Miss Guo Zhiyan was already well past the customary age for marriage. Because the Guo family did not think much of her chosen suitor, a poor scholar, they pressured her to marry someone else. Guo Zhiyan, however, possessed a fierce and unyielding nature and refused to submit. A while back, she had even run away from home, intending to head to the Capital City to find that scholar.
On the way, she heard rumors that her father had been implicated in a case of embezzling disaster relief funds and grain, so she turned back to Muyuan Prefecture. Unfortunately, she encountered assassins along the way; after a fierce struggle, she managed to escape. Upon returning to Muyuan Prefecture, she was devastated to learn that her father had supposedly committed suicide to escape punishment. Along with her grief came a tidal wave of fury. Guo Zhiyan knew her father was innocent. He would never have taken his own life out of guilt; someone must have forced him.
Determined to clear her father’s name, she quickly steeled herself. She had once heard her father mention that the Xie family, led by Xie Jinliang, held immense power in Muyuan Prefecture, effectively controlling everything behind the scenes, and were even in league with the bandits of Heming Mountain. Xie Jinliang himself was a man who abused his power and acted without restraint. Her father had never dared to act against him, fearing the influence Xie had behind him.
Chapter 120