Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 251 The Long Night
Zhang felt someone gently patting her back, trying to soothe her emotions. Then Yang Qin rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Mother, don't scare me, Mother..."

Amidst the calls, Zhang finally came to her senses, and at that moment, tears streamed down her face.

Zhang burst into tears.

"How could they do this?"

"What exactly did Liu Lang do wrong?!"

"How dare they tell those lies to my face?"

The second branch of the family's patriarch wanted to arrange a posthumous marriage with the Xie family, claiming it was for the sake of Liu Lang and their third branch. Yang Mingshan and Yang Ji, who knew the inside story, were watching this farce with unknown intentions.

No, they already knew the inside story. They deliberately orchestrated this event in order to establish a connection with the Xie family.

"They are all wicked devils who eat people without spitting out the bones."

Thinking about all this, Zhang couldn't help but tremble. She had almost been kept in the dark. If she had never known the truth, she would have been grateful to the second branch of the family for allowing her and her son to stay in the Yang family.

How could she face Liu Lang in that case?
Zhang held Xie Yuyan's hand: "It's only because Heaven has eyes that you were sent to our side, otherwise... Sixth Brother wouldn't be able to rest in peace even in the afterlife."

“Mother has forgotten,” Xie Yuyan said, “it was you who saved me first.”

In her past life, Yang Qin shielded her from arrows at the very end, and in this life, it was Yang Qin who discovered she was still alive. So it's hard to say who owed whom a debt of gratitude.

“I want to watch them die,” Zhang had never said such a cruel thing before, “to make them pay for my son’s life.”

Xie Yuyan said, "For murder and trafficking of smuggled goods to the Western Xia people, Yang Mingshan, Yang Ji, including Xie Chongjun and Xie Chonghai, are all doomed to die."

“Those military officers who colluded with Yang and Xie will not be able to escape either.”

"Sixth Brother was killed while searching for evidence of their smuggling. Like Han Tong, he did it all for the sake of the Great Liang... The court should commend him."

"Even if the imperial court doesn't give it to us... it's really not a big deal."

"Sixth Brother risked his own safety to expose this matter, which stemmed from his true heart. Now that the case has been solved, Sixth Brother can rest in peace."

Zhang looked at Xie Yuyan, and after a long while she slowly nodded: "You're right, what Sixth Brother wanted to do has now been accomplished."

Xie Yuyan continued, "I will ask Lord Wang for help to see if we can find Sixth Brother's remains."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qin took a deep breath. He had forgotten that since his brother's body hadn't been lost on the battlefield, there was a possibility that his remains could be found and brought back to his hometown for burial.

Zhang gripped Xie Yuyan's hand tighter: "Won't they tell?"

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "There's always a way to get the truth out of them. It's not easy to live, and sometimes it's even harder to die."

After crying, Zhang also found peace of mind. She finally understood everything, which was a comfort to her.

“Lord Wang sent someone to deliver a message so late,” Zhang said. “I really don’t know how to thank him.”

Xie Yuyan said, "There's plenty of time ahead. Lord Wang won't be leaving Daming Prefecture anytime soon. We can just prepare some food and send it over as before."

When Yang Qin learned that Wang Zhubu was actually Wang Yan, he was quite surprised. He not only met Wang Yan, but also talked to him a lot and even ate with him.

However, Xie Yuyan hadn't returned yet, and he was worried about his sister-in-law, so he couldn't be happy about it. After his sister-in-law returned home, before he could even mention the matter, he heard about his good brother's affair.

He was preoccupied with other things and could only think about Wang Yan another day.

Outside, Mother Yu glanced meaningfully at the gate before leading the old woman, the healer, to see Sang Dian.

Sang Dian asked the old woman how her injuries were.

The old woman doctor was very respectful and answered carefully, as if afraid of overlooking something. Mama Yu found it strange; why would Lord Wang ask these questions? This was somewhat against protocol.

What's even stranger is that the eldest daughter-in-law agreed to let her bring the female doctor, which doesn't seem like typical behavior of her.

Sang Dian drank the hot tea, but didn't touch the pastries. Instead, he asked her to wrap them up and take them with him.

It's all very suspicious.

After a few days apart, both Lord Wang and his wife were different from before, and Madam Yu still needed to slowly figure them out and adapt.

Zhang and Yang Qin came out of the house, and Yu's mother hurried forward.

Madam Zhang instructed, "Bring hot water and help A-Yan get some rest!"

Mother Yu responded and hurriedly instructed the servants to enter and serve her.

Xie Yuyan lay on the bed with the cat in her arms. The warm blankets and the cat's purring could be heard from her. She thought she would be unable to sleep because she was thinking about many things, but actually... she soon fell asleep.

……

Many people won't be able to sleep tonight.

Wang Yan looked at the pastries on the table. He didn't like sweet things, and he knew that already. These weren't meant for him. But they were brought from the Yang family, so they had some connection to her.

Placing it nearby can also refresh you.

Cao Rui, standing beside him, felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Hadn't Wang Yan been besieged for several days? Why didn't he look tired at all?
I don't know what he was thinking, but he insisted on going through the cases of the Yang and Xie families all night long. That's fine... Cao Rui rubbed his empty stomach; he still hadn't been given any food.

Two hours ago, they hurriedly ate a bowl of noodles, thinking they could leave afterward, but who knew they would be kept until now.

Wang Yan himself did not eat again. His guards brought him a plate of pastries, but he did not eat them. He just left them in front of him, as if looking at them would satisfy his hunger.

Cao Rui missed his little courtyard terribly. His wife was still waiting for him at home, and there must be food prepared in the kitchen. Wouldn't it be better to go home, eat something, and take a nap in his wife's arms?

Having gone through such an ordeal, it's time to breathe a sigh of relief. What could be the reason that Lord Wang has kept him here handling official business?

Wang Yan glanced at Cao Rui and said, "Magistrate Cao, hurry up. I will be going out tomorrow afternoon, and you will temporarily stand in for me and sit in court with Magistrate Xu."

"Tomorrow we need to organize the case files in the county jail."

Cao Rui immediately regained some of his senses.

What exactly caused Lord Wang to abandon his official duties? He dared not ask this question, and could only work even harder to ensure no mistakes were made tomorrow.

……

The next day, Yong'anfang became lively early in the morning.

Dozens of craftsmen flocked to the Yang family.

These are all craftsmen from the Xie family's pottery kiln. Ever since the clay kiln started malfunctioning, the Xie family's pottery kiln has been shut down. Now that both of the Xie family's masters have been arrested, there's a lot of talk about it, with everyone feeling that they'll soon be out of work.

As Madam Xie had said before, if the Xie family didn't need them, they should go to the Yang family to find her.

At that time, Madam Xie was fighting with the Xie family. Now that the Xie family was about to fall, it was uncertain whether Madam Xie would still need them.

"In my opinion, Daming Prefecture doesn't need so many craftsmen."

At that time, the Xie family wanted to compete with Madam Xie, so they invited craftsmen from all over the place... in order to fire a clay kiln exactly the same as the Yang family's pottery kiln as soon as possible.

Now that no one is competing with Madam Xie for the clay kiln, the Yang family can fire their own clay kilns, rendering these people useless.