Ji Anzhi pressed down on the man with one hand.

With the other hand, he swiftly pulled out a piece of paper from the man’s waist—paper used to wrap powdered poison.

The man’s face immediately turned ashen.

The surrounding crowd erupted in uproar.

“He actually poisoned himself?”

“Hmph, deliberately slandering Li’s Tea House, trying to extort medical fees!”

“Tsk tsk, society’s morals are declining, people’s hearts are no longer trustworthy!”

“Good thing Miss Li is smart and didn’t fall for his tricks!”

Li Zhiyue curled the corner of her lips. “According to the laws of the Great Wei Kingdom, anyone who poisons another person to death, with both witness testimony and physical evidence, shall be sentenced to beheaded after the autumn trial!”

The man loudly protested, “I didn’t attempt to harm anyone!”

“You poisoned the tea cup at Li’s Tea House, that’s a crime of both theft and murder!” Li Zhiyue’s eyes grew cold and sharp. “If you reveal the mastermind behind this, you’ll only be considered an accomplice and spared the death penalty. How do you choose? I’ll give you three counts to decide.”

“One!”

“Two!”

Before the third count finished,

The man shouted loudly, “I’ll say it, I’ll say it! It was him! He gave me five taels of silver to handle this! I’m innocent!”

He pointed into the crowd, and those standing there quickly dispersed.

In the end, only a middle-aged man remained standing.

“That him?”

“I know him—Manager Diao from Jiang’s Tea House!”

“No way, Jiang’s Tea House framing Li’s Tea House? That’s ruthless!”

“Nonsense! What a slander!” Manager Diao’s neck flushed red with anger. “This is defamation! It has nothing to do with Jiang’s Tea House!”

He regretted it.

He shouldn’t have just picked anyone to cause trouble.

He should have found someone trustworthy who would never betray Jiang’s Tea House no matter what.

Being accused publicly like this had destroyed both his reputation and Jiang’s.

He flicked his sleeve. “Anyway, it’s not related to Jiang’s Tea House!”

He strode off.

Suddenly, a hand pressed on his shoulder.

He looked up and met a pair of piercing black eyes.

He was from the Jiang family of the Marquis of Xuanping’s household, and had served guests at their banquet before, so he recognized the man in front of him—Chief Judge Cheng, the Dali Temple Minister!

His legs went weak instantly.

Cheng Changyan’s voice was like ice: “Whether this involves Jiang’s Tea House or not, the Dali Temple will investigate.”

Everyone present was stunned.

The Dali Temple was one of the three judicial offices, responsible for reviewing cases and investigating complex criminal cases.

Normally, such a civil dispute would be handled by the Shuntian Prefecture government.

Yet the Dali Temple was directly intervening.

Zhao Shaoqing, standing behind Cheng Changyan, stepped forward, kicked Manager Diao to the ground, and grabbed the man feigning stomach pain.

He tied the two together and coldly said, “If everyone in the capital learned to use these tricks, no shop would be able to open!”

Manager Diao shouted in desperation, “This man is falsely accusing me, it’s not related to me!”

The other man also yelled, “He ordered me to frame Li’s Tea House! I’m innocent, please spare me, Your Honor…”

Zhao Shaoqing kicked again. “If you keep screaming, I’ll stuff your mouths with these stinky socks!”

Both immediately fell silent.

Li Zhiyue: “…”

The last time she saw Zhao Shaoqing, he was a refined civil official delivering a calligraphy piece for Cheng Changyan.

She never expected him to be so rough in action.

Noticing Li Zhiyue staring at Zhao Shaoqing, Cheng cleared his throat lightly.

Li Zhiyue regained composure and smiled, “Minister Cheng, what brings you to the tea house? Please, have a seat.”

Cheng Changyan stepped inside.

Li Zhiyue led him to a private chamber at the back.

Behind were artificial hills and flowing water, separated by screens and plants into several elegant rooms reserved for high officials and nobles.

“Minister Cheng, what would you like to drink? We have a new item today—Half a Day in Floating Life.”

“Bubble tea.”

Li Zhiyue recalled the last time he drank bubble tea, it felt like there was some mysterious story behind it—though she had no idea what he had gone through.

Soon, the bubble tea was served.

She smiled, “The two men you sent me were really useful.”

Cheng took a sip of his tea and looked up, “How so?”

Although the Ji brothers were Cheng’s loyal men, once they were given to the Marquis of Xiangyang’s household, they belonged to the marquis’s estate.

Cheng only gave instructions at first that their priority was Miss Li’s safety and would not interfere further.

So he didn’t know what exactly the Ji brothers did at the estate.

“Ji Anzhi drives my carriage, so my parents won’t worry when I return late,” Li Zhiyue said.

“Ji Laizhi teaches martial arts at the estate.

I train with him for an hour at dawn every day.

And since I started, I’ve felt much healthier.”

Cheng’s fingers paused, “Ji Laizhi teaches you martial arts?”

Li Zhiyue nodded, “When things are less busy, I plan to have him teach me horseback riding as well.”

She had long planned to start riding lessons, but had been too busy lately—she didn’t even have time to sleep in.

Cheng frowned.

Ji Laizhi was a burly man—could he really teach such a delicate young lady martial arts and horseback riding?

The image flashing through his mind gave him a strange feeling.

Before he could process it, he blurted out, “Miss Li, why don’t I teach you?”

After saying this, he was stunned.

Li Zhiyue was stunned too.

The Dali Temple Minister was no idle official—he was extremely busy.

How did he have time to teach her?

No, that wasn’t the point.

The point was—why would he want to spend time teaching her?

The two fell silent.

Outside the room, Hongyu called out, “Miss, there’s a problem with the accounts. May I come in?”

Li Zhiyue hurried, “Come in.”

Hongyu had undergone intense training and spent several days at the first Li’s Tea House for practice.

Today was her first official day on duty, and she dared not slack off.

She panicked at the slightest discrepancy and came looking for Miss Li to resolve it.

Li Zhiyue skimmed the ledger, “Here—it’s the decimal point that’s wrong.

Though it seems minor, it causes a big difference.

If this happens again, I will replace you.”

Hongyu’s expression turned serious, “Yes, Miss!”

As the eldest maid, she did menial work like serving tea daily, but now as bookkeeper she managed the large tea house with vast sums of money passing through her hands.

She felt both pressure and responsibility—and discovered a new sense of self-worth.

She enjoyed the busy work.

Hongyu bowed and prepared to leave.

At that moment, Cheng Changyan’s gaze landed on the ledger, his dark pupils suddenly contracting sharply.

He stretched out a hand, his voice turning hoarse, “May I take a look at that ledger?”