Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 82 Tenth Sister

Master Xie walked up to the private room and knocked on the door.

The teahouse owner hurried out to greet him: "Young master, we already have a guest inside, perhaps..."

Seventh Master Xie put his hand to his mouth and shushed, then smiled and said, "Seventh Master loves a lively atmosphere. The view from here is the clearest. Shopkeeper, don't stop me. Perhaps the guests inside are kind enough to let me join a table."

Just as the shopkeeper was wondering what to say, Master Xie coughed and said, "I wonder if you could do me a favor?"

The curtain was lifted, and Yang Qin walked over carrying the cat.

When Xie Qiye saw this, his smile deepened, and he reached out to touch Yang Qin's head: "This kid looks very kind, and everything about him seems good, except that he's a bit short."

Yang Qin hated it when people said he was short. The first time he met Master Xie, the man was doing filthy things in the carriage and saying inappropriate things.

He covered his nose and said, "Go inside and talk less, so as not to offend others with your smell."

Xie Qiye wasn't angry. He suddenly bent down and breathed on Yang Qin. Yang Qin couldn't dodge in time and glared at him angrily.

However, Xie Qiye took the opportunity to bypass him and enter the private room. His eyes lit up and his gaze went straight to the woman inside, bypassing everyone else.

At sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed plainly, with a pretty face and no adornments, she stood out remarkably as she sat there.

Seventh Master Xie had met Xie Yuyan, but at that time she was lying in a coffin, and he did not examine her appearance closely. He only wanted to see clearly what kind of person he was sending off as a bride.

Unfortunately, the candlelight was too dim at the time, and he didn't see that she still had wounds on her body, nor did he realize that she was still alive. Otherwise, he would definitely have caused some trouble in the Xie family.

Fortunately, the tenth sister was also lucky; she woke up before being buried.

As Master Xie was pondering, Xie Yuyan raised his eyes, and a clear yet sharp gaze struck him directly, causing Master Xie to instinctively look away. In his memory, the face he had seen in the coffin immediately vanished completely, leaving only the person in front of him.

Master Xie paused for a moment before coming to his senses, and then stepped forward to bow, saying, "I'm sorry to bother you."

Xie Yuyan, Zhang Shi, and the others did not respond, so Seventh Master Xie instructed the servant: "Bring over the food you bought."

This place is not far from the market, and the food was still steaming when it was brought out.

It seemed that the fragrance had dissipated much of the apprehension and fear that had just welled up in Xie Qiye's heart.

"I don't know whose idea it was to stew meat with medicinal herbs," said Master Xie. "When I went to the capital, I heard that high-ranking officials and nobles liked to drink medicinal tea. Those scholars and officials had to have a bowl before going to court and before going to bed."

"I, Seventh Master, was still searching everywhere for remedies," Seventh Master Xie pointed to the drain in front of him, "Hey, I don't need to anymore. I think this drain is better than that medicinal tea."

After speaking, Master Xie scooped a spoonful of soup into his mouth, closed his eyes and carefully tasted it. Then his eyes lit up: "When I first tasted it, I thought the flavor was a bit strange, but that didn't stop the soup from being rich and mellow. You can imagine that whatever is stewed in it, whether it's offal or dried vegetables, will have a meaty aroma."

"Food should have a special flavor; once you get used to it, everything else will seem bland and tasteless."

After saying that, Master Xie took another sip of the offal water: "There must be ginger and dogwood in this."

The teahouse owner came to refill the water, and upon hearing Xie Qiye's words, he couldn't help but swallow as well: "Now that this young master has mentioned it, I'd like to try it too."

Master Xie immediately protected the bowl and said seriously, "I'm not giving it to you."

The shopkeeper hurriedly replied, "Sir, you are too kind. How could I dare to ask you for food? Of course, I will have my assistant buy it for me."

Master Xie smiled and said, "If you want to eat it, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

The shopkeeper was about to ask why when he heard another commotion below, and several soldiers followed the flow of people into the market.

"Look, the training camp is over, and the offal in that pot will be all gone."

Zhang couldn't help but look outside and saw soldiers dressed as men heading straight for the big pot. Grandma Li said a few words to them, and the soldier at the front rolled up his sleeves and picked up a long ladle to scoop food into the pot. As a result, more people gathered around him to watch the spectacle.

Then laughter, exclamations, and discussions mingled together, and the market truly came alive at that moment.

Xie Yuyan raised his hand to pour tea, and the shopkeeper, seeing this, led his men out.

Guests want a quiet time for tea, so they shouldn't linger.

"Tenth Sister," Seventh Master Xie finally smiled, "how are your preparations going? Do you need your Seventh Brother to add a little more fuel to the fire?"

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "The pot is right here. Let's see how much you can scoop out."

Master Xie's eyes lit up, and his smile deepened: "Sister Shi's words have touched my heart." Master Xie knew that Xie Yuyan would probably come looking for him soon, or at the very least, send someone to deliver a message. He hadn't planned to come and meet her, but seeing the bustling "Yong'anfang Township Fair" market, he couldn't resist and wanted to see his sister Shi immediately.

He likes people who are smart and straightforward.

How much can my tenth sister give me in one spoonful?

Xie Yuyan tapped it three times lightly.

%.

Master Xie frowned slightly, looking somewhat aggrieved: "I spent a lot of money on those lands, using up all the money I had saved over the years."

Xie Yuyan remained unmoved and said, "You've endured for over a decade, all for money?"

Master Xie's expression turned serious. He felt that clear gaze meet his own, and then with a gentle sweep, it immediately saw through the secret he had been hiding.

“Your father, stepmother, and relatives are all here.”

"Husband and wife live in harmony, brothers are friendly and respectful, and fathers are kind and sons are filial."

"Taking these away isn't enough?"

Seventh Master Xie calmed down completely, even slightly taken aback. However, having seen so much, he quickly regained his composure and put on a smile again: "So many people, dealing with them one by one is really not easy. Tenth Sister, are you willing to help me?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Why bother with them one by one? Just remove what's supporting them, and they'll all reveal their true forms."

Xie Qiye's eyes suddenly turned deep. As he knelt in the ancestral hall, he recited the Xie family rules, but in his heart he was saying something else entirely.

Greedy, ruthless, insidious, and treacherous.

How can these people deserve to live?

Killing them would be easy, but it wouldn't be enough to vent his anger. He wanted to expose their true colors and then kill them.

This is why Master Xie has stayed in the Xie family.

In just one glance, his thoughts were clearly seen through. Instead of feeling panicked, he was delighted. He was glad that he had seen through her early on; his tenth sister was indeed a formidable person.

This time, Master Xie burst into laughter, laughing with extraordinary joy.

"Tenth Sister," Seventh Master Xie stopped, panting as he looked at Xie Yuyan, "Tell me, whatever you want to do in the future, your Seventh Brother will accompany you."

He laughed so hard that a tear welled up in the corner of Xie Qiye's eye.

"Sprinkle less wine on your clothes," Xie Yuyan said, "it'll stink."

Seventh Master Xie was reluctant to leave; this tenth sister in front of him was truly too interesting.

“Oh right, from now on, I’ll take your surname,” Master Xie remembered, “the one with the missing stroke, ‘Xie’.”

As Master Xie and his servant left the elegant room, they ran into Lawyer Liu. The two exchanged a glance, and Master Xie's smile deepened. Lawyer Liu didn't recognize him, but Master Xie knew him well. Currently, among all the lawyers in Daming Prefecture, he was riding high because he had chosen the right person to follow.

My tenth sister has already started working on the documents; she's really quick with her hands and feet.

Years of hatred weighed on his shoulders like a mountain, often making it hard for Xie Qiye to breathe. But at this moment, he found himself much lighter.

……

In the elegant room, Liu Zhi took out a thick stack of documents and handed them to Xie Yuyan for review.

"There are four land deeds in total. One copy is for Sanhe Village, one copy is for my wife, and the other two copies are sent to the government office and the tax office."

Xie Yuyan stood up: "Then I'll trouble Lawyer Liu to go to Sanhe Village with me. We'll sign and seal the documents today and send them to the yamen."

Liu Zhi was taken aback: "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Liu the lawyer also needs to help me buy a few more plots of land, one to resettle the villagers of Sanhe Village, and the other two..."

Liu Zhi interjected, "Could it be that there's also coal?"

(End of this chapter)