Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 826 - 108 Wang Hong

Lin Yuan couldn’t help but purse her lips, not because she was worried about whether Xia Zheng’s hand hurt, but whether the table could withstand such continued banging.

"Sir, this official truly hasn’t lied, even with a hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare to deceive you!" Wang Hong truly felt as though death was upon him. freēwēbnovel.com

"Sir, this matter was all under the jurisdiction of Prefect Tang, wuwu, a mere County Magistrate like me, how can I compare to his Magisterial highness? After the incident occurred, he directly took people away, this official, this official didn’t get to know anything!"

Every word Wang Hong said was true, he really was a pitiful County Magistrate. With a Magistrate above him, who received all the benefits, when it came to doing actual work, it was all dumped on him, the County Magistrate. Just like this time, Prefect Tang snatched away the task that came with merit, leaving behind the job of sealing off Fragrant Full Building to him. At this point, he absolutely believed that Prefect Tang knew who the real boss behind Fragrant Full Building was. This Tang Qing just disliked him and purposely set him up!

Although Xia Zheng was not involved in officialdom, being as astute as he was, how could he not understand? He gave an impatient glare, practically labeling him an "idiot" under his breath!

By now, Lin Yuan also understood and suddenly asked, "The poisoned one, whose son is he? Is his identity very noble?"

Wang Hong snuck a glance at Xia Zheng, choosing his words carefully. No matter how noble, in front of this Sir, it didn’t matter!

"That young master, noble identity? He just has a bit of broken money!" Wang Hong spoke with righteous indignation, making Lin Yuan almost laugh; he talked as if he didn’t care about silver.

Xia Zheng wasn’t going to indulge his pretense and said coldly, "Stop pretending to be so noble! Do you think I’m unaware of Fragrant Full Building paying tribute to you?"

"Cough cough." Wang Hong choked on his own saliva, sweating profusely with embarrassment. He snuck peeks at Xia Zheng, and realizing there was no pursuit on the latter’s part, quickly changed the subject with great tact, "Sir, Miss, the one who was poisoned is none other than An Family Winehouse’s eldest son, An Jie."

An Family Winehouse! She hadn’t expected that this matter was actually related to the An’s House.

With Fragrant Full Building struggling, even if Drunken Immortal Residence hadn’t done the poisoning, they must have certainly added insult to injury, otherwise a mere Magistrate like Tang Qing would not have dared to stand up to Xia Zheng. Not fearing Xia Zheng was one thing, but Tang Qing would still be wary of the power behind him, the Military Mansion and Princess Anle.

Lin Yuan was very sure that this Tang Qing must have already joined Second Prince’s conspiracy; with Second Prince’s support, that’s why he dared to take Shopkeeper Wu into custody and seal Fragrant Full Building.

Lin Yuan felt her head getting bigger. It was already complicated with Drunken Immortal Residence and Second Prince, and now An’s House was involved too. If the poisoning were merely an accident, that would be one thing, but if it was intentional, this chess game was indeed not a minor one.

"Were you present when An Jie was poisoned? Do you know what poison it was?" Lin Yuan rubbed her temples, hoping that Wang Hong could tell her something that the young servant didn’t know, "Also, what dish were they eating at the time? Did anyone at the same table feel anything strange?"

Lin Yuan asked several questions in a row, however, the more Wang Hong listened, the more clueless he became. Even if he had been present at the time, he hadn’t paid attention to these things!

Seeing his tongue-tied, awkward behavior, Xia Zheng scoffed and answered for him, "You’re asking him? Ha, our Sir Wang, he was too busy at the time to care about such ’trivial’ matters."

Trivial matters? Lin Yuan was puzzled; the questions she asked were key to solving the case, how could they be trivial? Could it be that this County Magistrate was even less useful than her?

Xia Zheng tapped his long fingers on the table rhythmically, his lips curving into an intriguing smile, "What you consider key is not what Sir Wang considers key. Silver, that’s the key!"

Upon hearing these words, Wang Hong, who was already trembling in fear, collapsed on the ground and broke into tears, begging for mercy, "Please spare my life, young master, please! Indeed, at the time I was preoccupied with currying favor with Chief of An Family, and did not inquire into the details of the incident as it happened, this official realizes his mistake!"

Xia Zheng rolled his eyes and signaled to Lin Yuan; see, wasn’t I right?

Lin Yuan pressed her lips together, looking at these officials, not one truly advocated for the people!

Xia Zheng widened his eyes, but he certainly wasn’t among that bunch of corrupt officials!

Lin Yuan rolled her eyes without paying any attention to him.

Xia Zheng took a slight hit to his pride and turned his annoyance toward Wang Hong, "Since the matter is not cleared up, release Shopkeeper Wu for me!"

Wang Hong hurriedly complied, "Yes, yes, yes, this official will immediately have Shopkeeper Wu brought back, cough cough, I mean return."

With that, he gave orders to the lead Government Official, who had been petrified since Wang Hong knelt down and had yet to recover. Cursing inwardly at the useless man, Wang Hong kicked him twice before he finally snapped to action.

Having learned from the earlier lesson, the Government Official worked with alacrity, and before an incense stick could burn down, he indeed brought the person back.

As soon as Shopkeeper Wu got off the sedan, he was choked up and moved to kneel down to thank Xia Zheng; Lin Yuan promptly stopped him.

As the family gathered and chatted, Wang Hong discreetly retreated to the side.

After they asked Shopkeeper Wu and made sure he hadn’t suffered, Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng relaxed. They then asked him in detail about what had happened.

Shopkeeper Wu narrated everything from beginning to end. At last, he lamented with deep sorrow, "It’s all my fault for being careless and giving the murderer an opportunity!"

Lin Yuan softly comforted him a few sentences before letting the young servant take him back to his room to rest. She then turned to Xia Zheng and said, "What now?"

Xia Zheng glanced at the uneasy Wang Hong and replied coldly, "Of course we’re going to meet the victim."