Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 474 Discovery
Xia Ziqiao was puzzled. His father was fine just now, so why did he show such an expression when he heard that he wanted to kill Liu Erlang?

Xia Ziqiao said, "Master Liang had Liu Erlang extract all the details. If Liu Erlang reveals them, won't our actions be exposed?"

"So the son told the legal officer that while Liu Erlang was in prison, they should..."

Xia Ziqiao gestured with his hand: "Solved."

At this point, fearing that his father might worry, he explained, "I've spoken with the legal officer. We'll find an excuse and say that Liu Erlang committed suicide out of fear of punishment. That will give the Liu family an explanation."

Xia Mengxian's expression darkened further, and his gaze toward Xia Ziqiao held a hint of anger. He didn't have time to say anything more and immediately called in the guard: "Go to Kaifeng Prefecture right now, find the magistrate on duty today, Yan Facao, and tell him to take good care of Liu Erlang and make sure nothing goes wrong."

The guard responded and quickly went out.

Xia Ziqiao didn't understand: "Why is Father doing this? The Liu family doesn't even know about this yet. Wouldn't it be better to resolve this trouble quickly?"

Xia Mengxian stared at Xia Ziqiao: "Before you kill someone, think about whether he has parents or siblings. If he is from an official family, unless you have the ability to threaten his whole family, don't take his life casually."

Xia Mengxian's tone was stern, with a hint of reprimand, but Xia Ziqiao was unconvinced: "Father also said that things should be resolved cleanly to avoid complications."

"If we deal with Liu Erlang in prison, we can cover it up when Liu Zuolang asks. Even if he has suspicions, he can't be sure that we were the ones who did it."

"If it's not you, then who is it?" Xia Mengxian said coldly. "Do you think Liu Zuolang is a fool? He's not the government; he doesn't need to find concrete evidence."

“Liu Erlang is his only son. Killing his son is tantamount to forcing Liu Zuolang to side with Wang Yan. We still can’t completely control Liu Zuolang, so how dare you target his son? When I was in a high position, it was fine, I could still find a way to suppress him. Now that I’m retired and at home, those who work for us are bound to waver. So we should try not to push people to the brink... If they really become desperate, it will definitely be troublesome to deal with them.”

Hearing this, Xia Ziqiao felt there was some truth to it, but he also felt that his father had grown old and lost his fiery temper. He dared not show it, but only asked, "Then what should be done with Liu Erlang?"

Xia Mengxian said, "Just hide him. If Liu Zuolang knows that his son is in our hands, he won't dare to say anything reckless and will only be able to cooperate with us."

"With people like Huang Zongwu around, they first proved Xie's death, and then pinned the crime of imprisoning Liu Erlang on Xie's head."

"Once the case is settled, Liu Erlang can go home. Even if Liu Erlang wants to plead for Xie Shi's innocence, can he turn the tide with just his words?"

"Besides, Liu Zuolang has been doing things according to our orders and has long become our accomplice. How could Liu Erlang sue his father as well? As long as the person is in our hands, we can do whatever we want with him. Why would we need to kill him? Some people are more useful alive than dead."

Xia Ziqiao finally nodded willingly: "It was my son's oversight."

“I told you long ago,” Xia Mengxian said, “Every matter is different. You can’t use the same method all the time. Think carefully before you act.”

Xia Ziqiao dared not speak again. His father did not allow him to leave, and he dared not go back to rest. He could only serve the writing brush and ink on the side.

A while later, the guards hurriedly returned from Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Master," the guard said anxiously as he entered, "something has happened, Liu Erlang has disappeared."

Xia Mengxian's eyes widened in shock.

The guard continued, "The magistrate took me to the prison where Liu Erlang was being held. I saw Liu Erlang lying peacefully in a pile of straw. I was about to leave, but... I remembered the master's instructions, so I asked the jailer to open the door and go in to check."

"Upon inspection, we discovered that the person in the prison was not Liu Erlang at all, but a prisoner from another cell who had been secretly changed and brought over. The legal officer and I searched the entire prison, but we couldn't find Liu Erlang."

He dared not delay any longer and immediately returned to report the news. Xia Mengxian instructed, "Take some men to the Liu family first, call He Daosheng out for questioning, and see if there is anything suspicious. Then send someone to Fanlou to find Liu Zuolang and make sure to find out whether Liu Zuolang is still in the restaurant."

The guards left in response, and Xia Mengxian then called his advisor over: "Go find Xu Wei and tell him that something has happened at the Liu family's place. Tell him to find out exactly what Liu Zuolang is doing."

They arranged for everyone to leave. Xia Mengxian's expression still hadn't improved. Xia Ziqiao swallowed hard: "Did...the news leak out?"

That's how it is now.

Xia Mengxian took a deep breath: "It must be that Wang Yan secretly conspired with Liu Zuolang to make a move against us."

Only Wang Yan would have such methods.

Upon hearing this, Xia Ziqiao panicked immediately: "Then... what should we do? Take down the Xie family tonight? Force them to confess?"

“Even if we kill the Xie family now,” Xia Mengxian said, “Wang Yan still has the Liu family as a pawn. Liu Zuolang’s official rank is not high, but he can move around in the Secretariat. If he secretly gathers officials to impeach me, it will be difficult for me to get away with it.”

He was afraid that Liu Zuolang and his people had evidence in their hands. After all, they were people who dealt with documents, and they were bound to make mistakes in their daily work, which these people could use against them.

Xia Mengxian thought of the case files in the Ministry of Justice, many of which had been secretly disposed of with his permission. If Liu Zuolang could obtain the records of reviewing the case files, then he would be hard-pressed to escape suspicion of privately destroying case files.

Since Liu Zuolang is targeting him, he must have more evidence than this. Although Xia Mengxian couldn't predict what Liu Zuolang would do, he was certain that he had to find a way to stop him.

Xia Mengxian took a deep breath, sat down and carefully sorted things out. The most troublesome people right now are Wang Yan and Xu Huaiyi. These two have the power to submit secret reports and can reach the emperor directly. If they want to deal with Liu Zuolang, they must get rid of these two people.

The situation is now a matter of life and death, and he must spare no effort to utilize his connections.

……

In a small courtyard in the southern part of Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Liu Huizeng walked quickly towards the main room, where several lamps were placed on the table, making the room exceptionally bright.

"Saro is back."

"How is everything at home? Have you seen Erlang?"

The officials in the room began to ask questions.

Liu Hui once said, "The women in the family have been rescued, and Erlang has also been taken out of the prison."

Everyone said, "That's good."

Liu Huizeng's face tightened, and he was unusually solemn: "The person has been saved, but Xia Mengxian will continue to frame people. Today it's me, tomorrow it will be you all."

“They have something on us, and they will blackmail us into doing things for them whenever they need us. As it is today, losing my job is a small matter, but I may also lose the lives of my whole family.”

"We can't go on like this..."

Liu Huizeng took a deep breath: "Gentlemen, I have made up my mind. I will go to the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office to beat the drum and file a complaint against Xia Mengxian and the Secretariat. Is there anyone willing to go with me?"