Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 399 Escort
Xu Huaiyi's words left Xia Ziqiao stunned. He looked at Steward Zhou, who was tied up, and Steward Zhou also looked blank, as if he did not understand what Xu Huaiyi meant.

What kind of demon cult? How could there possibly be demon cult members here?
Xia Ziqiao even thought he had misheard.

What a joke! How could the Ministry of Justice, a prestigious institution, possibly have any connection with the heretical cult?

Xia Ziqiao was about to put on airs and intimidate Xu Huaiyi, letting him know that the Xia family was not so easy to bully.

Xu Huaiyi did not give Xia Ziqiao this opportunity. At his instruction, the Zhou family steward and boatmen were all forced onto the official ship.

A chorus of groans immediately filled the area. Despite the fierce expressions on the faces of the Zhou and Guo family boatmen when they fought, they dared not resist the constables.

Xu Huaiyi pointed to the He family's large ship again: "And those who forcibly boarded other people's ships, don't leave a single one behind."

Upon hearing this, the Guo family boatmen were all delighted. Fearing that the boatmen from both families would be mixed up and difficult to distinguish, the Guo family boatmen pushed and pulled the Zhou family boatmen aside.

The constables didn't have to bother; they simply went forward and arrested the person.

Xia Ziqiao looked at the chaos before him. Some people refused to give face to the Minister of Justice, and even acted forcefully without explaining themselves clearly. He had never experienced anything like this before. Xu Huaiyi had essentially slapped him in the face in front of everyone.

Xia Ziqiao was immediately enraged and blurted out, "Xu Huaiyi, you're taking revenge on my father because you're dissatisfied with him."

This was the only reason he could think of.

The Ministry of Justice is under his father's control; if he were arrested by his father's men, it would be a laughingstock.

Xu Huaiyi remained expressionless, his face blank: "Why would I be dissatisfied with Minister Xia?"

“Who knows,” Xia Ziqiao said coldly, “maybe they think my father didn’t promote you.”

Xu Huaiyi continued Xia Ziqiao's words, saying, "According to Young Master Xia, only those who have been promoted by Minister Xia will respect Minister Xia?"

“You…” Xia Ziqiao’s eyes widened.

Xu Huaiyi looked up and met Xia Ziqiao's gaze. He stepped aside slightly to make way for him, then crossed his hands under his sleeves and said expressionlessly, "Please, gentlemen, please proceed!"

Xia Ziqiao's forehead veins bulged, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the sharp weapon in his hand, but Xie Chengrang reached out and grabbed his arm: "Wulang, don't be impulsive."

Xie Chengrang's face was very ugly. He tried to stop them many times but failed to change the outcome. In the end, these people only acted according to Xia Ziqiao's mood and would not listen to him at all.

"Erlang, did you hear that?" Xia Ziqiao still refused to put down the weapon. "He actually framed us."

Xie Chengrang said in a low voice, "There may be a misunderstanding here, but... if you lay a hand on an official of the imperial court, you will definitely be unable to clear your name."

Xia Ziqiao took a deep breath, stared fiercely at Xu Huaiyi, and after a long while, he put the dagger back into his sleeve: "You're the one who told us to go to the yamen."

Xu Huaiyi said, "That's right."

“Fine,” Xia Ziqiao said with a fierce look. “Remember what you said. It’s easy for me to go in, but if you want me to come out… you’ll have to put in a lot more effort.”

"Don't worry," Xu Huaiyi said calmly, "this is none of my business."

“Let’s go,” Xia Ziqiao said, pulling Xie Chengrang back with his hand. “We’ll go with him.”

Xie Chengrang frowned. If he had a choice, he would rather make things clear here, but if he struggled, Xia Ziqiao might cause other trouble.

Xie Chengrang turned his head and saw that, with the help of two official boats, Steward Li was pulled out of the water by Guo Xiong. The servants who were with Steward Li were also captured by Guo's boatmen and yamen runners.

The constables treated these men with far greater caution than they had with the Zhou family's boatmen. They not only bound their hands and feet but also repeatedly stirred the water with wooden sticks, fearing that any might escape. Coupled with the unusual behavior of Steward Li, Xie Chengrang was certain that the problem lay with Steward Li.

“Erlang, don’t worry,” Xia Ziqiao said. “Once the boat docks, I’ll have a servant go and inform my father.”

Xia Ziqiao left a servant to look after their horses. When the servant saw that they had been captured, he would naturally send a message back to the Xia family.

Xia Ziqiao sneered, thinking that Xu Huaiyi was tired of living. He ordered the Ministry of Justice to arrest him.

Xu Huaiyi looked at Guo Xiong: "Guo Dalang, come with me to the yamen. I need you to do some paperwork."

Guo Xiong responded naturally.

“Lord Xu,” Guo Xiong pointed to the injured boatman and the messy cargo on the boat, “the Zhou family boatmen injured people for no reason and threw our cargo into the river. Please, sir, do us justice.”

Xu Huaiyi asked, "What kind of goods are those?"

Guo Xiong frowned: "We still need to take inventory. Some of them are rare stones we bought, and some are icing sugar and sugar ice."

Once the frosting was submerged in water, everything disappeared, and the strange stones were difficult to retrieve, indicating that the Guo family's fleet suffered considerable losses. However, if the Zhou family's boatmen had carefully examined the condition of the wooden crates submerged in the water, they would have known that Guo Xiong's words were untrue.

How could icing sugar spread and dissolve into mud when it's in water?

But so much time has passed, who could possibly retrieve the wooden box and examine it? Even if they did, it would be empty. And who could refute the claim that the icing dissolved in the water?
Xu Huaiyi nodded: "Have someone inventory the goods, then write a complaint and submit it to the county government."

Guo Xiong bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Xu."

Xu Huaiyi said, "You have helped the imperial court capture members of the demonic cult. Once the case is solved, I will recommend you for merit." After speaking, he glanced at the Guo family's boat again.

As he approached, he saw a woman standing on the boat.

The woman seemed very familiar to him.

Somewhat like... Madam Xie.

So, Madam Xie is here? What connection does she have with the Guo family's fleet?
"Sir," the constable spoke from the side, and Xu Huaiyi finally came to his senses, "Shall we go back to the yamen now?"

Xu Huaiyi nodded, finally snapping out of his thoughts.

The official ship returned fully loaded.

The constable standing next to Xu Huaiyi looked worried: "Sir, are you really going to take the young masters of the Xia and Xie families to the yamen for questioning?"

Xu Huaiyi said, "When the Guo family's fleet was besieging the demon cultists, they helped resist the Guo family's fleet. Aren't they suspicious? Shouldn't they be interrogated?"

"Just because they are sons of high-ranking officials and nobles, they can escape all punishment? What's the point of the Great Liang Law then?"

Xu Huaiyi's words make sense, but... the law can't always prevail over personal feelings, and Xu Huaiyi's straightforwardness is likely to offend people.

"I'm afraid..." the captain sighed.

The two young men didn't appear at the manor because they were afraid that the matter of the demon cult wouldn't be enough to deter their families. As long as the Xia and Xie families made arrangements, it would still be Master Xu who would suffer.

“I am not afraid of these things,” Xu Huaiyi said. “As long as I am in the Ministry of Justice, I will do my job well. If they want revenge, let them come.”

When the boat docked, Xia's servant saw his young master being escorted away by the yamen runners. He was terrified, but luckily he recognized the leading official as Xu Huaiyi. Without delay, he rode off to the Ministry of Justice to report the news.