Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 776 Arresting people
Xie Yizhi leaned back in his chair with ease, feeling incredibly pleased. He didn't need to do much next; he just had to wait for Xie Yuyan to be taken to prison.

Guo Huang gestured for the constables to take Xie Yizhi away, then looked at the people in the room and said, "Gentlemen, we should now discuss what to do about this case."

Finally, an official said, "We should not doubt Xu Sicheng... but since Xie Yizhi has given a confession, we should at least compile the case file."

“I understand what you are thinking,” Guo Huang said. “We are officials of the Great Liang Dynasty. We don’t need to think about anything else. We just need to be loyal to the court and the emperor and do our duty.”

Everyone responded in unison and immediately went about their respective tasks.

Guo Huang's eyes flickered slightly. Now, all he needed to do was to get his hands on all the case files that Xu Huaiyi had handled and seal up all the evidence, so that he could take his men to the manor and take over the Xie family's case.

……

As soon as it was light, Xu Huaiyi led his men to Xie Family Village in Weishi County.

When the Xie family estate was sealed off, the servants were taken to the yamen for interrogation. The coroner, Cao, said that Zhao En, because he had never worked for Xie Yizhi, was released after being questioned.

Xu Huaiyi rushed to Zhao En's house and, after several twists and turns, finally found him.

When Zhao En heard that Xu Huaiyi was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and had come to inquire about Madam Xie's case, he immediately understood why he needed to find him.

“Temple Assistant,” Zhao En said, sounding somewhat flustered, “we protected Master Xie on the estate, but we don’t know much. The landlord said that Master Xie’s death was an accident…we dared not say a word.”

"Furthermore, we really did faint that day, and after we woke up, we never saw the old man again."

Xu Huaiyi said, "So what Cao the coroner said is all true?"

Upon hearing "Coroner Cao," Zhao En completely gave up struggling and obediently confessed that he had been bribed by Coroner Cao to pass on the message.

Now that they had found the right person, there was no need to ask too many questions. Xu Huaiyi instructed the constables to take Zhao En back to Zhongmu County.

On the way, the clerk couldn't help but ask, "Does Your Excellency now also think that the person who killed Prime Minister Xie was Madam Xie? Is that why Madam Xie claimed she couldn't remember anything?"

Xu Huaiyi picked up the water pouch, took a sip, and then said, "The case isn't finished being investigated yet..."

The clerk glanced at Xu Huaiyi and immediately nodded, "Understood." In his view, there was enough evidence and witnesses to make an arrest. Could it be that Vice Minister Xu would really show favoritism because of his relationship with Lady Xie?

Xu Huaiyi now only wants to focus his energy on this case, as many details still need to be carefully considered.

"grown ups."

As soon as the group arrived at Xiejiazhuangzi in Zhongmu County, they saw several horses outside the village.

“Someone from the estate should be here,” said the clerk beside Xu Huaiyi. “Judging from the horses, they should be people from the government office.”

Xu Huaiyi immediately frowned, and some guesses began to form in his mind.

"Xu Si Cheng."

The judge from the Court of Judicial Review quickly came over. After Xie Yizhi confessed to the case, Guo Shaoqing ordered them to come to the estate immediately.

Xu Huaiyi asked, "Why have you come here?"

The judge looked slightly embarrassed: "Minister Guo ordered us to come here to assist the Vice Minister of the Court in investigating the case." Replacing Xu Huaiyi without prior notice was clearly against the rules.

Xu Huaiyi's face immediately darkened: "I did not request the yamen to transfer manpower."

After speaking, Xu Huaiyi vaguely saw some yamen runners walking around in the manor, so he stepped inside and asked, "What are they doing?"

"Xu, the judge," the investigating official hurriedly followed to explain, fearing that Xu Huaiyi would not obey orders, "Xie Yizhi has recanted his confession. He says... he wasn't the one who killed Prime Minister Xie and Madam Xie." Xu Huaiyi's ears rang, and Xie Yizhi's mocking gaze appeared before his eyes.

"When did this happen?"

“This morning, just as I arrived at the yamen,” the judge said in one breath, “he suddenly said he had a case to explain.”

Xu Huaiyi looked up at the sky; it wasn't noon yet. Guo Huang acted quickly: "Did Xie Yizhi say who the murderer is?"

The clerk nodded: "Yes... Thank you, Madam Xie."

In fact, Xu Huaiyi didn't need to ask to guess that Xie Yizhi's confession at this time was because he had calculated that there was new progress in his investigation. Xie Yizhi's purpose was to shift the blame onto Xie Niangzi.

All the evidence he had found in the past few days pointed to Xie Niangzi as the murderer.

Whether intentional or unintentional, everything he did just happened to help Xie Yizhi, and the yamen is now taking those pieces of evidence from him.

"Put all the documents back in your hands!" Xu Huaiyi shouted, startling the judge who was leading the clerks to move the files.

“Xu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices,” the judge hurriedly said, “we were just following the orders of Vice Minister Guo…”

“I am the presiding judge in this case,” Xu Huaiyi said. “No one is allowed to interfere without my consent.”

Xu Huaiyi's harsh words left the chief examiner and others at a loss. Just as Xu Huaiyi was about to step forward to retrieve the coroner's autopsy record, he heard a voice behind him.

"As officials of the Court of Judicial Review, what's wrong with us assisting in the investigation of this case?"

Guo Huang stepped into the manor: "Since I am the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review appointed by the imperial court, I have the right to inquire about these matters. If it weren't for Vice Minister Xu's delay in reporting the progress of the case to the government office, we wouldn't have needed to come to the manor to check on the situation."

After Guo Huang finished speaking, he looked directly at the judge and said, "What are you waiting for? Take the documents back to the yamen."

The official who made the detailed judgment responded immediately.

Guo Huang then looked at the constables: "Take Xie to the Dali Temple as well, I will personally interrogate her."

Xu Huaiyi stepped forward to stop him: "Why did Guo Shaoqing suddenly get involved in this case?"

"In the case of Xie Yizhi, Vice Minister Xu has been investigating for a long time," Guo Huang raised his chin slightly, looking like he was handling official business. "Unexpectedly, there are still major cases that we have not yet grasped. I did not want to be held accountable by the court, so I decided to personally supervise the case. If Vice Minister Xu feels that this is inappropriate, he can impeach me to his superiors."

"But before that, Vice Minister Xu needs to understand what it means to obey orders."

After saying this, Guo Huang paused for a moment: "There are still so many officials in the prison waiting for Vice Minister Xu to interrogate them. It will be good for you if Vice Minister Xu lets go of this case."

Xu Huaiyi said coldly, "What benefits are there?"

Guo Huang gave a cold laugh: "Xu Sicheng's return to the Dali Temple is due to the Emperor's appreciation and the court's trust, not because of any one person's secret help. No matter what, Xu Sicheng should never forget that we are officials of the Great Liang, not someone's confidant or friend."

Guo Huang shifted his gaze from Xu Huaiyi and waved to the constables: "What are you waiting for? Go in and arrest them."

"There's no need for that trouble."

A woman's voice rang out, and Guo Huang immediately looked over.

"The Dali Temple summoned me for questioning. Just say the word, there's no need for a big fuss," Xie Yuyan said, raising his eyes and calmly meeting Guo Huang's gaze. "I will go with you gentlemen."

(End of this chapter)