X
To be honest, Wei Lan had only gained a little understanding of the family’s businesses recently, when she was competing with Chen Ji Bookstore just to annoy Chen Zhou.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have known that the Lu family had a bookstore.
This time was the same; she had no idea they also owned a tavern.
From the worker’s words, Wei Lan understood that those people had come deliberately to cause trouble.
As for the reason, it was most likely they were acting on someone else’s orders.
Wei Lan nodded at the worker.
“Wait for me in the courtyard.
I’ll be right there.
Oh, and go call Deng Jin for me.
Have him come with us.”
With that, Wei Lan put down the jade in her hands and went back to the bedroom to change clothes.
The servant boy quickly went to call Deng Jin.
By the time Wei Lan had changed, Deng Jin had arrived.
She brought Xi Ye, Deng Jin, and a few servant boys from the courtyard, following the worker to the back gate.
The tavern under the Lu family banner wasn’t too far from the Lu residence, just two streets away.
So Wei Lan and the others arrived in no time.
As soon as she reached the tavern entrance, Wei Lan saw four men.
One of them looked like he had just vomited; he was lying at the entrance of the Lu Ji Tavern.
Beside him was what looked like his vomit.
The man was groaning feebly.
“The Lu Ji Tavern is profiteering!
Their food is not fresh.
It could kill you!”
“That’s right, manager.
Your tavern is really heartless.
My friend got sick from eating your food.
What did you put in the dishes?”
“Exactly.
A black-hearted shop.
Everyone, be careful.
Don’t come here to eat.
It could kill you!”
The manager was still trying to reason with them.
“Gentlemen, let me call a doctor to check on you, and I’ll pay you some compensation.
Can we settle this?”
“No.
Who cares about your paltry silver?
We’re here to warn everyone not to come to this black-hearted shop.”
“Right.
This is a den of thieves.
Anyone who comes here is asking for trouble.”
The several young Qiankuns were extremely arrogant.
And because one person was lying on the ground, the constables who had arrived couldn’t make an arrest easily, afraid of being implicated if something happened to him.
Wei Lan and her group watched from the crowd for a while.
Then she gestured for Xi Ye to lead the way and clear a path through the onlookers.
“Everyone, please make way.
Our master has arrived.”
Xi Ye said as she and the servants squeezed through the crowd, creating a small opening.
Wei Lan walked in from outside.
When the manager saw Wei Lan, he immediately bowed.
“Master, you’ve come.
I’m so sorry.
I’ve been trying to reason with them for half a day, even called the city patrol guards, but they still won’t leave.”
The manager was exhausted.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t encountered difficult customers before, but usually they could be appeased with silver.
Today, however, these people refused to leave no matter what.
Wei Lan nodded faintly at the manager, her gaze coldly sweeping over the man lying on the ground.
Beside the man was a puddle of vomit.
He looked at Wei Lan disdainfully and mocked, “So you’re the live-in wife of the Lu residence?
You’re just a daughter-in-law living off others.
Will anything you say even matter?
Why don’t you call your wife?”
“That’s right.
If you don’t resolve this today, we’re not leaving.”
The man still had a fierce, menacing expression.
Wei Lan, however, curled the corners of her mouth and nodded faintly with a smile.
“Deng Jin, go take his pulse and see what the main cause of his vomiting is.
Also, examine the vomit on the ground to see if he’s really sick or just putting on an act.”
“Hey, what do you mean by that?”
One of the tall men pointed at Wei Lan.
He took a few steps forward, intending to push her, but was easily pushed aside by Xi Ye.
The man hadn’t expected Xi Ye to be so strong and was knocked to the ground.
Seeing he couldn’t win a fight, he immediately started shouting.
“Everyone, look!
Officer, are you going to do something?
The Lu residence people are bullying the weak!
They don’t care about the lives of us commoners!
Is there anyone who can do something?”
The constable, seeing how arrogant the men were, was clearly annoyed.
He pointed at the man.
“Nonsense!
You were the one who tried to strike someone first.
And you dare to lie even with us standing right here?
You think we don’t dare to touch you?”
“What’s the matter?
Afraid to let the doctor take your pulse?
Worried he’ll find out that there’s nothing wrong with you?
That you can’t just lie there and cause trouble anymore?”
Wei Lan looked at the man lying on the ground and sneered.
Then she said to the constable beside her, “Officer, these people are clearly just causing trouble.
It’s almost dinner time, and they’re deliberately blocking the entrance, trying to stop the Lu family from doing business.”
“Right, those people are obviously just troublemakers.”
“Exactly, exactly.
That guy lying on the ground has been there for an hour.
He looks pretty energetic to me.”
“Haha, look at his complexion.
It’s rosy.
He doesn’t look poisoned at all.
No wonder he won’t let the doctor take his pulse.”
The onlookers gradually understood what was going on and started pointing at the men inside.
The smile on Wei Lan’s face grew wider.
She cupped her hands towards the constable.
“Officers, it seems these people planned this in advance.
I want to press charges against these men.
Please detain them.”
“Alright.”
The constable, seeing that Wei Lan was very reasonable and respectful, immediately agreed.
The thugs, seeing the situation turn against them, tried to pull their companion up and run away, but they were stopped by the constables and Wei Lan’s servants.
Wei Lan swept a cold glance over them.
“The Lu family tavern is not a place for you to run wild.
If this matter is not thoroughly investigated, it will damage the reputation of the Lu family tavern.
I am formally pressing charges against you.”
By now, the man lying on the ground was starting to panic.
Chen Zhou had only told them to act like thugs and annoy the Lu family tavern people.
He hadn’t said they would be arrested.
If they had known they’d be caught, they would never have taken the job.
“No, I suddenly feel better.
I won’t trouble you anymore.
My brothers and I are leaving.”
The man frantically signaled to his companions, and they tried to break out of the circle formed by the constables and servants.
But Xi Ye was much faster than them.
She had already grabbed the four men from behind and thrown them to the ground.
Then the constables swarmed in and arrested them.
Wei Lan said to the manager, “Have someone collect some of his vomit and bring it to the court.
This matter isn’t over.
Since they want to damage the Lu family tavern’s reputation, I’ll play along with them to the end.”
With that, Wei Lan and her group followed the constables to the yamen.
The yamen of Panyang City was under the jurisdiction of the City Lord, Lu Feng.
Many citizens who loved to watch the excitement followed behind Wei Lan and the others to the court.
After the constables reported inside, Lu Feng soon changed into his official robes and walked out from the back hall.
While he was in the back, the constables had already given him a general idea of the situation, so Lu Feng had a good understanding.
Wei Lan bowed to Lu Feng and said, “Your Honor, these men were causing trouble at the entrance of my family’s tavern, pretending to have vomited and been poisoned from eating our food.
I suspect they were instructed by someone with ulterior motives.”
“Injustice, Your Honor!
This commoner really had a stomach ache and vomited, which is why I thought it was from eating at their tavern.
Then I got better and wanted to leave.
It’s them who dragged us here to court.”
The thug who had pretended to be poisoned quickly defended himself.
“Whether you really felt sick or not, let my residence’s physician take your pulse and find out.”
Wei Lan gave him a cold look.
“No, no, Your Honor!
Their residence’s physician would naturally side with them and slander us!”
The thug continued to argue.
Lu Feng glanced at the few thugs.
They were familiar faces, all from the Eastern Market, idlers who did nothing all day.
If he remembered correctly, these men had been in and out of jail several times before.
But they had only committed petty crimes like theft, so they were released after a few days each time.
Lu Feng despised such people.
He immediately said, “You are repeat offenders.
Since you’re worried about the Lu residence’s physician slandering you, I’ll have the yamen’s physician take your pulse.”
With that, Lu Feng gave a few instructions to the guard beside him.
The guard immediately went out to call for the physician.
Soon, an elderly man arrived at the court with the guard.
Lu Feng pointed at the men below.
“Go take his pulse and see if he was poisoned from eating something.”
“Yes.”
The elderly man went to take the thug’s pulse.
The thug knew he couldn’t avoid it in court, so he had no choice but to let the physician examine him.
Soon, the physician reported, “Your Honor, this man is not poisoned.
There is nothing wrong with his stomach.
The only issue is that he has excessive liver fire.”
Lu Feng glared coldly.
“What do you have to say now?”
“Your Honor, I am wronged!
When I was eating, my stomach really hurt.
You have to believe me!”
“Hmph.
Scum like you who extort money should have been arrested and dealt with long ago.
Guards, take these men into custody.”
Lu Feng had always despised this kind of person.
“Your Honor, please wait a moment.”
Wei Lan cupped her hands.
Lu Feng’s gaze finally turned to Wei Lan.
His daughter had been talking about this Wei Lan a lot lately, praising her non-stop and buying many of her storybooks.
Lu Feng looked Wei Lan over.
She was indeed good-looking and seemed quite refined, not like a live-in wife who couldn’t hold her own.
“Do you have something else to say?”
Lu Feng asked.
“Your Honor, these men have no personal grudge against the Lu family tavern.
I doubt they decided to frame the Lu family on their own.
There is probably someone behind this.
Moreover, because of their disturbance, the Lu family tavern’s business this afternoon will certainly be affected, losing at least a thousand taels of silver.
Shouldn’t these losses be borne by them?”
Wei Lan’s lips held a faint smile as she spoke unhurriedly.
Wei Lan didn’t know exactly how much silver the tavern made in a day, but she figured estimating high wouldn’t be wrong.
Even if she couldn’t uncover the mastermind, she could at least make these thugs spend more days in jail, so that no stray cats or dogs would dare to disrespect the Lu family.
“Indeed.”
Lu Feng nodded in agreement.
Hearing “a thousand taels of silver,” the four thugs felt terrible.
That was so much silver; even selling all four of them wouldn’t cover it.
“Your Honor, please see clearly!
We can’t repay that much silver!”
The thug had an attitude of “I don’t have a single cent, what can you do about it?”
Lu Feng was also angered by them into laughing.
“If you don’t have the silver, then serve jail time instead.
Originally, for such disturbance, you would only be in jail for a few days.
But since you owe the Lu family tavern over a thousand taels, you’ll have to stay inside for at least three years.
Guards, take them away.”
“Wait, wait, Your Honor!
I have something to say!”
One of the thugs, hearing he would be locked up for three years, immediately panicked.
That wasn’t what Chen Zhou had told them.
Chen Zhou had only said to go cause trouble at the Lu family tavern, that Lu Zijin wasn’t in the city today, so no one would pay attention, guaranteeing their safety.
He had given each of the four of them a hundred taels of silver, which was why they had taken the job.
But he never said anything about being locked up for three years!
“If you have something to say, say it quickly.
This official has other matters to attend to.
I don’t have time to waste with you.”
Lu Feng was also annoyed.
These thugs never committed serious crimes and were quickly released.
He could use this opportunity to make an example of them.
“Your Honor, we want to report Chen Zhou!”
“Yes, we want to report Chen Zhou!”
“We were acting on his orders.
He told us to go cause trouble and gave each of us a hundred-tael silver note.
I still have the note on me.”
The man said, pulling out the silver note.
“Your Honor, there’s no way we thugs could have this much silver.
This was really given to us by Chen Zhou.”
Lu Feng hadn’t expected there to be a mastermind after all.
His expression darkened.
He knew about the backroom competition between merchants, but it was usually in the shadows, and he couldn’t easily intervene.
But Chen Zhou had quite the nerve to openly send people to disrupt the Lu family’s business.
He looked at the constable captain and instructed, “Go and bring Chen Zhou here.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The constable captain took a few men and immediately headed to the Chen residence.
The guards at the Chen residence gate were surprised.
After all, their Chen family was wealthy, and the constables usually didn’t dare to offend them.
“Officers, what is the meaning of this?”
The lead gate guard asked.
“Official business.
All bystanders, move aside.
Where is Chen Zhou?”
The constable captain asked.
“Our young master should be in the study.
But what are you doing?”
The man tried to ask further, but the constables had already rushed inside the Chen residence.
“Official business.
Take us to Chen Zhou.”
The captain grabbed two servants to lead the way.
The Chen residence was in an uproar over this.
Su Er quickly got the news and ran to inform Chen Zhou.
“Young master, young master, bad news!”
Chen Zhou was still in the study, giving instructions to his subordinates.
Hearing Su Er’s words, his expression darkened.
“What’s the panic?
What do you mean ‘bad news’?”
“Young master, constables are here.
They asked for you by name.”
Su Er was sweating from anxiety.
“Constables?”
Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed.
He hadn’t done much lately, just hired a few thugs to cause trouble at the Lu family tavern.
Had those idiots gotten caught?
“Damn it!” Those idiots hadn’t ratted him out, had they?
Just as the two were speaking, the constable captain barged in with his men.
“Chen Zhou, right?
Come with us.”
The captain said.
“May I ask what crime I have committed?
Why are you arresting me?”
Chen Zhou asked.
“Less talk.
You’ll find out when you get there.
Let’s go.”
As he spoke, one of the constables pushed Chen Zhou, urging him along.
The veins on Chen Zhou’s forehead bulged with anger.
When had he ever been treated like this?
But he had to endure it.
However, the constables, knowing his family was wealthy, didn’t dare tie him up.
They just surrounded him and led him out of the Chen residence.
Zhou Yu’e naturally heard the commotion and rushed out.
Chen Zhou was her lifeblood.
“My son, what is going on here?
Why are you arresting my son?”
“The City Lord will decide.
If you interfere with our duties, we’ll arrest you too.”
The constable captain was also annoyed.
These wealthy families were so troublesome, and they liked to throw their weight around.
The captain signaled for the constables to walk faster, ignoring Zhou Yu’e.
Zhou Yu’e followed the constables with the Chen residence guards, afraid that Chen Zhou might be mistreated.
“Zhou’er, don’t be afraid.
Mother is here.
I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Zhou Yu’e didn’t have time to take a carriage and just ran after the constables.
Soon, the group arrived at the yamen.
Lu Feng saw that Zhou Yu’e had brought several guards and his expression turned livid.
“Madam Zhou?
What, are you planning to lead your men against the authorities?”
“Not at all, not at all.
It’s just that my son has always been honest and well-behaved, a well-known promising young man in Panyang City.
How could he have committed a crime?
Your Honor, there must be some misunderstanding.”
Zhou Yu’e quickly said.
“Misunderstanding?
The men are already here.
If you few don’t want to go to jail, confess honestly.”
Lu Feng said with a dark expression, looking at the four thugs.
One of the thugs immediately said to Chen Zhou, “Young Master Chen, we just wanted to earn some easy money.
You sent us to cause trouble at the Lu family tavern, but you didn’t say we’d get caught by the authorities.
Didn’t you say you had already greased the wheels?”
“Right.
You said we could just lie down at the entrance of the Lu family tavern and nothing would happen.”
Chen Zhou’s face turned almost green with anger.
No, how had he hired such idiots?
Couldn’t they read the situation?
When things went wrong, they should have just apologized and taken the settlement.
He hadn’t told them to make the Lu family people so angry they reported it to the authorities.
Chen Zhou took a few breaths, then pointed at the men and shouted back.
“Frame-up!
This is absolutely a frame-up!”
Then he bowed to Lu Feng.
“Your Honor, please see clearly.
These men are slandering me.
I never did such a thing.”
Then he turned to Wei Lan, pointing at her in rage.
“It’s her!
It must be her who instructed these men to do this!”
Wei Lan was amused.
“Am I crazy?
Chen Zhou, if you’re going to find an excuse, at least find a plausible one.
Am I insane?
I would have people damage the Lu family’s own reputation just to frame you?
Who do you think you are?
You think you’re worthy of being framed by me?
Listen to yourself.
Your story is full of holes.
Not even a ghost would believe you.”
“No, it’s you framing me!
I don’t accept this!”
Chen Zhou had been in poor spirits lately anyway.
Ever since being frightened by the ‘ghost’ last time, he had been somewhat neurasthenic.
Now, with this situation and all the onlookers outside, if he was convicted, it would certainly damage the Chen family’s reputation.
Wei Lan said calmly, “It’s simple.
I saw just now that the silver notes these thugs have are all new.
Such notes have serial numbers.
The bank records who received them.
All we need to do is take the notes to the bank and verify who withdrew them.”
Lu Feng nodded, a look of appreciation towards Wei Lan.
He had the guards confiscate the thugs’ silver notes.
Sure enough, each one was very new.
“You, immediately go and verify this.”
The constables took the notes to the bank to check.
Chen Zhou’s heart, however, turned cold.
Sweat broke out on his forehead and face.
Damn it.
Those silver notes were indeed obtained when he had sent someone to deposit silver.
He hadn’t expected to be caught on that detail.
Sure enough, the constables soon returned.
The lead man bowed respectfully to Lu Feng.
“Your Honor, we have verified the notes at the bank.
These notes were uniformly deposited at the bank by the Chen residence’s accounting office five days ago.”
Lu Feng looked at Chen Zhou with a cold laugh.
“Arrest him.
What do you have to say now?”
“Your Honor, forgive me.
I was momentarily confused.
I only told them to go cause a little trouble.
I didn’t mean to blow this up.
It’s those idiots’ fault.”
Chen Zhou was forced to his knees by the bailiffs, his usual refined appearance gone.
Wei Lan shook her head in disbelief.
People like Chen Zhou deserved to be severely punished.
“Chen Zhou, you instructed others to cause trouble at the Lu family tavern, resulting in losses of over a thousand taels of silver.
The evidence is conclusive.
This official sentences you to reflect in jail for fifteen days and to compensate the Lu family tavern for today’s losses at market price.
Of course, if the Lu residence agrees to a settlement, you can avoid these days in jail.”
Lu Feng said.
After all, it wasn’t a major crime, and no one was hurt.
He could only handle it according to the law.
In similar cases, many people would settle.
Chen Zhou, hearing this, immediately looked at Wei Lan.
“Wei Lan, I’m willing to pay double compensation.
Let’s settle, okay?
You know I’m Zijin’s cousin.
We’re family.
You wouldn’t let me go to jail, would you?”
Wei Lan shook her head.
“I can’t believe you have the nerve to call yourself Zijin’s cousin.
Scheming against your own family shows that you are despicable and have low character.
The Lu family has no such relatives as you.
Zijin has no such cousin as you.
I do not accept a settlement.
Go in and reflect properly.”
“Wei Lan!
You’re just a live-in wife.
What gives you the right to say these things to me!”
If he weren’t being held down, Chen Zhou would have lunged at Wei Lan.
The onlookers outside saw Chen Zhou like this and were all disgusted.
“So this is Chen Zhou?
What a terrible person.
He even schemes against his own relatives.”
“Right.
He’s really black-hearted.
I’m not going to buy anything from his shops anymore.”
“Me neither, me neither.
Wei Lan is much better.
She writes good stories, she’s smart, and she speaks reasonably.”
“Yeah.
I envy Lu Zijin so much.
Who wouldn’t want a Qiankun like that?”
Lu Feng didn’t want to look at Chen Zhou’s face any longer.
He waved at the bailiffs, signaling them to take Chen Zhou to jail.
Zhou Yu’e, however, was frantic.
She tried to throw herself into the court, but was stopped by the bailiffs maintaining order.
“Lord Lu, I’m willing to pay compensation.
Please release my son.
He’s been pampered since childhood; he can’t bear the hardship of jail.”
Then she turned and begged Wei Lan tearfully.
“Wei Lan, name your price.
Whatever amount, I’ll pay.
Please let my son go.
I beg you, give him a break.”
Wei Lan shook her head.
“You’ve got it wrong.
It’s your son who should give us a break.
The Lu family are honest businesspeople.
Please don’t try any more underhanded tricks to smear our reputation.”
Having said that, Wei Lan was about to leave with her people.
But Lu Feng stopped her.
“Wait a moment.
First, let the Chen family pay the compensation they owe.”
Then he looked at Zhou Yu’e.
“Madam Zhou, first pay the compensation.
Otherwise, even after fifteen days, I can’t release your son.”
Zhou Yu’e hadn’t wanted to pay at all.
She hated Wei Lan and certainly didn’t want to give her silver.
But hearing this, she started crying hysterically again.
“Go back to the residence and bring five thousand taels in silver notes.”
The servant quickly ran back to the Chen residence.
Wei Lan and the crowd of onlookers waited a good while longer before the servant finally returned with the silver notes.
Zhou Yu’e handed the notes to Wei Lan and pleaded tearfully.
“Wei Lan, I know my son was wrong this time.
How about this?
I’m willing to pay an additional twenty thousand taels as compensation.
Can you settle with my son?
We will behave properly in the future and never do anything like this again.”
Wei Lan smiled at her.
“No.
And the Lu family doesn’t lack twenty thousand taels.
You’d better discipline your son properly.
He’s always breaking the law.
It’s shameful.”
With that, Wei Lan ignored Zhou Yu’e’s expression and left with her people.
Zhou Yu’e was so angry she almost fainted.
Of course, no one cared.
Lu Feng had the bailiffs expel the Chen family members.
The onlookers, having enjoyed half a day of drama, gradually dispersed.
Not only that, but with the lack of entertainment in ancient times, gossip spread very quickly.
In just half a day, the news that Chen Zhou had bribed thugs to slander the Lu family tavern had spread throughout Panyang City.
The various Chen family businesses were affected to varying degrees.
If the owner was such a person, then his shops naturally couldn’t be any good – that was the opinion of most people.
In contrast, the Lu family’s shops actually received free publicity from this incident, and their revenue soared.
When Lu Zijin heard the news, she rushed back from the outskirts.
When she anxiously arrived at the Lu family tavern, she saw that it had already reopened for business, and there were quite a few customers inside?
Lu Zijin got off the carriage, and the manager immediately came out to greet her.
“Young lady, this servant is incompetent.
I have disturbed you.”
The manager quickly bowed.
Lu Zijin frowned and asked, “What exactly happened?
Where are the troublemakers?”
“The master came and resolved the matter.
She sent the troublemakers to the authorities and uncovered the person behind them.
It was Chen Zhou who sent people to cause trouble deliberately.
But he was also arrested.
I heard he’ll be locked up for fifteen days.”
The manager quickly said.
Hearing that Wei Lan had resolved the matter, Lu Zijin’s expression immediately relaxed.
She knew it – her little dog was only soft and sweet in front of her.
Outside, her little dog was very capable.
“Good.
I’m glad it’s resolved.
But this incident is a reminder.
We must also pay attention to the ingredients and supplies.
Everything must be fresh.”
Lu Zijin instructed.
“Yes, this servant understands.”
The manager quickly said.
Lu Zijin gave a few more instructions, then left with her entourage of guards, heading back to the Lu residence.
She missed Wei Lan a little.
Her little dog was quite reliable.
At critical moments, she could count on Wei Lan.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Villainess Sister, Don't Kill Me, I Won't Say Anything is a must-read. Click here to start!
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