Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 320 Sun Hao, Prefect of Pingyang (Many thanks to Yong Su for being the Alliance Leader)
Fang Lingyu.

Song Yan suddenly remembered that Luo Tianxuan had told him that Fang Hai had chosen another illegitimate daughter from his own family to give to him as a concubine.

That girl's name seemed to be Fang Lingyu.

However, Song Yan's brows did not relax; instead, they furrowed even more tightly.

When Luo Tianxuan mentioned this matter to him, he already felt a sense of familiarity with the name Lingyu. In other words, he must have seen this name somewhere before, but couldn't recall it at the time. Now that Fang Hai brought it up again, Song Yan couldn't help but ponder it deeply. Perhaps after a few breaths, just as Fang Hai was about to urge Song Yan, Song Yan suddenly raised his head, looking at Fang Hai with strange eyes: "Uncle... the Lingyu you mentioned, could it be the 'Ling' of cleverness and the 'Yu' of precious jade?"

Fang Hai was a little confused: "Nephew is right, that is indeed Ling Yu."

Song Yan's gaze became even stranger: "Does this Miss Lingyu know anyone from the Fan family?"

"The Fan family, one of the eight great families of Shanxi."

Fang Hai nodded again: "The Fang family owns many properties and businesses. Lingyu's father is in charge of the Dingzhou area. In the early years, Lingyu also went to many places with her father and had many dealings with the big families in Jin. It is normal for her to know people from the Fan family. The young masters and ladies of several big families would occasionally hold a poetry gathering or a flower appreciation banquet together."

"Tsk, Uncle, not to be rude, but your judgment of people is really... not very good." Song Yan sighed helplessly.

Fang Hai was somewhat unconvinced: "What do you mean by that? You haven't met Lingyu, she's exceptionally beautiful and a rare gem."

"It's not about looks... it's just..." Song Yan found it difficult to say, "But even if Uncle wants to introduce me to a girl, shouldn't he at least pick one who isn't single?"

"Object?"

"It's your other half."

bass!
Fang Hai suddenly stood up: "You mean Ling Yu has already secretly pledged her life to someone?"

Song Yan nodded: "That should be the case."

"Who is that man?"

“Uncle Fang should know that the third branch of the Fan family… I think it was the third branch, anyway, it was Fan Dabiao’s lineage, that was wiped out overnight.” Song Yan thought for a moment and asked.

Fang Hai nodded with a gloomy expression: "Of course I know that."

Although the Fan family could not compare to the Fang family, it was still a prominent family in Ningguo. The extermination of a branch of the family, with hundreds of people killed, was a major event in the circles of aristocratic families. It is said that during that period, almost all aristocratic families unanimously strengthened their protective measures.

These powerful clans, no matter how much power or money they wield, are most afraid of encountering such madmen who will wipe out an entire family at the slightest disagreement. There is almost no reasoning with such people; they are there to kill. Unless there are stronger martial artists in the family, they are lambs to the slaughter.

“I have a good relationship with Jiao Junze, the prefect of Dingzhou, so I know some things that others don’t. It is said that among those killed, there was a man named Fan Jiu’en, who was the grandson of Fan Da’biao.” Song Yan picked up another piece of candied fruit, chewed it, and said, “A letter was found on Fan Jiu’en’s body. It was written by Fan Jiu’en to his lover, and the lover’s name was Ling Yu. The letter also mentioned the Fang family.”

"Judging from the words in that love letter, the two had a deep affection for each other and had already pledged their lives to each other."

"Moreover, having already experienced the pleasures of love, the words in the love letters are extremely explicit."

Although most of the women around Song Yan are older than him, he truly has no interest in other men's women. Look at the women Fang Hai introduced: Fang Lingyue, she's had at least two abortions and is practically a third-hand woman; Fang Lingyu, judging from that love letter, is probably no better.

Do you really think this place is some kind of recycling plant?
Upon hearing this, even Fang Hai, who was known for his thick skin, couldn't help but blush with embarrassment, his toes trembling as he picked at the ground in embarrassment.

What is this thing called?

In order to arrange a marriage with Song Yan, the women introduced to him twice in a row were both impure.

Fortunately, Song Yan was magnanimous; otherwise, they would have become enemies long ago.

I had already asked some old women to investigate before, and the answers they brought back were all the same: pure and innocent, intelligent and virtuous, and self-respecting. How much money did those old women actually receive?
Are all the daughters of the Fang family so despicable?

"It's my fault, it's my fault. Uncle didn't investigate properly. Please don't take it to heart, my dear nephew." Fang Hai quickly apologized, "To express my apology, I will punish myself with three cups of wine."

Seeing Fang Hai drink three cups in a row, Song Yan seriously suspected that the guy might just be craving alcohol.

Fang Hai drank another cup before wiping his mouth: "Don't worry, my dear nephew, the Fang family has many daughters. Next time, next time we will definitely find you a good one."

Song Yan was speechless; this guy still hadn't given up.

“Uncle Fang, these are all minor matters…” After thinking for a moment, Song Yan still spoke up: “Uncle Fang, are you aware that something else happened before the Fan family was wiped out…”

"What's the matter?"

"The Fan family has hired three martial arts masters—one ninth-rank and two eighth-rank—to assassinate me at the Xinhou County government office." Song Yan's expression gradually turned solemn.

Fang Hai's expression also changed, and he frowned deeply: "Is the Fan family really so bold? Nephew, do you mean that this matter might be related to certain people in the Fang family?"

Song Yan shrugged slightly: "That's impossible to confirm."

"At that time, I had just arrived in Xinhou County. The Fan family had a smuggling business to the Jurchens, but I had not yet closed the border. Even if I had, for a merchant like the Fan family, the best option would have been to contact me privately and see if they could bribe me, rather than assassinating me directly, right?"

Fang Hai nodded in deep agreement.

Merchants generally believe in making money through harmony, so resorting to assassination is really going too far.

"In fact, before the entire Fan family was slaughtered, Fan Dabiao did ask his descendants to try to contact me, but one person acted strangely."

"Is it Fan Jiu'en?"

“That’s right, Fan Jiu’en was extremely flustered and locked himself in his room.” Song Yan nodded slightly. “And the only unusual thing about Fan Jiu’en should be this love letter.”

A person like Fang Hai might not be able to be a good official.

But he's definitely quick-witted.

Based on Song Yan's words, Fang Hai quickly deduced that Fang Lingyu likely wanted to use Fan Jiu'en to get rid of Song Yan.

At that time, Fang Hai had already chosen Fang Lingyu from Fang Family Girls' School, and Fang Lingyu already had someone she loved; this was the motive.

But is it really that simple? Fang Hai is worried about other aspects, such as whether Fang Lingyu's father was involved. Since the death of Fang Jun, the eldest grandson of the Fang family, his position as the heir to the Duke has become unstable, with many of his brothers eyeing the position. His attempt to facilitate the marriage between the Fang family and Song Yan also has the element of using Song Yan's influence to solidify his own position. In this light, it is highly possible that someone wants to sabotage the marriage, secretly colluding with Fan Jiu'en to use Fan Jiu'en to eliminate Song Yan and cut off his support.

However, at that time, the Fang family, under the pressure of the Yang family, was no longer as glorious as before and was in a precarious situation. The army under Song Yan's command was probably one of the few. The only military force that the Fang family and Emperor Ninghe could rely on was that Fang De seized the opportunity of his eldest grandson being killed and eliminated Yang Guochen, the Minister of Rites, which finally gave the Fang family and Emperor Ninghe a little breathing room.

In this situation, anyone could see how important Song Yan was to the Fang family and to Emperor Ninghe.

Given this situation, how could anyone still target Song Yan directly in order to seize the position of heir?

Are these people crazy?

If Song Yan dies and loses his military power, even if he gets the title of heir, he will still be pushing his entire family into a fire pit.

It seems I need to have a serious talk with the old man before going to the Eastern Tombs, and we also need to purge the family.

Fang Hai's face was extremely gloomy, and his eyes were fierce, like a wolf ready to devour its prey.

He was really angry.

Moreover, Fang Hai also deduced a lot from Song Yan's words. Song Yan's understanding of the case of Fan Da Biao's family being wiped out was so detailed that it was as if he had witnessed it firsthand. Fang Hai had reason to suspect that it was Song Yan who wiped out Fan Da Biao's family of hundreds of people in order to take revenge.

That's really ruthless.

The brothers in the family actually offended this kind of person in order to secure the position of heir apparent.

Is it pig brain?

……

Shanyin County.

This is an unknown small county town within Dingzhou Prefecture.

Although small, it has everything!
The county town has all the necessary facilities, such as... brothels.

From the private room on the top floor, a man's deep roar and a woman's suppressed moans could be heard, indicating that they were probably doing something.

The woman's voice sounded slightly strange, as if someone had choked her, making it sound painful.

In fact, that's exactly what happened.

The man's fingers were gripping the woman's neck.

The woman felt an intense suffocation; her eyes began to roll back, and she struggled desperately, trying to escape. However, the man was very strong, and the woman had been drinking heavily with many guests all day, leaving her weak and powerless to break free. Before long, she could no longer endure the pressure.

But the man was in a moment of impending doom, his eyes already bloodshot, so he couldn't notice the woman's changes at all. Even if he did notice, he probably wouldn't care much.

Finally, with a low growl, it stopped moving.

After resting for a good fifteen minutes, the man finally got off the woman.

Looking at the woman beneath him, her eyes were wide open, filled with pain and despair, and her face was a strange purplish-blue. He reached out and touched the tip of her nose, and the man's brows immediately furrowed. He spat and said, "Dead? Bah, what bad luck."

He cursed under his breath, not really afraid of anything. Killing a prostitute was no big deal to him.

After all, his identity is that of the Prefect of Pingyang!
Sun Hao!

Students of Bailu Academy.

The top scholar in Ninghe's eighth year.

The new governor who succeeded Song Yan.

She was just a prostitute, and a lowly one at that; her death was no big deal. Yawning, Sun Hao lazily picked up his clothes and put them on. He then pulled a few silver ingots from his sleeve and casually tossed them onto the woman's corpse as compensation to the brothel.

He also understood that his hobby was somewhat perverse.

But there was nothing he could do. Every time he made love with a woman, he couldn't control the violence in his heart. As a result, he had changed concubines one after another over the years, and very few of them could stay in the Sun family for more than three years.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the official seal that represented his identity.

That's right, it's the seal of the governor.

The original governor of Pingyang fled when the Jurchens attacked the pass, taking his official seal with him. This means that neither Qian Yaozu nor the acting governor Song Yan had an official seal.

The imperial court then made a new one and gave it to Sun Hao to carry with him to his post.

He breathed a puff of hot air onto the woman's chest and pressed it hard. Looking at the bright red mark, a smug look appeared on Sun Hao's face. With this mark, the brothel owner wouldn't dare to make a big fuss.

They were very familiar with the process, clearly not the first time they had done this... The influence of Bailu Academy in the imperial court was so great that it fostered the unbridled nature of these officials.

Even if people find out and report it to the authorities, so what? With connections in higher positions, even the biggest problems can be easily suppressed.

Having done all this, Sun Hao left the room smugly and walked out of the brothel.

A night breeze blew by, and my body shivered slightly.

"It's damn cold." Muttering to himself, Sun Hao immediately slipped into a carriage: "Back to the inn."

With the sound of hooves and wheels, the carriage gradually disappeared into the night.

Just then, a petite yet voluptuous figure silently emerged from the shadows on the side of the brothel.

It's Bu Yu!
(End of this chapter)