Even though Master Zhao was extremely unwilling, the constable still brought Zhao Mian over.
Zhao Mian was in his early thirties, even fatter than Master Zhao, with his belly nearly bursting out of his clothes from all the piled-up fat.
He swaggered up to the court behind the constable. The guilty look on his face vanished the moment he saw Master Zhao sitting in the hall.
He gave a perfunctory bow and said, “Why did you summon me, Magistrate?”
The magistrate frowned slightly and had someone hand him the account book. “Is this your private seal?”
Zhao Mian was a good-for-nothing dandy; the Zhao Family relied entirely on Master Zhao to hold things up. He couldn’t even read the accounts.
He glanced at the book carelessly and said, “Yeah, that’s mine. What about it?”
Master Zhao, standing at the side, was so furious he was about to explode. The magistrate had just told him not to speak, so he tried signaling Zhao Mian with his eyes, but Zhao Mian didn’t notice at all.
Now, seeing Zhao Mian actually admit it, Master Zhao cursed under his breath, “Idiot!”
It wouldn’t do.
Zhao Mian was completely baffled. Relying on the Zhao Family’s power, he’d never feared anyone. So what if it was a private seal? He’d admit it, so what? Surely the Zhao Family could handle it.
Who would have thought that just as he was feeling smug, the magistrate’s face turned cold and he shouted sternly, “Guards! Take Zhao Mian and the other two into custody.”
The evidence was overwhelming. Now, it was just a matter of deciding the sentence.
Zhao Mian’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “You dare arrest me?!”
“Don’t you know the Zhao Family could ruin you with a snap of their fingers?!”
“Silence!”
Master Zhao’s face looked like a paint palette had been spilled over it—colors swirling everywhere.
Go.
Fu Tian couldn’t help but laugh out loud, watching Master Zhao clutch his chest like he was about to faint.
The magistrate’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. With a wave of his hand, he had the constables take them away.
Li Steward had already accepted his fate and stood still as the constables led him away. Zhao Mian, however, kept shouting, demanding that Master Zhao bail him out.
After the constables forcibly dragged them off, the noisy courtroom finally quieted down.
Fu Tian stepped forward and cupped his hands respectfully. “Magistrate, since they have confessed, about the embezzled silver in the account book…”
Master Zhao’s eyelid twitched, and he suddenly looked up at him.
“Since the Zhao Family and Li Steward bought grain, I won’t force them to return it. They just need to pay the difference at the current Fu Family Rice Shop price.”
“As for Li Steward… we’ll just recover the Stolen Silver according to the amount in the account book…”
“Young people should know to leave room for others when doing things.” Supported by his servants, Master Zhao said to Fu Tian in a sinister tone.
The Fu Family Rice Shop’s price was half again as high as the market price. Paying the difference at that rate was like trampling the Zhao Family underfoot!
Fu Tian simply smiled and ignored him, adding, “Of the recovered Stolen Silver, the Fu Family is willing to donate one-fifth to the Shantang.”
The magistrate’s eyes flashed as he looked at Fu Tian for a moment, then praised, “A true hero in his youth. I will have someone recover your Stolen Silver for the Fu Family.”
“Thank you very much, Magistrate.” Fu Tian grinned, cupping his hands.
The magistrate nodded slightly, then turned to Master Zhao. “I’ll have the accountants calculate the price difference and notify you, Master Zhao. I hope you’ll cooperate with the authorities.”
Master Zhao:
His face turned red with rage, but it was clear the magistrate was no longer giving him any face. No matter how powerful the Zhao Family was, they were still commoners.
He understood well enough that commoners couldn’t fight officials. The Zhao Family had made too many enemies over the years. If they offended the authorities now, the consequences would be dire.
Swallowing his anger, Master Zhao agreed and was helped out by his servants. Fu Tian and his group sauntered out of the court.
Originally, they’d planned to return to Sifang Town once things were settled, but now it looked like they’d have to stay a few more days until the Stolen Silver was recovered.
“Why do I feel like you’re getting more and more cunning? Who taught you that?”
Chu Xiangtian walked beside him, raising an eyebrow at the proud little Young Master.
“From books!” Fu Tian lifted his chin proudly, like a little beast who’d just won a battle, radiating joy all over. @无限好文,尽在晋江文学城
Chu Xiangtian wanted to ruffle his hair, but it wasn’t appropriate on the street. He coughed lightly into his hand. “So, what’s your plan for the next few days?”
Fu Tian thought for a moment. “Let’s stay in Shangming Town two more days. Once the Stolen Silver is recovered, I have an idea.”
Though they’d dealt with the rotten elements, the Fu Family Rice Shop’s reputation was already ruined, and business had plummeted. He had an idea—he wanted to see if he could restore the Fu Family’s reputation.
With the matter resolved, the group spent two days sightseeing in Shangming Town. On the third morning, officials arrived at the inn carrying several chests.
Fu Huo and the others were still staying at the inn.
The commotion drew the attention of everyone in the inn.
Fu Tian wasn’t shy about it. He’d been notified in advance and was already waiting.
After counting the silver in front of everyone, he deliberately said loudly, “Many thanks to the magistrate for acting justly and recovering the Stolen Silver for the Fu Family Rice Shop.”
The officers exchanged a few polite words and were about to leave to report back.
But Fu Tian stopped them in time.
“As I said before, if the Stolen Silver was recovered, the Fu Family would donate one-fifth to the Shantang. If you gentlemen aren’t in a hurry, please accompany me as witnesses.”
The surrounding townsfolk gasped, watching as he donated an entire chest of silver with a single sentence. They whispered among themselves.
Fu Family Rice Shop, Stolen Silver… these words together reminded everyone of the rumors from the past few days.
It was said that the Fu Family Rice Shop’s Steward had embezzled quite a bit of silver, and now that the owner had changed, everything had been revealed.
Li Steward used to boast all the time, and had just bought a new house recently. How could a little Steward afford such a place on his monthly wage?
Someone in the crowd, well-informed, explained smugly to others, “Where did you hear that? It was Zhao Family Eldest Young Master working with Li Steward, moving all the Fu Family’s grain out.”
“Didn’t they have a trial the other day? That was the very case! The magistrate didn’t even give Master Zhao any face, and directly arrested the Zhao Family Eldest Young Master!”
The crowd sighed, feeling that finally a good official had arrived, and some even gloated that the Zhao Family’s good days were over.
Others said, the Fu Family Rice Shop was truly unlucky, but thankfully got a new owner, or who knows how much more silver would have been embezzled…
Fu Tian listened to the murmurs, the corners of his lips curling up. The group carried the chest of silver to the Shantang.
The Shantang in Shangming Town was built outside the city, established by the government, mostly sheltering elderly widows and orphans.
The previous magistrate rarely provided funds, so the Shantang barely got by.
It was hard enough that a good official had just arrived, and now, out of nowhere, a windfall had dropped into their laps.
With everyone in high spirits, the Shantang’s Steward came out to greet them, bowing repeatedly to Fu Tian. “Young Master Fu, good deeds are always rewarded!”
Fu Tian exchanged a few polite words, and after settling the donation, led the grateful group back to town.
After he left, the townsfolk who’d nearly knelt to him wiped their tears and returned home, all saying that the Fu Family Young Master was not only good-looking but also kind-hearted—truly a living Bodhisattva!
Fu Tian didn’t know any of this. He was willing to donate mainly to motivate the magistrate to recover the Stolen Silver as quickly as possible.
Sure enough, after he made the promise, within two days, the Zhao Family Silver was delivered to the authorities.
It was said the Li Family was also searched, and all their ready silver sent over. What wasn’t enough was paid with their house.
Using two thousand taels of silver, he’d recovered all the Stolen Silver and earned a good reputation. It was a bargain.
And it made it easier for the Fu Family Rice Shop to reopen.
That very afternoon, Fu Tian sent Fu Ji to make preparations. The lion dance troupe, Red Lanterns, and everything else were ready. The next morning, the Fu Family Rice Shop was bustling.
Drums pounded, lions danced, and curious townsfolk gathered around. Xiao Qiao and Chang Xi pushed rice carts, distributing Blessing Rice a little further away. @无限好文,尽在晋江文学城
With the Fu Family Rice Shop reopened, everyone could come and get a share of Blessing Rice.
Soon, even those who hadn’t known before were informed.
As word spread, half of Shangming Town knew by midday: the Fu Family Rice Shop had a new owner, grain prices had returned to normal, and the Fu Family Young Master had donated two thousand taels of silver to the Shantang. Truly a great philanthropist!
Everyone praised him, almost calling Fu Tian a living Bodhisattva.
“What a promising youngster.” Zhou Chuanqing crossed his arms, watching Fu Tian greet the townsfolk with a gentle smile. “His future is limitless.”
Fu Tian had grown up under his watchful eye.
When teaching before, Zhou Chuanqing had told him plenty of cases to make lessons more interesting, never expecting Fu Tian to apply them so skillfully—and with such great results.
If it were him, he might not have done any better.
“Of course.”
Chu Xiangtian glanced sideways at him, his face full of pride—his own youth was coming into his own.
Ever since that day in the mountains, when Fu Tian escaped to the back hills by himself, he knew this delicate-looking Young Master had a backbone of steel.
Otherwise, Chu Xiangtian wouldn’t have looked at him differently, even staying in Sifang Town for his sake.
Zhou Chuanqing shot him a jealous glare.
This man had been up to no good since childhood, never getting his comeuppance in over twenty years, and now he’d even managed to rope in such a promising seedling.
Even if Zhou Chuanqing had no feelings for Fu Huo, he still wanted to beat this rascal up.
Chu Xiangtian was delighted by his complicated look, and with a wicked grin patted his shoulder. “You’d better work harder, or else Old Madam Zhou will head to the palace to complain to the Empress again.”
Zhou Chuanqing:
@无限好文,尽在晋江文学城
With the Fu Family Rice Shop reopened, news quickly spread throughout Shangming Town, and business flourished again.
After Fu Tian finished checking the grain sent from the Zhuangzi, he looked at the busy Xiao Qiao at the entrance and sighed.
With Li Steward gone, someone had to be promoted to take his place. Fu Tian had his eye on Xiao Qiao—he just didn’t know if she’d be willing.