Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Li Yao looked at Shen Wantang's gentle smile and listened to her clear voice, and suddenly felt that he might have misunderstood her.

How could such a person, who refused to accept the profit offered to her, be the murderer of the owner of Qingyunlou?

The rumors outside should be true. The owner of Qingyunlou offended a man named Chu Yanluo, so after Chu Yanluo died, he turned into a ghost and came to seek revenge on him.

She asked someone to take the document for revision, and after the revision, she put it in front of Shen Wantang again.

Shen Wantang read it carefully again, then signed and put his fingerprints on it.

Li Yao did the same, signed and put his fingerprints on it.

There are three copies of the document, one for each person, and the other copy needs to be submitted to the government office for filing and retention.

The cooperation officially began, and Li Yao's eyes were full of joy. Although the restaurant split the profits with Shen Wantang in a 4:6 ratio, her status was completely different from before!

The restaurant became her personal property, she was responsible for her own profits and losses, and it had nothing to do with the Li family anymore!

As long as she manages the business well, there is a good chance that she will surpass her brothers in the family and become the one who makes the most money!

And all of this is thanks to Shen Wantang! She is truly her lucky star!

Shen Wantang's expression did not change much. She had already devoted herself to the plan of renovating the restaurant.

First of all, the dishes need to be improved and the prices need to be re-set.

In addition, she would also have to re-screen the waiters, chefs, accountants, and managers of the restaurant. If they performed well, their monthly wages would all be increased, while if they performed poorly or were dishonest, they would be directly dismissed.

Moreover, she also planned to poach the chef from Qingyunlou. She had eaten the food from both restaurants, and the food from Qingyunlou was indeed better.

The restaurant's decoration, layout, utensils, etc., on the contrary, do not need to be replaced. The original layout is quite grand. Redecorating it would require too much money, and Shen Wantang has no intention of spending that money.

Money should be used wisely, such as purchasing better and fresher ingredients and rewarding good waiters and chefs.

This busy work took up the entire day.

At noon, Shen Wantang took Du Juan and Nanny Yan to have lunch at Zuixianlou. The three of them tasted more than a dozen dishes and made some suggestions for improvement while eating.

Of course, most of them were improvements proposed by Shen Wantang. She was not good at cooking, but she was good at eating. She had many new dishes in her mind that she had heard of, seen, and eaten in her previous life, and they all came in handy now.

In the evening, lawyer Fang Xuning arrived.

He was a bit more respectful than the last time he met Shen Wantang: "Greetings, Madam Second Young Master."

"How's your defense in Chen Xiaowu's case going?"

"Madam, we have made significant progress. The Dali Temple has begun a re-examination, and all relevant personnel have been taken in for questioning by the Ministry of Justice. Even Lord Tai has been summoned for questioning, and it was the Minister of Justice who personally interrogated him."

Shen Wantang nodded: "Yeah, not bad, it went smoothly."

More than just smooth sailing!

Fang Xuning couldn't help but look up at her. The case was now completely turned upside down and progressing at a rapid pace!

And for some unknown reason, the case spread rapidly in the capital. Within just a day or two, everyone in the streets and alleys was talking about Chen Xiaowu's heroic deeds.

The son of an official relied on his good family background to bully a weak girl from a good family. Although Chen Xiaowu came from a grassroots background, he was chivalrous and brave and risked his life to save her. The weak girl, whose family's lives were threatened, framed Chen Xiaowu for bullying her, causing him to be thrown into prison and sentenced to be executed in the autumn.

Anyone who hears this story will be filled with righteous indignation and will want to seek justice for Chen Xiaowu.

Because if I don't get justice for Chen Xiaowu today, the prisoner's dilemma may fall on me in the future. We are all ordinary people, without power or influence. To get justice for Chen Xiaowu is to get justice for myself.

Public resentment was almost boiling over, and the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice were under tremendous pressure.

At this time, Gao Mingyu, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, came into action. He was the first to impeach Tai Yuliang to the emperor. Not only did he list all his crimes, he also reported directly to the emperor that he had bribed witnesses and forced Lou Yun'er and other eyewitnesses to frame Chen Xiaowu.

Fang Xuning asked tentatively, "Master Gao Mingyu suddenly attacked Master Tai, and hit him directly on the vital point. Is the Second Young Master's wife helping him?"

Shen Wantang didn't answer yes or no. She just smiled and asked, "Why do you think I'm the one helping? Can't it be that Master Gao himself wants to lend a hand?"

Fang Xuning said logically, "Because Lord Gao and Lord Tai have always been at odds, but Lord Tai has always had the upper hand. Lord Gao is no match for him at all."

"Although Chen Xiaowu's case has caused a big stir, Lord Gao wouldn't have rashly entered the palace to impeach him without real evidence. If he couldn't kill him instantly, Lord Gao would still be working in vain, just like before."

"This time, Lord Gao must have had definite evidence against Lord Tai, so he came to the palace to see the emperor. If Lord Gao had this evidence yesterday, he should have come to the palace to impeach him yesterday. However, he did not enter the palace until after noon today, which means that he only obtained the evidence this morning."

"And I can't think of anyone else except you who could have allowed him to obtain the evidence so quickly."

Shen Wantang nodded slightly. As expected of the most famous lawyer in the capital, he was indeed very smart.

She whispered, "We could win the case on our own, but the progress is too slow. So, I found a helper, and that way, things become much simpler."

Fang Xuning breathed a long sigh of relief.

Shen Wantang spoke of this matter lightly and casually, as if it were a simple matter, but he knew in his heart that it was not something that ordinary people could do to get in touch with Gao Mingyu.

Only someone of Shen Wantang's status, whose words carry weight, would be taken seriously by Gao Mingyu.

Fang Xuning rubbed his hands, feeling very happy. He had really climbed a towering tree this time. He was decisive and efficient in doing things, and was very good at networking. His future was bright!

"How's Lou Yun'er doing? Do you have any news about her?"

"Don't worry, Madam Second Young Master. This case has become so serious now that no one dares to punish her privately. However, she will inevitably suffer some punishment and be looked down upon. But I think Miss Lou should be able to withstand it. I have read her confession, and it is clear and firm. She is not even afraid to meet with Lord Tai, and she is determined to clear Chen Xiaowu's name!"

Shen Wantang was satisfied: "Well, as long as I didn't get tortured. Okay, it's getting late, you should go back, I should leave too."

Fang Xuning was very tactful and took his leave immediately.

However, before he left, Shen Wantang asked someone to pack some food for him to take back.

These were all snacks and meals freshly made in the restaurant, and they smelled delicious. Fang Xuning was so happy when he got them that he thanked Shen Wantang repeatedly.