"Shall I repeat it again?"
Seeing how persistent he was, Qi Huan cautiously probed, "Li Shuchen, why are you telling me all this? Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"
"Will you?" Li Shuchen glanced at her and countered.
"Of course not! So please don't kill me to silence me."
Understanding her thoughts, Li Shuchen became exasperated.
He had bared his heart to her, yet she was worried about being silenced for knowing too much.
He tapped her head, pursed his lips, and decided to ignore her no further.
In the night, Qi Huan did not notice his expression and continued, "Li Shuchen, you said earlier that Little Shitou and the others can stay at the Yunying Caravan. That's wonderful! I'll tell them tomorrow to move there."
"Good."
Having solved the accommodation issue for Little Shitou and the others, Qi Huan slept exceptionally well that night.
The next day, when she arrived at the noodle shop, before she could share the good news, she was informed that someone had scaled the walls and entered the night before.
"Sister Qi, I woke up to pee last night and saw this person sneakily trying to blow knockout powder into Tao Su's room."
"Then, he took a fire-lighter and headed for the kitchen. I immediately woke up my buddies, and we surrounded him and tied him up."
Little Shitou angrily kicked the man bound on the floor.
Looking down, Qi Huan found the man vaguely familiar.
After a moment, she finally recognized him.
"I've seen you before. You're a waiter from the Ruyi Restaurant. Why did you come to our noodle shop in the middle of the night and do these things? What are your intentions?"
The bound Liu the buddy struggled and angrily said, "Release me quickly. I just have sleepwalking disorder and went the wrong way. I didn't do anything. Look, is there any damage to your noodle shop?"
"There's no damage now because Little Shitou and the others foiled your plot," Qi Huan cut to the heart of the matter.
She never expected that after Shopkeeper Chen's failure, instead of backing down, he would escalate matters.
If she hadn't happened to have Little Shitou and the others stay in the kitchen last night, who knows what would have happened?
According to Little Shitou, this waiter clearly intended to set a fire.
To prevent Tao Su and the others from rescuing efforts, he first knocked them out with knockout powder.
But did he consider that if the kitchen caught fire, the adjacent rooms couldn't avoid it either? And that Tao Su and the others, having been knocked out, might have burned to death?
Shopkeeper Chen not only wanted to make money this time but also intended to kill. It was utterly despicable.
Qi Huan was completely enraged. She dragged the waiter by the rope binding him and, making a ruckus along the way, took him to the county office.
On the way, many residents who had just woken up were sweeping snow in front of their doors. Seeing the commotion, they hurriedly dropped their brooms and followed to watch.
"What's happening? What is Miss Qi going to do? Why has she tied up a man?"
"Don't ask me, who should I ask? Let's just follow and see, then we'll know."
"I recognize that man. He's a waiter from the Ruyi Restaurant. Why has Miss Qi tied him up?"
The crowd, full of puzzlement, followed Qi Huan all the way to the county office.
She picked up the drum beaters and struck three times.
The drumbeats reached the inner courtyard, and the court police came out and summoned her inside.
In the main hall, Chen the county magistrate hurried over, tying his waistband as he walked.
After taking his seat, he yawned, but as soon as he saw Li Shuchen standing behind the woman, his sleepiness vanished instantly.
During the previous incident with Manager Lai, he had no evidence and returned empty-handed, which was quite embarrassing.
This time, he had to scrutinize every detail and handle the case impeccably, showing this former prince what he was capable of.
With this thought, he cleared his throat, struck the wooden bell, and inquired, "Who is addressing the court and for what reason?"
"In response to Your Honor, I am Qi Huan, the chef of Qi's Noodle Shop, here to file a complaint against a waiter from the Ruyi Restaurant. He took advantage of the night to knock out Tao Su and Nuan Dong at our noodle shop and attempted to set fire to the kitchen."
"Fortunately, he didn't know there were people guarding the kitchen, and he was caught red-handed. Although he failed, his intentions were criminal and cannot be overlooked. Setting a fire not only would have burned down the kitchen but could have caused a wider fire, resulting in casualties. Especially for Tao Su and the others who were knocked out, the danger was even greater."
"I implore Your Honor to render justice for us."
As soon as she finished speaking, before Chen the county magistrate could respond, the crowd outside began discussing.
"What grievances and grudges would make someone want to burn down another's property!"
"Didn't you hear? Miss Qi said this man is a waiter from the Ruyi Restaurant... It must have been Shopkeeper Chen's orders!"
"Yesterday, Shopkeeper Chen bribed Mr. Qin and his wife to go to Qi's Noodle Shop and extort money, but Miss Qi saw through it. He had to pay compensation and lost face. Shopkeeper Chen has always sought revenge. He must have been infuriated and planned this despicable act at night!"
"Outrageous! Tomorrow, I'll go to the Ruyi Restaurant and throw rotten eggs at it!"
"Fool, do eggs cost nothing? Throw something else!"
The discussion outside grew louder, enraging Chen the county magistrate, whose beard flew awry. He struck the wooden bell fiercely and scolded, "Silence!"
Below, Liu the buddy was about to argue, but Chen's shout scared him, and the words he was about to say retreated back down his throat. He could only mumble, "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, I'm wronged..."
Seeing Liu's suspicious appearance, Chen the county magistrate immediately disliked him.
Turning to Qi Huan, he asked, "He doesn't admit it. Do you have any evidence? Present it!"
"In response to Your Honor, I have witness testimony and physical evidence."
The knockout powder and fire-lighter were presented one by one.
Then, a doctor was summoned to examine Tao Su and Nuan Dong's conditions.
Next, Little Shitou gave a vivid reenactment, mimicking the actions as he narrated, "I saw this shadowy figure and immediately woke up my buddies. Together, we surrounded him."
"Although he was bigger than us, we outnumbered him. He couldn't fend off four hands with just two fists and was quickly subdued!"
After the evidence was presented, Chen the county magistrate asked Liu the buddy, "How do you refute this?"
"In response to Your Honor, this humble one merely had a sleepwalking episode and went the wrong way. I didn't intend anything! Look, is there any damage to the noodle shop?"
As soon as he finished, the wooden bell struck again!
Chen the county magistrate glared, unsatisfied, "Do I look like a fool to you?"
"If you were sleepwalking, why didn't you burn your own house? Why did you go out of your way to someone else's?"
"Guards, take him and give him ten hard lashes. Make him tell the truth first."
The court police quickly brought out a long bench, forced Liu the buddy onto it, and took positions on either side. One lash followed another as they whipped him, eliciting shrieks.
Soon, the ten lashes were complete.
Liu the buddy still refused to tell the truth, insisting he was merely sleepwalking.
He owed the gambling den a significant debt, and Shopkeeper Chen promised to help pay it off if the plan succeeded. Even if it failed, as long as he didn't confess like Mr. Qin and his wife had, Shopkeeper Chen would still help pay off his debt.
For the money, he couldn't confess.
However, he didn't expect Chen the county magistrate to be so determined to get to the bottom of this case.
The strong-willed Chen the county magistrate tossed down another token and gritted his teeth, "Give him more. Keep whipping him until he confesses. I want to see whose mouth is harder, his or my lashes!"
After the time it took to burn an incense stick, the result was clear - Chen's lashes were harder.
Liu the buddy lay gasping on the bench. He had thought that if he refused to confess and hadn't caused actual harm to Qi's Noodle Shop, at worst Chen the county magistrate would sentence him to a few years in prison, which was better than being hacked to death by the gambling den for his debts.
He never imagined Chen the county magistrate would order him whipped nearly to death. The county magistrate's reputation for harsh punishments was well-deserved.
Liu the buddy was caught in a dilemma.
If he confessed, Shopkeeper Chen wouldn't help pay off his debt, and he would be killed by the gambling den.
If he didn't confess, he would be whipped to death right then by Chen the county magistrate.
Death now or death later, it was still death. But he preferred the latter.
Liu the buddy spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted, "I confess!... Stop whipping me!"
