Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 597 Movement
Tongxu County, southeast of Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Several merchants, along with their hired laborers, surrounded the members of the sorcerer cult. The cult members fled south, but their deception was discovered by the merchants along the way.

The merchants gathered together and quickly reached an agreement. They led their men to stop the cultists while reporting to the imperial court. Once the imperial troops arrived, they could then withdraw successfully.

"Those people from the Demon Cult aren't that powerful."

The speaker was a porcelain merchant named Liu Ying. He had come to Bianjing to deliver porcelain, but upon hearing that there was trouble with the sorcerer cult in Bianjing and that some merchants were spontaneously recruiting workers to fight against the cultists, he immediately unloaded his porcelain and joined in.

Despite joining halfway through, he worked harder than anyone else, especially his hired hands, who showed no fear even when facing the cultists.

Liu Ying's charge inspired the other merchants, who followed suit, successfully blocking the cultists at the foot of the mountain.

"Brother Liu, you haven't signed the new contract either?"

Many merchants who were keeping an eye on the cultists had been incited by Guan Fenglin, Chen Yixiu and others to oppose Xie Xinglao. When Guan Fenglin and others were arrested, they were trembling with fear, afraid that they would also be implicated. Recently, there have been rumors that Guan Fenglin and Chen Yixiu are actually related to the cult.

Even if they wanted to prove their innocence, they still had to work hard to take action against the demonic sect.

Liu Ying laughed: "What new contract? Back when Han Si was a merchant, we wanted to go to Bianjing to sell porcelain, but we didn't have the money to bribe officials or the connections. The porcelain I brought couldn't even get through the city gates, so what contract could we possibly have?"

The merchants looked at each other, speechless. They had all benefited from Han Si, unlike Liu Ying and his group.

Liu greeted him, saying, "I heard that the porcelain business has changed hands with Master Xie, so I thought I'd come to Bianjing to try my luck..."

Upon hearing this, one of the merchants remarked, "Well, you're really something else, daring to come just because you heard about it."

Liu Ying smiled, a hint of disdain flashing across his face, as if he thought the speaker was unsophisticated: "Do you know about the village fair? The village fair that originated from Daming Prefecture."

The merchants nodded in agreement: "We know, that's the village fair organized by Madam Xie."

Liu greeted them, saying, "Do you all know the principles of mutual encouragement in virtue and conduct, mutual correction of faults, mutual respect in etiquette, and mutual assistance in times of trouble?"

“This…” said one of the merchants, “I’ve heard of it.”

Liu Ying waved his hand: "Then you must be from a large and powerful family, unlike us small merchants. Let me put it this way, if I hadn't joined the village association this year and hadn't received help from the villagers, all my businesses would have been gone."

"Of the porcelain I brought, less than half were given to me on credit by the villagers. As for the mule carts, everyone who could lend me anything helped out."

Liu greeted him, saying, "Once this deal is done, I'll be completely recovered."

The merchants now understood. Liu Ying had already benefited from Xie Yuyan's village association, so he naturally trusted Xie Xinglao and didn't need to think about it anymore.

“Those members of the demonic sect wanted to harm Madam Xie,” Liu Ying’s eyes widened. “If I hadn’t encountered them, I would have let it go, but now that I have, I certainly can’t let them go.”

The employees behind Liu Ying also chimed in, "The master is right."

The merchants looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of the new rules that Xie Xinglao had established in the porcelain business were designed to protect the artisans, and now it seemed to be working. Both the artisans and the hired workers respected Madam Xie very much.

Upon hearing Liu Ying's words, the merchants had only two words in their minds: "Give in."

Once they obeyed Xie Xinglao, as long as he remained in the porcelain business, they dared not harbor any other thoughts.

……

Not far from here, Yang Kuan helped Master Wu head east. Master Wu was too tired to walk any further, so he stopped to rest.

Yang Kuan pursed his chapped lips: "How much further?"

“It will be soon,” said Master Wu. “We will definitely arrive today.”

Yang Kuan's face was grim: "That's exactly what you said yesterday."

“I didn’t expect things to escalate this much. Many members of the Holy Church have temporarily retreated after receiving the news, so we naturally can’t find them,” Master Wu took a deep breath. “However, there will definitely be someone at the place we’re going to today. I’ve had this informant planted in the church for a long time, but I’ve never used him. He is also deeply trusted by the leader and knows many secrets of the church. Before I went to Bianjing City this time, I made an agreement with him that no matter what happens within ten days, he will be here waiting for me.”

Yang Kuan gritted his teeth and said, "Since that's the case, let's hurry on our way." After saying that, he picked up Master Wu again and quickly moved forward.

Finally, before nightfall, they arrived in Qi County and knocked on a door.

As expected, someone stepped forward this time, just as Mr. Wu had hoped.

The man in his forties did not show any surprise when he saw that Mr. Wu was in charge. Instead, he immediately invited the two of them in and led them into the house to talk.

"We couldn't rescue Dalang?" Xu Lai asked Master Wu.

Master Wu nodded: "If it weren't for Brother Yang saving me, I wouldn't have been able to escape this time either."

Xu Lai asked, "Did the Supreme Leader send someone to attack you?" If it was someone arrested by the imperial court, Master Wu wouldn't have come looking for him. After all, their close relationship wasn't a good thing; it would arouse the Supreme Leader's suspicion, unless Master Wu was prepared to use him as a pawn.

Mr. Wu said, "I didn't expect her to be in such a hurry."

“There’s no rush,” Xu Lai said. “After Lü Shi died last year, I thought she would immediately turn on you.”

At the beginning of last year, the senior monk Lü Shi, who was giving lectures in the sect, suddenly passed away. When the old leader was alive, Lü Shi was the strategist. Later, the Xu family took over the sect and relied on Lü Shi at least on the surface. When the leader took office, Lü Shi continued to advise her. But for some reason, the leader suddenly clashed with Lü Shi. Since then, there have been constant disputes in the sect, which gradually formed two factions, the new and the old.

To this day, Mr. Wu still doesn't know where the problem lies.
Xu Lai said, "I've heard some news. Lü Shi has found some evidence that Xie Yisong did indeed want to recruit the Holy Sect back then. The Holy Sect was besieged and completely clashed with the imperial court. They fell into someone else's trap."

“In the few days that you went to Bianjing, the leader killed many people, all of whom came from Jiangling to join the Holy Church.”

Master Wu was shocked, truly not expecting such a big incident to occur in the Holy Church: "Why? Is someone questioning Lü Shi's death?"

“No,” Xu Lai said. “To openly question this would be to completely break ties with the Supreme Leader.”

"This time it's not those people causing trouble, but rather His Majesty investigating a matter."

Master Wu had some suspicions because he had heard some rumors about it in the church beforehand.

Xu Lai said, "The leader ordered Qiao Si to kill a daughter of the Xie family who was being raised in the countryside. When Qiao Si returned to report, the girl was already dead."

"Unexpectedly, the woman returned to Bianjing a few months later."

Even Yang Kuan, who was standing next to him, widened his eyes in surprise. It was as if he hadn't understood what had happened with the Holy Sect before, but through this sentence, he vaguely grasped the cause and effect.

Master Wu was the same. He was silent for a moment and then said, "The woman you mentioned is Madam Xie, the head of the porcelain shop in Bianjing."

(End of this chapter)