Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 118 Killing Luo Yuheng (2)

At that moment, Song Yan understood what it meant to have a fishbone stuck in one's throat.

Ever since he learned of the nail's existence, he had felt an inexplicable unease, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Can you analyze the identity of this nail?"

Song Yan tapped his fingers slowly on the table, his gaze fixed on Yang Siyao across from him.

Yang Siyao's expression was also somewhat solemn. She knew that if she could expose the nail's identity, she would gain the trust of Song Yan, and even the entire Luo family.

This is certainly a good thing for her.

However, achieving this goal is not easy.

Yang Siyao began to think seriously. The room was extremely quiet. Song Yan even felt a ticking sound echoing in his ears, as if the second hand was ticking away.

“First of all, that nail should belong to a woman,” Yang Siyao said after a long pause.

"Why?"

"Since entering the Luo family mansion, I have spent most of my time in the inner quarters, and only the maids can freely enter and leave such a place."

"The men in the Luo family, such as the guards, could not possibly know my situation."

Song Yan nodded in satisfaction; this was the process of elimination.

Yang Siyao had very little information; she only deduced the existence of the nails based on the Yang family's warnings, and knew nothing else.

"How many members of the Luo family know that you were responsible for the sugar incident?"

Song Yan's lips twitched slightly: "That's too much."

"Many people have seen me make white sugar, and even those who haven't seen it with their own eyes have learned about it through word of mouth."

Yang Siyao scratched her head in frustration, feeling like she might go bald if this continued. Then she wouldn't need to shave her head to become a nun. She then gave Song Yan a reproachful glare; he always seemed to be creating problems for her.

After a while, Yang Siyao let out a heavy sigh: "There are too few clues, so I can only make some speculations. As for whether they are correct, I cannot guarantee them."

Song Yan nodded: "It's alright, at least it's a reference."

The nights in August are sometimes hot and sometimes cold.

Autumn has already enveloped Ningping; even at night, you can see leaves falling from the sky, drifting, swaying, and landing on the ground.

Yang Siyao fell into thought again. She had a bad habit of grabbing her hair when she was thinking very seriously, and occasionally you could hear a snapping sound. Before long, strands of hair would be wrapped around her beautiful fingers.

Fortunately, Yang Siyao has a head of thick, black hair, so she doesn't have to worry about the risk of going bald for the time being.

"I can't determine the exact number of nails, but I tend to think that the number is very small, or even just one."

Song Yan remained silent, but in his heart he agreed with this statement.

After all, in a place like the Luo family, every maid and guard is thoroughly investigated, and it is extremely difficult to place even one of them.

"This person must hold a high position in the Luo family and have a very close relationship with Luo Yuheng. Luo Yuheng trusts him quite a bit, so only in this way could he have access to some of the secrets of the Luo family."

"The Yang family attaches great importance to it, and the Yang family has rarely, if ever, used this nail."

"The Yang family obtains information about the Luo family through complex means, using other people like the Song family. The Yang family has never obtained information about you through this spy. If we had sufficient intelligence support, I might not have lost so badly in our confrontation."

"This is enough to show that the Yang family has high hopes for this 'nail' and will only use it at the most critical moment in order to achieve the effect of reversing the situation."

"Now, this nail is in use."

"The time it was activated was roughly the same time I joined the Luo family."

"What happened at this point in time should be that the news of the complete annihilation of the Japanese pirates who attacked Ningping reached the court, Emperor Ninghe restored Princess Luo Yuheng's status, and granted her the authority to recruit 5,000 soldiers."

The imperial edict was, after all, delayed.

As Yang Siyao spoke, Song Yan's expression grew increasingly serious. Five thousand soldiers—it didn't sound like many.

However, for the Yang family, the greatest threat was the imperial family gaining control of the military, even more so than the princess's status. This was the biggest counterattack by Emperor Ninghe, the imperial family, and the royalist faction in many years. Naturally, the Yang family wanted to suppress this counterattack, and Luo Yuheng, who had amassed military power, became a thorn in their side.

Therefore, the nail was activated, and there was only one purpose for activation:
"Kill Luo Yuheng!"

Yang Siyao let out a heavy sigh, her eyes revealing undisguised exhaustion, and beads of sweat glistening on her smooth forehead.

Song Yan's expression also turned serious, and his face turned pale.

Although the other party's identity was still unclear, knowing their purpose would make many things clearer. Song Yan closed his eyes, plunging into darkness. His fingers began to tap rhythmically on the table, his thoughts starting to wander following Yang Siyao's prompts:
The woman is of high status, has a close relationship with Luo Yuheng, and is trusted by him...

In fact, if these conditions are met, the scope of suspicion is greatly narrowed.

Women like this are not many in the Luo family.

Aside from the young ladies of the Luo family, there were only Luo Yuheng's eight personal maids, plus Daoist Yushuang.

Of the eight personal maids, four of them—Gu Banxia, ​​Kong Chan, Dieyi, and Xueying—were younger and were given to him by Luo Yuheng as his son-in-law. Gu Banxia was even a concubine, and the other three were similar, but Song Yan did not take any action against them because they were young.

Gu Banxia can be ruled out.

She is a member of the Ninghe Imperial City Guard, but her true identity is likely that of a palace maid.

If the Yang family has already infiltrated the Imperial City Guard and bribed Gu Banxia, ​​then the formula they want is definitely not sugar, but hand grenades. Hand grenades are far more valuable than sugar; they are something that can change the course of a world war. The Yang family isn't that foolish.

Kongchan, Dieyi, and Xueying are not very suspicious. They are too young and their minds are not mature enough. It would be too childish to entrust such an important task to a few little girls.

It's unlikely that Master Yushuang would say that.

After all, Yu Shuang mostly accompanies Luo Tianxuan and doesn't appear by Luo Yuheng's side very often. Moreover, with Master Yu Shuang's strength, with his sister-in-law guarding him, his brother-in-law, he would have countless opportunities to harm Luo Yuheng.

From this perspective, the suspicion surrounding Luo Yuheng's four remaining personal maids has greatly increased.

Lu Wan, Tao Yun, Zhang Yan, and Li Qingyue
Having lived in the Luo family mansion for several months, I have some understanding of these people.

Of the four, Lu Wan is the oldest.

I once heard Gu Banxia casually mention that Lu Wan was originally Luo Yuheng's mother's personal maid. After Luo Yuheng was born, she was arranged to take care of her. It can be said that she watched Luo Yuheng grow up from childhood, and the relationship between them was even closer than that of mother and daughter.

Those who could enter the palace as maids were naturally beautiful and had good figures when they were young, but Lu Wan never married and always stayed by Luo Yuheng's side.

As she gets older, Luo Yuheng wanted Lu Wan to take a break from her work and enjoy a few years of leisure, but Lu Wan refused. She continues to manage the inner quarters for Luo Yuheng and can be considered the steward of the inner courtyard.

As for Tao Yun, she was over forty years old. When a princess in the palace reached a certain age, she would be assigned a palace maid who was a few years older to take care of her and also serve as a playmate. Tao Yun was Luo Yuheng's childhood playmate.

When Luo Yuheng got married, she went with her husband to his home, which shows that their relationship was extraordinary.

As for Zhang Yan, she is slightly older than Gu Banxia and slightly younger than Luo Yuheng, probably in her thirties, which is the mature age of a woman. She is also good-looking and has a graceful figure.

Her situation was a little special. Song Yan had heard Gu Banxia say that Zhang Yan was not originally a palace maid serving Luo Yuheng, but rather another concubine. However, that concubine was eccentric and violent, and wanted to beat Zhang Yan to death over a trivial matter. Coincidentally, Luo Yuheng witnessed this scene and rescued her, keeping her by his side.

In the palace, although Luo Yuheng was a junior, the status of the eldest princess was much more noble than that of ordinary concubines.

This is a life-saving favor, and it shouldn't be something that can be bought off.

As for the last one, it is Li Qingyue.

Li Qingyue is the same age as Luo Yuheng. Among the four personal maids, only Li Qingyue was not born into the palace.

Her mother was Luo Yuheng's wet nurse.

Because of this relationship, Li Qingyue and Luo Yuheng are also very close, and Li Qingyue accompanied them on this outing.

Since Luo Yuheng was stripped of her status as the eldest princess and was demoted all the way, the people around her have changed batch after batch, but including Gu Banxia, ​​these five people have always followed her and never abandoned her.

Who exactly is the nail?
(End of this chapter)