Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 147 Zhen Guanxi, a Suspected Grandmaster (Bonus Chapter for Yong Su's Alliance Leader)
The council chamber was very quiet.

The flickering flames cast an orange glow, illuminating the crisscrossing wrinkles on each face.

The excessive silence made even their breathing seem heavy.

"Alright, what do you think of the information about Zhang Yan and Yang Siyao?" After a long silence, Yang Hexing's voice finally broke the silence.

Several elders frowned and pondered for a long time before Yang Heshun slowly spoke: "If someone else said they wanted to assassinate Siqi, I would only think that they were bluffing. But it was Song Yan who suggested it. During the years that Song Yan lived in the Duke's mansion, he was probably tormented by Miaoqing to the point that his mind was damaged. People with such mental problems cannot be judged by the way of thinking of ordinary people."

"In any case, let's make preparations in advance. The defenses on Third Brother's and Siqi's side are still a bit weak. It would be best to send a ninth-rank martial artist from the family."

This is a relatively safe approach.

Although ninth-rank martial artists are rare, the Yang family is not incapable of producing one.

The so-called Third Brother is Yang Hetong.

Once the ninth-rank martial artist arranged by Song Yan arrives in Dongling, the assassination target will likely change between Yang Hetong, Yang Guoli, and Yang Siqi. The death of any one of these three would be a huge loss for the Yang family. The others mostly shared the same thought. Yang Hexing frowned deeply; he could sense that this was very likely a trap set by Song Yan.

But thinking of Song Yan's crazy behavior, he didn't dare to gamble even if he had doubts. Unlike his unloved daughter Yang Miaoqing, Yang Hexing still had high hopes for his grandson Yang Siqi.

"Alright, let Guoli go then." After thinking for a moment, Yang Hexing said, "The ninth-rank martial artist from the Princess's residence won't leave Luo Yuheng easily. The one who will really make a move is probably the Zhen Guanxi that Zhang Yan mentioned... Song Yan has done him a favor, so let him make a move once."

"However, I don't know much about the affairs of the martial arts world. Thirteenth Brother, you know more about the affairs of the martial arts world. Is there really such a person as Zhen Guanxi?"

As he spoke, Yang Hexing looked at Yang Hexin.

Currently, the heads of the Yang family are: Yang Hetong (third son), Yang Hexing (fourth son), Yang Heshun (fifth son), Yang Hexiao (seventh son), Yang Hezhi (eighth son), Yang Heming (ninth son), Yang Heli (eleventh son), and Yang Hexin (thirteenth son).

As for the other brothers, they died one after another from illness while vying for the position of family head, which is truly a sad thing.

Among them, the thirteenth brother, Yang Hexin, was a martial arts enthusiast and had deep entanglements with people in the martial arts world. Upon hearing Yang Hexing's words, he frowned and seemed to think about it seriously for a moment: "Zhen Guanxi, there is such a person."

"This is a swordsman."

"He wielded the swift knife with unparalleled skill. He once slaughtered the Eighteen Heroes of Kansai in the Kansai region, and later wiped out the Southern Martial School and the Northern Xiao School. For a time, he was known as the number one swordsman in the world."

"Then they were besieged by almost all the martial arts practitioners in the Kansai region. After all, no one wants their sect to be wiped out suddenly. It is said that in that battle, there were 36 sects of all sizes, and hundreds of martial arts practitioners gathered."

"Body after body was cut in half, masters after masters were beheaded, more than half of the hundreds of martial arts heroes were slaughtered, and Zhen Guanxi was also seriously injured in the battle. After that, he went into hiding and disappeared without a trace."

"However, that was thirty years ago."

“Back then, Zhen Guanxi was already in his thirties or forties. If he were alive today, he would probably be in his seventies or eighties.” Yang Hexin’s brows furrowed more and more, as if he found it unbelievable.

Given Song Yan's age, it's unlikely that he would have any interaction with this Zhen Guanxi.

However, if it really is Zhen Guanxi, then the situation might be a bit troublesome. After all, this person was a ninth-rank martial artist thirty years ago, and who knows how much his strength will have grown in thirty years.

Perhaps, he will become one of the few grandmasters?

A grandmaster.

Even with the power of the Yang family, they would not easily offend a grandmaster.

Zhang Yan's intelligence report stated that Song Yan had done a favor for Zhen Guanxi.

Zhen Guanxi was seriously injured, while Song Yan was known as the Little Divine Doctor, who was said to be able to cure even men's hidden ailments and incurable diseases such as tuberculosis.

Right.

All right.

Yang Hexin could almost picture the scene: thirty years ago, Zhen Guanxi was seriously injured in the encirclement and suppression of martial arts heroes and had to go into hiding. For decades, he had been suffering from his injuries and even wanted to commit suicide. Just when he was in despair, he happened to meet Song Yan, who had just completed his apprenticeship.

With miraculous skill, he easily resolved Zhen Guanxi's hidden ailment.

Overjoyed, Zhen Guanxi granted Song Yan's request on one condition: no matter what Song Yan asked for, even if it meant entering the palace and killing the emperor, he would not refuse.

After all, for those in the martial arts world, loyalty comes first.

That's how it's written in storybooks.

"If he really becomes a grandmaster, I'm afraid Guo Li alone won't be able to deal with him."

"Even if they are both at the ninth rank, a martial artist who has been studying at the ninth rank for decades is not on the same level as a martial artist who has just entered the ninth rank."

"I suggest that it would be better to arrange another ninth-rank martial artist, so that they can at least look out for each other... It would also be good to arrange more eighth-rank martial artists."

"You can handle this matter as you see fit." Yang Hexing's expression darkened. "Who was behind this, using the Six Villains to assassinate Luo Yuheng and manipulating the disaster victims to drive them to Ningping?" "It was Guochen and Song Zhe." Yang Heshun sighed and said slowly, "Song Zhen is dead. All the arrangements the family made for the Song family over the past twenty years have fallen through. Some people in the family are unwilling to accept defeat like this, so they proposed to support someone from the Song family's younger generation. Even if they are not of pure Yang blood, at least their attitude towards the Yang family should be better than Song Hongtao's."

Song Hongtao is an idiot.

But for some reason, it seems that he has glimpsed some truth, and his relationship with the Yang family has become increasingly cold recently.

"Song Zhe is exceptionally talented and is known as a prodigy. He is half Yang family blood, and if a Yang family girl were to marry him, the Yang bloodline would become increasingly pure. Therefore, some people in the family are prepared to support Song Zhe, such as Guo Chen, who has a very good relationship with Song Zhe."

Yang Guochen was the son of Yang Hetong, the Grand Secretary, and later the Minister of Rites.

"Song Zhe also knows that the support of the Yang family is indispensable if he wants to inherit the title of Duke."

"Therefore, he took the initiative to offer a plan, suggesting that the disaster victims could be used to deal with the Princess and Song Yan. After careful consideration, the minister felt that the plan was feasible and began to make arrangements."

Yang Heshun's voice was refined and gentle, neither hurried nor slow. In fact, he had also seen Song Zhe's plan.

It has to be said that Song Zhe is truly ruthless.

Using tens of thousands of disaster victims as tools, once these disaster victims gather together, it will be an unprecedented and severe test for the Princess's Mansion. If some people are planted among the disaster victims to spread rumors, tens of thousands of disaster victims will instantly turn into tens of thousands of rioters and mobs.

That would be rebellion.

Since everyone has rebelled, it's perfectly normal for a few people to die.

Of course, these tens of thousands of refugees who rebelled would eventually be completely wiped out... In Song Zhe's eyes, the lives of tens of thousands of refugees were not even worth mentioning; they were just useful tools, nothing more.

This is a ruthless person, possessing the viciousness to use all living beings as pawns, but lacking the wisdom to match. His plan seems sound, but he completely failed to consider the consequences should it fail.

He vetoed it at the time, but Yang Guochen still carried it out on his own, which is not a good sign.

A hint of disdain flashed across Yang Hexing's brows: "What a prodigy, what an idiot, a piece of trash."

"This plan, though seemingly malicious, is actually riddled with loopholes."

"Assassinating Luo Yuheng, although it breaks the rules, it's not impossible. However, have you thoroughly investigated the strength of the Princess's mansion? How many experts does it have? And you must handle the aftermath properly. After the assassination of the Six Evils was successful, have you arranged for martial artists to deal with them?"

"Only the dead can keep secrets. Surely you haven't overlooked something as simple as that?"

"If any of the six villains are captured alive, how will they be killed to cover their tracks? Is there a plan?"

"Inciting disaster victims and driving them to Ningping is not something that can't be done... but have those people who were planted there been dealt with properly? Could someone follow this lead and investigate the Yang family?"

"If the investigation leads to the Yang family, how can we distance ourselves from them? Do we have a contingency plan?"

"Without any detailed plan, just coming up with an idea on a whim, and then actually thinking you're some kind of smart person?"

"It's just a little bit of underhanded cleverness, yet they're still gloating over it. Look at the consequences now: five of the six villains are dead and one is captured alive, and tens of thousands of disaster victims have been easily dealt with."

"This Song Yan is quite a formidable character. He acted decisively, using the heads of a thousand people to suppress all dissent among the disaster victims. He also personally bore the infamy of thousands of people, thus making Luo Yuheng's image even more noble. This one thing alone is enough to win Luo Yuheng countless hearts. From then on, these tens of thousands of disaster victims became Luo Yuheng's loyal followers. To put it bluntly, if Luo Yuheng wanted to rebel, he only needed to raise a voice and he could immediately raise an army of tens of thousands of people."

"Then, preparations were made for the Japanese soldiers and workshops, and livelihoods were provided for the disaster victims. Thus, the disaster victims were clearly divided into two groups. The vast majority were extremely grateful, while a small number of disaster victims were dissatisfied. With Song Yan's reputation as a butcher in front of them and the vast majority of disaster victims behind them, the remaining disaster victims were ultimately unable to cause much trouble."

"Truly impressive. To have such skills at such a young age is remarkable. It's a pity he's not a member of the Yang family."

"It's a pity that Miaoqing is useless. If she had been a little nicer to Song Yan back then, she wouldn't have pushed him into Luo Yuheng's arms. If she could have married him off as a daughter of the Yang family and made him a son-in-law of the Yang family, she would have been a great help to him."

Yang Hexing was not angry; instead, he clapped his hands in praise.

The other old men were somewhat surprised, seemingly not expecting Yang Hexing to have such a high opinion of Song Yan.

"We've lost. This time, the Yang family has lost completely in the battle between the Princess's Mansion and the Yang family."

"Send a message to the minister: there is no need to support that fool Song Zhe."

"Furthermore, the minister is also confused for not being able to see the flaws in this plan. Let him reflect on his actions. If he remains obstinate, let him step down from his position as Minister of Rites and return to his clan to become a teacher."

A brief silence fell over the surroundings.

"Fourth Brother, what should we do with Song Yan?" Eighth Brother Yang Hezhi slowly asked, "He killed thousands of disaster victims in front of everyone. This is a good opportunity..."

"This time, we are absolutely confident that we can send Song Yan to the underworld."

Yang Hexing sighed and shook his head:
No, you still don't understand.

"This is a deal between Song Yan and the Yang family!"

(End of this chapter)