Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 723 Past Events

After the Xie clan members left, Xu Huaiyi led Liu Zhi into the yamen (government office).

After the others left, Xu Huaiyi looked at Liu Zhi and asked, "Does Madam Xie have anything to say?"

Liu Zhidao said, "Madam said she couldn't get away from Fujian, but Xie Yizhi has already been imprisoned, so this lawsuit can't be delayed any longer. She asked me to write the petition on her behalf."

"I implore Vice Minister Xu to seek justice for those who died unjustly."

Xu Huaiyi asked, "Is that all?"

Liu Zhi nodded.

This is why Xu Huaiyi admired Madam Xie from the bottom of his heart. Since the two met in Daming Prefecture, Madam Xie had never come to him about a case.

Lady Xie meant that everything should be done according to the law, and her businesses and employees did indeed follow the laws of Daliang.

Fortunately, Madam Xie was like that; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to investigate the case so single-mindedly, without having to be torn between personal relationships and the case itself.

“The yamen has accepted the case. If necessary, they will summon you,” Xu Huaiyi said to Liu Zhidao. “Do not leave Bianjing for the time being.”

Liu Zhi bowed respectfully, and before leaving, he looked at Xu Huaiyi and said, "Please take good care of Madam Xu... she has had a very difficult journey."

The lady didn't mention any of this, but he knew about her hardships in Daming Prefecture. Now that she had finally found her home, he just wanted to see her wish fulfilled.

After Liu Zhi left, Xu Huaiyi looked at the clerk and said, "Get all the case files related to Prime Minister Xie out, inform the coroner, and make preparations. We will be exhuming the body for examination in the next two days."

The clerk responded.

Xu Huaiyi turned back to his desk, picked up his brush and wrote an official document. He then instructed the constables: "Send this document to the government office and ask them to go to the Xie family's ancestral home to question all the managers and servants on the estate, as well as the surrounding tenants and laborers. If they find anyone suspicious, bring them to the government office for interrogation immediately."

If this case is investigated further, clues will surely be found. Whether Xie Lao Xiang Gong's wound was caused by someone or by accident, the coroner will know once he investigates. He wants to find out everything before Xie Yi Zhi is convicted, so that Xie Yi Zhi can die knowing the truth.

Bearing the stigma of rebellion and patricide, he embarked on his journey to the underworld.

……

South City Wharf.

Madam Lin's carriage was parked outside the courtyard.

Recently, Madam Lin has come several times. At first, Zhang felt flustered, but as the visits increased, she gradually got used to it.

Madam Lin noticed Zhang's relaxation and smiled. She knew Zhang was uncomfortable seeing her, yet she still insisted on coming. She knew that relationships were built through interaction, and that keeping distance because of estrangement would only push them further apart. She had delayed her appearance for various reasons, so she could no longer avoid it.

Now that Madam Zhang's every move is no longer so stiff, Madam Lin feels more and more that her plan was right.

“The stitches on this piece are really well done,” Zhang said, pointing to the garment in Madam Lin’s hand. “The embroidery is also very meticulous.”

Madam Lin smiled and said, "I haven't done these things in a long time, and I've become rusty. A few years ago, my needlework was really good."

Madam Zhang smiled, she could tell: "With embroiderers by your side, Madam naturally doesn't need to do it herself."

“No, that’s not it,” Madam Lin said. “I just found it meaningless, so I put these things down.”

Zhang's eyes were full of curiosity. Madam Lin, who was about to continue, said, "Speaking of which, it must have been about ten years ago. That time, Yan'er went back to his hometown with his master to pay respects to their ancestors..."

Knowing that Madam Lin was about to recount past events, Zhang stopped what she was doing and listened attentively.

Madam Lin said, "Just then, my husband suffered a setback in court and had to temporarily avoid the limelight, claiming illness and staying at home. Since he had time, there was no need to rush, so my husband visited his friends along the way, and it was during this time that Yan'er got lost."

Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be?"

Madam Lin sighed, a hint of anger appearing between her brows: "Master was having tea and chatting with someone, and instructed Yan-ge to take Sangzhi to the mountain temple to fetch vegetarian food."

"Then Sangzhi rushed back and said that they heard someone shouting for help in the woods. Sangzhi followed the sound into the woods to investigate. Before leaving, he told Yan Ge'er to wait at a distance and not to leave. But strangely enough, even though Sangzhi was following the sound into the woods, he seemed to get further and further away from the sound until he could no longer hear it." Zhang Shi became nervous upon hearing this: "Was the sound in the woods fake? Was it a deliberate attempt to lure Sangzhi there?"

Madam Lin said, "Sangzhi thought the same thing at the time, and immediately turned around to look for Yan Ge'er, but Yan Ge'er really disappeared. You know, my master has been working on his new law and has offended a lot of people. I was afraid that someone might be taking revenge. Sangzhi was not very old at the time, and he panicked when he thought of this. He searched around twice but couldn't find any trace of Yan Ge'er. That's when he thought of going down the mountain to ask my master for help."

"When the master heard about it, he immediately asked the monks in the temple to help search for the man in the surrounding area. He also used his connections to get the government to set up checkpoints and conduct inspections. So, while they were blocking the way, they were also searching for the man in the mountains and forests. But after three days of searching, they found nothing. At that time, the master felt that Yan Ge'er was probably in grave danger."

Madam Lin sighed: "A living person should leave some trace; they can't just disappear into thin air, unless... the person is no longer alive."

Zhang asked, "And then what? Where was it found?"

“We didn’t find it,” Madam Lin said. “It wasn’t them who looked for it; Yan’er came out on his own.”

Zhang knew Wang Yan was alright, but she hadn't expected things to turn out this way: "The men who captured Yan-ge'er... Wang Langjun's men, have released him?"

Madam Lin was about to praise Zhang Shi, which was the proper way to address her, but the current atmosphere made it inappropriate. So she said, "No one arrested Yan Ge'er. Yan Ge'er said he had been waiting for a long time without seeing Sang Zhi, so he tried calling out Sang Zhi's name. He heard someone respond, but the voice was too far away to hear clearly, so he followed the sound."

"In the end, instead of finding Sangzhi, he saw a young woman who was about his age. She had been separated from her family, and Yan Ge'er felt sorry for her and wanted to help her find her family."

Zhang said, "So that's how it is. So the forest was very big? That's how Wang Langjun and Sangzhi missed each other?"

Unexpectedly, Madam Lin shook her head again.

"No?" Zhang said, "Then..."

Madam Lin's expression was calm, but there was a hint of doubt deep in her eyes: "The forest is not big at all. An adult can walk out in a short while. Even if they got lost in the forest, they should have been found long ago by the time the master and the others searched. Moreover, Yan said that he and the young lady had not found a way out of the forest. Yan only emerged from the forest when he met the master and the others."

"Yan-ge'er was still very anxious and begged the master to take men to rescue the young lady."

If Zhang hadn't heard Madam Lin say this with her own ears, she would never have believed it was true: "They really found that girl later?"

Madam Lin shook her head again and said, "No, the master and his men searched the woods several times but couldn't find him at all. The master couldn't figure out why, so he decided to take Yan Ge'er away first. But Yan Ge'er refused to leave no matter what, and even wanted to lead the search himself. The master couldn't persuade him, so he had someone carry Yan Ge'er into the woods for a while."

"As a result, naturally, I didn't get to see the girl."

"Yan Ge'er still refused to leave, and was forcibly taken away by the master. Because he was too emotional, Yan Ge'er fainted halfway there."

Zhang tentatively asked, "What if the girl's family found her and took her away?"

“Impossible,” Madam Lin said. “In order to find Yan Ge’er, there were people all around, almost surrounding the mountain. Under such circumstances, how could we not see people coming in and out?”

Zhang was completely confused.

"To say that what Yan-ge said was false," Madam Lin said, "Yan-ge did not return on his own. He was carrying a cat in his arms. But to say it was true, there was no basis for it. Later, the story became more and more outrageous, and they simply said that Yan-ge encountered an immortal in the forest."

Zhang whispered, "Are there really immortals?"

Madam Lin said, "I don't know if she is an immortal or not, but she really caused my son a lot of suffering. After Yan Ge'er went down the mountain, he fell ill. He was burning up like a piece of burning coal. Even when he was unconscious, he kept shouting 'Save people!'"

"He finally recovered from his illness, but he refused to leave and stayed there for half a year. He went back and forth there almost every day, even though he knew he couldn't find her, he was still so stubborn, just because he had promised the girl that he would definitely go back to find her."

"When Yan Ge'er was looking for people, he told the master that there was a rock in the forest, a stream, and even a pavilion built there. In fact, the master said that Yan Ge'er did not mention any of those things."

Madam Zhang couldn't help but ask again, "Did you go and see it with your own eyes, Madam? Are you sure you didn't?"

Madam Lin said, "We didn't have them then, but we do now."

Zhang was stunned again; she realized that she could never guess the truth.

"Later, Yan Ge'er repaired these things in the forest one after another, and now that place should be the same as what Yan Ge'er said back then."

(End of this chapter)