Chapter 5745: Extra Story - Qiao Mu's Admonition
It was peculiar that this Manager Cao recognized her. It meant he must have seen her once or twice, at a court banquet or similar event, indicating he was likely a servant of some noble or aristocratic family.
"Who are you?" Qiao Mu scrutinized him, her gaze intimidating.
Manager Cao trembled, unable to speak coherently. How could he possibly be impudent now? His own restaurant had encountered these two formidable figures; how could he possibly bear this humiliation? If his master knew things had escalated this far, he'd surely beat him to death! He blamed the plump shopkeeper for his incompetence. How on earth did he manage to attract these two?
Mo Lian's eyes narrowed coldly, and someone immediately stepped forward to drag Manager Cao closer. "Answer when spoken to! Speak! Who exactly are you?"
Manager Cao shivered with fear. Terrified by the hidden guard, he immediately confessed, "I, I am... I'm from Jianping Royal Estate..." He stammered, unable to string a coherent sentence together. "I'm a minor steward serving Prince Jianping's Heir. Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Empress."
"Prince Jianping's Heir? Mo Kun??" The usually expressionless Empress's face darkened instantly. "You Jianping, you were quiet for a while, and now you're asking for trouble again!" the young Empress said angrily. "How dare you cause a scene at my restaurant?!" You truly have the guts of a bear and a leopard!
Manager Cao almost burst into tears. This is just too damn unlucky. He had come to inspect the Colorful Tower because it had been losing money recently, acting on behalf of the Heir. He never expected to stumble upon such a major incident! Manager Cao felt like crying. He was truly terrified.
Everyone in the capital knew how formidable the Empress was. After a series of face-slapping incidents at court banquets, no official, unless completely brain-dead, dared to provoke this Empress. Even their own Heir acted like a quail whenever he met this elder sister-in-law... If the Heir knew that this incident had attracted this terrifying figure, he would surely beat him to death!
Wuwuwu... Manager Cao wiped his tears, prostrated on the ground, whimpering repeatedly, "Empress, please see clearly! Empress, please see clearly! I, our, our Heir, did not! Did not cause trouble at your restaurant."
"Bring them up!" Qiao Qiao angrily waved her hand.
The hidden guards brought forward the ruffians, throwing them onto the ground with thuds. Wails immediately erupted from all over. These people lay on the ground, groaning incessantly. Some still cursed, "How dare you do this?" "Do you know who our master is?"
Some even scrambled towards the plump owner, hugging his legs and shouting, "Master, Master, please help us!" How dare those delicate men from the opposite building drag them to Colorful Tower for a confrontation? Did they take the wrong medicine? Do they know who owns Colorful Tower? It's the Jianping Royal Estate's property. Do they dare to provoke an imperial relative? The ruffians, pressed to the ground, wailed repeatedly, "Master, save us! Master, save us!"
Qiao Mu sneered at them. "Go and invite Prince Jianping's Heir over."
Everyone present shivered subtly. For some reason, they had a bad feeling.
Prince Jianping's Heir Arrives
Soon, Prince Jianping's Heir was "invited" over, carried by two hidden guards. He looked like he had just woken up, his eyes hazy with sleep. When he was suddenly brought to Colorful Tower and presented before the Crown Princess, Prince Jianping's Heir immediately seemed more alert.
He fell to his knees with a "thud," and upon seeing Qiao Qiao, he completely disregarded etiquette and wailed, "Elder Sister-in-law, Elder Sister-in-law! It's been so long since I've seen you! Why have you graced my humble restaurant with your presence today?"
"It's all my fault for being so ill-informed! I didn't know you and Elder Brother were here!" He cursed, then turned and kicked Manager Cao. "You little bastard, how could you handle things like this? Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law are here, and you didn't even notify me!"
"Elder Sister-in-law!" This fellow, as if possessed by an actor, rolled over to Qiao Mu's leg, exclaiming with theatrical flair, "If I had known earlier that you were coming to inspect my humble little restaurant, I would have followed you all the way!"
"Hehe," Adult Qiao Qiao said, simply tossing him two words after his lengthy speech. Everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips. Even Mo Lian found Prince Jianping's Heir's pathetic display hard to watch. Was this really a member of his Mo family? How could the Mo family produce such a brainless fellow!
"Elder Sister-in-law," Mo Kun opened his dog-like eyes and blinked at her. "Why have you suddenly come to our Colorful Tower?" "Is something wrong with the dishes? Please feel free to give any opinions! Treat it as your own home."
Qiao Mu looked down at him expressionlessly. To be honest, this fellow was so obsequious it was almost unbearable. If not for her husband's sake, she would have slapped him and wiped that idiotic smile off his face. It's truly frustrating! How can this foolish child be so idiotic? He usually seems like a normal person, so why does he always become so foolish when he's in front of her?
"Do you know why I'm here today?" Qiao Mu glanced at him, asking coldly.
Prince Jianping's Heir quickly shook his head. "Elder Sister-in-law, please speak directly."
"That restaurant across the street!" Qiao Mu pointed. "Do you know who owns it?"
Prince Jianping's Heir shook his head again, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately said obsequiously, "Elder Sister-in-law, do you own that restaurant?"
Adult Qiao Qiao nodded. "I do! But just now, your plump shopkeeper sent a bunch of people to smash things in my restaurant. And they claimed that they had your backing to do anything."
The plump shopkeeper was covered in cold sweat. Manager Cao was also terrified, frantically wiping his sweat with his sleeve, trembling and not daring to breathe.
Prince Jianping's Heir's face darkened. "What? How dare they be so audacious!"
A Stern Lecture
"These shameless bastards! How dare they cause trouble and smash things at your restaurant, Elder Sister-in-law? This is simply outrageous!"
"Elder Sister-in-law, rest assured, I will give you a complete and thorough explanation for this matter." Prince Jianping's Heir declared indignantly, "These shameless scoundrels dared to falsely transmit my orders and behave wantonly on Changle Street. Elder Sister-in-law, you can rest assured, I understand what needs to be done."
With that, Prince Jianping's Heir looked coldly at the plump shopkeeper, angrily saying, "You shameless dog, I entrusted Colorful Tower to you to manage, and even made you half owner. Is this how you repay me?"
"Do you usually throw your weight around like this, using a chicken feather as a warrant? Do you know whose territory this Dragon Flame City is? It's Elder Brother's and Elder Sister-in-law's territory! How dare you court death like this? No one can save you now."
The plump shopkeeper was already scared out of his wits. Hearing this, he immediately prostrated himself, begging for mercy, crying and wailing, "Your Majesty! Empress, this humble one knows he was wrong, this humble one shouldn't have harbored such malicious thoughts."
"This humble one shouldn't have been jealous of Spring Full Pavilion's good business and resorted to such despicable tactics. Please, Empress, in your magnanimity, forgive this humble one just this once."
Before Qiao Qiao could speak, Prince Jianping's Heir jumped up and slapped him across the face. "You shameless scoundrel, you've done such a disgraceful thing, and you still dare to hope the Empress will forgive you?"
"I'm telling you, this matter won't end well today! Even if the Empress is magnanimous enough to let you go, I won't. You're dead, you hear me?"
"To do something so utterly heartless, you've completely disgraced this heir!"
The plump man whimpered pitifully, "Heir, spare my life, Heir, spare my life. This humble one will never dare again. Heir, please spare this dog's life."
Prince Jianping's Heir snorted coldly and suddenly snatched a sword from a nearby guard. Like an actor, he loudly declared, "Die!" and held the sword to the plump man's neck.
The plump man fell backwards onto the ground in fright, his legs trembling uncontrollably, stammering, "Heir, Heir, don't kill me, Heir."
Qiao Mu looked at them speechlessly, then subtly gestured. A hidden guard understood and stepped forward, separating Prince Jianping's Heir's sword-wielding hand.
"What are you doing?" Adult Qiao Qiao glared at him in exasperation.
"Elder Sister-in-law, your younger brother will deal with him now."
"It hasn't come to that," Qiao Mu grumbled, glaring at him. He certainly needed a lesson, but it wasn't a capital offense; this man was just a little greedy. His crime wasn't punishable by death.
"Mo Kun," Qiao Qiao called his name.
Prince Jianping's Heir jumped in fright, scrambling to her side, nodding frantically like a pecking chick. "Elder Sister-in-law, just say the word! There's nothing your younger brother won't listen to when you teach me!"
Everyone watching him couldn't help but feel annoyed. This guy was utterly fawning over their Qiao. His demeanor clearly showed that after being disciplined by Qiao Qiao a few times, he was completely submissive, with no thought of resistance.
"From now on, you cannot employ this person as a shopkeeper."
Prince Jianping's Heir breathed a sigh of relief, nodding repeatedly. "Of course, of course. Haven't I seen a ghost and still not be afraid of the dark? How could I ever use someone like this again? Elder Sister-in-law, rest assured, I will carefully examine their virtue and character before employing anyone in the future. This kind of thing will absolutely not happen again."
Qiao Mu hummed in acknowledgment, looking at him with an approving gaze, as if he were a teachable child. "It's true that you need to thoroughly investigate before doing things. You can't always be a hands-off boss, you know?" She had adopted the authoritative air of an elder sister-in-law, and it was quite convincing.
Her husband, however, couldn't help but twitch his lips repeatedly beside her. He thought to himself: My wife is actually a hands-off boss who ignores big and small matters all day long. But Mo Lian would certainly never expose his wife's shortcomings. Whatever his wife said, he would certainly agree with both hands and feet. Since his wife was now going to discipline his younger brother, he would certainly help fan the flames. If his wife struggled alone, he could join her, and then afterwards, he'd drag his brother away and give him a severe beating.
"Why haven't I seen your father lately? What's he busy with?" the little poker-faced Empress couldn't help but ask.
Prince Jianping's Heir's heart thumped. He secretly wondered if his elderly father had offended this powerful Empress recently. Prince Jianping's Heir wiped the cold sweat from his brow and asked pitifully, "Elder Sister-in-law, is it because my father's last payment hasn't been made to you yet?"
Mo Lian couldn't help but twitch his lips. Looking at his brother's useless demeanor, Mo Lian truly wanted to rush over and kick him to the ground.
"Elder Sister-in-law, don't worry, that was an imperial decree from the Supreme Emperor. Elder Sister-in-law, you are collecting debts by imperial decree, and our Jianping Royal Estate will repay it even if we have to sell everything! It's just that the time, the time might be a bit longer."
Qiao Mu's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, waves churned, and she inwardly sighed three times. Is this Mo Kun sick? This happened years ago. Does she look like someone who holds grudges and is petty about every penny? That matter was already settled, wasn't it? What does he mean by bringing it up again now?
The little poker-faced Empress asked coldly, "So, your father has been busy raising funds lately?"
Everyone couldn't help but collapse in exasperation. This little fellow is truly speechless-inducing.
"Yes, yes," Mo Kun replied, trembling, his head covered in sweat.
Qiao Mu looked at his terrified expression, then thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I won't bother you about Old Prince Jianping's matter today. Handle this properly, and then you can go back."
Prince Jianping's Heir never expected the matter to be resolved so easily. Had his sister-in-law changed her nature? She didn't even have someone beat him up! This guy secretly glanced at his sister-in-law. For some reason, now that he looked at her, he found her increasingly benevolent...
"In any case, you need to be more reliable in the future. Don't go around bullying men and women, oppressing good citizens. If I find out you've done anything out of line, be careful!"
Mo Kun nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, Elder Sister-in-law, rest assured, I have long since reformed myself and no longer engage in such acts of bullying."
Mo Kun grinned. "Rest assured, Elder Sister-in-law, I am determined to be a good person and will definitely learn from you and Elder Brother."
The little poker-faced Empress nodded expressionlessly, then coldly swept her gaze over the ruffians before them. Mo Kun's cold sweat returned, and he quickly said, "Elder Sister-in-law, leave these people to me. I will surely educate them well and guide (beat) them towards goodness."
The little poker-faced Empress had no idea of Mo Kun's true intentions and simply gave a faint "hmm." She genuinely didn't want to bother with such trivial matters, so Mo Kun volunteering to handle it was perfect.
"In a few days, your elder brother and I will be going to Sky-Null Star for a while."
"You, and your cousins, all of you, make sure you behave yourselves, understand? You should always control yourselves, don't make mistakes, and certainly don't act recklessly. Always listen to the Old Prince, understand?"
Everyone couldn't help but chuckle. They watched as the little poker-faced Empress sat in a grand armchair under the afternoon sun, expressionlessly lecturing Mo Kun on how to be a proper person.
Would you like to see what happens when they go to Sky-Null Star?