Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 122 Hypocrisy
The monks were busy putting out the fire, and Xie Yuyan didn't want to stay any longer.

"Thank you for saving me, Lord Wang." Xie Yuyan bowed to Wang Yan.

This was the first time Wang Yan had ever seen Xie Yuyan be so courteous.

Previously, she would do whatever she could to get by, but later, when she took charge of the Yang family's household affairs, she simply had the servants go through the motions.

Wang Yan said, "Next time there is a dangerous situation, you can ask me for help."

Was that a joke or a serious statement?

Xie Yuyan looked at Wang Yan, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but like her, he kept his true thoughts hidden very well.

“We caught someone at the Xie family’s residence,” Wang Yan said. “That settles the score.”

Xie Yuyan asked, "Who is it that secretly plots against me?"

Wang Yan nodded: "This man once served in the Northwest Army and had delivered messages for the Western Xia. He escaped when the court tried to capture him. On that day, he was trapped in a well by the Salt and Iron Bureau. He committed violence in the well and took advantage of the chaos to stab the soldiers when the court came down to capture him. He almost escaped again, but thanks to Ding Peng's preparation, he captured him alive with a large net."

Wang Yan said, "He Tan has been interrogating me all night without any results." That man is cruel by nature, and torture is useless against him. Even when he was beaten to a pulp, he was still laughing loudly.

Even if such a person isn't dead, you can't get him to talk.

Xie Yuyan pondered for a moment: "Perhaps there is another way."

Wang Yan's gaze deepened.

Xie Yuyan said, "I set a trap in the shaft beforehand, but I'm not sure if he will fall for it. In other words... it might work, or it might not."

Wang Yan didn't know what Xie Yuyan had used as bait: "What if it works?"

Xie Yuyan laughed and said, "Then congratulations, sir. In the future, you will be able to catch those who sell smuggled salt red-handed with this."

……

Wang Yan watched Xie Yuyan ride away. A while later, the fire in the temple was finally extinguished, and the novices looked dejected.

Monk Zhiyuan led the monks in kneeling and chanting sutras in front of the main hall.

Wang Zheng also climbed to the top of the mountain gate and rushed to Wang Yan's side: "Why is there a fire in the temple?"

Although Wang Yan was the first to discover the fire, his gaze was on Xie Yuyan at that time. He saw her figure gradually being shrouded in smoke and subconsciously felt that she was leaving, rather than that the main hall was on fire.

“I just saw Madam Xie’s carriage,” Wang Zheng said cautiously, looking at Wang Yan. “Brother, did you come to Baode Temple to see the abbot or Madam Xie?”

Wang Zheng had always suspected his elder brother and Madam Xie... Now was the perfect time, how could he not ask?

Wang Yan glanced at Wang Zheng calmly.

Wang Zheng was overjoyed: "Brother, you really came to see your wife."

After speaking, Wang Zheng paused and then said, "In that case, why not take my younger brother with you?"

“I’m telling you to stay away from her,” Wang Yan said, “not to joke with you.”

Wang Zheng, emboldened, said, "The elder brother forbids his younger brother from meeting, yet he comes himself. Isn't that hypocritical?"

Wang Yan said coldly, "I am different from you."

How is it different? Wang Zheng thought for a long time. His elder brother said he had found the person he was looking for. Who was that person? The person his elder brother had been spending more time with lately was none other than Madam Xie…

At the risk of being beaten to death by his older brother, Wang Zheng made a bold guess.

When my elder brother returned that year, he was carrying a raccoon dog. I heard that the raccoon dog was raised by that "immortal". Now the raccoon dog has gone to Lady Xie's side.

Wang Zheng thought about it all night and felt that he had discovered an incredible secret, which is why he came to Baode Temple.

Wang Zheng gripped his robe tightly, feeling the hairs on his body stand on end, yet he still recklessly asked, "Why did you say you're different from me, brother? Could it be that you...?"

“I won’t be fooled,” Wang Yan said in a low voice. “I met with her only to find out her intentions.” Wang Zheng seemed to be convinced by Wang Yan. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while before saying, “I heard that when you and Brother He came to Daming Prefecture, Lady Xie was about to marry into the Yang family. If you had stopped her that day, perhaps… Lady Xie would not be a daughter-in-law of the Yang family. Brother He even acted as a guarantor for Lady Xie.”

"What if one day..." will you regret it?
Wang Zheng didn't dare to continue, but Wang Yan already understood what Wang Zheng meant.

“That day will never come,” Wang Yan said with a stern face. “You have nothing to do in Daming Prefecture, so return to the capital tomorrow!”

Wang Zheng felt that this was somewhat like being enraged out of embarrassment.
Wang Zheng pursed his lips: "I'll wait for my older brother to go home together."

“I will stay in Daming Prefecture this New Year,” Wang Yan said. “Take my letter home and tell my elders that I still have important matters to attend to.”

What important matter could my elder brother possibly have? He's just worried about Lady Xie.

The two brothers couldn't both stay in Daming Prefecture. The elder brother was determined not to go home, so he had to go back earlier to be with his elders.

“Two days later,” Wang Zheng said, extending his hand, “the tabloid can be done in just two days.”

Wang Yan said, "Didn't Tong Zixu say it wouldn't work before?"

“It’s fine now,” Wang Zheng said with a smile. “Madam Xie gave the bookstore a deposit of fifty strings of cash, and told them to use ceramic movable type to print it.”

Having money makes all the difference; it even reminded me of movable type.

Pottery movable type could be fired at the Yang family porcelain kiln.

But how is she going to sell this tabloid? To promote it among the common people, she needs the right timing.

"I'm going to have a word with the abbot."

As the monk Zhiyuan rose from his meditation cushion, Wang Zheng immediately stepped forward to perform the Buddhist salute.

"How did the main hall catch fire?"

"It was all due to the novice monk's negligence that he forgot to put away the dried incense."

Wang Zheng wasn't sure if he had misread it, but he felt that before Monk Zhiyuan replied, he gave his elder brother a meaningful look.

The main hall caught fire, could it be related to my elder brother?

"Erlang," Wang Yan called out, "Let's go!"

Wang Zheng hurriedly caught up with Wang Yan.

The main hall was still emitting wisps of smoke, and the monk Zhiyuan sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

After a long while, a seven or eight-year-old child dressed in tattered clothes ran into Baode Temple, panting.

Looking at the dark hall, the child's face darkened even more. He first thought of the Taoist scriptures hidden behind the Buddha statue. Could it be that he had been reciting Taoist scriptures in front of the Buddha lamp all day long, which had attracted divine punishment?
"Master... Master..." the child tugged at the monk Zhiyuan's robe, "Why..."

Monk Zhiyuan reached out and stroked his disciple's head: "You accidentally started a fire."

The child looked around and whispered, "Master, why don't we leave?"

He worried that the local people and the monks in the temple would blame his master for this.

After all, his master's reputation was really bad.

Being expelled from the temple is the least of his worries. If he were caught and beaten, his frail body probably wouldn't be able to withstand more than a few kicks. In that case, he would be penniless and how would he afford to bury his master?

But to everyone's surprise, the monk Zhiyuan shook his head: "I can't leave." He might have to stay at Baode Temple for the rest of his life, staring at that lotus root charcoal.

The child, unaware of Zhiyuan's thoughts, instinctively shuddered: "Why don't we go and beg Benefactor Wang?" He had studied the Taoist scriptures entirely for Benefactor Wang's sake. It wasn't that he was reluctant to shave his head; he was afraid that if his master were expelled from Baode Temple, they would freeze and starve to death. Benefactor Wang was determined to seek immortality, and if he learned more Taoist methods, he could go to Benefactor Wang even if he had nowhere else to go, and use the methods recorded in the Taoist books to help him find that immortal.

Wouldn't that provide enough food for the rest of my life?

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(End of this chapter)