Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 21 Trading
Yang Mingjing's eyes widened in surprise, while Xie Yuyan in front of him remained composed, as if what he had just said was nothing out of the ordinary.

The room suddenly fell silent. Zhang anxiously lifted the curtain of the inner room and looked out. Xie Yuyan was sitting in a chair, while Yang Mingjing stood blankly to the side.

Logically speaking, Yang Mingjing is the elder, and Xie Yuyan should not be so rude, but... in the current situation, it doesn't seem out of place at all.

After a long pause, Yang Mingjing finally came to his senses, his voice low and deep: "Who taught you to say that? And how do you know?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Why Inspector He came to Daming Prefecture, doesn't Second Uncle know very well?"

Yang Mingjing had some guesses, but...

"It's just that my second uncle hasn't made a decision yet about which side to choose."

Yang Mingjing swallowed. Just as the document announcing He Tan's transfer to Daming Prefecture arrived, news came that He Tan was here to investigate the military officers' business dealings.

The imperial court did send officials to inquire about the matter, but in the end, it was all bark and no bite. He Tan was capable, but he might not be able to shake the entire Daming Prefecture.

Besides, he couldn't find out what the attitude of the He clan was. Was He Tan really trying to find out, or was he just putting on an act?

Before he could figure things out, he dared not act rashly. Firstly, given the Yang family's status, they didn't know much to begin with. Secondly, the Yang family wasn't exactly clean, and he might become a scapegoat.

Xie Yuyan continued, "After what happened today, Second Uncle doesn't need to make a selection."

Yang Mingjing was furious, so when Xie summoned the lawyer, it wasn't to sue the Xie family at all, but rather to plot against him.

Xie Yuyan seemed oblivious to Yang Mingjing's pent-up anger, or rather, she didn't take his anger seriously at all.

"How old is Second Uncle this year?" Xie Yuyan asked. "He's not even forty yet. If he can live to be over eighty and die peacefully in his old age, he still has more than half his life to live."

“Not counting the more than ten years from infancy to adulthood, Second Uncle’s good days have only just begun. If he takes the wrong path at this time, it would be equivalent to ruining his future. Wouldn’t that be a pity?”

Yang Mingjing's anger subsided somewhat at this moment, and he subconsciously pondered Xie Yuyan's words.

“It is truly not easy for merchants like the Yang family to rise above others,” Xie Yuyan said. “In the previous dynasty, how could my second uncle dare to dream of becoming a ward official? It is only because the current dynasty has less suppression of merchants that such an opportunity exists.”

Xie Yuyan paused deliberately, then changed the subject: "But merchants must also make meritorious contributions to enter officialdom."

Yang Mingjing felt as if he had been seen through.

The Xie Yuyan in front of me is not a member of the Xie family at all; she could not possibly have said such things.

Someone was speaking to him through Xie's mouth.

Who could this person be? Only He Tan.

Xie Yuyan said, "Second Uncle thinks none of this matters. He can kill me and then go to the Xie family. However, it is essential to keep it a secret from Inspector He. Otherwise, not only Second Uncle, but the entire Yang family will face annihilation."

Yang Mingjing gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead throbbing: "What exactly do you want?"

Xie Yuyan said, "When I was in the Yang family, my second uncle protected me. When my family is found in the future, my second uncle will help me leave the Yang family. From then on, no one in the Yang family can talk about me. Even if we meet again in the future, we will pretend to be strangers."

Yang Mingjing suddenly understood. He realized that women from wealthy and powerful families valued their reputations highly. If Xie Yuyan wanted to return home smoothly, she had to completely get rid of this experience. As long as Yang cooperated, Xie Yuyan's family could simply say that their daughter was recuperating in the countryside. Who would know that Xie Yuyan had been kidnapped and sold to Daming Prefecture and had even been married?

This was Xie Yuyan's purpose.

Yang Mingjing took a deep breath. Now that things had come to this, he seemed to have no other choice.

"You'd better not cause any more trouble, or the Yang family won't be able to protect you."

After leaving those words behind, Yang Mingjing turned and left. He needed to think carefully about what Xie Yuyan had said.

Only after Yang Mingjing left did Zhang come out.

Xie Yuyan had previously instructed Zhang not to show herself no matter what happened. Zhang, watching from the inner room, was terrified and understood Xie Yuyan's meaning; even if she were present, there was nothing she could do.

Zhang asked, "Can Yang Mingjing really become the deputy magistrate?"

Xie Yuyan nodded. With that person's intelligence, how could he not take advantage of this good opportunity?
After thinking for a moment, Zhang finally said, "I won't talk about it to anyone after you leave the Yang family, so don't worry..."

As Zhang finished speaking, a smile appeared on Xie Yuyan's face: "I was just lying to Yang Mingjing, just like He Shi. We have to give them a reason so they can focus on their work." Just as Xie Yuyan finished speaking, Yang Qin's voice came from outside: "Mother, sister-in-law, I'm back."

Yang Qin happily ran home with his bamboo basket on his back, then carefully took out the medicine. Seeing that it was undamaged, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll go and fry it for my sister-in-law in a little while."

After saying that, he took out books, a pen, and some paper.

"This was given to me by Mr. Tong."

Zhang was astonished. They had not yet formally become students, nor had they sent any tuition fees, yet the teacher had already given them these.

Xie Yuyan asked, "Do you know the gentleman's name?"

Yang Qin nodded: "The gentleman's name is Tong Chen. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen and became a scholar. He is truly remarkable."

Tong Chen, Tong Zixu? Although Xie Yuyan did not know this person, he had read his books, especially his accounts of his experiences. Between the lines, one could always find the shadow of a certain person.

Later, when many people wrote about that person's past, they would look for clues in Tong Zixu's articles.

Even when Wang Huai obtained Tong Zixu's books, he would bring them to read with her and then discuss the man. Xie Yuyan suddenly missed the leisurely days of eating snacks and flipping through Tong Zixu's books.

Xie Yuyan picked up the "Poems for Prodigies" that Yang Qin had brought back and flipped through it casually. It seemed that there were fewer poems than she had read in her previous life.

“The teacher asked me to come back and look at this book of poems. My mother taught me about it before,” Yang Qin said. “However, Clerk Wang said that I should not mention ‘The Prodigy Poems’ in front of the teacher.”

Xie Yuyan was somewhat surprised. Tong Zixu had written that the man privately enjoyed having others recite his childhood poems and mention his past as a "child prodigy."

Could it possibly be fake? Or perhaps he simply felt that the poetry book was poorly printed?
Xie Yuyan tapped her fingers lightly on the table. She could help Mr. Tong in this matter. During the days she hid in the Taoist temple, she read a lot of books. Many of Tong Zixu's articles were incomplete, which was a great pity.

“Mr. Tong has taken in many disciples,” Yang Qin said. “They are all children from poor families, and the clothes they wear are similar to mine.”

This demonstrates Mr. Tong's character.

Yang Qin was overjoyed to be able to become a student of Mr. Tong.

After saying all this, Yang Qin mentioned Xie Qiye: "My sister-in-law guessed it all. Someone from the Xie family really came to ask me for information, and I told him everything my sister-in-law taught me, word for word."

Xie Yuyan nodded.

Yang Qin couldn't help but ask, "What should we do about the Xie family next?"

Xie Yuyan said, "That Seventh Master Xie will be visiting again soon."

Yang Qin blinked, as if something had happened that he didn't know about when he left home.

“I also found out where to buy coal,” Yang Qin said happily. “It’s in Sanhe Village outside the city. I also dug up the dry yellow soil that my sister-in-law wanted.”

Yang Qin still doesn't know what Xie Yuyan wants to do with the loess soil.

Xie Yuyan said, "Take out the coal ash, and I'll teach you how to make lotus root charcoal."

Winter was also tough for the Taoist temple. While other temples were refining elixirs, the master and his fellow disciples would mix mud in the courtyard to make lotus root charcoal. People from the surrounding area would often come up the mountain to buy it.

Xie Yuyan put her hands in her sleeves and watched Yang Qin busy himself. Soon, a pile of black mud appeared on the ground.

Yang Qin wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Sister-in-law, what are these things you're talking about?"

Xie Yuyan took a sip of the hot water in her hands: "This is our first transaction."

Thank you to Anxin, Ersi, DTlan, cherry27, miya loves ancient words, and Yanzhihu for their generous donations.

Thank you everyone for reading and leaving comments.

(End of this chapter)