Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 625 Substitution
Xu Shu's brows and eyes relaxed, making her appear more at ease.

"What exactly are you here for?" Xu Shu looked at Liang, the prison warden. "You can't be here to ask for credit, can you? You should go to Privy Councilor Xie for this kind of thing."

Liang, the guard, bowed hurriedly: "I understand, it's the same if I come to you."

Liang Jianya's words were perfectly timed and pleasing to Xu Shu's ears, but she remained silent, waiting for Liang Jianya to continue.

The guard, Liang, said, "We captured all the people in that caravan. We were planning to hand them over to the Second Madam once she arrived, but..."

Xu Shu frowned slightly.

Liang, the guard, said, "Two days ago, someone launched a night attack in an attempt to repel us and rescue the caravan. We suspect it was Xie Yuyan."

"Xie Yuyan is probably still nearby. She will try to save the caravan. If we give the caravan to the Second Madam now, it may cause trouble for her."

“I want to get rid of Xie Yuyan completely, but unfortunately I don’t have enough manpower, so I’ve come to ask the Second Madam for advice. I can also report to my superiors and hand the caravan over to the yamen.”

“We can’t hand them over,” Xu Shu said. “You might not be able to find good evidence to convict them. Besides, once they’re sent to the yamen to be detained, Xie Yuyan won’t stay here.”

"She can't exactly lead a group to break into the prison."

The warden Liang's eyes flickered: "What does the Second Madam mean?"

“Since we’ve run into her,” Xu Shu said, “we’ll deal with her here and prevent her from causing trouble in the capital.”

Supervisor Liang had planned this all along, so he naturally thought it was a good idea: "Then we must..."

“I brought my men here to deal with the Xie family, and now we’ve arrived just in time,” Xu Shu said. “You just need to use that caravan as bait to lure Xie Yuyan out, and then I’ll lead my men to help.”

"Or, I can go directly to the mountains where you are stationed. You can leave then, and whatever happens will be none of your business. It will also prevent anyone from suspecting the master."

"When the time comes, I will eliminate the caravan and Xie Yuyan. You can just say it's bandits killing each other."

The warden Liang's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed to Xu Shu: "The Second Madam is indeed very thoughtful."

Xu Shu naturally knew that Supervisor Liang was trying to flatter her because he was short-handed and couldn't control Xie Yuyan, fearing something might happen, so he came to ask for help.

However, if you want your subordinates to work willingly, you have to pretend you know nothing and give them some face.

Liang, the guard, said, "Then I will go back and prepare immediately, and wait for the Second Madam to arrive."

Xu Shu said, "I'll have someone go with you."

Sending someone along was a way to investigate the situation. Even with the visiting card, Xu Shu couldn't completely trust his word. She had to examine it carefully.

Supervisor Liang readily agreed.

Only after the steward stepped forward and escorted Liang Jian out of the courtyard did Xu Shu reveal a strong murderous intent on her face. Of course, it wasn't because of Liang Jian, but because of Xie Yuyan.

She still has to deal with what happened back then herself.

Perhaps she was destined to be with Xie Yisong's family?

“Sister, please don’t blame me,” Xu Shu said. “It’s not that I’m not giving her a way out, it’s just that she’s been pressing me relentlessly. If she doesn’t die, my daughter will be in danger at all times.”

"This is her fate."

Xu Shu finished her murmur and was about to wash up and go to rest when footsteps came from outside the door again. This time they sounded particularly urgent. Before the steward outside could speak, she asked, "Where is the head? Is he in the room?"

Xu Shu recognized Xue Er's voice and immediately ordered, "Invite him in."

The door opened, and Xue Er strode to Xu Shu. Xu Shu asked, "What happened?"

Xue Er's face was grim: "Sun De, Fan Yun, and several of their nephews and nieces have been arrested."

Xu Shu immediately froze: "Who arrested you? When?"

“Just now,” Xue Er said, “all five people were taken away, and the people around them were also killed. Only one of them pretended to be dead and escaped the disaster, and came back to report the news.”

"However, that person was looking for Sun De. If I hadn't happened to run into him, I probably wouldn't have known any of this."

Xu Shu grasped the most crucial question: "Shouldn't their nephews and nieces be in the village? How were they arrested?"

Xue Er's face was grim, and a flash of anger crossed his eyes: "Sun De and the others indulged their people, letting them go out to drink and have fun, which is how others took advantage of the situation. In my opinion... since they brought this trouble upon themselves, let them figure out their own way."

"Where are they going to drink?" Xu Shu asked. "There's a tavern not far from here."

Xue Er shook his head: "It's in a village about thirty miles away from here."

Xu Shu stared at Xue Er: "Are they really here for drinking?"

Xue Er fell silent. He had no evidence, but he felt there must be another reason.

As the two were talking, a commotion arose outside: "Master Sun, Master Fan... please allow me to inform them first, then..."

Fan Yun grabbed the steward by the collar and threw her aside: "Get out of my way! My son's life is hanging in the balance, what are you talking about manners with me for? If you mess things up for us, I'll kill you with one stroke."

The steward, too terrified to speak after being scolded, tried to stop her again, but Fan Yun had already lifted the curtain and strode into the room.

Xu Shu frowned as she watched Fan Yun stride up to her.

"Your Excellency," Fan Yun bowed, "did someone just come to tell you that the Xie family's caravan has been captured?"

Fan Yun's behavior greatly displeased Xu Shu, but she couldn't immediately lash out, so she asked, "How do you know all this?"

“I saw the person who just left the courtyard of the Venerable One,” Fan Yun said. “I slapped him a few times and got the information out of him.”

Xu Shu couldn't do anything about Fan Yun. He usually pretended to be straightforward and rude, and had clashed with the sect members many times. But when something happened, he would always be at the forefront with his men. Many people had received his favors and care, and he had gained some reputation within the sect. If she punished Fan Yun for this, she would definitely be accused of being narrow-minded by the sect members. As a woman, she was subject to a lot of criticism, and this was one of them.

“How can you punish members of the sect at will?” Xu Shu said. “At the very least, you should have asked me first.”

Fan Yun didn't care: "Because I know he's not a member of the sect."

Fan Yun was about to continue speaking when Sun De tugged at his sleeve: "Third Brother, we should talk to the leader about serious matters now."

Xu Shu listened quietly.

Fan Yun then said, "Your Excellency must order him to release the captured caravan."

Xu Shu, puzzled, asked, "Why?"

Liang, the guard, was about to hand over the caravan to her. The situation was initially in her favor, but Fan Yun told her to release the caravan. What was the reason for this?
Sun De spoke up for Fan Yun: "Our five nephews and nieces were arrested while out drinking. They've made a demand: to get our nephews and nieces back, we have to release the merchant caravan that was arrested by the authorities."

Xu Shu finally understood why the five people had gotten into trouble; Xie Yuyan had gone to great lengths to save them.

“The people were arrested by the government,” Xu Shu said. “How can we order the government to do things?”

Fan Yun then said, "We already knew that those people in the government office were under the command of Xie Shumi, so there's no need for you to hide it from us, Your Excellency."

(End of this chapter)