Noble's Woman Guide

Chapter 82 - Strangled

The treading sound of orderly boots broke through the unique silence of spring night. Four teams of guards with torches took turns patrolling the periphery of Xie mansion. As they passed the foot of the wall, the fleeting flames illuminated the glazed tiles enroute that the radiated brightness almost overshadowed the stars and moon on the horizon.

The honey-colored candles in the study were still burning quietly and exuding some faint fragrant. The temperature of the few teacups on the four-legged long tables on both sides still remained, presumably the guests had left not long ago while the host, Xie Yuan was still sitting on the seat of honor with his eyes closed with contemplation.

He had made an error.

Previously, the Wang family insisted emphatically that there was another hidden agenda with Wang Feng's death and filed for a re-investigation which in the end was rejected by Chu Sanghuai. Even the personal urging from the Empress failed to change his mind, which immediately gave the others some kind of impression that the standing of the Wang family in Chu Sanghuai's mind seemed not so unshakable.

But later he knew that he was wrong. When his son had a brawl with Wang Ying's son in the restaurant, Chu Sanghuai forcibly suppressed the matter of his son being beaten into serious injuries based only on the speculation of no evidence and then ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate thoroughly, as if his Xie family was really behind the murder of Wang Feng.

Which of these two families' standing is important or inconsequential could immediately be discerned.

But how could he stomach this anger? Xie Da is his only son and now is in bed in a coma while Wang Yu, who assaulted people, is still happily free and unfettered out there. He will not be a man if he does not pay this back, so he summoned a few of his clansmen, who have some influence in the royal court on this very night to prepare filing a joint petition tomorrow to seek justice for Xie Da.

But before that he must find out one thing - where exactly has Xie Peng gone to?

According to the statement of the people from the guard yard, he was not on night duty the day he went missing and so he had gone back early to rest in his room. The guards on patrol never saw him coming out of the room, let alone leaving Xie mansion. It could be described as bizarre to the extreme for a large living person to just vanish.

That being said, the reason why the Wang family dared to buckle this shit pot* on Xie family's head was nothing more than the whip mark. Hence, he had approached someone and understood that it was indeed very similar to Xie Peng's skills yet as it happened, Xie Peng was also missing at this time. Someone must be playing tricks behind this and the purpose is to bring down their Xie family. One has to know that Wang Feng is the brother-in-law of the country and the charge of murdering the kinsmen or relatives of the Emperor is not a joke. Should this be substantiated, the entire Xie family will still be punished even if they escape death.

[T/N: 屎盆子 (Shǐ pénzi) - metaphor for notoriety or bad things / slander.]

The aging face of Xie Yuan glowed and dimmed alternately under the bronze palace lantern, seemingly brewing up countermeasures when the window shadow shifted suddenly, as if a cluster of black fog floated by. He immediately shouted vigilantly, "Who is there?"

The shadow stopped at the door and replied in a low voice, "Uncle, it's me."

Xie Yuan narrowed his dark eyes and said after a moment of silence, "Come in."

Hearing that, the person pushed open the reddish brown partition door. While the shadows of the trees outside danced, the moonlight that poured through the gaps reflected the person's slender figure clearly. He was seen stepping into the room steadily and closing the door in passing before bowing to greet Xie Yuan.