BDSMST -Chapter 77 The Doubts Surrounding the Xie Family’s Wrongful Case

Winter days were always short, and nightfall blanketed Woniu Village early.

The study remained brightly lit.

After listening to the explanation of military formations, Gu Xuan had gone back to his room, yawning as he left. Jiang Suisui had finished half a book and was just about to rise and take her leave.

“Wait,” Gu Yan called out to her.

She turned back and saw him pull a yellowed dossier from a stack of confidential letters. His expression was more solemn than she had ever seen.

“This is…?” She walked over and noticed the bold characters on the cover: Case of Xie Zi’an Colluding with the Enemy and Treason.

“It’s Shen Qinghe’s file—Xie Zi’an’s case,” Gu Yan said, handing it to her. “I asked Steward Fu to use some old connections to copy it from the archives of the Court of Judicial Review.”

Jiang Suisui accepted the dossier, her heart sinking.

When she had saved Xie Zi’an, it was out of momentary compassion and admiration for his agricultural talent. She knew he carried injustice on his shoulders, but she had never intended to actively touch a case involving “treason.”

Because she understood that behind such a charge lay tangled roots of power and interests. One careless move could mean utter destruction.

She opened the file and began scanning it quickly.

The records were concise.

Three years ago, Xie Zi’an, then a Supervising Official of the Ministry of Works in charge of state farmlands, had been ordered to inspect military agricultural colonies in the northern borderlands, tasked with planning grain self-sufficiency for the frontier army.

Yet during his inspection, the Beiman forces suddenly tore up their treaty. Skirting around Blackstone Pass, they launched a surprise attack on the rear grain stronghold—Yunzhou City—through a little-known hidden path.

Yunzhou fell overnight. Three hundred thousand shi of military grain stored there were burned to ashes.

The northern border army fell into a three-month grain shortage, suffering heavy casualties.

The court was enraged and launched a strict investigation. In the end, all evidence pointed to Xie Zi’an.

Witnesses claimed they had seen his attendant secretly meeting with Beiman spies. During a search, officials discovered a detailed map among Xie Zi’an’s belongings—one that clearly marked Yunzhou’s defensive weaknesses and the hidden path used in the attack.

With both witnesses and material evidence in place, Xie Zi’an was convicted of treason. The emperor ordered the execution of his entire clan.

If not for the desperate intervention of the Earl of Dingbei—who pledged his family’s century of military merit as collateral—and the coincidental recovery of the Crown Prince from a severe illness that led to a general amnesty, Xie Zi’an would have already lost his head. Even so, the Xie family was stripped of their property and exiled, and Xie Zi’an himself “accidentally died” during the journey into exile.

Jiang Suisui felt her pulse quicken as she read. On the surface, the case appeared ironclad—flawless.

“Where are the doubts?” she asked, lifting her gaze to Gu Yan.

Gu Yan extended a finger and tapped on an inconspicuous location in the file.

“Here.”

She leaned closer. Three characters were written there: Langya Valley.

“Langya Valley?” The name was unfamiliar to her.

“It’s a treacherous area outside Blackstone Pass in the northern borderlands,” Gu Yan said in a low voice. “Steep terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack. It’s long been controlled by our Great Xia scouting battalion—an important forward post for monitoring Beiman movements. According to the dossier, the Beiman army passed through a secret route near Langya Valley to circle behind Yunzhou.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“The problem is,” Gu Yan’s eyes sharpened, “a month before Yunzhou fell, I personally led troops to clear Langya Valley. At that time, we discovered that Beiman had secretly constructed numerous defensive structures and hidden sentry posts in the valley. The scale far exceeded ordinary probing harassment—it looked like preparations for a large-scale military operation.”

“I immediately sensed something was wrong. I reported it to the Ministry of War and recommended that the court dispatch reinforcements and strengthen defenses along Blackstone Pass’s flank—especially toward Yunzhou.”

Jiang Suisui’s heart clenched. “And then?”

Gu Yan’s lips curled into a cold smile. “And then? My memorial sank like a stone into the sea—no reply. The Ministry of War responded that the northern frontier was stable and told me not to exaggerate dangers and disturb military morale. Half a month later, a newly appointed military supervisor arrived at Blackstone Pass. In name, he was to assist me. In reality, he obstructed me at every turn and stripped away much of my command authority.”

In an instant, Jiang Suisui understood.

“Someone… deliberately suppressed your warning.”

“Not just suppressed,” a cold glint flashed through Gu Yan’s eyes. “Thinking back now, they likely already knew of Beiman’s plan and were paving the way for it. They needed a scapegoat—to cover up the true reason for Yunzhou’s fall, and the real whereabouts of those three hundred thousand shi of military grain.”

Three hundred thousand shi of grain.

Jiang Suisui sucked in a sharp breath. The dossier claimed the grain had been burned to ashes—but if this had all been a conspiracy, then that batch of grain…

“You mean the grain was never burned at all—but embezzled and sold to Beiman?”

“It’s possible,” Gu Yan said gravely. “Three hundred thousand shi would be enough to sustain an elite force of fifty thousand Beiman soldiers through a frozen winter. And three years ago, after acquiring that grain, Beiman did indeed launch their fiercest offensive that winter. In that battle, nearly half of my thirty thousand men at Blackstone Pass died.”

His voice remained steady, yet Jiang Suisui could feel the towering rage and grief simmering beneath it.

For private gain, colluding with the enemy, sacrificing comrades, causing tens of thousands of soldiers to die on the battlefield—what monstrous depravity.

“And Xie Zi’an…” Jiang Suisui murmured, staring at the name in the dossier. “He was the perfect scapegoat. Newly arrived at the northern frontier, unfamiliar with military affairs, a civil official with no deep-rooted backing. Most importantly, his inspection route happened to cover that region. Framing him would have been seamless.”

Gu Yan nodded. “So to clear Xie Zi’an’s name, the key isn’t overturning the so-called witnesses and physical evidence. It’s finding the true destination of that grain shipment three years ago—and the traitor within the court who colluded with Beiman.”

Jiang Suisui’s fingers felt cold.

She finally understood how terrifying this case truly was. It was no ordinary miscarriage of justice. Behind it lay a sky-reaching conspiracy of treason—one capable of shaking the very foundation of the nation.

Anyone capable of orchestrating this must hold immense power within the court.

“Who do you suspect?” she asked, looking at him.

Gu Yan fell silent for a long moment before slowly speaking a name.

“Marquis Anyuan—Li Ji.”

Marquis Anyuan.

The husband of Madam Li—the same woman who had once sent people to humiliate Jiang Suisui.

Her heart thudded heavily.

“Marquis Anyuan? He oversees the nation’s salt and iron—he’s from the Ministry of Revenue. What does he have to do with the Ministry of War or the northern frontier?”

“Because three years ago, the military supervisor who replaced me in managing northern military affairs—and who was solely responsible for handling the Yunzhou case—was his nephew,” Gu Yan replied, his gaze as deep as the sea. “And during those years, the Anyuan Marquisate’s illicit salt business flourished, amassing enormous wealth. Do you truly think smuggling salt alone could build such a vast fortune?”

Salt, iron, and grain—during wartime, all were critical strategic resources. Those connected in one supply chain dealing in another—it was almost logical.

A clear yet chilling chain of clues slowly formed in Jiang Suisui’s mind.

She looked at Gu Yan and suddenly realized that showing her this dossier was not merely about revealing the truth of the case.

“What… what are you planning to do?” she asked uneasily.

Gu Yan met her gaze, eyes blazing. “I want to uncover the truth. I owe it to the more than ten thousand brothers who died—to give them justice. And I owe Xie Zi’an his innocence.”

“But this is too dangerous!” Jiang Suisui blurted instinctively. “Your opponent is Marquis Anyuan! His power runs deep, and there may be even higher figures behind him! Your military authority has been stripped away—you only have some of Father’s old connections left. How can you fight them? It’s like throwing an egg against a stone!”

“I know.” Yet Gu Yan’s expression remained extraordinarily calm. “But some things must be done, even if they seem impossible. My life was bought with the lives of those ten thousand brothers. I cannot let them die in vain.”

There was an unshakable resolve in his words.

Jiang Suisui looked at him—at the flame burning in his eyes, the flame called conviction—and found herself unable to voice further objections.

She knew this was the real Gu Yan. The man who had guarded the nation’s borders for ten years, striking fear into his enemies. He might stumble clumsily along a field ridge, but he would never retreat a single step when it came to matters of nation and righteousness.

After a long silence, she closed the dossier and pushed it back to him.

“Alright,” she said softly, yet her voice carried equal strength. “I’ll help you.”