
Upon hearing this, everyone began to discuss it.
Everyone felt that Manager Zhou was unlucky to have hired such a manager, which ruined Weimanzhai and is now affecting his own restaurant as well.
However, his actions have won him a lot of praise.
Prefect Qin also knew a little about Zhou Chunrong.
The other party has often acted recklessly by taking advantage of their connection to the Marquis of Zhong's mansion.
I reckon he'll be involved in this whole mess too.
However, since the other party was from the Marquis of Zhong's mansion and someone was willing to take the blame, he didn't want to cause any more trouble.
"Since that is the case, Zhang Ju and Xu Tai, listen to the judgment. Xu Tai instigated Zhang Ju to cause trouble for Wei Man Zhai. Although he did not explicitly point it out, Wei Man Zhai still suffered damages. He is ordered to compensate Wei Man Zhai for 50% of the losses. If the money is insufficient, his family property and land will be confiscated. He will be punished with 50 strokes of the cane and detained for 3 months. Zhang Ju made false accusations. He is ordered to compensate Wei Man Zhai for 50% of the losses. If the money is insufficient, his family property will be confiscated. He will be punished with 50 strokes of the cane and three years of hard labor, and sent to the quarry! Do you have any objections?"
Xu Tai looked dejected, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
Zhang Ju, on the other hand, was still shouting and crying.
Prefect Qin was getting impatient and was about to slam down the gavel to order the signing of the document.
At this moment, Yun Zhiyi, who had not spoken until now, suddenly spoke.
"Wait, sir, I also have a petition here concerning Manager Zhou of Fukang Restaurant. Please take a look."
Everyone turned their heads and looked at her in surprise.
Then I understood.
As Manager Lu just said, the restaurant has lost at least three thousand taels of silver today.
It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but judging from the restaurant's daily business, it must have been at least a thousand taels.
These two men are clearly not wealthy, even if they have given up their land and houses.
I doubt I can scrape together two hundred taels.
Although Fukang Restaurant was willing to compensate for some of the losses.
But it's hard to say how much "some" is; it might just be a hundred taels as a token gesture.
This is far from enough to make up for Weimanzhai's losses today.
It seems that this Yun Dong family member is trying to take this opportunity to implicate Fukang Restaurant and force them to compensate for the losses.
While this move is understandable, it still makes people feel somewhat uncomfortable.
After all, although Fukang Restaurant made a mistake, it was also implicated, so it shouldn't be held jointly liable.
Thinking of this, the crowd couldn't help but start discussing it again.
Zhou Chunrong seemed to have thought of this as well, and said with a helpless expression.
"Mr. Yun, I am deeply sorry for the trouble that has befallen your restaurant today. However, this was done by an individual, and Fukang Restaurant is only willing to compensate part of the damages out of consideration for our business relationship. Please do not force us."
Several elderly men also looked at her and whispered among themselves.
However, it's different from what others think.
After all, they knew that she could sell the tea from the restaurant at a high price if she wanted.
Just one pound is enough to recover today's losses.
However, the other party did not seem to care about this, which shows that they are not a person who values money.
Therefore, everyone was quite curious about what she wanted to do.
Yun Zhiyi ignored Zhou Chunrong.
Prefect Qin frowned, taking the petition from the bailiff as he asked, "What are you suing for?"
Yun Zhiyi raised her chin slightly, her voice strong and clear.
"A woman sued Zhou Chunrong of Fukang Restaurant, who for many years used poppy shells as a base to cook this dish in Fulu Hot Pot, which has been corrupting people over time."
A commotion erupted outside the yamen, as everyone turned to look at Zhou Chunrong with strange expressions.
Could it be that Fukang Restaurant is crying wolf?
Fu Lu Guo is the signature dish of Fu Kang Restaurant, and it has stood the test of time for many years.
Even those who haven't eaten there have all heard about it.
It is said that once you eat it, you will be so captivated that you will never want to stop.
Could it be...?
However, considering the situation at Wei Man Zhai just now, their food was indeed delicious, not because they added anything. Was there a misunderstanding, or was Yun Zhiyi retaliating and deliberately making things up?
But if that were the case, it would be incredibly foolish.
Zhou Chunrong's expression also changed, and he immediately shouted angrily, "Stop talking nonsense!"
Yun Zhiyi didn't even turn her head, her tone was gentle yet carried an undeniable sharpness.
"The commoner has filed a second complaint against Zhou Chunrong, who, in the name of the Marquis of Zhong, forcibly married a woman from the Zhao family, and seized her in-laws' land, including 180 mu of fertile land and five houses, and forced the woman from the Zhao family to jump into the river and commit suicide."
"The woman accused Zhou Chunrong three times of allowing her son to commit violence, forcibly humiliating Liu's daughter and causing her death. However, she then impersonated Sun's son to cover it up, beat Liu's daughter's elder brother, leaving him half-crippled, and forced Liu's family to leave."
"The woman accused Zhou Chunrong four times of murdering her for money. Twenty-five years ago, he married into a merchant family in Futu Town, Quzhou, but he poisoned his father-in-law, beat the Li family's daughter to death, and sold his own son."
"The woman filed five lawsuits against Zhou Chunrong, alleging that he gave someone laxatives to Shiquanlou, causing two people to die from exhaustion, and that he forcibly seized Shiquanlou and the manager's land at a low price."
"The woman accused Zhou Chunrong of illegally framing and falsely accusing a person with official rank, and even using torture on him, causing him to become disabled and cut off his path to the imperial examinations."
"The charges are all presented in the indictment, and there are still witnesses and physical evidence to prove them. Your Honor may summon the witnesses to court for confrontation and to obtain evidence."
The surrounding crowd erupted in uproar.
If she had only mentioned the use of poppies in cooking, people might have suspected that she was deliberately retaliating.
However, she described the other crimes in such a detailed and convincing manner that it aroused suspicion.
Some of these things, in particular, are still remembered by some people.
For example, the incident of Liu's daughter being humiliated and dying caused quite a stir at the time.
The man surnamed Sun, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, is said to be the woman's neighbor. He had been coveting her for a long time before taking the opportunity to assault her.
There's also the Shiquan Restaurant, which some people still remember.
It seems like it was more than four years ago.
At that time, the restaurant had only been open for a short time, but it was doing very well because of several famous dishes.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was suspected of being poisoned because some customers experienced vomiting and diarrhea after eating there, and some even died.
The shopkeeper was imprisoned on the spot, and the owner lost everything and was also sentenced to prison.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
