Shen Lixue frowned. This man was really clever. If he had started cursing at that person, it would have confirmed that Li Fan was the mastermind. But by remaining silent and not saying a word, the truth remained a mystery.
“A bank note doesn’t prove anything!” Shen Lixue looked at the man: “Huitong Bank has branches all over the country. Some customers who come to Zuixianlou to dine also pay their bills with Huitong Bank bank notes…”
The crowd's suspicious gazes also fell on that man. They had the same silver notes, so his words were not convincing.
"This..." The man thought for a moment, then pointed in a direction and said, "Young Master Li is in that room. When he gave his orders, he brought two servants, two guards, and two beautiful women with him!"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to that room, which was a guest room in an inn.
Shen Lixue gave a signal, and the guards understood. They lightly touched the ground with their feet, leaped into the air, and instead of going through the door, jumped directly into the room through the window.
Inside the room, Li Fan was whispering sweet nothings to two beauties while waiting for news. He hadn't interfered in this matter from beginning to end; he had simply bribed others to do it. If it was successful, that would be best; even if it failed, he would definitely not be held responsible.
I really did a smart thing!
Suddenly, with a loud bang, a guard burst into the room, ruining his plans. He thought it was one of his own guards, so he frowned and shouted, "Get out..." Before he could finish the word "get out," the guard was already in front of him, grabbed his collar, dragged him to the window, and jumped off.
The other guards also grabbed the two women who were slumped on the ground, their faces pale, and leaped out of the room.
The servants and guards who were guarding outside the door heard the commotion and burst into the room. Before they could even see what was happening inside, they were acupunctured by the guards and taken to Zuixianlou.
"What are you doing, what are you doing!" In mid-air, Li Fan struggled and shouted, trying to wave his hand to push the guards away. The moment he landed, he saw the middle-aged man and the others being held tightly. He was stunned. Looking at the crowd of onlookers, he immediately realized that his plan had failed. He cursed inwardly, "What a bunch of good-for-nothings! They can't even handle such a small matter!"
Looking up, Li Fan saw Shen Lixue's beautiful face and was momentarily dazed before snapping back to reality. He frowned and roared angrily, "Shen Lixue, you are incredibly audacious! How dare you send people to capture me!" Shen Lixue was just a woman and nothing to fear; why would he be afraid of her?
“Someone testified that Young Master Li bribed others to smash up Zuixianlou. I ordered someone to invite you here to testify. What’s wrong with that?” Shen Lixue asked instead of answering, her tone slightly cold.
Li Fan's disdainful gaze swept over the middle-aged man and his companions, and he said arrogantly, "They're nothing but lowly commoners. You believe what they say?"
Those lowly people are indeed unreliable. They betrayed him after the plan failed. They're really asking for trouble. Once this is over, I'll definitely deal with them.
“But they not only produced the silver notes that Young Master Li bribed them, they also correctly identified the people Young Master Li brought!” Shen Lixue looked behind Li Fan and saw two beauties, two servants, and two guards, without missing a single detail.
"I walked into the inn openly and honestly. What's so strange about them seeing the number of servants?" Li Fan held his head high, looking arrogantly at Shen Lixue. He couldn't punish her based on the testimonies of these lowly people. He would teach Shen Lixue a lesson after she was speechless.
Shen Lixue looked at the man who had confessed: "Do you have any other evidence to prove what you said?" This man knew a lot of things and should be able to provide other evidence, which would save her the trouble.
In order to avoid being punished, the man confessed to revealing Li Fan's identity. He felt guilty, but since Li Fan arrived, he had been calling them lowly people and openly and secretly cursing them. The man's guilt had long since vanished, and he was filled with resentment, wanting to teach this noble young master of the Li family a lesson.
Hearing Shen Lixue's question, he cooperated readily, carefully recalling the scene with the middle-aged man: "I am not very talented, but I once accompanied my elder brother into Young Master Li's room. His inner room was scented with jasmine, and there were many foods on the round table that I could not name. I heard Young Master Li introduce them to the two beauties, saying they were lychees, grapes, pomegranates..."
Lychees are produced in the south, and while they are available in the capital, they are extremely expensive because they have just been harvested, and commoners would not buy them. As for grapes and pomegranates, they have also just been picked, are scarce, and are expensive. They are currently fruits reserved for the nobility and have not yet become common among ordinary people. They are rarely sold in the market, which is sufficient evidence to accuse Li Fan.
Seeing the plates of half-eaten, expensive fruit brought by the guards, everyone believed the man's words. They looked at Li Fan with strange eyes, convinced that he had really bribed them to smash up Zuixianlou.
Zuixianlou is the number one restaurant in the capital. They hadn't provoked Li Fan, yet he sent people to pretend to be dead, vandalize the place, and disrupt the guests' dining experience. They even nearly destroyed Zuixianlou. It was simply unreasonable.
"Young Master Li, what else do you have to say?" Shen Lixue looked at Li Fan, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"They're framing me!" Seeing the contemptuous and mocking looks from the crowd, Li Fan's anger surged. Refusing to admit guilt, he kicked the nearest man hard: "You lowly commoner, who bribed you to frame me? Tell the truth!"
Before his feet even touched the ground, the guards grabbed him by the collar and dragged him aside.
Dongfang Heng's cold voice rang out in the hall: "Give Li Fan fifty lashes and lock him in the Shuntian Prefecture prison. He shall not be released without my permission. If Prime Minister Li wants him, let him come to me!"
Li Fan was instantly stunned. How could Dongfang Heng be at Zuixianlou? He had originally planned to ruin Zuixianlou first, so that even if Dongfang Heng found out later, Zuixianlou's reputation would be damaged, and he would be powerless to salvage it.
To his surprise, Dongfang Heng was dining at Zuixianlou. The troublemakers he sent ran right into him. Had he not checked the almanac before leaving home? His luck was terrible. Dongfang Heng rarely came to Zuixianlou, and he just happened to run into him. If he had known he was there, he wouldn't have dared to send anyone to cause trouble even if he had a hundred lives.
Everyone was stunned, exchanging glances and bewildered looks. Prince An was also present; Young Master Li had made such a grave mistake—he was truly in deep trouble.
"Yes!" The constable from Shuntian Prefecture clasped his hands in a slight bow and ordered his soldiers to tie up Li Fan and drag him aside to beat him severely. Amidst the sounds of the beating, his screams grew weaker and weaker, and the men he had bribed turned pale with fright.
A guard pulled the man who had confessed to his feet and handed him two gleaming silver ingots: "This is your reward. You can go home now!"
"Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!" The man hadn't expected to get money for confessing halfway through his journey. He hugged the silver and grinned from ear to ear. He bit down hard on the silver, which hurt his teeth, but his smile only grew wider. The silver was real.
The blows landed heavily on their bodies, and the others grimaced in pain, filled with regret. If they had known this would happen, they would have confessed earlier. Now, not only were they going to be beaten, but they also had to compensate Zuixianlou for its losses.
"Ladies and gentlemen, something happened at the restaurant, I'm so sorry, so sorry." With the matter resolved, the manager clasped his hands in a fist salute to the guests and smiled, "Today's lunch is all on the house!"
"Great!" Having enjoyed the excitement and the free lunch, everyone was naturally delighted and dispersed to their private rooms for their meal.
The lobby was a complete mess, and the waiters were rushing around cleaning it up quickly.
Shen Lixue slowly walked up the stairs, looked at the shopkeeper who was calculating on the abacus, and raised the corners of her mouth. He really knew how to do business. No wonder Zuixianlou became the number one restaurant in the capital in just a few years.
Pushing open the door to the private room, Shen Lixue immediately saw the man in white standing by the window. He was tall and slender, with a cold and aloof aura, making him unapproachable.
She frowned and walked over slowly: "The Prime Minister's guards are quite capable; they actually found out that you are the owner of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion!"
“I did not deliberately hide my identity, so it’s not surprising that someone found out!” Dongfang Heng turned around, his dark eyes as deep as a pool: “In front of everyone, Li Fan made a big mistake and was severely punished. It concerns the reputation of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. Even if Prime Minister Li is very angry, he will come to his rescue soon.”
With such a foolish grandson as Li Fan, Prime Minister Li's lifelong reputation has been completely ruined by him.
When the news reached the Prime Minister's residence, Prime Minister Li was furious. He smashed a teacup with a slap and glared at Dongfang Zhan, who was standing a step away: "How many times have I reminded you not to clash with Dongfang Heng again? Why won't you listen? Even if you want to compete with Dongfang Heng, you should consider the bigger picture. It's just a restaurant. No matter how much profit it makes, how much silver can it earn? What difference does it make if you shut it down? The Holy Prince's Mansion is a royal mansion, rich and powerful. Do you think it needs a few hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Dongfang Zhan shook his head, a hint of gloom flashing in his sharp eyes, and said impatiently, "I did not instruct Cousin Fan. Smashing Zuixianlou was his own idea!"
Thinking of Li Fan's lecherous and filthy appearance, Dongfang Zhan was also furious. He smashed up Zuixianlou and was actually beaten and thrown into jail. What a fool who was good for nothing and good for making trouble.
"You really didn't instigate Fan'er?" Dongfang Zhan was Prime Minister Li's most outstanding descendant, and the younger generation of the Li family always followed his lead. Although Li Fan was his cousin, he was brainless and listened to Dongfang Zhan in everything. Therefore, when Li Fan's scheme against others was exposed, he immediately thought of the mastermind behind it all, Dongfang Zhan.
"Jiu Xian Lou is just a restaurant. If I smash it, Dongfang Heng can just open another one. I'm not stupid enough to waste my time on useless work!" When he deals with Dongfang Heng, he will definitely target his foundation, major issues, or people that Dongfang Heng cares about. Why would he touch a restaurant that is not even in the running?
"That scoundrel Fan'er!" Prime Minister Li was furious. He slammed his fist on the table, making the noble sandalwood table shake back and forth. Of all people to provoke, he had to provoke Dongfang Heng.
"Grandpa, I'm going to the prison to fetch Cousin Fan!" Prime Minister Li is getting old and shouldn't travel too much. Although Dongfang Zhan dislikes Li Fan, he is, after all, his cousin and Prime Minister Li's grandson, so he took the initiative to rescue Li Fan.