Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 344 Drumming
Xu Huaiyi and Cai Zheng stood on a hillside not far away, watching the situation at Zhuangzi.

Ever since Guo Xiong came to his door, Xu Huaiyi followed this lead to investigate the wrestling stage in the entertainment district and learned that the people behind them were the He family.

Xu Huaiyi said, "On one hand, they framed the Guo brothers, and on the other hand, they fought here. It's clear that the He family doesn't care about human life at all."

Cai Zheng nodded: "These merchants have countless connections in private. From Jiaodi Terrace to the Bian River, they have everything under their control. Even if the court issues new decrees, it is difficult to bypass them and benefit the people."

"If we let them continue like this, it will bring disaster to the entire Great Liang."

Xu Huaiyi had witnessed the situation in Daming Prefecture firsthand. Daming Prefecture was also in the hands of Prefect Liu and his group, but Wang Yan and He Tan managed to break through a crack and then wipe them all out.

Bianjing could do the same, but Xu Huaiyi could only dream about it; he didn't have the ability. Besides, the high-ranking officials and nobles in Bianjing were not comparable to the small Liu family.

Thinking of this, Xu Huaiyi looked at Cai Zheng with some worry: "You've gone to great lengths, even mobilizing people from Xiangfu County. If you fail to find any evidence, you might be impeached."

Cai Zheng didn't care: "That's still better than you taking action. You're in the Ministry of Justice, and the He family is connected to the Minister of Justice."

The He family were related by marriage to the wife of the Minister of Justice.

The reason they can act so blatantly and wantonly is because they have the Xia family backing them up.
No matter what Xu Huaiyi did in the Ministry of Justice, as long as Minister Xia found out, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Therefore, Xu Huaiyi's actions could not be too drastic, so Cai Zheng had to step in private and mobilize people who were beyond Xia Shangshu's control.

“And you don’t need to worry,” Cai Zheng pointed to the manor, “so many people have come, making quite a commotion, how could the He family not invest?”

Cai Zheng was referring to "spending money" in the context of killing someone on the wrestling stage.

Since the investigation is going to focus on the He family, these kinds of information can naturally be obtained. However, finding out where the dead were buried and whether evidence can be found that the He family deliberately had them killed requires further effort.

They sent people here to investigate for this very purpose. Even if the Xia family is involved, there will be no room for maneuver. If Xu Huaiyi brings out Guo Xiong's previous complaint, the case in Bianshui can be overturned.

Xu Huaiyi said, "I wonder if Feng Erniang is here."

Cai Zheng was also unaware of the situation. He had asked Wang Yan, but Wang Yan seemed quite confident. He had a general idea that Wang Yan had informants at the estate.

This time, Wang Yan's methods were even more ruthless than usual. Not only were his actions swift, but it was as if he suddenly had an extra pair of hands, arranging everything perfectly, both openly and secretly.

Could it be that Wang Yan has grown a lot after experiencing the case in Daming Prefecture?

If things continue like this, Wang Yan will have few rivals in the court. Even the old Prime Minister Wang was inferior to his son when he was young.

There was a moment of panic at the entrance of the manor, but because Cai Zheng had made prior arrangements, the group of men quickly broke in.

Cai Zheng reached out and patted Xu Huaiyi on the shoulder: "We've done what we should do. Now we can only see what happens inside."

Xu Huaiyi felt that Cai Zheng had bet a lot of money this time, which could be seen from the number of constables.

Cai Zheng stretched out his sleeves, confident that he would not return empty-handed. Organizing gambling was a serious crime, and now it was just a matter of how big their stakes were.

……

On the platform in the village, a fierce battle was taking place, with shouts echoing all around.

Pairs of eyes were fixed on the two figures on the stage.

Feng Erniang had long forgotten the techniques of wrestling and was only focused on fighting desperately, which made her even more impressive. The female wrestler was frightened by Feng Erniang and lost her momentum for a moment, but she was an experienced wrestler and quickly recovered, immediately delivering another heavy blow to Feng Erniang.

After the disheartening shouts, Feng Erniang collapsed to the ground again. No one knew whether she would be able to get up this time.

Nüzhan could have finished off Feng Erniang right now, but she heard a shout: "Wait a minute."

Nüzhan immediately came to her senses. She looked to the side and saw that someone was throwing money into Feng Erniang's basket again. Actually, on this wrestling stage, who won or lost didn't matter. No one would care when Feng Erniang was beaten to death. What the host wanted was to earn more money.

Therefore... this money can save Feng Erniang's life.

The guests kept throwing silver coins, and Steward He's eyes lit up. He looked up and searched, and saw the room where the most silver coins had been thrown.

“Those are the ladies I invited,” Granny Jiang said. “The esteemed guest is very generous.”

Manager He's smile deepened: "She truly is the most skilled matchmaker in Bianjing. Who else could possess such abilities?"

As the two were talking, a loud "thump" suddenly rang out, followed by a series of drumming sounds coming from the second-floor window.

The drumbeats seemed to strike at people's hearts, and the atmosphere around them instantly rose again.

Those unaware of the inside story assumed it was a deliberate arrangement by the owner of the wrestling arena, and more silver coins were thrown out. At this point, the onlookers were caught up in their emotions and no longer cared about anything else, let alone how different the strengths of Feng Erniang and the female warrior were. They just wanted Feng Erniang to stand up again.

"stand up."

"Hit her..."

"Go ahead and fight..."

Shouts mingled with the sound of drums.

The sound of drums emanated from the inner courtyard, perfectly masking the panic and shouts from the outer courtyard. The county magistrate of Xiangfu, who was leading the commotion, was overjoyed, feeling that the noise had come at just the right time.

In their excitement, the people in Zhuangzi forgot everything else and had no time to tidy up or prepare, so they were likely to be caught red-handed.

The county magistrate immediately turned and ordered, "Quickly, go in! Whether we can catch them or not depends on this." The people he brought had no connection to the Xia family; it was clear he had put in considerable effort. If this failed, his future would be ruined, but losing a golden opportunity to deal with those people was a different matter entirely.

Upon hearing this, the constables responded in unison. They seized all the guards who had come to investigate and marched straight in, following the sound of the drums.

cry.

They wrestled.

Beating the drum.

Add to that the blood and injuries, and it's as if all emotions are on the rise and fall together.

Where had Mrs. Yu ever seen such a scene before? She was stunned for a moment.

She seemed to understand why Lord Wang was so persistent in pursuing her mistress.

Madam is like a high mountain, with its summit hidden in the clouds; you can never truly grasp just how tall she is.

Those people can no longer see the old lady beating the drum.

Despite being a delicate woman, she could produce such masculine drumbeats. It clearly required a great deal of strength, yet she moved her sleeves lightly, like a whisk. It was this demeanor that was enough to make people unable to look away.

As Mrs. Yu was thinking, a man's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "May I ask who is inside?"