Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 585 Take action
Chunxi's gaze turned cold. She knew that doing so would be risky, but Master Wu knew too much, and his being alive would be detrimental to the head of the household and the second wife.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Those in power within the sect had long suspected the Second Madam's identity, since many knew about the affair between the sect leader and Xie Yizhi.

If it weren't for the fact that Master Wu had no evidence, he would probably have already filed a complaint with the imperial court.

However, such things cannot be hidden in the end.

Even though the Second Madam never revealed her true face while she was in the sect, she was always afraid of being investigated.

Chunxi guessed that the Wu family had not yet gained the trust of the court. If she stirred up trouble at this time and made the court suspicious of the Wu family, then no one would care about what Master Wu said.

Of course, she would not give the Wu family another chance to betray her; she wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate any future troubles.

Her concerns were not unfounded. Recently, the behavior of the Prince of Huai had become somewhat strange. Not only did he not come to the mansion to pay his respects to Madam Zhou, but the Princess Consort of Qin had also not allowed the Second Lady to visit the mansion for a long time.

That was secondary; what worried her most was that the Prince of Huai had begun to show concern for Xie Yuyan in private.

How much gossip would circulate if a prince with a marriage contract were to stop a widow in the street to talk to her? Chunxi felt that Prince Huai had noticed something, or... become suspicious.

"Go," Chunxi instructed the embroiderer, "do as I say."

The embroiderer responded and hurriedly went to make the arrangements. In truth, the embroiderer always felt that Chunxi was too suspicious. Perhaps the Wu family had not rebelled against the Holy Sect, but she dared not say so.

Even she knew that the leader had a grudge against the Wu family, and it was only a matter of time before the leader found an excuse to get rid of them.

After leaving the embroidery workshop, the embroiderer found Liu Da and Liu Ji in a secluded corner of the street and told them what Chunxi had said.

The Liu brothers dared not delay and immediately left the city.

Liu Ji looked at his elder brother and whispered, "What if Master Wu says... that we haven't betrayed the Holy Church? What should we do then? Should we go back to the city to send another message?"

Liu Da usually thought things through more deeply. After a moment's thought, he explained to his younger brother, "Haven't you figured it out yet? Given the Wu family's status in the sect, how could they be so hasty in convicting them?"

Liu Ji seemed to be deep in thought.

Liu Da said, "Our leader doesn't want the Wu family father and son to live anymore. What they did is completely unimportant."

Liu Ji suddenly realized.

There are some things that neither the head of state nor the attendants will explain clearly to them; they can only guess. If they guess correctly and perform well, they can be promoted.

It was through this that Liu Da gained a foothold in Bianjing.

“Do your job well,” Liu Da said. “As long as you take advantage of the chaos to kill the Wu family father and son and the Xie family, you will definitely be rewarded.”

Liu Ji nodded: "I'll do whatever you say, brother." So they didn't need to really investigate whether the Wu family father and son had actually sided with the imperial court.

……

in the palace.

Wang Yan handed the memorial in his hand to the eunuch and stood outside the hall waiting for the emperor to summon him.

The Prince of Huai happened to be on duty. He deliberately walked up to Wang Yan, a faint smile on his face: "They've already left the city, haven't they?"

Wang Yan remained silent.

The Prince of Huai said, "I thought you would try to stop me. At this critical moment, there must be people lying in ambush at the coal kiln."

Wang Yan remained calm: "Your Highness should worry about yourself. The siltation of the Bian River is more severe than in previous years. I checked the official documents, and in early spring this year, the Emperor ordered the Imperial Guards to assist in dredging, and Your Highness was among them. When the Emperor asks about this later, how will Your Highness respond?"

The Prince of Huai's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, as if a breeze had brushed across his face: "Inadequate sand control upstream and improper dredging downstream can both lead to river siltation. We must carefully investigate who is derelict in their duties. I hope Your Majesty can entrust this task to me. Whether it is to prove my innocence or to find the root cause of the problem, I will do my best."

Wang Yan said, "Whether or not you can get this job depends on the Prince."

Prince Huai thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled again: "This isn't some task you deliberately gave me, is it? So that I'm too busy to attend to anything else?" "Hechun, when did you become so petty?"

Wang Yan did not respond.

Prince Huai continued, "I have long said that I have no such intention. Even if she returns to the Xie family and regains her status as the Second Mistress, I will not ask the Empress Dowager to grant her a new marriage."

"You should think about how to get past the Wang family."

If Xie Yizhi has any problems, the Wang family will never allow a Xie family daughter to enter the family.

Conversely, since Xie Yuyan had not been able to regain his original status, he was just a merchant who had been married before, and Wang Shi would not agree to this marriage.

Wang Yan said calmly, "Her identity is none of anyone else's business. It applies to the Wang family as well as to me."

Seeing Wang Yan's resolute gaze, the Prince of Huai's smile gradually faded.

Wang Yan raised his head slightly: "I entered officialdom as the top scholar in the imperial examination, not because of the Wang family. I don't need anyone else to tell me who I love or who I want to grow old with."

Just as Wang Yan finished speaking, a eunuch came out and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor summons you to the palace."

Wang Yan lifted his foot and walked forward. The Prince of Huai watched Wang Yan's back for a long time before saying, "It really... can make people... disregard everything?"

An inner palace guard came over and, having overheard a few words, hurriedly asked, "What is Your Highness saying?"

The Prince of Huai said, "It's nothing, I just find it... interesting."

……

outside the city.

Xie Yuyan alighted from the carriage and led his men into the porcelain kiln.

Xie Zishao had already led his men to remove the saggars from the coal kiln, and he smiled when he saw Xie Yuyan.

"How is it?" Xie Yuyan asked.

Xie Zishao said, "The number of finished products produced was not as many as expected, but it was enough."

They borrowed artisans from kilns across the country and instructed them to switch from firing porcelain in charcoal kilns to firing it in stone kilns. This was to allow the kiln owners to clearly see what kind of porcelain they could produce if they used stone kilns.

When the coal-fired kilns were introduced, there were many voices of doubt. Many kiln owners felt that the craftsmanship passed down from their ancestors should be fired using the most traditional techniques. Now that the fired porcelain was placed in front of them, they could see it more clearly.

Both types of porcelain kilns inevitably have their own strengths and weaknesses.

They can get the results they want without investing too much money and effort, and it will be easier for them to decide whether or not to repair the coal kiln.
“Let’s go,” Xie Yuyan said, “Let’s go in and take a look.”

Kiln owners from all over the country were already impatient, and upon hearing this, they quickened their pace and headed towards the coal kilns.

They searched through the crowd, finding their own craftsmen and asking about the results.

“Master, that coal kiln is really good. Our porcelain is fired in a coal kiln, which is completely different from that fired in a charcoal kiln.”

“It’s different from a charcoal kiln. In short, each has its own advantages, and the owner will know them at a glance.”

Xie Yuyan stopped and watched as the kiln owner and craftsmen went to inspect their porcelain. At this point, there was no need for her to say anything.

Now, she is more concerned about the Wu family.

"Have they arrived?" Xie Yuyan asked Su Man.

(End of this chapter)