Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 365 Unable to Suppress

The more Xie Shumi thought about it, the angrier he became. He ordered someone to bring the family law and had it beaten on Xie Chengxin.

Hearing the commotion, Madam Zhou rushed over. Seeing Xie Chengxin kneeling on the ground, a flash of anger crossed her eyes. However, he was her own son and the eldest son, so how could she not protect him? She stepped forward and advised, "Master, let's talk things out. Don't get upset."

Xie Shumi stared at Xie Chengxin and said, word by word, "If I find out you're going to look for that woman again, you know what the consequences will be."

The image of bloodstains on his grandfather's face and at the corner of his mouth flashed through Xie Chengxin's mind, and he immediately trembled and dared not speak again.

Madam Zhou quickly winked at her son: "What are you still doing here? Go to the ancestral hall to reflect on your mistakes. Don't come out of there until you understand why."

The servant hurriedly stepped forward to help Xie Chengxin leave the study.

The door was closed again, and Madam Zhou reached out and patted Xie Shumi's back. Actually, her eldest son wasn't always this bad. Even if he wasn't that quick-witted, he was always obedient. But after the old master passed away last winter, he changed a bit. She wondered if it was because he was too saddened by his grandfather's passing.

Xie Shumi asked coldly, "How much does the Xia family know?"

The incident was so sudden that Madam Zhou only arrived after Xia Ziqiao had left.

“I saw some,” Madam Zhou said. “I heard that Xia Wulang took several pairs of embroidered shoes, presumably to take them back and complain.”

"He's also clueless," Xie Shumi said with a deep gaze. "What good will it do for the Xia family if this gets out? In the end, the marriage is still arranged. Even if that beast really does take a concubine, will the marriage be off the table?"

When two families marry, these things are completely unimportant.

Avoiding unpleasant incidents is to save face for each other.

Of course, we also didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

"Keep a close eye on him," Xie Shumi's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "You feed him with fine clothes and delicacies every day, but how many things has he done for the Xie family? If he wants to bring back any woman he wants, I might as well kill him first."

Madam Zhou quickly agreed, though she actually harbored more resentment towards Xia Ziqiao. Once Xie Shumi had calmed down a bit, she asked, "I heard something happened to the He family? Will Minister Xia be impeached?"

“Impeachment is certain,” said Privy Councilor Xie, “but what can we do without concrete evidence?”

“This has caused quite a stir,” said Madam Zhou. “Several shops that our family frequents have been shut down by the government. I heard they were arrested for gambling, and quite a few people will be beheaded this time.”

"And it was a case handled by Xu Huaiyi?"

Xie Shumi remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescing.

Xu Huaiyi has made a great contribution this time and should be able to be reinstated to his original position.

Compared to the gambling case, what bothered Xie Shumi more was Xu Huaiyi. This man was like a mangy dog; once he set his sights on someone, he would bite them relentlessly.

After returning to the Dali Temple, will Xu Huaiyi pick up the old master's case again? Most people wouldn't, but it's hard to say for sure about Xu Huaiyi.

“I was originally planning to find an excuse to send him out of the capital to take up a post,” Xie Shumi said coldly, “but now it’s difficult.” He always felt that someone was helping Xu Huaiyi behind the scenes in this case.

After reviewing the entire case file, Xu En was the most suspicious. However, all Xu En did was intimidate the He family and prevent the people in the manor from escaping.

Xu Huaiyi is a man who does not form cliques or curry favor with the powerful. If you were to ask him who he is allied with... you really can't find any clues at all.

“Don’t worry too much, sir,” said Madam Zhou. “Xu Huaiyi has already learned his lesson, how dare he bring up old matters again? Besides, the old master has long been laid to rest, does he want to dig up his grave?”

Madam Zhou realized her words were ominous and didn't continue. Privy Councilor Xie shared the same thought. At least for now, Xu Huaiyi wouldn't cause any trouble. Xu Huaiyi was inflexible and would likely bring disaster in the future; then he could go with the flow and completely send Xu Huaiyi out of the capital.

“Go to the Xia family tomorrow and explain things clearly,” Xie Shumi said. “Xin’er is at the age where he is prone to recklessness, but as long as we don’t agree, he won’t dare to act recklessly.”

This will be considered an explanation to the Xia family.

Madam Zhou said, "Don't worry, sir, I know how to handle this."

At this point, Madam Zhou added, "I've noticed that Rang'er and Xia Jiawulang often hang out together. Today, Rang'er invited them over. Why don't you call Rang'er over and give him some instructions? They're about the same age, so it's easier for them to talk. Let's not let the word get out and ruin the Xie family's reputation."

Upon hearing this, Xie Shumi couldn't help but wonder if Xie Chengrang was involved. However, it would take a lot of effort to accomplish this, and Xie Chengrang probably didn't have the ability.

"How is Wenjing?" Xie Shumi would ask his second aunt every day when he returned home. "Is she alright?"

Madam Zhou smiled and said, "I've been staying at home learning needlework and reading medical books, and I haven't stepped out of the mansion a single step."

Xie Shumi was very satisfied, and the anger on his face dissipated by most of it: "Let her study hard. She has been away from the capital for so many years and has fallen behind in too much. Fortunately, the wedding is in two years, so it will be about time by then."

"Now that she's married into the royal family, we'll still have to rely on her in the future, so please take good care of her and don't be careless."

Madam Zhou replied, "Yes, I will definitely teach them well. They are all members of the Xie family..."

Before Madam Zhou could finish speaking, she saw Xie Shumi looking at her with caution and warning: "What Xie family flesh and blood? They are our flesh and blood."

"Yes, yes, yes," Madam Zhou realized her mistake. "I misspoke. Second Madam is my own daughter. She was raised by the old lady since she was a child. We rarely see each other. Now that she has finally come back, I must cherish her even more."

Just as the two finished speaking, an official came to discuss government affairs with Xie Shumi.

The official was holding a stack of documents, the top one being delivered by Guoxin.

Xie Shumi opened the document and then frowned slightly.

Guoxin intercepted secret letters from spies of Western Xia and Northern Qi, which mentioned "coal" and "Buddhist charcoal". The secret letter from Western Xia also mentioned "Buddhist porcelain" from Daming Prefecture.

Once this document is delivered, the Emperor will surely bring coal to Bianjing as soon as possible.

The reason is simple: if the Great Liang doesn't take the lead in something that even the Western Barbarians care about, wouldn't it be a waste to seize the initiative?
Coal is definitely not going to be contained. The reason why no one has pushed it up is because the profits they have haven't been divided yet. If coal enters the capital, charcoal will definitely lose money. If the court opens charcoal fields, they will be strictly controlled for several years, making it difficult to profit from them. So everyone wants to delay for a while.

It seems we can't hold out any longer.

The rise of such a thing in Daliang will inevitably bring about many changes. Those who grasp it will be able to rise with the wind. I wonder how many people will benefit from this.

Unfortunately, he couldn't handle too many businesses.

The prince has taken a liking to the Xia family and wants them to collect money. The prince's mansion won't interfere if they open a few shops in private, but if they do business on a large scale, it will definitely displease the prince.

These are all the seeds of trouble left over from the past. If the second son hadn't done those stupid things back then, there wouldn't be this trouble today.

As Xie Shumi was thinking, the wind suddenly blew the window open a little, and a cold wind swept into the room.

Unfortunately, this spring was also unusually cold, and the weather has been slow to warm up.

This was just the right time to bring coal to the capital.