12dz Chapter 291 The Princess Returns
Chapter 291 The Princess Returns
Chapter 291 The Princess Returns
Madam Ye's heart skipped a beat and she blurted out, "What did you say? I did something wrong, what do you have to say?"
When the officials heard this, they reacted as if they had agreed in advance. They all turned around and looked at Old Madam Ye in surprise and asked, "Why are you here? Oh, you are the old lady of the First-Rank General's Mansion, how can you come to such an idle place?"
The old lady thought to herself that I didn't want to come either, but they forced me to come here. But before she could say anything, her nephew started shouting again: "She is my aunt, the owner of Baipinxiang, why doesn't she come?" Perhaps seeing that the official was very polite to the old lady, the nephew had something to rely on - "I am the nephew of the old lady of the First-rank General's Mansion. Who dares to touch me? Whoever dares to touch me is disrespectful to the First-rank General's Mansion. My uncle will not let him off easily in the underworld!" His wife also said: "Yes! We are from the First-rank General's Mansion. Half of Northern Qi was conquered by the First-rank General's Mansion. Who dares to do anything to us? I tell you, it is the old lady who asked us to use ginseng that is less than five years old to make soup. It was also the old lady's idea to sell the newly brewed wine as a hundred-year-old girl's red wine. And that dish of meat, yes, it is pork, we just marinated it with sheep fat, and it smells like lamb. But so what? This is a restaurant opened by the First-rank General's Mansion. Even if the diners know the tricks, who dares to act wildly on the territory of the First-rank General's Mansion?"
After these words came out, Old Madam Ye was so angry that she almost fainted. She was trying to find a way to pick out these two young people, but now that they said such things, if she picked them out again, she, the old woman, would be the one to go to court.
So the old lady immediately expressed her opinion: "Nonsense! I don't know anything about these things! I have lived in the deep house for a long time, and this restaurant is just registered under my name. As for what kind of dishes are cooked and what kind of wine is sold on weekdays, how can I control it?" After that, for the sake of safety, she turned to Feng Zhaolian and said: "Princess Guiyue, I am really sorry that you suffered a loss today. Please be at ease, the meal money will be returned in full, and doubled as compensation. Please also spare the general's mansion for the sake of my fourth granddaughter. As for these two people, I will not let them get away with it."
"Aunt, what are you talking about?" The nephew was stunned. "You don't care about us anymore?"
The niece-in-law was even more direct: "Why don't you care? Every income and expenditure of this restaurant was approved by you. The last purchase order was stamped with your private seal. The lousy wine and ginseng that were less than five years old were clearly written on it. You said you don't care and you don't care? The government is not stupid!" After saying that, she asked the official, "You can't let the mastermind go, right?"
The officer nodded, "Of course we can't let it go. After all, this matter is too big. The victim is a princess of another country. If the matter gets out of hand, not only the court, but even the imperial court will be involved."
Old Madam Ye was so angry that she had no idea what to do, and she didn't want to talk to those two people, so she could only pin her hopes on Feng Zhaolian.
But Feng Zhaolian couldn't respond to her words. She just said to Ye Wenyan: "I heard that this restaurant was not so unscrupulous before, the wine was not so expensive, and the ginseng they used was good, and it didn't cost five hundred taels of silver. Why did the price go up when it was my turn to eat? Ah Yan, tell me, is Bei Qi deliberately trying to trick me?"
Jiang Wanting took over the conversation: "Why wasn't it like this before? That's because this restaurant used to belong to Wen Yan's mother, and then it was taken away by Old Madam Ye, and it became like this overnight. Alas, you didn't catch up with the good times!"
Chi Feifei also came over and said, "It's really true. In other families, the elders give their things to the younger ones, but in your family, the elders take the younger ones' things and enjoy them themselves. The life of the First-Rank General's Mansion is really different from that of other families!"
Old Madam Ye understood that Princess Guiyue did it on purpose. It was a small matter that she didn't choose the right wine and food. The key point was to bring up the topic of who owned the restaurant. But she didn't want to return it. Baipinxiang was the most profitable restaurant in the inner city of Lin'an. She wanted to save more money for her second son! If she returned it like this, wouldn't it be a bargain for that bitch Mu Qianqiu?
She was thinking about something and didn't say anything for a long time, but Feng Zhaolian had already stood up and was talking to the officer, "I have already reported the case and caught the perpetrators red-handed. What happens next depends on how Lin'an Prefecture gives this princess an explanation. If you think that the First-Rank General's Mansion is too powerful to be controlled or arrested, then this princess can only suffer this loss temporarily, because this is your territory! But when I return to Guiyue, I must talk to my royal cousin about this matter."
Chi Feifei quickly rebuked the official: "Did you hear me? If this matter can be resolved in Lin'an, it must be resolved in Lin'an. If we delay until the princess returns to the country to tell the King of Guiyue, then the matter will become a big deal, and Lin'an Prefecture will definitely be in trouble!"
The official understood what the eldest lady said, so he immediately said: "Please rest assured, the Northern Qi government will enforce the law impartially and will never be partial. You will be given an explanation for this matter." The official took the people away, and Madam Ye's nephew and niece-in-law howled all the way, and even told the things that the old lady taught them to do. The old lady listened and watched, and felt that the road from the restaurant to Lin'an Prefecture was so long. If they continued to walk so slowly, who knows what the two people would say!
But thinking about it again, it seemed that she didn't tell the two of them anything more than the matter about the restaurant, so she felt relieved.
The leading officer did not leave, but stood there and looked at Old Madam Ye. The old lady was a little scared, and asked tremblingly: "Why are you looking at me? Are you going to take me to court?"
The official immediately said, "I dare not. The court of Lin'an Prefecture cannot summon the old lady. However, this matter is of great importance. Our prefect will definitely report it to the court. If the old lady does not go to the court, she can wait to go to the court! When the time comes, the emperor will interrogate her, which can also save the old lady's face. In addition, please do not feel wronged. Whether it is Lin'an Prefecture or our Northern Qi court, they have always handled cases impartially. For example, the matter of Li's medical clinic a while ago was also handled fairly." After hearing this, the old lady became even more afraid. The Li family is the natal family of Empress Dowager Li. Lin'an Prefecture dared to arrest the empress dowager's brother and niece and put them in jail. What else would they not dare to do? Now that the old man is gone, she is the only old lady left. Can people take her seriously?
She couldn't go to the court, and she couldn't go to the imperial court. If this matter was brought to the court, even for the sake of Empress Dowager Li's face, the emperor would have to deal with her severely. She had to settle the matter in this restaurant, and to settle this matter...
The old lady looked at Ye Wenyan, and after several considerations in her heart, she had to reluctantly give up: "I will return the restaurant to you. I will double the compensation to Princess Guiyue for today's incident. Can you please ask for me? Let's just leave it at that!"
This was said with a very sincere attitude and a lower tone. At least so far, this was the most thorough way Ye Wenyan had ever seen the old lady bow her head.
So she laughed, "This good shop has been ruined like this, and all the customers have been offended. You want to return it to us? Wouldn't it be a waste of my mother's years of management? Grandma, you are not returning the property to the original owner, you are just throwing back a mess."
The old lady took a deep breath, "Then what do you want? You can't really take this to court. The Ye family can't afford to lose this person. If you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your brothers and sisters. If the reputation of the Ye family is ruined, it will be a loss for everyone."
Ye Wenyan nodded, "Grandmother is right. It is because I still have brothers and sisters who are not married, so no matter what I do, I will leave you a glimmer of hope and enough face for the Ye family. This time is the same. I can't watch the Ye family go to court. But grandmother, you have to understand one thing. The achievements left by my grandfather and father are not squandered. Sooner or later, no one will sell the face of people and things in the past. The predecessors pick the trees and the descendants enjoy the shade. You, the person who picks the leaves, must also be merciful. Don't pick all the leaves. Leave some for future generations."
After she finished speaking, she walked away. A group of people followed behind her, in a mighty procession. The old lady stood in the restaurant looking out, and kept thinking about what Ye Wenyan said.
But she couldn't figure it out. In her opinion, she only picked the leaves from the first house, and she didn't just throw them away, but stuck them to the second house. It was impossible for the first house to divide it equally.
The restaurant's title deed had been re-registered with the government, and was personally delivered back to the general's residence by an official and handed over to the Mu family.
Because Feng Zhaolian stopped complaining and Old Madam Ye paid enough ransom, the Jiang couple were released from the yamen.
Old Madam Ye sent the person out of Lin'an overnight and sent him to his hometown, Xiu'an County.
The next day, Princess Guiyue left the capital and bid farewell to the capital of Northern Qi where she had lived for a month.
Quan Qingcheng sent His Royal Highness Prince Chen to see him off, but he only escorted him out of Lin'an City. In addition to the remaining Guiyue attendants, the envoys sent by Northern Qi to Guiyue Kingdom also left with Feng Zhaolian.
The envoy went there with a mission, carrying the compensation money calculated by Quan Qingcheng in his arms, and was determined to ask the King of Guiyue for money.
Quan Qingcheng did not hide this matter from Feng Zhaolian. He told her everything when she went to the palace to say goodbye this morning.
Feng Zhaolian had no objection to this. She was even worried that Quan Qingcheng would be embarrassed to take action because the compensation he asked for was too little.
After learning that the request was not a small amount and that the idea was proposed by Zhuier and Ye Chulian, Feng Zhaolian finally felt relieved.
Outside Lin'an City, people were reluctant to see him off...