Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 245 The Time Has Arrived

When He Tan and Wang Yan came out of the house, the lights in the main room had already been turned off.

The old woman from the yamen stepped forward and bowed to He Tan and Wang Yan, saying, "Thank you, Madam, for resting."

The courtyard behind the government office was small to begin with, and after Xie Yuyan was injured, Wang Yan stayed by his side to take care of him. At such times, no one would mention anything about the "separation of men and women."

But once the injury heals, the situation outside changes, and things have to go back to normal.

He Tan looked at Wang Yan and couldn't help but purse her lips.

He was worried about Wang Yan, so after receiving the imperial edict, he rushed to Daming Prefecture. It was originally a matter of deep brotherly affection...

But now, he felt like he shouldn't be here.
He Tan said, "Or should I leave first?"

Wang Yan grabbed He Tan and said, "There's still a lot of official business to attend to. Since you've come to help, let's go to the front hall now, call everyone over, and get everything done in one go."

He Tan truly regretted it: "I've been traveling for days, perhaps tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow we will return to Daming Prefecture. Before leaving Guan County, all official documents here must be sealed and await review by the imperial court."

That makes sense.

However, it sounds much more fake than before.

This must be revenge against him; his sudden arrival interrupted Wang Yan and Xie Yuyan's time together.

When Wang Yan left the courtyard, he turned back to look into the main house. That's why He Tan was surprised. He didn't know that he had been waiting for the person in the house for many, many years.

Inside the room, Xie Yuyan listened to the footsteps outside, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Perhaps due to excessive blood loss from her injury, she always felt tired and went to bed early. However, every night she could see the light outside through the window.

That was in the east room, where Wang Yan was handling official documents.

Now that everything was pitch black, Xie Yuyan suddenly felt a little lonely.

Unlike usual, Xie Yuyan didn't fall asleep quickly. She kept tossing and turning in bed, feeling uncomfortable somewhere.

My feet are a little itchy, probably because the wound is healing.

Xie Yuyan really wanted to remove those strips of cloth to relax a bit.

Removing the bandages might slow down the healing process, or... it might not have any effect.

But it will definitely make her feel much more comfortable.

Xie Yuyan decided to follow her heart and reached for her feet. Just as she touched the knot, the light in the east room suddenly came on.

Then came the old woman's voice: "Lord Wang... why are you back?"

Wang Yan said calmly, "The front hall is too noisy, making it difficult to concentrate on reading official documents. Fortunately, Inspector He is here today, so let him help out in the front hall."

"Only matters that cannot be decided in the main hall are passed on to us."

The old woman said, "I'll go and prepare some hot tea for you, sir."

Wang Yan seemed to respond, then instructed the old woman, "Don't forget the charcoal brazier in the eldest daughter's room."

Xie Yuyan slowly withdrew her hand.

Even though they were far apart, it felt just like the night she was injured. He stayed by her side, afraid she might accidentally touch her wound.

"Never mind," Xie Yuyan sighed. "If we really open it, we'll have to say a few more words when we see it tomorrow."

Thinking this, she closed her eyes again, and soon she drifted off to sleep.

……

Daming Mansion.

As dawn broke, many people gathered on both sides of the street.

The city was in turmoil these days, with imperial troops coming and going, and the Daming County government office kept its gates tightly shut, appearing heavily guarded. Many rumors began to circulate in the city. Some even said that the Great Liang had suffered a defeat, and that the Northern Qi army was marching south and about to besiege Daming Prefecture.

The wealthy families in the city immediately tried to flee with their families, but they were stopped by the soldiers at the city gate.

When the news spread that people were not allowed to leave the city, panic gripped the city.

Thankfully, these nerve-wracking days were soon over.

That very morning, troops carrying the Liang dragon flag took over the defense of Daming Prefecture. Just as the people in the city were searching for news, the troops stormed into the gates of the Liu residence.

Then the entire Liu family was escorted out and taken to the government jail.

Liu Shizhang, walking ahead, kept his head down in the crowd. His father had committed suicide, but the Liu family still couldn't escape the fate of having their property confiscated. Even though his father had burned the family documents before his death, some charges no longer needed to be proven by searching the Liu family.

This should be an ironclad case. Although Liu Shizhang knew this, he still held onto a sliver of hope. If the Liu family had absolutely no chance of escaping, his father wouldn't have committed suicide by poison. Since his father had made this arrangement, they must still have a chance to survive.

Just as he was thinking this, something suddenly flew towards Liu Shizhang, and he was hit squarely before he could dodge it.

It was a ball of snow, but it was covered with pebbles, and it hurt when it hit someone.

Once someone started, more and more people followed suit, throwing countless things at Liu Shizhang.

Not only Liu Shizhang, but also Madam Liu and Liu Erniang who were following behind were hit.

The Liu family had many prisoners being escorted, including Mrs. Liu and her children, as well as stewards, accountants, staff, and members of the Liu family clan.

But the first snowballs thrown by the group found Mrs. Liu and her two children.

"Kill them."

"That's the eldest son of that corrupt official."

"Last year, the grain collectors were on his orders and deducted 20% more of our grain."

"Twenty percent! How many people starved to death because of this?"

“When those people kicked us, so much grain spilled out, yet they still said we hadn’t filled the container properly. When we disagreed, they punched and kicked us.”

“We want to sue the officials, but they are the officials.”

"Heaven has eyes; these people are finally going to get their comeuppance."

"Your Honor, you must redress our grievances."

In the past, when Liu Erniang rode in a carriage through the long street, she still felt that she was not glamorous enough. She rarely showed herself in public and always felt that even if she went out, no one would know who she was.

She envied her elder brother even more, who could ride a horse alongside their father and intimidate the people of the city.

But now she realized that those people knew them.

They can be easily spotted in the crowd.

The escorting constables ignored her until Madam Liu's forehead was broken and blood flowed out, at which point they reached out to stop the crowd.

Liu Erniang covered her head tightly, her face covered in tears. She carefully raised her eyes, feeling as if she had escaped death.

As they approached the county jail, where the prisoners were about to be thrown, the crowd gradually dispersed. Just then, Liu Erniang glimpsed a carriage parked at the entrance of the government office through the gaps in the crowd.

A moment later, the carriage slowly moved forward.

Just as the carriage was about to pass them, a hand lifted the curtain and looked at her.

A clear yet cold gaze swept over her; that was all Liu Erniang could see.

The curtain was drawn again, and Liu Erniang suddenly came to her senses. That glimpse just now had made her hair stand on end, as if she had experienced something extremely terrifying.

Who is that person?

A name popped into Liu Erniang's mind.

Xie Yuyan.