Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 330 The First Jingguan in the Capital (2)

Boom... Crack!

The ancient city of Dongling is shrouded in a continuous drizzle.

A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, casting flickering light and shadow on Zhao Gaizhi's face.

Hate?

Of course I hate it.

Because of this damn woman, he lost the girl he grew up with;

Three babies who never made it out of their mother's womb are gone;
Because of this woman, the lineage of Marquis Anning has come to an end.

He's already over fifty years old; the difficulty of having another child is unimaginable.

Both of them were chopped up.

It's a pity that the corpse, which might still have some use, can't be used to feed the dogs.

Zhao Gaizhi looked up at the sky, his face bitter. He had felt a strange sense of satisfaction as he hacked at Zhao Feng and Yang Shuxuan with the knife, but now, after it was all over, he felt a void in his heart. He suddenly wondered if his father would regret forcing him to marry Yang Shuxuan if he knew she was such a vicious woman.

Probably not.

Zhao Gaizhi smiled. As the son, he knew his old man's personality well. He was incredibly stubborn. Even if he knew that Yang Shuxuan was ruthless, he would most likely still choose a woman from other noble families or official families to marry him. The idea of ​​being able to stay with Cuicui forever might just be a pipe dream.

He was also a little confused.

Yang Shuxuan is shameless.

Yang Miaoqing is even more shameless than Yang Shuxuan.

Could it be that all women from the Yang family are of this nature?
Goodness, there are quite a few nobles in the entire Dongling City, and even the entire Ning Kingdom, who have married women from the Yang family. Could it be that all of them have been cuckolded?
Thinking about it this way, the sadness in my heart inexplicably dissipated a bit.

Zhao Gaizhi had a vague feeling that things weren't so simple. Perhaps he should find a time to talk to Song Yan privately. He could sense that Song Yan knew many secrets that he didn't.

Zhao Gaizhi pursed his lips and found a corner of the backyard wall. There was a dog hole there. When he was little, he was disobedient and couldn't stand the teacher's scolding, so he often crawled out through this dog hole to play. It was the same when Zhao Feng grew up. He never thought that now that he was over fifty years old, he would still be crawling out of a dog hole... Oh well, he was out this time to destroy the murder weapon, so he couldn't go through the front gate or the back gate.

Although the guards at the gate were all loyal to the Marquis's mansion, it was still best to keep such matters as secret as possible.

……

at the same time.

Dongling, outer city.

Guo family.

I've gotten myself into trouble today.

How could he have harbored such ulterior motives, accepting five hundred taels of silver from Zhao Feng, only to incur the wrath of the emperor's nephew-in-law and the eldest son of the Fang family? Before these two behemoths, he, a mere commander, was like an ant, utterly insignificant—the kind of person they could crush with a mere wave of their hand. Although Song Yan said the matter would be over and forgotten, Guo Sheng still felt things weren't so simple. It would be safer to leave Dongling as soon as possible; even if it meant giving up his hard-earned official position, at least he could survive.

But who would have thought that his wife was such a troublemaker? She went out in the afternoon, saying she was going to find a girl for her son. When she came back, it was already dark, and she looked terrible. She was cursing and swearing, saying that the girl was ungrateful, that a mere daughter of a merchant family could look down on the son of the Imperial Guard Commander.

Guo Sheng knew exactly what kind of person his son was.

Because he spent a lot of time in the military camp and rarely went home, and his wife was not good at disciplining children, spoiling them from childhood, his personality became somewhat unruly. Some time ago, he even abused a girl in the outer city. Fortunately, he was leading the patrol himself, so he covered up the matter. To prevent the news from leaking out, the girl was also thrown into a dry well.

He must be dead.

He was a regular at gambling dens, and if it weren't for Guo Sheng's position as commander of the Imperial Guard, which provided him with a considerable amount of illicit income, he simply couldn't afford to support his rebellious son's expenses.

With a personality like that, I doubt any decent girl would even look at her.

Hearing that he was going to give up his official position and leave Dongling, the woman was even more unwilling and kept grumbling and complaining. It was only after Guo Sheng saw that it was getting late and his mood was getting worse that he gave her a good scolding and she started packing her things while crying.

He was generally unwilling to leave Dongling. After all, although his official rank wasn't high, he could still act with impunity in the outer city. Seeing his wife and son dawdling around, Guo Sheng couldn't help but feel the urge to abandon them and run away on his own. However, he remembered that they were his wife of over twenty years and his own son, so he held back.

It was past midnight when all the packages, big and small, were finally packed up.

The two servants in the house had long been dismissed.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked outside the gate.

Guo Sheng then took his wife's hand and walked towards the door. Just as they reached their own door, Guo Sheng suddenly stopped and saw a tall and voluptuous figure standing right in front of their door.

Judging from her figure, it was a woman.

She wore a long black dress that hugged her graceful figure.

With fair skin and a beautiful face, she looked no more than twenty years old, yet she possessed a mature charm that seemed untouched by time.

In this city of Dongling, Guo Sheng had seen many beauties, but he had never seen such a stunningly beautiful woman.

He had once heard some pedantic scholars recite poems about beautiful women:

Her eyebrows compete with the willow for greenness, and her face competes with the peach for redness.

The ignorant woman beside him frowned, her suspicious gaze shifting between the woman and Guo Sheng, as if wondering if there was some relationship between them she was unaware of. Guo Sheng, of course, dared not have any designs on such a beautiful woman; he knew very well he was not worthy.

He was just about to run away when this woman suddenly blocked the doorway, which terrified Guo Sheng.

Just then, Guo Sheng's pupils suddenly contracted. He was horrified to discover that, despite the torrential rain, the woman's body was spotless, without a trace of wetness. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that when the raindrops hit the woman, it was as if an invisible barrier enveloped her body, keeping out all the rain.

His heart skipped a beat.

It is said that when a martial artist reaches the ninth rank, they can ward off water and fire.

Could he be a ninth-rank martial artist?
Rumble, rumble.

Another bolt of lightning tore through the night sky.

In that fleeting moment of brightness, Guo Sheng could even clearly see that the raindrops shattered a few centimeters from the woman's head, turning into fine mist that swirled around her.

For a moment, Guo Sheng even felt his throat go dry.

Damn it, even a ninth-rank martial artist has come knocking on our door.

Although he was terrified, Guo Sheng tried his best to endure it. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and bowed to the woman in front of him: "My lady, what brings you here so late at night?"

The mysterious woman in black stood there quietly. Upon hearing this, her long eyelashes finally trembled slightly, and she raised her eyes, her cold gaze sweeping over Guo Sheng. In an instant, Guo Sheng felt as if his body was about to freeze.

"This afternoon... the person you're going to kill is my husband."

The woman finally spoke, her voice cold and slightly hoarse.

But what he said sent chills down Guo Sheng's spine.

That Jingguan fanatic is indeed not easy to get along with.

Guo Yang, the son behind him, was immediately captivated by the beautiful woman. That afternoon, Guo Yang had been fooling around with a group of cronies in a tavern, and was still reeking of alcohol. Coupled with his not-so-bright personality and arrogant nature, he was completely mesmerized, oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere, and shouted, "Dad, arrest this woman! I want her as my wife!"

hiss.

Guo Yang was startled by these words and quickly shouted, "Shut up!" He then looked at the woman opposite him and said, "Please forgive me, my son has been drinking and spoke inappropriately. I hope you won't hold it against him; he's just a child." The woman looked at the young man, who appeared to be around twenty years old. Was he really just a child?

She shook her head: "It's alright."

Guo Sheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're all going to die anyway."

what?
Guo Sheng hadn't reacted yet when the woman in front of him suddenly disappeared through the rain like a shadow. His eyes couldn't even catch a glimpse of her body; all he could see were afterimages.

The next instant, a shrill scream came from behind.

It was his son Guo Yang's voice.

Guo Sheng turned around abruptly and saw that the woman's right hand had somehow become gripped on his son's head. Five fingers, sharp nails, had silently dug into the skull, bringing indescribable pain.

With such severe injuries, son, it's over.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah……

Guo Sheng's eyes were bloodshot, and he howled almost madly. He raised his arm, and a crossbow appeared in his palm. He aimed it at the woman opposite him and pulled the trigger.

This was something Guo Sheng secretly brought out of the military camp because he sensed danger was imminent.

With a hiss, the crossbow bolt flew straight toward the woman's face.

Just as he was about to leave a bloody hole in the woman's face, the woman's figure disappeared silently, like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water. When she reappeared, she was already beside her own wife. She gracefully raised her slender hand and ran a fingernail along her wife's neck.

The trachea was cut open instantly.

Blood splattered.

Guo Sheng's wife stared wide-eyed, clutching her neck with both hands, making gurgling sounds. She staggered backward and finally collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud.

His body was still convulsing, but that was just a struggle before death.

Guo Sheng was completely disoriented. He was like a madman, drawing his knife and lunging forward. He knew he couldn't escape this ghostly woman; only a desperate fight would give him a chance to survive.

Guo Shenggao underestimated himself and the woman.

The gleaming blade had just cleaved through the raindrops falling from mid-air when the woman's body appeared behind him like a phantom, her slender, pale fingers gently brushing against Guo Sheng's neck.

Chirp, chirp.

Guo Sheng's head immediately did a 720-degree spin.

The cervical spine is likely broken.

The woman stood still, quietly waiting for Guo Yang and Guo Sheng's wife to breathe her last.

They were probably somewhat resentful, after all, even if they had tried to kill Song Yan, they hadn't succeeded... In their hearts, they didn't deserve to die. But for this woman, whoever dared to plot against her husband had to be killed; she couldn't allow such a threat to exist.

After a while, the two finally breathed their last.

The woman then knelt down and removed the heads of the three men.

Guo Sheng and his wife's heads were placed on the lower level, while Guo Yang's head was placed on top.

It can be considered a small mound of skulls.

……

Fangfu.

A large table of dishes.

It's a bit late for dinner.

The main reason was that the old master of the Fang family, Fang De, stayed in the palace for too long and returned rather late. Without the old master's return, it was not appropriate for the others to have a meal.

As soon as Song Yan returned to the Fang residence, Fang Hai came to his door. There was no other reason than that the old master was very curious about Song Yan and insisted that he be present at the meal later.

Speaking of which, Song Yan was also very interested in this pillar of strength under Emperor Ninghe.

Ningguo is now in a precarious state.

Although Emperor Ninghe had some ability and methods, without the support of this Minister of the Imperial Secretariat in the court, Emperor Ninghe probably wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long. At first glance, he didn't seem particularly special; he was just a thin, frail old man with a wrinkled face and a kind, benevolent expression.

However, Song Yan dared not show the slightest disrespect to this old man.

Anyone who dares to look down on this old man has probably already been reincarnated.

As soon as he saw Song Yan, the old man greeted him with a smile, grabbed Song Yan's hand, and pulled him to the seat below the main seat.

In such families, the seating arrangement at meals is very particular.

Fang De himself was already over seventy years old, which is definitely considered a long life in this era.

Such an elderly person, no matter whose home they visit, must sit in the seat of honor; otherwise, being accused of disrespecting elders would be enough to cause them considerable trouble. Moreover, Fang De is a Duke and the current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; apart from the Emperor, there are few people in the entire Ning Kingdom who dare to sit in front of Fang De.

Next, seating arrangements were made according to seniority and official rank. While guests would be seated one rank higher, it wouldn't be too extravagant. The Fang family's situation was rather special. As a first-rate aristocratic family in Ningguo, the status of their descendants was naturally higher than that of ordinary officials. Moreover, Fang Hai also held the title of Marquis, and there was a complicated uncle-nephew relationship between Fang Hai and Song Yan. Therefore, Fang Hai should have been the first among them.

Even Fang Hai's brothers had to be ranked ahead of Song Yan.

That's why, when they saw the old man pull Song Yan to sit down, the expressions on their faces all turned a little ugly, feeling that their old man cared too much about Song Yan.

Although he was a prince consort, it was common knowledge that Ning and the emperor were not on good terms with Luo Yuheng.

This prince consort doesn't carry much weight.

Although Song Yan has made some minor contributions, he is still no match for the Fang family, which has a history of six or seven hundred years. Why is he being praised like this?

Moreover, Fang Hai's son had just died.

Most of the brothers coveted the position of the Fang family's heir.

After all, what right does someone who doesn't even have a legitimate son have to inherit the vast Fang family? So they sought out some people to subtly inquire about the old man's attitude, but the old man seemed to have his sights set on Fang Hai and remained unmoved no matter what they did.

After his wife died, he remarried.

The second wife was still the legal wife, and the children she bore were still legitimate sons.

These brothers felt that it was probably because of the military merits that Song Yan had helped Fang Hai that the old man valued Fang Hai more.

As a result, the way he looked at Song Yan became more hostile.

Song Yan felt somewhat helpless; this meal was unlikely to be peaceful.

Several graceful young women were serving dishes and pouring wine nearby. These women were not ordinary maids, but rather illegitimate daughters of the Fang family. Having illegitimate daughters serve was a customary practice in wealthy households, a way to show respect to guests. Behind Song Yan was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, slightly older than him. She was slender and tall, with bright, expressive eyes, and a faint smile that graced her fair face throughout, giving her a touch of allure.

Song Yan didn't know who this woman was, but when Fang Hai saw the arrangement, his expression suddenly changed, and his eyes became gloomy.

(End of this chapter)