Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 54 Struggle
Yong'anfang, Yang Family.

"Where is Madam?"

Yang Mingjing kept asking around and finally found Yang Shi, who was working in the third branch of the family.

Madam Yang said, "The eldest daughter-in-law didn't mention it to us when she left."

Was it because they didn't know, or were they deliberately hiding it?
Yang Mingjing used his clan leader authority to suppress her, and the Yang family member simply lowered her head without saying anything else.

Just as Yang Mingjing was about to ask further questions, the doorman announced, "Liu the lawyer has arrived."

Xie Yuyan wanted to invite lawyer Liu to Yong'anfang. Yang Mingjing couldn't openly stop him, so he could only secretly inform the Du family and let them spread the word. As long as no one dared to come to their door, the matter would be dropped.

The thought of the way the Du family looked at him sent chills down Yang Mingjing's spine; in their hearts, they probably already wanted to grind him to dust. Therefore… he was even more reluctant to let Xie Yuyan continue to stir up trouble in Yong'an Ward; he feared his backbone wasn't strong enough to withstand it.

Unexpectedly, Granny Li and Madam Xu gathered a group of people and waited at the entrance of Yong'anfang. When Yang Qin brought Lawyer Liu, they rushed over.

What happened next almost made Yang Mingjing's eyes pop out. Yang Qin led several children of similar age, each carrying a gong, and went from street to street banging and shouting.

“Those who have been wronged or oppressed should go to Vice Envoy Yang’s house to write their names in the official register.”

Faced with these children, the families naturally had no fear and opened their doors to inquire.

"Anyone can go?"

“Yes,” Yang Qin said, “otherwise, would we be here shouting?”

"We can't read...how can we write in the register?"

Yang Qin pointed to himself and the children around him: "My fellow students and I are all studying under Mr. Tong. We'll help you with your writing."

They didn't say anything about taking the case to the yamen or writing a complaint; they just wanted to take the person to the Yang family.

This was something his sister-in-law had instructed him to do.

Following his sister-in-law's advice, Yang Qin reported the matter to Mr. Tong. Mr. Tong praised them highly and agreed to let his fellow apprentices help as well.

More and more people gathered, and almost every household in the neighborhood sent people.

Those with grievances should write them down, but those without grievances can't even watch the show?
When this group of people appeared at the Yang family's residence, even though Yang Mingjing had prepared in advance, he was still terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

Yong'anfang had never seen such a scene before.

Liu Zhi was stunned. Before coming to the Yang family, his shop was deserted, with hardly anyone visiting. But everything changed after meeting Lady Xie here.

“Liu the lawyer,” said Granny Li, “let’s go inside, everyone has a lot of questions to ask.”

Liu Zhi finally came to his senses and was led forward by a crowd until he sat down in a chair. Only then did he look up and see a crowd of people everywhere he looked.

"Are they all wronged?" Yang Mingjing took a deep breath and called Yang Qin over to ask.

“I don’t know yet, but at least half of them have something to ask Lawyer Liu,” Yang Qin frowned. “We don’t know how many bad things those people have done until we get them all together.”

Yang Mingjing's eyelids twitched. Was there a lawsuit against the Yang family involved?
Yang Mingjing said, "With so many people coming in, I'm afraid we won't be able to handle it. Perhaps we should ask some people to go back first."

As if he had already guessed that Yang Mingjing would say this, Yang Qin replied without hesitation: "Sister-in-law has already instructed that we only need the kitchen to boil some hot water to entertain guests."

"The rest, my senior brothers and I can do."

"My sister-in-law also said..."

Yang Mingjing stared intently at Yang Qin.

Yang Qin said, "The more wronged someone is, the more they should be known. With so many people here, everyone will spread what they have heard."

Yang Mingjing's expression grew increasingly grim.

Yang Qin said, "After we finish writing the document, we also need to make a copy for Second Uncle. Second Uncle is the deputy magistrate of the ward, and he should know everything that happens in the ward."

A drop of sweat slid down Yang Mingjing's forehead.

“Master, Master,” the steward rushed over, “Good news, good news! The yamen has informed us that we can bring the two old ladies home.”

The government office releasing him at this time was as if it were a reward for his work.

Yang Mingjing was familiar with this style; that's how he became the deputy magistrate of the district.

They're trying to kill him.

……

Old Mrs. Yang was old and didn't know much. As a woman, the government made an exception for her and allowed her to return home, but she was not allowed to step out of the Yang family's ancestral home. She felt like she had escaped death and cried and made a scene when she saw Yang Mingjing, begging him to think of a way to immediately rescue his father, brother, and nephew.

That prison was no place for humans. Those imprisoned there seemed to be evil spirits, wailing incessantly all day long.

The jailers who interrogated the men were even more ruthless. The women were a little better off; if they saw a man, they would whip him without saying a word.

“Your fourth brother has already been beaten; I saw it.”

"And then there's Ji-ge'er. When he saw me trying to speak, he kicked me first. I wanted to offer them some silver, promising to give it to them after we got out. But those people acted like they wanted to eat me alive, accusing us of bribery..."

"Grandpa Du's second son was beaten and covered in blood..."

The two old ladies didn't know what happened afterward, and the yamen officials didn't let them see it, but the screams never stopped. She couldn't eat or sleep, worrying about her son and grandson one moment and her grandfather the next. When she heard footsteps, she was afraid that she would also be arrested and tortured.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

The two old ladies cried all the way home, but... they soon realized something was wrong.

The ancestral home was bustling with activity, as groups of people came and went.

Those faces looked both familiar and strange to her.

"What are those people doing?" the second old lady asked.

Yang Mingjing said, "They are all residents of Yong'an Ward."

The two old ladies were somewhat surprised and suspicious: "Why did they come to our house?"

Knowing he couldn't hide it from Yang Mingjing, he whispered about the lawyer.

The two old ladies felt dizzy for a moment, and it took them a while to catch their breath: "Let her go, kick her out of the Yang family."

"As long as she is in the Yang family, the Yang family will never have an easy time."

"Don't be fooled by her connection with Inspector He... she has offended many people... the Xie family will not let her off easily."

"Mother, please stop talking." Yang Mingjing looked at the villagers walking past him with great apprehension.

"Why should we be afraid of them?" The two old ladies still refused to admit defeat. "They're all poor wretches. What good would it do to protect them?"

Yang Mingjing might have thought that way before, but now he feels that he can't beat Xie Yuyan, at least not now.

Since that's the case, we must not cause any more trouble.

Not wanting his mother to continue screaming, Yang Mingjing lowered his voice and said, "If I chase them away, Mother might be taken back..."

The two old ladies shuddered: "This has nothing to do with them... Could it be that you only get this by doing things for them...?"

Yang Mingjing opened his mouth to explain. Even his mother thought so, so how could outsiders believe that he had nothing to do with it? But in the end, he didn't make a sound. It was a misunderstanding, and his mother didn't dare to press him any further.

The two old ladies dared not utter another word, only muttering with disgust, "Sooner or later... someone will settle accounts with her..."

……

After Xie Yuyan returned to the Yang family, he ate and rested for a while. All the important matters had been arranged. In the next few days, he only needed to rent out the shops, build the special stove for lotus root charcoal, and bring back the large pot made by the blacksmith. Then he would be ready to open the door to welcome customers.

Zhang also instructed Yang Qin: "Go to the blacksmith's shop every day and if the tools for making lotus root charcoal are ready, send them to Sanhe Village."

Yang Qin, his cheeks bulging, swallowed the biscuit in his mouth before speaking: "Mother and sister-in-law, don't worry, we definitely won't delay."

Perhaps because he was too busy today, Yang Qin felt hungry soon after eating. He begged his mother to heat up some more pancakes for him. After the pancakes were heated up, Yang Qin couldn't resist sneaking a piece to eat. He wanted to share the rest with his fellow disciples.

“Write it carefully,” Xie Yuyan said. “There’s another copy of the document for Mr. Tong.”

Yang Qin nodded, but he still didn't quite understand: "Those documents... if the master just wanted to look through them, that would be fine, but why did my sister-in-law ask us to bring him a copy specifically?"

He felt that a scholar focused solely on academic research wouldn't be interested in these things.

"The gentleman likes storybooks, and perhaps he also likes to read these, since they are all true stories."

Yang Qin's eyes widened. The master likes storybooks? Who told his sister-in-law?

A thought flashed through Xie Yuyan's mind: "Liu the lawyer said he wanted to sell 'tabloids' in the shop, writing about street gossip and cases adjudicated by the government. However, he was unclear about many things. Perhaps Mr. Tong could offer some insights. In a while, Liu the lawyer will visit you to ask for your advice."

In the east courtyard, surrounded by layers of people, Liu Zhi felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed loudly.

(End of this chapter)