Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 97 Confession
Xie Chongjun walked forward a few steps, and all he could see was an uneven ground, which had obviously been dug up, but it had now been filled in.

He then turned to look at the courtyard.

There were twenty or thirty hired workers standing in the yard. Even if there were two more, let alone one mine, it wouldn't be a problem.

Xie Chongjun's forehead veins bulged, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

He knew something was bound to go wrong, and sure enough, it happened just one night later...

“My lord,” Xie Chongjun looked at the county magistrate, “how could a perfectly good mine pit be suddenly filled in? There must be something wrong with it. The Xie family is clearly covering up the truth.”

“Water was seeping into the mine pit, and the old lady was afraid that digging deeper would cause an accident, so she told us to seal it off overnight,” Meng Jiu said, pointing to his side. “If you don’t believe me, Magistrate, you can call everyone from the mine to come and see if anyone here has been injured.”

Xie Chongjun said coldly, "Who asked you these questions..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd parted, and a woman appeared in front of him.

Xie Yuyan lifted her skirt and stepped forward, not looking at anyone. She said calmly, "Isn't human life more important than anything else? It's just a mine. We can seal it up and find another place to dig later. It's just a loss of some money."

"But if someone is injured, how can we start over? Isn't that how Master Xie treats his employees?"

Xie Chongjun looked at that face, his anger almost uncontrollable. This was the person who had harmed Zhang Ge'er, causing his decades of hard work to go to waste. He wished he could kill this woman immediately.

In front of the county magistrate, Xie Chongjun could only suppress his emotions: "There's no need to rush like this. Such a hasty burial is clearly a deliberate cover-up."

Xie Yuyan didn't look at Xie Chongjun, but instead stared at the county magistrate: "What are you trying to hide?"

The county magistrate's heart sank when that gaze swept over him, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He suddenly understood why he felt something was off when he saw Madam Xie yesterday; Madam Xie's gaze naturally exuded a kind of oppressive aura.

The county magistrate composed himself before saying, "Someone reported that you had discovered a copper mine, but you concealed the truth and did not report it."

Xie Yuyan asked, "Is there any evidence?"

The county magistrate immediately took the copper ore from the clerk.

Xie Yuyan did not argue: "How can you prove that it was obtained from the mine pit in Sanhe Village?"

The county magistrate looked at Xie Chongjun, who said with a stern face, "It would have been easy to find out with a simple investigation, but you sealed off the mine..."

"Was this copper ore handed over to the yamen by Master Xie?"

"Exactly."

"When did Master Xie arrive at Sanhe Village? Where did he see the copper ore? And who took it away? Are there any witnesses?"

The relentless questioning left Xie Chongjun speechless for a moment.

Xie Yuyan looked at the crowd behind him: "Have any members of the Xie family visited the village in the past two days?"

Meng Jiu replied firmly: "Never."

Shi Yongniang also stepped forward and said, "We guard the village entrance every day, and I remember clearly everyone who has entered and left the village in the past two days."

As if to prove herself, Shi Yongniang pointed to several constables beside the county magistrate: "These officials came yesterday. Am I right?"

“Your Honor,” Xie Yuyan looked at the county magistrate, “this is clearly a case of someone deliberately making false accusations and framing me. I beg you to do justice for my daughter.”

"Please, Your Honor, do us justice."

The villagers and laborers of Sanhe Village spoke up together, their shouts resounding through the sky.

Xie Chongjun said sternly, "That's clearly sophistry."

The county magistrate looked at Xie Chongjun and said, "Master Xie, why don't you explain first how this copper ore was extracted?"

Before Xie Chongjun could speak, Xie Yuyan said, "According to the laws of this dynasty, theft exceeding five strings of cash is punishable by death. If Lord Xie wants us to believe that this copper ore came from Sanhe Village, he should first hand over the thief."

Xie Chongjun stared at Xie Yuyan. The woman's face showed no fear or panic. Instead, her lips curved slightly, as if she had a mocking smile.

As if it was a provocation.

Xie Chongjun's blood boiled: "It was a servant who secretly infiltrated Sanhe Village and discovered the copper ore. I can hand him over to the authorities, but your mine must also be dug up."

“Then please send him to jail first, Master Xie,” Xie Yuyan said, remembering something. “I remember this is the second servant.” Without waiting for Xie Chongjun’s response, she looked at the county magistrate: “The yamen has documents that allow the mining of mineral deposits. I will certainly not stop it. Both I and the Sanhe Village Coal Mine are following the laws of Daliang. Please give us justice, Your Excellency.”

Seeing that Xie Yuyan's attempts to stop it were futile and the mine would be excavated again, sending in a servant was no big deal.

This was supposed to be a win for him, but Xie Chongjun felt as if his legs were bound.

Xie Yuyan kept claiming he was filling the pit for the sake of human lives, but in order to dig the pit open, he threw his servants into prison.

If he loses to Xie Yuyan again this time, he will lose face completely.

Before he knew it, he had no way out.

"Go back home and bring someone with you," Xie Chongjun coldly ordered the steward.

Just as the Xie family steward left, Xie Chongjun heard the voice of a servant: "This mine pit is probably not easy to dig. When they filled it back in, they nailed wooden wedges into the pit and mixed in glutinous rice and water. In this kind of weather, even if the glutinous rice is not completely dry... it will all be frozen together."

No sooner had one problem been resolved than another arose.

"Master, should we still sue the Xie family?"

The manager couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

“I tell you,” Xie Chongjun said, “the more you try to cover it up, the more problems there are. You must find a way to open up this mine for me.”

Xie Yuyan's delaying tactics are likely because he wants to wait for He Tan to return to Daming Prefecture, and before that, he wants to resolve all matters.

“Your Excellency,” Xie Yuyan looked at the county magistrate, “the imperial court has come to dig mines. Are we allowed to stay in the village?”

“Of course,” the county magistrate said. “This place is where the villagers live; how can we force them to leave?”

Xie Yuyan nodded and looked at Shi Yongniang: "Then let's welcome the guests to your home!"

Shi Yongniang responded.

Xie Yuyan instructed the villagers and laborers of Sanhe Village to stay away from the mine before leaving with Mother Yu and the others.

"Go and see who has come to Sanhe Village?"

……

Not far from Sanhe Village, several horse-drawn carriages were traveling on the official road.

Inside the carriage, three people huddled together talking.

There was a clay stove at his feet, with two pieces of lotus root charcoal burning inside.

Master Xu spoke first: "The Li family sent me to Daming Prefecture, saying they were helping a nobleman. We don't have to do anything, we just listen to what people say and respond to their calls, and we'll get travel expenses and money for it."

"That's what they said to me," said Master Zheng, pointing to the clay stove, "It's related to the trade of lotus root charcoal."

Master Zhao nodded: "It sounds like this shouldn't be too difficult."

It might take a little time, but it would earn them a favor with the Li family. The Li family comes from a scholarly family. Although few of their descendants hold official positions in the court these days, they own fertile land and are skilled in calligraphy and painting. Scholars often visit them. These are just small merchants, and for them to be able to establish a relationship with the Li family is something they would rather beg for.

Besides, it's just helping to put on a great show.

“In this year, it’s hard to do any business,” sighed Master Xu. “Especially for people like us, if we don’t want to be driven around, we’ll suffer all kinds of mistreatment. I’m thinking of selling some of my land and going back to my hometown to live a peaceful life.”

Third Master Zhao added, "I've borrowed money from the elders and children of the clan. How can I just go home like this? Once this matter is settled, I'll go back to celebrate the New Year, get through the winter, and when the weather warms up, I'll have to come out and look for business again."

Listening to the two men talking, Third Master Zheng poked at the charcoal fire in the clay stove: "What do you think? Is it feasible to do business selling lotus root charcoal?"

The carriage fell silent. Master Xu laughed first, "Is it so easy that they would ask us to help them out? They said beforehand that we're just here to put on a show, so don't take it to heart."

"So many people have already scrambled for good deals, how could it possibly be our turn?"

"You've seen what those people are capable of before."

Master Zheng nodded: "What you two brothers say makes sense." Just now, seeing that the lotus root charcoal had been burning for a long time without going out, he really thought he had found a good business opportunity.

(End of this chapter)