The Prodigal Son

"what?"

Lu Si asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Of course it's true, everyone in our town knows it."

The man replied, "He used to be very famous. Every time he returned to his hometown, he was always surrounded by a large entourage! Later, it seems he was implicated in the assassination of the crown prince. After serving half a year in prison, he returned to our town, but went mad in less than a year. He now demands that everyone bow to him..."

Hearing the waiter's words, Qin Yu suddenly realized what was going on.

He said that the crazy old man still seemed to have some official airs.

Unexpectedly, that crazy old man was actually the governor of Yutian County in the past.

After sending the waiter away, they began to discuss the assassination attempt on the crown prince in hushed tones.

Speaking of this, everyone couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The assassination attempt on the crown prince enraged the usually lenient late emperor.

In Huai County, where the crown prince was assassinated, everyone from the county magistrate to the lowest-ranking official—everyone with a government official title—was executed.

All officials of the seventh rank or above in Haizhou Prefecture and its five counties, as well as officials from the Second Prince's faction, were imprisoned without any explanation.

Nearly half of them did not survive the court's torture and interrogation and died in prison.

The assassination of the former crown prince was the largest miscarriage of justice during the reign of the late emperor, implicating more than a thousand officials of all ranks.

"I heard my father say that the late emperor actually knew that many people were implicated innocently, but he was almost insane at the time, with only one thought in his mind: better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free! That's why so many people were implicated..."

Lü Si picked up the conversation.

At that time, the late emperor was furious and only wanted to avenge his crown prince. No one in the court dared to stop him.

It wasn't until Zhao Luan ascended the throne and the Empress Dowager began ruling from behind the curtain, granting a general amnesty, that the surviving officials who had been imprisoned were released.

However, although those officials were released, they were all stripped of their official status and demoted to commoners!

"I've also heard His Majesty mention this matter by chance."

Ruan Zhi nodded slightly, "Back then, everyone knew that Zhao Yi had sent someone to assassinate the former crown prince. Some of Zhao Yi's men even confessed, but no direct evidence could be found! In his rage, the late emperor disregarded whether there was direct evidence or not and simply placed Zhao Yi under house arrest..."

When the former crown prince Zhao Cheng was mentioned, Ruan Zhi couldn't help but sigh.

This crown prince was the heir to the throne whom the late emperor had carefully nurtured for many years.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, Zhao Cheng was appointed as the Crown Prince.

In his later years, Emperor Xiaowu personally taught Zhao Cheng military strategy.

It can be said that Zhao Cheng was a perfect heir to the throne.

How could the late emperor not go mad when such a perfect heir to the throne was assassinated?

"Of course!"

Lu Si, unusually, did not contradict Ruan Zhi. "The eldest son of the Shi family was assassinated along with the Crown Prince. His father was so angry that he vomited blood and passed away within three months! How much more so for the Crown Prince?"

When the former crown prince Zhao Cheng was mentioned, a rare look of sadness appeared on Lü Si's face.

Although he doesn't remember much about the prince anymore, he does remember being held by the prince when he was a child.

The gold-threaded tiger that he kept in his closet was a gift from the prince.

"Was the eldest son of the Shi family also assassinated along with the crown prince?"

Nan Que'er asked in surprise.

"yes!"

Lu Si nodded, then gestured towards Qin Yu with his lip, "Didn't he tell you?"

Qin Yu rolled her eyes. "Why would I tell her this out of the blue? If you guys hadn't brought it up, I would have completely forgotten about it."

"Too!"

Lu Si sniffed before telling Nan Que'er, "Back when the Shi family patriarch was the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang, the Crown Prince traveled south and passed through Yunhuai. To show his favor to the Shi family, he specially arranged for the eldest son, Shi Zhen, to accompany him on his inspection tour!"

"Shi Zhen did not disappoint the Crown Prince's kindness. My father told me that he died in a posture protecting the Crown Prince!"

"If Shi Zhen hadn't died, the position of Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang would never have fallen into the hands of that bastard Shi Yi..."

Speaking of Shi Yi, Lü Si felt a surge of hatred.

If the Crown Prince were to succeed to the throne, I would be living a very comfortable life now, and who would dare to bully me?

As they spoke, food and drinks were served one after another.

"Didn't we only order one jar of wine per table? Why are you bringing out two jars?"

Nan Que'er frowned and looked at the waiter.

"Sir, you've ordered two jars of wine!"

The waiter pointed to two jars of wine and introduced them: "This jar is Lychee Wine, and this jar is Sunset Glow Rice Wine!"

"Didn't we order the Sunset Rice Wine Bar?"

Ruan Zhi frowned.

"This is what the customer ordered!"

The waiter gestured towards Qin Yu with his chin, "This gentleman is pointing to our wine flag, specifically asking for Xia Guang Fragrant Rice Wine!"

As he spoke, the waiter pointed to a wine flag that read "Xia Guang Xiang Mi" (霞光香米).

Qin Yu was taken aback and immediately ordered someone to bring the wine flag.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that there was a tiny "wine" character under the "Xia Guang Xiang Mi" (霞光香米) label.

Below the character for "alcohol," there is a line of even smaller characters: No refunds after serving!

Well done...!

The final interpretation right belongs to this company!

"Ha ha……"

Qin Yu finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

Screw him!

You who hunt geese all day long will eventually be pecked by them!

He had helped the Empress Dowager organize her birthday banquet through wordplay, but he never expected to encounter such a problem with the culture of small characters today.

Awesome!

The owner of this little restaurant is absolutely a genius!

If this guy were to go to the capital, I doubt I'd have a chance to do anything about organizing the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet!

Amidst his laughter, Qin Yu chuckled and asked the waiter, "If I'm not mistaken, there's quite a price difference between ordinary rice wine and Xiaguangxiang rice wine, isn't there?"

"You're clearly a discerning customer."

The waiter chuckled, "Regular rice wine is 150 coins a jar, while Xia Guang Xiang rice wine is 800 coins a jar!"

"What?"

Yang Jichun flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table. "Aren't you trying to cheat us?"

This fragrant rice, known as "Xiaguang," might still be somewhat distinguishable from ordinary rice.

The difference between this Xia Guang Xiang rice wine and ordinary rice wine is so great that even a ghost could taste it!

This is definitely wine made from ordinary rice, but they're using the "Xiaguang Fragrant Rice Wine" label to overcharge!

"Sir, you can't say that."

The waiter said with a smile, "It's clearly written on our wine flag. This gentleman ordered according to the flag, so of course I'll follow the flag! This Xiaguang fragrant rice is more than four times more expensive than ordinary rice! The wine brewed with Xiaguang fragrant rice is definitely more expensive too!"

"Do you take us for...?"

Yang Jichun was about to lash out when Qin Yu raised his hand to stop him.

"Okay, this one will do!"

Qin Yuchong waved his hand, "I didn't see it clearly myself, don't blame me, go on!"

"Alright, please enjoy your meal!"

The waiter left with a big smile on his face and bowed obsequiously.

"You're just going to let him go like that?"

Lu Si glanced sideways at Qin Yu, "Given your temper, wouldn't you have smashed up his little restaurant?"

"What are you smashing!"

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit!"

Although he was a little annoyed at being scammed, he felt a strange sense of familiarity with the small-character culture in this world!

It was as if I were seeing an old friend who had disappeared for many years.

Just for that sense of familiarity, he was willing to spend the money even though it was a waste!

Even if we were to have a talk with them, that would be something to do after we've finished our business.

"This is unbelievable."

Lu Si glanced at Qin Yu suspiciously, then snorted, "If I didn't want to expose my identity, I would have smashed this shabby restaurant to pieces!"

How dare a small restaurant in a small town rip them off?

"Alright, alright, let's eat!"

Qin Yu smiled and invited everyone to eat.

"etc!"

Nan Que'er subtly winked at them and whispered, "The people in this shop don't seem like good people. I'll observe first!"

As she spoke, Nan Que'er took two jars of wine, sniffed them, and then took out a silver needle to test each dish one by one.

Only after confirming that there were no problems did Nan Que'er nod gently to them...