Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 695 Endgame
Sang Dian waited for a long time before the hatch finally opened and Wang Yan stepped out.

Sang Dian immediately looked away, not daring to look inside.

"Have you made a discovery?" Wang Yan asked.

Sang Dian noticed that her husband's voice was no longer as somber as before, but rather more cheerful. They had been cautious all the way, but thanked Lady Xie for a few words.

Coming to his senses, Sang Dian coughed before saying, "We first saw the smoke and knew that the patrol boats were sending a message, so we followed the smoke and found that several merchant ships were surrounded ahead. Lord Sun, please come and take a look."

Listening to Sang Dian's words, Wang Yan walked towards the bow of the ship, only to see Sun Yuan, the supervisor of the Zhangzhou Maritime Affairs Bureau, anxiously watching the situation ahead on the large ship to his left.

There were several large ships surrounded by a few smaller vessels, and patrol boats that they had sent out beforehand were also trying to block the ships' path.

Upon seeing Wang Yan, Sun Yuan immediately waved his hands anxiously and then pointed towards the large ship. Although the two ships were not far apart, the sea was rough, and Sun Yuan's injuries made his speech weak and feeble. Wang Yan couldn't hear what he was saying, but he understood his meaning. Sun Yuan was afraid that the people on the large ship would escape.

Wang Yan said, "Go and tell Xu Duzhi to order the ships to approach immediately and cooperate with the patrol boats. We must capture the man."

Sang Dian responded.

Sun Yuan, at the bow of the boat, breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Xu En lead several boats to flank them from both sides.

The small boat was filled with merchants who traveled by sea. Normally, they would flee at the sight of such large ships to prevent them from robbing their cargo. However, upon hearing that the imperial court was cracking down on pirates at sea and seeing that the court's patrol boats were no match for these large ships, they immediately came to help.

Large and small boats were crammed together, and the people on board fought with sharp weapons and bamboo poles.

The people on the small boat were no match for them. Fortunately, at the critical moment, they saw several large ships heading straight for them in the distance and guessed that they were reinforcements from the imperial court.

The people on the small boat breathed a sigh of relief, but the people on the large ship panicked. They recklessly rammed the small boat, trying to find a way to escape. They hadn't done this before for fear of damaging the large ship, but now they didn't care. Even if it meant their ship was damaged and they fell into the water, it was better than surrendering to the soldiers.

Just as the large ship was about to collide with the small ship, Xu En stared at the bandit leader on the large ship and personally drew his bow and shot an arrow.

The arrow struck the bandit squarely in the shoulder.

Wang Yan watched this scene from afar, knowing that those large ships would surely be captured.

The arrest of Fujian officials changed the situation at sea. Those who had previously run rampant at sea under the protection of these officials dared not confront the imperial court upon hearing the news and could only flee.

But some people... probably already got the news and made arrangements for their escape.

Xie Yizhi and Yang Jun were uprooted, but the master to whom the third manager served might take advantage of the chaos to escape first, and then make a comeback after the sea calms down.

Wang Yan gazed into the distance. It didn't matter. With such a sudden change, some things couldn't be done perfectly, and some clues would inevitably be discovered.

……

After a busy day, by the time the large ship docked at nightfall, Xu En's ships were already full of captured prisoners.

In recent years, Xu En has been by the Emperor's side and has rarely participated in major battles. However, his two missions to Daming Prefecture and Fujian have broadened his horizons. He never expected that Xie Shumi, who devoted himself to the Liang Dynasty court every day, would actually raise so many private soldiers on the island.

Thankfully, we investigated early and took them down in one fell swoop; otherwise, who knows when disaster might have struck.

Such people will not act rashly when the political situation in Daliang is stable. However, once any rumors arise, they will surely harbor rebellious intentions and may even betray the court.

Xu En sighed, thinking that the emperor would inevitably feel disheartened if he knew the truth.

The "loyal minister and virtuous prime minister" he had always relied on turned out to be this kind of person. Wang Yan looked at Xu En: "We still need to conduct searches in the vicinity these days."

Xu En understood that since an investigation was to be conducted, it was necessary to eliminate the threat completely. Although this was impossible—as long as there was profit involved, some people would inevitably have ulterior motives—reducing the number of moles like Xie Yizhi and Yang Jun would prevent major problems.

Just as Xu Engang was thinking of this, Wang Yan reminded him, "Besides Xie Yizhi's people smuggling goods, there are other people doing this kind of business at sea. We need to be careful in our investigations."

Xu En felt a chill run down his spine. Could someone be taking advantage of Xie Yizhi and the others' misfortune to secretly profit? Could they have been vying for interests with Xie Yizhi at sea, but now they were able to reorganize their plans and take control of everything?
Xu En asked, "Has Lord Wang discovered something?"

Wang Yan replied, "Without evidence, everything is just speculation. However, the people we captured earlier, including the Third Manager, also came from the sea, and their boss has yet to show up."

Xu En's expression immediately turned serious.

Wang Yan said, "Have the patrol and inspection division send troops to search for clues at sea. We cannot let our guard down for a short period of time. Even if we cannot catch the person immediately, we must prevent them from continuing to work."

"I will interrogate the prisoners at the yamen. If I get any clues, I will investigate them immediately. I am sure I will get results."

Xu En nodded and said, "I will follow Lord Wang's arrangements."

After the two finished discussing official business, Wang Yan left quickly. Xu En stood there without moving. He didn't know what he was thinking. He secretly hid to the side and watched Wang Yan personally help Lady Xie off the boat and put her on the carriage, while he rode alongside her.

How come he never noticed Wang Yan's feelings for Lady Xie before?
"Sir, what are you looking at?"

Upon being called out by the general, Xu En immediately looked away, coughed, and pretended not to have seen anything. Noticing that the general was following his gaze, he tugged at the general and asked, "What are you doing here? Have they all been taken to jail?"

The general immediately replied, "No...no."

Xu En deliberately put on a stern face: "If anything goes wrong, you can stay here and don't need to come back to the capital with me."

The general was reprimanded, but felt deeply wronged.

Xu En picked up the earthenware bottle and took a sip of water. The cold water made him instantly feel unbearably hungry. Everyone had traveled a long and arduous journey, and upon arriving in Fujian, they immediately began working, achieving considerable success…

But he always felt something was off, a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Especially after Wang Yan met Lady Xie.

After walking a few steps, Xu En suddenly realized why he was feeling unwell. He wondered if Wang Yan was urging them to do things because he wanted to see Lady Xie as soon as possible.

……

Xie Yuyan sat in the carriage, examining the map in his hand by the light of the lamp.

Wang Yan's voice came from outside: "Bring this lamp in as well."

Mother Yu lifted the curtain, took the lantern from the soldier, and then thanked Wang Yan.

Wang Yan said, "Tell my wife that we'll stay in the courtyard behind the government office tonight."

Mother Yu happily agreed. After being worried for so long, with Lord Wang here, the lady could finally rest easy.

(End of this chapter)