Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 355 Murder! (12,000 words)

Charcoal burning, white silk, soaking in a pig cage, and arsenic.

This was the last bit of dignity Fang De left for Xie Qingqing and Fang Lingyu.

At least at least one body can be preserved intact.

Fang De's expression was remarkably calm, his eyes revealing not a trace of reluctance. From a modern perspective, such a situation would be difficult to comprehend; it was merely premarital pregnancy, a common occurrence in the 21st century. Abortion, raising the child alone, forcing the man to marry, or demanding exorbitant child support—like that wealthy young master Wang—but the idea of ​​the woman wanting to die was unheard of.

However, for people in ancient times, this was an absolutely unacceptable humiliation.

You can be reckless, indulge in debauchery, and even be unfaithful, but all of this is contingent on these things being done in private and unknown to anyone.

If things get out of hand, it will damage the family's reputation, and many will be publicly drowned in pig cages... People like Fang Lingyu, who were pregnant and still wanted to scheme to have a family VIP take over, are utterly disgracing the family. In Fang De's eyes, this is absolutely unacceptable. Now he is even somewhat glad that this matter has only broken out among a small group of people. Once it becomes known to everyone, he will inevitably be labeled as having a corrupt family style, and the marriage prospects of dozens of his grandchildren could be seriously affected.

Fang De could see it clearly: Xie Qingqing and Fang Lingyu were the typical type who lacked great wisdom, were constantly resorting to petty tricks, and were foolish without even realizing it.

Heart is higher than the sky, life is thinner than paper.

When Song Yan first arrived in Dongling, Fang Lingyu served him at the Fang family's gathering. Didn't she see how she treated Song Yan? She still calls him a peasant.

Didn't she understand the immense prestige of rising four ranks in a single year at the age of sixteen—baron, viscount, earl, and now Marquis of Champion? But in Fang Lingyu's eyes, all she remembered was Song Yan's poor background; he was an unloved illegitimate son of the Duke's mansion. She felt that marrying Song Yan was a step down for her, and that Song Yan was climbing the social ladder.

Although she was his granddaughter, Fang De knew even better that keeping such a woman around would only bring disaster. As long as she was alive, she would continue to cause trouble until she caused a major disaster.

Therefore, for the sake of the Fang family's reputation, and to prevent the Fang family from being implicated by this foolish woman in the future, she must die.

Fang Lingyu and Xie Qingqing were stunned. They never expected that just plotting against Song Yan would cost them their lives. Seeing that Fang De's expression didn't seem to be joking, the two women were immediately enveloped in great fear. They trembled. Xie Qingqing kept pleading with Fang Hu, after all, Fang Hu really doted on her and would never stand by and watch her be executed by her father-in-law.

Fang Lingyu rushed over and tried to grab Fang De's hand, but was stopped by Fang Hai. She could only keep calling out "Grandpa" in the hope of regaining Fang De's affection.

But Fang De seemed not to hear anything, his face indifferent.

Fang Shan had already walked up to the two women and grabbed Xie Qingqing and Fang Lingyu by the neck, lifting them up. Clearly, Fang Shan was not just the Prefect of Dongling Prefecture; this move showed that he had considerable martial arts skills.

Seeing that things were about to get serious, the two women struggled desperately, but they were unable to break free from Fang Shan's grasp.

"Grandpa, forgive me this time, I know I was wrong..." Fang Lingyu was still screaming desperately. Seeing that Fang De was not moving, the pleading in her eyes turned into resentment: "Old man, I am your own granddaughter, how could you treat me like this? I will haunt you even as a ghost." Then she turned to her mother: "Xie Qingqing, you bitch, it's all your fault, it was all your bad idea. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be dead." Finally, she looked at Song Yan: "You heartless beast, why won't you marry me? If you had married me, everything would have been solved. I am a daughter of the Fang family, I am so beautiful. I gave you a chance to marry me, but you didn't cherish it... Those men are like dogs, they would lick my boots if I just beckoned... Why can't you be like them?"

"why?"

Knowing that there was no hope of survival, Fang Lingyu was almost insane, frantically flailing her limbs and screaming pitifully.

According to Fang Lingyu, everything was someone else's fault, as if she wasn't the one drinking with Fan Jiuen, the one who got drunk and slept with him, the one who got pregnant, or the one who plotted to have someone else take the baby. She was still as pure and innocent as ever.

Song Yan watched silently. Why? Probably because he didn't want to become a father unexpectedly... Of course, even without that reason, Song Yan would still look down on Fang Lingyu just for his personality.

If Fang Lingyu were allowed to shout like that all the way, everyone in the Fang family would hear it. Seeing that Fang Lingyu was getting more and more excited and struggling more and more, Fang Shan was a little annoyed. He blinked and casually tossed Fang Lingyu to the ground.

He glanced at Xie Qingqing in his left hand, a cold smile appearing on his face. The next second, he suddenly squatted down, grabbed Xie Qingqing by the back of the neck, and abruptly raised his left arm.

boom!
Xie Qingqing's head was then smashed to the ground by Fang Shan.

The sound of him calling out Fanghu abruptly stopped.

When Fang Shan lifted Xie Qingqing's head again, her face was covered in crimson liquid. Her eyes seemed somewhat dazed and hazy, and her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't speak.

boom.

It hit the gravel road again.

This time, a cracking sound could be faintly heard, indicating that the skull had succumbed to the impact and split open.

boom.

the third time.

Xie Qingqing's skull was completely shattered.

Filth was splattered everywhere.

In the end, they did not use the four ways to die left by the old man.

The old man wanted Xie Qingqing and Fang Lingyu to die with some dignity, as this was his final act of mercy towards them, but they refused, so he could only help them out.

died.

This woman, who had spent her entire life scheming, died just like that.

Fang Hu looked reluctant, but ultimately said nothing more. No matter how much she was favored, she was still just a concubine. Now that the old man was furious, he dared not say anything more in front of him.

Fang Lingyu fell silent, her body trembling uncontrollably. Some blood splattered onto her face and body, warm and sticky, the pungent smell of blood making Fang Lingyu's scalp tingle. Suddenly, she screamed, "Murder!"

The next second, Fang Lingyu used both hands and feet, crawling on the ground like some ugly insect, just wanting to get as far away from Fangshan as possible.

Unfortunately, she wasn't a reptile and didn't have the talent to crawl. Fang Shan caught up with her in no time, grabbed Fang Lingyu's ankle, and lifted her up.

"Father, Lingyu is your granddaughter, you can't..." Fang Hu finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Fang De glanced coldly at Fang Hu: "Tomorrow, summon the elders of the Fang family to open the ancestral hall."

"After tomorrow, you will no longer be a member of the Fang family. Be careful what you do from now on."

Boom... click.

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Fang Hu's head, making his mind buzz.

He knew very well what his father's words meant: expulsion from the family genealogy, severing ties, and becoming estranged from him in life and death.

Fang Shan smiled, and then with a whoosh, he swung Fang Lingyu's body up. At the highest point, he forcefully swung his arm down, and Fang Lingyu's buttocks, back, and back of the head slammed heavily to the ground.

boom.

A dull sound.

Fang Lingyu's body seemed to bounce on the ground.

The piercing scream abruptly stopped.

His eyes bulged out, his mouth opened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "whoosh".

The eyeballs rolled back.

This violent impact caused Fang Lingyu's consciousness to become somewhat blurred.

Immediately, his body was swung around again.

boom!
boom!
boom!
After only seven or eight attempts, Fang Lingyu was covered in blood and lay on the ground, her lips moving slowly but unable to make a sound. Her eyelids struggled to open, twitched twice, and then remained still.

Fang Lingyu is dead.

Fang Shan sighed. The old man had clearly given you a dignified way to die, at least leaving you with intact corpses, but you insisted on making a scene. Now look what happened! He pursed his lips, picked up the two corpses, and headed deeper into the garden. Judging from his practiced movements, this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this… Song Yan realized that within the Fang family, Fang Shan was probably the one specifically responsible for doing the dirty work.

I glanced back into the depths of the garden and suddenly felt a chilling atmosphere, with gusts of cold wind blowing. Could it be that beneath this vast garden lay a body of bones, used as fertilizer?

A little scary.

Before long, the figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving only two scarlet blood trails on the cobblestone path.

Fang Hu was completely stunned, frozen on the ground, motionless. He still hadn't recovered from the shock he had just experienced... He knew very well that his most valuable asset was his status as the eldest son of the Fang family. Without that status, what would he have left?
"I gave you a chance."

As Fang De passed by Fang Hu, he sighed helplessly.

Yes, we gave him a chance.

He had been hiding behind the artificial hill and hadn't shown up, wanting to see what choice Fang Hu Huo would make. Unfortunately, he disappointed Fang De.

“If I can’t be an aristocrat, I’ll just be an ordinary person and live a quiet life. That’s not bad either.” Fang De shook his head and then turned to Song Yan: “Brother Song, I’m sorry for not disciplining you properly. This is why this happened in the family. It’s my fault.”

"It's getting late, Song Ge'er, go and rest first. I'll take care of the rest of the small matters."

Song Yan nodded, glanced at Luo Tianyi, and the two figures gradually disappeared into the darkness. It seemed Fang De still intended to say something to Fang Hu, but it wasn't something an outsider like him could overhear.

That night, Fang De and Fang Hu talked for a long time.

As dawn approached, Fang Hu returned to his residence. Without saying a word, he called his wife, several concubines, sons, and daughters, and together they left the Fang family home.

The next day, Fang De summoned the clan elders and expelled the entire Fanghu lineage from the family genealogy.

The Fang family was abuzz with discussion, wondering what terrible thing Fang Hu had done to deserve such punishment. No one mentioned Xie Qingqing and Fang Lingyu either, assuming they had left with Fang Hu. Little did anyone know that two clumps of fertilizer had appeared in the Fang family's backyard.

With Fang Lingyu gone and no longer worried about being schemed against, Song Yan has been quite relaxed these past two days. He spends most of his time strolling around Dongling City, getting familiar with this unfamiliar place.

The old eunuch Wei Zhong made one appearance, taking away a box of calcium sodium edetate and a box of sodium dimercaptopropanesulfonate from Song Yan. One is for treating lead poisoning, and the other is for treating mercury and arsenic poisoning. The medicine cabinet's refreshed stock wasn't comprehensive; finding these two boxes was already extremely difficult. As for other heavy metals, well, there was nothing they could do.

In addition, Wei Zhong brought news that his name had been registered at an unknown small academy in Dongling City, and he would participate in the imperial examinations under the name of the academy. The specific time should be after the first month of the lunar calendar, and in the second month of spring, there would be five rounds of examinations: the provincial examination, the county examination, the prefectural examination, the capital examination, and the palace examination. It would take at least until June to complete all five rounds.

Song Yan then felt a headache coming on.

Who would have thought that after transmigrating, I would still have to take an exam? Is this fate? The kind that I can't avoid no matter what I do?
News of Song Zhe's death from illness in prison has also spread.

Some people's fear of Song Yan deepened even further.

Although one was born of the principal wife and the other of a concubine, they were still brothers from the same father. To kill them so easily shows a truly vicious heart.

It is said that after news of Song Zhe's death spread, a burly man kowtowed nine times in the direction of northeast in Dongling City, shouting that his great revenge had been fulfilled, and then slit his own throat.

Some people suspect that he is mentally ill, while others suspect that he was previously framed by Song Zhe and had long been determined to die. Now that Song Zhe is dead, he no longer wants to live.

Song Huai, Song Yi, and Song Jing remained remarkably quiet, seemingly indifferent to Song Zhe's death. They didn't claim his remains, which were eventually dumped in a mass grave and reportedly devoured by wild dogs within days. Even the assassin who had fired a crossbow bolt at Song Yan from the shore earlier hadn't reappeared. It was unclear whether he feared Song Yan's retaliation and thus abandoned the assassination attempt, or whether he was plotting an even more deadly attack.

Zhao Gaizhi continued to go to Dongling Prefecture every day to file a complaint against Song Yan, as always.

Fangshan then passed the case to the Dali Temple, which in turn passed it to the Ministry of Justice.

Zhao Gaizhi even wore mourning clothes and knelt in front of the palace gate, begging Emperor Ninghe to uphold justice.

Emperor Ninghe had no choice but to appoint the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial.

Unfortunately, even with the joint investigation by the three judicial authorities, no useful information could be found. Zhao Gaizhi had people guard the crime scene and prevented any damage, but the perpetrators were too clever and left no useful information at the scene. It was impossible to implicate Song Yan, and in the end, the matter could only be dropped.

To appease Zhao Gaizhi, Emperor Ninghe assigned him a position in the Imperial Guard, commanding three thousand Imperial Guards, which gave him some real power.

The connection between the Yang family and Zhao Gaizhi has also visibly increased.

News of the murder of Sun Hao, the top scholar in the imperial examination who came from Bailu Academy and was on his way to Pingyang to serve as the governor of Pingyang, in an inn also reached Dongling.

Governor of a prefecture, a high-ranking official of the third rank.

All eight guards who were with him were killed without exception.

This incident caused a huge uproar in Dongling City. Openly assassinating a high-ranking official was tantamount to disregarding the imperial court. The two Chancellors of the Secretariat were furious and petitioned for a thorough investigation. Emperor Ninghe then handed the case over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, saying that it must be thoroughly investigated and that justice must be served for Sun Hao.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Minister of Justice reluctantly accepted this hot potato.

check?
How to check?
Even a fool would know that Song Yan did this, but is there any evidence?

When Sun Hao was killed, Song Yan was in Songzhou Prefecture, delivering pensions to fallen soldiers. This is an obvious fact, easily verifiable with a little investigation—a perfect alibi. Even if you know Song Yan is the murderer, what can you do?
Moreover, this whole affair was done unfairly by your Bailu Academy. Song Yan risked his life to severely injure the Jurchens, and Pingyang Prefecture finally had a few years of peace. Your Bailu Academy couldn't wait to jump out and reap the benefits. If we don't kill you, who will we kill?
Finally, the case was settled that the perpetrators had committed murder and robbery. Emperor Ninghe issued an edict ordering the local government to suppress the bandits, and the case was considered closed.

However, after investigating further, some unusual things were indeed discovered. For example, when Sun Hao stayed at an inn in the local county town, he would take the governor's seal and stamp it on the innkeeper's ledger to settle the bill. Even when he went to a brothel to find a girl, he would stamp the girl's belly to offset the cost of prostitution.

Such behavior is utterly disgraceful, and Sun Hao has almost completely ruined the reputation of the court officials.

What if you dine and dash or solicit prostitutes without paying?
Emperor Ninghe was furious and ordered the confiscation of Sun Hao's property, and his wife, children, parents, and brothers were all imprisoned.

Because this was such an unethical and shameful act, even the officials from Bailu Academy were too embarrassed to plead for them and could only pretend they hadn't heard anything.

As a result, 370,000 taels of silver and countless antiques and paintings were confiscated from Sun Hao's home. Keep in mind that this was just a junior official in the Ministry of Revenue... not a vice minister, but a junior official, a fifth-rank official, yet he had already embezzled such a huge amount of wealth. One can only imagine how many corrupt officials there were in the court.

Emperor Ninghe was furious and berated his ministers in the court.

Song Yan felt a little regretful. He was only the Marquis of Champion, holding the official title of county magistrate. Without a special edict from Emperor Ninghe, he was not required to attend court. He was unable to witness the scene firsthand and wondered how it compared to Kang Mazi's angry rebuke of the officials.

Who would have thought that Emperor Ninghe was a restless man who actually sneaked out of the palace and met with Song Yan. He was basically showing off, beaming with joy, as if he had found money on the street.

Song Yan mentally scoffed, "You've never seen anything like this before. You're so excited about 370,000 taels of silver. When I ransacked Pingyang City, I didn't even have 3.7 million taels of silver. I extorted 5 or 6 million taels from the Kong and Fan families. What's 370,000 taels to you?"

Look how smug you are.

Perhaps because he was terrified of poverty, Emperor Ninghe's eyes were gleaming. Song Yan seriously suspected that Emperor Ninghe thought he had found a way to get rich quickly.

"You tell me," Emperor Ninghe once asked, "Sun Hao clearly has a fortune of 370,000 taels of silver, yet he still needs a stamp to even visit a brothel. If he had spent a little money, his whole family wouldn't have ended up in this state."

Song Yan smiled and said, "Perhaps, for Sun Hao, the greatest meaning of being an official lies in enjoying the pleasure of trampling on others. The feeling of being superior to others is irresistible to him. If he pays for prostitution, then what's the difference between him and other common people?"

As for the successor as governor of Pingyang, it has not yet been decided, mainly because Sun Hao's fate was rather tragic, and no one wants to lose their life for no reason.

Emperor Ninghe originally intended to issue an edict to temporarily appoint Luo Tianquan as the magistrate of Ningping County, while Luo Tianshu would be transferred to Pingyang to temporarily act as the prefect of Pingyang. However, this was rejected by the Secretariat and the Chancellery. Emperor Ninghe had no choice but to settle for second best and let Princess Luo Yuheng temporarily manage all affairs of Pingyang Prefecture.

There was no precedent for a woman to hold an official position in Ningguo. However, perhaps because they felt that Luo Yuheng was just a woman and could not cause any trouble, and that it was only a temporary appointment, the two Chancellors, Yang Hetong, the Grand Secretary, did not object as fiercely this time. After some bumps along the way, the matter was finally settled.

The powerful and influential people of Dongling City gradually realized that Song Yan was actually quite easy to get along with. Although he was bloodthirsty, he wasn't the kind of young man overflowing with a sense of justice. Basically, as long as you didn't provoke him, you could live in peace, and he wouldn't actively come looking for trouble. Many of these powerful and influential people secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and most of them told their children and grandchildren at home to avoid Song Yan if they encountered him... Although it was a bit of a loss of face, compared to Song Yan's revenge, this loss of face was insignificant.

The main problem is that Song Yan always has a ninth-rank martial artist sister-in-law by his side, no matter where he goes. Her methods of killing are too sophisticated, so it's impossible to implicate him. Killing her would be pointless.

The only ones who are truly fearful are the censors of the Censorate, who usually make a living by their words. They are terrified that Song Yan might come knocking on their door at any moment. It is said that some of the censors have even fallen ill from fright.

Sometimes, Song Yan would also visit the Princess's residence... no, now it's been renamed the Marquis of Champion's residence. The renovation progress is rather slow. Originally, it was estimated that they could move in in three to five days, but now it seems that it will take at least seven or eight days. It's not that the people in the Ministry of Works are being lazy; it's just that the residence is too big. Fortunately, the main structure and beams of the residence are not too important. If even these had to be replaced, it would be practically the same as rebuilding from scratch. Not to mention seven or eight days, even seventy or eighty days wouldn't be enough.

Sometimes, Song Yan would also take a walk in the bluestone alley.

The alleyway, lined with bluestone, is mostly inhabited by craftsmen.

Carpenter, stonemason, blacksmith.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—artisans were above merchants.

In reality, the status of artisans was far lower than that of merchants, perhaps ranking at the bottom of the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

Ningguo did not value craftsmen.

To the scholars and officials in the Ningguo court, the craftsmanship of artisans was nothing more than some strange skills and tricks, not worth a laugh. What was the importance of investigating things compared to studying the Four Books and Five Classics and exploring the ultimate principles of heaven and earth?

Legend has it that a craftsman in the Ministry of Works once invented a waterwheel that could draw water from low-lying areas to higher ground, facilitating irrigation and greatly benefiting farmers. However, the craftsman's reward was only five hundred copper coins. This waterwheel, which could have significantly increased grain production, remains with the Ministry of Works to this day, with no intention of promoting its use.

After all, if grain production increases and people can have enough to eat, who would be willing to sell their land or their daughters?
After Song Yan learned about this, he immediately abandoned his original idea of ​​taking out those high-yield seeds.

Given the current situation in Ningguo, if a high-yield crop were to be discovered, the first thing to happen would not be national celebration, but countless assassinations. Even the seedlings in the fields might encounter troubles such as flooding or fire.

Whenever he thought of these things, Song Yan felt increasingly disgusted with Dongling and longed to return to Pingyang. Only in a place far from the emperor could he realize what he wanted.

Wandering through the bluestone alleys was also a crucial part of Song Yan's journey to realize his ideals. While the literati did not value craftsmen, Song Yan did. In his eyes, these craftsmen were the true future of Ningguo.

Flintlock gun, thunderclap.

It will eventually be rolled out.

It can't all be done by him by hand.

The bolt-action rifles that followed also require more craftsmen to participate in the research.

Song Yan then used his silver tongue to persuade the craftsmen to abandon Dongling City and relocate to Pingyang. He promised that in Pingyang they would receive three or even ten times the treatment and respect they deserved. He even promised to pay for the expenses of the relocation.

Most of the craftsmen looked at Song Yan as if he were a fool, probably thinking he was crazy. Dongling City was perfectly fine; who would want to go to Liaodong to brave the cold winds? What if the Jurchens attacked again?
You've promised many benefits now, but what if you go back on your word once we get to Liaodong?
However, some craftsmen were persuaded by Song Yan, took the thirty taels of silver for moving and a letter of introduction written by Song Yan himself, and left Dongling with their families.

Luo Tianyi and Ziyu were both confused about what Song Yan was trying to do, and they felt that all that money was going to go down the drain.

"Young master, aren't you afraid they'll run away with the money?" Ziyu asked.

Song Yan smiled and said, "Some people will definitely run away. I don't think most people will run away, but if even one out of ten manages to reach Pingyang, then it will be a success."

"You don't understand, the true future lies in the investigation of things."

Ziyu and Luo Tianyi exchanged a glance, both able to see the confusion in each other's eyes.

They really don't understand.

The Four Books and Five Classics, and the pursuit of officialdom through studying, were the highest aspirations for ordinary families.

It's like common sense, a truth, deeply imprinted on the souls of everyone in this era.

They knew what "investigating things" meant, but they had never seen anyone value it as much as Song Yan.

Song Yan didn't explain much. After leaving the bluestone alley, he encountered two people who could be considered acquaintances: Song Mingyu and Song Mingzhou.

The two men rode in a sedan chair, accompanied by eight servants, making quite a grand procession. When they passed the entrance to the bluestone alley, they encountered Song Yan. They ordered the servants to stop, climbed out of the sedan chair, and intercepted Song Yan. Of course, Song Mingyu and Song Mingzhou were not looking for trouble.

Song Zhe's life.

The four lives of the Marquis of Anning.

The commander of the Imperial Guards and his family lost their lives.

Sun Hao has nine lives.

Song Yan has only been in Dongling for a few days, and the seventeen lives already prove he's not someone to be trifled with. He's a ruthless killer, murdering his own brothers, nobles, soldiers, and even civil officials and scholars. He's practically a madman, a lunatic, a hothead. And to make matters worse, he has a sister-in-law who's a ninth-rank martial artist, impossible to kill. This kind of person is the most troublesome. These days, provoking Song Yan in Dongling City is a laughingstock.

They were looking for Song Yan anyway, so they made good time.

Song Mingyu and Song Mingzhou forced a smile and cupped their hands in greeting to Song Yan: "Lord Marquis."

Song Yan smiled, showing none of the ferocity he displayed when killing: "What Marquis? Come to think of it, I should call you both cousins. We're all family, why be so distant?"

The Song brothers were surprised that Song Yan was so agreeable, and for a moment they were even a little flattered. Song Yan's attitude was much better than when he faced Song Huai and Song Yi. To be honest, although the two brothers had looked down on Song Yan before, they had never done anything to bully him, and there was no enmity between them. Moreover, Song Yan's revenge was clearly aimed at Yang Miaoqing's faction. Thinking of this, the two brothers felt much more at ease, and their fear subsided considerably.

"My two cousins, you've come all this way to find me, is there something you need?" Song Yan blinked, his smile widening. "Although I'm currently just a minor county magistrate, and I've even lost my position as acting governor, I'm still a Marquis of Champion, so I should still be of some use. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know, and I'll do my best."

The two brothers, Song Mingyu and Song Mingzhou, exchanged a glance, and their impression of Song Yan improved considerably.

Look, this is what a truly loving family looks like.

Unlike Song Huai, Song Yi, and Song Zhe, those three shameless fellows, eating and living in the Ministry of Works' residence, not only failing to repay any favors but also constantly causing trouble for the Ministry of Works—truly despicable. Take Song Zhe, for example. When he was arrested by the constables, he was shot with an arrow, and that guy from Fangshan suspected someone was trying to silence him, first suspecting Song Jincheng… Although there was no evidence, it still earned him a reprimand from Emperor Ninghe.

Song Mingyu sighed, “We are all family. My cousin has been staying at the Fang family’s house since he arrived in Dongling. Father felt very guilty. Family members should not be so distant. So he prepared a banquet at home and invited my cousin to come over for a chat, so that we can get to know each other better.”

Song Yan's smile deepened.

It's because of Yang Miaoqing, isn't it?

Song Jincheng couldn't sit still any longer.

This time, if I don't screw you over, I'll make sure you regret it!

(End of this chapter)