Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 45 Ran away
Xie Chongjun was already furious, and when he heard the words "kneel down," he instinctively raised his hand. In all his years as clan leader, no one had ever insulted the Xie family like this in front of him.

It wasn't that he lacked the skill to control his temper; it was that this woman was pressing him relentlessly.

Xie Chongjun pressed on with all his might, but as he rushed toward the woman, her gaze suddenly turned sharp, and his back involuntarily stiffened, the hairs on his neck standing on end.

In the moment of hesitation, Xie Chongjun felt a weight on his shoulders, and a tremendous force pressed him down, followed by his arms being twisted behind his back.

"He dared to commit violence inside the government office."

"What? You didn't kill anyone, and you still want to attack?"

A soldier picked up a rope and tied Xie Chongjun's hands together: "What do you think this place is?"

The pain in his arm brought Xie Chongjun back to his senses. He hunched over, looked up, and what came into view was still that lotus-colored skirt.

He came to the government office to admit the Xie family's mistakes and to extricate them from this quagmire as soon as possible.

At times like these, it's better to lose face to avoid unnecessary complications.

But to his surprise, everything changed after he met that woman. From the moment he saw her, he was led by the nose. He had been tricked by that woman.

"That's unacceptable."

When the Xie family steward couldn't find his master outside the government office, he went in to check on the situation, only to find that his master had been tied up by the servants.

What happened?

"Sir, there must be some misunderstanding here." The steward hurriedly stepped forward.

Xie Chongjun pursed his lips and did not beg for mercy in front of others. Although his Xie family had not been able to completely rely on the Xie family of Kaifeng Prefecture, they still had some influence in Daming Prefecture thanks to their years of hard work. If they were to fall into a low position and make a scene in front of others, they would never be able to face anyone again.

“I gave your Xie family a chance, intending to settle this matter once and for all,” Xie Yuyan said, “but unfortunately, a life cannot buy a single word from the Xie family.”

Xie Chongjun felt another surge of hot blood rising in his chest; how could this woman be so distorting of the truth?

Xie Yuyan said, "In the face of the rich and heartless, all are like ants. But you can't deceive people completely. Since your Xie family is like this, even if I have to fight for my own pride, I will establish this 'Xie Clan' and fight you to the end."

"Let the world see that even a woman who has lost her family can live with her head held high."

Xie Chongjun vaguely understood that the woman in front of him seemed to want to not only humiliate him, but also to use the Xie family to gain influence. But what exactly did she want to do?
He couldn't figure it out for a moment... let alone turn the situation around.

……

not far away.

Chen Ju's face was gloomy. He wanted to walk over and teach the Xie family a lesson several times, but Wang Hechun and He Tan beside him did not give any orders, so he had to endure it. When he heard the Xie family's wife say "fight for yourself to survive," he could no longer hold back and turned to look at He Tan.

"My lords, the Xie family is going too far. Are we really going to just stand by and watch?"

"They were the ones who colluded with the kidnappers first, yet they showed no remorse, forcing Miss Xie to start her own clan. How could a young woman have any clan members?"

The saying "You can't completely deceive someone" is absolutely true.

He Tan did not respond to Chen Ju, but instead looked thoughtfully at Wang Hechun: "Didn't you also make Elder Gong faint from anger at the lecture last year?"

"Your eloquence was honed through listening to impeachment memorials in the Chuigong Hall and dealing with those censors every day. Tell me, how did she acquire that...? If she were in the Chuigong Hall, wouldn't she..."

Looking at that figure, Wang Hechun thought that with her imposing presence just now, she wouldn't be inferior even if she entered the Chuigong Hall.

"It's a pity it's a woman," He Tan sighed. "You and I won't be able to see that excitement."

Chen Ju was completely confused. Not only did the two adults not let him go forward, but they also started gossiping about Miss Xie. Wasn't that a bit strange?
If Chen Ju weren't familiar with his superior, he would have suspected that the Xie family had given him some kind of benefit. Wang Hechun looked away: "She's going to do business in Daming Prefecture, so naturally the more rumors about her, the better. People who didn't care before, now that they hear she's opening a shop to sell things, they'll go and take a look."

"They might even feel sorry for her and spend money to buy some of her things."

Hearing this, Chen Ju muttered, "Miss Xie has had it tough enough." Yang Qin had mentioned Miss Xie to him, saying that she was an excellent sister-in-law who protected him and his mother even though she didn't remember her own background.

How could these be wrong?
Chen Juke saw it all for himself.

“It’s only right for smart people to use their methods on bad people,” Chen Ju’s thinking was very simple. “If it weren’t for Miss Xie, we wouldn’t have been able to catch those smugglers so easily.”

Chen Ju felt that the two officials had been unfair in this regard. He couldn't help but say, "Perhaps in the future, when the two officials need to investigate cases in Daming Prefecture, they will have to ask Miss Xie for help."

When you need to ask someone for help, don't be too shy to ask.

He Tan couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did Madam Xie do to make you say these things?"

Chen Ju pointed to the outside of the yamen.

“Yesterday, Yang Jiulang sent something to the government office... something... lotus root charcoal. We originally didn’t want to accept it, but Yang Jiulang refused to take it back no matter what. I found out that the lotus root charcoal was made from coal slag and mud. I figured it wasn’t anything valuable, and I didn’t want to waste Jiulang’s good intentions, so I decided to keep it.”

"As it turns out," Chen Ju said with a smile, "that lotus root charcoal was really useful. Two pieces were enough to keep the fire burning until dawn. When the brothers on night duty came back from their patrols, they could warm their hands and feet, which made them much more comfortable."

It's not that they're reluctant to use charcoal; this winter has been cold, and all government offices have used a lot, especially small places like military training camps. How could they possibly have enough?

The government office cannot keep useless soldiers, but being willing to endure physical hardship during training does not mean that one must freeze to the point of stiffness in cold weather and still have to endure it.

"The money for one pound of charcoal is enough to buy three or four pounds of lotus root charcoal. It's a good thing that Miss Xie is selling lotus root charcoal."

Seeing that Xie Yuyan was about to leave, Chen Ju should also go and deal with Xie Chongjun. Today, Xie Chongjun would not only fail to see He Tan, but would also have to leave in utter disgrace. Even if the yamen could not punish him now, his life would not be comfortable.

"You know about the lotus root charcoal?" He Tan asked Wang Hechun.

Wang Hechun nodded: "Madam Xie told me about it yesterday."

Even though the charcoal didn't go through his hands, he tacitly allowed the soldiers to use it, so that they could test whether it was good or not.

This was one of the things Xie Yuyan asked him to do.

Another matter was that she needed him to recommend a reliable craftsman to make some ironware. There were good and bad blacksmith shops in the area, so this would save her the trouble of searching around.

Both matters were easy to handle, but he felt they were not as simple as they seemed. He agreed, wanting to see if his guess was correct.

"what."

As Wang Hechun was thinking, He Tan suddenly exclaimed, "Isn't your little cat ignoring people?"

Wang Hechun looked up and saw Xie Yuyan walking out of the government office. He didn't know when, but she had put a furry thing in her arms.

The creature shook its head, twitched its ears, rolled around in her arms, revealing its white belly—it was Wang Hechun's little raccoon.

Xie Yuyan's hand also landed on the raccoon's chin, gently scratching it. The raccoon comfortably squinted its eyes, and a faint smile appeared on Xie Yuyan's face.

It took Xie Yuyan quite a while to put down the cat in his arms and walk out of the government office. The little cat, who had been abandoned, cried out a few times, sounding rather mournful.

He Tan took a few steps forward, intending to pick up the cat to take a look. Hearing the noise and seeing He Tan and Wang Hechun, the cat immediately perked up and leaped onto the wall, disappearing from their sight.

He Tan pointed at the cat: "He Chun, look at this. If people didn't know, they would think we stole it. Could it have run away with someone else?"

(End of this chapter)