Chapter 127 Complaining to the Prince
Chapter 127 Complaining to the Prince
Xiao Xia still climbed over the wall and returned to the backyard. He washed his body with two buckets of water from the well. Although the well water was icy cold, most martial artists could withstand it.
Xiao Xia changed his clothes, sat cross-legged in the room, and once again entered into deep cultivation.
Yun Dingxing's mansion was in Xuanrenfang, the next neighborhood, about 500 steps away from Xiao Xia's mansion. The Yun mansion was originally filled with colorful lights, but now they have all been replaced with white lanterns.
Yun Dingxing and his wife lay on their son's body and cried heart-wrenchingly, while his two brothers Yun Shide and Yun Shiduan stood by and shed tears.
At this time, a white-haired old man came out trembling with a cane, "Where is my grandson? Who dares to kill my grandson?"
Yun Dingxing quickly suppressed his grief and said to his two sons, "Fools, hurry up and help Grandpa in!"
The two sons hurriedly helped their grandfather back. The old man shouted, "You better go find the prince and avenge my grandson. Cut him into pieces, you bastard!"
Yun Dingxing hurried to the East Palace. Crown Prince Yang Yong had just returned to Chang'an today. The journey from Xiangyang to Chang'an really exhausted him. He had already taken a nap in the afternoon and admired the lanterns in the palace at night. Just as he was about to rest, he suddenly received news that Yun Dingxing urgently requested a meeting.
The Sui Dynasty did not have such strict restrictions on the interactions between the crown prince and his relatives, so Crown Prince Yang Yong immediately met with Yun Dingxing.
Yun Dingxing came in and knelt down and cried, "Your Highness, please make the decision for me!"
Yang Yong quickly asked the eunuch to help Yun Dingxing sit up.
"What happened?"
Yun Dingxing wiped his tears and said, "Sanlang was killed tonight!"
Yang Yong was shocked, "Why was Sanlang killed?"
"Sanlang went to enjoy the lanterns tonight and met a vicious person. The method was extremely cruel and he beheaded Sanlang in the street."
At this point, Yun Dingxing gnashed his teeth in hatred, "In the open and clear world, they actually killed people in the street under the feet of the emperor. Is this still the Great Sui Dynasty? Is there still the law?"
Yang Yong did not get furious. He knew this brother-in-law very well. He had covered up for him more than once. Every year on the Lantern Festival, he would cause trouble and like to bully men and women. Every time he did so, he would cry and repent in front of him. Needless to say, this time he went out to rob women again, but he met a tough guy and was beheaded in the street.
Yang Yong asked after a while: "Has the murderer been caught?"
"No! Their patrolling troops were simply perfunctory. They refused to investigate, refused to search every household, and dismissed the Yun family with a simple statement that they would do their best to arrest them."
Yang Yong rolled his eyes. What was he thinking? Who would have the guts to search every household on Lantern Festival night?
"I know about this matter. I will come to inquire about the situation tomorrow and order them to investigate the case. Don't be too sad, especially since the old man is in poor health. Let him mourn. I will arrange a proper burial for Sanlang later."
Yun Dingxing could tell that the prince was trying to fool him, and he became angry. He said, "You are the prince. Killing your brother-in-law is a slap in your face. They can easily find out who the murderer is, but they just don't take you seriously."
"okay!"
Yang Yong waved his hands impatiently and said, "Tomorrow I will tell the emperor to classify this case as a major one and catch the murderer as soon as possible."
Dou Dexuan has been keeping a low profile these past two days and didn't dare go out during the Lantern Festival, but what is coming must come. His father Dou Yan had a good rest in the afternoon and was reading in the study at night when he suddenly remembered the restaurant.
Dou Yan was about 40 years old and served as the Minister of War. He had six sons, and Dou Dexuan was the third.
Not long after, the eldest son Dou Deming hurried to the study, bowed and said, "Greetings, father!"
"Have you taken back the restaurant in Chongrenfang as I instructed you before?" "Reporting to father, not yet?" Dou Deming lowered his head guiltily.
Dou Yan's face darkened. "I told you last September to take back the restaurant. It was your great-grandfather's military reward. Four months have passed, and you haven't taken it back yet. Explain to me, is it because the Wei family doesn't want to sell it, or is there some other reason?"
In the autumn of the year before last, a foul smell suddenly appeared in the restaurant. After repeated investigations, the Dou family discovered that the smell came from a house of the Yun family. Every day before dinner, the Yun family used manure water to water the vegetables on time, which was extremely smelly and seriously affected the restaurant business. Several negotiations were of no use.
Dou Yan realized that the prince was deliberately targeting him. He sold the restaurant in anger, but soon regretted it. It was a military reward for the Dou family, so how could he sell it? He couldn't sell it even if it was empty.
Dou Yan immediately discussed with the Wei family, but the Wei family refused to transfer, so Dou Yan had to give up. In September, Dou Yan got the news that the Wei family was going to sell the restaurant. Dou Yan hurriedly asked his eldest son to discuss the matter of taking back the restaurant. Then the emperor was going to Jiangdu for inspection, so he no longer paid attention to the matter and left it to his eldest son to handle.
Unexpectedly, four months have passed and the restaurant has not been taken back yet. How could Dou Yan not be annoyed?
Dou Deming explained: "At that time, I went to discuss this matter with the Wei family, but we couldn't agree on the price, so I didn't buy it for the time being. Later, the Wei family lowered the price to 8,000 strings of cash. I thought the Wei family would continue to lower the price, so I waited a while. Later, the Wei family lowered the price again and again, from 8,000 strings of cash all the way down to 5,000 strings of cash in December last year. I was ready to buy it, but I got news that the Wei family might lower the price to 4,000 strings of cash. After the New Year, I got definite news that the Wei family's bottom line was 4,000 strings of cash, so I sent my butler to negotiate with the Wei family, willing to purchase the restaurant for 3,000 strings of cash."
Dou Yan's eyes widened, "Are you crazy? How could the Wei family sell it for three thousand strings of cash?"
"My son only knows how to negotiate. As the saying goes, the asking price is sky-high and the paying price is low. As long as both parties make concessions, then the deal will be 4,000 guan. This is the other party's bottom line, and we will not suffer any loss. Unexpectedly, the Wei family refused to negotiate at all and directly drove the housekeeper out of the house."
Dou Yan sighed and said, "You don't understand the ways of the world. Anyone can negotiate like this, except the Dou family. We are the original sellers. Your offer is a huge humiliation to the Wei family. Do you understand?"
"The child has understood."
"Go to the Wei family tomorrow and redeem the restaurant with eight thousand strings of cash. You should be a kind person and not take advantage of others in distress like this."
Dou Deming said with a bitter face: "It's too late. I promised to buy it for 5,000 strings of cash, but the Wei family has already sold the restaurant for 4,000 strings of cash."
"what?"
Dou Yan's eyes widened, and he slammed the table and roared, "How do you do things? That is the Dou family's ancestral land. How can you let the Wei family sell it to others?"
Dou Deming was about to cry. "We threatened all the merchants in the neighborhood, forbidding anyone to buy the restaurant, otherwise they would be regarded as enemies of the Dou family. So no one dared to buy it. But I didn't expect that someone would dare to buy it."
Dou Yan was speechless. How could he have such a stupid son? He had no sincerity from the beginning and threatened the merchants in the neighborhood not to take over. Such a blatant threat was enough. If the Wei family had any self-respect, they would never sell the property to the Dou family again.
"Deming, I remember that you are not such a mean person. Tell father who gave you this idea? Now that things have come to this, you should stop hiding it from your father!"
Dou Deming was already at a loss what to do. Even if he wanted to hide something, he couldn't do it at this point. It was the third brother's idea to offer three thousand strings of cash, and it was the third brother who threatened the residents. The subsequent events were even more related to the third brother. How could he not know what had happened?
"I discussed this with my third brother. He thought the Wei family was in such a mess that they had no choice but to sell it to us, so he wanted to keep the price as low as possible."
Dou Yan could no longer sit still, so he stood up, opened the door and told the tea boy, "Go find the Third Young Master, immediately!"
The tea boy ran away. Dou Yan said angrily, "How can you listen to your third brother about this matter? He is only eighteen years old. What does he know?"
"That's what you ordered, father! If there's anything, we brothers should discuss it together."
Dou Yan was so angry that he couldn't speak. He gritted his teeth and said, "I said that we should discuss family matters, not such a big thing!"
Dou Deming lowered his head and dared not say a word. At this time, Dou Dexuan walked into the study quickly, bowed and saluted, "My son greets his father!"
(End of this chapter)