Zhu Mingxiu watched the two of them playing in tandem, feeling that the situation in front of him was becoming increasingly strange.
Although Xu Kai was of the same rank as him, he was much more experienced.
Xu Kai was different from him. He had only risen through the ranks in recent years thanks to the connections of the Marquis of Xuanping and the Empress Dowager Kang.
This Minister Xu was from one of the Five Great Clans and Seven Prominent Lineages, a scion of the aristocracy!
But instead of relying on his family's prestige, he worked hard and passed the imperial examinations with flying colors.
Since the previous emperor's reign, he had been a trusted official, a true pillar of the court.
...
But now, he was cooperating with a young upstart, an unknown merchant, and even seemed to be boosting this young man in his words.
A multitude of thoughts welled up in Zhu Mingxiu's mind. He was so anxious that he didn't even care about the irony in Xu Kai's words about his abuse of power.
Who cared about abuse of power?
He could see that if this matter wasn't handled properly, he might not even be able to keep his own head!
"What do you want?"
Zhu Mingxiu looked up at Xiao Jingnan, his tone softening.
Xiao Jingnan stood upright in the middle of the hall, his voice clear: "I, a commoner, would like your honor to preside over a trial."
"A trial?"
Zhu Mingxiu was still shocked: "Right now? Here?"
Xiao Jingnan nodded: "Exactly."
Zhu Mingxiu widened his eyes, took a deep breath, and his gaze at Xiao Jingnan became filled with surprise and suspicion.
It was already the third watch of the Hai hour. In a little while, the curfew would be in effect outside.
Yet he was saying that he should hold a trial here and now!
Not to mention how many people this night trial would alarm and how much trouble it would cause, just the fact that they had to invite that noble person out of the mansion overnight would probably not be easy...
Zhu Mingxiu scratched his head and hesitated: "A trial inevitably requires the plaintiff and witnesses to be summoned, but the curfew is about to start. It might be inconvenient..."
Hearing this, Xu Kai took out a token from his waist: "Take my Ministry of Justice token to invite them. The Golden Guards won't stop you."
Zhu Mingxiu was even more shocked.
Was Xu Kai crazy or was he crazy? Was it worth using the token of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice to protect an ordinary merchant in a false accounting case?
"Lord Zhu," Xu Kai looked at him with increasing pity and whispered, "Don't you think about it? Someone who can make that noble person come to file a lawsuit in person can't be an ordinary merchant."
"This..." Zhu Mingxiu's eyes were a bit glazed, and his mind couldn't turn around for a moment.
Xu Kai pulled him onto the chair: "Sit down, Lord Zhu. You have to preside over this trial today."
Zhu Mingxiu was stunned for a while and then whispered to him, "Do you know who the plaintiff in this case is... is..."
"If I didn't know, I wouldn't have someone take the Ministry of Justice token to invite them." Xu Kai laughed heartily, waved his hand, and told someone to add a new pot of tea. "It seems that we two old bones are in for a long night tonight."
Zhu Mingxiu said, "But, but even with your token, we may not be able to invite them. The other side is..."
"Lord Zhu," Xu Kai tapped the table lightly with his index finger and said slowly, "Don't worry. She will surely come tonight."
...
Soon, the official sent to invite the plaintiff indeed brought back a person.
She was slender, with delicate eyebrows and eyes. Every gesture exuded grace.
"Lord Zhu, Lord Xu."
The woman curtsied slightly but didn't perform a full bow. She just lowered her head slightly and stood there gracefully.
Zhu Mingxiu quickly stood up: "Miss Xiao..."
Li Wanming stared at her blankly, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
The person who came was none other than Xiao Yingchu, the acting manager of her wine shop for the past few months.
"Miss Xiao, do you have any evidence to support your accusation that the Li Family Wine Shop passed off inferior products as superior ones and concealed taxes?"
Xu Kai glanced at Xiao Jingnan and took the lead to speak.
When he spoke to Xiao Yingchu, his voice was also gentle, even amiable.
Xiao Yingchu still kept her head down, but her words were crisp and clear. Each word floated clearly into Li Wanming's ears.
"Of course, I have evidence. I was originally a student at the Zhaoyu Academy. I worked at the old shop of the Li Family Wine Shop for a while and was promoted to the position of acting manager thanks to the trust of the owner."
"I was extremely grateful for the owner's trust. But, but..."
Xiao Yingchu bit her lips, and her voice trembled slightly. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation, but finally, she gritted her teeth and said the rest of the words.
"But later, I found that the wine shop was not what I had originally imagined."
"Perhaps the expenses of running the academy were too high, or perhaps they suffered losses during the competition with the Imperial Academy. So, Mr. Cheng and Miss Cheng took a desperate gamble..."
She paused slightly, and her face turned deathly pale for a moment, but she quickly adjusted her expression, and her voice became louder again.
"They replaced the high-quality Yunzhou rice originally used to make the Golden Jade Hall wine with ordinary small-town rice. The plums and peaches used for flavoring were also replaced with a batch of inferior goods."
"However, the owner, Miss Cheng, asked me to still record the accounts as if we were using Yunzhou rice and high-quality materials to conceal taxes. In addition, she asked me to underreport the income. As a result, in just over a month, the concealed taxes alone amounted to more than three thousand taels..."
The more Xiao Yingchu spoke, the smoother and calmer she became. In the end, her face was completely expressionless, even showing a sense of despair like someone who was determined to go all out. She poured out all her words like reciting a textbook.
From beginning to end, she didn't look at Li Wanming once.
Hearing her words, Li Wanming couldn't help but stagger. She was struck like by lightning.
Her ears were buzzing, as if every pore on her body had been shattered.
What was Xiao Yingchu saying...
She said that she had asked her to secretly replace the materials for the Golden Jade Hall wine? And to underreport the income?
How could this be possible!
The Li Family Wine Shop was her foundation, her lifeblood. How could she do something to ruin her own business? Moreover, passing off inferior products as superior ones and falsifying accounts was not her style at all!
Li Wanming stared closely at Xiao Yingchu, as if she wanted to dig out the truth from her.
But Xiao Yingchu always looked straight ahead and refused to meet her gaze.
Li Wanming's mind went blank.
She couldn't figure out what was going on.
In the past month or so, Xiao Yingchu had come to report the accounts to her every five days. Every time, she was gentle, organized, and handled things properly. She had the demeanor of a well-bred young lady. There was nothing wrong with her...
When Li Wanming was researching the Dragon Paste Wine, although she often stayed at the new shop on Changming Street, Xiao Yingchu, who was at the old shop, also gave her a lot of help.
They had gotten along easily, happily, and harmoniously for such a long time.
Why did she suddenly turn against her now?
It was like a beautiful woman with a painted skin. She had always been gentle and submissive, but one day, she suddenly tore off her human skin and revealed the hideous face behind...