sjar Chapter 367 Who exactly are you people?
Chapter 367 Who exactly are you people?
Upon hearing this, the woman immediately sat down on the ground and started throwing a tantrum, crying out, "Oh dear, everyone come quick! We're just passing by and need a bowl of water!"
I never imagined this shop owner was so heartless; she actually thought we had dirtied her shop and tried to poison us to death...
Now they refuse to acknowledge me and even want to feed my grandson excrement. I'm a poor widow and orphan; I deserve to be treated like this!
The woman plopped down on the ground, pounding her hands on the blue brick floor, her wailing instantly drowning out the noise of the street.
Her grandson, startled, burst into tears, clutching her clothes tightly with his little hands, looking quite pitiful.
The pedestrians who were originally passing by heard the commotion and immediately gathered around, discussing it amongst themselves.
"What's wrong with this shopkeeper? They poisoned my water when I asked for a bowl?"
"Feeding children with feces? That's going too far!"
"Good heavens! How immoral! How can you bully the elderly, weak, women and children like this!"
The whispers surged towards Gao Mengli and Lin Xi like a tidal wave, even the vegetable vendor next to them frowned and chimed in.
"Young lady, no matter what, they have a child with them. Even if you don't want to give them water, you shouldn't poison them and say such harsh words!"
That's not true!
A loud voice came from outside the crowd, and everyone instinctively made way for each other.
Just then, Wang, the manager of the restaurant across the street, walked over, fanning himself with a folding fan, a somewhat "fair" expression on his face.
“I saw it clearly from upstairs. These two never gave the old woman a kind look from the beginning, and now they’re being accused of poisoning her. It’s clear that this shop’s character is truly worrisome!”
He paused, then deliberately raised his voice so that everyone around could hear, "Everyone should remember this: when this store opens in the future, try not to eat here!"
If I were to be poisoned to death one day, or suffer injustice, who would I turn to for justice?
We, the neighbors, can't just stand by and watch honest people get bullied, and we certainly can't let this kind of unscrupulous shop ruin the reputation of the whole street!
Upon hearing this, the pedestrians who were still hesitating immediately nodded in agreement.
That makes a lot of sense, and they have no reason not to believe it.
The vegetable vendor chimed in, "Manager Wang is right! The most important thing in doing business is conscience. This shop even bullies widows and orphans; it's definitely unreliable!"
Lin Xi rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward. "Hey, what are you saying while looking at this?"
Don't say that my good intentions turned into poisoning. Just considering how you're turning white into black, can I say that these two people were also hired by you to smear our store?
"You're the one who hired these two, right? After all, we all run the same restaurant, so you just needed someone to help out!"
Shopkeeper Wang snapped his folding fan shut, his expression instantly changing. He pointed at Lin Xi and said urgently,
"How dare you slander me like this!"
I, Wang, have run a restaurant on this street for over twenty years, and I've always been upright and honest. How could I possibly do such a despicable thing!
As he spoke, he deliberately moved closer to the crowd, saying, "Everyone, please judge for yourselves, I have no grudge against her, why would I need to frame someone?"
"Make way, make way! This is official business; unauthorized personnel must step aside!"
The crowd instantly stirred, and people quickly moved aside to make way for each other.
Several yamen runners escorted a stern-faced county magistrate as he walked over.
Shopkeeper Wang, who had been stiff, suddenly relaxed, his eyes lighting up instantly. "Your Excellency, it was they who caused trouble and poisoned my widowed grandson!"
The magistrate glanced at it only once, then waved his hand, "Take it down!"
Upon receiving the order, the constables immediately rolled up their sleeves and moved closer to Gao Mengli and Lin Xi.
Upon seeing this, Manager Wang grinned triumphantly, "Hmph, don't you even know whose territory you're on? You dare to open a restaurant on my turf! With your small bodies, you'd all have to spit it out!"
Gao Mengli protected Lin Xi, her brows furrowing.
The government office's appearance was timely; who would believe it if they said it had nothing to do with the restaurant across the street?
Gao Mengli stared at Manager Wang's smug face with icy eyes.
It seems we haven't played enough.
I wonder what color burlap sack this Manager Wang likes. I'll definitely make him choose one tonight.
As the constables approached, she was about to shake them off when a gust of wind suddenly came from above her head.
"boom."
Before anyone could react, a dark figure carrying a person on its shoulder descended from the sky with a gust of wind, landing heavily between the constables and the two men.
It was Black One who descended from the sky.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? I'm still eating. Can't you finish eating first?"
Prefect Li was furious.
He was sitting at home, breakfast was laid out, and he even picked up his chopsticks.
Unfortunately, disaster struck from the sky, and without saying a word, they kidnapped him!
Gao Mengli was startled, "The Prefect?"
Li, the prefect who was perched on Hei Yi's shoulder, looked up and saw Gao Mengli's astonished face. He immediately understood, "It's you again!"
He said, who would be so bold as to kidnap him? If it was these two, then it makes sense.
Gao Mengli's gaze fell on the chopsticks in Prefect Li's hand, and she said sullenly, "Prefect, are you eating?"
After saying that, she nudged Lin Xi next to her with her elbow, "Did you do this?"
Lin Xi puffed out her chest. "Of course! Dou Weiyi said that if there's anything, go to the prefect, and he wouldn't dare not handle it!"
"If you don't use your connections, when will you?"
Gao Mengli nodded and gave Lin Xi an appreciative look.
Prefect Li looked at the two people in front of him who were behaving inhumanly, and his face was almost about to break down.
He glared at Lin Xi with annoyance, then struggled to pat Hei Yi's shoulder: "Put me down! Hurry up!"
Hei Yi did as he was told to relax his shoulder. When Prefect Li landed, he staggered a couple of steps. Once he was steady, he immediately threw the chopsticks in his hand on the ground and straightened his crooked hair.
The county magistrate standing nearby was dumbfounded. When his gaze swept over Prefect Li's back, he felt that the figure looked familiar, but he didn't think about it in detail.
He hurriedly waved his hand at the constables: "What are you standing there for! Seize these two who are treating human life like dirt!"
Just as the constables were about to step forward, Prefect Li suddenly turned around and said, "Magistrate Chen, how dare you act so arrogantly?"
He always said that nothing good ever came of seeing those two.
So it turns out, we've gotten ourselves into trouble.
The shout made everyone stop in their tracks, and the county magistrate finally came to his senses and saw Prefect Li's face clearly.
His legs went weak with fright, and he hurriedly knelt down, his official robes trembling, "This humble servant greets Your Excellency the Prefect! I failed to recognize you earlier and have been very rude. I beg Your Excellency's forgiveness!"
The entire room fell completely silent.
Shopkeeper Wang never expected that the person who "fell from the sky" was actually the prefect, and he immediately knelt down on the ground.
Manager Wang knelt on the ground, which actually calmed his panic somewhat.
He remembered that he was someone close to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince's "money bag," and no matter how powerful the prefect was, he couldn't afford to disrespect the Crown Prince.
Moreover, the prefect was also one of the crown prince's men!
This is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple; we're all one family!
He knelt down and approached the prefect.
She glanced up discreetly, her tone carrying a subtle hint.
"Your Excellency, please calm your anger!"
"This humble citizen...this humble citizen is also working for that person. I was merely trying to clear out the unscrupulous merchants on the street so as not to obstruct that person's path."
He thought he had said this discreetly, and that no third person would know it.
"Oh, so this person is one of Yin Bi's men!"
"Hmm, it seems that's true. Yin Bi is a fool, and this Manager Wang isn't very bright either!"
No sooner had Manager Wang finished speaking than he was caught off guard to find that the couple he was about to arrest were actually bending over, listening to his words and even offering their comments!
Shopkeeper Wang's pupils contracted sharply, and his finger pointing at the couple trembled: "Who...who are you people! How dare you eavesdrop!"
And you even know His Highness's name?