Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 763 Confrontation
Old Master Xie realized that this might be the last choice he would make.

The person in front of her was even harder to fool than Prime Minister Xie and Xie Yizhi, because she didn't care about the Xie family at all, nor did she need the support of her maternal family. She could easily abandon the Xie family completely.

Taking a deep breath, Old Master Xie resignedly asked, "What should I do?"

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "Kneel down."

Old Master Xie's eyes widened.

……

Xie Yi stood guard at the door, his eyes fixed on the backyard. As soon as Old Master Xie returned, he would be able to see the situation clearly.

About two quarters of an hour later, a staggering figure appeared in his sight.

When Master Xie went there, someone led the way, but when he returned, he was all alone. He was hunched over, and looked much older than before.

Lost in thought, not paying attention to his footing, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Oh dear, Chieftain..."

Xie Yize finally found an excuse and rushed out. However, Sang Mo at the door obviously wouldn't let his guard down. He reached out a hand to him, and Xie Yize felt a pain in his arm. His forward-rushing body immediately stopped, and then his feet left the ground, and he fell backward uncontrollably.

When he came to his senses, he fell heavily to the ground, and pain immediately came from his shoulder and elbow.

Everything happened so fast that it took the Xie family members inside the house a while to react. Several people got up to help Xie Yize, while others went to greet Sang Mo at the door. Sang Mo stood there unmoved, intimidating everyone. It was clear that he would not show any mercy to anyone who came.

Xie Yiwang rushed to the front and threw a punch without thinking. However, before he could hit Sang Mo, his fist was grabbed. The next moment, he felt dizzy and fell backward.

"How dare such a wicked servant treat a guest like this..."

An angry shout came from the Xie family members.

After losing face repeatedly, the rest of the Xie family members were forced to step forward to confront them, but at that moment a voice came: "Stop, all of you go back."

After Old Master Xie fell, not only did no one help him up, but he also heard a commotion coming from inside the house. Without delay, he quickly got up and rushed over.

Seeing that Xie Yiwang was about to step forward again, Old Master Xie shouted, "I told you to stop! Haven't you lost enough face already? Do you have to make everyone know?"

As soon as the Fourth Master finished speaking, Xie Yiwang's father, the Third Master, also said, "Did you hear that? Aren't you coming over here?"

Xie Yiwang glared at Sang Mo with resentment before walking to his father's side. Xie Yi also hurried to help the Fourth Master Xie.

"Clan leader, are you alright?" Xie Yize asked. "I saw you fall and I was worried, so I... I didn't expect that guard to be so heartless. He didn't mean to cause trouble."

Old Master Xie waved his hand: "I'm fine." But as he said this, his throat tightened, clearly indicating that some things were not appropriate to say here.

Xie Yi was about to help the person to a chair when Fourth Master Xie stopped and looked at Second and Third Masters: "The wedding ceremony is about to end. There's no point in us staying here. Let's go back!"

The crowd reacted in various ways, especially the second patriarch, who pretended not to understand and looked outside: "The other guests haven't left yet, so if we leave now, I'm afraid..."

Old Master Xie said coldly, "That depends on whether the master is willing to let us stay."

That's a very strong statement.

Xie Yiwang said, "What? Doesn't she consider herself a member of the Xie family? She ignores us elders and doesn't even recognize the clan leader?" Old Master Xie Si did not refute, his tone firm and unquestionable: "Have someone prepare a carriage."

The Xie family's departure was tantamount to a complete break with Xie Yuyan, especially since they left in such a disgraceful manner in front of everyone. If the Xie clan members still cared about their reputation, they would never mention Xie Yuyan in public again.

As the Fourth Master Xie led the group out of the courtyard, no one came to stop them. The Second and Third Masters' expressions grew increasingly grim. Only after they were seated in the carriage did the Second Master Xie finally look at the Fourth Master Xie and ask, "What exactly happened? What did Xie Wenjing say?"

Old Master Xie closed his eyes, seemingly still unable to completely calm down.

“She told us to go to the graves of my elder brother, sister-in-law, and Yi Song and his wife, wear mourning clothes, kowtow and confess our sins, and kneel for seven days.”

The faces of the second and third patriarchs immediately turned ashen, and their eyes blazed with fury.

The fourth patriarch hadn't finished speaking: "Afterwards, she made me go to the yamen to confess my guilt, since I was the one who stopped that Magistrate Xu from investigating my elder brother's death. If I refused to do so, she would have a lawyer write a lawsuit and continue to investigate the clan members' dealings with Xie Yizhi. She wouldn't let go of any clan member who had received favors from Xie Yizhi."

The second patriarch couldn't help but slam his hand on the carriage: "This wretched child, I think she's gone mad. I've never seen a married woman dare to talk back to the clan chief like this and say such things. I think she hasn't forgotten what happened before; she's possessed by an evil spirit and is no longer a daughter of the Xie family. We've already gone to such lengths to come here, disregarding all dignity, and it's not enough; we also have to hear her say such unfilial and disrespectful things."

"It's one thing for her elder brother and sister-in-law to be in mourning, but why should they also have to mourn for her parents?"

The fourth old man clenched his fists, his white beard trembling.

The third old man, who had been silent until now, slowly said, "She doesn't have the final say in the government office. The officials haven't even decided to exterminate the Xie family, so we don't need to be afraid of a mere child like her."

The two old men said, "Are we just going to let it go like this? What if she secretly tries to harm us?"

These words pierced the Fourth Master's body like a sharp blade. The Fourth Master clutched his chest, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed headfirst.

Upon seeing this, the second and third patriarchs immediately exclaimed in surprise.

The clansmen who were following outside heard the shouts and quickly gathered around to investigate.

"Quickly!" the second old man shouted hurriedly before anyone could ask, "Go find a doctor... no... go directly to the Huang family's pharmacy, hurry up!"

The Xie clan members, who had come to offer their congratulations, have now descended into chaos.

Only after Doctor Huang administered the acupuncture and the Fourth Master woke up did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

After the Fourth Elder regained consciousness, he immediately looked at the Second Elder and said weakly, "From now on, Second Brother will take charge of the overall situation. I... cannot continue to be the clan leader, lest I bring trouble upon everyone."

Before the two elders could speak, Xie Yi immediately stepped forward: "Clan leader, you can't do this. Even if the clan leader did nothing wrong, even if the clan leader were to comply with Xie Wenjing's wishes now, would that guarantee that her hatred would be completely gone and that she would not harm the clan from now on?"

"I'm afraid that whoever is in charge will be threatened by her."

These words drew a commotion, and the Xie clan members became even angrier.

"Then what should we do?" said Old Master Xie. "These are difficult times, and I can't just stand by and watch something else happen to the clan."

Xie Yi was delighted. This was exactly the situation he wanted to see. As long as the Xie clan opposed Xie Yuyan, he could rally everyone to deal with Xie Yuyan together.

“Clan leader,” Xie Yi advised Xie Si, “you should take good care of your health. We can discuss some things in more detail later.”

(End of this chapter)