vrcanaries Chapter 167 Punishment
Chapter 167 Punishment
Jiang Xing called Fei Xing over with a stack of banknotes, then looked at the shopkeeper and said, "How much silver do you need for this shop? Name a price."
When the shopkeeper heard that his shop was going to be sold, he thought that he had already offended the princess and the prince, and he might not be able to continue doing business here in the future. It would be better for him to accept the favor and let Prince Jin buy it. He could take the money and leave with his family to live a carefree life!
He immediately said, "Five thousand taels! Five thousand taels of silver, and I will sell this shop to the prince!"
But Jiang Xing shook his head: "No, I'm talking about the price of bringing others with you. You also have a share of the shop."
He looked up at the crowd of people, hundreds of eyes fixed on him. "Didn't the shopkeeper just say that you're running a small business on Chaihu Street, operating honestly and profiting little? To compensate you, I'm buying this shop. You'll still be the shopkeeper. I'll give you two thousand taels. Do you think that's enough?"
"Hiss—two thousand taels!"
"Manager Wang is so lucky!"
"His shop isn't in a good location. Five thousand taels for the shop and the owner would be about right, but he's asking for seven thousand taels in total!"
"Buy mine, buy mine, Your Majesty, my shop also sells..."
Amidst the crowd, other merchants on this street could no longer sit still.
Why was it that Manager Wang's copper coin shop not only did not receive any punishment for causing such trouble, but also received so many benefits!
The extra two thousand taels would take a small shop like theirs at least several years to earn!
When Manager Wang saw that Jiang Xing was actually willing to pay seven thousand taels, he was at a loss for a moment.
On the contrary, the two shop assistants, upon hearing what Jiang Xing had said earlier, that the monthly wages of people in Prince Jin's Mansion were three times higher than those in other places, immediately said, "We are willing to follow the prince! We are willing to be assistants in the prince's shop!"
But Manager Ji gave him a hurried and anxious look, implying that he must not agree.
Shopkeeper Wang was embarrassed by his clerks and feared the power of Prince Jin's mansion. He calculated that seven thousand taels was indeed far above the market price. After a moment's thought, he ignored Manager Ji's glance and nodded absentmindedly, agreeing.
The two guys immediately exclaimed in joy.
Manager Ji was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he couldn't lash out, his back teeth were almost broken.
Jiang Xing signaled Feixing to hand over the seven thousand taels of silver to Manager Wang.
Seeing the real gold and silver bills, Wang's eyes narrowed into slits, "Your Majesty, you are so generous!"
The crowd's voices of envy and jealousy were endless, and even the doorman was furious.
We were clearly doing this together, so why did he get more benefits?
Manager Ji closed his eyes and it was over.
The two assistants were so excited by the silver notes in Manager Wang's hand that they were arguing over how much to give them.
Then he heard Jiang Xing say slowly: "Now that the silver has been obtained, Feixing will work with Manager Wang to handle the red deed. Now, everyone should follow me to the Prince Jin's Mansion to report!"
His nonchalant tone made it seem as if he was joking, but upon closer listening, the last few words carried a cold ferocity.
Wha, what?
At this moment, Shopkeeper Wang suddenly felt something was wrong.
He looked at Manager Ji again as if asking for help, and saw that he was grimacing with anger. If his eyes could turn into knives, Manager Ji's would definitely be a sharp knife array.
"Your Majesty!" Seeing that Manager Ji was just angry and had no idea what to do, Shopkeeper Wang quickly swallowed his saliva and said, "Well, even if we sell the shop, I'm still the shopkeeper. I still have a lot of things to do in the shop. How about I go to the palace after I'm done with my work?"
Jiang Xing said lazily: "No, today."
Shopkeeper Wang turned his head tremblingly, only to see that Manager Ji had turned his head away and was no longer looking at him.
He was suddenly panicked.
"Your Majesty, I'm not selling this shop anymore!"
"You won't sell it? You've already received the silver, and everyone just heard you say you wanted to sell it. Now you're trying to trick me into not selling it? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?!"
Jiang Xing was furious, and dozens of guards behind him all stood up.
Jiang Xing raised his chin, and nine guards appeared instantly, coming towards the three of them in groups of three and grabbing their shoulders.
Several guards were whispering to each other.
"I wonder if the medical officer who was in the prince's private prison is dead?"
"He was already dead, his hands were chopped off by Master Feixing!"
"What about the maid who later tried to harm the princess?"
"Where is the man? He was beaten to death on the spot by the prince..."
Shopkeeper Wang was so frightened by what he heard that he cried out in panic, "Your Highness, Your Highness, listen to me! Don't take me away! Don't take me! I know everything that happened today! We were hired by Steward Ji to harm Madam Yu! I'll tell you everything!"
The crowd was boiling again.
what?
This old Wang actually did something like deliberately wrongly accusing a good person?!
"Old Wang, you are so heartless!"
"You actually accepted money and wrongly accused a good person. How can you be so unjust?"
"You asked someone to invite us to come and see us earlier. So we are also a part of your money-making scheme?"
"..."
All the accusations entered the ears of Manager Wang. He lowered his head and sobbed, his body struggling tirelessly.
Jiang Xing waved his hand, and several guards stopped immediately.
He looked at Shopkeeper Wang and smiled: "Shopkeeper Wang, do you know the whole story? But I don't like people who tell lies. Shopkeeper Wang, you have to think it over carefully."
Thinking of the whispers of the guards just now, Manager Wang's heart trembled.
He hurriedly said, "I promise, Your Majesty, I promise it is true!"
Lu Xuan naturally knew Jiang Xing's temper, so he was not surprised by the reversal at this moment.
She patted Nanny Yu gently. Those people had wronged her before, but now they were finally going to tell the truth. Her grievances would be cleared up. Tears suddenly welled up in Nanny Yu's eyes.
When Manager Ji heard Manager Wang's voice, the expression on his face changed instantly. Although he had been prepared from the beginning, when the alarm bells really started ringing, he still wanted to find a life-saving straw.
Shopkeeper Wang's voice rang out, "Your Highness, it was Manager Ji who brought me some money to ask if Madam Yu often came to our shop to buy things. I thought it was just a reputation spread by word of mouth, so I told him the truth. It is indeed the case!"
"Later, he gave me a hundred taels of silver and asked me to arrange for my men to find a pretext to detain Madam Yu. It had to be something that everyone knew about. The main purpose was..."
He glanced at Lu Xuan tremblingly and said, "The main purpose is to lure the princess out. As for other matters, they are not my business. As long as the princess is ruined and comes out, that's all that matters..."
As Shopkeeper Wang was speaking, curses were heard from the crowd.
He was worried that those people would all point their spearheads at him, so he pointed at the servant and said anxiously, "And this person, this servant, he also took the silver. His main purpose was to spread rumors about the princess. He is also guilty of a heinous crime. Please forgive me, Your Highness, please forgive me..."
Manager Wang knelt on the ground and kowtowed, apologizing. The servant saw that he had been pushed out.
Seeing Jiang Xingzheng looking at him with a smile, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he kowtowed as well: "Your Highness, please forgive me, Your Highness, please forgive me. I was bewitched by evil spirits and blinded by money, so I did something that was unfair to Your Highness. Please forgive me, Your Highness, please spare my life. It was the Ji family who wanted to harm you, not me. I was just doing it for money..."
Jiang Xing raised his chin, and several guards quickly escorted the two men to their feet.
Blood was flowing from the heads of both men, and their tears and snot had long been mixed together.
Jiang Xing raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Tell me clearly, who gave you the silver? And who instructed you to murder the princess and Prince Jin's mansion?"
Beads of sweat rolled down Manager Ji's forehead. His heart seemed to be on the edge of a cliff. If someone moved even slightly, he would fall into the abyss and be shattered to pieces.
Shopkeeper Wang's legs went limp as he answered Jiang Xing incoherently, "Yes, it was Chief Steward Ji who gave us the money. It was Second Miss Ji who instructed us to murder the princess..."
Manager Ji's brain exploded with a bang, and at that moment, he saw a shadow that made him despair.