Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 3 It's Me
The banquet in the Yang family's inner courtyard was not yet over.

Yang Mingshan, the fourth master of the second wife's family, smiled at the guests, his face beaming with pride.

The death of the sixth son of the third branch was just in time. He wanted to find a job for his son Ji in the military patrol, and he spent a lot of money, but he was turned away. Now that he had the sixth son as an excuse, the military patrol officer finally agreed.

Thinking of this, he looked around but didn't see Madam Zou. He waved his hand and asked, "Hasn't my wife returned from the third branch yet?"

The servant shook his head.

“Go find her,” Yang Mingshan frowned. “There are still many women here. Don’t waste your time on useless things.”

After saying this, Yang Mingshan put on a smiling face and continued to toast with others.

"What happened?"

A wisp of smoke drifted in from the front yard, prompting some of the guests to stand up and investigate.

"There's a fire, the water's on fire."

Someone shouted, and Yang Mingshan was also taken aback. The place where the firelight was rising was the wedding hall set up in the front yard.

The second branch of the family, the old patriarch, who was sitting calmly at the table, also raised his eyes and asked, "What happened?"

Yang Mingshan hurriedly stepped forward: "Perhaps the third branch of the family was careless when burning paper money. Father, don't worry. Zhenniang is over there; she will handle it properly."

Zhenniang is the nickname of Fourth Sister Zou. Zou has been helping to manage the household for some time and usually does things properly. The old master nodded slightly.

"Son, I'll go check on it right away."

As the second master, Yang Mingjing, walked outside, Yang Mingshan hurriedly followed his elder brother. Seeing that Yang Mingjing's brows were furrowed, Yang Mingshan comforted him, saying, "There are many servants in the house. The fire will be put out in no time. Second brother, you don't need to worry so much."

Yang Mingjing's expression remained grim: "It hasn't snowed since winter began, the weather is dry, and there are still paper offerings for ghost marriages piled up there, and it just so happens to be at this time."

Yang Mingjing is now the head of the Yang clan and has been helping the ward manager manage affairs. If all goes well, he will be promoted to deputy ward manager of Yong'an Ward soon. He doesn't want anything to happen at this critical juncture. Otherwise, even if two houses are burned down, what difference will it make? It will just cost some money to repair them.

Yang Mingjing said in a deep voice: "The newly appointed inspector has just taken office. Just two days ago, he instructed us to pay close attention to patrolling for thieves and fireworks."

He left early and returned late because of this matter, never expecting that the first fire of the winter in Yong'anfang would occur at the Yang family's ancestral home.

Yang Mingshan's eyes gleamed: "Isn't that the new inspector? Our two families have a history of ties, so we can just pay him a visit..."

Yang Mingshan's plan was well-thought-out, but when Yang Mingjing heard it, it was like a thunderclap in his ears.

"Shut up..." Yang Mingjing scolded, his voice growing softer as if afraid someone might overhear. "What kind of relationship is this? We just did a few business deals because of favors we received. If this gets out to others, it will surely bring disaster to our family."

Yang Mingshan was unconvinced, but he had no choice but to keep quiet.

The two brothers walked to the front yard and saw their family members coming and going. Although the family members were handling the situation well, the fire was spreading rapidly and would be difficult to extinguish in a short time.

Just as Yang Mingjing was about to order the steward to summon all the servants in the neighborhood, a commotion arose at the gate. Immediately afterward, the Yang family's gate was smashed open, and a squad of soldiers rushed in.

Yang Mingjing took a deep breath, but it still alerted the city's patrol inspectors. Fortunately, he recognized the leader, a magistrate named Chen Ju.

"General Chen," Yang Mingjing stepped forward and bowed, "it was my younger siblings who accidentally knocked over the Yin-Yang basin while burning paper money. The servants are already putting out the fire, and it will be extinguished soon."

Yang Mingshan added, "I've already had the rest of the paper offerings moved away; the fire shouldn't burn for even a moment longer."

Chen Ju's face was tense, his eyes scanning back and forth. Only when he saw that the Yang family servants had suppressed the fire did his expression improve slightly.

"Where is your nephew serving in the military?" Chen Ju asked in a low voice.

Yang Mingjing hurriedly replied, "The Jingwei Army of the Northwest."

Chen Ju's dark face showed some emotion: "Many of the Jingwei Army members came from our Guangxin Army. Two months ago, when they heard that the Qi people were invading, they defended the pass to the death."

Yang Mingjing immediately bowed and said, "My nephew is among them."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ju and the soldiers around him immediately clasped their hands in a salute to Yang Mingjing and Yang Mingshan. The Yang brothers knew that bringing up their sixth brother might be useful, but they did not expect to unexpectedly get closer to this commander.

Chen Ju seemed to see Yang Mingjing's doubts and glanced at the people around him, saying, "These are all veterans who have retired from the battlefield. The patrol inspector petitioned the court and made them into military patrolmen. What we admire most are loyal and brave men."

Yang Mingjing was overjoyed and almost couldn't help but smile. He was really lucky. Although his house caught fire, he encountered such a group of people. After the fire was put out, he would invite them to a banquet and have some drinks. This matter might just be resolved.

Just as he was pondering this and was about to try to strike up a conversation with Chen Ju again, he saw Chen Ju's face tighten up once more.

Chen Ju pointed in the direction of the people who had come: "How come someone is trapped in the house?"

Yang Mingshan hurriedly turned around to look, and saw a soldier carrying a person rushing out of the smoke. The person's bright red wedding dress was particularly eye-catching.

“General Chen, it’s all a misunderstanding,” Yang Mingshan said. “That’s my sixth brother’s wife. She passed away a long time ago… We brought her back to…”

Yang Mingshan stopped abruptly, his eyes widening and then trembling.

The woman in the wedding dress looked up and their eyes met.

This……

"A dead woman?" Chen Ju snorted coldly, quickly took a few steps forward to check. Although the woman was weak, she was clearly still breathing. "You're saying this is a woman who has already passed away?"

Just as one problem was about to be solved, another arose. Before Yang Mingjing and Yang Mingshan could even react, the patrolmen carried out two more people – Zhang Shi and Yang Qin. Yang Qin, his face streaked with tears from the choking, struggled to his feet as soon as he was brought out and rushed to see his mother.

Looking at that short and thin figure, Chen Ju's heart softened even more. It was only natural for soldiers who went to fight to the death to lose their lives on the battlefield. What was pitiful were the elderly and children they left behind.

Chen Ju had also left Guangxin Army after being seriously injured. After returning, he divided the silver reward from the court into several portions and went to visit the families of his deceased brothers. He was filled with emotion, so when the patrol inspector asked for a post to be assigned to the old soldiers, he gladly came to take the lead and became the commander here.

Moved by his emotions, Chen Ju immediately knelt down to check on Zhang's condition.

The poor woman held the memorial tablet tightly in her arms, as if protecting her son, and kept muttering to herself.

Chen Ju listened intently, and Yang Mingjing, who was standing nearby, was about to speak, but Chen Ju stopped him with a gesture.

After a few moments of silence, Chen Ju could hear clearly what the woman was saying: "My son's pure heart... how loyal and righteous he is... I cannot... I cannot... let his coffin become a place to hide injustices and disregard human life... I must... report to the authorities... report to the authorities..."

Zhang's gaze swept through the crowd before settling on Xie Yuyan.

"Don't take her life... You must seek justice for her..."

A person who should have died is here alive and well. Zhang is shouting that she wants to report it to the authorities. Even the most obtuse person can understand what has happened.

Yang Mingjing, being the clan leader, was the first to regain his composure: "Third sister-in-law, you rest first. I'll investigate these matters thoroughly."

"Report to the authorities...appeal for justice..." Zhang kept repeating.

Yang Mingshan also stepped forward: "Reporting to the authorities isn't that easy either, we still need to..."

No sooner had Yang Mingshan finished speaking than a dignified voice asked, "How difficult is it?"

Xie Yuyan used his sleeve to shield his eyes and looked towards the entrance. A man in a purple official robe walked into the courtyard, followed closely by his military officers, which immediately added a sense of solemnity to the entire courtyard.

The man's eyes were exceptionally deep, his brow bone and nose were clearly defined and straight, and his face appeared somewhat pale, but even under the armor, he still exuded a menacing aura.

Chen Ju hurriedly led his men forward to pay their respects, showing utmost reverence and submission to the man.

"Inspection."

Xie Yuyan naturally looked away. Although the man was unfamiliar, she could guess who he was from his official robes and title.

This is He Tan, a famous military general from the He family, a prominent military clan in the Great Liang Dynasty.

When Xie Yuyan was still a young lady, she heard her grandfather mention He Tan more than once. If he hadn't been framed and besieged and killed in battle, he would have been able to inherit his grandfather's position as Grand Commandant. Her grandfather's words aroused her curiosity about He Tan, and she read the military books he wrote while she was still young.

She traveled through time to 64 years ago, long before her birth in her previous life, and yet she met He Tan.

However, she wasn't too surprised. In the seventh year of the Zhiping era, He Tan was appointed as the Chief Inspector of Daming Prefecture and incorporated retired soldiers from the frontier into the military patrol. It was because of these thoughts that she persuaded Yang Qin to set fire to the place.

Once this case blows up, He Tan will definitely get involved; it's just that it's happening sooner than she expected.

"Inspector He," Yang Mingjing stepped forward and bowed, "It was all due to negligence on my part that a major disaster was almost caused. I will certainly investigate carefully and report the results to the yamen."

When He Tan arrived, Yang Mingjing knew he wouldn't be easily fooled, and could only hope that this killing god would show leniency.

He Tan ignored Yang Mingjing and walked up to Yang Qin, asking in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What's going on with this fire?"

Yang Qin hesitated for a moment, restraining himself from looking at the woman in the red wedding dress. It was he who noticed the scar on the woman's neck, and it was he who told his mother about it. The woman's sudden awakening had startled him so much that he fainted.

Later, the woman woke him up, asked him many questions, and then... she said to him, "Would you like to kneel at the very front of the ancestral hall and offer incense to your grandfather, father, and elder brother?"

“Your brother died unjustly. Even after his death, his reputation will be exploited by other clansmen. He will probably die with resentment.”

“You are so weak. If you don’t grow up, your mother will also suffer a miserable fate.”

Each of his words struck a chord with him.

"I can help you."

For some reason, in a daze, he believed her words, as if he subconsciously felt that she was trustworthy.

He knew that what she taught him was bad, but he couldn't help but obey.

So he went to the side room and set it on fire, doing something he had never done before.

The woman also told him, "If you see the inspector, tell him..."

“I set it on fire,” Yang Qin blurted out. “I set the fire…”

After saying this, Yang Qin saw that Inspector He's gaze darkened.

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(End of this chapter)