Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 103 Repaying the Life
Yang Zongdao's words struck a chord with many people.

Members of the Yang clan began to speak.

"Why didn't you tell us that so many yamen runners went to Sanhe Village?"

"I went to inquire this morning and found out that there is copper ore underground. Once it is confirmed, the imperial court will take all the land in Sanhe Village."

"How much did the third branch of the family spend on the land? Won't they lose that money?"

"It's not just the money from this land. Madam Xie signed contracts with those hired workers, agreeing to employ them for at least two years. Two years! One hundred coins a day!"

"There are about thirty or forty hired workers, right? That's four thousand coins a day. Tsk tsk, if we don't pay up soon, we'll lose everything."

“I said at the time that we shouldn’t have hired those people so early. It wouldn’t have been too late to wait until after spring plowing. But the old lady insisted on her own way. This money shouldn’t be on our shoulders.”

"Well... I tried to persuade him that day, but he wouldn't agree."

"Yes, we didn't agree to any of them."

"Call the lady out."

“Everyone, please go back first,” a woman said in a low voice. “Madam really has something to attend to today. Once today is over, everything will be fine.”

No sooner had the woman finished speaking than she was rebuked by a member of the clan: "Who do you think you are, a wife from a collateral branch of the family, daring to speak to your own relatives like that?"

“If it weren’t for the Yang family taking you in, you would have starved to death long ago.”

"If I had known you would be such a traitor, I shouldn't have saved you back then."

The man and woman blushed as they were scolded, wanting to retort but unsure what to say.

"Is this the person you saved?"

A question came from outside the house, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice before making way for it.

Xie Yuyan led Zhang Shi into the house. Her gaze swept across the room and landed on one of the clansmen. Her clear eyes immediately turned sharp.

The tribesman involuntarily uttered, "No...no...it's me."

Xie Yuyan slightly raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was chillingly cold: "Even your life was saved by someone else."

The voice wasn't loud, and the tone sounded rather flat, but within that calmness lay a powerful pressure that sent chills down everyone's spines.

"It was the third branch of the Yang family that led you to escape the famine, return to your hometown, and live a peaceful life again."

"One should never forget the kindness received. Have you repaid the kindness of the third branch of the family?"

The room was completely silent.

Zhang felt as if something was blocking her chest, and tears welled up in her eyes. She clutched her handkerchief tightly, trying to calm herself down.

Yang Zongdao came to his senses first and glanced at his eldest son, Yang Mingli, beside him.

Yang Mingli took a deep breath and said, "That's not right. It's true that it was the third branch that led everyone to flee the famine, but the fact that they were able to return to Daming Prefecture safely was at the cost of the lives of more than twenty clansmen."

“The memorial tablets of those people are still displayed in the ancestral hall.”

"My father collapsed and never got up again in order to save food for the clan."

"And my second uncle, he was killed by a few refugees while trying to protect a little water."

"When I woke up, my mother and younger brother were gone. I don't know if they were dragged away by other refugees or carried off by wild animals."

"My mother-in-law, afraid of delaying everyone's journey, hung herself from a tree with her belt."

"More than twenty lives lost, how can we just forget about them like that?"

Zhang was trembling violently. Every time the locust plague was mentioned, the clansmen would bring it up and push forward the clansmen who had lost their relatives. Their eyes were full of hatred, as if the three branches of the family were the culprits.

Now all these people have their eyes on Xie Yuyan. Zhang was a gentle person who usually didn't dare to speak loudly, but at this moment, she took a few steps forward and stood in front of Xie Yuyan.

"Sixth Brother's daughter-in-law... doesn't know... about these things," Zhang said, looking at everyone. "If you're angry... take it out on me."

Zhang's voice trembled, and she was hunched over, but her hands were clenched tightly, and her expression was extremely firm.

As Xie Yuyan watched Zhang's retreating figure and saw her trembling uncontrollably, her hardened heart was suddenly struck.

Although the force was very small, she felt it very clearly.

Xie Yuyan grabbed Zhang with one hand and pulled back Yang Qin, who was about to rush forward, with the other.

Young Yang Qin was like a little leopard, his tender face full of ferocity. He could have stood calmly beside his sister-in-law, knowing that she had a way to deal with these people. But when he saw his mother trembling as she walked forward, he forgot everything and only wanted to rush forward as well. If the clansmen dared to make a move, he would fight them to the death.

Just as Xie Yuyan pulled the two away, a group of people walked in from outside, led by Madam Yang and a group of husbands and wives.

The women and men stood around Xie Yuyan, and then several more men entered the house. They had grim faces, gripped sticks tightly in their hands, and glared menacingly at the troublemakers.

The changes before her eyes brought Zhang back to her senses. Only then did she realize that the three branches of the family were no longer what they used to be, and Xie Yuyan was no longer the weak and incompetent woman she once was.

"I think we should rephrase it."

Xie Yuyan looked at Yang Zong and said, "After the locust plague in Daming Prefecture, the imperial court issued relief and sent the refugees back home. During the spring planting season, the city recounted the population, and the imperial gazette clearly stated that five or six out of ten people died after the disaster."

"According to the court's calculations, the Yang family has 307 members, and 184 of them should die."

"The third branch of the Yang family led their clansmen on a long journey to escape the disaster, but brought back 283 people, saving 90% of their clansmen."

“If anyone still thinks the Third Branch is at fault and doesn’t remember the kindness they received,” Xie Yuyan’s gaze darkened slightly, “then let 184 people die before you come back to argue with the Third Branch.”

The room was quiet.

Xie Yuyan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Twenty-four people died on the way to escape. Now who will be the twenty-fifth?"

“You…” Xie Yuyan looked at the clansman who had spoken earlier.

Then his gaze fell on Yang Mingli: "Still you?"

Everyone fell silent, and the two people who were pointed at took a step back in unison.

Xie Yuyan said coldly, "I don't want the people in the clan to be constantly thinking about the kindness of the third branch. It's really unfair. Since it's a good day today, you can pay with your lives, and then we'll be even. How about that?"

"Absurd!" After a long while, Yang Zongdao finally shouted, "We all belong to the same clan, yet you are so aggressive..."

"I didn't invite the clan elders or any of the clan members to the Third Branch," Xie Yuyan raised his voice. "Who exactly instigated these people to block our doorstep?"

Even Yang Zongdao shut his mouth.

“There’s a saying: ‘If people harm each other, Heaven will not tolerate it; if Heaven harms people, grass will not grow.’” Xie Yuyan paused deliberately, his smile deepening. “I’ll change that a bit here.”

"I don't believe in God, I only believe in myself."

"Therefore... if I want to punish someone, no one can escape."

"Now, I'm giving you one last chance. If you still remember the kindness of your clan, leave the third branch immediately."

"The rest of you," Xie Yuyan swept his gaze around, his cold eyes seeming to have seen through everyone, "you will spend the rest of your lives repenting for what you did in the Third Branch today."

“I guarantee that even if you are desperate, the third branch of the family will not give you a single penny.”

After saying this, Xie Yuyan sat down in the chair in the center of the room: "Now, let's begin the selection!"

Looking at Xie Yuyan sitting there, who seemed like a towering mountain blocking her way, Zhang could no longer hold back and let hot tears flow from her eyes.

Thank you to miya爱古言 for the generous donation of 10,000 coins! Thank you everyone for reading, donating, and leaving comments. Thank you all!
(End of this chapter)