They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 173 It’s Not Over

"This humble subject greets Master Shao and pays his respects."

The word "official" has two mouths. Even the young master Zeng, who is powerful and respected outside and flattered by countless people, has to kneel down obediently when he sees Master Shao.

Master Shao smiled enigmatically: "Young Master Zeng, you've come at the perfect time. You should hear about this matter too. You tell us."

Master Shao pointed to the attendant beside him.

The attendant then greeted him and recounted in detail everything Manager Fang had done.

Young Master Zeng's cheek muscles twitched violently: Has his uncle gone mad?!
His idea of ​​not letting me manage things and having my own ideas is a terrible one.
"Master Shao"

"Young Master Zeng, what do you think should be done about your uncle?"

Young Master Zeng gritted his teeth, "Master, this was a moment of confusion on my part. My uncle is easily swayed and was likely instigated by his underlings. He certainly doesn't know these scoundrels and has no dealings with them; they must have been brought here by his underlings. My uncle misjudged people and was misled by others, which is why he almost did something foolish. Fortunately, Madam Xu suffered no loss!"

"We at Sifang Restaurant will never accept the recipe for ice jelly again. This matter has caused Madam Xu distress. We will compensate Madam Xu with another hundred taels of silver and pay a fine of three hundred taels. We promise that we will never again be biased or give others cause for misunderstanding, such as being accused of bullying or forcing others to buy and sell. We ask Master Shao to give us a chance to make amends."

Master Shao smiled and said, "Young Master Zeng is eloquent and impartial. For the sake of the Zeng family, let's leave it at that."

"Thank you, Master Xie! Thank you so much, Master Xie!"

Shopkeeper Fang breathed a huge sigh of relief. Alright, alright, he wouldn't get a beating.
Master Shao continued, "This prescription has already been presented to the magistrate's wife by Madam Xu. Even if you wanted to, it wouldn't be your turn to take it."

Manager Fang and Young Master Zeng were secretly alarmed and their expressions changed.

Shopkeeper Fang cursed inwardly for Xu Zhichun's cunning, while Young Master Zeng was shocked that Xu Zhichun had managed to get involved with the magistrate's wife. Had they known this would happen, they wouldn't have done it in the first place—

That's enough, it's no use saying anything now.

Master Shao ordered his men to arrest all ten hooligans and ruffians, give each of them twenty lashes, teach them a lesson, and then release them.

This matter is now closed.

However, only the matter between the government and Xu Zhichun has been settled; the Zeng family's situation is far from over.

Xu Zhichun received one hundred taels of silver, and everyone who needed to know knew about it. She had given the recipe for ice jelly to the county magistrate's wife, and no one dared to covet it anymore.

Quite a few people asked if I could sell some to them too?

The answer is, of course, no.

The quantity of agar seeds is limited, and even if fewer are sold in winter, they will not run out.

After all, this ice jelly isn't like osmanthus cake or mung bean cake, which you can buy in any teahouse or pastry shop. It's unique, so there's no way it won't sell.

Even supplying Manager Tang requires her to cheat, so how could we supply other businesses? Besides, we've already signed a contract with Manager Tang.

Shopkeeper Fang and Young Master Zeng slunk home.

Madam Zeng hurriedly pulled Manager Fang up and down to check him over. Seeing that he hadn't been beaten or suffered any harm, she breathed a sigh of relief and angrily complained, "Which scoundrel did this despicable thing? Why would they want to harm you?"

Young Master Zeng glanced at his mother, somewhat helplessly. "Mother, let's go inside and talk." He went inside and dismissed the servants, leaving only one or two trusted confidants to attend to him.

After a few sips of hot tea, Manager Fang felt his blood flow smoothly, and his fear and anxiety gradually subsided, replaced by embarrassment and anger at losing face.

"Who else could it be? Isn't it your good illegitimate daughter? Isn't it that wretched girl Zeng Xiaoyan! If she had even a shred of respect for me as an elder, if she had even a shred of respect for the Zeng family, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"Why is it her again?" Madam Zeng was both disgusted and furious. "What has that little slut done now? She's getting more and more outrageous!"

Manager Fang sneered and began his performance of distorting the truth and exaggerating the facts.

Zeng Xiaoyan knew perfectly well that the ice jelly would be a hit, but she didn't tell him, instead helping the Lotus Restaurant get it. He wanted to buy the ice jelly recipe from Madam Xu, but Zeng Xiaoyan sabotaged the deal. He was so eager to improve his restaurant's business and to give the increasingly smug Lotus Restaurant a piece of his mind, so he deliberately bribed a few people to persuade Madam Xu to sell the ice jelly recipe.

Zeng Xiaoyan didn't tell him that Madam Xu had somehow ingratiated herself with the county magistrate's wife and had already presented her with the recipe for ice jelly.
Sure enough, all those who went to persuade Madam Xu were arrested by the yamen, implicated him, and were taken in for questioning as well.

This time, we lost face completely and even suffered a loss of several hundred taels of silver, all because of that wretched girl Zeng Xiaoyan.

Madam Fang was furious and immediately ordered Granny Fang, "Go now and tell that wretched girl to come back immediately!"

"Mother," Young Master Zeng interrupted, his head throbbing with pain, "please calm down."

He didn't dare to embarrass his uncle in front of his mother.

Although Zeng Xiaoyan was not innocent in this matter, her uncle clearly exaggerated and did not tell the truth.

Recently, Young Master Zeng's spirit has been subjected to one blow after another.

They thought their close relatives were so despicable and acted so absurdly.

“Mother, no matter what, this matter involves the magistrate’s wife, so we need to think it over carefully. If we call Xiaoyan back to teach her a lesson now, and people find out that our family is dissatisfied with how this matter was handled and with the magistrate’s wife, it will probably cause trouble again.”

Shopkeeper Fang laughed and said, "Mingguan, when did you become so close to that brat? It's rare to see you speaking up for her like that."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zeng frowned and glared at her son with displeasure. "Even if you are the wife of a county magistrate, you cannot interfere in the affairs of my Zeng family. It is only natural for me to discipline my own concubine's daughter. Granny Fang, hurry up and go."

"Yes, ma'am."

Full of fighting spirit, Granny Fang went off with two strong and capable maids.

She was furious when she overheard her uncle's words. How could the Third Miss be so audacious? Did she not respect her stepmother, the Madam, at all? If she wasn't taught a lesson, she would surely rebel!
Young Master Zeng was powerless to stop it, feeling both angry and disgusted, and thought that his uncle's face was twisted and ferocious.

"By the way, Uncle, although those ten thugs have admitted their mistake, you probably know what kind of people they are. They won't let it go after being punished, and they'll definitely come back to demand benefits from you. What do you plan to do, Uncle?"

Shopkeeper Fang glared at him, annoyed. "What do you mean? Why are you saying this at a time like this? Are you doing this on purpose?"

As expected, Madam Zeng hurriedly asked, "Rogues and thugs? Ten of them? What's going on here?"

She couldn't help but scold Manager Fang: "Those filthy and vulgar things are no good. Don't associate with those people. Even if they flatter you, they're just after your money."

-——
The advisor's handling of the situation was not problematic. Threatening and intimidation, and attempting to extort money, it was reasonable to give them a beating and release them. It's impossible to let them spend the rest of their lives in jail for this.

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(End of this chapter)