Chapter 71 - The Value of Yang Siyao

Perhaps because his own life was on the line, the originally stupid Song Zhen's mind became exceptionally agile at this moment.

Song Yun was already dead. Why cut off his neck? Could it be deliberately to leave a signal, to tell me, 'I know everything you've done'?

That guy chose to cut off Song Yun's head instead of directly reporting it to the officials, which means he actually wants to get something from me.

Money?

In that case, there's a chance.

Although it's a huge problem, before I have completely satisfied the other party's appetite, it's impossible for him to expose this matter. That is to say, for a short period of time, I am still safe.

And this kind of person's gulf of desire can never be filled. As long as I kill him while he is demanding money, then I can rest easy.

Thinking this, Song Zhen calmed down.

The most important thing right now is to pin the crime of killing Song Yun on Song Yan's head. As long as I can kill Song Yan, it will all be worth it.

"My son..."

Just then, a sound like a mourning wail came from the side. It was Song Hongtao, who had suddenly thrown himself on Song Yun's corpse and was wailing loudly, his voice and tears flowing together.

Song Yan shook his head.

You're overacting, you're overacting.

You're a Duke.

A noble like him values propriety the most. No matter how much grief he feels, he wouldn't show it too much in front of outsiders. Especially that dry, cracking sound of his voice. Although he was crying very hard, one couldn't actually hear much grief in it.

Who knows, maybe right now Song Hongtao is already about to burst out laughing in his heart. It really is hard on him to still be able to cry out loud under these circumstances.

This person, Song Hongtao, was actually a bit complex. If you say he's smart, it's all just petty cleverness. If you say he's foolish, sometimes his brain still has a flash of insight.

Ever since being told about the affair between Yang Miaoqing and Song Jincheng, Song Hongtao actually hadn't completely believed it…

In Song Yan's view, it was more likely out of a man's pitiful self-esteem, unwilling to believe that his wife was fooling around with his younger brother.

Therefore, Song Hongtao had arranged for Butler Wang to conduct a careful investigation at Suhua Temple.

As expected, Butler Wang found a room in Suhua Temple that was exclusively used by Yang Miaoqing for her trysts with Song Jincheng. He also found some rather erotic clothing.

It is said that when Song Hongtao saw these things, he seemed to fantasize about the scene of Yang Miaoqing putting on these clothes, which even a brothel prostitute would be ashamed to wear, and striking coquettish poses in front of Song Jincheng. Then he directly vomited three liters of blood and almost couldn't catch his breath.

What was even more coincidental was that there was a monk in Suhua Temple. This monk was an improper one, who most loved to peep at and even record the scenes of those noble ladies' illicit affairs with their lovers.

When he saw that record, Song Hongtao was as furious as a rabid mad dog. That damned Yang Miaoqing, that bitch, at her most frequent, she actually fooled around with Song Jincheng for seven consecutive days, seven or eight times a day.

Are you donkeys?

Moreover, before each child was conceived, there was a record of an affair with Song Jincheng.

Adding on some small details that Butler Wang occasionally remembered, Song Hongtao was now completely convinced that all eight of Yang Shi's sons were not his seed.

At that moment, the sky was about to collapse.

Seeing those twitching shoulders, Song Yan believed that Song Hongtao must be having a very hard time holding it in. But he was a professional. No matter how funny it was, he would not laugh.

"Father, please restrain your grief. Seventh Brother is already gone. You mustn't let anything happen to your own health. The Duke's mansion still needs you to support it."

Song Yan comforted him well, coordinating with Song Hongtao to perform a scene of 'a benevolent father and a filial son.'

Song Hongtao also used this as an opportunity to get up. There was no helping it; he really couldn't howl anymore.

There was another person on the scene, and that was Yang Siyao. Her brow was tightly furrowed.

Everything was clearly proceeding according to plan, yet there was an inexplicable sense of oppression in her chest. She felt as if something was wrong somewhere.

She had just arrived in Songzhou. Although she had met with Song Zhen, there had always been yamen runners around, so she hadn't had a chance to ask about the specific details. The only thing she knew was that the four people arranged to be by Song Zhen's side had all been killed overnight.

Not just these four.

To make Song Zhen the Heir Apparent, the Yang family had invested heavily this time. Besides these four, there were another seven people.

These seven had not entered the Duke's mansion but were hidden in Ningping County.

In the end, in the space of a single noon, all of them had died.

It was as if someone were watching the Yang family. For every person the Yang family sent, they would kill one.

And the other party struck ruthlessly and was powerfully strong. All of them were killed with a single blow. There weren't even any traces of a fight left at the scene.

The seven of them all had their heads crushed…

It must be a highly skilled martial artist. After all, the skull is still very hard. Women have an insurmountable gap with men in terms of strength, and it is the same even for martial artists. Therefore, female martial artists mostly focus on cultivating internal force, lightness skills, and techniques.

Male martial artists, on the other hand, have a much wider variety of styles, and there are not a few who focus on cultivating the physical body. Therefore, it was highly probable that the one secretly killing the Yang family's masters was a tall and sturdy man.

But she didn't know who that person was, or when the Yang family had provoked such a powerful enemy. What made Yang Siyao even more puzzled was that everyone had been killed, and only she had survived.

The other party couldn't possibly not know her identity. The only possibility was that she still had some value to the other party.

But how to determine this value was another problem. She considered her looks to be ordinary. Although she wasn't ugly, she could at most be considered upper-middle. To get a 'pleasant to look at' rating was already pretty good. Her status in the Yang family wasn't high either, and she didn't have much of a say. If there was anything of value, it was probably the seduction arts she cultivated.

Could it be that the other party saw her identity as a disciple of the Hehuan Sect and was proficient in the art of dual cultivation, and that was why he spared her life? This made a strong sense of crisis rise in Yang Siyao's heart.

"Brother Song, the dead cannot be resurrected. Please restrain your grief. Why don't we move to the front hall first?" Fang Hai sighed and consoled him.

Although it was an investigation, for noble families, the proper etiquette could not be dispensed with.

Bailiffs brought up tea soup.

Although Song Yan was a live-in son-in-law, now everyone could see the degree of importance Luo Yuheng placed on him, so he naturally had a seat.

After taking a sip first, Fang Hai finally said slowly.

“Brother Song, ever since we received the report, I, along with Sima Wu, Vice Magistrate Ji, and Vice Prefect Lu, have been busy with this case. Up until now, we haven't even had a single bite to eat."

"After our meticulous investigation, we have come to a preliminary conclusion. This should be an impromptu murder for money."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Song Zhen, Yang Miaoqing, and Yang Siyao all changed.

Seriously? Four people conduct a meticulous investigation, and this is the result they come up with? Murder for money?

"This is impossible," Song Zhen roared, as if by subconscious reaction.

Damn it, he was trying to divert the blame onto Song Yan's head. What's this about murder for money?

Fang Hai slowly put down his teacup. Even after being contradicted in public by a junior, he showed no signs of anger at all. The corners of his mouth just curled up.

"Oh? Why is it impossible?"

This kind of person was the most difficult to deal with, because you never knew what he was really thinking in his heart.

Song Zhen froze, and then suddenly thought of something:

"Right, the things? What about the things? Wasn't there anything on Song Yun's body?"

He probably didn't want his meticulously laid plan to fail. His mind got heated, and after being clever for a little while, at this moment, he was being foolish again.

This attitude made those old foxes' eyes narrow.

Exchanging a glance, it was Fang Hai who spoke slowly again.

"Oh? From my virtuous nephew's meaning, it seems you are very certain that there should be something on Song Yun's body?"

Idiot.

Yang Siyao, who was pondering the matter, almost coughed up blood from anger at Song Zhen. Having such a teammate was really vexing enough. She really wanted to curse him for being a stupid pig.

Thinking that she still had to marry such a person according to the family's request, her mood became even more depressed.

But at this time, she had no choice but to stand up. Taking a deep breath, Yang Siyao slowly spoke

“Your Excellency, the Provincial Governor, has misunderstood. Song Zhen's meaning is that he wonders if his younger brother has any belongings left on him. If there are, he hopes we can bring them back, for remembrance."

Fang Hai let out an "ah".

"So that's what you mean... However, besides the clothes on his body, there were no belongings left on the virtuous nephew Song. All the valuable things were taken away. This is also the reason why we judged it to be a murder for money."

Song Zhen, Yang Siyao, and Yang Miaoqing exchanged a glance, their faces all sinking. Especially Song Zhen; he had personally stuffed the jade pendant into Song Yun's palm, but now this jade pendant had disappeared.

The biggest piece of evidence to incriminate Song Yan was gone.

It couldn't be considered a complete failure. At least Song Yun had really been eliminated. On Song Zhen's path to becoming the Heir Apparent, one competitor was gone, and a very cunning one at that.

The only thing that made Song Zhen uncomfortable was that he hadn't been able to conveniently get rid of Song Yan as well.

But the unease in Yang Siyao's heart was growing heavier and heavier.

After talking for a while longer, Yang Miaoqing left on the pretext of being overcome with grief.

Just as they left the yamen, Song Zhen wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from Yang Siyao.

The group walked towards the Three Immortals Inn. This was the room the yamen had booked for them in advance. Because Song Yun had been killed, they would probably have to stay here for a few days.

As for the Youlai Inn, since four people had just died there, it had also been temporarily sealed.

It wasn't until they entered the inn that Yang Miaoqing finally spoke: "Siyao..."

"Aunt, there are too few clues at present. I also need to think it over carefully to see clearly what the situation is," Yang Siyao said.

Regarding the form of address for Yang Miaoqing, 'Aunt' (paternal) was acceptable, 'Aunt' (maternal) also seemed to work, and even calling her 'Auntie' (by marriage) was not a problem. It was a bit confusing.

The Yang family, in the eyes of others, was a thousand-year-old aristocratic family. It was an illustrious clan with countless descendants serving as officials in the court, and even a legitimate daughter who had become a Noble Consort.

But in Yang Siyao's eyes, the entire clan was full of filth and corruption.

Even she herself had blood flowing in her that was filthy to the extreme.

Letting out a breath, Yang Siyao turned and entered her room, slowly walking to the front of the washstand.

The clear water in the bronze basin reflected a plain, neither beautiful nor ugly, face.

Perhaps because the weather was stuffy and humid, the thick cosmetics on her face had begun to melt a little, making her face look even uglier.

Her small, fair hands scooped up a handful of cool water and splashed it on her face. The pink and white powder and rouge then slowly dripped down.

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