Black Lotus Concubine's Case-solving Notes

It is obvious that the previous ones were just positive accounts, and this one is the one that truly records the negative accounts of Xie Qian's assets.

Feng Jia flipped through the pages seemingly unintentionally, and then fixed his eyes on one of the pages, on which the word "Xiangfang" was written in cursive. Although it did not specify that it was Linglong Xiangfang, judging from the amount of money received, Linglong Xiangfang was the only one in the capital that could earn such a huge amount of income in one day.

So her guess was correct, and the account book in her hand was substantial evidence.

The wealthy family with the surname Tang and the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture were all just a cover. The real owner of Linglong Xiangfang was the Prime Minister's Mansion.

It’s Xie Qian!

Thinking of Cui's hesitation and the doubts about the succession of the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, it was not difficult for Feng Jia to guess the truth.

The Yu family came to the capital to redress the grievances of the Feng family. Maybe they knocked on the door of the Censorate, or maybe they even made trouble in the Prime Minister's Mansion, letting Xie Qian know of their existence. So Xie Qian helped Mr. Zhou's nephew, the current Jingzhao Prefecture Governor, to succeed to the throne. The reward was to let him and himself make up a good play to lure the Yu family into the trap and keep the Yu family trapped under his nose forever!

Only Xie Qian could think of such a vicious idea! Feng Jia's heart was filled with coldness.

Just wait and see, Prime Minister Xie, I will make you pay for everything you have done to my uncle's family!

Feng Jia marked the problematic accounts one by one with a red pen. Xie Qian flipped through them, looked approvingly, invited her to drink a sip of tea, and then let her leave.

Feng Jia stepped out of the study. The sunlight outside was blinding. She exhaled slightly. Qingshu looked at her slightly pale face and asked worriedly, "Miss, are you okay?"

"Your girl is indestructible, what could possibly happen to her?"

Qingshu then nodded and felt relieved.

Feng Jia walked towards the apricot garden and asked, "How is the thing I asked you to do going?"

Qingshu said, "I have been keeping an eye on the Yu family these days. Linglong Xiangfang has not come to cause trouble for Aunt Cui's family."

Feng Jia said, "This is a good opportunity to bring down the Yu family. That person will not let it go."

"That person? Which person?" Qingshu was puzzled.

"The boss behind Linglong Xiangfang."

Qingshu was even more puzzled. She only knew that the Yu family was the uncle's family of her former master Feng, but she didn't know who they had offended. She couldn't help but ask, "Miss, who is the boss behind the scenes?"

"None of this is important." Feng Jia shook her head. "You need to work harder these days and go to the Yu family more often. If there is any unusual movement, please contact me at any time."

Qingshu nodded immediately.

At noon two days later, just as Feng Jia had expected, Linglong Xiangfang filed a lawsuit against the three members of the Yu family in Jingzhao Prefecture.

In the hall of Jingzhao Prefecture, the shopkeeper Zhu of Linglong Incense Shop knelt upright and said, "Sir, a few days ago, the hair oil in our shop caused several distinguished guests to have allergic reactions and their faces were destroyed. We had to pay a large sum of gold and silver as compensation. This is the contract between us and the Yu family. It clearly states that any losses caused by the quality of the hair oil should be borne by the producer of the hair oil, that is, the three members of the Yu family! The above has been stamped with a handprint! Please make the decision for us!"

Jingzhao Prefecture official Zhou Zhen's eyes flashed with ferocity. He slammed the gavel and shouted, "The three members of the Yu family! The written documents are all here. Are you still going to deny it?"

Yu Min raised his voice and said, "My Lord, this is unjust! My hair oil is made from the finest sesame oil, and the osmanthus flowers are ground into powder after being steamed and dried ten times before being added to the oil. My hometown is in Langya, and my ancestors have been in the hair oil business for a hundred years, and no one has ever said they have allergic symptoms! I hope your Lord can see clearly!"

Zhou Zhen wished the Yu family would die, so why would he investigate in detail? He immediately said, "I have already investigated this matter in detail! The woman was indeed allergic to the hair oil from your company and became disfigured!"

Yu Min was filled with panic: "How is it possible..."

"If you dare to shirk your responsibility and argue again, I'll beat you up with twenty lashes!"

Yu Zhao's eyes were about to burst: "Sir! Are you trying to force a confession out of me? Is there no law and justice in this capital?"

Among the onlookers there were those who were familiar with the Yu family and knew that the newly appointed governor of Jingzhao Prefecture was a money-hungry man, and they could not help but talk about it.

"Silence!" Zhou Zhen frowned and shouted, pointing at Yu Zhao again: "This officer has always been upright and incorruptible. Today's evidence is solid. Let me ask you, you said that your hair oil is not allergenic, then show me the evidence! Otherwise, you will pay according to the price!"

Yu Zhao pointed behind him and said, "I not only sell my hair oil to Linglong Xiangfang, but also sell some to peddlers. Some of these people must have bought our hair oil. As long as someone can testify for me, it can prove that there is no problem with the quality of my hair oil!"

There were some indignant people in the crowd. Three or five people shouted in unison: "That's right. We have been using this hair oil from Old Yu's for many years and have never had any problems. Who knows what was mixed into this hair oil when it arrived at your perfume shop!"

"That's right. If there's nothing adulterated, the same thing would be sold by Yu the peddler for ten cents a bottle. But when it comes to your Linglong Fragrance Shop, it's sold for thirty cents after a label is put on it. I want to know where the price difference is!"

Shopkeeper Zhu's face turned cold and he glanced coldly at the woman in the crowd who was wearing a white dress and a veiled hat.

Seeing that everyone was inspired by the woman's words and wanted an explanation, Shopkeeper Zhu immediately changed the subject and said, "Sir, what evidence can prove that the goods that the Yu family gave to our Linglong Fragrance Shop are the same as the goods he sold as a peddler? Who knows if the three members of the Yu family are jealous of our Linglong Fragrance Shop's business and are interfering to ruin our reputation?"

"Manager Zhu! Don't go too far!" Cui clenched her fists and said, "We, the Yu family, are open for business and would never do such a dirty thing!"

Shopkeeper Zhu snorted, "Whether it is dirty or not, only you know it in your heart! Cui, I still say the same thing, if there is no evidence, you must pay the price!"

Cui was about to stand up angrily, but Yu Min pulled her back, "Mom, can't you see clearly? The Zhu family's shopkeeper is sure that we can't find any evidence... Let us pay."

Cui knelt down dejectedly.

"Since there is no objection, then Yu should sign and pledge to return all the silver by the end of this month!" The Jingzhao prefect made the final decision.

An attendant placed the signed document in front of Yu Zhao. Yu Zhao was about to press his handprint on it when he was suddenly startled: "Wait, we have to pay... twenty taels?"

Twenty taels?

For ordinary people, this is an unattainable number! The crowd immediately exploded.

"You read it right, it's twenty taels!" Shopkeeper Zhu said at this time, "The woman used your hair oil and ruined her face. She asked us for ten taels of silver. Because this incident ruined our reputation, many customers asked for a refund. All in all, it's exactly twenty taels!"

"You forced me to death, but I don't even have the twenty taels to pay you back!" Yu Zhao's pupils dilated, he threw the document away, and trembled with anger.

"If you can't pay it back, you can use your goods as collateral! If you still can't pay it back, just give us the recipe and we'll be done with this debt!"

They actually wanted the incense recipe, which was passed down from their ancestors and was used to support their family! Yu Zhao was furious: "You want my recipe? No way! I will die in this court today! I can't believe that there is no law and justice in this huge capital city! Under the feet of the emperor!"

"Someone come! Stop him!" The Jingzhao prefect's eyelids jumped and he shouted quickly.

He was just following the Prime Minister's wishes and teaching them a lesson, but if a murder case really occurred, the matter would become a big deal and it would be difficult to resolve.

He immediately said, "Yu, don't get excited. Let me make the decision. You only need to compensate Linglong Xiangfang for the loss caused by the hair oil itself, which is ten taels of silver, and the case will be closed!"

"Ten taels?" Yu Zhao laughed sarcastically, "I only sell a bottle of hair oil for eight cents. After deducting the cost, I make less than one cent per bottle. You want me to pay ten taels? I'll still be killed!"

After saying that, he was about to bang his head against the wall again.

Ten taels of silver was not even enough for his meal, so why did he want to die here? The governor of Jingzhao Prefecture was furious: "This unruly person is too much! Come, drag him out and give him 20 strokes of the cane!"

"Wait a minute!" At this moment, a voice came from the crowd, and then a woman in white walked up slowly. The woman was wearing a veiled hat, so her face could not be seen clearly.

"Sir, I will pay for the ten taels of silver on behalf of the Yu family!"