At the entrance of the magistrate’s office, three layers of people were gathered around, especially the guests who had just eaten in the restaurant, all crowded in the front and stretched their necks to look inside.
The magistrate was interrogating Wei, who was kneeling in the lobby.
The Third Prince and Qi Wu’s plan had not been told to the County Magistrate, and during the questioning process the County Magistrate felt that this was a frame-up. He was just about to order Sheriff Zhang to lead the men to check the scene again when a guard waved at the Master with an expressionless face, and the Master was busy putting down the pen in his hand and going over.
The magistrate froze and turned his head to look at him.
The master nodded his head.
The county magistrate took a deep breath and picked up the alarming wood and slapped it heavily, “Someone, go and summon the proprietor of the tavern!”
Master Wei looked up sharply.
When he met his gaze, the county magistrate looked away sheepishly, but he dared not disobey the Third Prince’s order.
The two magistrates took their orders and left the courthouse, mounted their fast horses and headed straight for Gu’s village.
……
Gu Yi was playing chess with the old man, and Song Wan Yue was watching with both hands on her cheeks.
Xiao Si ran in with a thud, “Young master, something’s happened!”
Gu Yi unhurriedly put down his chess pieces before asking, “What is it?”
“Someone died in the tavern, the tavern has been sealed off, and Master Wei has been taken to the court.”
“What?”
Gu Yi rose to his feet, and Song Wan Yue rose with him, “What’s going on?”
“I, I’m not too sure, it was someone passing by who said something and was overheard by the gatekeeper, who ran to tell me.”
“Come on, let’s go to the restaurant and have a look.”
Gu Yi took a big step outside, and Song Wan Yue followed.
“Xu Liang, you also follow and go over there.”
The old man instructed, and Xu Liang answered and followed.
Several people arrived at the tavern in the carriage, the doors of which were wide open, and the tables and chairs that had been knocked over in the lobby could still be seen, with two magistrates guarding the entrance.
Gu Yi got off the carriage and went inside, but was stopped by the magistrates, “Young Master Gu, I’m sorry, no one can go in without Sheriff Zhang’s permission.”
“Get lost!”
Gu Yi seemed to be in a hurry and spoke out of turn.
The two magistrates’ faces fell.
“The two ……”
Xiao Si was quick to stuff a silver ticket into the hand of one of the magistrates, “I’m sorry, our young master is childish, you two don’t take it personally, don’t worry, we won’t damage anything inside when we go in, we just want to ask what’s going on?”
The magistrate retracted his hand and took the silver ticket inside, “The two of us are also on official business, we really can’t let you pass ……”
Speaking of this, he lowered his voice, “However, we can secretly call someone out for you to ask.”
“Many thanks, many thanks.”
The magistrate gestured for them to go to the side door, and he went in through the front door and went to the back yard and called out to one of the fellows who was running the hall at the time to go to the side door.
“Young master.”
Boss Wei was taken away, they were ordered not to leave the restaurant, the news could not get out and the fellows were going to die of anxiety.
“What’s going on?”
The mate told what was going on, “This must be someone setting us up.”
“Are you all okay?”
The mate shook his head, “Yeah.”
“Tell them to take it easy, Boss Wei will be back soon.”
The mate was taken back.
Gu Yi went back to the carriage with a sullen face, “Go to the county court!”
……
When he arrived at the entrance of the county courthouse, someone saw Gu Yi as soon as he got off the carriage and then shouted, “The young master of the Gu family is here!”
The onlookers quickly made a way for Gu Yi and Song Wan Yue to walk in.
Seeing the two enter, the county magistrate had a headache.
“My lord.”
The two men stood and bowed to him, and the County Magistrate counted with them. The only thing on his mind now was to hurry up and get to the examination day, whether it was a promotion or a dispatch, he didn’t want to be the magistrate of Qingping anymore, nor did he want to manage this mess.
“Two ……”
He looked sternly, “trespassing in the lobby is subject to the board, this official remembered that you are still young, so I will not pursue your responsibility, go home quickly.”
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the market.
“I have also sent someone to summon Gu Qian, he will be here soon, what do you know, you little brat, why don’t you go back now!”
Gu Yi sent screwed up and sat down on the ground with a poof, “I just won’t go, I want to see who dares to do anything to me?”
The Third Prince not only prevented him from sending his men to check again, but also sent word for him to send Gu Qian over, so it was obvious that he had an agenda.
“How dare you! Someone drag him to me ……”
“My lord ……”
The guards came over once again, this time walking directly to the magistrate’s side, looking at Gu Yi with a stern look, “The Third Prince summons Gu Yi over.”
“This ……”
The county eunuch subconsciously didn’t want Gu Yi to go over, seeing the guard’s skewed gaze, he was frightened and hurriedly swallowed back the words that followed.
The guard walked over and squatted down in front of Gu Yi, lifted his chin towards the shopkeeper Wei and asked Gu Yi, “Do you want to save him?”
“Yes.”
“Then come with me to the back, our master has a way.”
Gu Yi stood up and followed him over, Song Wan Yue followed, and when she reached the doorway connecting the front court and the back, she was stopped by another guard, “Miss Song, our master is seeing Gu Yi, please wait here for a moment.”
Song Wangyue looked at Gu Yi, who nodded slightly.
Song Wangyue waited in place.
Gu Yi followed the guards to the flower hall.
The Third Prince leaned back lazily in his chair, his eyes slightly closed, his right hand coiled around a pair of jade balls.
“My lord, Gu Yi is here.”
Only then did the Third Prince open his eyes, waving his hand for the guards to retreat, staring at Gu Yi for a long time, sitting up a little straighter and smiling faintly, “You want to save that shopkeeper?”
“Yes.”
“Good deal, half a million plus the recipe for the pill.”
“What half a million and what recipe?”
Gu Yi “doesn’t understand”.
“Don’t pretend to be crazy and foolish.”
“Can I sell my stupidity? Then I’ll sell it to you, just give me 50,000 taels.”
“You ……”
The Third Prince was so angry that he sat up straight, “Gu Yi, are you really toasting the wine and wanting to eat the punishment?”
“I’m allergic to wine, I won’t eat any wine.”
The Third Prince was so angry that he would have had him thrown into the prison right now if it wasn’t for the recipe he was holding.
“If you don’t say the terms again, I’m leaving.”
“I said ……”
The Third Prince gritted his back teeth and spoke out word by word, “Five hundred thousand taels of silver plus the formula for the pill.”
“You’re robbing!”
Gu Yi’s little face turned blue with anger, “My family’s restaurant only earns 50,000 taels of silver a year, you’re asking for 500,000 taels at once, you’re simply a lion, forget it I won’t negotiate with you, I’ll go and get my maternal great grandfather to come and help.”
After saying that, Gu Yi turned around and headed out.