Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 310 Death Soldier
"They'll be arresting a few people tonight."

While Xie Yuyan was pondering, Wang Yan spoke again.

With too many spies following us, we inevitably become constrained. It's better to punish some of them to serve as a deterrent.

As for excuses, they're easy to find.

Tonight, he suddenly ordered his men to separate the criminals into different prisons. It seemed like he was afraid something might go wrong when they arrived in the capital, but in reality, he just wanted to give himself a pretext to deploy his men around the inn.

As soon as Wang Yan finished speaking, a commotion arose outside.

Before Xie Yuyan could give any instructions, Wang Yan looked at Mama Yu and said, "Go and tell Madam Zhang and Ninth Brother that there is some trouble outside and that they should not go out."

Madam Yu immediately went out. She had to leave quickly so that Madam Zhang wouldn't worry and come out to ask questions, which would just trap Lord Wang in the house.

The noise grew louder and louder, disturbing the guests in the inn, but it was quickly calmed down by the staff, who had clearly made arrangements beforehand.

"Would you like to go out and take a look?"

Wang Yan looked at Xie Yuyan.

Since others couldn't get out, she naturally didn't need to carefully hide.

Actually, there's not much to see when catching spies; they're just gathering information, and even if they're caught, they'll never reveal their master's identity. But since Wang Yan said he wanted to go see them, there must be something else.

Xie Yuyan nodded, and Wang Yan took down the cloak from the plum tree rack, unfolded it, and gave it to Xie Yuyan to wear.

A tall figure stood behind her, holding up her clothes, waiting for her arm to slip inside.

Empress Dowager Xie had seen many scenes, but this one was different. After he touched the cloak, it seemed to have gained a touch of warmth.

He slipped his two sleeves inside and, before she could even lift a finger, began to tie the straps for her.

He was slow and careful, as if afraid that leaving even the slightest gap would allow the wind to get in.

At least that's what Xie Yuyan thought at first, but when she came to her senses, she realized that his slowness was also due to his unfamiliarity with the technique, so she couldn't help but smile.

Seeing the bright expression on her face, Wang Yan's hand trembled slightly, and he almost couldn't hold onto her clothes.

A sash seemed heavier than anything else; he had never been this flustered, not even during the imperial examination.

Using all the composure he had ever possessed, Lord Wang managed to preserve his last shred of dignity before his hand fell and grasped hers.

His palms were warm, but when he pulled her, he unusually lost his strength, revealing his nervousness at that moment.

Xie Yuyan raised his head and saw a blush gradually spreading from the corner of his eyes, like the drifting clouds in the mountains.

There was a knock on the door.

Sang Dian said, "My lord, the person has come out."

Heaven knows how much Sang Dian didn't want to be here. It's just that his husband is utterly useless; it took him so long to go in and call someone. He could wait, but the chaos outside couldn't. If this continued, everyone would scatter...

Sure enough, the door opened, and his husband's gaze was even more profound than usual.

He knew he wouldn't get a pleasant look. Sang Dian sighed inwardly, but still dutifully reported, "We caught three informants, and one of them drew a weapon to resist, but was killed on the spot."

You don't even need to leave the inn; you can see the courtyard from the second-floor window.

Several torches illuminated the surroundings. Two people, their mouths gagged, knelt on the ground, and a corpse lay nearby. The innkeeper, clearly terrified, trembled beside them.

Xie Yuyan's gaze fell on a person not far away, who was crouching down, searching the corpse's mouth and throat. Some spies would hide wax pellets in the mouth to pass messages.

Sure enough, with his push, a blood-stained wax pellet rolled out of the corpse's mouth.

This is no ordinary informant; it's a suicide squad.

That's quite interesting.

It seems that some of these prisoners being escorted know some secrets.

Xie Yuyan looked at the person next to the corpse: "Who is that?" "Xu Huaiyi," Wang Yan said, "formerly the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

Xie Yuyan understood the underlying meaning: "Lord Xu has been demoted?" If his rank was higher than that of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he should at least be the presiding judge in this case, and it wouldn't be only now that Wang Yan has mentioned it.

Wang Yan nodded: "Do you know why you were demoted to the Ministry of Justice last winter?"

He hadn't really wanted her to guess, so after a pause, he revealed the mystery: "It's because of Master Xie's case. Master Xie suddenly passed away on the estate. The government office and the Ministry of Justice both sent people to investigate and confirmed that Master Xie had accidentally fallen and hit the back of his head, but Xu Huaiyi always felt that there was something fishy about the case."

"He repeatedly requested a second autopsy, which angered Xie Shumi."

Xie Yuyan thought carefully: "You said that Old Master Xie accidentally bumped his head?"

Wang Yan replied, "That's how it's written in the case file."

Xie Yuyan nodded. The old Prime Minister Xie passed away suddenly in the winter, just like in the previous life. However, in the previous life, it was only said that the old Prime Minister accidentally fell and hit his head, but it was not said so clearly, and no one was heard to be making a fuss about it.

She seemed to have heard of the name Xu Huaiyi before.

Empress Dowager Xie truly took charge several decades later. During this period, countless officials in the court changed hands, and unless they were renowned ministers of the Great Liang Dynasty, they were rarely mentioned again.

Since Xie Yuyan found the name familiar, then he must...

A thought flashed through Xie Yuyan's mind, and he remembered Xu Huaiyi, the youngest Dali Temple Minister in Daliang.

Wait, how come she remembered that Xu Huaiyi had always been at the Dali Temple and had never been demoted to the Ministry of Justice?

Did she misremember, or has something changed?
Since her rebirth, it seems that nothing has been different from what happened in her previous life. Of course, she was referring to what happened before she came here.

Xu Huaiyi's demotion clearly occurred around the time she arrived here. At that time, she was still in Daming Prefecture, so whatever she did shouldn't have affected Xu Huaiyi. Therefore, she was more inclined to believe that she hadn't remembered clearly.

After all, when it comes to matters concerning predecessors, we often don't delve into the details.

Xie Yuyan said, "This person is very good at solving cases." Otherwise, he wouldn't have discovered the clues so quickly.

Wang Yan nodded: "Moreover... Xie Chongjun's case file was reviewed by him the most."

On the surface, the Xie family of Daming Prefecture had no relation to the Xie family of Kaifeng, but Xie Yuyan knew that the two "Xie" families had always had contact in private. Although the Xie family of Daming Prefecture did not enter the collateral branches in their previous life, some of their sons had entered officialdom.

Not only the Xie family, but also the second branch of the Yang family was very successful, even suppressing Yang Qin for half his life.

He Tan and Wang Yan also disciplined a number of officials in Daming Prefecture, but did not implicate these two families because their investigations were not on the same path as hers.

Xie Yuyan said, "You mean Xu Huaiyi hasn't given up on Prime Minister Xie's case?"

After Xie Yuyan finished speaking, she saw Xu Huaiyi raise his head, and she took a step back without making a sound, hiding behind Wang Yan.

Looking at Wang Yan's tall and straight figure.

His mention of the Xie family at this time clearly indicated that he had sensed something...

"you……"

Before Xie Yuyan could finish speaking, Wang Yan said, "Xie Wenjing suddenly returned to the capital last winter, almost at the same time as you appeared in Daming Prefecture."

Sure enough, nothing could be hidden from him.

Just as Xie Yuyan was about to speak, Wang Yan turned around and met her gaze with clear eyes: "No matter what the future holds, or what others think, I know that you are Xie Yuyan, Xie Yuyan of Daming Prefecture."

Wang Yan took her hand and slowly slid his fingers across her palm, writing the character "谢" (thank you), but omitting a dot.

"Less 'thank you'."

A tingling sensation came from her palm, and she subconsciously pulled her hand closer, but she also grasped his fingers.

Xie Yuyan heard Wang Yan's voice ring out from above again: "Perhaps there are some things that Lord Xu can help with."

Xu Huaiyi, who was in the courtyard, only saw Wang Yan's figure through the window of the inn, but for some reason, he subconsciously clenched his hands.

I tried to finish two chapters in one go, but I didn't; I'm still a little short. My whole body aches; I'm not quite better yet. I'll hold on a bit longer and continue tomorrow!