Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 389 The last fire
Xie Yuyan returned to the courtyard, changed into her usual clothes, and was then helped by Mama Yu to wash off her makeup.

Madam Yu said in a low voice, "In the future, can we let someone else handle these kinds of things? Even though someone is protecting you, it's still very dangerous. I can't go with you, so I can only worry helplessly."

Mother Yu knew she wasn't skilled in martial arts, and that going to Yunqi Temple with her would only be a burden, but she was genuinely worried about her.

The eldest daughter-in-law probably didn't inform Lord Wang about what happened tonight; she didn't even see Sang Dian and his men.

The lady is intentionally trying to make Lord Wang avoid suspicion.

"Understood," Xie Yuyan nodded. "If there are too many variables, we'll replace them with someone else."

Madam Yu sighed inwardly. The eldest daughter-in-law's meaning of "too many variables" was different from what ordinary people understood. Let's put it this way: going back to Daming Prefecture alone to save Lord Wang was not among the "too many variables."

"Have some medicinal tea to dispel the cold." Zhang led Yang Qin into the room.

They can do these things, so they must take good care of Ayan's health.

Xie Yuyan picked up the tea and took a few sips.

Then Zhang asked, "So... everything is arranged?"

Xie Yuyan said, "More or less. Now we'll see what they do and adapt accordingly."

As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes slightly. According to her previous life, the body of the Dowager Consort's niece wouldn't be exhumed until next year. A person who has been dead for over a decade would have long since become a pile of bones. The reason they were able to identify her was twofold: firstly, through the coroner's examination of the body, distinguishing her based on her height and age; and secondly, because that Fourth Madam Shen had swallowed a gold bean engraved with the character "Shen." The Shen family often made gold beans and gold melon seeds as lucky charms for festivals, and Fourth Madam Shen had such gold in her purse when she went missing.

This one was left on the corpse, which must have been secretly hidden by Shen Si Niangzi. This gold bean did not help her escape, but it became the evidence that revealed her identity.

In addition, there are testimonies from Manichaeans.

The reason why Shen Si Niangzi was buried in Yunqi Temple is because there were Manichaeans in the temple more than ten years ago, and now that follower has become a well-known nun in the temple.

The nun often preached to the female relatives of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, using her status as a nun to recruit more people into Manichaeism and secretly amassed wealth for the sect. She thought she would be valued by the sect for this, but unexpectedly, something happened to the Manichaeism in Bianjing, her attendant was killed, and the sect's leader punished her. The nun was also implicated and not only did she not receive a promotion, but she was also ostracized by the sect.

The new missionaries treated her even less favorably, constantly reprimanding her and demanding more and more money from her. The nun, unable to bear the burden, harbored resentment and persuaded some followers to secretly oppose the missionaries.

The nun wanted to use the government to eliminate the missionaries and those around her, but the plan was leaked beforehand, leading to internal strife.

The commotion caused by Manichaeism was so great that it alarmed the government, which dispatched troops to arrest them.

In order to save her life, the nun revealed this secret in prison.

The whereabouts of the Dowager Consort's long-cherished niece, the Fourth Sister whom the Shen family had been searching for, have finally been found more than a decade after her death.

It's a sad story. The Shen family had always believed that their daughter had been kidnapped and sold to Bianjing. Over the course of more than ten years, their relatives and friends traveled all over the entire Liang Dynasty, even inquiring about the Western Barbarians. They never expected that the remains of Shen Si Niangzi would be so close to them.

When the Dowager Consort was alive, she would bring the women of the Shen family to Yunqi Temple every year to offer incense and pray to find out the whereabouts of Fourth Sister as soon as possible.

How could they know that their beloved Fourth Sister, so close yet separated by death, was now gone? Xie Yuyan knew of this and could recall the approximate time of the upheaval, but she had never seen the case files. Many details, such as who the Manicheans were at Yunqi Temple, whether the nun had developed a grudge against the missionaries, where the Manicheans hid their money, and who the missionary was, and whether he was eventually arrested and imprisoned, remained unknown.

After all, it's been decades, so the details aren't very clear.

People always focus on the tragic experiences of others, not the true details of the case. When Shen Si Niangzi went missing, and where her remains were found, these details can be clearly stated, but other information cannot be entirely trusted.

Therefore, Xie Yuyan did not intend to reveal the matter immediately. It was not until he rescued Feng Erniang that he heard Granny Jiang mention the Holy Sect. The Holy Sect she mentioned was naturally Manichaeism.

Granny Jiang said that the Manichaeism had once tried to rescue the kidnapped women by working together from within and without, and the inside agent must have been a member of the cult.

If Manichaeism truly cared for the people and wholeheartedly did good deeds, it wouldn't have degenerated into a heretical sect. Therefore, the trafficking of women must be somehow connected to Manichaeism.

Since that's the case, why not uncover the truth about Yunqi Temple in advance and thoroughly investigate the case of abduction and trafficking? This would not only bring justice to those women but also clarify whether all of this has anything to do with Jiao Da, who abducted and trafficked them.

Xie Yuyan couldn't just suddenly find Yunqi Temple; she needed to make arrangements step by step. So she started with the perfume shop and gradually moved closer to Yunqi Temple.

The final fire was set by Xie Yuyan himself. He had Tang Xing and his son strangle Mingzhen to unconsciousness, and then made it look like she had survived by the time the rope broke, so that Mingzhen would preemptively plot to kill the missionaries.

Xie Yuyan didn't care if his plans were exposed, because all the previous arrangements were open schemes. Even if people noticed, they would only suspect the identity of the perfume shop owner.

She became the last door blocking the truth.

Doing these things with great effort has many benefits; it is the foundation upon which she gains confidence in establishing herself in the capital.

Yang Qin looked at his sister-in-law with anticipation. He didn't really know what had happened. He could understand some of what his sister-in-law did when they were in Daming Prefecture, but when they arrived in Bianjing... he was completely baffled.

Xie Yuyan did not tell Yang Qin his intentions, but let Yang Qin consider the details himself after everything was settled.

“From now on,” Xie Yuyan said, looking at Zhang Shi and Yang Qin, “we will no longer have to hide in Bianjing.”

Zhang looked bewildered, but she trusted Xie Yuyan, so she quickly showed a joyful expression.

Xie Yuyan then instructed Yang Qin: "Have Tang Xing bring over the tricolor reliquary box."

Yang Qin strode out and found Tang Xing resting in the back room. Together with Tang Xing, they carefully carried the relic box to Xie Yuyan.

It was still dark inside the room before dawn, but the reliquary remained brightly colored.

Zhang had seen many porcelain pieces, after all, the Yang family had a porcelain kiln in their ancestors' home, but none of them could compare to this tricolor reliquary. Just as she was about to praise it, she heard Xie Yuyan say, "Smash it!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback.

Tang Xing stammered, "Why...why?"