Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 791 Guiding the Way
Upon hearing Xie Yize's words, Old Master Xie Si no longer showed the same anticipation and joy as before; instead, he was filled with hesitation.

Xie Yi then stopped talking and pulled Xie Si, the old master, forward.

"What...what are you doing?"

Old Master Xie was pulled so hard he almost fell over.

Xie Yi cautiously looked around: "When we get to the West Market, I'll get two horses."

The two hurried along, and Xie Yi heard the Fourth Master breathing heavily, like a bellows, before stopping to let the Fourth Master catch his breath.

"You're trying to kill your fourth uncle." Old Master Xie pointed at Xie Yize.

Xie Yi said with a stern face, "When you see the person later, you must do as I say."

Having reached this point, Master Xie had no choice but to nod in agreement.

When Xie Yi arrived at a courtyard, he instructed the old servant who was guarding the house to bring out the horses before heading out of the city with Xie Si, the old master.

The two walked around on a country road for a long time. When Xie Yi saw that no one was watching them, he turned around and headed towards the Qin Prince's manor.

The long ride was exhausting. Just when Old Master Xie was about to give up, several people suddenly emerged from the woods and blocked his way. Old Master Xie almost crashed into them. He finally managed to stop, but he slipped off his horse.

Xie Yi didn't even bother to help Xie Si, the old master, and immediately jumped off his horse and stepped forward: "It's me, I've come to see Madam Wu."

Seeing the unfriendly expression on the faces of those who were blocking him, Xie Yi quickly said, "We are here to deliver a message to Madam Wu."

As they were talking, another man walked over.

The man frowned and looked at Xie Yize: "Didn't I tell you that you could only wait for us to come looking for you? You are not allowed to come here on your own?"

"Something went wrong at the Dali Temple, and I was anxious," Xie Yi said, fearing he might be misunderstood. "We were just following Madam Wu's instructions, who knew Wang Yan would suddenly barge into the Dali Temple..."

The man glanced behind the two men, signaling his men to search the surrounding area. Only after his men returned and reported that nothing was amiss did he say to Xie Yize, "You wait here." He then strode towards the manor.

Taking this opportunity, Old Master Xie walked up to Xie Yize and whispered, "Their men have knives."

Xie Yi was naturally not surprised.

Master Xie continued, "What do I say when I meet someone important?"

They had no right to speak first. Xie Yi said, "When a noble person asks you a question, you should answer truthfully. When they instruct us to do something, we should agree to it without hesitation."

Hearing this, Old Master Xie hesitated.

Xie Yi snorted coldly: "Do you even want to leave this place?"

Old Master Xie shuddered and it took him a while to calm himself down. He looked towards the manor again and continued to probe Xie Yize's words: "The manor here is very special. A few years ago, I wanted to buy one and took a fancy to the fields around here. After inquiring, I found out that they had been sold out long ago. Moreover, the fields here are very expensive, and most of the buyers are wealthy families."

The wealthy family he referred to was his own, not Xie Yizhi, the Privy Councilor. Xie Yizhi understood the unspoken meaning in Xie Yizhi's words, and simply said, "It's good that you know, I'm not afraid to tell you..."

Having arrived here, Xie Yize relaxed his guard: "This is the estate of the imperial family."

Old Master Xie's eyes widened.

Xie Yi's eyes flashed with smugness: "On the surface it looks like an ordinary manor, but inside it is intricate and complicated. I've been here two or three times, and each time I left through a different exit. I suspect there are secret passages underground."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Xie tensed up and instinctively grabbed Xie Yize's wrist: "We didn't handle things well, will we be...?"

Xie Yi said, "Don't worry, I believe the master has other methods. Making us frame the Xie family and Wang Yan is just the first step."

Old Master Xie tightened his grip on Xie Yize's hand: "No matter what happens, you must take me with you. Your third uncle saw me when we came out. If you go back on your own, you will definitely be questioned."

Xie Yi didn't expect his fourth uncle to have such a preparation. He was indeed cunning by nature: "Don't worry, there are many things I can't do alone. I still need your help in the clan. Of course, I won't abandon you."

As the two were talking, the man returned and looked at them directly, saying, "Come with me, my wife has agreed to see you."

……

As darkness fell, Old Master Xie and Xie Yi were led into a room to wait. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Old Master Xie heard footsteps. He instinctively looked towards the door, but it was tightly closed, and no one came in. Just as he was still in a daze, he heard someone from inside say, "When you were at Dali Temple, did you see Guo Huang? How is he now?"

The speaker was a woman. Upon hearing this, Xie Yi immediately stood up and bowed: "Reporting to Madam Wu, Guo Shaoqing has been tied up by that scoundrel Wang Yan. Shaoqing only cried out for justice and asked the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to do justice for him, without revealing anything else."

Old Master Xie Si was also standing behind Xie Yize. It seemed that there was another door leading through the house. This estate was indeed as complicated as Xie Yize had described.

Thinking of this, Old Master Xie became inexplicably nervous.

Madam Wu then asked, "Since things didn't go smoothly at the Dali Temple, why did you still dare to come here?"

Xie Yi then looked at Old Master Xie and said, "I also wanted to inform my wife that the court has arrested several more officials and imprisoned them in the Dali Temple..."

After waiting a moment, Madam Wu said calmly, "That's all?"

Xie Yi swallowed and replied, "We didn't dare stay too long, for fear of being discovered by the Wang family."

“How could I not know this news?” said Madam Wu. “So, you didn’t come here to deliver a message at all.”

Old Master Xie felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason, but thankfully Xie Yize's voice came from beside him: "We are truly afraid too. Wang Yan has taken a lot of men to the Dali Temple. He dealt with Guo Shaoqing first, and next he might take us in for interrogation. We don't know what to do..."

As he spoke, Xie Yi glanced at Xie Si, the old master, and said, "My fourth uncle has also been wanting to see my wife."

It seemed that only then did Master Xie come to his senses. He hurriedly bowed to the inner room and said, "Madam Wu, I have heard my nephew say that the master behind us is very powerful. Our Xie family was harmed by Xie Shi and Wang Yan. If we can join such a master, we will surely have a chance to rise again in the future."

“If you have any orders, please let us, your uncle and nephew, do them… However, that Wang Yan is truly vicious. If we are captured by him, we will surely lose our lives. Please protect us, madam. Once this matter is over, we, your uncle and nephew, will definitely repay you.”

After Master Xie finished speaking, he heard no response from the inner room for a long time. Just as he was getting anxious, Madam Wu finally spoke again: "Arrange for them to stay at the manor first."

Xie Yi and Xie Si, the old master, both smiled and hurriedly thanked Madam Wu profusely.

Another series of footsteps approached, indicating that Madam Wu had clearly left with her entourage.

Then the door opened, and the man who had led them into the village looked at the two of them and said, "I'll take you to your lodgings."

……

Old Master Xie and Xie Yi followed the man through the village. For some reason, they walked further and further into the remote area. Old Master Xie suddenly realized something and stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

Xie Yi also noticed something was wrong and looked at the man: "Where are you taking us?"

The man stopped as well, and the two men beside him drew their long knives from their waists.

Xie Yi's expression changed drastically, and he took a step back. The man said coldly, "If you don't struggle, I'll give you a quick death."

Xie Yi turned to run away, but found that Fourth Master Xie had already run off into the distance ahead of him.

Master Xie was terrified. He had only one thought in his mind: Xie Yuyan was right. These people would kill him to silence him after they had used him. Anyway, the yamen had their confessions, and dead men wouldn't recant.

Old Master Xie was panting heavily. He recalled how Xie Yuyan had asked him to feign betrayal a few days ago to lure out the people hiding in the shadows. He had hesitated, fearing that if Xie Yuyan and Wang Yan lost, he would also lose his life. That is, until a eunuch appeared in front of him...

For him, this was the only way to survive.

Old Master Xie used all his strength and finally fell forward, crashing to the ground. The people behind him had already caught up.

He saw the steel blade raised, about to strike him in the next moment.

Old Master Xie raised his hand in fear to defend himself.

"Whoosh."

Several arrows whistled through the air, and the man with the knife froze as the arrows struck him squarely in the neck.

Old Master Xie seemed to feel something hot splash onto his forehead, and then he watched as the man fell backward to the ground.

The noisy footsteps approached from afar, and figures swept past him. When Master Xie looked around again, what came into view were the Imperial Guards dressed in armored uniforms.

(End of this chapter)