Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 677 Estrangement
Xu Shu was speechless after Xie Yuyan's words, while Xue Er frowned and looked indignant.

Xie Yuyan saw this and smiled slightly.

For some reason, when Xu Shu saw that smile, her heart started pounding, as if someone had seen her most vulnerable side. In an instant, Xie Yuyan had seen through all her thoughts.

"Your Excellency was deceived by Xie Yizhi, and Madam Xie already knows that, doesn't she?"

Xue Er couldn't help but defend Xu Shu, saying that Xie Yuyan had come because he wanted to join forces with them to deal with Xie Yizhi. That was probably what Xie Yuyan wanted to hear.

Xie Yuyan did not respond, but instead looked at Xu Shu: "What are your thoughts, Your Excellency?"

Xu Shu took a deep breath: "I only just found out myself, back then you..."

She wanted to say "your father" but couldn't help but think of Xie Yuyan's words just now, and subconsciously wanted to change her address.

In the current situation, she clearly has more manpower, and with just one order, she could take Xie Yuyan's life. However, for some reason, she feels that her aura is firmly suppressed by Xie Yuyan, as if she is the one in danger. Involuntarily, she dares not go against Xie Yuyan's wishes.

Xu Shu composed herself and continued, "Back then, there was more to Xie Yisong's offer of amnesty to the Holy Sect than met the eye; we were all deceived."

"The person who deceived the old leader should be Xie Yizhi. Over the years, Xie Yizhi has secretly protected us, seemingly protecting the Holy Church in every way, but in fact... he just wanted the Holy Church to do things for him."

When Xu Shu mentioned the old leader, she seemed to see Xie Yuyan's smile deepen, and that feeling of being seen through resurfaced. She spoke of what happened back then in front of the followers because she was afraid they would blame her for their mistake of trusting Xie Yizhi. It was the old leader who decided to ambush and kill Xie Yisong back then.

"Does Madam Xu still hope that Xie Yizhi will come to rescue you?"

Xie Yuyan changed his address from "Your Excellency" to "Madam Xu," and Xu Shu clenched her hands slightly, clearly indicating that Xie Yuyan was increasingly disrespecting her.

“Of course not,” Xu Shu said, “I…”

Xie Yuyan said, "Madam Xu's daughter is still in Bianjing. Don't you want to do everything in your power to save her?"

Xu Shu immediately became alert.

"What do you mean by that, Madam Xie?" Xu Shu asked. "Did you come here just to reopen my wounds?"

Xie Yuyan didn't have the habit of standing while talking to Xu Shu. She walked to a flat stone, sat down calmly, with Su Man and Sang Mo standing guard on either side of her. She had indeed come to find Xu Shu, but after exchanging a few words with her, she realized there was no need to advise Xu Shu on what to do next.

Xu Shu doesn't deserve to be treated like this.

What she wants the Demon Sect to do is none of Xu Shu's business as its leader.

Xu Shu was not as weak as she appeared, as if she might lose her life at any moment. She was deliberately acting this way to gain the sympathy of those around her.

Isn't that why Xue Er is so devoted to protecting Xu Shu?
They directed their criticism at Xie Yizhi, repeatedly mentioning the matter of her being granted amnesty years ago, but they didn't want her to become the target of public criticism herself.

Why would a dying person care about such things?
When she killed Lü Shi, did she really have no doubts about what happened back then? For Xu Shu, figuring out the past would do her no good whatsoever.

Xie Yizhi used her, but wasn't she also using Xie Yizhi?

From the very beginning, she was interested in the marriage with the Xie family because of the Xie clan's status.

There was never any genuine sincerity; it was all about mutual benefit.

For the past ten years or so, Xu Shu has lived a precarious life. For her, the greatest gain has been Xie Yizhi, the Privy Councilor. Whether to live a life of ignominy or to carefully plan and transform herself into the Privy Councilor's wife is a game she is playing with Xie Yizhi.

Men use sweet words to deceive women, and women also pretend to be deeply in love with men. As they deceive each other, they even start to believe it themselves, attributing all their years of effort and hardship to Xie Yizhi.

Even without Xie Yizhi, wouldn't she still have joined the demon cult?

“Xie Yizhi can still get away,” Xie Yuyan said calmly. “As long as Madam Xu takes all the blame on Manichaeism, the court will only besiege Manichaeism and kill its followers.”

Xu Shu frowned, sensing that the surrounding believers were all looking at her.

"You weren't satisfied with plunging the Holy Church into internal strife, you've now stirred things up..." Xu Shu said through gritted teeth, "If it weren't for you, how could the Holy Church have ended up like this?"

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "I only learned about Manichaeism a few months ago. For Madam Xu to pin the blame on me is far too frivolous."

"Could it be that I ordered Madam Xu to kill Lü Shi?"

"Was the discord between Madam Xu and Master Wu and the others also at my behest?"

"You risked your life to bring Manichaeans to Lund Province, even to the point of being hunted down by the authorities, all on my orders?"

Xu Shu's face grew increasingly grim; she saw doubt in the eyes of the believer.

“What you’re saying is simply impossible,” Xu Shu said. “Do you think the imperial court is so easily fooled?”

“As long as Madam Xu is wholeheartedly thinking of Xie Yizhi, she can naturally do it,” Xie Yuyan said, looking at Xu Shu with a natural expression. “Madam Xu can pretend that her biological daughter was born to Xie Yisong, and that Xie Yizhi wanted to make amends for not being able to save Xie Yisong back then, so she left your daughter in the Xie family.”

Xu Shu pointed at Xie Yuyan: "Who can believe this lie? If you disappeared, would Xie Yizhi just ignore it?"

“Of course not,” Xie Yuyan said. “So Xie Yizhi was just going through the motions with you on the surface, but he was secretly investigating my whereabouts. However, he accidentally discovered the details of the Manichaeism. He did not report to the court in time because he suspected that there were officials around him colluding with you. He was afraid of alerting them and planned to investigate the Manichaeism thoroughly before eradicating it in one fell swoop.”

"When I arrived in Bianjing, Xie Yizhi did not acknowledge me because she was afraid that you would discover my identity and all my efforts would be in vain."

"Who would believe that?" Xu Shu said sharply. "These lies can be exposed as soon as they are investigated."

Xie Yuyan raised his eyes: "If I and the Manichaeans die here, many things will be impossible to investigate."

"When Madam Xu said that Lü Shi had suddenly passed away, most Manichaeans believed it."

"The truth is always reserved for the winners."

Absurd! Xu Shu found Xie Yuyan's words utterly ridiculous and thought no one would believe them. Just as she was about to look at Xue Er and the others, she saw someone rush out and kneel before her.

"Your Excellency, you must not be so foolish again!"

Elder Zhou's eyes were red and his face was full of grief: "The Holy Sect is in its current state because of Xie Yizhi. If the leader continues to act willfully, the Holy Sect will inevitably be destroyed... and no one will be able to escape death."

“We’re one thing, but there are so many old and young people in the Holy Church who haven’t come out to do anything, they’re just trying to make a living. How can the Supreme Leader bear to watch them be slaughtered?”

(End of this chapter)