Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 317 Ya Ya Misses Her Father (7,000 words)
My son isn't bad, is he?
Hearing Old Man Zhang's words, Song Yan felt a pang of sadness and slowly said, "Not bad."

"Tiezhu is a formidable man."

"He cut off the heads of seven Jurchen barbarians, and his bravery was unparalleled in the army. He has already been promoted to squad leader for his military achievements."

Old Zhang was probably a little sad, but a faint glow appeared on his face, and his chapped lips parted slightly: "Seven... that's quite something."

My legs finally felt a little weak.

He then sat down.

His thin, trembling fingers picked up the pipe bowl, which he must have been smoking in the room earlier. The tobacco in the bowl glowed and faded. He took a deep drag from his chapped lips, and bluish-white smoke spilled from between his gap-toothed teeth. A layer of shiny black grease had formed on the pipe stem, making a sticky, squeaking sound with each movement of his Adam's apple.

A light drizzle, whipped up by the wind, lashed against Old Zhang's patched trousers, but he remained motionless, like a piece of dried tree bark. The wooden gate to the courtyard creaked, startling a gray-feathered hen that fluttered past the corner of his reddened eyes. The tobacco tar gurgled and simmered in the bamboo pipe, and Old Zhang coughed violently, his hunched back slamming against the mud wall, sending crumbling pieces flying. Yet, he held the pipe tightly between his teeth, as if it were the last half of his skeleton untouched by the ravages of war.

He coughed for a long time.

Chuntao is a dutiful daughter-in-law.

Hearing that her husband had died was like the sky falling for this illiterate woman. Tears streamed down her face, but seeing her father-in-law's face, she suppressed her grief, stepped forward, patted his back, and patted him to help him catch his breath.

After a while, Old Man Zhang finally caught his breath.

Sniffing, Old Man Zhang then looked at Song Yan and said with some difficulty, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sir."

Song Yan remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Old Zhang added, "Look at my brain, when important guests come, there's not even a place for them to sit."

"Chuntao, go get a chair, and kill that chicken. We'll be entertaining our distinguished guests at noon."

"Don't take it to heart, sir. In war, people always die. It's either my child or his child who dies; it's all the same."

“I have another child in my family, and Tiezhu also has a son and a daughter. I don’t have to worry about no one to worship me in the future. My life has been worthwhile.”

Song Yan pursed her lips, glanced at Zhang Long, and Zhang Long stepped forward and placed a box on a low table in the courtyard: "These are some things left behind by Tie Zhu."

His withered fingers rubbed together.

After a long while, he slowly opened the box. There wasn't much inside, just a few pieces of clothing, with four pieces of silver wrapped inside.

It should be Zhang Tiezhu's military pay.

Two taels of silver a month. From the time Zhang Tiezhu went to Liaodong until now, it has only been two months. He hasn't spent a single penny of it. He has kept it all carefully, probably planning to send the silver home when he has the opportunity to return to his hometown to visit his relatives.

But who could have imagined that he would never have such an opportunity again?

There was also a small wooden carving inside, presumably intended to be carved into the shape of a little tiger as a toy for his son. Unfortunately, it was only half-carved and not finished. He beckoned to the little girl, who came over carrying her younger brother. Old Zhang then took out the little tiger and put it back in the swaddling clothes.

The ten black-armored warriors involuntarily shifted their gazes to the side, their eyes all reddening.

Song Yan breathed a sigh of relief: "Tie Zhu's body was brought back to Liaodong. There is a cemetery in Xinhou County where all the soldiers who died in battle are buried. There is no need to worry about no one paying respects. Every year, those of us who are still alive go there to offer incense."

"I came here today to ask you, sir, if you would be willing to move to Pingyang Prefecture."

Old Zhang shook his head and smiled, "No need. I heard it's very cold in Pingyang. My old bones might live a couple more years if I stay in Ningping. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it if I go to Pingyang."

Song Yan nodded and didn't force him. People in this era always value returning to their roots, and no one wants to leave their homeland unless there's a special reason.

"How many acres of land does the old man own?"

"Thirteen mu."

"From this day forward, these thirteen acres of land are exempt from land tax; all members of the Zhang family are exempt from corvée labor."

Old Zhang panicked a bit. Land tax and corvée labor had always been a heavy burden on farmers, and now they were all exempted.

"In addition, as border troops, those who die in battle receive fifty taels of silver as a form of compensation."

Zhang Long returned to the carriage, took out another box from it, and opened it in front of Old Man Zhang and Chun Tao. Inside were fifty pieces of silver, which looked dull and dark due to the gloomy weather.

Old Zhang panicked even more.

Zhangjiawan has one or two hundred households, and at least a dozen of them died in battle. Even Old Man Zhang had a father and brother who died in battle. The imperial court stipulated that the relatives of those who died in battle were exempt from all taxes and corvée labor. However, rules are rules, but they have never been enforced, at least not in recent decades.

As for the compensation, although I've heard that relatives of those who die in battle can receive a considerable sum of money, probably around twenty or thirty taels, I've never seen anyone actually receive it. It's probably embezzled by the officials above.

Even if a relative had died in battle, no one would come to inform them; at most, the county government would post a notice, and they would have to check it themselves.

Therefore, when Zhang Laohan saw Song Yan take out fifty taels of silver, he panicked. He was an honest and hardworking man who toiled in the yellow earth. When had he ever seen such a large sum of money? For a moment, he felt that the silver was burning hot. He hurriedly put the silver down and said, "Sir, this is too much, too much."

Song Yan simply shook his head and forcefully stuffed the money into Old Zhang's hand: "Grandpa, take it. This is what Tie Zhu earned with his life."

"In addition, Tiezhu killed seven barbarians and was rewarded with seven taels of silver."

“I have promised my soldiers that if any of my soldiers die in battle, I will take care of their parents, wives and children until their parents pass away, their daughters come of age, and their youngest sons come of age. I originally intended to take you to Pingyang to take care of you, but since you are unwilling, I can only give you more money.”

As he spoke, Song Yan took out another ten taels of silver and placed them on the table.

That made it sixty-seven taels in an instant. Adding the four taels of silver that Zhang Tiezhu had saved, it came to seventy-one taels.

For farmers like Old Zhang, this is definitely a huge sum of money.

For a moment, her withered fingers trembled as she kept refusing, saying things like "too much, too much." Chun Tao, however, hesitated a bit... After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life, and her husband was gone, leaving her a widow with two children. If she had this money, her life should be a little easier in the future.

Chun Tao was always filial, and since her father-in-law refused to accept the money, she couldn't say much.

Song Yan then forcibly stuffed the money into Old Zhang's hand: "Take it, don't refuse. But be careful with such a sum of money at home, lest it bring trouble."

"If you are not at ease, you can leave the money with the magistrate for the time being. When you need it, you can go to the county office to get it. Magistrate Luo Tianshu is my brother-in-law. He is not the kind of corrupt official."

“If you encounter any trouble in your daily life, you can go to the county magistrate. He will definitely help you solve it. I will also make arrangements with him.”

Song Yan then went on and on with many instructions, especially emphasizing the importance of not flaunting one's wealth.

Although most people are honest and simple these days, human greed cannot withstand the test. If people really find out that Old Man Zhang has so much silver, no one can guarantee what will happen. If that happens, it may not be helping Zhang Tiezhu's relatives, but harming them.

Old Zhang naturally understood these principles, and nodded emphatically.

The general is a good man.

Since he is the general's brother-in-law, he should be quite good.

Moreover, the farm tools and grains at home were all delivered by the county magistrate, which gave Zhang Tiezhu a natural affinity for the magistrate, so he did not refuse Song Yan's suggestion.

After explaining a few more things, Song Yan got up to take his leave.

Old Zhang escorted her all the way to the village entrance, until the carriage disappeared from sight, before sighing and turning his gaze away. The little girl was still a bit confused: "Grandpa, were those people Daddy's friends?"

The little girl was too young to know the term "comrades-in-arms." She only knew that her father had gone to war, and those people were her father's comrades-in-arms, just like the playmates she played with.

Tilting her head, the little girl spoke again: "When is Daddy coming back? Yaya misses Daddy."

Old Zhang's eyes stung, and two lines of tears finally rolled down his cheeks. He reached out and touched his little granddaughter's head: "Yaya, your dad has gone to a very, very far place."

"He went to become a hero."

"Don't be afraid, Yaya, your dad will always be watching over you!"

In the sky.

Ya Ya nodded, her big eyes sparkling, a hint of happiness on her face. In the little girl's mind, a hero was someone incredibly powerful.

After leaving Zhangjiawan, Song Yan hurried to the next place.

I walked past each of the eighteen households.

Some people burst into tears.

Some could not withstand the blow and fainted on the spot.

There are those who remain silent and accept everything without uttering a word.

The everyday life, the myriad aspects of human existence—that's all there is to it.

After visiting all eighteen households, not a single person was willing to leave their homeland. However, a few households wanted to go to Liaodong because their sons had already passed away, so they wanted to offer incense as a way of remembering their loved ones.

Song Yan agreed to all of this and then returned to Ningping County to entrust these matters to Luo Tianshu. Faced with such a request, Luo Tianshu would certainly not refuse. Coincidentally, his troops were now at full strength, and a batch of armor, swords, and other equipment had also been produced. So, he set a time for these relatives to accompany the troops to Pingyang.

Luo Tianshu also made a copy of the list of the eighteen households. He would naturally take good care of these people in the future. As long as they still lived in Ningping County, and as long as he, Luo Tianshu, remained the magistrate of Ningping County, he would not let them suffer any injustice.

After settling everything in, Song Yan headed to the Duke's mansion under the cover of night.

Song Yan had no feelings for Song Hongtao.

It was only because if Song Hongtao died now, the title of Duke would fall to one of the five people: Song Huai, Song Yi, Song Jing, Song An, and Song Lü. This was something Song Yan did not want to see, so Song Hongtao was able to live a little longer.

I didn't want to go back.

However, filial piety is highly valued in the Central Plains nowadays, and if one does not go back, one might be caught out and become the target of criticism.

The Duke's mansion had a difficult year.

The fifth young master, Song Zhen, and the seventh young master, Song Yun, died one after another, and even the matriarch, Yang Miaoqing, fell victim to the Japanese pirates.

This was supposed to be an extremely bad year, but during the New Year festival, the Duke's mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, appearing very festive. Two large red lanterns hung high under the gate of the Duke's mansion, radiating dazzling light.

Even in a household like the Duke's mansion, there were guards at night. However, most of the time there was nothing to do, so the gatekeeper would sit on the threshold, leaning against the vermilion gate, and sleep, quite carefree.

This fellow, Liu Feng, was formerly a servant in the Duke's mansion.

In truth, his job as a doorman was much easier than his previous job as Zhang Xiaoshan.

Zhang Xiaoshan was a fool. The Ninth Young Master had already married into the Luo family and become a true prince consort, yet he still dared to deliberately make things difficult for the family on his return visit, which displeased the Luo family. In order to appease the Luo family, Zhang Xiaoshan had no choice but to be beaten to death by the Duke.

After that, another doorman was hired. Because every time the Ninth Young Master returned to the mansion, someone in the Duke's mansion would suffer misfortune, some even losing their lives, the doorman became afraid and ran away. That's how the job fell to Liu Feng. Not long after he became the doorman of the Duke's mansion, the Ninth Young Master was transferred to be the magistrate of Xinhou County, so there was no need to worry about being cursed to death by the Ninth Young Master.

Half asleep, Liu Feng felt someone pushing his shoulder. He opened his eyes groggily and saw a familiar face in front of him, a face that looked remarkably like the Ninth Young Master.

Ninth Young Master?
Hey!
In an instant, Liu Feng felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him. His sleepiness vanished completely, and he jumped up from the ground. Despite the cold weather, a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

God.

It really is the Ninth Young Master.

Looking back, Xiao Cui, Zhang Xiaoshan, Song Zhen, Song Yun, and the bodyguard of the matriarch who was killed—every time the Ninth Young Master returned home, one of them would die.

This name of a jinx is absolutely well-deserved.

Thinking of the miserable fate of those people, Liu Feng trembled all over. He squeezed the muscles in his face and forced a smile: "Ninth, Ninth Young Master, you, you're back. Please come in, please come in."

As he spoke, Liu Feng quickly turned around and pushed open the door.

This kind of inauspicious star must never be offended.

"Shouldn't we inform them?" Song Yan was somewhat surprised. He hadn't returned to the Duke's mansion for a long time, and he hadn't expected the servants to be so polite now.

Liu Feng bowed and nodded: "No need, no need, this is your own home. Who needs to report when they return to their own home?"

"Please go to the guest room. The master should already be resting. I will go and call him now."

Song Yan nodded and didn't stand on ceremony anymore.

As for Liu Feng, he dashed off to the back of the house.

In just a few months, the Duke's mansion has undergone many changes.

Yang Miaoqing had a penchant for luxury, so in the past, the Duke's mansion was decorated mostly in bright reds and purples, always in a flamboyant style. However, now that Yang Miaoqing is dead, the person in charge is Lin Xiangwan, who comes from a humble background and is quite shrewd. Perhaps it's her own preference, or perhaps she's deliberately putting on an image of being thrifty and frugal, but in any case, the Duke's mansion is now much more modest than before.

The maid on night duty saw that Song Yan's face was also slightly pale, so she did not dare to neglect her and quickly served her fragrant tea.

Looking at the tea in his hand, he realized it was tea leaves he had made himself. He wondered how much Song Hongtao paid per pound when he bought them, and how much he bought. He must have made some money.

After waiting for a short while, they heard hurried footsteps outside the study. They thought Song Hongtao had arrived so quickly, but the person who came was an old man. Who else could it be butler Wang?

"Greetings, Lord Lord." Wang Qingshan bowed and said, "I just saw Liu Feng rushing towards the back courtyard, so I stopped him and asked him what was wrong. That's when I learned that the Ninth Young Master has returned."

Song Yan smiled and asked, "During my absence, did anything happen at the Duke's mansion?"

Wang Qingshan thought for a moment and then began to recount that the Duke's mansion was relatively peaceful. Song Hongtao had a habit of keeping mistresses, and even after remarrying Lin Xiangwan, he was unable to change this habit.

It's probably because they feel that wildflowers smell better than garden flowers.

Moreover, Lin Xiangwan is now heavily pregnant and cannot be served, and Song Hongtao is an impatient man. In addition, Song Hongtao does not like brothels and prefers respectable women. In just a few months, he has seduced seven or eight women.

“The Ninth Young Master diagnosed the Master before. He said that the Master has a health problem. Although he can have sex, he has difficulty getting pregnant.”

Song Yan chuckled. In fact, Song Hongtao's body wasn't just difficult to conceive; he was infertile. He was fine when he was young, but as he got older, coupled with his lack of self-control and excessive indulgence in his youth, his body was depleted. In addition, Yang Miaoqing drugged him, and he lost his fertility early on.

"Could it be that one of his mistresses is pregnant again?"

Wang Qingshan couldn't help but laugh: "Your Excellency is mistaken. It's not that someone is pregnant, it's that all eight of your concubines are pregnant."

puff.

He had just taken a sip of hot tea when he spat it out.

Song Yan's expression was particularly strange.

Good heavens, this Song Hongtao is truly born with a cuckold's body, even more exaggerated than the dead Fang Jun.

Eight mistresses mean eight green hats (being cuckolded).

There might be more than eight.

He might as well open a hat shop.

"He must be very angry."

"That's for sure. But these eight concubines, whether they planned it or not, all chose to tell the master about their pregnancies on the same day. The master couldn't handle it and fainted from anger."

"Upon waking up, he chased away all eight of his concubines."

Song Yan imagined Song Hongtao in his mind, his face first filled with anger upon hearing each piece of news, then going berserk, and finally becoming completely distorted. Tsk, absolutely spectacular, it's a pity I didn't get to see it with my own eyes.

"Are these women willing to accept this?"

"What can we do if we're unwilling? They can't afford to offend the Duke's mansion. In fact, the master has been quite magnanimous, just driving them away. If this were another powerful family, their lives would probably be in danger."

That makes sense.

Although Song Hongtao is a scoundrel, his mistresses are probably no better; they may all share the same thoughts as Lin Xiangwan.

However, one person like that is enough.

"How has Lin Xiangwan been lately?"

"He is quite honest and often speaks well of the Earl in front of the Master, perhaps in an attempt to salvage the relationship between the Earl and the Master."

She's quite clever, though.

Song Yan, at only sixteen years old, was already an earl. In a few more years, he would be a marquis. He wouldn't compete with the child in Lin Xiangwan's belly for the title. Besides, he didn't get along with Song Huai and the others. He was on the same side as her by nature, so there was no harm in getting along with her.

"Aside from that, Aunt Lin didn't do anything else. She mostly stayed in the house to rest during her pregnancy. Although she was very careful, she still couldn't avoid accidents. Before the New Year, there was ice in front of the door, and she accidentally fell to the ground, bleeding. She had to lie in bed for half a month to recover."

"The master was furious, so he sold the maid who took care of Concubine Lin and executed the servant who was responsible for cleaning the Duke's mansion."

"Another time, I accidentally ate a peach kernel and almost miscarried."

Song Yan sneered: "Has anyone from the Yang family come here?"

"Young Master is wise."

Song Yan let out a sigh of relief; even in the small Duke's mansion, there was constant filth.

Now that Yang Miaoqing is dead, the Yang family will surely send someone over.

For the Yang family, the plan to switch the prince with a cat has failed. Therefore, having Song Huai, Song Zhe, and Song Lu, who possess half-Yang family blood, inherit the Duke's mansion is a second-best option. Regardless of who inherits the Duke's title, and marries a Yang family woman, the Song family bloodline will become increasingly diluted, while the Yang family bloodline will become increasingly concentrated. Before long, this Duke Song, even if not a member of the Yang family, will be one.

Seeing Song Hongtao's doting affection for Lin Xiangwan, and given his reluctance to establish an heir, anyone in the Yang family who wasn't a fool could guess Song Hongtao's intentions. Naturally, the Yang family didn't want Lin Xiangwan to have a child, so they resorted to various underhanded tactics.

Lin Xiangwan is incredibly lucky to have survived both attacks.

"Later, Aunt Lin took it upon herself to replace many of the maids in the household, and such incidents became less frequent."

"In addition, the fourth young master, Song An, also came back."

Was it that shrewd businessman who gave him 100,000 taels of silver and reminded him of the fourth brother of Dongling?
Song Yan raised an eyebrow: "What's he coming back for?"

"I'm not too sure about that. Aunt Lin should know something from whispering in his ear. I guess it's related to the white sugar and tea produced in Ningping County. After all, Song An is a merchant, so he can naturally see what kind of profit these two goods can generate."

"Speaking of which, thanks to the white sugar and tea invented by this Ninth Young Master, our Ningping County has become quite prosperous. Many people have entered the Luo family's workshop to work, and they receive a considerable monthly wage, which is probably even higher than that of the prefectural city."

There was also an iron smelting workshop.

However, iron smelting workshops often recruit workers under the guise of sugar workshops.

"In addition, Song Zhe has been expelled from the family genealogy by the master."

Song Yan was startled: "What's going on now?"

Wang Qingshan then recounted in detail how Song Zhe was expelled from the academy in Dongling City, stripped of his academic title, and never employed again, and how he was shot in the groin by an assassin from the Wugulun tribe, resulting in him becoming a eunuch.

Then, he looked at Song Yan with extreme admiration: "Young Master Ninth's methods are truly ruthless and vicious. When Young Master Ninth annihilated the Wugulun tribe, he must have known that others were lurking nearby. That's why he deliberately mentioned Song Zhe's name. I wonder what methods he used to make the survivors of the Wugulun tribe believe this without a doubt, leading them to travel thousands of miles directly to the Eastern Mausoleum Imperial City for revenge. Perhaps even the travel permits along the way were arranged by Young Master Ninth..."

Just one sentence was enough to render Song Zhe a cripple.

The tactic of shifting blame eastward was incredibly clever.

That's amazing, despicable, and shameless.

Yang Miaoqing, Song Yun, and Song Zhen died one after another at the hands of the Ninth Young Master, which was truly not unjust at all, as the two sides were simply not on the same level.

Wang Qingshan's admiring gaze made Song Yan's forehead crease with annoyance. Good heavens, back then he just instinctively felt that it was better to use a fake account when he did something bad while out and about. It was all because Han Tianzun taught him to be bad.

Who would have thought there would be such an unexpected surprise?
Should we mention Li Feiyu's name next time?
Speaking of which, he had mentioned Song Zhe's name to Nakhtoya's guards, so it must have already reached Wanyan Guangzhi's ears. This Great Khan should keep his composure and not embarrass himself.

Surely we can't be worse than even the remnants of the Wugulun tribe?
Just imagining Song Zhe being pierced by two arrows made Song Yan feel a dull ache in one part of her body, while on the other side she couldn't help but feel a sense of pleasure.

For Song Zhe, such injuries were probably more unbearable than being killed.

"Besides that, there's one more thing..."

“Song Jing also came back once.”

Song Yan's eyes narrowed suddenly. Song Jing was the only one of the eight sons of the Yang family who took the military route.

He was brave and skilled in battle, and his martial arts skills were extremely high.

Although they did not fight against the Chu Kingdom or other foreign tribes, they were always successful in suppressing rebellions and eliminating bandits within the mountains.

"What's he coming back for?"

"It must be for the Song family's family heirloom manual." Wang Qingshan frowned. "It seems the master had him make a copy and take it with him."

Is it Vajra Arhat Kung Fu?

In fact, he modified the manual, adding a stroke here and an extra dot there to many characters.

If Song Jing continues to cultivate this "Vajra Arhat Skill" 2.0, who knows what he will become? Let's hope he doesn't turn into Ouyang Feng.

(End of this chapter)