The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

Although Shunan Hotpot Restaurant has been open in Suining City for some time, people still have to queue for a long time if they want to have a taste of it.

At the turn of spring and summer, the weather is already a little dry. The hot pot restaurant is steaming hot and people are sweating profusely while eating inside.

"Shopkeeper Liu, the shaved ice here is really delicious!" A diner scooped shaved ice with a spoon and put it into his mouth, sighing with satisfaction to Liu You who was passing by.

Liu You laughed and said, "Then eat more."

A customer nearby said, "That's right. In the past, at this time of year, most of the ice in the cellar would be put inside the house to dissipate the heat. There wouldn't be that much extra ice to eat. Fortunately, Shunan Hotpot invented the method of making ice with saltpeter, so we can enjoy this delicacy."

"Yes! I just don't know why Shunan Hotpot was so generous in spreading the method of making ice with saltpeter."

"Hey, you don't understand. Buying a large amount of saltpeter must be registered. How can you hide it from anyone? And you see, even if you tell the recipe, there is no restaurant that tastes better than this one, right?"

“That’s right…” As he said this, the diner scooped another large spoonful of ice into his mouth. It melted in his mouth, with the sweet fragrance of melons and fruits, which was very memorable.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the hall, like the sound of someone falling down.

"Ah!!" A sharp voice echoed in the hot pot restaurant, followed by the voice shouting frantically, "Dad, Dad, Dad, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me."

The moment the man fell down, Liu You rushed over to check the situation, but there were so many diners in the hall that they blocked the way, and he finally squeezed in front of the man.

The little girl was so scared that she couldn't speak. When she saw Liu You coming, she said in a hoarse voice: "My father is dead...dead...He died from eating the food in your store. It's all, all, all your fault."

After saying that, I don’t know where the little girl who had been crying for so long got the strength from, but she rushed forward, grabbed Liu You, and kicked him hard several times.

Liu You, who was not on guard against the little girl, was hit hard several times. The waiter in the store came and quickly took the little girl away.

Liu You hurriedly stepped forward to feel the man's breath, and with his hands behind his back, he paused in front of the man's nose for a while, then quickly pulled his hands back, looked at the servant next to him with a serious face and said, "Go and ask the government to come!"

As he spoke, he took a clean tablecloth from his hand and covered the man's face.

The crowd crowded around the man on the ground, talking in a buzzing voice.

“Is this person dead?”

"It seems so. Look, the cloth is covering his face. Is he dead or something?"

"That little girl just now is the girl of the person on the ground, right?"

"Yeah, I just heard that girl calling that guy daddy, and I heard that she died from eating that hot pot!"

"Ah? Well, we've eaten this many times and nothing happened."

"Yeah, this is too weird."

……

The diners who were watching on the side heard these words and quickly put down their chopsticks and said, "Boss! We don't dare to eat your food. We want to return it. If you cause any problems with the food, you have to return the money to me!!"

In an instant, the scene was extremely chaotic. Almost every table was shouting at Liu You to return the money. However, Guo Xin was not here today as he had gone to oversee the construction of the mall. So all the responsibilities fell on Liu You.

Liu You looked at the increasingly chaotic scene, and now there was another man who died in the hot pot restaurant, so he climbed onto another table and shouted loudly: "Dear diners! Please listen to me!"

"Everyone's food in the restaurant today is free. If you don't want to eat, you can just leave."

"If you want to pack up the remaining ingredients and take them away, feel free to contact our waiter. This restaurant has to be temporarily cleared out for the government to handle the case. You don't have to worry too much. I promise that the ingredients in our restaurant are absolutely safe and harmless. We go through several inspection procedures every day to ensure that we are responsible for your safety!"

When the diners heard Liu You's words, they immediately dispersed. They didn't dare to take anything from the table away, for fear that they would be contaminated with poison. Although they had been eating in this restaurant for so long and nothing had happened, what if there was something wrong with the food today? Wouldn't that be a waste?

No matter what, it is better to leave this unlucky place as soon as possible.

In an instant, the hotpot restaurant that was bustling just a moment ago became deserted, with only a few diners who trusted the restaurant very much still packing up their ingredients.

Guo Xin had just finished dealing with matters at the mall and walked into the hot pot restaurant to see a mess and chaos everywhere. The entire hall was empty. Just as he was about to ask, he saw a man lying on the ground and Liu You comforting a little girl beside him.

When a few servants who were packing up saw Guo Xin coming, they immediately whispered to Guo Xin and explained the whole story. Guo Xin nodded, walked up to the little girl and shook his head at Liu You.

Liu You stepped aside. Guo Xin looked at the little girl in front of him, who was about six or seven years old, with red and swollen eyes. She felt so pitiful that he squatted down and hugged the little girl.

The little girl was suddenly hugged by her sister who was a dozen years older than her. She was stunned and at a loss.

Guo Xin said gently: "Don't be afraid, I'm here, I'm not a bad person, no one here will hurt you again, the government will come later, don't be afraid, do you have other family members?"

The little girl felt inexplicably at ease listening to Guo Xin's voice. Her shaking shoulders stopped and she breathed in slowly, though she still trembled occasionally.

After a long pause, he said, "And mother, she is at home. Daddy originally called mother out today, but mother refused to come out, so daddy had to bring me out."

Guo Xin felt something was wrong after hearing this and was about to ask something.

Then I heard a loud noise coming from outside, as if the officials had arrived.

"I heard that a murder happened here?" The leading officer, who was about half a head taller than Guo Xin, spoke in a rough voice, and the sound of his voice alone seemed enough to scare off a few blind bandits.

Liu You stepped forward and said, "That's right."

He led the officers to the man who had fallen to the ground and said, "Since he fell to the ground, I have not touched him except for covering him with a cloth. I have also been watching the things on the table. No one else has touched them."

The officer nodded, and an old man who was following behind and was hunched over and carrying a small wooden box on his back squatted forward, put on sheepskin gloves, removed the tablecloth that was covering his face, flipped up the man's eyelids, looked at his tongue, and examined the man's body.

He stood up and said, "He died of poisoning."