Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 510 Return to life
Wang Yan suddenly slowed down. Xu Huaiyi, who was following behind, didn't know what was happening and accidentally rode past him. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly stopped, frowned, and looked around. He also secretly reached for the sword at his waist.

On this day, Xu Huaiyi followed Wang Yan through too many things: being tricked, assassinated, and caught in the chaos of war, one after another.

If he missed the chaos in Daming Prefecture back then, this time he was involved from beginning to end. Even if investigating a case was dangerous, a civil official like him wouldn't be in such a state. So, after being repeatedly torn between different emotions, Xu Huaiyi became somewhat sensitive, always feeling that even after entering the city, he might face some danger at any moment.

However, after looking at it for a while, everything seemed normal.

Xu Huaiyi went to check on Wang Yan again. He was really puzzled as to why the person who had been rushing along suddenly stopped.

"Lord Wang," Xu Huaiyi called out.

Only then did Wang Yan spur his horse forward again.

“Lord Xu,” Wang Yan approached Xu Huaiyi, “you may be extremely busy from now on, as it will take a lot of effort to sort out all the cases.”

Xu Huaiyi did not hesitate: "I am duty-bound and will do my best."

Wang Yan nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Xu."

Xu Huaiyi nodded again, but after walking for a while, his doubts grew stronger. Wasn't Wang Yan working on the case with him? Why did his words sound strange, as if he was deliberately making him take on more responsibility?

When the two arrived at the Ministry of Justice, they had just dismounted when they saw Liu Erlang.

Liu Tonghan looked haggard and disheveled. In just two days, he had lost a lot of weight, his chin was covered in stubble, his clothes were dirty, and his hair was messy.

His robe was torn in many places, and his boots were worn out; he looked no different from a refugee.

His cheeks were slashed with multiple bloody marks, and his clothes around his waist were soaked in blood. Seeing Liu Tonghan in this state, one could imagine how he had spent the night.

After Liu Tonghan escaped the city, he was pursued. Although he managed to shake off his pursuers several times, he dared not stop. He abandoned his horse and ran into the mountains, hiding in the deepest forest and not daring to show himself. He spent the whole night like this.

They only ventured down the mountain to gather information after daybreak.

He was still worried about his family and couldn't just leave like that. Besides, Wang Yan and Xu Huaiyi clearly wanted to use his case to deal with Xia Mengxian, and a day and a night would be enough for them to do so.

If things improve, he can still go to the yamen to sue Xia Mengxian. If things don't improve, then Wang Yan and his group have failed... Even if that's the case, he doesn't want to run away, because if he runs away, Xia Mengxian and his people will definitely not let his father and the Liu family go. How can he let his family be implicated by him?
Of course, he wouldn't falsely accuse Madam Xie.

With a heavy heart, he went to the city gate to listen to the laborers talking, and learned that Xia Mengxian had been arrested.

Liu Tonghan carefully recounted these events to Wang Yan: "Upon hearing this, I returned to the city. No one questioned me as I passed through the city gate, which made me realize that Lord Wang had the situation under control."

As he spoke, Liu Tonghan bowed to Wang Yan and said, "I will never forget Lord Wang's life-saving grace."

"No need to thank me," Wang Yan said calmly. "It wasn't me who saved you."

Liu Tonghan pursed his lips. In prison, Wang Yan had been exceptionally cold to him, but now it was only slightly better. Yet, Wang Yan still refused to accept his thanks, and Liu Tonghan was at a loss for how to make amends.

“Go back and see your father!” Wang Yan said. “Come to the Ministry of Justice later and find the clerk to write the case report. Do not leave Bianjing until the case is closed.”

Liu Tonghan bowed again. Wang Yan entered the Ministry of Justice, and Xu Huaiyi threw the criminals into prison, arranging Zhao Zhongliang in the cell closest to the prison door and instructing the jailers to take good care of him.

Today, several high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Justice were taken away, and everyone in the office is on edge, fearing they might be implicated at any moment. After all, they all work in the same office, and it's inevitable that they'll have private dealings; perhaps they'll unknowingly be dragged into the mess.

Especially the sergeants, they dared not disobey the orders given to them by their superiors. They were the ones who beat prisoners and tortured them to extract confessions. Upon closer examination, none of them were clean. As a result, they were all more respectful than usual and dared not neglect the tasks assigned to them.

As soon as Zhao Zhongliang entered the prison, he was given bedding and food. The jailer whispered, "From now on, you will eat with us." The implication was that he would not have to eat prison food.

After the jailer left, Zhao Zhongliang sat down and took the opportunity to think carefully about what he had seen and heard in Liu Yigui's caravan over the years, hoping that something might be useful.

Lying in the haystack, Zhao Zhongliang closed his eyes to rest. After a while, he suddenly remembered something and sat up abruptly.

He almost forgot that someone in Bianjing wanted to kill Madam Xie. That person found him through Wu Qian, one of Liu Yigui's men. Before that, he had heard that Madam Xie treated her employees well at the South City Wharf. Based on that alone, he would never harm such a person.

Later, he learned from Zhou Guangyuan that Madam Xie was openly dealing with Han Si and the porcelain business and was planning to secretly help them. So he pretended to agree to that person's request. In case they sent someone else to deal with Madam Xie, he was worried that it might not be safe enough. He also sent a secret letter to Madam Xie to warn her.

Last night, I was so focused on dealing with the third manager that I completely forgot about this matter.

Zhao Zhongliang hurriedly called out to the jailer, "I want to see...I want to see the official who brought me here."

Fearing the guard had the wrong person, he added, "The younger one."

The jailer said, "You mean Lord Wang Yan? He has gone to the palace. I will report to him when I return to the yamen."

"Could you...go and go find him?" Zhao Zhongliang said. "The matter I need to report is rather urgent, and I'm afraid things might change if it's delayed any longer."

He had to tell them quickly so that they could find Wu Qian among the people who were arresting him as soon as possible.

……

"Hechun".

As Wang Yan entered the palace gate, he was stopped by the Prince of Huai.

“His Majesty has asked several times, and you’ve finally returned,” said Prince Huai. “I will take you to the Zichen Palace now. His Majesty did not leave anyone in the palace to discuss state affairs today; he was waiting for news of Hechun.”

When the Prince of Huai spoke, he seemed no different from usual, but his eyes darkened slightly as Wang Yan walked forward.

There has been quite a commotion outside these past two days, but the Emperor had not informed him of anything about it beforehand. Last night, Xu En led his troops to the Bian River checkpoint, but the Emperor did not order him to accompany him.

Although he appears to be close to the Emperor in the palace, in reality, the Emperor will not let him get involved in important matters; to put it bluntly, the Emperor is keeping an eye on him.

Although the father was entrusted with important responsibilities by the emperor and was prepared to ascend to the position of crown prince, he still could not relax, because the sky above him could change at any time.

There's one more chapter. I'll correct any minor errors in a bit.