Jinzhou Governor's Office.
Mr. Xie has been sitting there all day and has not seen Mr. Gu yet.
At first, he was quite tough.
His eldest brother is an official of the Eastern Palace and a popular figure in the court.
Gu Jiu hurt Xie Xian. When he meets Lord Gu, Gu's brother-in-law, he will definitely ask him how he raised his daughter.
Not only did she hurt someone, she also dared to provoke him. The two families need to settle this account.
As time passed little by little, from morning to noon, from noon to afternoon, and from afternoon to evening, Lord Gu still did not show up. Master Xie could no longer hold it in and finally panicked.
He has an elder brother, Xie Mao, while Lord Gu has an uncle, Marquis Pingnan.
Moreover, Mr. Gu is a veteran in the court. Even His Majesty has to give him some face.
Thinking deeply, Mr. Xie suddenly realized that his bargaining chips were vulnerable in front of Lord Gu.
The crown prince is just a prince and has not yet ascended the throne to become emperor.
Lord Gu can give face to the Eastern Palace or not; it all depends on his heart.
Thinking about it this way, Lord Gu's reluctance to show up is a way to intimidate him.
Master Xie was in a panic.
He was trapped in the yamen for a whole day. No news from outside could come in, and he couldn't get out. What should he do?
Should we just surrender and let Lord Gu do whatever he wants?
Master Xie walked to the door and pushed it open.
The bailiffs stood guard at the door, blocking the way.
Master Xie put on a serious face, "Get out of the way! Do you know who I am? I am your master brother-in-law. You adults must be polite when you see me."
"Please ask Master Xie to go back to his room. Without the permission of the master, Master Xie is not allowed to step out of the room." The bailiff ignored Master Xie's shouting and repeated Master Gu's instructions in a serious manner.
Master Xie was furious. "How dare you! You could be punished for your actions with just one word, believe it or not."
The yamen runner smiled coldly, "If Second Master Xie doesn't obey your orders, don't blame us for being rude."
"You, what do you want to do?"
When Mr. Xie saw the bailiff draw his sword, he was horrified.
The yamen runner said indifferently, "Please thank the second master and go back to your room."
Master Xie retreated again and again, "You are simply lawless. I want to see Gu Zhili! Gu Zhili, come out. What do you mean by locking me up here? Aren't you afraid of being punished by my eldest brother?"
"How could I not know that an official from the Eastern Palace dared to ask about local affairs? Aren't you afraid of being punished by His Majesty?"
Lord Gu Zhili walked leisurely to the signing room, followed by a group of people.
The first one to take the lead was Gu Quan, the steward of the Gu family.
When Mr. Xie saw Lord Gu appear, he felt guilty for a moment and then jumped up again.
He pointed at Lord Gu and asked angrily, "Gu Zhili, what do you mean? Why do you want to lock me up here?"
Lord Gu stepped over the threshold and walked into the signing room.
Gu Quan also followed in.
Others stayed outside the door.
Lord Gu sat directly in the main seat and winked at Gu Quan.
Gu Quan understood what he meant and walked forward and said to Second Master Xie, "Your servant of the Xie family, they are so bold that they dared to steal Buddhist treasures from Tianmen Temple. The mastermind is you and your son. Second Master Xie, what crime should you be punished for?"
"You, you are slandering me." Master Xie was horrified.
Gu Quan smiled contemptuously and took out the confessions of the servants. "Your servants of the Xie family have already confessed. Master Xie, you still dare to quibble. Aren't you afraid that my master will punish you?"
Master Xie's pupils dilated as he stared at the confession in Gu Quan's hand. "You, this is a frame-up. I want to go to the capital and file a complaint with the emperor."
Master Gu had a stern face and snorted coldly, "The evidence is irrefutable, yet he still dares to roar and make noise, defying the law. Come, drag Master Xie out and give him thirty lashes first."
"Yes, sir!"
A group of Yamen runners rushed in and dragged Master Xie out.
Master Xie was finally frightened. His legs were shaking with fear, and his face turned pale.
"I know I was wrong. I was wrong! Brother-in-law, no, Lord Gu, please forgive me."
Lord Gu waved his hand, and the bailiff dragged Master Xie away but did not continue to walk out.
Lord Gu had a stern face, and he looked intimidating without even getting angry.
"Xie Tiao, do you really admit your guilt?"
"The common people know their sins."
At this point, Second Master Xie has finally figured it out. He can only give in and resolve the current crisis before planning for the future.
Lord Gu snorted coldly. "Under the three-foot-long tree, I'm not afraid that you won't surrender."
Lord Gu waved his hand, and the bailiffs let go of Second Master Xie.
Master Xie's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.
Lord Gu drunk his tea and said nothing.
Gu Quan came to Master Xie Er with a stack of documents.
"Second Master, please sign these documents."
Mr. Xie was confused at first, but when he saw the contents of the document clearly, he was shocked.
Seizure, stolen goods, violation of the law, confiscation.
Every single one of them, every single one of them, was trying to kill him.
"Master Gu, you are trying to kill them all!"
Gu Quan angrily scolded, "How dare you, a commoner like you, slander the reputation of a master? Aren't you afraid of death?"
Gu Quan secretly glanced at Master Gu and then said viciously, "You are a guilty person, and it is right to confiscate your property. Leaving you travel expenses is already a special favor from my master because of our relationship. If you don't understand, you will be severely punished."
Second Master Xie stared at Lord Gu. "Lord Gu, are you doing this to my sister? Aren't you afraid that my eldest brother will inquire about this?"
Lord Gu snorted coldly, "You and your son, how dare you plot to harm me in my territory?
I have not executed you, which has given your Xie family enough face.
If you are not convinced, just tell Xie Mao about this and let him use whatever means he has, and I will take over."
"You are just officials of the Eastern Palace. Am I afraid of you?"
"You, you…"
Master Xie gritted his teeth and roared, "You are so cruel!"
Lord Gu sneered, "I am just giving him a taste of his own medicine. If you dare to play tricks under my nose, you should be aware of this."
"I, I... I admit defeat this time. When I reach the capital in the future, I will definitely..."
"What do you want?" Lord Gu looked at Master Xie with contempt. "You are just a commoner. It would be no harder for me to crush you than to crush an ant. If you didn't have a good brother, you and your son would have lost your heads long ago just based on what you did."
Second Master Xie looked up at Master Gu and said, "Do you really want to kill us all? Don't forget, my sister gave birth to two sons and two daughters for you."
"Don't worry about my wife. I have already reminded her that she will draw a clear line between you and me from now on. If you try to use my wife for personal gain again, I will cut off your hand."
Master Xie was completely at his wit's end.
He finally realized that this brother-in-law Gu was a ruthless person.
Be cruel to yourself and even crueler to others.
He is also greedy and eats in an ugly way.
He actually used this as an excuse to try to swallow up all of Xie family's assets in Jinzhou.
What a vicious mind, what cruel means.
Master Xie burst into laughter. "Master Gu, you win. Can I leave now?"
Gu Quan handed the pen forward.
Mr. Xie picked up the pen and signed his name.
Gu Quan took back the document and said, "The temple in Jinzhou is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like Second Master. Second Master, please take everyone away from Jinzhou within two days. If you fail to do so, the yamen runners outside the gate will personally ask you to leave."
Master Xie gnashed his teeth and said, "Good, very good. I finally understand that you two, master and servant, are a pair of jackals."
Gu Quan said seriously, "Please be careful with your words, Second Master. Otherwise, I will charge you with slandering your superiors."
Master Xie gritted his teeth, his throat felt fishy and sweet, and he almost vomited blood.
He stared at Lord Gu intently. He will always remember this moment and will never forget it for the rest of his life.
It's the first time in more than ten years since the eldest brother Xie Mao became an official of the Eastern Palace that the second master Xie has suffered such a big setback. He is not willing to accept this!
But since we are on someone else's land, what can we do even if we are unwilling?
Master Xie bowed and said, "Goodbye!"
After saying that, he turned and left.