Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

"Magistrate Li, what is it? Tell me quickly."

The two sat down in the main hall of the Yan residence. As soon as they sat down, Old Master Yan said anxiously.

If we finish our business sooner, maybe he can make it over and have a hot meal.

Li Duan carefully considered his words before saying, "This matter is related to the Four Delicacies Soup you mentioned earlier..."

"Four Delicacies Soup??" Old Master Yan's eyes widened in surprise.

His expression clearly showed that he couldn't figure out what could possibly be wrong, no matter how hard he tried.

Li Duan explained, "You have a servant in your household named Zhao Wu, who is in charge of purchasing. He is using your name to coerce Wang Yuan, the head of the food association, in an attempt to bring down Zhiweixuan in order to seek personal gain."

"Not only that, I took the opportunity to investigate Zhao Wu thoroughly and found that he had done a lot of bad things and accepted a lot of bribes under the guise of the Yan family."

"This is the evidence I found."

As he spoke, Li Duan pulled a stack of papers from his pocket.

Old Master Yan's face darkened. Without even glancing at the stack of papers, he shouted outside, "Guards, bring Zhao Wu, the purchasing manager, here with me!!"

He doesn't need to look at this.

A county magistrate of such high standing would have no reason to be deceived by a mere servant, especially since Li Duan was an extremely upright man.

That Zhao Wu is truly despicable.

This is a disgrace to the Yan family!

At this moment, Zhao Wu was lying on the bed, feeling quite content. He had his legs crossed, a fruit plate beside him, and was humming a little tune, looking completely relaxed.

He was waiting, waiting for Wang Yuan to make a move and bring down Zhiweixuan.

Once Zhiweixuan collapses, he can directly intervene and get that young lady to agree to his demands.

In this way, he could apply to add a purchase of Four Delicacies Soup, thereby making more money from it, and he could also eat Four Delicacies Soup for free every day.

To be honest, that Four Delicacies Soup was really delicious!

The more Zhao Wu thought about it, the happier he became. His smile grew wider and wider. Just then, a voice came from the doorway:

"The old master wants you to come over!"

Grandpa?

Zhao Wu was so frightened that he rolled off the bed.

He's just a nobody, he usually doesn't even get to see the old master. What's going on today?

Looking up again, I saw that the messengers at the door were actually two fierce-looking guards.

Zhao Wu increasingly sensed that this was not a good thing, and asked tremblingly, "Brothers, what does the old master want with me?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly pulled out silver notes from his pocket and tried to stuff them into the arms of the two guards.

His hands were shaking like a sieve.

"Brothers, could you give me a little hint..."

Before Zhao Wu could finish speaking, he felt someone lift him up by the back of his neck, like lifting a chick.

The silver notes in his hand were scattered all over the ground.

They were all plundered from other merchants.

Soon, Zhao Wu was brought to the main hall, along with the pile of silver notes.

"Master, this Zhao Wufang is about to bribe us with silver notes." The guard presented the silver notes and then truthfully described what had just happened.

Old Master Yan snorted coldly: "A servant, so lawless and cowardly, even now he dares to try to bribe me. He must have done plenty of these despicable things before!"

"Sir, I was just too scared. I was confused. Please forgive me. I promise I will never bribe again. Please forgive me."

Zhao Wu's legs were shaking like a sieve, and his heart was pounding wildly.

He didn't know where things had gone wrong, but begging for forgiveness was always the right thing to do.

"Your crime is just bribery??" Old Master Yan slammed his fist on the table, making a loud banging sound.

Zhao Wu knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "This humble servant does not know what other crimes I have committed. I have always been diligent and conscientious, and only thought of the glory of the Yan family..."

Snapped--

Before he could finish speaking, a stack of papers was thrown directly at his face.

Zhao Wu looked closely and, good heavens, it was all evidence of him accepting bribes.

"This...how is this possible..."

He collapsed, his soul seemingly leaving his body, his eyes wide open, filled with despair.

How could that be?

He had been a purchasing agent for four or five years and everything had been fine. How could he suddenly be exposed?

Without thinking too much, Zhao Wu immediately kowtowed on the ground.

"Sir, I was confused for a moment. Please forgive me this time, please, please be magnanimous and forgive me, please..."

Old Master Yan waved his hand impatiently: "Magistrate Li, this man is in your hands. Do whatever you need to do."

This is to send Zhao Wu to the authorities.

Li Duan nodded: "This junior will handle the matter according to the laws of this dynasty."

According to the laws of this dynasty, any servant who accepts bribes will be punished with a beating equal to the amount of silver received.

This Zhao Wu embezzled at least a thousand taels of silver, and his life is likely in danger.

Zhao Wu felt weak all over, his head was buzzing and throbbing, and he couldn't think straight at all.

"Luckily, it was that servant Zhao Wu who discovered it. Otherwise, if he had really ruined Madam Shen's shop, where would I have gotten my Four Beauties Soup?"

Old Master Yan's voice was filled with deep relief.

Li Duan responded politely from the side.

Only Zhao Wu lay there, paralyzed like a dead dog.

So it was because of the Four Delicacies Soup.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered with that Madam Shen. If he hadn't bothered her, he might still be living a happy life.

I regret it!

He regretted it terribly!

......

Zhongli and Qin Muzhi were queuing up.

Today, even more people are buying the Four Delicacies Soup, and the queue is even longer.

"Muzhi, how many bowls are you planning to eat today?" Zhongli asked, standing on tiptoe to look at the front of the line.

Qin Muzhi said earnestly, "Today I'm determined to eat my fill and savor every bite."

"Tsk, it's really strange to hear such words coming from your mouth, Qin Muzhi." Zhong Li shook his head with a smile. "Do you think that old fellow Yan Shu will be worried sick? He loves Four Beauties Soup the most."

"Let's eat our fill first, then we'll bring some for him." Qin Muzhi's expression remained normal, but he was actually quite cunning.

Zhong Li instantly understood that Qin Muzhi was seeking revenge for yesterday.

Fortunately, it wasn't him who had something come up unexpectedly.

Soon it was the two of them's turn, and Qin Muzhi immediately asked for ten servings.

They arrived early today, and when it was their turn, there were still over four hundred portions left, so it wasn't much of a problem.

Shen Qing deftly scooped out the soup and then neatly packed it up.

"Tsk~ It's definitely more fragrant when it's fresh out of the pot!" Qin Muzhi said with a look of enjoyment, and quickly finished two portions.

Zhong Li also ate two portions.

The two wiped their mouths, took the remaining Four Delicacies Soup, and left Zhiweixuan.

They were craving more, but their stomachs were already full.

Not long after the two left, Shen Qing sold out all of the Four Beauties Soup.

A thousand servings may sound like a lot, but it's simply not enough for the diners to fight over.

As usual, she dispersed the customers to the wonton shop next door, tidied up, and hung up a new sign.

The sign reads "Closed for two days".

Shen Qing was inexplicably in a good mood; her vacation was coming!