Blackening starts from the golden years

At noon that day, Zhao's Teahouse was open for business as usual. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from a table in the corner. A customer twitched and fell to the ground. A young man next to him shook him vigorously and shouted:

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

At this moment, the guest who had fallen to the ground suddenly spurted out a mouthful of black blood, which was all over the floor. The other guests in the teahouse were so frightened that they began to whisper to each other.

Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sanniang, and Yin Ping were also startled by this sudden incident. Before they could react, the guest who had fallen to the ground suddenly twitched and became motionless. At this time, the young man who was kneeling on the ground suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly with a face full of grief and anger:

"It's poisonous! There's poison in your fruit drink!"

Hearing the handsome young man shouting that the fruit drink was poisonous, the guests in the teahouse were so scared that they dared not drink tea anymore and started talking about it.

Zhao Pan'er was sure that there was no poison in her tea. She looked at the handsome young man and said:

"I mixed this red fruit drink, how could it be poisonous? Is your elder brother suffering from an old illness that suddenly broke out now?"

"Yes, so many guests here are fine after drinking, why did your eldest brother get into trouble? His old illness must have flared up."

"That's right, his old illness must have flared up. Don't blame our teahouse."

Sun Sanniang and Yinping girl also said so.

"You guys still want to cheat?"

The handsome young man was filled with righteous indignation. He pulled out a silver longevity lock from his neck and dipped it into the unfinished red fruit drink on the table. The lock immediately turned black. He showed the black longevity lock to Zhao Pan'er and the others, and asked indignantly with a face full of grief:

"Take a good look at it yourself. If this isn't poison, what is it?"

Seeing the silver lock turn black, the other guests ran out in fear, thinking that someone had died in Zhao's Teahouse. Some of them gathered outside the teahouse to watch the excitement, while others ran to report to the police. Suddenly, only Zhao Pan'er and a few other girls, the exceptionally handsome young man, and his eldest brother who was lying on the ground were left in the teahouse.

Looking at the handsome young man, although he looked very sad and angry, he had no intention of finding a doctor to save his elder brother. Seeing this, Zhao Pan'er couldn't help but frowned slightly, she seemed to understand what was going on.

Could it be that other teahouses sent them to cause trouble?

Thinking of this, Zhao Pan'er ordered Sun Sanniang and Yinping to watch over the handsome young man. She fetched a bowl of red fruit drink and a sharp knife from the tea room, asked Sun Sanniang to help hold down the handsome young man, and poured half of the red fruit drink into his mouth, laughing jokingly:

"Since it's poisonous, try it too. I'll see if you'll die."

"No, what are you going to do?"

The handsome young man struggled hard, but Sun Sanniang was much stronger than him, so he couldn't break free. Zhao Pan'er also forced him to drink half a bowl of red fruit drink, and he blushed with shame. Seeing him like this, Sun Sanniang couldn't help but laugh and said:

"Oh, you're still shy. Look, Pan'er, does he look like a girl?"

Hearing this, Zhao Pan'er just smiled and said nothing. She looked at the man still lying on the ground, slowly poked his eyes with the knife and said:
"A dead man's eyes don't move. Let me see if he's dead."

Suddenly, the man who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead was so scared that he tried to run out of the teahouse. Sun Sanniang stepped on his back and crushed him with her foot to prevent him from getting up. Zhao Pan'er was watching from the side. The man was like a turtle, paddling desperately with his limbs. It looked quite interesting. Zhao Pan'er said with a smile:

"Hey, why is he pretending to be dead?"

At this time, the tea drinkers who were watching at the door were also discussing:

"This, this is fake."

"Isn't this a deliberate attempt to extort money from people?"

……

In the teahouse, Zhao Pan'er looked at the handsome young man and asked:

"Tell me, who asked you to frame our Zhao Teahouse?"

Seeing that the young man didn't say anything, Sun Sanniang stepped hard on the so-called elder brother and asked loudly:

"Tell me, who sent you?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about. I just woke up. I vomited blood because I drank your red fruit drink. Don't wrongly accuse a good person."

Seeing the elder brother still stubborn, Sun Sanniang stepped on him twice more. Then the people from the government office came. The elder brother's eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted for help:

"Sir, help me! Sir, help me! I want to report this to the police! This teahouse is a shady business."

"Bah, you're a liar and you're reporting a crime. We're the ones who should report a crime, okay?"

As she spoke, Sun Sanniang stomped hard twice again.

"Oh, sir, help me, I'm dying."

The rascal lay on the ground and yelled loudly.

The leading yamen runner looked at Sun Sanniang and Zhao Pan'er, frowned slightly and said:

"What's going on? Let him go."

At this time, two people dressed as guards came over and looked at the leading yamen runner and said:

"come over."

"What? Who are you?"

The head of the yamen runners frowned slightly and asked, he walked over carefully. After a moment, when he came back, he looked at the yamen runners under him and said:

"It's all right here, let's go."

"Sir, Sir?"

The eldest brother was a little panicked, this was different from what the Eighth Master said.

The two palace guards bowed respectfully to Zhao Pan'er and the others, then left Zhao's Teahouse with the two troublemakers.

……

In the dungeon of the palace.

Without any torture, the two troublemakers confessed everything. The eldest brother owed someone a gambling debt, and the man forced him to pay it back. He had no money, so the man asked him to cause trouble at Zhao's Teahouse, so that the gambling debt he owed could be written off.

As for the handsome young man, he was actually a girl. She was deceived by the eldest brother. The eldest brother said that his sister worked in Zhao's Teahouse. The female manager of the teahouse not only withheld his sister's wages, but also had her legs broken. For this reason, she came with him to Zhao's Teahouse to make trouble in order to get his sister's wages and compensation for her leg injury.

The girl's name was Ge Zhaodi. She made a living alone in Tokyo and worked at the docks. The older brother also worked at the docks. They were from the same hometown. She disguised herself as a man to protect herself.

The eldest brother said that the person who ordered him was the Eighth Master at the dock, a small gang leader. In addition, Ge Zhaodi also explained that there was someone behind the Eighth Master, a woman, about 40 years old, who should be a housemaid or foster mother of a wealthy family, because the shoes she wore were made of poor fabric and old-fashioned patterns, and most masters would not wear such shoes. However, she had a large carriage to ride in and could order many people around, so she was either a housemaid or a foster mother of the eldest daughter.

These were all the results of Ge Zhaodi's own observations and analyses. She was quite smart, but she lacked experience and was deceived by her sworn brother. As a result, she was now captured and thrown into the dungeon of the palace.

Soon, A Da led people to capture the Eighth Master at the dock. After some interrogation, it turned out that the mastermind behind this incident was Gao Hui's wet nurse Jiang. Moreover, according to the Eighth Master's confession, he also helped Jiang do many other private jobs, such as causing the sister of the Jinshi to accidentally break her leg and blind her left eye, and causing the daughter of a sixth-rank official of the court to fall into the water while on a boat, with her clothes all wet, and her body was seen by many people. She became a nun out of shame. It has to be said that Jiang was really cruel and ruthless. I don't know if Gao Hui knew about these things she did.

However, no matter whether Gao Hui knew it or not, if this matter was made public, Jiang would definitely be dead, and the Gao family's reputation would be damaged. As for Gao Hui, her reputation would definitely be damaged as well. Everyone would think that it was she who ordered Jiang to do these things. Otherwise, why would Jiang target those innocent young women?

The Jinshi's sister sent Ouyang Xu a plum blossom to express her feelings for him, and the sixth-rank official said that he would marry his little daughter to Ouyang Xu. These women had all offended Gao Hui, and now they were all murdered by her wet nurse Jiang. If this were to get out, who would believe that Gao Hui was innocent?
Outsiders will only think that Jiang is Gao Hui's shield and scapegoat. The real mastermind behind the scenes is Gao Hui herself. She is a vicious, jealous and hypocritical woman. This is what Ouyang Xu thinks.

However, Yuan Xudong did not think so. Gao Hui was so beautiful and had a great figure. She was light and soft and easy to push down. How could she have any bad intentions?

It must be Jiang's own decision. Appearance is justice. Yuan Xudong firmly upholds justice and is irreconcilable with gambling and drugs.

After taking a look at the case report given by Mr. Ba and others, Yuan Xudong looked at Ah Da and instructed:
"Send this to Gao's house."

"Yes."

A Da respectfully accepted the order and took the case to Gao's house.

……

In the backyard of Gao's house, Jiang was kneeling on the ground with wounds all over her body. The servants of Gao's house were surrounding her, and they were all silent. Gao Guancha sat on the chair and snorted coldly, and said angrily:

"Fight again!"

The servant holding the whip was about to continue the fight when Gao Hui, who had heard the news, rushed over. Seeing the nurse Jiang kneeling on the ground in the backyard, covered in wounds and already dying, she quickly ran over to protect her, raised her head and looked at her father with an angry face and said:
"Dad, the nanny has served me for so many years. Even if she has no merits, she has worked hard. What on earth did she do wrong that you have to be so cruel?"

Gao Guancha frowned slightly and looked at Chuntao, the maid following behind Gao Hui, with a stern look. Chuntao was Jiang's biological daughter, and it was obvious that she was the one who went to find Gao Hui to save her mother's life. Otherwise, her mother would have been beaten to death by the furious Gao Guancha.

Facing Gao Guancha's cold and ruthless gaze, Chuntao knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly and begged:

"Master, please spare my mother's life, Master, please spare my mother's life..."

Before Gao Guancha could speak, Gao Hui continued:

"Dad, you are often not at home. My wet nurse has taken care of me since I was a child. If you beat her to death today, I don't want to live anymore!" Jiang has been in the Gao family all her life and is loyal to them. Even though she was about to be beaten to death by Gao Hu, she still looked up at Gao Hui and said weakly:

"Young lady, stop talking back to your master. It is you who have embezzled the money from the mansion. You deserve to be beaten."

"Nanny, how could you?"

Gao Hui didn't believe that Jiang would embezzle the money in the mansion. Her mother passed away early, and Jiang had taken care of her since she was a child. She and Jiang had a special relationship.

At this time, Jiang knelt on the ground and looked at Gao Hu and begged:

"Master, I deserve this, please beat me to death."

"Nanny!"

"Mother!"

Seeing Jiang seeking death, Gao Hui and Chun Tao could not help but feel sad. They didn't know what mistake Jiang had made that made Gao Guancha want to beat her to death.

For the sake of the family's reputation, Gao Guancha could not tell anyone about Jiang's mistake. He only said that it was Jiang who embezzled the mansion's money.

"Someone, send the young lady back to her room and continue the fight."

"Yes, sir."

"Dad, please spare the nurse. If you hit her again, she will die."

"Please, sir, spare my mother's life. Please, sir, spare my mother's life..."

Chuntao did not dare to stop the execution. She could only kneel on the ground and kowtow to Gao Guancha, begging for mercy, hoping that he would spare her mother's life.

"Someone, take the lady away!"

Gao observed angrily.

"Dad, no, just spare the nurse."

Several maids pulled Gao Hui away from Jiang. Chuntao still knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Gao Guancha. Her forehead was bruised and her eyes were full of tears. She kept begging:

"Please, sir, spare my mother's life. Please, sir, spare my mother's life..."

"Do it!"

Following a roar from Gao Guancha, the male servant in charge of the execution whipped Jiang hard with a horsewhip. Each whip left a bloody mark. After a few whips, Jiang fainted on the ground.

"Master, she fainted."

The male servant in charge of the execution looked at Gao Guancha and said. The maids and servants around were trembling with fear. Chuntao even collapsed on the ground with a sad face. Her mother was old and she didn't know if she could survive this disaster.

"Nanny!"

Gao Hui burst into tears. She broke away from several maids and ran to Jiang's side to protect her, crying sadly:

"Nanny, Nanny, wake up, what's wrong with you, don't scare me."

"Mother, mother, wake up, don't die, don't die, wuwu..."

Chuntao cried sadly.

After taking a look at the unconscious Jiang, Gao observed:
"Find a doctor."

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

Chuntao cried and kowtowed to Gao Guancha several times to express her gratitude. She and her mother were servants of the Gao family, and had been so for generations. Even if they were beaten to death by their masters, the government could not do anything.

"Mother, mother, wake up."

"Nurse, nurse."

……

The doctor came to Gao's house, and after a simple treatment, Jiang slowly woke up. Before Gao Hui and Chuntao could be happy, Gao Guancha asked the servants to carry Jiang to the carriage and prepared to go to Yuan Xudong's house to apologize. As for Jiang, it depended on Yuan Xudong's intention. Gao Guancha did not care about the life of a mere servant.

"Dad, where are you taking the nurse?"

"father."

……

Wangfu.

Looking at Gao Guancha, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Master Gao, don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this. After all, we are relatives."

"Yes, thank you very much, Your Majesty."

Gao Hu said very respectfully.

After chatting for a while, Gao Hu said goodbye and left. Jiang stayed in the palace and was left to Yuan Xudong to deal with her.

Yuan Xudong didn't really want to deal with an old servant, but because she was Gao Hui's wet nurse, she was like bait, and he wanted to hook Gao Hui, the mermaid.

If Gao Hu knew Yuan Xudong’s true thoughts, I wonder what he would think?

……

In the backyard of the palace, Yuan Xudong brought Ge Zhaodi to see Jiang, who was kneeling on the ground. He asked:
"Is it her?"

"Yes."

Ge Zhaodi was a little frightened. Looking at the bloody clothes Jiang was wearing, she couldn't help but tremble slightly, fearing that she would be whipped as well.

Yuan Xudong waved his hand and had someone take Jiang away.

Looking at Ge Zhaodi who was trembling beside him, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but smile:

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No, not afraid."

Ge Zhaodi said stubbornly.

"is it?"

After looking at her, Yuan Xudong asked:
"You said you were alone in Tokyo. Is there no one at home?"

"Yes, my family suffered a natural disaster, so I went wherever there was work. People said that Tokyo could make more money, so I came here."

Speaking of this, Ge Zhaodi said with some pride:

"Not only can I support myself, but I can also save a lot of money."

"What do you do in Tokyo?"

"I help people unload goods at the dock. I can carry 40 kilograms of goods by myself."

"Show me your hand."

Hearing this, Ge Zhaodi stretched out her hands for Yuan Xudong to see. After taking a look at her dark hands covered with tiny wounds, Yuan Xudong said:

"You will stay in the mansion as a maid, are you willing?"

"I do, thank you, Your Majesty."

Ge Zhaodi was very happy. It was not easy for her to make a living in Tokyo. It would be great if she could be a maid in the palace. She looked at the clothes worn by the maids in the palace, all of which were good clothes. She thought that their daily life must be very good, at least better than her life at the dock.

While working at the dock, she didn't dare to reveal that she was a girl. On the one hand, it was because people at the dock believed that women were unlucky and generally would not hire women to work. On the other hand, it was because it was dangerous. Some ruffians, even those who sold coolies, would bully helpless women. She had seen them bullying female beggars with her own eyes. Tokyo was prosperous, but the lower class still lived a hard life and could only barely survive, and then bullied those who were weaker than themselves.

"Well, you go down."

Yuan Xudong called a maid and asked her to take Ge Zhaodi downstairs and arrange for her to enter the mansion.

...(End of chapter)