Xie Yu first sent Madam Zhao and Ma Bing back to the Kaifeng Prefecture. After a brief exchange, he noticed the family members of Wang He exiting the government office, with A De seeing them off, his expression complex.
“Sir, Madam, you’re back!” A De greeted them.
Upon hearing this, the Wang family turned around and bowed to Xie Yu and the others.
They still remembered that these were the people who had previously investigated the case.
Ma Bing quietly asked A De, “What did they come for?”
A De replied in a hushed tone, “To sign documents relinquishing the remains.”
“Seriously? They won’t even bury him?” Ma Bing asked in surprise.
A De nodded.
This meant that Wang He was truly destined to have no resting place after death.
The Wang family had originally wanted to let the authorities handle the matter however they wished. Upon hearing that this could help solve the case, they signed the documents even more readily.
“That scoundrel never did anything meaningful in his life. He caused the officers endless trouble and made everyone around him live in fear. Now, at least, he’s finally of some use. Keep the remains,” said the Wang patriarch.
He had once been a scholar and ran a free elementary school. Most of the children in Bai Shitown had been his students. His handwriting was indeed exceptional.
The Wang family climbed onto the ox cart and slowly headed out of the city. The deceased, the government office, the investigators, and all the truths would gradually fade away as they departed.
Wang Xiang, Wang He’s wife, drove the cart. As they were about to leave the city, she couldn’t help but turn her head for one last look. Her eyes flickered with many emotions, which she quickly buried.
She raised the whip and shouted, “Giddyap!”
Thank heavens.
On that day, Wang He had come home drunk again and started causing trouble. Finding no money to take, he alternated between threatening to sell the children and the house.
The elderly couple could not fathom how their once-good child had turned into such a person.
They had pleaded with him, hoping Wang He would see reason. But the irrational Wang He pushed the old lady down and tightly choked the old man’s neck…
Wang Xiang had already forgotten what she was thinking at that moment. She only remembered coming to her senses to find a blood-stained club in her hand and her husband’s half-bloodied body at her feet.
A strange, sweet, metallic smell quickly filled the air.
Wang Xiang looked blankly at her lifeless husband and then at the elderly couple rising from the ground, not knowing what to do.
What should I do?
Did I kill someone?
However, the two elderly people, supporting each other as they rose from the ground, did not immediately ask about each other’s condition. Instead, they both came to comfort her.
“Good child, don’t be afraid.”
If there was one great misfortune in their lives, it was giving birth to this son who harmed others and himself.
If there was one great fortune and guilt in their lives, it was marrying this daughter-in-law who worked tirelessly.
She was truly better and more considerate than ten sons.
While shedding tears, the mother-in-law held her daughter-in-law’s hand, saying, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”
She was even unsure whether she was comforting herself or her daughter-in-law.
The father-in-law bent down to check his son’s breathing, his eyes slightly reddened, his jaw tightly clenched.
He stood up, remarkably calm as he assigned tasks, “You two go to the inner room and watch the children. I’ll go borrow a cart.”
The neighbors heard the sudden silence and the request to borrow a cart, guessing the situation.
But no one asked.
They chose silence.
No one spoke. The men brought shovels, carts, and livestock, while the women brought buckets and rags. They silently and swiftly cleaned up the scene.
Under the cover of night, it resembled a mysterious and grand ceremony.
One neighbor said that if they left the clothes and sashes, the authorities might identify the body. It would be better to strip and burn them.
Another neighbor suggested a location, saying it was rarely visited because lime had been dumped there before, making it almost barren, the ideal place to dispose of a body.
After finishing all this, it was already dawn.
Everyone returned home just as silently and swiftly as they had come, enjoying a long-awaited peaceful sleep.
No one would disturb them again.
Bai Shitown returned to brightness, once again becoming the untarnished Bai Shitown.
This was their ancestral home, which they had guarded for generations, and no one would be allowed to destroy it.
This secret would be swallowed and rot in their bellies forever, never seeing the light of day again…
When Xie Yu appeared before the emperor, he noticed the emperor’s subtle expression. Leaning lazily on the couch, the emperor half-opened his eyes and glanced at Xie Yu, “Find a seat yourself.”
After a while, the chief eunuch Wang Zhong entered with a tray. Seeing Xie Yu, his expression was equally subtle.
Xie Yu instinctively looked down at his attire, finding nothing inappropriate.
What cryptic signals were these two master and servant exchanging?
What Wang Zhong brought back was a box of medicinal ointment.
Skillfully scooping a spoonful onto a cloth, he melted it over a fire, then gently fanned it a few times until it was neither too hot nor about to solidify, before applying it to both sides of the emperor’s forehead.
“Has Uncle’s headache returned?” Xie Yu walked over and helped press acupoints.
The emperor slowly exhaled, and when he spoke again, his tone carried an indescribable gritted-teeth quality.
He leaned his head back, glaring irritably at this grandnephew of his, “You people surnamed Xie were born just to give me headaches!”
Xie Yu: “?”
Wait a minute, how many people surnamed Xie are there around here?
“Hmph!” The emperor snorted heavily and closed his eyes again, “You’re unusually sweet-talking today. What do you want to say?”
Xie Yu didn’t hesitate at all, “Tian Song is ill. These past few days he’s been speaking recklessly, uttering many inappropriate things, mostly involving the late emperor and Prince Su. I suspect…”
The emperor suddenly widened his eyes and fiercely thrust out his hand, jabbing at the memorial on the desk as if harboring a deep-seated resentment, nearly puncturing several holes in it.
“You’re too late! Another Xie has already impeached him!”
Xie Yu raised his eyes and saw a familiar name clearly written beneath the memorial:
Xie Xian.
Oh, that’s my father.
That’s fine then.
Every imperial censor has a little notebook of grudges in their heart, filled with the little slips and secrets of their colleagues, past and present. They don’t impeach not because they won’t, but because the time isn’t right.
Perhaps the location of Tian Song’s bedroom was too close to the street, or perhaps his frenzied shouting was too loud, or maybe there was some secret method. In any case, Xie Xian had somehow learned about Tian Song’s illness and his incoherent ramblings, and had impeached him during this morning’s court session, listing sixteen charges against Tian Song, including abuse of power, dereliction of duty, framing colleagues, colluding with Prince Su to mislead the late emperor into squandering the national treasury, enriching himself, and wasting the people’s blood and sweat…
He wrote extensively and eloquently.
The court was immediately thrown into chaos.
After all, Tian Song had been a high-ranking official during the late emperor’s reign. Not to mention his three sons, many of his students and in-laws were also in court. At that time, those people almost attacked Xie Xian physically.
After listening, Xie Yu felt a deep regret in his heart:
Too late!
The emperor saw the subtle changes in his nephew’s expression and knew exactly what the boy was thinking, almost laughing in exasperation.
He pounded the imperial desk hard, “You, do you know how difficult it is to change things that were decided upon the late emperor’s death?”
Especially without solid evidence to impeach a former high-ranking official, in the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it would look like taking advantage of someone’s misfortune and factional infighting, which could easily provoke public outrage.
Xie Yu remained silent, clearly letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Is there anything easy in this world?
It’s just a matter of whether there’s someone willing and wanting to do it.
The emperor got so angry that his headache returned. He quickly closed his eyes to calm down but couldn’t help mumbling like an old woman:
“You don’t know the difficulties of managing a household unless you’re the one doing it. You haven’t sat in this position, so you can’t imagine how many things there are to handle every day in a country!
Here’s a drought, there’s a flood, the sky collapses in the east, the earth cracks in the west. There’s never a moment of peace…”
Standing behind the emperor, Xie Yu looked down at him, watching his excited flailing arms and couldn’t help but think silently, I indeed can’t do this job, so… why should I empathize?
After all, he who does not hold office should not meddle in its affairs!
The emperor sighed deeply.
After sighing, he felt half of himself empty.
Then came the autumn harvest, autumn hunting, autumn exams, and the year-end evaluations of officials from various places, as well as foreign envoys coming to pay homage, plus matters concerning overseas expeditions…
With so many things to handle, these two relatives somehow got the wrong idea and insisted on digging up past matters now.
The emperor felt utterly exhausted.
It’s not that he didn’t want to act, but that this was a critical time for talent. A single blow would shake the court to its core and cause bloodshed outside.
Proceed gradually! Haven’t you been an official for less than a year? Don’t you know what “proceed gradually” means?!
Xie Yu looked at him for a long time, then suddenly walked around to the front and knelt down formally, performing the grand ceremony.
Seeing him like this, the emperor suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, “Get up!”
He rarely performed such a grand ceremony before. What was he going to do!
Xie Yu ignored him, maintaining an expressionless face as he met the emperor’s gaze, speaking solemnly and clearly, “Your Majesty, you have changed.”
Wang Zhong: “…”
Where’s my heart-protecting pill!
The emperor was momentarily choked by his anger.
“…How dare you!”
Xie Yu remained calm, unflinching under the emperor’s glare, speaking each word with gravity.
“Perhaps the flattery of the court officials has made you increasingly cautious, or perhaps the current peace has made you slack. Haven’t you noticed that you have gradually lost your former vigor and become somewhat like the late emperor?”
“How dare you!” The emperor stood up abruptly, his face flushed with anger as he shouted at him.
How could you, how could you!
How could you compare me to the late emperor, who became senile in his old age!
Xie Yu didn’t even blink, “Now you are the emperor. The anger of the Son of Heaven is no small matter, so fewer and fewer people dare to speak the truth to you…
To defeat external enemies, one must first stabilize the internal. What’s the problem with shaking things up? When I was solving a case in Donghe County, I saw County Magistrate Chen Wei teaching the people to farm and plant trees. The damaged and extra fruits should be removed to save nutrients for the good ones. Isn’t governing a country the same principle?
What about the court officials? They all started from nothing. Kill one batch, and another will come. There are so many ambitious young people below who have no place to display their talents. Your Majesty, can’t you see this?”
What kind of conservative emperor and stagnant dynasty could compare to a proactive ruler and officials?
The emperor’s roar could be heard from a mile away, “Don’t think that because I usually favor you, you can be so reckless! Shut up!”
Xie Yu lowered his eyes, letting the memorials fall on his head without flinching, continuing, “No, you can see it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have silently approved the struggle between aristocrats and commoners or pushed for the proposal to abolish the guarantee silver…”
The emperor’s anger did not subside, but the memorial in his hand ultimately could not be thrown again.
His headache was unbearable, and a great pain mixed with barely perceptible panic rolled in, almost making him lose his balance.
Wang Zhong was terrified, fearing something might happen, and hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
“I’m not dead yet!” The emperor shouted, leaning on the imperial desk to slowly steady his breathing.
Have I really changed?
Have I really become like the late emperor?
No, it’s impossible. Back then, I repeatedly vowed that if I ascended the throne, I would govern diligently and never repeat past mistakes.
But now…
Uncontrollably, scenes from the past and present flashed through his mind, intertwining and contrasting sharply.
That little rascal was right. He had changed.
Not only had he changed, but the court officials had changed too.
They no longer spoke frankly as they did when he was a prince. Instead, they began to fear, carefully deliberating and selecting their words…
“Get out!” The emperor slowly opened his eyes and said to Xie Yu.
All that needed to be said and shouldn’t have been said was said. With no regrets, Xie Yu left decisively.
The emperor: “…”
He was so angry he was shaking. Turning to Wang Zhong, he cursed, “Did you see that, huh? Did you see that? This is my good grandnephew!”
Leaving a mess behind, not even looking back to say a caring word!
Didn’t you fear that I would die of anger?
Wang Zhong pretended to be deaf.
The emperor pounded the imperial desk furiously, “Who spoiled him like this!”
Wang Zhong daringly stole a glance at him, then quickly withdrew his gaze, eyes downcast.
Who spoiled him… wasn’t it you, Your Majesty.
After a while, the raging anger gradually subsided. The emperor looked in the direction Xie Yu had left, then squatted down and picked up the memorials he had just thrown out, one by one.
Wang Zhong wanted to help but was shouted at.
“Don’t touch them. I’ll do it myself.”
He picked them up one by one, flipping through each memorial again. Indeed, they were filled with flattery.
Thousands of characters flowed, carefully testing and flattering, taking up most of the content, with only a few sentences actually addressing real matters.
He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and Xie Yu’s words echoed in his ears again:
“Fewer and fewer people dare to speak the truth to you…”
Speaking the truth…
For a long time, the study was silent, as if even breathing had disappeared.
After a long while, the emperor opened his eyes again. The anger had completely vanished, replaced by a renewed determination.
“Call the prince back.”
As it turned out, a voice immediately came from the window, “Your Majesty, this minister is here.”
The emperor: “…”
After a brief silence, a stack of memorials clattered against the paper window as the emperor’s roar sounded again, “Come in here!”
Seeing his grandnephew still standing expressionlessly in front of him, the emperor suppressed his anger again and again, but ultimately couldn’t restrain himself and kicked Xie Yu in the rear.
Xie Yu: “…”
He had promised to scold without laying hands.
“Rebel!” The emperor growled.
Xie Yu: “…This minister dares not.”
“You dare plenty!” The emperor glared.
Wang Zhong, trying hard to pretend he wasn’t there in the corner: Prince, you’re being too modest.
The emperor sulked for a while, probably a new pain overriding the old, and his headache miraculously disappeared.
He irritably tore off the plaster, paced a few steps on the spot, and when he spoke again, he had quickly regained his usual calm demeanor.
“I currently have no personnel to assign to you.”
Xie Yu’s eyes lit up, “This minister will find a way myself.”
The emperor turned to look at him, “You must understand that without solid evidence, I cannot easily deal with a former trusted minister.”
Otherwise, it wouldn’t just chill the hearts of the aristocratic families and old ministers.
Even the ambitious newcomers would feel fear, fearing that at any moment they might be arrested and executed on trumped-up charges.
If handled improperly, it would shake the very foundation.
These two… they were infuriating!
Xie Yu: “Understood, this minister will immediately search for evidence.”
Not too stupid.
The emperor was about to habitually nod in approval, but then remembered the anger he had just endured and immediately lost his good mood.
“What are you still standing there for? Are you waiting for me to treat you to dinner? Get out!”
Xie Yu quickly left.
After exiting the palace gate, Yuan Pei hurried over to ask, “Sir, are you okay?”
He had been inside for quite a while.
And… why was there a big footprint on his backside?!
Xie Yu mounted his horse, his eyes shining with unprecedented excitement.
He looked back at the palace one last time before turning his horse’s head, pulling the reins, and galloping away.
“Immediately have Gao Laoliu meet me at the Jinmen Restaurant!”
Yuan Pei complied and immediately parted ways with Xie Yu at the next intersection.
If the investigation couldn’t be conducted openly, no problem.
The reason gray exists is precisely because some things and people can neither exist in black nor be tolerated in white. Those who operate in the gray area know the most!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage