Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 443 Uneasy
"Dead?" Xie Yizhi's heart sank as she looked at her advisor.

The advisor nodded: "When something happened at the estate, we needed to find a reliable person. At that time, Qiao Si was already ill, so we thought he was the most suitable person to use."

"Qiao Si handled all those matters. When he returned to report, he said that everything was arranged properly, but after he went back, he disappeared very quickly."

That's why when Xu Huaiyi was investigating the case, his staff told Xie Yizhi that nothing would happen.

Xie Yizhi frowned: "Did Qiao Si deliberately fail to do things properly?"

The aide pondered for a moment: "Probably not."

"This man came from a gang of outlaws and had countless lives on his hands. Later, he went there and did a lot of things without ever making a mistake."

Xie Yizhi asked, "Does he have any relatives?"

The aide shook his head: "No, Qiao Si's mother passed away long ago, and his father has been bedridden for over ten years. He was unwilling to take care of him anymore, so he killed his father with his own hands and fled the village. This shows that he is cold-hearted by nature. Whenever Qiao Si gets money, he spends it quickly. He has never married or had any children in all these years."

This is the best kind of outlaw.

That's why the task of killing was entrusted to Qiao Si.

Perhaps some people, on their deathbed, might have a change of heart and deliberately let go of the person they are meant to kill, but Qiao Si would never do that.

"So, you can't figure it out?" Xie Yizhi's voice was gloomy.

Where did Qiao Si take the person after he tied them up? Did he kill them? Where was the body buried? After Qiao Si died, no one knew the whole story, making it impossible for him to verify it.

“This…may be a good thing,” the aide said. “If we can’t figure it out, others will have even less to do.”

"At least we can't come knocking on their door right now. As long as we have time, we can slowly plan... and find an opportunity to resolve this trouble."

Xie Yizhi took her advisor's words to heart. Thinking too much before something is revealed can easily expose one's flaws. If Xie had evidence, she wouldn't have gone through such a roundabout way.

Therefore, the most likely explanation is that she genuinely doesn't remember what happened before, nor what occurred that day, or perhaps she vaguely guessed about her background but didn't fully understand it, which is why she deliberately set up this scheme to test him.

Xie Yizhi lowered her eyes and pondered: "So, it's a good thing for her to get the business at the border market."

The aide understood and said, "The waters there are too deep; one wrong move and you could be drowned."

Xie Yizhi stopped speaking, and the staff bowed and withdrew, but soon someone else entered the room.

The man was in his early twenties, with delicate features but a touch of heroism in his eyes, making him appear exceptionally capable. She had been chosen by Old Madam Xie when she was ten years old and kept in the countryside to serve Xie Wenjing alongside Ziying.

Chunxi is usually composed and cautious in her actions, but today she showed a hint of anxiety.

“Master…Master,” Chunxi said directly, “did you see what happened at the temple…?”

Xie Yizhi said: "What about Mrs. Xie?"

Chunxi nodded.

Xie Yizhi raised her eyes: "What are your thoughts?"

Chunxi took a deep breath, calming herself down: "They look exactly alike, but their ways of doing things are different. But...shouldn't she and Ziying both be dead?"

Xie Yizhi was relieved to see that Chunxi was not panicked. He still needed Chunxi by his side to give his second aunt more guidance.

“I’m afraid something went wrong that day,” Xie Yizhi said. “I’ve already sent someone to investigate. You just need to keep Second Madam calm and make sure she doesn’t make any mistakes.”

Chunxi responded.

Just as she was about to leave the house, Xie Yizhi called Chunxi back: "Did the Xie family see you?"

Chunxi shook her head: "This servant avoided it. When we were at the temple, neither Madam nor Second Madam suspected anything." Xie Yizhi said: "They saw Xie's appearance, but they didn't say anything?"

Chunxi said, "Even if Madam has something on her mind, she won't show it outside. Second Madam probably just thinks it's a coincidence, after all, Xie Shi and Second Madam only have similar eyebrows and eyes."

They had no idea such a person existed; seeing the similar appearance, they could only feel bewildered and strange.

So, things are relatively peaceful in the inner quarters, which gives Xie Yizhi one less thing to worry about.

"Take good care of Second Aunt," Xie Yizhi said, "She will surely be a meritorious person in the future."

Chunxi replied, "Master has been kind to me, and I know how to repay you."

The door closed again. Xie Yizhi picked up his pen and put it down again. The image of Xie Shi still lingered in his mind. Before, he could keep her confined in the countryside, but now she had escaped. Moreover... he still didn't understand what was going on with Xie Shi.

He could hardly find peace of mind until Xie died.

……

Madam Zhou changed her clothes and leaned against the soft couch.

Zhao Mama immediately placed tea and snacks on the small table and dismissed the servants in the room so that Madam Zhou could rest for a while.

Madam Zhou stroked the Hetian jade pendant in her hand, thinking carefully about the matter at the temple. After a moment, she looked up at Zhao Mama and asked, "Don't you think that Xie Shi and Xu Niangzi look somewhat alike?"

Madam Zhao nodded: "When I saw it, I was also stunned. But the Xu family members are naturally born with..."

As she said this, she glanced cautiously at Madam Zhou.

Madam Zhou said coldly, "I know the Xu family members are beautiful, so what's there to hide?"

"Yes." Zhao's mother only blamed herself for not thinking more. The lady said she didn't care, but now she's throwing a tantrum.

"I looked at it carefully again. It's just that the profile is very similar. The front view... it's just similar."

Madam Zhou took a deep breath, as if trying to ease the knot in her chest: "Everything has been going wrong lately."

Zhao's mother stepped forward and gently massaged Mrs. Zhou's shoulders.

Madam Zhou said, "It's really strange that they all look like her. Don't they know how annoyed I am? They all keep coming up to me."

“Back when she was alive, Madam Xu was favored by the old lady, and I, as the eldest daughter-in-law, had to be mindful of her feelings. Only after she and the old lady passed away did I finally start living a comfortable life.”

"But then we brought Second Aunt back... Fortunately, Second Aunt is not young, and she can leave home in two more years."

“And now this Xie woman has arrived,” Madam Zhou said. “We were already wary of her, and look at her too. Tell me, aren’t some people just destined to be annoying?”

Zhao Mama said, "You're right. But Xie's husband's family is in Daming Prefecture. She can't stay in Bianjing forever. If she continues to flaunt her wealth, she won't have a good outcome even in Bianjing."

“She helped the Shen family and is also favored by the Empress Dowager, so she cannot be underestimated,” Madam Zhou said. “Right now, she hasn’t come to provoke me, so I’m not in a hurry to deal with her. But if she’s blind and tries to scheme against the Xie family, I will definitely not let her off the hook.”

Thinking of the broken porcelain Buddha, Madam Zhou was furious. She always felt that Madam Xie was deliberately targeting them.

“The Xie family of Daming Prefecture is utterly useless,” said Madam Zhou. “If they had the Xie family under their control, how could they possibly see her in Bianjing?”

Even if the Xie family entered the capital, they would still have to follow their orders with the same caution as the Xie family of Daming Prefecture. The Xie family had sent the Xie clan to prison, and the annual tribute of several hundred strings of cash was gone. Xie Qi, the only remaining member of the Xie family of Daming Prefecture, ended up working under the Xie family.

After nurturing the "collateral" relatives for many years, and finally paving the way for them, Xie's porcelain gained some fame and was actually sold in the market. Now they could just wait to collect the money.

Unexpectedly, she ended up doing all the work for someone else, while Xie Shi reaped the benefits. How could she not be angry?
The next chapter at night