Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 92: Deception

The small wine cellar immediately lit up, and as Ji Meiqing had expected, the person who came was Qiu Shi.

Ji Meiqing snatched the water bag from her hand and questioned, "What are you doing here so late?"

Qiu's face was frighteningly pale, and she shivered. Ji Meiqing looked at her, then instructed the people around her to take her upstairs, and at the same time sent someone to inform Lu Yu.

After the commotion, everyone gathered around. Ji Meiqing sat in a chair, looking down at the trembling Qiu Shi.

"Did you make the watered-down wine?" she asked deliberately, making sure that everyone working around her could hear her.

Mrs. Qiu hurriedly denied it, saying, "It wasn't me, don't wrong me."

"Not you?" She took out the water bag she had just received and threw it in front of her, her face turning cold and her tone becoming increasingly stern. "If it wasn't you, then it must be me? Why would I deliberately trip myself up!"

Qiu trembled, speechless. The dim light cast an unusually low atmosphere over the place. Lu Yu squeezed out of the crowd and only showed expression when he saw Ji Meiqing.

"How are you?"

Ji Meiqing shook her head, saying calmly, "I'm fine."

"Qiu, how dare you! If you don't talk, I'll take you to the authorities right now. I refuse to believe that the instruments of torture in the government can't make you talk." She slammed her hand on the table angrily, and her throat suddenly itched from the anger. After coughing twice, Lu Yu tensed up.

Her health was already poor, and she didn't know why she was so angry this time. Lu Yu patted her back tenderly, then looked sternly at Qiu Shi below, "You don't need to argue here. As soon as it's light tomorrow, I will send you to the government office."

"I didn't, it wasn't me."

Her roar did not soften Ji Meiqing's heart; instead, it drew another voice, "I knew it! The amount of wine we've been drinking lately is almost gone, but a few jars are always missing the next day. Qiu, you'd better tell us the truth about what you've been doing, or it'll be troublesome if someone finds out."

Ji Meiqing raised her eyebrows, looking at her with interest. "Is that so?"

"I didn't." She insisted that she hadn't done those things, but Ji Meiqing wasn't very convinced. She simply said, "Of course I know you didn't, but I don't know if Qiu Jiaming did or not. Brother Lu, shall we have someone search her house?"

Lu Yu nodded, "I'll take responsibility for the consequences."

After receiving confirmation, Ji Meiqing, supported by him, got up and led her people directly to the Qiu family. Qiu was utterly devastated; her face was as white as paper, a truly terrifying sight.

Upon arriving at Qiu's house, Ji Meiqing had her men search the place thoroughly, eventually finding several wine jars under the bed. There were quite a few, and when the jars were brought out, Ji Meiqing was still in the same state.

"Mrs. Qiu, do you have anything else to say?"

Qiu stubbornly denied it, saying, "I made this wine myself, so what?"

"You made this yourself?" Ji Meiqing squatted down, her fingers tracing the outer wall of the wine jar. The various bumps instantly sent a jolt through her. She then stood up and looked down at him, saying, "Qiu Shi, I'm giving you one last chance. If you admit it, I'll be lenient. If you don't, I'll have the clan leader come and judge."

"Go and rest first, I'll take care of the rest." Lu Yu looked at her with considerable heartache, not understanding why she insisted on continuing. But when he saw Qiu Shi slumped on the ground, a different kind of pressure descended upon him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Qiu collapsed to the ground. Lu Yu stared at her expressionlessly, as if watching a fish struggling to its death.

“This is mine. How could I have taken the wine I brewed from you?”

Ji Meiqing nodded to Li Ming, who immediately understood and had someone turn the wine jar upside down. The clear, watery liquid was poured directly onto the ground. Qiu Shi stared wide-eyed at this scene, yet was helpless.

The wine jar was turned upside down, and a clear, floating character was visible on the bottom: "Lu," the surname of Lu Yu.

Now everyone understood, and they all turned their attention to the other jars, which also had the same character "Lu" on them.

Qiu was utterly desperate, and Lu Yu had no intention of giving her another chance. He directly sent someone to summon the clan leader. The rest of the people stood still, waiting to watch the show. No one bothered to plead with her anymore, and they all stood aside.

Ji Meiqing then had Qiu Jiaming brought over again. Where could he be hiding if he wasn't home this late at night?

After a while, the clan chief was invited over, and Ji Meiqing recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

“Clan leader, this isn’t the first or second time. If you’re going to be soft-hearted, then let’s just hand this over to the authorities.” Lu Yu spoke directly, blocking the Qiu family’s path, and glared at them fiercely, stunning them.

No one caused trouble, and no one dared to plead for leniency. In the end, the clan chief could only grit his teeth and nod, "This matter really cannot be handled leniently. How about this, let's invite the Qiu family patriarch over. You can then decide what to do."

In desperation, they had no choice but to leave the mess behind. Ji Meiqing, who wasn't afraid of making things worse, immediately sent someone to invite Old Master Qiu over.

With two heads of the family, everything became much easier to handle. Lu Yu recounted the entire incident, then emphasized his own losses.

Old Master Qiu was so angry that his beard bristled, and he raised his cane to hit her, but fortunately the people behind him stopped him, and he calmed down a little.

"Our Qiu family will provide an explanation for this matter. As for the Qiu family, let us handle it."

"Then, sir, you should think about what to do with my business."

“We…” He was stunned. He knew that the wine sold by the Lu family was quite expensive. Even if he sold everything he owned, he couldn’t afford to pay back the money that Qiu had lost. So why should he clean up the mess that Qiu had made?

Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu were both waiting for an answer, both knowing full well that the Qiu family would definitely not provide any money. Therefore, this method of asking for money could be temporarily abandoned.

Qiu was also terrified. A thousand ideas raced through her mind as she looked at Ji Meiqing, but none of them were applicable. Furthermore, with everyone on Ji Meiqing's side, she had no chance of turning the tide.

"I was wrong." Qiu, who had been silent all along, suddenly went crazy. "I was wrong. If I told the truth, could you forgive me? I don't want to die, please."

"Then tell me, who is it?"

"It was Xiao Cui, it was her!" She crawled to Ji Meiqing's legs, crying, and said miserably, "If she hadn't told me to dilute your drinks with water, I wouldn't have done it. She's the one who told me, it was her!"