Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 257 Should the Family Be Exterminated? (2)

"Patriarch Huang, tell me... should these people be killed?"

The night wind howled, and Song Yan's voice spread in the wind, echoing in Huang Tianyang's ears.

A mere county magistrate...

Huang Tianyang clenched his fists, his face looking extremely embarrassed.

He had forgotten that for many years no one had dared to be so arrogant in front of him. Even Qian Yaozu, the prefect of Pingyang, was always polite to him. Who would dare to reprimand him like this?

The servants in the Huang household may be a bit arrogant, but they are definitely not fools.

Just by looking at these black-armored warriors covered in blood and exuding a murderous aura, one could tell they were not to be trifled with. So why would one rashly make a move when one's numbers were far inferior to the enemy's?

This was Song Yan's way of putting the Huang family in their place.

The sky was gradually turning a pale white, the bright moon had disappeared, and the sky was becoming increasingly dark.

The two lanterns in front of the Huang family mansion cast a dim yellow light, making Huang Tianyang's face appear to light up and then darken.

He guessed that Song Yan wanted to make an example of someone to warn others, and then extract some money and grain from the Huang family, but he never expected that Song Yan's methods would be so ruthless.

Before Song Yan, there were many governors who wanted to control the Huang family, but no matter who they were or how ambitious they were, they were at least outwardly harmonious. But Song Yan was different; all the established rules seemed to have no effect on this young man.

Ah……

I haven't seen such an arrogant person in a long time.

However, if this magistrate thought he could subdue the Huang family so easily, he was overthinking things. The Huang family had stood strong in Pingyang Prefecture for a century; how could they be so easily manipulated? The gloom on his face gradually faded, and his wrinkles bloomed like chrysanthemums. Huang Tianyang smiled and cupped his hands towards Song Yan: "These scoundrels actually dared to lay a hand on the magistrate. They truly deserve to die."

"I, Huang, have failed to discipline my children properly. I hope Your Excellency will forgive me."

Song Yan glanced at Huang Tianyang with slight surprise. He hadn't expected the old man to be so patient; he was a little more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. But it didn't matter. He had come here today to stir up trouble, and there would come a time when Huang Tianyang couldn't take it anymore.

Thinking this, Song Yan smiled and said, "It's alright. I'm not a petty person. Since Patriarch Song has already realized his mistake, I won't hold it against him anymore. Just give my brothers some compensation."

"After all, they were seriously injured just now while protecting me."

As he spoke, Song Yan reached out and wiped his hand on Luo Tianyang's armor, his hand covered in crimson blood, along with bits of flesh and bone fragments: "Look, it's bleeding."

hiss.

Huang Tianyang took a deep breath, his chest bulged, and his body trembled inexplicably.

He realized that he had underestimated Song Yan's shamelessness.

Who is injured and whose blood is splattered on the outside of their armor?
You don’t even act anymore, right?
But Huang Tianyang breathed a sigh of relief; it really was all about the money.

Greed is not scary; what's scary is not being greedy.

"The magistrate is right, it is only right to compensate, it is only right to compensate," Huang Tianyang said with a smile. "However, it's cold outside, but there's a fire inside. Why don't we have a cup of hot tea to warm ourselves up?"

As he spoke, Huang Tianyang made an inviting gesture.

Song Yan didn't stand on ceremony and entered the Huang residence with his head held high.

The black-armored warriors followed closely behind.

Inside the gate, some guards tried to stop them, but Luo Tianyang casually pushed them aside, and a large number of them fell down with a thud.

Huang Tianyang's expression grew increasingly grim. Generally, when visiting someone's home, the master enters the house while the servants wait outside. No one would do something like Song Yan, bringing in over a hundred soldiers at once. He glanced at the guard lying on the ground, but ultimately said nothing, flicked his sleeve, and followed behind.

As for Zhang Gong, his gaze remained fixed on the blood-soaked corpse.

His brows were furrowed.

His face was solemn.

No one knows what they are thinking.

After a long while, Zhang Gong suddenly let out a heavy sigh, gritted his teeth, and followed from behind.

The number of people in the reception hall had increased considerably.

Huang Tianyang's brothers and even his younger siblings appeared. They probably all knew that Song Yan had ordered the guards to surround the Huang family. The young masters of the Huang family all looked rather unfriendly.

Song Yan showed no politeness whatsoever and sat down directly in the main seat. Although Huang Tianyang was furious, he still restrained himself and did not lose control. He glanced at the butler, and after the butler nodded slightly, although his expression did not change, his whole demeanor relaxed.

It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted, as if everything was under control.

The faces of the rest of the Huang family members instantly darkened, especially those of a young man in his twenties, Huang Zhengcai, the eldest son of the Huang family.

He is of noble birth, being Huang Tianyang's eldest son, but he is not very bright.

His younger brothers were all incredibly clever, making Huang Zhengcai feel that his position as the family heir was precarious. He was always looking for an opportunity to prove himself to his father. Hearing from his second brother that a minor county magistrate was making things difficult for their father, he came to the guest hall. Seeing Song Yan's rudeness, he couldn't contain himself. Zhang Gong, who had just entered, quietly pulled him aside and shook his head at Huang Zhengcai.

Although Huang Zhengcai was unwilling, he still gave Zhang Gong face. Inside the guest room, the furnishings were not complicated, but elegant in their simplicity.

In the corner, a charcoal brazier burned, occasionally emitting a spark.

Inside and outside, it was like two different worlds.

Huang Tianyang waved his hand, and a maid brought over hot tea. Looking at the dark tea, Song Yan had no interest in even picking it up.

“Patriarch Huang, I have heard that the Huang family is a benevolent family in Pingyang Prefecture.” Song Yan sighed and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. “In previous years, during times of famine, you set up soup kitchens to provide relief to the victims. Why is the Huang family so indifferent to such a great calamity this year?”

Huang Tianyang gave a bitter smile: "Your Excellency, you may not know this, but when the Jurchen cavalry trampled Pingyang Prefecture, my Huang family also suffered heavy losses. Don't be fooled by the size and size of the Huang family; our expenses are also enormous."

"This year we're already spending more than we earn. We were planning to sell some of the servants, but they've worked for the Huang family for many years, and we couldn't bear to see them wandering around. In order to support so many people, we've even lost all our savings from previous years."

"I do want to provide disaster relief, but I am truly powerless to do so. It is very painful for me to watch the people of Pingyang Prefecture die of hunger and disease in batches."

Just kidding. Even though the grain in the family granary is moldy, we can't just take it out and feed it to the people for nothing.

If given the chance, we could replace the new grain in the official granaries with the moldy old grain. It's already good enough that those peasants guarding the border have old grain to eat. As for the common people... it would be too wasteful to feed them grain.

Not only does he not plan to provide disaster relief, he also plans to raise rents, otherwise the deficit caused by the Jurchens' plunder this year will not be recovered.

This is a good actor. Look at those red eyes, and the way the tears are about to fall. If you didn't know better, you might really think he's a compassionate and virtuous person.

"Hey, let's not dwell on these painful matters anymore, Your Excellency. My servants from the Huang family injured one of your men. It was our fault. How much compensation do you think is needed? Just name your price." Huang Tianyang shook his head, changing the subject. Clearly, Song Yan's rudeness had greatly angered Huang Tianyang. He was too lazy to continue with the pretense and just wanted to give Song Yan some money to get rid of him as soon as possible.

He had previously vowed not to let Song Yan take a single grain of rice from the Huang family. However, Huang Tianyang was not an impulsive person. With the Huang family mansion surrounded by government troops, breaking ties with Song Yan under these circumstances would not benefit the Huang family.

He has plenty of ways to deal with Song Yan, there's no need to act rashly!
Song Yan understood Huang Tianyang's thoughts, but he didn't care and simply raised one finger.

"Ten thousand taels of silver?"

However, it was only a mere ten thousand taels of silver, which was nothing to the Huang family. Huang Tianyang was ready to accept it immediately.

Just then, Huang Zhengcai, the eldest son of the Huang family who had been standing to the side, slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and glared angrily at Song Yan: "Ten thousand taels of silver? You have quite the appetite. Don't you know where you are? You've come here to beg for alms from the Huang family?"

More than a hundred servants of the Huang family were killed.

Now they want to pay 10,000 taels of silver in compensation?
When has the Huang family ever been bullied like this?

Zhang Gong wanted to stop it, but it was too late. He could only sigh and shake his head.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Huang Zhengcai, who wasn't very bright, said smugly, "You want compensation, right? One tael of silver, consider it a reward from me. Take the money and get lost."

As he spoke, Huang Zhengcai took out a piece of silver from his pocket, casually tossed it at Song Yan.

The silver coins hit Song Yan and then rolled to the ground.

In an instant, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence, without the slightest movement.

Huang Tianyang frowned, seemingly lost in thought, his fingers gripping the teacup tightly, never letting go.

Luo Tianyang and Lei Yi's wide eyes began to radiate a chilling killing intent.

Zhang Gong's face was ashen.

The other members of the Huang family had different reactions: some looked smug, while others frowned in thought.

Huang Zhengcai, on the other hand, held his head high and enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.

Only Song Yan remained calm, as if nothing had happened. She casually brushed off the places on her body where she had been hit, and then looked at Huang Tianyang: "Is he not quite right in the head? He should see a doctor when he has time. We can't ignore our illnesses."

Huang Tianyang was a little embarrassed.

He's clearly the eldest son, but his brain...

"Now, it's 10,000 per person."

“I brought a hundred brothers, so it will cost one million.”

Song Yan spoke seriously, his expression very solemn, clearly not joking.

Huang Zhengcai was a little confused. Perhaps it was because the officials who had previously visited his home were all obsequious and servile, which subconsciously made Huang Zhengcai, who was not very bright, not take officials seriously. Therefore, he could not understand why a mere county magistrate dared to be so arrogant.
Huang Tianyang's face gradually darkened, and he raised his eyes to stare intently at Song Yan: "Magistrate, is this really the way to go?"

Song Yan chuckled and pulled out a stack of property deeds from his pocket...deeds for all the houses and shops in the entire Xinhou County.

The property deed bears Qian Yaozu's scarlet seal.

There was also the signature of the housekeeper.

"One million or... wipe out the whole family."

"It's your choice!"

(End of this chapter)