Chapter 72 - Seduction Arts Are Your Only Value

Yang Siyao had a lot of cosmetics applied to her face, a thick layer, covering her original appearance.

Sometimes, Yang Siyao couldn't help but complain internally that this amount of powder could probably cover an entire wall... probably.

As the cosmetics were dissolved by the clean water, the contents of the bronze basin also became turbid. Seeing this, Yang Siyao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Her voice was already pleasant to listen to, and when she laughed, she was even more like a lark.

There was no one else in the room. Only then would she reveal a little of her original appearance and personality. She raised her delicate head to look in the bronze mirror. The face reflected in the bronze mirror had already changed greatly.

She was much more radiant than before. Although she couldn't be considered a nation-toppling beauty, she could at the very least be called a gentle beauty. Because the cosmetics around the corners of her eyes had also been washed away, her eyes appeared much larger than before.

Her skin was very white, probably because it had been covered by cosmetics for a long time, so the whiteness was a little unnatural.

She poked her face with her finger; it was still very supple.

This appearance should just barely be worthy of the two words 'good-looking,' right?

When exactly did she start getting used to covering her original appearance with cosmetics?

Was it at nine years old, when a clan uncle stared at her with a frightening gaze?

Was it at eleven years old, when a male cousin sized her up and down without hiding it?

She couldn't remember very clearly anymore.

This was the Yang family, a place full of beasts.

But... soon.

Her fair hand clenched subconsciously. As long as she helped the Yang family secure the Duke's title for Song Zhen this time, she could leave the Yang family, and take her younger sister with her.

Looking at the bronze mirror in front of her, Yang Siyao rubbed her cheeks with her fingers. The expression on her face slowly returned to that previous indifference, as if nothing mattered. Although her appearance was different, her temperament revealed a bit of similarity.

Immediately, she took out her makeup box again and began to carefully apply it to her face bit by bit.

It was daytime now, and someone might come looking for her at any moment. She didn't want Song Zhen to see her true appearance.

Applying makeup was a rather slow process. It took a full half a shichen (1 hour) before Yang Siyao put away the box with satisfaction.

She had wanted to lie down on the bed for a short nap; thinking for a long time was very tiring.

But just as she stood up, the corner of her eye saw that a paper ball had appeared on the table.

When she first entered this room, she had already briefly scanned the situation inside.

I daren't say she had a complete grasp of it, but such an obvious paper ball was impossible not to notice.

There was only one possibility: someone had secretly thrown this paper ball onto the table while she was applying her makeup.

She actually hadn't noticed at all. The other party's strength was far superior to hers... this was not good news.

Well, actually, she only specialized in seduction arts; fighting was not her strong suit. In Songzhou city, there were probably a few hundred people whose strength surpassed hers.

Yang Siyao complained internally like this. After a brief hesitation, she walked over, picked up the paper ball, and opened it. A line of text leaped into view:

— Seduction arts are your only value!

Just this first sentence made Yang Siyao's heart jump.

Reading further down, the expression on her face became more and more serious. It wasn't until she had finished reading that Yang Siyao let out a long breath, her eyes already closed, it was unknown what she was pondering.

A long time passed again. Yang Siyao picked up the paper ball again, but this time, she directly stuffed it into her mouth.

Speaking of which, it was the first time she had ever seen such ugly handwriting, like a dog's scrawl.

Next door to Yang Siyao was Song Zhen's room.

Accompanied by crashing sounds, several tea sets were smashed to pieces by Song Zhen. If his body weren't in such a state, there probably wouldn't be many intact objects left in the large room.

Although he had eliminated Song Yun, failing to kill Song Yan still left a fire smoldering in Song Zhen's chest. It wasn't until the room was full of fragments that Song Zhen finally felt a lot better in his heart.

"Damn Song Yan, you were lucky this time. But you won't be this lucky every time. Sooner or later, I'll kill you." Muttering this, Song Zhen suddenly heard a rip.

It was the window paper being poked through, and then a paper ball was thrown in.

Song Zhen was puzzled. Frowning tightly, he hopped to the door on his crutch. After much effort, he opened the door, but of course, there was no one outside...

With my speed, it would be strange if there were anyone still here.

Complaining internally like this, Song Zhen returned to his room, picked up the paper ball, and opened it.

He was instantly startled. With a thump, his body fell directly to the ground, pulling at the wounds on his right leg and arm, which burned with pain.

But the current Song Zhen had no time to care about these things. His face was already grim and deathly pale, and a layer of cold sweat had even broken out on his forehead. On that piece of paper was strikingly written:

— I know what you did last night!

Just this one sentence almost scared Song Zhen's heart into stopping.

His hand trembled nonstop, his lips were quivering, and his throat moved continuously as he swallowed saliva, but it was still completely dry. His whole body had a very, very hard to describe feeling, as if a piece of his heart had been dug out, leaving it empty.

His mind felt as if a giant rock had been thrown into a lake, the ripples spreading out with a buzzing sound.

The wound on the side of his head where a patch of scalp was missing also burned with pain. The wound had been bandaged, and a circle of white cloth was wrapped around his head, but it had been soaked by rainwater last night, and the wound had still turned a grayish-white. Some of the flesh even showed signs of decay.

He'd been discovered.

What happened last night had really been discovered.

He was finished.

He didn't know what he should do. Subconsciously, he was about to go find that woman.

But just as he stood up, he hesitated again.

During this time, he had been acting according to that woman's plan, but what was the result in the end? A broken arm and a broken leg, and the seemingly perfect plan had also shown a huge loophole, leading to only half the original payoff.

Perhaps that woman wasn't that smart.

This was a matter of life and death. If he handed it over to that woman to handle, what if another loophole appeared? Wouldn't he be completely done for?

Although Yang Siyao was the fiancée his mother had arranged for him, Song Zhen could also feel that Yang Siyao didn't like him, and even looked down on him a little.

In that case, would that woman really put her all into his affairs? Could she be trying to use this opportunity to get rid of him? That way, she wouldn't have to marry him.

Thinking this, Song Zhen felt he was very smart.

Pah, just an ugly woman. Does she really think this young master desires her?

After another period of hesitation, Song Zhen finally picked up the paper ball again. Seeing that line of text again, he couldn't help but be terrified.

After a rough read-through, Song Zhen let out a heavy breath. The other party demanded that he prepare a bank draft for one hundred thousand taels of silver, including the secret code, and place it at a designated location. Otherwise, they would expose what he had done.

He hadn't expected their appetite to be so big.

One hundred thousand taels.

Do they think it's Chinese cabbage?

And it had to be prepared before the Hour of You (5 - 7 PM). Although he was greatly favored by his mother and always had the most money among his brothers, what he could produce on short notice was only a few dozen taels.

After all, silver is so heavy. Who would be so idle as to carry several thousand taels of silver on them all day? They'd be crushed to death.

He could only ask his mother for help.

Ever since a bank note had been stolen by Song Yun last time, his mother now carried those bank drafts with her at all times. With his mother's doting love for him, she should give him the money. At most, she would just scold him a little. No matter what, he had to get past this current crisis first.

On the other side, Song Hongtao and Song Yan were still at the prefectural yamen and had not left.

Even though Fang Hai had said it was a murder for money and was preparing to investigate from other angles, Song Hongtao didn't seem to think so. He strongly requested an autopsy on Song Yun's body.

Generally, the family members of the deceased are extremely resistant to autopsies. To encounter someone who proactively requested an autopsy like this was a first. It was as if he couldn't wait for his son to have no peace even after death.

Although he was puzzled, since this was the request of the deceased's family, Fang Hai had no reason to refuse and arranged for a coroner.

A professional coroner conducts an autopsy from head to toe.

Thus, he pried open Song Yun's mouth.

Then, he took out a clump of somewhat foul-smelling hair.

And a piece of rotten scalp.

Fang Hai, Ji Cheng, Wu Xiao, and Lu Zhao's faces all changed in unison. This finding was something no one had expected.

"Huu..."

"Looking at it this way, it's clear. It must have been that while Seventh Brother was fighting with the murderer, he tore a piece of scalp from the other party's head and stuffed it into his mouth as evidence for us."

Song Yan's voice slowly spread through the side hall, echoing in everyone's ears.

"Lord Ji, I'll have to trouble you to investigate the people of Songzhou city and see who is missing a piece of scalp..."

The four men exchanged a glance. A name surfaced in their minds in unison.

Song Zhen!

……

Songzhou city.

The end of the Hour of Wei (1 - 3 PM).

The sun began to tilt west, and the intensity of its light had weakened. The temperature had probably dropped a little, but for most people's senses, that damp, stuffy heat was even more uncomfortable.

Song Zhen finally left the inn. Yang Miaoqing had arranged for two underlings to support him.

Just as he had expected, Yang Miaoqing was furious that Song Zhen had handled the matter so sloppily and gave him a harsh scolding.

Although she raised her right hand, looking at her son's tragic state with his broken arm and leg, she ultimately couldn't bear to strike. And she couldn't just watch her son fall into trouble, so she still gave him the money.

There was no way around it; the time limit the other party had given was really too short, leaving them not much time to think.

Yang Miaoqing dared not gamble. If the news were to be exposed, her son would be completely finished.

Actually, there were many mountain bandits near Songzhou city, and incidents of kidnapping and extortion happened from time to time.

But the mountain bandits were not idiots either. Before making a move, they would conduct a detailed investigation of their target, trying their best to avoid direct conflict with officials and nobles. After all, these people's influence was too great, and one careless move could get them wiped out.

The ones who were truly kidnapped were mostly merchants. After all, merchants had money but not enough power. But the ransom was often just a hundred or so taels; even over a thousand was rare.

This guy actually opened his mouth and demanded one hundred thousand. Wasn't he afraid of choking on it?

Song Zhen let out a breath and gestured for the two underlings to speed up. They finally arrived at the bank of the Yi-Luo River before the Hour of Shen (3 - 5 PM).

By the bank of the Yi-Luo River, there was an old crooked-neck tree. Although it hadn't been directly washed away by the flood, it was leaning precariously. Some of its roots, like venomous snakes, were exposed and twisted.

He glanced around. The place was very quiet, with no one around. He then ordered an underling to stuff the wooden box he was holding into the roots of the tree.

At this instant, it was as if Song Zhen had unloaded an extremely heavy burden. His whole person suddenly relaxed quite a bit. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Now that the money was paid, he was safe for the time being.

"Heh, is my money so easy to take?"

"I'm just afraid you have the life to take it, but not the life to spend it!”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.