Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 664 Evidence
Upon being captured, the man suddenly tilted his head back and forcefully slammed his jaw against the ground. If he made a solid impact, the wooden tooth attached to his back teeth would fall out, revealing a wax pellet inside. The wax pellet contained a deadly poison that would kill instantly.

Once a spy is captured, death is the best outcome.

Unfortunately, Xue Er had been watching him closely. He grabbed the man's hair in time, quickly loosened his grip, removed the man's chin, and used his hand to search the man's mouth, eventually digging out the wooden tooth.

Xue Er looked at the believer and instructed, "Take care of him, don't let him die, the leader will interrogate him personally in a while."

Even as the cultists took the man away, Xue Er remained cautious, fearing that the man might have accomplices.

Xu Shu drifted off to sleep, and when she opened her eyes again, she felt dizzy. It took her a long time to fully wake up.

"Sir, the man has been captured."

Xu Shu listened to Xue Er's report and nodded slightly.

Xue Er said, "Ding Fang has been in the sect for ten years and has always been very meticulous in his work. That's why we transferred him to the head of the sect. I didn't expect him to be Xie Yizhi's man."

Xu Shu seemed to understand Xue Er's words after a long while, and then a hint of hatred and desolation flashed in her haggard eyes.

"I have prepared the man; Your Majesty can question him at any time."

The Holy Church has many ways to torment people, many of which they learned from the sea. When they smuggled goods by ship, they often encountered pirates. To punish traitors, the pirates would string them together on a pole and then place that pole at the bow of their ship.

A person doesn't die immediately; they suffer a lot before finally passing away.

Ding Fang had witnessed all of this firsthand, so Xue Er didn't need to actually deal with Ding Fang in this way to make him confess the truth out of fear.

Xu Shu waved her hand, signaling to bring the person over for interrogation.

Soon, Ding Fang was dragged over. Xu Shu looked at him by the moonlight and saw that Ding Fang's face was covered in blood, his legs and hands had been broken, and the pain had distorted his face. His eyes had long lost their luster, and he looked lifeless.

Xue Er stepped on Ding Fang's twisted arm, which immediately elicited a scream.

The cultist dropped Ding Fang, letting him roll on the ground. Once the pain subsided, Ding Fang said in a trembling voice, "I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything."

"It was Xie Shumi's man who ordered me to stay by the head of state's side and pass on the information I had gathered to the privy councilor."

"The Privy Councilor promised that after I leave the demonic sect, he will... promote me to a military general and give me a position in the army."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu's hand trembled again.

Xie Yizhi had made this plan as early as ten years ago, and she was deceived for so long.

"Was it Xie Yizhi who wanted to... kill me?" Xu Shu's voice was hoarse.

Ding Fang shook his head: "I...I don't know either...I didn't receive such an order at first...It was after the incident with the Supreme Leader in Longde Prefecture...when we were hiding all the way...we clashed with the imperial army, and that's when I received the news that I was to work from the inside to capture the Supreme Leader."

Xue Er frowned: "It's possible that before Longde, those people hadn't had time to communicate with Ding Fang."

Xu Shu stared at Ding Fang and suddenly remembered something: "Someone secretly reported that Lü Shi was instigating his followers to rebel against me, and also said that I and my father joined forces with Xie Yizhi to frame Xie Yisong and spread rumors that there were other hidden stories behind the amnesty back then. Are you aware of this matter?"

Ding Fang swallowed, nodded slightly with his drooping head, and said, "The letter that secretly informed on Lü Shi was sent by Xie Shumi. He ordered me to secretly deliver it to the head of the household so that the head of the household could kill Lü Shi in time."

Xu Shu felt a sharp pain in her chest; it was all Xie Yizhi's doing after all. Xu Shu asked, "Why...why is Xie Yizhi targeting Lü Shi?"

Ding Fang tried to take a deep breath, but the broken ribs caused him a sharp pain, and he couldn't help but cough. After a long while, he finally steadied his breathing and said, "Because Lü Shi is investigating the matter of surrendering to the emperor back then... I only know that Xie Shumi doesn't want Lü Shi to continue investigating."

“It’s not just Lü Shi… The orders from above are to eliminate all those who associate with Lü Shi.”

Xu Shu's eyelids twitched as she thought of the followers she had killed, especially those from Jiangling.

Xu Shu was filled with resentment, hating herself for misjudging people and causing many people to die unjustly, and hating Xie Yizhi for deceiving her for so many years.

Xu Shu gritted her teeth and asked, "Was the amnesty promised back then really true?"

Ding Fang shut his mouth, clearly struggling not to speak, but he soon gave up the resistance.

“When the leader killed Lü Shi, I took the opportunity to sneak into his house and take some things.”

As Ding Fang recounted this, he recalled Lü Shi's situation at the time. After Lü Shi was poisoned, he lay there, unable to move or speak. When Ding Fang went inside to look for the secret box where Lü Shi kept his things, he made a noise and was discovered by Lü Shi. Ding Fang originally wanted to kill Lü Shi, but because of the urgency of the situation and the possibility of someone entering at any moment, he had to leave in a hurry.

Just as he turned to leave, he clearly saw a glimmer of understanding in Lü Shi's eyes.

Just like the look in a monk's eyes when a believer seeks answers to his questions, it's hard to tell whether it's sadness or joy, as if he has seen through everything, but the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed and cannot be explained to others in detail.

Because of that one glance, Ding Fang did not hand over the secret box, but kept it in his hands, always feeling that the secret box was of great importance to him.

Now he understood that Lü Shi might have just used a trick to preserve the evidence, hoping that as long as the evidence wasn't destroyed, it would eventually see the light of day again.

Xu Shu asked, "What did you find?"

Ding Fang said, "There is a letter from Xie Yisong to Old Madam Xie. In it, he said that with the help of Master Xu, he has reached an agreement with the leader on the matter of surrender. If all goes well, he will return to the capital to report on his duties in a month or two. He also mentioned that Madam Xu is about to give birth and will not be able to go back to Bianjing with him."

Xu Shu's heart skipped a beat again.

If the offer of amnesty wasn't true, Xie Yisong had no reason to deceive Old Madam Xie; at most, he would have simply avoided mentioning it. Could it be that they truly misunderstood Xie Yisong?
"This letter was given to Lü Shi by Old Madam Xie. Because at the end of this letter, there is a message left by Old Madam Xie for Lü Shi. She wrote this letter to Lü Shi to make him believe that there was more to the story than meets the eye back then. She asked Lü Shi to investigate it with her so that her son and daughter-in-law could rest in peace."

Xu Shu never expected that it was actually Old Madam Xie who found Lü Shi.

No one knows a son better than his mother. Old Madam Xie believed that Xie Yisong was not lying, but at the same time, she was convinced that Xie Yizhi had a problem.

"In addition, there is a memorial from Ma Yue."

Xu Shu naturally knew who Ma Yue was.

Ma Yue was originally under Xie Yisong's command. It was Ma Yue who suddenly led people to besiege the Holy Sect, which made the Holy Sect realize that Xie Yisong was a fake recruit.

Xu Shu became excited: "What did Ma Yue write in his memorial?"

Ding Fang thought for a moment and said, "Ma Yue said that the reason he sent troops to suppress the demon cult back then was because... he was deceived and mistakenly believed that Xie Yisong was colluding with the leader of the demon cult and deceiving the imperial court. He wanted to take advantage of the amnesty to keep his ships so that he could smuggle goods by sea for a long time."

"Actually, someone else is interested in this deal."

(End of this chapter)