Sai Diaochan was so frightened that her face turned pale and she was shaking like chaff. She couldn't say a word. All she could do was kowtow and beg for mercy, "Sir, have mercy on me. Sir, have mercy on me. I know I'm wrong. I know I'm wrong."
She also didn't expect that Xiang Nan would actually donate all the gift money he received, which was thousands of taels of snowflakes and silver, which was probably enough for him, a cook, to make a lifetime.
She also didn't expect that Lou Zhixian did not keep the money secretly, but actually put it into the county treasury, and was really going to benefit the people of Qixia Town. This was completely beyond her knowledge.
"Humph, according to the Ming Dynasty Law, you falsely accused Lou Magistrate of accepting bribes in the name of nephew Li Xiulian's wedding, and you will be charged with a third degree. A hundred sticks, three thousand miles of travel." The magistrate immediately pronounced the sentence, "Separate sentence, compensate Li Xiulian two thousand miles." One thousand five hundred taels of silver."
Hearing the prefect's sentence, Sai Diaochan was so frightened that she lost her wits.
A hundred sticks can travel three thousand miles. With a body as fragile as hers, she might die after being hit with only ten sticks. Even if he managed to survive a hundred strokes, he would still die after being exiled for three thousand miles.
"Sir, please have mercy, but this little girl will never dare to do it again. Sir, please have mercy, but this little girl will never dare to do it again." She kowtowed repeatedly, breaking her forehead.
As for Xiaocui, she was so frightened that she froze and had no idea of begging for mercy.
"Sir, since she is young and ignorant, and this is her first offender, please be kind and spare her this life." Seeing this, Magistrate Lou couldn't bear it, and begged the magistrate.
"Zhixian Lou, do you know that if the crime of accepting bribes is found out, according to the Ming Law, you will be sentenced to skinning and pulling grass." The magistrate reminded.
The Ming Dynasty severely punished officials for corruption and bribery, let alone bribes exceeding two thousand taels. Even a few hundred taels of silver is enough to be skinned and stripped.
"Xiaguan understands." Lou Zhixian bowed and said, "But as the official of Qixia Town, Xiaguan did not educate the people well, nor did he take precautions in advance against possible misunderstandings. It is all Xiaguan's fault. Lord Magistrate, please be patient."
"Well, for the sake of your plea, the cane and exile are exempted, but the fine still needs to be paid as a warning to others." The prefect then announced the sentence.
Although Sai Diaochan suffered from two thousand five hundred taels of silver, she was very lucky to have escaped death. As for the money being fined, just fine it, and you can earn it later.
"Zhixian Lou, you love the people like your own children and you are self-reflective, which really makes me admire you." The magistrate nodded and said, "Li Xiulian, you are generous and caring for the people, and I admire you very much.
You two have been wronged this time. I hope that you two will not be discouraged, continue to be a good official, continue to be a good person, and not be influenced by evil villains. "
"Thank you for your advice, sir!" Lou Zhixian and Xiang Nan both saluted.
Subsequently, the prefect announced his resignation.
…
Sai Diaochan's master and servant were escorted by official officials and went to Yihong Tower to pay a fine of 2,500 taels.
As a creditor, Xiang Nan went with the team.
In fact, he knew that Sai Diaochan was bankrupt, he just didn't want to miss the look on her face when she learned the truth.
Along the way, when the people in the town saw Sai Diaochan, they all pointed and whispered, probably talking about the bankruptcy of Yihong Tower.
But Sai Diaochan had just escaped a disaster at this time, and even though she was in a nervous mood, she had no energy to pay attention to this. …
All the way to Yihong Building, Sai Diaochan was stunned when he saw the restaurant that looked like a broken kiln. Then he rushed in like a madman and looked around, only to see that nothing was there.
The glass lampshades, emerald vases, celadon dishes, famous calligraphy and paintings, even the tables, chairs and benches were all gone. They were all empty. The maids, cooks, and entertainers are all gone, and everything has been hollowed out.
"How could this happen to my people and my things? How could this happen?" Sai Diaochan shouted at the top of her lungs, unbelievable at what she saw.
Her shout attracted everyone from the Tongfu Inn opposite.
Everyone looked at the crazy Sai Diaochan and couldn't help but show unbearable expressions.
"No need to shout, I'll tell you." Xiang Nan stepped forward and told how the Yihong Building lobby manager tried to attract customers and compared with Tong Xiangyu to deliver things, which resulted in the Yihong Building being evacuated.
After Sai Diaochan heard this, he was stunned.
As a gift of twenty taels of silver tattoos to each customer, no wonder his store was emptied out. What kind of manager did I hire? He is so stupid in his work.
But it's useless to blame her at this time. She was probably snatched away or ran away long ago. Will she stay and wait for her punishment?
The money and belongings that were robbed will probably never be returned. On the one hand, the lobby manager had something to say first, but on the other hand, she didn’t know who had taken it from her or who she had asked for it from.
"If I were here today, I would definitely not let her scream. Who asked me to go to Fucheng to complain?" Sai Diaochan suddenly thought again, and then she burst into tears, "This is retribution, retribution."
She originally wanted to harm others, but ended up going bankrupt. It was really retribution!
…
"Shopkeeper Sai, if you can't hand over the two thousand five hundred taels of silver, you have no choice but to come with me again." At this time, the official came forward again.
He was responsible for supervising Sai Diaochan's compensation of 2,500 taels of silver to Xiang Nan. Now that Yihong Tower collapsed and there was no money to compensate, naturally he couldn't let it go like this.
Sai Diaochan's master and servant were then taken back.
Lou Zhixian couldn't help but sigh when he heard that Sai Diaochan's Yihong Building had been evacuated because of giving away things.
It was her retribution for harming others but ultimately harming herself.
"Since we can't pay the fine, we can only sell your master and servant, and all the money obtained will be compensated to Li Xiulian." Magistrate Lou then ruled.
If you can't hand over the money, hand it over to someone else. In ancient times, many people were sold into slavery by themselves or by the government because of debts, lack of livelihood, or even criminal punishment.
Sai Diaochan and Xiaocui knew how miserable they would end up as slaves, maids, or even prostitutes after being sold, but they were powerless at this time.
"Master Li, Brother Li, I beg you to be noble and save us." In desperation, Sai Diaochan thought of Xiang Nan beside her, and quickly pulled Xiaocui to kneel down and kowtow, "Please accept us, we will do it for you." You are acting like a cow and a horse, please, please.”
Since Xiang Nan is willing to donate money to the people, he is obviously not a mean person. If you sell him as a slave, you shouldn't be treated harshly. Even if they take revenge on them and deny them food and clothing, it is still much better than being sold to a brothel.
Once inside, they would truly fall into a pit of fire, where life would be worse than death.
Seeing this, Xiang Nan thought about it and finally nodded.
He didn't fancy Sai Diaochan and Xiao Cui's beauty, but Sai Diaochan's business talent.
Tong Xiangyu praised his business skills, but when Tongfu Inn was doing its best, Li Lan only had six silver coins a day. But Yihonglou, who competes with Diaochan, can earn dozens of taels of silver a day.
It can be seen from this that Sai Diaochan's business methods are infinitely superior to Tong Xiangyu's. Beautiful women are easy to find, as long as you have money, you can always get them, but talented professional managers are hard to find.
Xiang Nanzheng wants to do some business and needs talents like Sai Diaochan.
