Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 243 You're Forcing Me to Kill (2)

One million catties of grain.

All the houses and shops in Xinhou County.

All the grain fields in Xinhou County.

Liu Yisheng almost couldn't help but laugh.

He knew that whether it was Qian Yaozu, the Huang family, or the Zhang family, their appetites were naturally enormous, but he never imagined that their appetites would be this big.

I'm not afraid of bursting your bellies.

Under the watchful eyes of Shi Zirui, Huang Xingwen, and Zhang Hao, Liu Yisheng's expression grew increasingly gloomy, and anyone could see the barely suppressed rage raging within him.

The more this happened, the more pleased the three of them became.

This is the price of breaking the rules.

Does this kid really think that with a few thousand soldiers under his command, he can call the shots in Xinhou County and be considered a big shot in Pingyang Prefecture?
Since the establishment of Ningguo, how many officials have come and gone from Pingyang? Countless of them have backgrounds even more powerful than Song Yan, yet when they arrive in Pingyang, they still have to obediently pay their respects to the Huang and Zhang families. Although the Huang and Zhang families cannot compare to giants like the Yang and Fang families, without their support in Liaodong, even a prefect would find it difficult to move an inch.

If you behave properly and obey orders, you can spend your term in peace and quiet.

As for those troublemakers... well, Liaodong is not a peaceful place. There are bandits and robbers everywhere. It's quite normal to lose your life if you're not careful.

The Jurchen cavalry's incursion into Pingyang Prefecture did indeed cause some losses to the Zhang and Huang families. However, the Zhang and Huang families' roots were in Pingyang City, so while these losses were painful, they weren't crippling. Furthermore, with Qian Yaozu's more than ten thousand soldiers under his command, how could Song Yan possibly fight back with his two thousand soldiers?

Of course, the Zhang and Huang families don't necessarily want to completely break ties with Song Yan this time. It's more of a warning to him, a way to show him the strength and resources of their families. And then... you be the new magistrate, and don't affect the two great families' status and business in Pingyang Prefecture.

Even though the Jurchens plundered Pingyang Prefecture this time, the business still needs to be done.

Liu Yisheng clenched his fists and then loosened them.

His eyes swept over the teacups on the table more than once, and he longed to smash them on the ground and have someone come over and chop these three shameless scoundrels into mincemeat.

But doing so would have too great an impact.

For the sake of his lord's great cause, he had to endure.

He took a deep breath: "I understand your requests. I will relay them to the magistrate when he returns."

"Very well then. Don't keep my master waiting. He's not very patient." Shi Zirui snorted and walked straight toward the door.

Huang Xingwen and Zhang Hao clasped their hands in a fist salute and then left as well.

After all, they were businessmen. Even if they looked down on the other party, they still didn't miss out on any of the proper etiquette.

As the three of them reached the door, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old appeared beside the door, looking travel-worn. Shi Zirui, who was walking in front, bumped into the young man.

boom.

Shi Zirui felt as if he had crashed into a lump of metal, his bones feeling as if they were about to break. In Pingyang City, his position as Sima was second only to the Prefect and Governor, making him a truly important figure. When had he ever been so disrespected? Shi Zirui flew into a rage, as if it had become a habit, and raised his hand to slap the boy across the face.

"Bastard thing..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young man frowned, glanced at the slap coming down, and suddenly kicked Shi Zirui hard in the stomach.

call!
boom!
Before the slap could even touch the boy's cheek, Shi Zirui's fat body flew backward and crashed onto the table. With a series of loud cracking sounds, everything on the table fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Shi Zirui groaned in pain, his body writhing on the ground like a maggot, with traces of blood between his teeth.

My lower back feels like it's about to break.

As a scholar, Shi Zirui had never been treated like this before. Waves of dull pain made his face covered in cold sweat.

Huang Xingwen and Zhang Hao were also startled, their eyelids twitching. This guy had quite a temper; you probably couldn't find many people in Pingyang Prefecture who would dare to kick over a prefecture governor like that.

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Liu Yisheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went to greet him: "Sir, you're back."

The address "Sir" made everyone aware of Song Yan's identity.

Meanwhile, the black-armored soldiers hiding on both sides also had strange expressions. The advisor had told them to break the teacup and then make their move, but did the commotion just now count?

That didn't seem like breaking a teacup; it was more like flipping the whole table over.

Oh well, whatever, the teacup is broken anyway.

Accompanied by a series of heavy footsteps, the black-armored soldiers swarmed in. Unfortunately, the reception hall was too small to accommodate so many people; however, the area outside was a dense, dark mass. Huang Xingwen and Zhang Hao gasped, their faces grim as they looked at the menacing eyes and the gleaming knives in their hands.

What are you doing? Are you trying to give them a hard time?
"What a joke! They're seasoned veterans, they've seen it all, how could they be intimidated by such a move? Even if Song Yan had the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, he wouldn't have the ability to kill his superior." Song Yan's expression was also strange. After several days of rushing, he had finally returned to the county town, only to witness such a bizarre scene upon his return. Song Yan looked at Liu Yisheng, who then quietly explained the identities of the three men and the events that had just occurred. As Song Yan listened, his initially composed expression darkened.

Since leaving the Song family, he had always been the one robbing others, so being extorted like this was quite a novelty for him. With a strange smile, Song Yan walked towards Shi Zirui, who had just struggled to his feet. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu followed beside him. Shi Zirui was in pain, his face contorted, and when he saw Song Yan, he unleashed his anger: "Song Yan, you have some nerve."

"You mere son-in-law, an ill-mannered good-for-nothing, who only managed to become a seventh-rank county magistrate through Luo Yuheng's connections, actually dared to assault me, a fifth-rank Sima! You wait, I will definitely impeach you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Yan's eyes sharpened, and he drew the knife from Zhang San's waist, stabbing it into Shi Zirui's heart with a soft thud.

Then, with a hiss, it was pulled back, and a spurt of blood shot out. His gaze swept over Shi Zirui:

"Enough with the nonsense."

The sound echoed in the living room.

In an instant, the living room fell into a deathly silence.

Shi Zirui's body slowly collapsed to the ground. The knife had pierced his heart, leaving him no chance to even scream. His eyes were wide open as he stared intently at Song Yan, seemingly unable to believe that Song Yan not only dared to hit him but also dared to kill him.

A few breaths later, his body trembled and then he fell silent.

Behind them, Zhang Hao and Huang Xingwen were even more terrified, they had never seen such a scene before.

Who would have thought that Song Yan would actually disregard all rules and actually dare to kill his own superior? The knife went in and came out red—the series of movements was so fluid, clearly not the first time he'd done something like this.

They suddenly remembered the intelligence about Song Yan that their master had uncovered.

This was a ruthless man who burned tens of thousands of Japanese pirates to death and built ten mounds of corpses, completely disregarding the will of Heaven. Yet, his still somewhat youthful face made people subconsciously overlook his infamous reputation. Suddenly, they understood something: the Zhang and Huang families had always believed that once they entered Pingyang Prefecture, they had to follow their rules. But for Song Yan, nicknamed "The Butcher," these rules meant nothing.

Because he would kill.

"You think you're worthy to take my food?" After glancing at Shi Zirui's corpse, Song Yan turned and walked towards Huang Xingwen and Zhang Hao, whose bodies tensed instantly.

"I just got back and they're already forcing me to kill someone. What bad luck."

"Who is Huang Xingwen...?"

Faced with Song Yan's cold demeanor, Huang Xingwen trembled violently.

"So it's you." Song Yan looked at him calmly: "You just said that all the shops and residences I manage in Xinhou County belong to your Huang family?"

Huang Xingwen's throat moved violently: "It's me..."

puff!

The knife plunged into Huang Xingwen's heart.

Huang Xingwen stared at the long knife in his chest, his face filled with disbelief. He had just been trying to explain: "It was my brother who said it; I was just a messenger..."

Why can't people just finish what they have to say?

Thinking this, his head tilted to the side, and he soon lost his voice.

Song Yan then looked at the last person, Zhang Hao.

Perhaps because he had killed two people in succession, the pungent smell of blood had terrified Zhang Hao. Even before Song Yan asked, the moment his eyes met Zhang Hao's, Zhang Hao couldn't help but scream, "It's fake!"

"Those land deeds are all fake."

"The farmland in Xinhou County belongs to the people of Xinhou County and has nothing to do with me."

Zhang Hao felt that this statement was already very proper.

As expected, upon hearing this, Song Yan nodded, Zhang Hao was overjoyed, and then...

puff.

The third stab pierced Zhang Hao's heart.

Zhang Hao's body convulsed as he stared at Song Yan in disbelief.

"Forging land deeds for all farmland in Ningping County in an attempt to plunder the people's land is punishable by death, and must be punished by death."

At that moment, Zhang Hao managed a slight smile, finally realizing that Song Yan had never left them any way out from the very beginning.

(End of this chapter)