Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 783 Torture
Xie Yuyan bombarded Guo Huang with questions, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"Who handed over the blood-stained dress that Shaoqing mentioned to the yamen?" Before Guo Huang could speak, Xie Yuyan continued, "Xie Yizhi? How can we trust the testimony of someone who wanted to kill me from the very beginning?"

Guo Huang said in a deep voice, "The government will naturally not listen to only his side of the story."

If he didn't speak up, Xie Yuyan would take control of the situation. His words carried a hint of intimidation, but Xie Yuyan's face flashed with a disdainful expression, clearly not taking them to heart.

Guo Huang felt a sense of humiliation. Although it was Xie Yuyan who was being interrogated, he was the one whose momentum was suppressed: "We have a witness. He can testify that you are the one who harmed Prime Minister Xie."

After speaking, Guo Huang looked at the clerk and asked, "Where are the Xie family's guards?"

The clerk felt a surge of relief; thankfully, he had managed to snatch the person from Xu Sicheng's hands, otherwise Guo Shaoqing's anger would have surely fallen on him.

"I will bring the person here immediately."

The clerk left with the constables, and a moment later, a man in his forties came over.

The man first looked at Guo Huang, then stepped forward to bow, before his eyes swept over Xie Yuyan not far away. The prison was somewhat dim, and the man couldn't see clearly at first. Just as he was about to look away, Guo Huang's voice came from inside.

"Take a closer look, who is she?"

Zhao En bowed in response, then looked carefully at Xie Yuyan. He hadn't actually seen Xie Erniangzi much; he hadn't even entered the inner courtyard of the estate before Old Madam Xie passed away.

Later, Xie Erniangzi went mad and was locked in a small building in the backyard of the manor. Except for the maid who brought her food, no one else was allowed to approach her. It wasn't until Xie Erniangzi escaped from the manor and they split up to capture her that they caught a glimpse of her face, but they couldn't see it clearly because Xie Erniangzi was wearing a veil on her head.

Therefore, based on this vague impression, he really couldn't draw a conclusion.

Moreover, the woman before him had a calm expression, with a sharp glint in her eyes, giving off an indescribable feeling. She was quite different from the second wife he knew.

However, the reason he was brought here is because of Xie Erniangzi, so... it's not hard to guess her identity.

Zhao En swallowed hard: "Yes... Thank you, Second Madam."

Guo Huang asked, "Have you looked carefully?"

Zhao En nodded.

Just as Guo Huang was about to continue speaking, Xie Yuyan's voice rang out again: "When have you ever seen me?"

Zhao En stammered, "Just... a few years ago..."

"Was Madam Xie still alive at that time?" Xie Yuyan asked.

“It seems…” Zhao En said, “is…”

Xie Yuyan then asked, "Back then, were you a bodyguard at Xie Family Manor? Your personal protector of Old Madam Xie?"

Zhao En nodded and then shook his head: "No, we'll just stay in the outer courtyard."

Xie Yuyan said, "Since you can't enter the inner courtyard, how can you see me?"

When Zhao En was questioned, he immediately panicked: "No...no, I remembered wrong...it should be that I saw Second Madam when she ran away from the manor."

Xie Yuyan showed a knowing look, and Zhao En's heart skipped a beat, realizing that he had said the wrong thing.

"Madam Xie had already passed away by then."

Upon hearing Xie Yuyan's words, even Zhao En's expression changed.

“It’s been too long, I can’t remember clearly,” Zhao En said. “Back then… yes… Madam Xie was no longer alive.”

Guo Huang looked at Xie Yuyan: "Since he has seen you before, he will naturally recognize who you are. Now tell me about the night Old Master Xie passed away."

Guo Huang lost patience after hearing too much irrelevant talk.

Xie Yuyan said, "I have another question."

Before Zhao En could respond, Guo Huang frowned and said, "Don't say things that are irrelevant to the case."

Before Xie Yuyan could speak, a voice came from afar. "Since this happened at Xie Family Manor, it's only natural for my master to ask these questions."

Liu Zhi came running up, panting, followed by two constables. The constables seemed to be chasing after him, but they were just putting on a show.

Before Guo Huang could ask, Liu Zhi said, "I am Lady Xie's lawyer. I wrote and submitted all of Lady Xie's lawsuits. These days, whenever there is anything related to this case, Vice Minister Xu has summoned me. I have also seen you in the second hall of the yamen. Do you remember me?"

Guo Huang said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Liu Zhidao said, "Since Lady Xie is suddenly being tried, as a lawyer, I should be present."

Guo Huang wanted to order the yamen runners to throw Liu Zhi out, but he had already stopped Xu Huaiyi. If he also chased away the lawyer, it would inevitably give others cause for criticism. The only way to solve the problem once and for all was to find an excuse to punish the lawyer as well.

Taking advantage of Liu Zhi interrupting Guo Huang, Xie Yuyan looked at Zhao En: "Since you saw me back then, when the Prince of Huai came to the manor looking for his savior, you knew that the person sent was not Xie Erniangzi, why didn't you tell the truth?"

Zhao En's eyes widened, his mind a jumbled mess. He had been lying from the very beginning, and when he tried to make amends for his mistakes, the more he said, the more wrong he became.

“I dare not…” Zhao En could only say, “This… was all arranged by the master, even the old master couldn’t stop it, how could I, a mere servant, dare to say such a thing…”

Xie Yuyan nodded: "You really can't say."

Zhao En didn't know why Lady Xie would suddenly let him go, but he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, he then heard Xie Yuyan say, "If Prime Minister Xie doesn't agree, how can Xie Yizhi replace Xie Wenjing with her own daughter, Xie Wenwan?"

These words were irrelevant to him, and Zhao En replied directly: "Because Old Master Xie has passed away, the Xie family is now under the control of the eldest master Xie, naturally..."

Liu Zhi didn't understand what the eldest daughter-in-law wanted to ask, but when Zhao En said those words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Guo Huang was about to interrupt Xie Yuyan and Zhao En when he heard this and realized what was happening, but it was too late to stop them now.

Xie Yuyan nodded: "So, if we want to use a substitute, Old Master Xie must die."

Zhao En didn't understand the reasoning behind it, but subconsciously nodded in agreement.

Guo Huang suddenly stood up, his face contorted with rage as he confronted Xie Yuyan: "You are instigating litigation."

Xie Yuyan ignored Guo Huang and continued, "Since we're changing people, Xie Wenwan must have already arrived in Bianjing. Has Prime Minister Xie seen Xie Wenwan?"

Zhao En knew he had said the wrong thing and didn't dare to respond. He just backed away, trying to get away from Xie Yuyan.

"Who was at the estate on the day Prime Minister Xie passed away?"

"Besides me, how many women were there? Were there any short men? What were they doing? Did you, the bodyguard of Prime Minister Xie, witness the murderers with your own eyes? If you witnessed the crime, why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

"Did you help the perpetrator commit the murder? Were you an accomplice?"

Upon hearing the word "accomplice," Zhao En felt as if he had been stabbed. He immediately denied it: "I'm not, I didn't, I didn't see anything. I just smelled a wisp of smoke and fainted. When I woke up, the old man had already passed away."

“Zhao En…”

Guo Huang sternly rebuked him, but before he could finish his sentence, Xie Yuyan interjected, "Have you ever seen the real Second Madam Xie?"

“No,” Zhao En was intimidated by Guo Huang’s official authority and could no longer tell who was asking the question in the following sentence. He blurted out the truth, “I saw it, but I didn’t see it clearly.”

The prison fell silent instantly.

Xie Yuyan looked at Guo Huang: "Minister Guo, I also have a question for you. Why did you bring me to the Dali Temple?"

Guo Huang said, "Because...you murdered your own grandfather."

Xie Yuyan said, "Could a weak woman under guard really kill someone while being watched by so many people? Even if she managed to do so by chance, how could she escape from the manor? Even her clothes were taken away, which shows that her life was in the hands of others. How could she possibly protect herself?"

"On the contrary, Xie Yizhi, who controls everything, is more likely to target his own father. Only when the old Prime Minister Xie dies can he bring Xie Wenwan into the Xie family, isn't that right?"

Unable to respond to Xie Yuyan's questions one by one, Guo Huang's face flushed red, veins throbbing, and he shouted loudly, "The evidence is irrefutable, and you have no choice but to remain silent."

"Bring the finger-crushing instrument and administer the torture to Xie."

(End of this chapter)