In addition to this piece of ore, there is also a pennant presented to Xu Qinyu, Xu Qinyu took it carefully, rolled it up and put it in the brocade box after reading it, and then thanked everyone again, saying: "Because there is still a lawsuit I still have to go to the yamen, the little girl will go first."

The judges naturally nodded and said yes, "Little lady, let's go."

Xu Qinyu and Lianhua went to the yamen again, wondering if these robbers had confessed, if not, they would definitely have to worry in the future.

After she left, the judges also returned to the inn to pack their things and went to the restaurant outside the city.

The other nine cooks also left one after another. Although some of them regretted not winning the championship, they felt that the loss was not wrong. Some of them were cooks from other places. They knew that Mrs. Xu was the owner of Xu Ji, and planned to live in the restaurant. A few days ago, tried Xu Kee's signboard before going back.

Only Kong Kun looked at Xu Qinyu's back, and his heart became more and more uneasy. He went back to Zuixianlou first. Recently, there have been fewer guests in Zuixianlou. Because of this cooking competition, everyone knows Xuji Restaurant. , so many people went outside the city.

Zuixianlou was still the same as usual. When Kong Kun saw this, he also went back to the Confucius Mansion first to visit his father.

He disappointed his father again, and felt very uncomfortable. His father always hoped that he could win this cooking competition and make Zuixianlou's reputation even higher. Only by opening a branch in the nearby state city would he be famous. In order to make Zuixianlou famous all over the world, he still let Confucius' father not win the leader this time, and also let his father's wish to open a branch shop come to nothing.

The older my father is, the more he wants the Zuixianlou to flourish. He wants the branches of the Zuixianlou to spread all over the country, but he even passed the first level, and he couldn't win the first prize in the cooking competition, so no one knew about the Zuixianlou.

Kong Kun went to see Father Confucius, but he saw no one in the courtyard, only two servants, he said, "Where did father go?"

The two servants were also very puzzled, "At noon today, the master wants to go to pay homage to his teacher, so he went out. We said to go and talk to the master, the old man will not let us, we have to follow, and the old man will not let me. , I simply packed up and went out."

Kong Kun knew about his father's experience when he was young. When he was ten years old, his family suffered. Later, he met his teacher and learned cooking from his teacher. The teacher also suffered. In the early years, my father would always go to pay homage to his teacher every year, but he never went with him. Later, when my father got older and couldn't run around, he only went to worship once every four or five years.

My mother passed away a few years ago, and father's body seemed to collapse all of a sudden, and his legs and feet began to feel unsteady. He wanted to pay homage to his teacher every few years, but he kept stopping him. My father is now in his 60s, and he is almost ten years old. didn't go to pay homage to teacher in years.

Kong Kun was a little puzzled, why did his father suddenly want to pay homage to his teacher, and he didn't even have time to wait for him to finish the test.

Could it be that his father also knew that he could not win the championship? After all, Mrs. Xu's reputation has spread all over Raozhou City these days, and even the nearby state city knows about Mrs. Xu, so her father is angry? That's why didn't tell him, went directly to worship teacher?

Kong Kun hurriedly asked, "Did my father bring other people?"

The two servants shook their heads, "No, the master brought a burden and left in a hurry. Even the carriage and the driver in the house were not allowed to follow him, saying that he rented a car by himself."

Kong Kun was worried, his father is so old, is it really possible to leave alone to worship his teacher?

Kong Kun was so worried that he wanted to catch up, but his father didn't even tell him where his teacher lived and was buried. Many, my father didn't even say where his teacher was in Gyeongju, how could he chase him? I don't even know if my father took the official route or the water route.

Kong Kun had no choice but to let the servants of the mansion divide the soldiers into two paths, chase after them both from the official road and the waterway, and persuade his father to come back first.

After sending good people to chase after his father, Kong Kun finally calmed down.

But at this moment of calming down, Kong Kun had a strange feeling in his heart that he couldn't speak. He always felt that his father left in such a hurry, saying that something was wrong to pay homage to his teacher?

What's wrong?

...

Xu Qinyu followed Lianhua to the yamen. The yamen was not far from the test site. The carriage was unloaded on the road outside the city. Xu Qinyu, "Don't worry, Master, if they don't recruit, I have a way to get them to confess."

Xu Qinyu didn't think much, just asked: "But some methods that Lotus learned in the martial arts?"

She always thought that Lotus was a member of the martial arts. In the TV she watched in the past, there were many strange people in the martial arts.

Lianhua paused and nodded lightly, not daring to say that she learned the confession method from the black armored guards.

Soon, the two arrived at the yamen.

Only then did the yamen official tell Xu Qinyu, "Little Lady Xu finally came, that's what happened, those robbers just refused to confess who instructed them to commit the murder on the road, and said they were just watching Little Lady Xu ride the carriage. It must be a wealthy family who wanted to rob their homes and then aimed at the carriage. But an hour ago, the prefect came over in person and said that there were robbers outside the city of Raozhou. Such a bad thing must be severely punished, so he took the three prisoners directly. After going to the prefect's mansion, Mrs. Xu can go to the prefect's mansion and ask."

Xu Qinyu nodded, thanked the official, and went to the prefect's mansion again.

The Prefect's Mansion is not far from the Yamen, it's right next to it. She looked for it from the main entrance of the Prefect's Mansion, but when she arrived at the main entrance of the Prefect's Mansion, she saw the Prefect, along with a group of officers and soldiers, as well as Zhizhi and Yunlan. go out.

When Xu Qinyu saw the prefect, he bowed first.

The prefect can only pretend that the two are not familiar with each other.

Xu Qinyu asked after the ceremony, "Your Excellency the Prefect, the daughter of the people, Xu Qinyu, would like to know who the robbers are today..."

The prefect waved his hand and said, "I already know, and the robbers have confessed. This officer is planning to bring people to arrest the criminals."

Xu Qinyu knew that her uncle knew that she was almost killed by robbers, so she referred the robbers to the prefect for interrogation, hoping to solve the case as soon as possible and arrest the people behind the scenes as soon as possible.

Xu Qinyu finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard what her uncle said. Before he could ask, the prefect glanced at her and said, "The three robbers have already confessed, saying that Kong Songkang from Zuixianlou gave them five thousand taels of silver. Let them buy your life before the culinary competition ends."

He is not only the prefect of Raozhou City, but also has his own way of interrogating prisoners. Few prisoners are unwilling to tell the truth in his hands.

Xu Qinyu was stunned when she heard it, "Kong Songkang from Zuixianlou?"

Zhu Taishou nodded, "Now the Zuixianlou is headed by his son Kong Kun. He has not been in charge of the Zuixianlou for more than ten years." In fact, when he heard that it was Kong Songkang, he was also a little surprised. Kong Songkang's affairs were spared. Zhoucheng is not uncommon. In the eyes of everyone, he is also a poor man. His family suffered a disaster, and he was the only one who escaped and died. Fortunately, he met a mentor who took him in and taught him how to cook. Unexpectedly, when he was twenty years old, the teacher The two disciples suffered another disaster. Master Kong Songkang didn't survive, and he was the only one left. He didn't want to stay in the teacher's hometown to see things and think about people, so he came to Raozhou City.

I thought he was a kind-hearted person who knew how to be grateful, but who would have done the act of buying a murderer or killing someone.

Even if Kong Songkang wanted his son to win the championship, he couldn't do such a thing.

What's more, if he is not the leader of a cooking competition, it is worth buying murder. Killing.

Since he dared to buy a murderer and kill someone, the things between him and his teacher were always strange and strange. Also, when this person wanted to bribe Xu Ji to help cook and steal his skills, you can predict that this person is not an upright person.

Xu Qinyu also frowned. Sure enough, she had heard about Kong Songkang and his teacher before and felt that something was wrong. If she really wanted to thank her teacher, shouldn't she stay in her teacher's hometown and carry forward the recipes her teacher left him? He also brought his teacher's entire family business to Raozhou City to open a restaurant.

Xu Qinyu said: "Then the girl can go with the adults."

The prefect did not let them follow, and they were waiting in the prefect's mansion.

Xu Qinyu could only follow Lotus and two friends to the Prefect's Mansion first.

I went to see the horse unicorn again.

When the fourth brother brought the horse home to her, he told her that the horse was called Qilin.

Xu Qinyu went to see the unicorn. It was resting in the stables of the prefect's mansion. He definitely couldn't go back with her in the past two days, so he could only raise it in the prefect's mansion first.

Qilin also recognized Xu Qinyu, and hummed at her, feeling a little wronged, Xu Qinyu immediately said: "Kirin is good, you can go back after you have been raised in the prefect's mansion for a few days, when you go back, I will Baked beans for you."

On weekdays, Kirin likes to eat beans. Once Xu Qinyu roasted some black beans for him, he liked it, and he would not eat unbaked beans on weekdays.

However, Xu Qinyu was afraid of eating too much to get angry, so she only gave a certain amount every day.

The black beans roasted for Kirin are all original flavors, without any condiments, and they are roasted directly in the roasting cellar. Everyone can eat them, and they are fragrant and crispy.

Kirin looked up at the horse's head and seemed a little dissatisfied.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help pondering: "Is Qilin unwilling? Could it be that you want me to make up for the black beans that I haven't eaten in a few days when I go back?"

Sure enough, Qilin heard this and immediately hissed.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help laughing, "You're about to catch up with Baiyu and Moyu, and you're going to be fine."

He also asked her to make up for it with the baked beans it hadn't eaten in the past few days.

Xu Qinyu laughed again after speaking, "Okay, I'll make it up for you when you go back."

Lianhua was amazed, the horse raised by His Highness was indeed different from ordinary horses. If it hadn't been restrained by the carriage in the morning, Qilin probably wouldn't have been chopped on the horse's butt by the robber, and it would not have been restrained by the carriage. can't run around and move around, can only bear the knife for life.

After Xu Qinyu finished watching the unicorn, she went to the front hall of the prefect's mansion and waited.

Zhizhi and Yunlan also told her about some things after going to the Yamen today.

The yamen servants had nothing to do with those robbers. Even if they were injured, they wouldn't get in, and they wouldn't tell the truth even if they were whipped with a simple whip.

After being brought to the prefect's mansion by the prefect, the three confessed in less than half an hour, but Zhizhi and Yunlan definitely didn't see how they got them to confess.

Seeing that Xu Qinyu's face was still a little pale, Xu Yunlan patted her on the back and comforted her: "Qinyu, don't worry, just catch her in a while."

Moreover, if old man Kong did such a thing, although it had nothing to do with his son, it would definitely affect Zuixianlou. Whether Zuixianlou can continue to operate in Raozhou City in the future is a question.

...

The prefect Zhu led a group of officers and soldiers directly to the Confucian mansion. The servants of the Confucian mansion opened the door. They planned to go in and pass it on, but the soldiers directly took down the gatehouse. Kun was talking to his wife, "Father doesn't know where he went, whether he can be chased back, and what he thinks, how dare he go to Gyeongju alone."

His wife Chen Shi said: "Master, don't worry, my father always has his own ideas, and it may also be that as he gets older, his homesickness becomes more and more serious. It is also our fault that he wants to pay homage to his teacher. We should find time every few years." Go with your father."

Kong Kun nodded, and was about to say something, when suddenly there were loud footsteps outside, and the hurried voice of the guard guarding the courtyard gate, "My lord, why did you come to visit me so suddenly?"

Startled, Kong Kun hurriedly got up and went out with Mrs. Chen.

As soon as he reached the door of the room, he saw the prefect leading a group of officers and soldiers to file in. He stepped forward to bow down, but heard the prefect sternly said: "Go in and search for people."

Kong Kun was stunned for a moment, "May I ask what you are doing?"

The prefect said: "Your father, Kong Songkang, bribed those robbers to rob and kill Xu Qinyu, Xu Ji's owner. The robbers have confessed. Now they come to your Kong's house to arrest the criminals."

"No, it's impossible!" Kong Kun's face turned pale, and he subconsciously wanted to defend his father. In his mind, his father was a good man who knew how to be grateful. He would help anyone who needed help on weekdays. How could his father Maybe buy murder. Kill?

Although he felt that his father was a little strange today, he would never associate what happened to Miss Xu with his father.

The prefect said coldly: "There are witnesses, and those robbers have already pleaded guilty. How is it impossible? Come, go in and search for them!"

Chen's face is also pale, and his body is crumbling. If the father-in-law is such a person, it can only be said that he has concealed it too well these years, and if the father-in-law really buys murder, how will their family gain a foothold in Raozhou City in the future?

Before the eunuch went in to search, Kong Kun murmured: "Your Excellency, you don't need to go in and search. My father said at noon that he wanted to pay homage to his teacher, so he had already packed his things and left Raozhou City."

He knew in his heart that his father was probably not going to pay homage to his teacher when he went out this time, but he knew that Miss Xu was fine, and several robbers were also captured alive, so he would definitely confess to him, so his father ran away early .

It turned out that the father bought the murder.

But why would a benevolent father do such a thing.

Is it possible that it is to prevent Mrs. Xu from winning the championship, and hope that he will win the championship this time so that Zuixianlou can flourish? Is it really so important that Zuixian Tower can become famous all over the world? It's not very good now, Zuixianlou makes a lot of profit every month, he can let his wife and children live a prosperous life without worrying about food and clothing, he is already very satisfied.

The prefect frowned, and sent half of his men to search around Confucius' mansion, and the remaining half divided into four groups to chase after Kong Songkang.

The prefect took half of the officers and soldiers back to the prefect's mansion when the Confucian mansion really couldn't find anyone.

But the matter of buying murder and murder is related to the Kong family, and everyone in the Kong family will be arrested and interrogated.

With such a big commotion in the Kong family, the neighbors around couldn't help leaning out of the wall to watch the commotion. When they saw that the prefect came to arrest them in person, they were a little puzzled, "What happened to the Kong family? Today is not a cooking competition." When it’s over, Dong’s family asked the officers and soldiers to arrest him and take him to the prefect’s mansion? Or did the prefect personally bring people to arrest him?”

"Didn't something happen in the cooking competition today? Miss Xu, who won the championship, was besieged by robbers when she came to the city in the morning. Fortunately, she was not injured. I heard that it was to prevent Miss Xu from participating in today's cooking competition. Those robbers must be related to the few cooks in today's competition, so the one who bribed the robbers could not be Dong's family?"

"My God, if you want to prevent someone from winning the championship, you have to buy murder. What kind of vicious people are doing this? So is it true that Dong's family is buying murder?"

"Basically not far from ten, otherwise the prefect will be alarmed anyway."

There was a lot of discussion.

Collusion with bandits is a big case, and everyone in the Confucian mansion, whether it is the old slave or Kong Kun's youngest grandson, was taken back to the prefect's mansion for interrogation.

When the prefect took people back to the prefect's mansion, Xu Qinyu learned that Kong Songkang had run away, and the prefect brought all the members of the Kong family back for interrogation.

The prefect was a little apologetic, "Miss Xu, there is no need to worry. I have already sent additional manpower to chase after her. I will definitely bring justice to Miss Xu. Miss Xu should go home and wait for the news."

It can only be like this now.

Xu Qinyu thanked the prefect, and then went back to Xu Ji, and the prefect sent someone to personally escort the young ladies back.

Qilin's horse's buttocks were injured, and he couldn't move for the time being, so he was being raised in the prefect's mansion.

After Xu Qinyu went back, it was already very dark, and the guests at the restaurant had almost eaten. Xu Qinyu went to Xu Ji, and Dongqian told her that many guests came before the evening meal today, and they were all some An older man.

Xu Qinyu knew that it should be the old gentlemen of the judges, she said: "Don't neglect the distinguished guests, I will come to the restaurant to help tomorrow."

She didn't know when Kong Songkang could be arrested and brought to justice, and it was definitely not easy to leave the restaurant during these days, safety is the most important thing.

Seeing that there were still some blood and dust on her cloak, Dong Qian asked suspiciously, "Master, you are..."

Xu Qinyu knew that this matter could not be concealed, Dong Qian was helping out in the back kitchen at night, even if the guests from the city talked about it during dinner, he would not know, but tomorrow he will definitely be able to tell others about it. heard about it.

After hearing this, Dongqian was shocked, "He, how dare he pay for murder?"

Xu Qinyu shook her head, "I don't know about that."

But probably because of the impact of interests.

Thinking about it, in her previous life she was in a car accident just after she won the world-class cooking competition, and it's the same in this life. Fortunately, Lianhua is very strong and has always protected her.

Xu Qinyu explained a few more words to Dongqian before going back to the house to rest.

Xu Qinyu, Zhizhi and Yunlan went back to the house first.

During this period of time, Zhizhi and Yunlan have been living in her house, and Xu Qinyu didn't want to take money from them for meals on weekdays, so she let them live in the restaurant.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw Wen Shi standing at the door of the house looking out, seeing the three young ladies coming back, Wen Shi was relieved, "Are you all alright?"

She works as the shopkeeper of the restaurant, so she doesn't have to work in the back kitchen. Many guests from the city came to eat at night. Naturally, they talked about the cooking competition during the meal, and even brought Miss Xu to the city. also talked about the murder of the robbers.

When Wen heard that, her body softened, but fortunately she was supported by a female assistant, and she hurried over to ask the chatting guest.

The guest was still a little puzzled, but the female assistant hurriedly said, "This shopkeeper is Miss Xu's mother-in-law."

The guest came back to his senses and told her, "Madam, don't panic, Miss Xu is fine. I'm going to the yamen after taking part in the competition, and I should be back soon."

Even so, Wen's heart was still beating, and she always made mistakes in her calculations, and finally called a literate female buddy to come over to help her do the calculations.

After all the guests left, she hurried back to the house to wait for Yuniang.

Seeing Yuniang and the others come back at this moment, they feel relieved, but they are still worried, not knowing who is trying to harm Yuniang.

Xu Qinyu said warmly, "Don't worry, mother, the prefect has already interrogated those robbers and knows who is behind the scenes."

Wen Shi immediately said: "Who is so cruel and wants to kill you."

She asked herself that Yu Niang was kind-hearted and kind to others, and it was impossible to have enemies with others, so why would someone want to kill Yu Niang.

She even thought of Empress Fu and the new emperor in the capital, but after thinking about it, she knew that it could not be Empress Fu and the new emperor. Even if they wanted to destroy her lineage, they should have sent someone to kill her and others. Brother Xuan, Sister Ning, Brother Feng, and Sister Qian are the ones.

Xu Qinyu told Wen Shi truthfully.

Wen Shi was stunned for a while, and was also a little unbelievable, "Just to stop Yu Niang from winning the championship, you actually want to kill you with all your heart?"

Xu Qinyu nodded, Wen Shi was so angry, even though she was gentle, she couldn't help scolding Kong Songkang, and finally seeing the three little ladies still standing at the door, she said, "Go in the room and rest first. Well, I have been injured by those scoundrels today, do you want to ask the boss to come and take a look."

Xu Qinyu smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, mother, we are not injured, mother doesn't know how powerful Lotus is, it's easy to fight one against ten, if it weren't for Lotus, we would be more fortunate today, but we still have to Please come and take a look at Langzhong, Zhizhi is a little frightened."

Although they were not injured, Zhizhi seemed to be frightened, and her face was still white all the way, but she and Yunlan were fine.

Yang Zhizhi originally wanted to refuse, but her heart was still beating a little faster now, thinking that those stumps and broken arms were also uncomfortable, so naturally she didn't dare to shirk, and only thanked Wen.

Wen Shi hurriedly said, "Then you all go back to the house to rest first, and I'll call Langzhong over here."

An old man was also invited to sit in the restaurant.

Wen shi took a little maid and ran this trip in person.

Wen shi didn't tell Ning Jie'er about it. Ning Jie'er was busy renting a shop recently, and she almost always came back late.

Soon, Mrs. Wen led the old man back, and the old man checked Yang Zhizhi's pulse, saying that she had palpitations caused by sudden surprise, and it was not serious, just drink some soothing soup.

After the decoction was finished, Wen Shi also asked Xu Qinyu and Xu Yunlan to drink a bowl, and then they both went to wash and rest.

And after Lotus came back, he told Huo Jiang about it again. Huo Jiang also left the restaurant overnight to go after Kong Songkang's whereabouts. Not only that, Huo Jiang also passed a letter to Pei Weixuan Fei Ge to inform His Highness today. Things that happened.

Three days later, it was Huo Jiang who first found Kong Songkang's whereabouts.