"Mother, I'm back."
Madam Wang hurriedly came out of the house, looked at the two of them, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the father and daughter were both safe and sound: "Alright, wash your hands and eat."
The father and daughter went inside, took off their boots, poured water to wash their hands, and then went to the dining table to eat.
As the family of three chatted, Madam Wang suddenly brought up the incident of someone being swept away during the day: "I heard that the Xie family's boat capsized again, and a little girl was accidentally swept away by the water. She was a noblewoman, and then a child went to save her, but was swept away himself."
"I think there are still more good people than bad these days. I hope that child is alright."
Upon hearing this, Xie Ying paused for a moment, holding a chipped earthenware bowl, but quickly concealed her reaction.
She said, "Mom, I was watching from the shore. The person was alright; a group of kind migrant workers rescued them."
"I see. Those people are so kind-hearted." Wang said happily, "As long as my family is safe, I'm relieved."
The family of three ate simple meals, but they didn't feel bitter at all.
Lanzhang Palace, Zidian.
After diagnosing Yelü Qiqi, the imperial physician prescribed some medicine and left.
After preparing the medicine, Granny Xie brought it to the bedside and served Qiqi the medicine.
After Yelü Qiqi finished drinking the medicine, he lay on the bed. Although his head was throbbing and his vision was blurry, the image of that woman kept appearing in his mind.
Her eyebrows and eyes were both heroic and gentle, her skin was light bronze, but her features were delicate, making her heart pound every time she thought of her.
Xie Lanzhi had just finished dealing with military affairs when she heard that Yelü Qiqi had run away and almost got into trouble. She rushed back and ran into Si Xitong at the same time.
Their eyes were filled with helplessness. They hadn't told either of them about it; they kept it a secret to avoid making things worse.
The two came to visit Yelü Qiqi, who was still in a daze.
Xie Lanzhi thought the child had been frightened out of her wits. She came over to comfort her, but unexpectedly, Yelü Qiqi couldn't take her eyes off her after seeing her, her eyes constantly searching for that familiar figure on her body.
She looks a bit like the marshal.
When Xie Lanzhi saw her staring intently at her, she thought she had gone mad from the fever.
Si Xitong personally took her pulse and told her, "It's just a cold, you just took medicine, you should be fine."
"That's good, otherwise how am I supposed to explain this to her brother?" Xie Lanzhi changed the towel for Qiqi and put it back on her forehead.
Yelü Qiqi gently grasped her sleeve, seemingly looking at her, yet not quite: "Don't go."
Xie Lanzhi assumed she was sick and insecure: "You should stay healthy and not run around anymore."
"And about your father's marriage alliance, as long as you disagree, your brother and I will protect you. You don't need to worry."
Yelü Qiqi slowly closed her eyes before letting go.
Si Xitong stood beside her, staring thoughtfully at Qiqi, then recalled the spy's report.
She couldn't help but sigh, "Lanzhi, aren't kids these days a bit precocious?"
Xie Lanzhi looked slightly surprised, then sized her up, her eyes conveying a sense of "you seem to be similar to me."
“I am an adult now.” Si Xitong took her hand, and the two walked out of the palace.
Remembering that Xie Lanzhi had spent the entire day in the military camp and kept running to the Censorate, she deduced that Lanzhi was probably doing something in secret.
She didn't point it out, but said, "Lanzhi, your good intentions will be hard for people to understand in the future."
"It may seem that the Imperial Guards are benefiting my Jin Army, but in fact, they are also helping the Xie family and pulling them back to the right path from their decline."
"The loss of Xie Guang was a huge blow to the Xie clan. Yet some people still cling to the mentality of cutting their losses and trying to survive, remaining immersed in past glories and stopping their progress."
“Not only did they not follow, but they also tried to obstruct the Xie family’s future, which is unforgivable.”
Xie Lanzhi stared intently at her: "Little Phoenix can also see that Shang Guang and Xie Ying are both the future of the Xie family."
"The Xie family has destroyed their own future. Even the future of the lower classes." Xie Lanzhi thought of the ten people involved in the case, two of whom were children.
If tender seedlings are nurtured with the poison of those behind the scenes, they will not produce pillars of society, but rather dens of thieves.
"The case of Xie Ying's counterattack is not that simple," Xie Lanzhi said. "There has been someone secretly manipulating this case. Even if I don't deal with those seven people, the people behind them won't let them live."
"Including those two children." So she went to the Censorate today.
The Imperial Censor found the two children involved in the case, but they were corpses. The two bruises on their necks indicated they had been strangled to death in their sleep.
The other five were sent out on missions by certain members of the Xie family, and their names were marked as "killed in action" the next day. Some compensation was hastily given to their families, and that was the end of it.
Some of the Xie family members were Xie Ji's younger brother, Xie Lin.
Inside Xie Ji's residence, ever since Xie Ji received the answer from Xie Lanzhi, he had been secretly observing the faction within the clan that supported him.
He had people secretly watching what they were doing, especially his younger brother Xie Lin. But they couldn't find anything unusual, and he thought he was just being paranoid, until the Censorate secretly gave him information.
He then learned that after the case was reported, those involved in the fraternity smuggling case were sent to various places and died. They were said to have died in battle, but in reality, he had assassinated them himself.
The Xie clan has a deep taboo against internal assassinations. Even when a marshal wanted to kill his father or relatives, it was an open massacre, not an assassination.
The assassination attempt undoubtedly crossed the Xie family's bottom line.
But the men he sent out told him that nothing had happened.
Xie Ji laughed, a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes. He covered his head, utterly shocked that not only had his brother deceived him, but even his people in Tianjing had been bought off by his brother, outwardly complying but inwardly defying him.
He was a truly pathetic general.
Knowing his younger brother was secretly plotting, Xie Ji was determined not to let him succeed. The next day, he left Tianjing alone, leaving Wu Qiu a letter of resignation before he left. He planned to go somewhere else and continue being the Grand General of the Red River Commercial Capital. At least there wouldn't be any infighting there, and at least there would be brothers who genuinely obeyed and followed him.
Instead of being a puppet in Tianjing.
Xie Ji finally understood that being a Grand General wasn't easy. Even if one became a Grand General, one couldn't covet power.
Because the general is standing above the marshal.
All supreme power belongs to the Marshal.
What is a Grand General? Their Xie clan's Grand General is a puppet who stands between the clansmen and the Marshal.
If anyone wants to rise above the marshal, he will be the first to die!
He finally understood. Why did no one else consider replacing Xie Guang, but he was the only one who did?
Because of the marshal.
The marshal consistently conveyed the same message: she favored General Xie Ji. Therefore, under her subtle influence, the clansmen naturally chose to side with him.
Having figured everything out, and understood what power struggles were, Xie Ji was horrified and dared not touch such things again.
The fact that Xie Ji left a letter of resignation and went west to the northern regions shocked the Xie family of Tianjing.
The Xie family members were puzzled and went to Xie Lin's residence to demand an explanation. When everyone gathered at Xie Lin's residence, Zhang Ju, along with the jailers from the Shenxing Division, arrested Xie Lin in front of everyone.
Before Xie Lin even had a chance to speak, Zhang Ju personally knocked out his teeth, stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth, and tied him up.
No one from the Xie family dared to stop him, simply because Zhang Ju had the marshal's token hanging from his waist, as if the marshal himself were present.
Xie Lin confessed everything as soon as he entered the Censorate. Hai Yun personally investigated that day, and the Shuntian Prefecture sent soldiers to search everywhere for the seven culprits, but they only found corpses. However, one of the corpses was covered with Xie Lin's crimes of scheming against Xie Ying, as well as all the shady things Xie Lin had done in recent years, and he was even one of the main culprits who forced women into prostitution. He only escaped punishment because he tricked the lower-class Xie family into taking the blame.
If we clean up now, Xie Lin was caught red-handed back then, and there were also accomplices.
Xie Lanzhi ordered Zhang Ju to arrest every accomplice, implementing a zero-tolerance policy and absolutely forbidding anyone from using redemption money to pay for their crimes. Even the redemption money remaining in the Jin law, for major cases or petty theft, once apprehended, must be used primarily for penal punishment and hard labor; redemption money could no longer be used to atone for the crime. Redemption money would be converted into compensation for the victims.
Si Xitong teamed up with her for doubles, and they immediately switched to a new order.
He also ordered three students from the newsstand to create a story about eliminating evil and bringing peace to the people, based on the Xie Lin case.
The three students wrote different cases in their own styles, but all of them were inseparable from the theme that criminals should be punished and good people should be rewarded.
Hai Yun then declared that Xie Lin's crimes were heinous, with countless lives on his hands, and he was unforgivable. He was to be beheaded at noon.
In the afternoon, Xie Lin was taken to the execution ground and beheaded in front of the people, ending his sinful life.
Xie Lin's death dealt a heavy blow to the Xie family. Furthermore, since Xie Ji had been the one to report Xie Lin, Xie Ji was essentially putting righteousness before family. Therefore, no one dared to criticize Xie Ji, much less mention the title of Grand General.
Xie Lanzhi had no intention of appointing another Grand General, and the throne was temporarily shelved.
When Xie Shangguang heard that Xie Ying had been wronged, he immediately went to find her.
Yelü Qiqi arrived before him. After finding Xie Ying's thatched hut, she had been lurking suspiciously at the door. Her face was flushed, and she hesitated whether to push the door open and go in.
Xie Ying then carried a winnowing basket out the door. Today, the two officials had arranged for her to collect cow dung on the cement road. If she collected ten baskets, she could go home early to help her mother wash clothes for others.
As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Yelü Qiqi and felt that she looked familiar.
When Yelü Qiqi saw her, she stammered, "I, I, I, I, I."
Xie Ying: ?
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-21 20:07:41 and 2022-01-22 20:29:08!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Hongyan (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 161 Cultural Confrontation Triggered by Vernacular Stories
The three stories published at the newsstand, based on Hai Yun's life, are titled "The Justice of Justice: Forcing a Virtuous Woman into Prostitution," "The Justice of Justice: Acting as an Accomplice to a Tyrant," and "The Justice of Justice: A Clear Mirror Reflecting Injustice."
To prevent the Xie family from being labeled as utterly wicked, the three students specifically included two stories where members of the Xie family denounced their relatives in a show of righteous indignation.
The characters are a combination of Hai Yun and Xie Shi's case-solving abilities, and they are called: Di Gongming.
The character of Di Gongming emerged suddenly in the form of folk tales. He immediately became famous throughout the land, sweeping across the land. Even the common people of the Xiongnu and other nomadic tribes recounted stories of Di Gongming's incorruptibility. This fully demonstrates the strength of Central Plains culture and further proves that although the Central Plains was fragmented at the end of the Jin Dynasty, the sense of cultural identity was remarkably high.
Xie Lanzhi hadn't expected such a good result; she had only made a slight suggestion, and Little Phoenix had it made famous all over the country. The more popular these three stories became, the more it demonstrated that ordinary people, regardless of the country, deeply resented those who were wicked and oppressed the good.
This wave of cultural export also caused a great uproar among Confucian scholars. Opinions on the story were divided, with some criticizing the three students for inciting unrest among the people.
Three of the great Confucian scholars wanted to curse him out because it didn't fit their strict hierarchical values. They were shocked to learn that the story that had become a sensation was written by their own son.
The three Confucian scholars immediately fell silent, lost in thought. After all, publicly scolding their sons would certainly be seen as the father's fault for not teaching his sons properly. This would only backfire on them. Besides, their sons hadn't done anything utterly immoral; their behavior was merely improper and, logically speaking, somewhat forgivable.
Moreover, their sons' fame brought them honor.
The pen name of the three students: Mengxi Sanxiang.
Therefore, he became famous throughout the world.