Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 39: The Dutiful Son (a very large chapter of 5,000 words)

Calculate!

Everyone is calculating.

The Yang family is plotting against Ningguo.

Song Yan was plotting the lives of everyone in the Duke's Mansion.

Yang Shi, Yang Siyao is plotting the title of Duke of Song.

Song Yun was plotting against his mother.

Song Yun was angry that Yang favored Song Zhen.

He knew that as long as his mother still had a say in the Duke's Mansion, no one could snatch the position of Duke from Song Zhen.

Why?
We are all legitimate sons of the Song family, so why shouldn’t I be qualified?
If it was his eldest brother Song Huai, Song Yun could barely accept it. After all, he was the eldest son of the Song family. It was reasonable and logical that the future head of the family and the position of Duke should belong to his eldest brother.

But who is Song Zhen?
I'm not willing to accept it.

Since you are unwilling to give up, you can only fight for it with your own hands.

Of course, although Song Yun is not as smart as Song Zhe, he is more cautious. He will not do many things personally, such as instigating Song Zhen, the brainless idiot, at the wedding ceremony.

Song Yun didn't know when he started to have this idea. He played the role of a well-behaved, intelligent and filial son in the Duke's Mansion, but he was secretly cultivating his own power.

This is not an easy task. So far, there are only dozens of people under his command who are trustworthy, loyal, and willing to risk their lives for him.

Some of these people were stationed in the Duke's Mansion, serving as guards and servants, while others were active in Ningping County and Songzhou Prefecture.

For example, the six people in front of us were originally a group of bandits who were wiped out. Because they committed many evil deeds and had many deaths on their hands, they were going to be beheaded.

Song Yun bribed the jailer to replace them with other prisoners, sparing their lives. Their wives and children were also arranged elsewhere by Song Yun, so their loyalty was completely unquestionable.

"If it's just Song Yan and Gu Banxia isn't around, are we still going to take action?" The leader took the banknote and asked cautiously.

A trace of gloom flashed across Song Yun's eyes. After a brief silence, he said, "Do it."

No matter how mature Song Yun was, he was old enough that he couldn't bear it this time, just because his fiancée, Song Yan, whom he had been halfway to marry, was gone.

It was at the night market, in front of the gate of Qun Yu Garden, that his engagement was broken off in front of countless scholars and literati. Whenever Song Yun thought of the scene of that day, he felt depressed, like a ulcer attached to the bone, or a fishbone stuck in his throat.

He actually quite likes Meng Lingling.

If you ruin my marriage, I will send your woman to Fang Jun's bed.

Song Yun thought so.

Of course, he would make careful arrangements, and it would be great if it succeeded. With Song Yan's death, the depression in his heart could finally be released.

That banknote was enough to make people suspect the mother.

The mother had already killed three of her half-brothers, so she had enough reasons and motives to kill Song Yan.

Luo Yuheng is not a reasonable person, and things are bound to get out of hand. Even if his mother can finally get away with it, she will probably no longer have any say in the Duke's Mansion. In this way, Song Zhen will lose his greatest support.

If you fail, that's okay.

Song Yan would find the banknote from the corpse himself.

Aunt Mei Xue died at the hands of my mother.

Song Yan naturally wanted to take revenge, and even if he noticed that there was something strange about the silver note and that someone had deliberately designed it, he would never let go of this opportunity.

This ninth brother is by no means as cowardly as the Duke's Mansion appears to be. He is like a poisonous snake, lying in wait and waiting for the moment to strike with a deadly poison.

One has a criminal record, the other has a vengeance for the murder of his mother.

The evidence may be a bit contrived, but so what?

And he is the oriole. No matter what the outcome is, there will only be benefits and no harm for him.

What's more, because of my mother's behavior these days, my eldest brother and two cousins ​​were dismissed from their official positions, and my second uncle also wrote a letter to blame my father for not being able to control the rear house, which made my father more and more dissatisfied with my mother.

How could Song Yun not add fuel to the fire when faced with such a rare opportunity to drag his mother into trouble?

Of course, if he could really become the crown prince and inherit the title of Duke, he would definitely be filial to his mother.

He swore.

Thinking of this, Song Yun couldn't help but smile.

It’s just a pity for Yang Siyao. It was such a waste for her to marry Song Zhen.

For some reason, Song Yun suddenly thought of that quiet woman.

His brows furrowed slightly. If he married Yang Siyao...

Los House.

After returning home, Song Yan first put away the eggs and brown sugar he had bought. Then he took out the yellow paper that Butler Wang had given him and looked at it carefully for a long time.

"Is my mother-in-law home?"

Gu Banxia covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "The Princess wants you to call her mother. If she hears you call her mother-in-law, I'm afraid she will be sad again."

Although the two were undoubtedly mother-in-law and son-in-law in terms of status, Luo Yuheng, despite being the elder, stubbornly believed that the title "mother" was much more appropriate than "mother-in-law".

Thinking about the contact with Luo Yuheng during this period, if Luo Yuheng heard it, he would probably be really sad, and might even hide away and wipe his tears alone.

There is a layer of black line on the forehead.

Gu Banxia has also become much bolder, and now she even dares to make jokes about her brother-in-law.

In order to re-establish his authority as the son-in-law, Song Yan raised his right hand viciously and slapped Gu Banxia on the buttocks as a punishment.

Gu Banxia shook her head while laughing, indicating that Luo Yuheng was not at home at the moment.

Song Yan seriously suspected that his mother-in-law might have had a tryst with her old lover. Strangely enough, although Song Yan had lived in the Luo family for some time, she had never seen that man since that day and night.

Could it be...

Song Yan quickly suppressed the speculations that kept popping up in his mind, and walked in one direction. After arriving at a yard, Gu Banxia and Kong Chan, who had been following Song Yan, stopped consciously.

The location is a bit remote, and even though there is scorching sun overhead, this yard gives people an indescribable feeling of eeriness.

There were a few guards in the courtyard, but it was unusually quiet, without a sound. They were the same people who had helped dispose of Yang Guifang's body on their wedding night. They were probably the ones who specialized in dirty work in the Luo Mansion.

In matters like interrogation, unless it is of a particularly urgent nature, continuous punishment will not have much effect on those with strong will.

It may even arouse rebellious psychology.

If you are not careful, you might kill someone and the clue will be lost.

Leave the other party some time to rest. The blank space in between should be like heaven, which can make the hell of punishment more terrifying.

These guards had already received instructions from Luo Tianshu. When they saw Song Yan appear, they did not stop him. Instead, they bowed to him and immediately opened a door. One of them led Song Yan in. It was like a scene often seen in TV dramas and novels, where there was a mechanism under a table. When it was opened, there was a passage leading to the underground.

The air circulation is poor and it feels a little stuffy, but not so bad that you can't breathe.

There is no need to underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Although they did not know about oxygen, they understood that they would die if they could not breathe. An absolutely sealed and airtight chamber would not really exist. Even a dungeon like this would have ventilation facilities that could meet the most basic breathing needs, and even lighting a torch would not be a big deal.

The air was filled with a foul stench. With the light of the torch in his hand, he could even clearly see countless tiny granular substances floating in the air.

I fanned my nose gently with my hands, but it was no use.

Faintly, one could hear the faint sound of rapid breathing. There were only three people in the basement.

Mrs. Liang is Liang Qiaofeng, Mrs. Xiao is Xiao Cuilan, and Mrs. Lai is Lai Qiuju.

Bah, bah, bah...

The footsteps were not obvious, but they were particularly harsh in this silent dungeon.

The three old women were awakened instantly, and the next moment, they began to scream and struggle nervously, and the sound of chains crackling could be heard.

Before turning the corner, Song Yan had already guessed what the three old women were like now.

He was probably tortured a lot.

After finally walking down the last staircase and turning a corner, everything in the dungeon appeared in front of Song Yan under the illumination of the torch.

Tsk.

It can be seen that the three old women have received extremely warm hospitality in the past few days.

In just a few days, the three of them lost a lot of weight, and one could even see the outline of their bones under their wrinkled skin.

Their arms and necks were hung with chains and they were forced to stand on the ground, with only their toes providing some support.

Their originally neatly combed hair became disheveled, their faces were unkempt, and they emitted a strong stench. One could even see mosquitoes, flies and other creatures crawling all over their bodies. As the three people moved, they would fly up with a buzzing sound, forming a black mass.

It might even make you think you've accidentally stumbled into a summer cesspool.

The skirt she was wearing, which originally looked simple but was actually made of fine materials, was now in tatters.

At first glance, the three old women seemed to have no external injuries, at least not recently. There was no bloody scene of torn skin and flesh, but judging from the extremely frightened looks in their eyes, the torture they had endured was probably even more horrific than torn skin and flesh.

There was no hope in their eyes, only unrelieved fear.

Song Yan couldn't help but be curious: "What on earth did you do to them?"

The security guard who followed him spread his hands and said, "I didn't do anything. I just beat them. Later, when I realized that beating them didn't work, I smeared some honey on them and let in some mosquitoes, flies, ants, and cockroaches..."

Song Yan probably knew where the dark brown spots on his dirty clothes came from.

Being bitten by an ant doesn't hurt much.

But when there are a hundred or a thousand ants crawling on your body, the feeling is different.

If there were a thousand cockroaches, a thousand mosquitoes, a thousand flies...

Just thinking about that scene made Song Yan feel creepy, especially when he saw the horde of cockroaches that quickly crawled down from the three old women after sensing the movement and disappeared into the corners and cracks of the wall. Song Yan felt goose bumps all over his body.

Oh my god, look at these cockroaches, they are as big as thumbs and can fly...

If hundreds or thousands of huge cockroaches appear at once, he will also be scared.

"What's your name?"

"Jiang Zhongcheng." The guard answered immediately.

Song Yan couldn't help but admire: "He is a talent."

Jiang Zhongcheng smiled shyly: "Sir, you are too kind."

I don’t know if there is an East Factory in Ningguo. That place really needs this kind of talent.

"Who is Liang Qiaofeng?" Song Yan asked in a soft voice after letting out a breath.

They were recognizable before, but now the three old women are in such a bad condition that they are difficult to tell apart.

No one answered, but the two old ladies on the left and right looked at the person in the middle. It seemed to be her. Song Yan waved his hand: "Put her down and give her something to eat."

Jiang Zhongcheng immediately put Liang Qiaofeng down and shouted outside. Soon, a bowl of millet porridge was placed in front of Liang Qiaofeng.

Liang Qiaofeng's eyes were still dull as she stared at Song Yan blankly, as if she didn't understand what Song Yan was trying to do.

"The information you provided before is very valuable. This is a reward for you. Eat it." Song Yan said softly with a faint smile on his face.

The gentle tone seemed to have invisibly dispelled Liang Qiaofeng's fear, and then she pounced on the bowl of millet rice, not caring about the dirt on her hands and mouth, and picked up the bowl and started to drink it.

Even if it's very hot, I don't care much.

Xiao Cuilan and Lai Qiuju didn't expect that Liang Qiaofeng was not beaten, but was rewarded with food. They were envious and jealous for a moment. Song Yan could even hear the sound of their throats moving and swallowing saliva.

A bowl of millet porridge was finished in a few bites. She scraped the bowl with her fingers, leaving not even a last grain of millet. At this moment, Liang Qiaofeng looked at Song Yan with gratitude. She seemed to have forgotten who sent her here to suffer, and was just grateful to Song Yan for giving her food.

I don't know if this is Stockholm syndrome.

"Here, people who are valuable will get better treatment."

"Because Liang Qiaofeng provided me with the information, this is a reward for her. So, have you thought of anything in the past few days?"

The peaceful sound echoed in the dungeon, and the surroundings fell into a brief silence.

Suddenly, it was Liang Qiaofeng again. Perhaps because she was a gossipy person, she always knew a little more information than others.

At this moment, loyalty to the mistress and the master is all bullshit. Liang Qiaofeng just wants to have a bowl of millet porridge every day and not be beaten.

They had not been in contact with the Song family for a long time. Yang and Song Hongtao must have known that something had happened to them, but the imagined rescue did not appear. Even a fool would understand that they had been abandoned.

What's the point of loyalty now that you've been abandoned?
As for Xiao Cuilan and Lai Qiuju, they didn't say a word. I don't know whether they really didn't know or remained loyal to their master.

"Reporting to the young master, I think I remembered something..." Liang Qiaofeng said tremblingly.

Song Yan's smile remained unchanged: "What's the matter?"

"Your mother... Aunt Mei... Aunt Mei Xue was probably killed by Song Zhe."

Song Yan's pupils suddenly contracted: "What did you say?"

For the first time, Song Yan's face showed fluctuations.

Liang Qiaofeng was startled and screamed, curling up into a ball and trembling: "Don't hit me, don't hit me, what I said is true."

Song Yan also realized that he had lost his composure. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the restlessness that suddenly surged in his heart, and asked Liang Qiaofeng in a calm voice, "Don't be afraid. Tell me what you know."

With Song Yan's comfort, Liang Qiaofeng recovered a little. Although she was still trembling, she could at least speak: "Actually, I overheard it by accident."

"After Aunt Meixue went crazy, Yang became suspicious."

"We once arranged for people to conduct various tests and finally concluded that Aunt Mei Xue was truly insane."

"Given Yang's personality, whether she's crazy or not doesn't really make much difference. She'll both be dealt with. However, at that time, two concubines had already died in the Duke's Mansion. If Concubine Mei Xue died too, who knows what kind of gossip would spread outside."

"Plus, Yang felt that a concubine who had gone mad was not much of a threat. Keeping Mei Xue would also give her a good reputation for a peaceful harem, so she ignored her."

"Until one day, Sixth Young Master Song Zhe suddenly found Yang and said..."

Liang Qiaofeng's throat moved slightly, as if she was recalling what Song Zhe had said that day: "He said, I passed by the garden and saw the gardener weeding, so I asked the gardener why there were still weeds every year even though they were weeding every year."

“The gardener replied: It’s because the root has not been removed.”

"Three days later, Aunt Mei Xue died of a sudden illness."

Here is a long chapter of 5,000 words. If you have tickets, please give them to me. Thank you.

I updated 8,000 words today, which is not a small amount for a new book.

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(End of this chapter)