Chapter 112

112. Chapter 112: Your Snow Cake Has a Problem!

Back then, when she was falsely accused by Zheng Yaocai, only Duan Yu stood up for her—clearly slapping Zheng Yaocai's face.

Now that Zheng Yaocai has been expelled from Suiyang Academy, he might seek revenge on Duan Yu…

As Jiang Xiaoxiao was pondering, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the restaurant.

"Make that Jiang Little Lady come out!"

"What's going on? Who's causing this ruckus?" Hearing the noise outside, Shopkeeper Zhou rose first to investigate.

Jiang Xiaoxiao hurriedly stood and rushed out—once outside the restaurant, she saw a thin old man clutching his stomach on the ground, moaning in pain, beads of sweat the size of beans dripping from his forehead, while beside him knelt a man, presumably his son, wailing:

"Father, you absolutely cannot die! I will surely seek justice for you…"

What happened?

Jiang Xiaoxiao, seeing this scene, froze in shock.

But then she spotted the Snow Cake stall outside the restaurant, consigned by her home—her heart sank with a terrible premonition…

Spotting Jiang Wei emerge from the restaurant, the man kneeling on the ground suddenly sprang up, pointing at her and screaming: "You heartless poison woman! For the sake of these ill-gotten profits, you've done something so monstrous! My father became like this after eating your Snow Cake—he's in agony, he's dying!"

By then, a crowd had gathered outside the restaurant, many of them customers who had come to buy Snow Cake.

Seeing the old man writhing in pain on the ground, they immediately dropped the Snow Cakes in their hands: "T-This Snow Cake really has a problem?"

"Exactly!" The man pointed at the stall outside the restaurant, speaking with righteous indignation: "My father bought this Snow Cake here this morning, and only after eating it did his stomach start hurting—there's definitely something wrong with this Snow Cake! Don't buy it, everyone!"

A group of people who had just bought Snow Cake hurled theirs away and turned angrily toward Jiang Wei: "Compensate us! Your Snow Cake is defective—we won't eat it!"

Jiang Wei glanced at the old man still moaning on the ground, then gave a cold smile: "My Snow Cake has no problem. This man's stomach pain has nothing to do with my Snow Cake."

"How can it have nothing to do!" The man shouted back defiantly, "My father was perfectly fine until he ate your Snow Cake—it's clearly your Snow Cake that's at fault, and you still deny it!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao furrowed her eyebrows, looked at the old man on the ground—whether his pain was real or feigned—and then at the Shop Assistant, drenched in sweat and at a loss beside the stall. She asked sternly: "Shop Assistant, did this old man buy Snow Cake from my home this morning?"

"I—I don't remember…" The Shop Assistant wiped sweat from his brow and shook his head helplessly; so many people bought Snow Cake every day, he genuinely couldn't recall.

This was problematic.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's furrowed brows didn't ease—she couldn't tell whether this father-son pair were frauds.

Logically, Snow Cake is a cold, cooling treat; eating too much could indeed cause stomachache, and elderly people often have weak spleens and stomachs—it's possible he truly got sick from eating my Snow Cake…

Yet Jiang Wei walked straight forward, knelt beside the old man, and reached out two fingers to feel his pulse—when the old man sensed this, he yanked his hand back sharply and hid it behind his back.

"Hmph, old man, you said your stomach hurts—I'm here to help you. Why are you avoiding me?" Jiang Wei sneered, a flash of coldness in her eyes.

The old man hesitated, then, at his son's glance, immediately let out a loud wail: "Ohhh, my stomach hurts so much… Ohhh, it's killing me…"

"You heartless poison woman! You've ruined my father with your Snow Cake, and now you want to harm him further!"

The man lunged forward, deliberately raising his voice to the crowd: "Everyone see now? Her Snow Cake is definitely defective! Now she's trying to hide the truth by sneaking attacks on my father! Such a heartless monster—don't buy her Snow Cake!"

"Nonsense!" Jiang Wei cut him off with a cold smile, "If your father truly got sick from my Snow Cake, why refuse my pulse diagnosis? Clearly, you're hiding something!"

"Pah! You heartless poison woman—who do you think you are to diagnose pulses? You just want to harm my father!" The man retorted, slandering her further.

At this moment, Shopkeeper Zhou stepped forward: "Everyone, I trust Jiang Little Lady's character. Our restaurant has served her Snow Cake for years—never once has there been an issue! Since this old man claims stomach pain but distrusts Jiang Little Lady, I'll immediately send someone to fetch a doctor!"

He shouted to a nearby Shop Assistant: "Go to West Street's Ciji Hall and bring Doctor Zou here!"

"Yes, Boss!" The Shop Assistant sprinted off toward Ciji Hall on West Street.

Ciji Hall on West Street was Yong'an County's finest medical hall; Doctor Zou was renowned for his skill—he could diagnose any difficult and complicated ailment.

Seeing the Shop Assistant vanish down the street, the man's face darkened.

Even the old man, who had been wailing on the ground, now looked uneasy.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, watching from the side, became certain: this father-son pair were acting out a staged performance!

But what was their real goal?

To extort money?

But it didn't look like it… Could someone be behind them, ordering them to do this—to sabotage her Snow Cake business?

Yet this scheme was so easily exposed—why pretend to have stomach pain and cause a scene?

Jiang Xiaoxiao quietly observed the expressions on the man's and old man's faces—they showed only brief tension, then quickly calmed, as if they had some assurance, certain their lie wouldn't be uncovered.

Not long after, the Shop Assistant returned.

But he came back alone.

"Shopkeeper Zhou, Doctor Zou is out—his Medical Hall is unattended."

"Not at the Medical Hall?" Shopkeeper Zhou blinked, stunned by this outcome.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's brow sank—this was exactly what she expected.

They'd counted on the fact that no doctor would be available!

"Hmph, so this is your little trick?" The man instantly gloated, turning the tables: "I see—you're trying to hide the truth! You deliberately didn't send for Doctor Zou! To deceive us poor folks, you, a respected restaurant owner, conspire with others to lie to us!"

"Don't spout nonsense!" Shopkeeper Zhou's beard bristled with rage, "Whether Doctor Zou is in his Medical Hall or not—you can go check yourself! How dare you claim we deliberately didn't send for him? Absolute nonsense!"

Watching this, Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly felt confused—she'd initially thought the man was targeting her Snow Cake business.

But now it seemed… even Shopkeeper Zhou was part of their scheme…