Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

The prefect immediately convened the court to hear the case. Song Yasi sat to one side, preparing to record the statements, while Lei Heng stood to the side, arms crossed, in charge of the interrogation.

"Hey!" The prefect slammed his gavel down, the sound sending dust flying from the rafters. He glared at Zhang San'er and said, "You audacious thieves! Stealing chickens and dogs is one thing, but to be so audacious as to cause trouble at Manager Zhao's restaurant! Tell me the truth! Who ordered you to do this? If you try to hide anything, you'll suffer the consequences!"

Zhang San trembled with fear and stammered, "Sir... no one instructed us, we were just confused for a moment."

Lei Heng stepped forward and shouted, "Nonsense! A moment of confusion? I think you planned this all along! Speak!"

Zhang San said with a mournful face, "Sir, really there isn't any. We just heard that there was treasure in that restaurant and wanted to go and see it. Who knew it would turn out like this?"

Upon hearing this, the prefect slammed his gavel again: "Still dare to argue! Treasure? Do you think that treasure is something you can covet? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child who can be easily fooled?"

At this moment, Li Er couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Sir, sir, it was Zhang San who led us there; it was all his idea!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang San became agitated: "Li Er, you ungrateful bastard! You were the one who said that restaurant would be an easy target!"

Wang Wu also shouted, "Stop making noise! ​​The adults are still here!"

Zhao Liu trembled with fear, saying, "It's over, it's over, we're doomed this time."

Ma Zi kept kowtowing to the prefect, pleading, "Your Honor, spare my life! Your Honor, spare my life!"

The prefect, his head throbbing from their noise, roared, "Shut up, all of you! Speak one at a time! Zhang San, you go first!"

Zhang San swallowed hard and said, "Sir, it's really not someone instructing us. We just want to get some money to spend. We think that restaurant is doing good business, so there must be something valuable inside."

Lei Heng sneered: "Hmph, you few dare to have such ideas? Tell the truth now, or you'll be subjected to severe torture!"

Zhang San was so frightened he almost wet his pants: "Sir, I'm telling the truth, no one instructed me to do this."

The prefect was so angry his mustache stood on end: "Fine, you bunch of fools who don't know what's good for you, you won't learn your lesson until you're faced with death! Guards, beat them!"

Several constables came over with boards, which terrified Zhang San and his companions, causing them to scream and howl like ghosts.

Just then, Wu Yong walked in and whispered a few words in the prefect's ear. The prefect nodded and said, "Consider yourselves lucky. Scholar Wu said he'll give you another chance. Explain yourself properly, or he won't let you off easily!"

Zhang San and the others looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Zhang San and his companions gritted their teeth, refusing to reveal the mastermind behind it all. Wu Yong, watching from the side, thought to himself, "These guys are really stubborn."

At this moment, someone brought the confession that Zhang San had signed to the prefect. The prefect took it and examined it carefully, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. Pointing at the confession, he said to Zhang San, "Zhang San, you clearly went to Manager Zhao's restaurant intentionally to steal his fortune, and you even tried to get close to that old man selling soy sauce. Tell me, were you trying to find out some secret of Manager Zhao?"

Zhang San trembled with fright and hurriedly said, "No, no, madam, I really didn't!"

The prefect was furious, looking as if he could devour someone, and said to Lei Heng, "Commander Lei, teach him a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Heng rolled up his sleeves and walked over. Zhang San, seeing this, secretly thought to himself that things were going to get bad.

Lei Heng was no pushover; he immediately slapped Zhang San twice across the face. The slaps echoed loudly throughout the hall. Zhang San was stunned, seeing stars, feeling the world spinning, and his head buzzing.

His face instantly swelled up like a pig's head, and a trickle of blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. Zhang San covered his face and mumbled, "Madam, spare me! I really didn't know!"

The prefect ignored his pleas for mercy and roared, "Still not talking? Lei Heng, keep hitting him!"

Upon receiving the order, Lei Heng raised his hand again. Zhang San, terrified, hurriedly cried out, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

But just as he was about to speak, he hesitated.

Seeing this, Lei Heng slapped him again and cursed, "What are you dawdling for, you brat?"

Zhang San was beaten until tears and snot streamed down his face. He cried out, "It was Yin Tianxi who sent us! Madam, spare my life!"

The prefect sneered, "Yin Tianxi? It's him? Go on!"

Zhang San continued, trembling, "Yin Tianxi said that Manager Zhao's restaurant had a treasure that could be sold for a lot of money, so we got interested."

The prefect glared at him: "Is it that simple?"

Zhang San nodded hurriedly: "Sir, I dare not lie, it's really true."

Lei Heng said from the side, "Madam, I don't think this boy is telling the truth yet. Give him a few more blows."

Zhang San was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Madam, I really told you everything, there's really nothing else."

The people in the lobby couldn't help but chuckle at Zhang San's disheveled appearance.

Zhang San couldn't hold back any longer. He thought that since he was going to get away with it anyway, he might as well confess everything. He made up his mind and blurted out Yin Tianxi's name. The prefect's eyes widened and his face turned extremely ugly.

This Yin Tianxi is related to the Emperor, and relying on Chai Jin's garden, he's arrogant, domineering, and extremely difficult to deal with. The Prefect was perplexed, pacing back and forth in the main hall, muttering to himself, "What should I do? What should I do?"

Seeing the prefect's conflicted expression, Song Jiang couldn't help but say, "Sir, are you not going to investigate this matter?"

The prefect glared at Song Jiang, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He stammered, "This...this...this Yin Tianxi is not someone to be trifled with. If I offend him, I'm afraid I'll lose my official hat, and might even be dismissed from my post, or even lose my head!"

Song Jiang frowned and said, "Sir, we can't just let this go like this. We have to give Manager Zhao an explanation."

The prefect was so anxious that he stamped his feet and said, "Oh dear, Clerk Song, you make it sound so easy. This is not so simple. My whole family depends on me to support them!"

Just then, the prefect suddenly clutched his stomach, a pained expression on his face, and cried out, "Ouch, I have diarrhea! I can't take it anymore!"

Everyone was taken aback by his sudden turn of events.

Song Jiang said helplessly, "Sir, you..."

Before Song Jiang could finish speaking, the prefect had already dashed to the outhouse, shouting as he ran, "Court adjourned! Court adjourned! Put Zhang San and the others in jail for now, and we'll discuss this further when I get back!"

The people in the hall looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Lei Heng couldn't help but curse, "What kind of nonsense is this! The lord actually deserted his post in the face of battle!"

Song Yasi shook her head and said, "It seems this case is going to be difficult!"

When Zhang San and the others heard that they were going to be thrown into jail, they started crying and wailing again.

Zhang San shouted, "Sir, you can't lock us up in the dungeon! It's stinky and dark in there, we can't stand it!"

Li Er also cried out, "Sir, we really know we were wrong, please forgive us!"

Wang Wu and Zhao Liu also begged for mercy, and Ma Zi cried with snot and tears streaming down his face.

But no one paid them any attention at this point. Several constables came over, picked them up like chicks, and dragged them toward the prison.

Zhang San and his companions struggled and shouted, "Help! We're innocent!"

And so, chaos erupted in the main hall. Meanwhile, the prefect was still squatting in the outhouse, not knowing when he would emerge to face this thorny issue.

After leaving the government office, Song Jiang, looking grave, headed straight for Zhao Tianming's restaurant. At this time, thanks to Gongsun Sheng's help, Zhao Tianming's restaurant had temporarily resumed normal operations. Zhao Tianming was warmly entertaining Gongsun Sheng, and the two were having a pleasant conversation.

When Gongsun Sheng saw Song Jiang approaching, he smiled and said, "Song Clerk, what brings you here to the tavern today?"

Song Jiang looked worried and waved his hand, saying, "I'm not in the mood for drinking." He then turned to Zhao Tianming and said, "Brother Zhao, have you heard that this case involves Yin Tianxi? The prefect actually said that he has an upset stomach and dares not investigate this matter. It seems to be very troublesome."

Gongsun Sheng slowly sipped his water, put down his cup, and said, "He's afraid of offending Yin Tianxi and losing his official position."

Song Jiang nodded and said, "Master Gongsun is right, that's exactly what he's worried about. This Yin Tianxi is arrogant and domineering because of his kinship with the royal family, so the prefect naturally wouldn't dare to provoke him easily."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianming slammed his fist on the table in anger and said, "This Yin Tianxi has been stirring up trouble behind my back and has repeatedly opposed me. I'm just doing business honestly, but he keeps causing me trouble. I won't be satisfied until I teach him a lesson!"

Song Jiang also said, "This Yin Tianxi is indeed relying on the power of the imperial family to act arrogantly and do evil. If this continues, who knows how many more people he will harm? He should be taught a lesson."

Gongsun Sheng stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "But Yin Tianxi has a powerful background, so we need to plan carefully and not act rashly, otherwise we may cause even greater trouble."

Zhao Tianming gritted his teeth and said, "Are we just going to let him go like this? I can't swallow this!"

Song Jiang comforted him, "Brother Zhao, don't worry, there will always be a way. Let's think about how to collect evidence of his wrongdoings first, and then we can make further plans."

The three sat together, lost in thought, and the atmosphere in the restaurant became unusually heavy.

After thinking for a moment, Song Jiang looked at Zhao Tianming with a determined gaze and said, "Brother Zhao, I have an idea. Why don't you join forces with Master Chai and see if you can deal with Yin Tianxi? Master Chai has many guests and talented people in his household, and he is quite prestigious and well-connected in the Jianghu. Brother Zhao, you run a restaurant locally and have some foundation and connections. If the two of you join forces, you might be able to contend with Yin Tianxi."

Zhao Tianming frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Master Chai? Although I have met him a few times, I don't know if he would be willing to help with such an important matter."

Song Jiang quickly said, "Brother Zhao, don't worry. Master Chai is always generous and righteous, and he can't stand such bullies. As long as we sincerely invite him and explain the pros and cons to him, he will surely not stand idly by."

Zhao Tianming nodded slightly: "Brother Song is right, but how exactly to carry out this alliance still needs further discussion."

Song Jiang continued, "We can first send someone to Chai's residence to explain the situation to Master Chai and sound him out. If he is interested, we can then discuss specific countermeasures together."

Zhao Tianming clenched his fist: "That's all we can do. Hopefully, we can take this opportunity to get rid of Yin Tianxi, this scourge."