Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 451 Revenge
With Madam Li by his side, Xie Chengrang couldn't talk much with Xia Erniang, but he deliberately paused his gaze for a moment as a response.

Xia Erniang was very satisfied with Xie Chengrang's actions, and her smile deepened.

Looking at the two of them, Madam Li felt a little gratified.

Just then, Xia Ziqiao's shouts suddenly came from inside the room. Madam Li was startled, and the maid who was standing by came out to report: "The Fifth Prince was frightened in his dream."

Just as Madam Li was about to step forward, Xie Chengrang said, "Madam, go and rest. I'll talk to Wulang and try to comfort him."

After Xie Chengrang finished speaking, he bowed and went into the house.

After no more sounds came from Xia Ziqiao's room, Madam Li left with Xia Erniang, relieved.

After the mother and daughter walked a little further away, Madam Li said, "Except for not being the eldest son, Xie Erlang is better than Xie Dalang in every other way."

"Perhaps our Xianniang has actually benefited from this misfortune."

Xia Jingxian responded, "Didn't the Xie family place him under the care of his stepmother? Just for that, Xie Erlang should remember the good deeds our family has done for him."

Madam Li pulled her daughter back: "In the end, isn't it all because of you? If we could marry you off to a son of a concubine, why would we need to argue with the Xie family like this? Your father would even get him an official position. As long as he treats you well in the future, our Xia family will definitely not let him down."

Making this request to the Xie family is also a way of putting pressure on Xie Erlang. Even if the Xia family runs into trouble, they will still have some influence. Accepting this marriage will be beneficial to him.

Regardless of what Xie Erlang was thinking, he was a smart man after all.

The mother and daughter entered the main courtyard. Madam Li looked at the steward and asked, "Is there someone else in the master's study?"

The steward replied, "They are still in a meeting."

“Then send them some more tea and snacks,” Madam Li said. “When the master comes out, remind him not to forget about the Li family.”

Given the current situation, the Li family had no choice but to send out two collateral branches to take the blame, but they could only take responsibility for the business dealings with the He family, and could not possibly have any connection with the demonic sect.

Madam Li feared that Xu Huaiyi would cling to this information, tarnishing the Li family's reputation and subjecting them to thorough investigation. Although her family members certainly had no dealings with the demonic cult, the people working for them were numerous and complex. Before this, they were unaware that Steward Li was working for the demonic cult.

If they find out one or two more, they'll have no way to defend themselves. Besides the demonic cult, the Li family also handles many other businesses, some of which cannot be openly discussed. If Xu Huaiyi were to discover even one of them, the entire clan would be imprisoned.

As a result, the losses and expenses incurred in the past few days have already exceeded a thousand strings of cash. And that's not all; the Li family will also investigate all their businesses and personnel again. If they find any cult members like Manager Li, they will have to deal with them as soon as possible.

Madam Li wrote a letter home, telling her father and brothers not to be careless and not to be stingy with the money in their hands. To put it bluntly, Madam Li was spending money now to settle things for the Xia family. As long as the Xia family was protected, she was not afraid that she would not be able to make up for the losses in the future.
Of the money used, the Li family will bear a portion, the Ge family will also contribute a small portion, and the four families on the Bian River will also have to pay. None of them will be able to escape.

The Sun, Zhou, Wu, and Zheng families also suffered considerable losses because of this case. The Zhou and Zheng families, in particular, were implicated. One had a direct conflict with Guo Xiong, and the other left a boat for Steward Li.

Xia Jingxian had obviously thought of these things as well. She looked towards the study and asked, "Would those four families be unwilling to spend money to bribe officials everywhere?"

“No,” Madam Li said. “Your father is no longer in the Ministry of Justice, but the officials there still follow his orders. Xu Huaiyi wants to use this case to investigate past cases as well. It’s only because your father kept the Ministry of Justice officials from suppressing it that the four families have already been arrested.”

Xu Huaiyi encountered obstacles at every turn while investigating cases within the Ministry of Justice, especially with previous case files, which were either missing documentary evidence or had gone missing. In short, the other members of the Ministry of Justice were uncooperative, and he was helpless on his own.

Madam Li lowered her voice: "Don't worry, so many people depend on us for their livelihood. Even if we were to fail, those people wouldn't want us to."

"Your father resigned from his official post to shut those people up and prevent them from holding a grudge."

The mother and daughter went inside while talking. Xia Mengxian was still talking to Ge Ying and the others.

The Xia family went to great lengths to protect the Ge family and prevent them from being implicated, all for the sake of the trade at the border market.

"Can the losses be calculated?" Xia Mengxian asked Ge Ying.

Ge Ying said politely, "We selected four kilns for the porcelain. The Xie family accounted for a quarter of them, but the two kilns we have, plus the Han Si kiln, are more famous than the Xie family's."

“We roughly calculated that the Xie family could only take a 20% share of the entire transaction at most.”

“That’s not a small amount,” Xia Mengxian said. “The vassal states want a large quantity, and they will resell it to Qingtang for 20%... In less than three years, she will be able to gain significant influence.”

He paused slightly at this point.

"We shouldn't underestimate the Xie family either. Their Buddhist porcelain is indeed different, and those vassal lords like it very much. Their porcelain fired in their coal kilns is also cheaper, so it might just be able to outshine yours."

Ge Ying immediately said, "No, our people in the Northwest have already made many deals. The porcelain was sold before it even arrived. No matter what, the Xie family can only eat our leftovers."

"Besides, the trade route is so long. Whether we can make money depends on how smoothly the transport goes. I've already made an agreement with the caravan that no one will pick up or deliver Xie's goods."

Xia Mengxian nodded: "The He family's business is gone, and the border market must not make any more mistakes."

You have to understand that no matter what you do, you need money to bribe people. Without a purse, how can you get anything done? This is also why Xia Mengxian is not worried about his situation. After all, he controls these businesses, and the higher-ups need to take money from him. He has done so much, how can they not give him an explanation?
The current officials are angry with him; at worst, he can just wait for the government to change.

If he were to return in the future, he wouldn't go back to the Ministry of Justice, but to the Ministry of Revenue.

After Ge Ying left, the gatekeeper brought in another person.

"Your Excellency, Minister." The man bowed to Xia Mengxian.

Xia Mengxian waved his hand: "I have already resigned from my official post. Please do not address me as such in the future. Just call me by my given name."

The man's face showed a hint of indignation: "Let's investigate Xu Huaiyi. Within a month, we'll make sure he's in jail. Let him know how powerful the Secretariat is."

Besides ostensibly receiving envoys from various countries, the Jiyisi (機宜司) also collected intelligence on vassal states on the frontier. They would risk infiltrating various vassal territories and constantly send back messages.

The Department of Military Affairs played a role in this peace talks between the two countries.

Of course, in addition to bringing back news from the vassal states for the court, the Bureau of Military Affairs has also been searching for the secrets of various officials for Xia Mengxian over the years, so that Xia Mengxian can use this information to control the officials.

People like Xu Wei receive a salary from the imperial court and also receive a monthly allowance from Xia Mengxian. Being supported in this way, he naturally has to obey Xia Mengxian's orders.

Xia Mengxian said, "I have just been convicted, and if I secretly target Xu Huaiyi, it will surely displease the Emperor."

Xu Wei's face was full of resentment: "We were the ones who facilitated the peace talks and paved the way for the border markets, but in the end, someone else got the benefits. If you don't want to deal with Xu Huaiyi, then... we'll find an opportunity to take action against the Xie family."

Xia Mengxian frowned: "Don't act rashly."

Xu Wei, however, was very confident: "Don't worry, sir. We've dealt with so many officials, why would we be afraid of a mere merchant? You don't need to worry about it, just leave this to us. We will handle it cleanly and make sure no one suspects you."

There will be more at night