Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 465 Frame Her

Revealing important information constitutes the crime of treason.

Not to mention that their academic titles would be revoked, the lightest crime they would face is exile. If they angered the officials, they might be sentenced to severe punishment.

“He was executed by dismemberment at the gate of the camp, and his entire family was exterminated.”

Hu Ying muttered to himself.

At first, no one heard clearly, but Hu Ying repeated it several times until everyone came to their senses. Huang Zongwu quickly walked a few steps to Hu Ying's side and picked up the newspaper that Hu Ying had dropped on the ground.

Huang Zongwu, holding the tabloid, asked, "What are you talking about?"

Hu Ying pointed to each word with trembling hands: "I did not write these words."

Huang Zongwu stared at Hu Ying's fingers, his eyes narrowing, then he looked at Liu Erlang and the others: "Something terrible has happened..."

Hu Ying interjected, "If things go wrong, none of us will survive."

No sooner had Hu Ying finished speaking than a voice came from outside: "What's going on? Our Bianjing tabloids are selling like hotcakes, so why do all of you gentlemen look so worried?"

Liu Erlang looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was the owner of Liang Family Bookstore.

Liu Erlang immediately stood up and ordered his servant, "Quickly, seize him."

Master Liang didn't flinch, but looked at Liu Erlang with a puzzled expression: "Erlang, what do you mean by this?"

Hu Ying snapped out of his daze, strode forward, grabbed Master Liang by the collar, and asked fiercely, "Who told you to harm us?"

"Why is the tabloid different from before? Who gave you permission to change it?"

"talk……"

"I'm going to take you to the yamen."

Master Liang remained unfazed, staring at Hu Ying: "How could I harm these gentlemen? I'm just a merchant who runs a bookstore, printing newspapers for them. I use the typefaces from their articles to make the prints. After the typefaces were made, I repeatedly asked Second Young Master Liu whether we should start printing the newspapers. Second Young Master Liu agreed in public, and everyone who was drinking at the restaurant yesterday can testify to that."

"Besides, the notes written by the gentlemen themselves are all in the bookstore. If the government investigates, I can hand over the notes to prove my innocence."

Liu Erlang immediately thought of the missing notes. The notes they had written were divided into two parts: one was sent to the bookstore, and the other remained with them. Now that the note they had was gone, if the bookstore were to forge a copy in their handwriting, they would have no way to defend themselves.

Hu Ying asked in a trembling voice, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Master Liang was even more surprised: "What do I do? It's all up to the young masters. I'm just following their orders."

At this moment, even the most oblivious person would know what had happened.

The tabloid was altered and printed, and spread throughout the city. The people who wrote the tabloid were already well-known, as their names appeared on the provincial examination list.

If they deny now that the tabloids have nothing to do with the five of them, who will believe them?
Master Liang showed a concerned expression: "What's wrong with you gentlemen? If you've encountered any problems, feel free to tell us, and we'll think of a solution together."

Enraged, Huang Zongwu punched Master Liang in the stomach. Master Liang winced in pain, his face showing a flash of pain, but he quickly regained his humble and polite demeanor. He smiled again and said, "Perhaps you gentlemen have also been deceived. In that case, none of us are at fault."

Huang Zongwu gritted his teeth: "We were just fooled by you." As he spoke, his fist landed on Master Liang again.

Master Liang neither screamed nor begged for mercy; he simply endured it silently.

Liu Erlang walked up to Master Liang and asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"

A smile returned to Master Liang's face, which had been contorted with pain. He stared intently at Liu Erlang: "Others may not know, but doesn't Liu Erlang know? Who let you publish tabloids in Bianjing? Who helped you bribe the Imperial Secretariat to get information from them? Could it be that you didn't tell any of these things to the other gentlemen?" Huang Zongwu, Hu Ying, and the others immediately looked at Liu Erlang.

Liu Erlang gritted his teeth: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

“I’m not talking nonsense,” Master Liang said. “Back in Daming Prefecture, didn’t Second Young Master Liu already know her? After arriving in Bianjing, she didn’t show herself and had Second Young Master stand in front of her. It’s clear that she had planned it all along. If something happened, she would have the young masters take the blame.”

"If the Second Young Master reports these matters to the government office, the young men will not only be innocent, but may even be able to perform meritorious service."

"Young men, you have worked so hard to pass the imperial examinations and will be able to enter officialdom after passing the palace examination. Perhaps one of you will even become the top scholar and become the prime minister of the Great Liang in the future."

"How can we let this matter defeat us?"

As Master Liang finished speaking, he stared intently at Liu Erlang: "Liu Erlang, don't you agree? You can't let these young men get hurt!"

Liu Erlang took a deep breath, his voice trembling: "You want me to frame Madam Xie."

Master Liang slowly shook his head: "I know nothing about Madam Xie. I just wanted Second Young Master Liu to tell the truth. All of you gentlemen will become important officials in the court in the future. Don't let yourselves be ruined by a woman."

……

Xia family.

Xia Ziqiao was finally able to get out of bed and walk around, and her complexion improved a lot.

He watched as the servants packed the congratulatory gifts for Xie Chengrang.

Today is the day Xie Chengrang goes to Dali Temple to take up his post. From now on, Xie Chengrang will have an official position.

This is the only thing that has made Xia Ziqiao happy recently.

After giving these instructions, Xia Ziqiao went to his father's study. He wanted to discuss with his father how to deal with the Xie family.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw his advisors coming out of his father's room.

Xia Ziqiao quickly stepped forward: "What? Is Father still busy?"

The aide didn't hide anything: "We just got some information from our informants at the South City Wharf. The Xie family has started to consolidate the porcelain trade in the area."

Xia Ziqiao immediately frowned. A merchant who had just arrived in Bianjing, who hadn't even settled in yet, was already trying to take over the porcelain business? Was she overestimating herself?
The Xia family had spent many years in Bianjing and finally managed to build up their network of connections, infiltrating various industries.

Han Si, from the Bianjing porcelain business, was always following the orders of the Xia family. How could Xie, a small merchant with no family wealth and no powerful backers, possibly command the Bianjing porcelain business?

“I think she’s tired of living,” Xia Ziqiao said. “The people in the porcelain industry could drown her with their spittle. She thinks she can challenge the entire porcelain industry on her own? That’s just wishful thinking.”

The aide whispered, "Perhaps she's not alone."

Xia Ziqiao frowned even more deeply: "Who would dare to do anything for her?"

The aide sighed: "Some merchants... their shops are about to go out of business, and... those small porcelain kilns around Bianjing, in the end they are all people in the porcelain business."

Moreover, these are people who have opposed them and refused to follow their rules.

Xia Ziqiao scoffed, "I thought they were some kind of people. Since their shops and porcelain kilns are already half-dead, how can they help the Xie family? What will the Xie family give in return? Can she afford to support those people?"

The staff were unaware of this, but the Xie family had indeed gathered a number of people and were currently discussing matters at the South City Wharf.