Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 293 The Mei Family of Dongling (1)

Do you know Song Zhe?

His voice was a little dry.

It sounded like someone had phlegm stuck in their throat, and they had a strange accent. They were probably a wild man who had crawled out of some remote corner of the world and couldn't even speak Mandarin.

In Dongling City, I've seen many people like this.

Many vendors who come to the city to sell vegetables, wild game and herbs have a slight accent, but this is the first time I've seen such a strong accent. In fact, the official language of Ningguo is originally a kind of dialect. Everyone lives in the Central Plains, and except for a very few extremely remote places, the languages ​​are similar and have commonalities. Even if you can't speak it, you can still understand it roughly.

But this person's official speech sounded like that of someone who had just learned to speak, which was really strange.

Thus, in the eyes of the person whose shoulder was grabbed, these people in front of him had changed from country bumpkins into wild men from the mountains and forests.

The so-called "wild man" has existed since ancient times.

These are people who are not registered in the household register and are not on official records.

These people were forbidden from engaging in commerce, taking the imperial examinations, or even farming. Naturally, they didn't have to pay taxes and spent their lives wandering in the mountains and fields, hence the name "wild man." In those difficult times, the exorbitant taxes made it impossible for people to survive, so many voluntarily abandoned their status and went deep into the mountains and forests to become wild men.

He was about to explode in anger, but seeing that these savages were tall, burly, and covered in thick hair, clearly not to be trifled with, he swallowed back the curses that were on the tip of his tongue: "What Song Zhe? How would I know?"

Upon hearing that he didn't know Song Zhe, the savage released his shoulder. He quickly ran a short distance away, spitting fiercely on the ground: "Pah, I've run into a bunch of lunatics." He ultimately didn't have the guts to curse in front of these savages.

The savage didn't seem to mind, perhaps not fully understanding either. He returned to the group, glanced at a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in the middle of the group, and shook his head. Six of the seven were adults, tall and strong, clearly skilled hunters from the mountains. Only the one surrounded by the other six was slightly thinner and appeared more youthful. However, judging from the way the seven interacted, this youngest was also the most distinguished.

Woli Xuan!
A prince of the Wugulun tribe, the younger brother of Oribu, and a member of the Jurchen tribe, whose names are mostly strange and unusual.

These seven people were none other than the few remaining survivors of the Wugulun tribe.

The Wugulun tribe was not originally called by this name; it was called the Odoli tribe. They could not even be considered true Jurchens. Their ancestors could be traced back to the Xiongnu. At that time, the Odoli tribe was just a small tribe among the Xiongnu. They had a conflict with a large tribe over a horse pasture and were besieged and killed by the other side.

Such occurrences were extremely frequent among different tribes. Every fertile and fertile land was a target of contention among the tribes, as the larger the territory they seized, the greater their chances of survival. The Woduo tribe was no match for them and was forced to migrate, like rootless duckweed, until they finally settled down in the western part of the sea. Over the years, they intermarried with different tribes of the Jurchens, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to call them Jurchens.

As for the name of the Odoli tribe, it was changed to Wugulun.

The only surname they retained was Ori, like Oribu and Orixuan. There was also the Jilie Khan of the Ugulun tribe; although called Ugulun Jilie, it was an honorific title, just as Emperor Ninghe was mostly called Prince Ning before he became emperor, and few would address him by his given name.

As for the six barbarians remaining by Wuli Xuan's side, they were named Wuli Yan, Wuli He, Wuli Shan, Wuli Ming, Wuli Tu, and Wuli Sheng. These six barbarians were all Wuli Xuan's personal guards. They were assigned to Wuli Xuan by Wugu Lun Jilie to take care of him when he was just born. Each of them was a master warrior capable of taking on ten men, and they were especially skilled at hunting.

Two months ago, the Wugulun tribe was suddenly annihilated. A great fire burned the entire tribe to the ground, and soldiers clad in black armor slaughtered the tribe. Fortunately, Wuli Xuan led his personal guards into the mountains to hunt and escaped the calamity. They didn't know how much willpower they had used to remain lying on the ground without moving, and could only watch helplessly as their relatives and friends in the tribe were killed one by one... It was a pain and torment they had never experienced before.

They also knew that in that situation, even if they crawled out of the snow, it would be of no use except to add a few more corpses.

Only by staying alive might one have a chance to seek revenge.

Fortunately, fate showed them a final shred of mercy. The eldest prince's dying howl revealed the name of their enemy.

Song Zhe!

From that night onward, they would live the rest of their lives to kill Song Zhe.

However, finding this person was not easy. They crossed mountains and valleys to finally bypass the border and enter Ningguo's land. They dared not go to the city, fearing that the soldiers checking at the gate would discover their identities. They could only travel through the mountains and forests. Occasionally, when they encountered some villages and towns, they stole some clothes from the Central Plains Han people to change into. Although they were not used to it, it was not as conspicuous as wearing a set of animal skins.

They made inquiries from various sources, but unfortunately, not many people knew the name Song Zhe.

Just when the seven were almost in despair, they finally encountered a scholar who learned of Song Zhe's situation. After asking for his approximate location, they embarked on another long and arduous journey, traversing mountains and valleys. Even though they were strong barbarians, they were exhausted to the point of collapse. If not for their burning hatred, they probably wouldn't have been able to endure it. Several days ago, they finally arrived at the capital of Ningguo and, taking advantage of the nightfall when many farmers returned to the city, managed to sneak into the city.

Unfortunately, although Song Zhe was famous, not everyone knew him. It was extremely difficult to find someone in the vast city of Dongling. They didn't even know what Song Zhe looked like.

Searching like a headless fly is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

They had heard similar answers countless times in the past five or six days, and although they were already used to it, they couldn't help but feel disappointed. Just then, Wuli Xuan, who had been frowning, suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes shining with excitement: "Find scholars... those scholars might know Song Zhe."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the remaining six people all lit up.

Yes, the scholars learned about Song Zhe through a scholar.

As expected of the Sixth Prince, he is indeed intelligent, able to come up with such a good idea so quickly.

None of the seven noticed that their exaggerated gestures made them look like a bunch of idiots to onlookers.

"Hey, do you know Song Zhe?"

The scholar wearing a turban blinked and looked up at the pavilion next to him. On the pavilion were three large characters: Qunyu Pavilion. In a room on the second floor, the window was open, and a handsome young man could be clearly seen sitting by the bed.

"Isn't that it?"

……

As the most famous brothel, even in a bustling city like Dongling, Qunyu Garden remained the most lively place, with melodious music and beautiful courtesans, and the huge pavilion was filled with decadent sounds.

This place is probably even more bustling than the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).

Although the wives and daughters of disgraced officials in the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) were of higher status and more educated, they were ultimately not as skilled at serving others as professionals.

In a private room on the second floor, a young man sat quietly. He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a slightly immature face and a touch of childlike innocence.

This person was Song Zhe. However, the current Song Zhe had long lost his former arrogance and confidence. His whole body exuded a decadent and listless aura, and his decadence was also tinged with resentment.

For Song Zhe, these past few months have also been difficult.

First, my seventh brother died, then my mother and fifth brother also died.

Song Zhe didn't feel much affection between himself and Song Yun and Song Zhen, and he resented his mother's favoritism. But no matter what, they were still his brothers and his mother, and it was still sad to see so little affection between them.

However, for Song Zhe, these were all minor matters. Compared to being favored by Yang Guochen, the Minister of Rites, and being groomed to be the next Duke of Song, they were insignificant.

Logically speaking, it's the Duke's business who gets the title of heir apparent, and it has little to do with anyone else... But in reality, things aren't that simple. The power behind each son can also play a role. If they can get the support of the Yang family, even the father wouldn't risk offending the Yang family by placing the Duke's succession in the hands of his other brothers.

Conversely, Song Zhe also had to do something to prove that he was worthy of support.

The disaster that rioted in Ningping County was orchestrated by him.

Tens of thousands of refugees.

The journey is long, and countless bones will be left behind along the way.

Using so many lives as a weapon to strike Luo Yuheng is ultimately against the natural order, but Song Zhe doesn't particularly care. He believes that one must be ruthless enough to live more comfortably in this world.

Besides, they are just a bunch of lowly commoners. It is an honor for them to sacrifice their lives for my rise to power. In their humble and insignificant lives, it adds a little more meaning.

With tens of thousands of disaster victims, Ningping County simply did not have enough food to feed them. A single misstep could trigger a peasant uprising, and at that time, Princess Luo Yuheng, along with Luo Tianchu, Luo Tianquan, and even her youngest brother Song Yan, whom she hated so much, could all die at the hands of the rioters.

Even if it doesn't incite a popular uprising, as long as a large number of refugees starve to death, Luo Yuheng will be held accountable and will never have a chance to recover.

Everything was arranged perfectly, but who would have thought that Song Yan, using some unknown method, managed to obtain a large amount of grain from the Cui and Fang families, solving the disaster victims' problem. Even those who had been planted among the disaster victims to stir up trouble were all exposed and killed by Song Yan.

A perfectly good plan ended just like that, without any major incident.

Worse still, it seems that Song Yan had anticipated the assassins arranged by the Yang family and made preparations accordingly. Not only did the assassination attempt fail, but even the Yang family's mole in the Princess's residence was removed.

The Yang family was also forced to make some concessions, allowing Luo Yuheng and Emperor Ninghe to gain more power.

This time, it was a complete defeat.

However, Song Zhe is not the kind of person who will be discouraged by a single setback.

So the Fang family has allied with the royal family, and a large amount of grain is being sent to Ningping County, right? Then let's start with the Fang family this time. If we can break the alliance between the royal family and the Fang family, it will be a great achievement.

With Yang Ming's skill in seducing women, the plan was almost certain to succeed. Even if someone noticed something was wrong, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to him.

Their plan succeeded: Gao Yang fell into the river and disappeared, and Fang Jun was killed.

But who would have thought that Fang Hai, from who knows where, actually got the information and directly named himself and Yang Ming, even bringing in a whole bunch of messy witness testimonies and evidence, including Fang Hai's wife's maids.

The patriarch of the Fang family, Fang De, even abandoned all dignity in the imperial court, weeping uncontrollably.

Bailu Academy and Xilin Academy took the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

In this way, even the Yang family couldn't protect Yang Ming. He was just Yang Ming's follower, and with the help of his second uncle Song Jincheng's connections, he was eventually extricated from the situation.

He may escape the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment.

This outrageous act also brought shame to Bailu Academy, resulting in his expulsion from the academy.

Along with his scholar and provincial degree titles, Song Zhe was stripped of them and even personally ordered by Emperor Ninghe to never serve as an official in the court or inherit a title. It can be said that Song Zhe's future was essentially over. The once-promising son of the Song family had now become an object of ridicule, and the stark contrast between his past and present made Song Zhe increasingly dejected.

He could tell that Song Yan was also behind the sabotage of the second plan. After that, news spread that Fang Hai wanted to send a daughter of the Fang family to Song Yan as a concubine, which was obviously because Fang Hai wanted to get closer to Song Yan.

Whenever he thought of these things, Song Zhe felt extremely distressed.

He didn't know why, but he had always disliked his younger brother Song Yan since they were little. Especially when Song Yan looked at him, even though his eyes were filled with timidity, fear, and humility, Song Zhe always had the illusion that all his pretense had been seen through.

This made Song Zhe very uncomfortable. Whenever he encountered Song Yan, he would feel an inexplicable urge to strangle him.

However, as the legitimate son of a duke, he always wanted to maintain a certain level of decorum, so he took advantage of his mother, knowing that she was very experienced in this area.

Who would have thought that while that bitch Mei Xue was dead, this kid was still alive and well? After that, he enrolled in Bailu Academy and didn't have much time to pay attention to Song Yan. But he never imagined that in just a few years, this bastard would grow to the point where he could threaten him.

Being defeated by Song Yan twice in a row caused Song Zhe great distress.

He is not as good as a mere illegitimate son.
How can this be.

A cold wind blew in from outside the window, and Song Zhe, who was still quite drunk, finally regained some sobriety.

The previous failures were simply because he hadn't paid enough attention to Song Yan, this illegitimate son, which allowed Song Yan to gain the upper hand. Once he got serious, it would still be as easy as turning his hand to strangle Song Yan... His knowledge, his insight, and his methods were far beyond what an illegitimate son could compare to. Song Zhe had always been so confident.

Moreover, there are many things that don't require his intervention at all.

The Mei family has always been in Dongling.

(End of this chapter)