2845 Reason

In the absence of Elderly Lady's clamorous voice, the surroundings fell into silence once more.

Qiao Mu turned her gaze towards the ragged group of seven to eight individuals. She questioned Shopkeeper Hu with a cold tone, "What transpired yesterday?"

Among the people in front of her, two were elderly, one was young, and the rest were comprised of three middle-aged men and two middle-aged women. At a glance, none of them seemed to resemble murderous arsonists.

"Crown Prince Consort, please allow me to explain," Shopkeeper Hu began, recollecting the events. "Yesterday, the Fortune Star Restaurant on the neighboring street was giving away black beans."

"That's why many people flocked to Fuxing Restaurant to watch the spectacle."

"In fact, apart from a few regular customers, there weren't that many visitors to Butterfly Pavilion."

Shopkeeper Hu continued his explanation while pointing at Elderly Lady Zhang. "Boss Zhang there is the clueless proprietor of Lucky Star Restaurant, and Fuxing Restaurant on the adjacent street is run by the Zhang brothers."

"Those three Zhang brothers usually don't possess much wealth. It's beyond my understanding why they decided to distribute free black beans to beggars yesterday."

What was even more absurd was that after all the commotion, they had distributed only a dozen liters of black beans. Despite the long line of beggars, only forty to fifty individuals managed to obtain the black beans.

"Recently, there has been an influx of refugees from Xiang City," Shopkeeper Hu elaborated. "Fortune Star Restaurant had distributed the black beans with the intention of aiding the refugees. Regrettably, the situation spiraled out of control."

The two Zhang brothers, Boss and Third Brother, who had been chastised by Shopkeeper Hu, wore sullen expressions but didn't dare to express their discontent.

All they wanted was to enhance their reputation by contributing to disaster relief and attract business to their establishments.

Business was hard to come by in recent times, so they couldn't help but envy Butterfly Pavilion's booming business across the street.

Qiao Mu glanced at the two Zhang brothers before shifting her gaze back to Shopkeeper Hu. "And then?"

"The three Zhang brothers were trying to gain notoriety and operate their business half-heartedly, which attracted a significant number of beggars. In the end, only a portion of them received food, leaving the rest disgruntled."

"These beggars usually beg on the adjacent street but ended up causing trouble. They even provoked the officials."

The capital magistrate interjected, nodding in agreement. "Indeed, I received reports that many refugees have gathered near Changle Street, so I sent Young Yin Wu to disperse them."

Changle Boulevard served as a vital transportation artery in the city, frequented by numerous nobles and aristocrats. Allowing beggars to accumulate there was unacceptable, as it could tarnish the city's reputation.

Qiao Mu expressed her understanding and then turned her attention back to Shopkeeper Hu. "What happened next?"

"These individuals distanced themselves from the larger group of beggars and settled near our Butterfly Pavilion," Shopkeeper Hu explained. "Seeing that they were struggling, I decided to show kindness…" He cast a furtive glance at the crown prince consort and the young crown prince consort, worried that they might take issue with his intervention. Summoning his courage, he continued, "So, I provided them with some leftover food from the shop."

"This gentleman is a good Samaritan!" A boy from the group suddenly broke free and exclaimed, "He's a good person."

Beside the boy, an elderly woman attempted to discreetly push her young grandson aside while urging him to stay quiet through her expressions.

Qiao Mu observed them for a moment before turning back to Shopkeeper Hu. "Please continue."

Shopkeeper Hu swiftly resumed his account, "Boss Zhang and his friend, Landlord Li, were drinking outside. They were sitting at the entrance."