Fan Zehao pulled the thin quilt over her and then explained the case to his curious wife: "Naturally, we asked why the coroner didn't find anything. The result was that the coroner said he was not skilled enough and didn't find it. He resigned on the spot, and Qian Lai didn't pursue the matter. Afterwards, it was to investigate the cause of Zhuo Ping's death, who exactly gave him money to eat and drink, and who poisoned him. In the end, Zhuo Ping's wife said it was Zhuo Yongxian!"
"According to Zhuo Yongxian's confession, he fell in love with his cousin's wife, and knowing that his cousin Zhuo Ping was not long for this world, and seeing his cousin Zhuo Ping struggling, he couldn't bear it and poisoned him. Before poisoning him, he thought his cousin had worked hard all these years and hadn't eaten well, so he gave him a sum of money to go to a restaurant for a meal. Zhuo Ping didn't think much of it and went. After returning home, Zhuo Yongxian deceived Zhuo Ping, saying that banxia was a good medicine for treating diseases, and then..."
Nonsense!
Zhao Jiaqi didn't believe Zhuo Yongxian's words at all!
"Where did Zhuo Yongxian get the money? His monthly salary as a servant was only a few hundred wen, so how could he possibly have dozens of taels of silver at once?"
With such a big loophole, she didn't believe that Qian Lai couldn't see it, nor that her husband hadn't noticed it!
He lay on the bed, staring at the mosquito net on the bed, and said faintly, "Yes, he didn't, but Ji Shiyi did. Zhuo Yongxian said he stole precious jade from the Ji mansion and took it to a pawn shop for money. The yamen servants went to investigate, and they also retrieved the pawn ticket. Now, the stolen goods and the evidence of the crime were found, and the motive for murder was clear. He confessed and was punished!"
"Did you ask Zhuo Yongxian where he got the poison?"
Fan Zehao shook his head, pulled her shoulder, and drew her into his arms. "Ji Shiyi pushed Zhuo Yongxian out as a scapegoat. The events before and after were all meticulously explained, even the reason for harming Zhuo Ping was clearly stated. And it also involved poison!"
Even pawn shops could cheat, so what couldn't be faked?
The events of today sent a chill down Fan Zehao's spine. Local tyrants indeed had their means. To protect his wife and daughter in this area, his methods had to be even stronger!
After this incident, Tianxiang Tower was affected, and its business was not as good as before.
Everyone watched anxiously but could do nothing. They could only wait for this storm to pass, and when everyone forgot, business might improve.
Because of this blow, Fan Zehao became unusual. He joined forces with several other restaurant owners and opened more than ten more restaurants in other prefectures. He even personally held opening ceremonies and sent invitations to the other major families.
Xiao Ce found this very inappropriate and advised Fan Zehao. Seeing that he was stubborn and only determined to do what he thought was right, he had no choice but to find Zhao Jiaqi.
"Princess Consort, the Prince is opening restaurants everywhere with such fanfare and publicizing them as his businesses. Isn't this inappropriate!"
Zhao Jiaqi raised her eyebrows slightly and retorted, "What's inappropriate about it? Can't the Prince have his own businesses?"
"No, that's not what I mean, Princess Consort has misunderstood my humble opinion!" Xiao Ce was a bit troubled by this couple, one stubborn and the other cunning.
Seeing the Princess Consort staring at him without speaking, Xiao Ce surrendered and said with a sigh, "In the capital and elsewhere, other princes have many businesses, but they are all very low-key. They are afraid that if the people above find out, they will be jealous of the Prince and cause trouble... Princess Consort, think about the Prime Minister!"
Zhao Jiaqi's lips curved into a sneer. Looking at the blooming peonies in the courtyard outside the window, a gleam flashed in her eyes. She said, "We also want to be low-key, but our circumstances don't allow it!" She spread her hands and shrugged.
"The princes in the court all have the Emperor as their backer, so they naturally have nothing to fear. In contrast, what about us?" Zhao Jiaqi asked Xiao Ce. Seeing him avoid her gaze, she continued, "You know Murong Sheng and the others. Don't say how popular their business is in Yulin Town, even in the capital their business is thriving, yet they have never relied on our acquaintance to act. They have never asked us for anything either."
"On the contrary, in their own territory, they were forced into a corner and almost arrested and killed. Minister Xiao, you tell me, how should we, a couple, deal with this?"
Low-key, do they not want to?
Zhao Jiaqi took a deep breath, caressed her chest, and sighed, "You saw what happened when we were building the Trade City. How difficult it was then. Not only was there no money on the fief, but we also owed these families money. Just the Li family owed seven million taels, not to mention the other families!"
They had no account books, just a debt note, and they wanted them to admit it. Wasn't this bullying them because they had no backing?
If her husband hadn't used his wits, wouldn't they still be living with enormous debts now?
Originally, they wanted to live a low-key life, not to stir up trouble, but to manage their fief well, let the people live in peace and prosperity, and make this place prosperous. This was their initial wish.
If they were to put their friends' lives aside for this wish, she couldn't do it, and her husband couldn't either.
If being low-key meant being bullied, then why not be strong? They didn't have the clever minds or the prominent background. Instead of being low-key, why not be strong?
"Minister Xiao, don't compare my husband to the Prime Minister. They are not in the same league."
Seeing his slight astonishment and confusion, Zhao Jiaqi explained with a sneer, "One is a civil official, the other is a military general. One has disciples everywhere, while the other is a lone commander. Even if he holds thirty thousand troops, there's still you, the supervising general, to deal with. If my husband wanted to rebel, I'm not saying this to be disrespectful, but you and Gao Wenbin alone would be enough to stop him."
Her words left Xiao Ce speechless. The facts were before him, and he couldn't deny them.
"Xiao Ce, you and Zehao have gone through life and death together. Others may not understand his difficulties, but logically, you should. Why would you... That's right, your statuses are different, and your missions are not the same!" She gave a self-deprecating laugh and turned to leave.
She was afraid that if she continued to speak, the two children in her belly would be so angered that they would miscarry.
As she left, Gao Wenbin emerged from the shadows, patted Xiao Ce on the shoulder, and gave a sincere remark, "The Prince and Princess Consort are righteous. The Emperor's judgment is not wrong. To speak irreverently, no prince in the court works so hard for the common people. If you say he wants to rebel, I'll be the first to not believe it!"
If anyone truly cared about the common people, it was this couple. If possible, they truly hoped that Fan Zehao would become the emperor, then the future Yun Kingdom would be even stronger than it was now.
"That's why the Emperor chose him as a loyalist." Xiao Ce uttered these words, his gaze drifting with the clouds outside the window, murmuring, "I wonder how the Emperor is doing. Is the capital safe now!"
Gao Wenbin: "With Qi Xuan there, it will be fine."
The two looked at each other and smiled, then went their separate ways to attend to their duties.
Zhao Jiaqi returned to the rear courtyard and went directly to her daughter's residence, supervising their studies while planning the matters of the Trade City.
Yu Meng took advantage of a break to stick to her mother, coquettishly asking, "Mother, why are you so free today to come and see Mengmeng?"