Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 263 Alive
After the general finished speaking, he cautiously looked at Wang Yan again, only to find that Wang Yan was still looking at him, and that sharp gaze made him panic again.

"Then... Jiao Da died."

The general finished speaking, forcing himself to speak.

“I didn’t lie. Your Excellency can send someone to investigate. Jiao Da was killed not long after returning to Daming Prefecture.”

Wang Yan knew exactly when Jiao Da died, so he didn't need to investigate. However, he was very discerning; some things might be able to fool others, but they couldn't fool him.

Wang Yan said coldly, "Who killed Jiao Da?"

“Yes,” the general clenched his fists. “It was Zhang Ying, who was in the same camp as me. That Zhang Ying… was killed by your guards when you were besieging the lord.”

You can't interrogate a dead person.

Wang Yan looked at Tan Xiang: "Tell me, is what he said true or false?"

Tan Xiang was most familiar with this kind of thing.

Tan Xiang swallowed, feeling as if his throat had been scraped by a razor blade.

“These kinds of things are usually,” Tan Xiang said, “usually... fake. The person who killed Jiao Da... is probably him.”

Tan Xiang pointed to the general.

When the general saw Tan Xiang's finger pointing directly at him, his eyes widened. He wanted to argue, but he was too terrified, and with a gurgling sound, he fainted.

Without Wang Yan's order, the jailers immediately poured salt water on the general.

The general then woke up with a groan.

When he opened his eyes, he was still in the deep prison. He was in excruciating pain all over his body and rolled on the ground, but this time he refused to give in no matter what.

Tan Xiang grew increasingly apprehensive as he looked, and finally couldn't help but say, "My lord, I'll go and try interrogating him."

Wang Yan remained silent, so Tan Xiang, emboldened, slowly stepped forward and whispered something in the general's ear.

Occasionally, a few words would drift into Wang Yan's ears, all of which were about how to humiliate women.

Sang Dian frowned and stared at Tan Xiang. No wonder this man insisted on protecting his family; he must be afraid they would be treated like this.

Sang Dian sneered inwardly. A man like Tan Xiang, the young master would certainly not let him live.

The general finally succumbed to his injuries, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and said in a trembling voice, "I killed Jiao Da..."

Tan Xiang said, "Before you killed Jiao Da, did you ask him about the two women?"

The general said, "I asked, but Jiao Da refused to say. I reported to Commander Feng, but he didn't care about that and just urged me to deal with the man quickly."

"I had no choice but to go back and kill Jiao Da, then throw him into the mountains. And from Jiao Da's place... I found a woman..."

The investigation has finally yielded some results.

Tan Xiang breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally been of some help, at least his life was spared for now.

"Where is that woman?" Wang Yan asked again.

The general clearly didn't want to talk about it, but now he had no choice but to say in a trembling voice, "I hid the woman in a cellar in a small courtyard."

"No... I didn't hide it. That was Jiao Da's place to begin with. I didn't touch it."

“It was Jiao Da who made her look like that… I… I was just curious… why Jiao Da interrogated her like that. There might be some secret behind it. If I could uncover the truth, I could earn a favor with Commander Feng. That’s why I kept her here.”

"Later I heard that Jiao Da sold a corpse to the Xie family, and the corpse actually came back to life. I then guessed that the two people Jiao Da mentioned who almost escaped might be Yang Xie Shi."

"I wanted to report to Commander Feng, but I couldn't get anything out of that woman. Before I could figure out what to do, something happened in Daming Prefecture."

From Jiao Da's death to the investigation in Daming Prefecture, not much time had passed. Wang Yan remained silent. Sang Dian stepped forward and asked the soldier to reveal the woman's whereabouts. He then ordered his men to keep a close watch on the soldier and ensure that nothing happened to him.

Tan Xiang returned to the prison and watched as his cell door was locked. Only then did he relax and stagger to the ground, rejoicing that he had escaped a terrible ordeal. Just then, the jailer was leading away the soldiers who had been tortured. As they passed Tan Xiang's cell, their hateful eyes stared straight at him, as if they wanted to devour him alive. Tan Xiang was immediately terrified and shrank back.

As Wang Yan walked out of the prison, Xie Zishao was stunned for a moment before quickly following him.

In the darkness, that scarlet official robe was like a bright lamp, able to pierce through the clouds and fog.

Wang Yan instructed Sang Dian: "Take the doctor to that courtyard and do everything you can to save the person."

Sang Dian responded.

Wang Yan then looked at Xie Zishao: "Come with me to Yong'anfang to pick up someone."

Xie Zishao almost asked, "Who are we going to pick up?" But he quickly realized that they were going to pick up his tenth sister. He didn't rashly suggest to Wang Yan that he go knock on the door first, but instead obediently followed behind Wang Yan.

I don't know why, but looking at that figure, I just didn't dare to do anything rash.

The two rode their horses to Yong'an Ward. When the patrolmen saw Wang Yan, they immediately bowed and stepped aside.

There was a knock on the Yang family's gate, and the gatekeeper, seeing that the soldiers had arrived, immediately went forward.

“No need to make a fuss,” Wang Yan said. “Call over Madam Yu, who is by the lady’s side.”

Xie Zishao glanced at Wang Yan with some surprise. He hadn't expected Lord Wang to be so considerate. If he were to call her "Tenth Sister" like that, it would inevitably cause trouble. Having Mama Yu handle things first would save a lot of trouble.

In no time at all, someone came over.

Walking at the very front was naturally Yu's mother.

Madam Yu instructed the steward, "Don't panic, it's just that Madam Zou from the second wife's family has fallen ill in prison and wants us to go and see her."

He could just give anyone a reason to shut them up, and as for the truth, no one dared to pry, given Wang Yan's official robes.

To Xie Zishao's surprise, they were greeted not only by Mother Yu, but also by Xie Yuyan behind her.

Indeed, wise people don't need to spell things out too clearly.

What could Wang Yan possibly want with Madam Yu? He just couldn't bring himself to call her "Madam" directly.

Xie Yuyan adjusted his cloak, stepped out of the courtyard alone, and walked straight to Wang Yan's side.

The two didn't even speak. Wang Yan led over the horse, extended his hand, and Xie Yuyan stepped on it, using the momentum to flip onto the horse's back. Wang Yan didn't delay either, mounting the horse and riding with her.

Once the two had ridden away, Xie Zishao suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly climbed onto his horse to give chase.

Once you leave Yong'anfang, someone will immediately come to guide you.

Following the trail left by Sang Dian, we arrived at the northern part of the city and stopped in front of a courtyard.

Sang Dian was already waiting at the door.

Wang Yan helped Xie Yuyan down from his horse, and the two quickly walked into the courtyard.

"The person has been found." Sang Dian paused here, unsure how to continue.

Wang Yan asked, "Is the person dead?"

Sang Dian shook his head: "It shouldn't be yet, the doctor is inside."

At this point, he glanced at Xie Yuyan and said, "Madam, you should wait a while before going to see. The person inside is in a terrible state, so terrible that it's unbearable to look at."

When he saw it, he thought the person had been dead for a long time.