"Uncle Zhang, Ah Xu has nothing to do with the Xie family's affairs. When the Xie family's troubles came to light, he and San..."
When Ah Xu and Nangong Qing were mentioned, Xie Wanwan stopped talking. At that time, the two of them were staying in Yongle County and could not possibly have been involved in the Xie family's affairs.
“He lives in Yongle County, thousands of miles away. He helped me this time. Without him, I would not have been able to find this painting or meet you.”
Ah Xu didn't care, as long as Xie Wanwan knew what had happened, she would tell him later.
Otherwise, he will naturally find out when the truth comes out.
Xie Wanwan helped Zhang Tian up and sat him on the bench. He thought about how the young man had desperately protected Xie Wanwan when they were in the yard earlier. Could they be lovers?
"Wanwan, I'll go out and wait for you."
After saying that, Ah Xu turned to leave, but Zhang Tian didn't turn back and said coldly, "Forget it, if you're of one mind, you'll find out sooner or later."
Zhang Tian was devastated by this incident, and his mental state fluctuated. While he was still lucid, he told Xie Wanwan the whole story.
With a sigh, Zhang Tian's thoughts returned to that year.
"That year, your father went up the mountain to pray for your mother. He accidentally fell into a trap dug by a hunter and was trapped for two days. I rescued him when I passed by."
Later I learned that he was the Minister of Personnel. I was originally a scholar, but my family had fallen on hard times and I failed the imperial examination.
But I am destined to be with Minister Xie; we share the same interests, and our wives were pregnant at the same time. Our babies were born in the same month, one after the other!
Zhang Tian pointed at Xie Wanwan and his daughter, but paused for a long time when he mentioned his daughter.
Xie Wanwan then realized that the thatched hut contained only his messy belongings and nothing that women would use.
"At that time, everything was so beautiful. Your father and I buried two jars of Daughter's Red wine under the peach tree outside, planning to drink them together on your wedding day."
Later, something happened at home, and Yue'er's mother and I moved away. We didn't see each other for sixteen years until the day Yue'er had her accident, when I finally found Minister Xie again.
"What happened to Yue'er?" Xie Wanwan asked.
But as soon as she asked the question, Zhang Tian seemed to be possessed by something. He couldn't breathe and his body suddenly started convulsing uncontrollably, just like he was having a stroke.
"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang, what's wrong?"
Ah Xu put the sword on the table and then rubbed it back and forth on his back and arms.
"His muscle spasms are probably caused by his emotions. Could you get him some water?"
"good!"
Ah Xu had seen similar cases when he was practicing martial arts, and could only try to save Zhang Tian.
It took him a long time to move. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath. His originally pale face turned red from holding his breath, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Moon, my Moon... She disappeared. When I found her, she was a cold corpse."
Upon hearing the news, Yue'er's mother fell ill and passed away less than two months later.
When Zhang Tian was talking about this, he could no longer control himself and burst into tears. His clothes were tattered and torn, and although he was a middle-aged man, his hair was already completely white.
"Uncle Zhang, I feel the same way you do."
Xie Wanwan knew the pain of losing a loved one, and she guessed that Zhang Tian must have been at his wit's end to come to her father for help, which led to what happened next.
“Wanwan, it’s Uncle Zhang who has wronged you and the Xie family. I only wanted Minister Xie to find out who killed Yue’er, but I never expected it would harm your whole family.”
How did Yue'er die?
Xie Wanwan and her mother had never heard her father mention this matter, and even Xie Quan didn't know about it. This could only mean that they were investigating it in secret, or that Yue'er's death couldn't be known to outsiders.
"My Yue'er was insulted to death. When we found her, there wasn't a single good piece of flesh on her body. She had been thrown into the river outside the city."
The authorities said she drowned, but I didn't believe it. How could someone be injured while drowning? I took her home and spent all my savings to hire a coroner to examine her body.
Only then did I learn that Yue'er had been raped and murdered, and that inhuman methods had been used against her. She was my only daughter, and she was only seventeen years old…
"Later, her mother also passed away. I was unwilling to accept it, so I went to the river where I found Yue'er's body."
After guarding the river for many days, one night I saw several people throw another female corpse into the river, using the same method as when I saw Yue'er.
I sensed that they were connected to Yue'er's death, so I followed them until I saw them return to Miaoge Tower.
Then it dawned on me that my Yue'er hadn't drowned at all, but had died in the Wonderful Pavilion.
The gist of what was coming next was obvious to Xie Wanwan.
"So Uncle Zhang found my father and asked him for help, but my father discovered something even bigger in the Miaoge Tower."
"This harmed someone else's interests, and because of this, my father had to travel back and forth to Miaoge Tower, ultimately ending the matter with Miss Jiang's death, is that right?"
Zhang Tian nodded: "Your father was just one step away from finding all those people, but he made a mistake and lost the whole game."
As Ah Xu and Xie Wanwan listened, they realized that this matter was not simple, especially the people Zhang Tian mentioned, rather than just one person.
"What did my father find back then that made someone want to kill him?"
Zhang Tian walked past the two men, turned to his messy bed, and rummaged through the bedding until he finally found a small booklet.
The outer bedding was messy, but the booklet was wrapped up very well.
"In the heat of the moment, Minister Xie gave me this booklet; it was what they were looking for."
Xie Wanwan took the booklet and was shocked after reading its contents. She was usually so oblivious; she had never known that there were such filthy places in the capital.
The booklet slipped from her hands. Seeing her like this, Ah Xu curiously picked it up to look at it. He was shocked by what he saw.
"No wonder..."
Ah Xu finally understood why Xie Tingzhi was sentenced to death. Even if he hadn't made a mistake, someone would have made him do one. Only when he died could they live.
“Wanwan, these ministers are all regulars at Miaogelou, and they always play tricks on you, causing the deaths of many people. Your father has threatened the interests of more than a dozen ministers.”
What is Miaogelou? It's a place for men to have fun. The state of Nanning has explicitly prohibited it, and officials are not allowed to patronize prostitutes.
These people were doing these things in secret, and Xie Tingzhi, who was not involved in factional strife, encountered them. Therefore, there were only two ways to deal with them.
They had two choices: either bring Xie Tingzhi to their side or get rid of him as soon as possible. Clearly, they chose the latter.
"Master Jiang is also inside. Could it be that Miss Jiang's death was just a ploy to destroy the Xie family?"
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