Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 224 Life experience
Yan Ciwan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "How many officials like Qi Songsheng and Xie Li have been bribed by you?"

This question hit the key point. Manager Ge's face became paler and paler, as if he would faint at any time.

Yan Ciwan reminded: "Even if you faint, I can wake you up."

Manager Ge said tremblingly: "I don't know about other places, but Yizhou only has a thank-you gift."

He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and the wound got deeper. He hurriedly explained, "I have been staying in the underground black market in Yizhou. I rarely go out unless it is necessary. I am only responsible for the affairs of the Five Gods Sect in Yizhou. It is not my turn to ask about the affairs in other places. I really don't know!"

Yan Ciwan asked, "With so many officials in Yizhou, how could you bribe them with just a thank-you gift?"

"Our original target was Xie Tanyu, but that guy was too difficult to deal with. No matter how we threatened or lured him, he remained unmoved. Not only that, he also wrote a memorial to the emperor about the possible existence of the Five Gods Sect in Yizhou and sent it to Chang'an. The Internal Guard Bureau once sent people to Yizhou to search for the Five Gods Sect. We had to be more cautious and low-key and dare not contact the Yizhou government casually again."

Yan Ciwan asked, "Then how did Xie Li get involved with you guys?"

Manager Ge said honestly, "Xie Li took the initiative to come to us and wanted to cooperate with us. He is a judicial officer and Xie Tanyu's cousin. He is indeed a good candidate for the Five Gods Sect to win over. We gave him a lot of money so that he could build up his connections and work hard to climb up. In return, he will help cover up the Five Gods Sect's tracks and make our activities in Yizhou more comfortable."

Yan Ciwan keenly grasped the key point and asked, "Xie Li and Xie Tanyu are cousins. If he wants to get promoted, wouldn't it be more convenient for him to ask his cousin for help? Why would he go to such a far place to seek cooperation with you?"

"Although they are cousins, they actually have a very bad relationship. More than 30 years ago, there was an internal struggle in the Xie family. Xie Tanyu's father failed in the struggle and was murdered by his brother. Xie Tanyu, who was only ten years old, had to flee the Xie family with his mother. Since then, they have cut off contact with the Xie family. When Xie Tanyu grew up, he went to take the imperial examination, but was framed and accused of cheating. It is said that the person who framed him was Xie Zhan."

Yan Ciwan had heard about Xie Tanyu being falsely accused of cheating in the imperial examination, but she did not expect that this actually involved the grudges within the Xie family.

"Xie Tanyu has a deep grudge against the Xie family. He has achieved what he has today thanks to his own talent and knowledge, and he has no nostalgia for the Xie family in the past. But Xie Li is different. Xie Li grew up in the midst of the Xie family's glory and has seen the glory of the Xie family during its heyday, so he is naturally unwilling to be ordinary and lonely. The brothers have different ideas, so naturally their relationship is not very close. In the past, Xie Li asked Xie Tanyu for help, hoping that Xie Tanyu would help him get promoted to a higher position, but was rejected by Xie Tanyu."

Yan Ciwan smiled and said, "You really know everything about the relationship between Xie Tanyu and Xie Li."

Steward Ge said dryly: "We have carefully investigated the background of these brothers."

"Is Xie Li the murderer who killed Xie Tanyu?"

Manager Ge said with a bitter face: "I really don't know about this. To be honest, when I first heard that Xie Tanyu had died, I was also shocked."

"I heard that Xie Tanyu had a big fight with Xie Li before he died. Is this incident related to your Five Gods Sect?"

Manager Ge hesitated and said, "Not necessarily. You should ask Xie Li about these matters. Although he has cooperated with us, he does not report everything to us."

"Where is Xie Liren?" "He went to the Snake Cave to attend the auction with the envoy."

Yan Ciwan suddenly changed the subject: "Liu Qingguang is also a member of your Five Gods Sect?"

The topic changed too quickly. Manager Ge was stunned for a moment before he said, "We did send someone to extend an olive branch to him. He has good talent and if he can be trained well, he should be able to pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future. He is a promising talent, but unfortunately, Liu Qingguang rejected our kindness."

"Then why do you still give him money?"

Manager Ge immediately went to look at the account book on the desk, guessing that she must have looked at the account book. He could not hide this matter, so he could only tell the truth: "Because his mother was seriously ill, he could not afford enough money to treat his mother. The five hundred strings of cash were for his mother's treatment."

Yan Ciwan didn't believe that the Five Gods Church was so kind, so she asked directly: "What is your purpose?"

"Although Liu Qingguang refused to join the Five Gods Sect, we still don't want to give up. Five hundred strings of cash is a huge sum of money for ordinary people, but it is just a drop in the bucket for us in the Five Gods Sect. If we can use five hundred strings of cash to impress Liu Qingguang and make him work for us..."

Yan Ci Wan didn't want to listen to his nonsense, so he exerted force with his hands, and the blade of the Ning Dao went two inches deeper.

Manager Ge was shaking with pain and quickly changed his words, "Don't, don't, don't kill me. I'm telling the truth. It was the envoy who ordered me to give money to Liu Qingguang. The envoy also sent someone to pass a message to Liu Qingguang, saying that his biological father was actually Xie Tanyu, the governor of Yizhou."

Yan Ciwan had suspected it at first. Liu Qingguang's mother was already ill and confused. Although she remembered Xie Tanyu, she could hardly tell where Xie Tanyu was and what his official position was. So how did Liu Qingguang know that Xie Tanyu was in Yizhou?
It was not until this moment that she realized that it was the people from the Five Gods Sect who deliberately revealed Xie Tanyu's information to Liu Qingguang.

There are three suspects in the murder of Xie Tanyu. Among them, Xie Li and Liu Qingguang are both related to the Five Gods Sect. So, does the only remaining Xie Chusong have any dealings with the Five Gods Sect?

Yan Ciwan remembered the paper ashes in Xie Chusong's boudoir and decided to trick him.

She suddenly asked, "What about the secret letter you sent to Xie Chusong?"

Manager Ge didn't expect that she even knew about this matter, and said carefully: "This is also the order of the envoy. The secret letter contains Xie Chusong's life experience. I am only responsible for sending someone to deliver the secret letter to Xie Chusong. I don't know about the rest."

Yan Ciwan thought that it was true. Xie Chusong also had secret dealings with the Five Gods Sect.

She said coldly: "Go on, tell me everything you know."

Manager Ge wanted to use this to delay time, preferably until the envoy came back, so that he might still be saved, so he followed what the other party said.

"Xie Chusong is the adopted daughter of Xie Tanyu. Her biological father is Xu Hanshi. In order to protect the Crown Prince Renxian and the Crown Princess, Xu Hanshi and the entire Xu family were killed by the rebels. Only Mrs. Xu, who returned to her natal family to visit relatives, escaped. Mrs. Xu was pregnant at the time. After learning the tragic news that her husband's family was exterminated, she was overwhelmed with grief and had a difficult delivery. She died of heavy bleeding. The doctor cut out a daughter from her belly.