Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 313 The Fu Family (Many thanks to Yong Su for being the Alliance Leader)
The twentieth year of Ninghe.

The first month.

The ninth day of the lunar month.

In previous years, the weather would have started to warm up around this time, but this year the weather is unusual. However, there are bronze stoves in the four corners of the governor's mansion's dining hall, with charcoal burning inside, occasionally making crackling sounds, so it doesn't feel cold.

The windows were also cracked open a few times, allowing the chill from outside to seep in, but it didn't feel stuffy.

The round table was laden with dishes, all of which were Song Yan's favorites.

It was steaming hot, so it must have just been heated up.

A group of people sat down around the table. According to custom, the son-in-law does not sit at the table, but the Luo family obviously did not follow this rule. Song Yan sat next to Luo Yuheng, and Luo Tianxuan sat on the other side. Luo Qingyi, who originally wanted to pester her brother-in-law, was ultimately seated behind Luo Caiyi. The two little girls were a little dissatisfied, pouting and puffing out their cheeks.

Since Song Yan returned, Luo Yuheng's face has been beaming with joy.

She was so happy that she forgot she had another son who was still suffering in Xinhou County.

With slender fingers, she used chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef tendon and placed it in Song Yan's bowl. She knew that Song Yan particularly enjoyed this strange, gelatinous substance, and soon Song Yan's bowl was piled high with it. On Song Yan's other side, Luo Tianxuan was attending to Nakhtoya, placing a considerable amount of vegetables rarely seen in the Jurchen region on Nakhtoya's plate, ensuring that Nakhtoya didn't feel neglected.

"Mother, the laws of Ningguo stipulate that it is forbidden to slaughter oxen without permission, right?"

Luo Yuheng's face showed a regretful expression: "There's nothing we can do about it. It's just too cold. A cow froze to death. It's a waste to leave it there if we don't eat it."

"When did they freeze to death?"

"This afternoon."

"They froze to death at just the right time."

Luo Yuheng glared at Song Yan and lightly tapped the back of Song Yan's hand with the tip of his chopsticks: "You should be grateful to have something to eat. You talk too much. If you think this cow died unjustly, then don't eat it."

Song Yan chuckled and stuffed a piece of beef into her mouth: "It's delicious."

Luo Yuheng watched quietly, especially when he saw the cracks on Song Yan's face caused by the cold wind, his eyes filled with heartache: "You've suffered these past few days."

"It's alright." Song Yan smiled and said, "Although it's freezing cold over there in Jurchen, it's a different kind of charm compared to the Central Plains. It's never a bad thing to travel around more in this life."

"Moreover, although it was tiring, it wasn't without its rewards."

Song Yan then proudly recounted the results of their journey.

He provoked a conflict between Wanyan Guangzhi and the Anchegu tribe, annihilated the Haoshi tribe, traversed three hundred miles of snow, launched a surprise attack on the Jurchen royal court, causing hundreds of thousands of Jurchens to flee for their lives, and burned everything in a great fire. He also seized nearly ten thousand warhorses... Although half of them had to be given to Jiao Junze, it was still a considerable income no matter what.

In front of Yu Luoyuheng, Song Yan seemed like a child, letting down all his guard and pretense.

Luo Yuheng and Luo Tianxuan listened quietly. Every now and then, Luo Yuheng would reach out and touch Song Yan's head, her eyes full of concern and a touch of sadness. Song Yan spoke so casually, as if everything was natural and inevitable. But how could Luo Yuheng be the kind of woman who didn't have a brain?

Who knows what dangers lurk within this?

Besides the Black Armored Warriors, how many soldiers truly had the courage to fight the Jurchens to the death?
How could a 300-mile grassland be so easy to traverse?
Four thousand cavalrymen charged into a tribe of over ten thousand people; a slight misstep could have resulted in the annihilation of the entire army.

“Wanyan Guangzhi is a very ambitious man, but he probably won’t be able to raid south again next year, or even for the next few years.” Song Yan picked up a piece of mutton: “This time, although we didn’t completely cripple the Jurchens, we still caused them a lot of trouble. At least Wanyan Guangzhi’s progress in unifying the Jurchens has been greatly slowed down.”

"The number of people freezing and starving to death in the coming days will be enough to give Wanyan Guangzhi a headache. In order to survive, this guy will probably attack other tribes. Unification is unlikely; there will most likely be internal strife."

"I don't know if the Anchegu tribe has been completely wiped out. If there are still able-bodied men surviving in Anchegu, that would be the best. We can support Anchegu. We can send the weapons and equipment that the army has discarded to Anchegu. Not only can we trade a lot of valuable materials, but we can also create a formidable enemy for Wanyan Guangzhi. It's a win-win situation."

Luo Yuheng listened quietly, nodding occasionally. She didn't understand military matters very well, so she just listened to whatever Yan'er said.

"There must still be quite a few scholars in Pingyang City, right?"

“Of course there are,” Luo Yuheng replied.

“Then let’s select some more. After returning, I discovered that a salt and iron transport commissioner and a Guanduwei in Pingyang City had colluded with the Fan family, accepted 10,000 taels of silver from them, and were preparing to issue customs clearance documents to send grain to the Jurchens.”

"I went through so much trouble to create chaos among the Jurchens. If enough food is transported into the Jurchens, all my plans will be in vain."

Luo Yuheng's face was gloomy.

Almost all the officials in Pingyang City were selected by Luo Yuheng. Who would have thought that in just over a month, some officials would have already become corrupt and degenerate?

The scholars of Ningguo are truly rotten to the core.

"As for the other person from the Fan family, he was the younger brother of the Fan family patriarch and was considered an important figure. I have already executed him. I ordered the black-armored soldiers to drag their caravan's wagons to the military camp, since they were all grain and couldn't be wasted."

"I reckon the Fan family won't let this go easily. They'll definitely come knocking on our door to demand an explanation. But there's no need to worry. If all else fails, we can bring in the Black Armor Guards. This matter won't be over until we get five million."

Luo Yuheng looked at Song Yan with some strangeness. Her son-in-law's appetite was really getting bigger and bigger. Not long ago, he had just extorted five million from the Kong family, and now he had even set his sights on the Fan family. After a moment of contemplation, Luo Yuheng parted her lips slightly: "Why don't we take this opportunity to completely eliminate the Fan family?"

"Colluding with the Jurchens and selling contraband is enough to uproot the Fan family, isn't it?"

Song Yan shook his head: "Theoretically, that's true, but the Fan family is backed by Bailu Academy, which is too much. Moreover, the existing evidence cannot prove that the entire Fan family was involved in smuggling. They can easily pin the blame on one person, such as Fan Youzhi, whom I have already killed. With Bailu Academy pulling the strings behind the scenes, we can at most peel off a layer of skin from the Fan family. The possibility of destroying the Fan family is very slim."

Luo Yuheng nodded. She was also intelligent and had a clear understanding of the situation in the court. Although she wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate the cancer, it would be difficult enough to peel off a layer of skin from the Fan family in the current situation: "When do you plan to set off?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Isn't it a bit too early?"

Pingyang is about 500 to 600 li away from Dongling. If it were a military expedition, it would take a very long time.

If a few people ride fast horses, they can get there very quickly, perhaps in a day and a night. Even if they take a carriage, which is a bit slower, it will only take two or three days.

"I plan to go back to Ningping County first. Some brothers died in this operation, and we need to issue them compensation. Also, I plan to bring their families to Pingyang Prefecture to live and be supported by the prefecture," Song Yan said.

Luo Yuheng nodded: "That's good... Are you aware that the court is preparing to appoint a new prefect?"

"Mother, don't worry, I'll take care of this."

"That's good then." Luo Yuheng sighed. She was a little reluctant to leave again after just returning home, but unfortunately, there were still too many things to handle in Pingyang Prefecture, and many places weren't yet on track. She couldn't leave at this time; otherwise, she would have liked to return to Dongling with her son-in-law. "Then let Zhang Long and Zhao Hu accompany you. Also, Tianxuan..."

Before she could finish speaking, Luo Tianxuan shook her head: "I won't go. I've only just recovered, and it's too cold in winter. I might start coughing again if I'm not careful. It's better for me to rest at home. Why don't you let my younger sister go in my place?"

"Tianyi is very strong. With Tianyi here, there is no need to worry about your safety."

"Also, Bu Yu and Miss Nahetoya should go together. Miss Bu Yu can help handle some special matters, and Nahetoya's status is different, so she always has to go to Dongling."

"Also, bring a few more guards."

In just a few words, Luo Tianxuan had arranged the personnel, and Song Yan didn't have a chance to speak throughout the entire process.

Luo Yuheng glanced at Luo Tianxuan with some surprise, but ultimately just smiled slightly: "Don't panic when you get to Dongling. Although there are powerful and wealthy people there, it is still under the emperor's nose, so there are many things that cannot be done too outrageously."

"If you need anything, you can go to Princess Yong'an. She should be able to offer you some help. Although Princess Yong'an and I are not blood relatives, we have had a good relationship since childhood."

Song Yan nodded.

The Eastern Mausoleum, the imperial city of Ningguo, is something I somewhat yearn for.

Speaking of which, a long time ago, when Song Yan had just left the Duke's Mansion and had not yet made a name for himself, he hadn't even managed to cut off many heads of Japanese pirates. At that time, he met Song An, the fourth son of Yang Miaoqing, in Songzhou Prefecture. That encounter left a deep impression on Song Yan. For some reason, Song An, who usually didn't have much interaction with him, gave him a large sum of money on the grounds that he couldn't attend his wedding banquet.

It is as large as 100,000.

For Song Yan now, is 100,000 taels of silver a lot?

But back then, it was an absolute fortune.

Besides this large sum of money, there was also a note with only two words on it: Dongling.

Whenever Song Yan thought about this, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

I wonder what awaits me in this Eastern Mausoleum City.

They chatted for a long time afterward, until they were full and had eaten and drunk their fill, and it was already late at night.

Luo Yuheng then helped Song Yan towards the bedroom. When they were almost at the backyard, they saw an old woman huddled up in the cold wind, waiting for them.

She was an old acquaintance, Liang Qiaofeng, also known as Granny Liang.

Once upon a time, Liang Qiaofeng was one of the old women assigned by Yang Shi and Song Hongtao to monitor him. On their wedding day, Song Yan killed Yang Guifang, and Liang Qiaofeng, along with two other old women, was imprisoned in the dungeon by Song Yan. Unable to endure the torture, they confessed, and Song Yan handed the other two old women over to Liang Qiaofeng. He was surprised to find that this old woman was quite adept at torturing people, and her methods were ruthless. No matter how stubborn a person was, they had to confess honestly in Liang Qiaofeng's hands. Because he felt that this old woman was somewhat useful, Song Yan spared her life.

Upon seeing Song Yan, Liang Qiaofeng immediately hunched over, only raising her head and opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to begin.

"It's alright, just say what you want to say." Song Yan nodded, there was nothing to hide from Luo Tianxuan.

“Reporting to the Lord,” Liang Qiaofeng began. The old woman’s voice was hoarse, like two rusty blades pressed together and scraping hard. She was the kind of person whose voice alone made you think she was a villain: “Some time ago, Miss Biao captured two people and asked me to interrogate them.”

Miss Biao is Gao Yang.

Most people in the governor's office were unaware of Princess Gaoyang's true identity, assuming she was some kind of cousin or godparent.

"Oh? Who is it?" Song Yan asked curiously.

“They are two maids. Judging from their clothes, they should be maids from the governor’s mansion. Only two maids from the governor’s mansion have gone missing recently. They were the maids who used to guard the fourth young lady,” Liang Qiaofeng said slowly.

This made Luo Tianxuan serious as well.

When Luo Caiyi was kidnapped and her two personal maids went missing, Luo Yuheng was furious. He investigated the entire governor's mansion afterward, determined to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. However, no matter how much he tried to salvage the situation, the two missing maids could never be found. Unexpectedly, they were in Gaoyang.

When did Gao Yang capture these two people?
Why not hand these two over to Mother?
Luo Tianxuan was suspicious, and Song Yan also frowned slightly: "Did you get anything out of the interrogation?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, we've learned something from the interrogation. The person who was directing these two maids behind the scenes is a woman named Kong Nianhan."

Kong Nianhan?
Upon hearing this, both Song Yan and Luo Tianxuan's expressions changed drastically.

The name Kong Nianhan is unfamiliar to most people. Even in the governor's mansion, apart from Luo Yuheng, not many people know him. Coincidentally, Luo Tianxuan is one of them. When she first contracted tuberculosis, Kong Nianhan even came to visit her at the mansion.

Song Yan only learned of Kong Nianhan's existence from Qingluan yesterday.

This woman is... the Princess Consort of Prince Fu, and the mother of Prince Gaoyang.

It is said that Kong Nianhan and Luo Yuheng have a good relationship and are considered close friends. Because of this relationship, Princess Gaoyang and Luo Yuheng are also very close.

Given this relationship, why would Kong Nianhan plant people around Luo Yuheng? And why would he order these two maids to allow Luo Caiyi to be kidnapped?

Does Prince Fu know about this?
Or is it that Prince Fu is behind Kong Nianhan? What exactly is Prince Fu planning?
Furthermore, since Gao Yang already knows that the person behind the scenes is his own mother, how could he allow Liang Qiaofeng to reveal this information to him?
Song Yan and Luo Tianxuan exchanged a glance, both able to see the strangeness in each other's eyes:
What exactly is this family planning to do?

(End of this chapter)