Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 379 The Mei Family Heirloom (1)

Snowflakes are falling.

Although it was just a fleeting, light kiss, like a dragonfly skimming the water, it was the silence and the deep darkness that gave Luo Tianyi the greatest courage.

Her slender body, like a falling leaf, drifted away.

She is really shy.

Her fair face was flushed, her cheeks burning as if she had a fever. She didn't even dare to look at Song Yan's face anymore. With a light tap of her toes on the ground, her body quickly disappeared into the darkness.

My courage has run out.

They ran away.

Song Yan was left standing alone in the wind and snow, seemingly still reeling from the scene that had just unfolded. After a long while, his fingers unconsciously went to his lips, as if the soft touch of Luo Tianyi's cherry lips still lingered in his mind's eye. Unfortunately, that kiss had been far too brief; there hadn't been enough time to truly savor its flavor.

But what does the sister-in-law mean by this?
Was that her answer?

Does this mean I've agreed to something?

He could no longer suppress the smile that was playing on his lips, and he burst into laughter.

Then, he couldn't help but start thinking again. He had gotten past his sister-in-law, but what about Luo Yuheng? And what about Emperor Ninghe?

Luo Yuheng is Luo Tianyi's adoptive mother and aunt. Although it was Luo Yuheng's arrangement to have Luo Tianyi stand in for Luo Tianxuan to have a wedding ceremony with him and to protect him closely, it seems that she really wanted him to marry Luo Tianyi. But now that he is really with Luo Tianyi, he doesn't know what Luo Yuheng's attitude will be.

And then there's Emperor Ninghe, who is the biological father of Luo Tianxuan and Luo Tianyi.

If he knew that he had taken two of his daughters, he would probably be furious.

Moreover, there is no precedent in history of two princesses marrying the same prince consort.

As he walked, his mind wandered, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the Fang residence. Luo Tianyi's bedroom was quiet, with the candles still lit. He did not disturb him, knowing that his sister-in-law would probably think things through after what had happened that night.

I might also experience insomnia.

I went to check on Bu Yu as usual, and her condition was steadily improving.

But just like before, there was no sign of him waking up.

Unable to wake up, Bu Yu could not eat and could only rely on Song Yan to feed her some glucose each day to provide nutrition. However, this was obviously not enough. In just a few days, Bu Yu's chubby little face became much thinner, and her already petite body now looked even more pitiful.

It wasn't surprising at all; Bu Yu's injuries were far too severe. If it weren't for the fact that he possessed medicine far superior to that of this era, even if the legendary physician Sun Shuji had come, he would most likely have lost his life. Song Yan examined him again. His breathing was steady, and although his pulse was slightly weak, it was much stronger than it had been that morning. At this rate of recovery, Bu Yu should be able to wake up in another two or three days.

“You must be tired these past few days.” Song Yan looked up at Zi Yu again. In the past few days, whenever Song Yan went out, Luo Tianyi accompanied him. As for Zi Yu, she mostly stayed in the bedroom to take care of Bu Yu, so that if there was any emergency, there would be no one to take care of her. “Bu Yu’s condition has stabilized. You should get some rest tonight.”

Ziyu simply smiled, indicating that she wasn't tired.

I just wash her body every day and massage the uninjured parts of her body from time to time; it's nothing serious.

Out of the room.

Looking into Luo Tianyi's bedroom, the candlelight had already gone out.

Song Yan smiled and said nothing more, simply going straight to the pavilion in the guest courtyard and sitting down. Zi Yu obediently followed behind him. Although she had been sold to Luo Tianxuan by her master, her status as the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect had not been stripped, and her strength as a ninth-rank martial artist was undeniable. Therefore, Zi Yu's status and power within the Hehuan Sect had not been affected. Song Yan had previously asked Zi Yu to keep an eye on those with whom he had a strained relationship.

He waved and asked a maid on night duty for a pot of fragrant tea.

Even though wealthy families like the Fang family are not as noisy at night as they are during the day, there are still plenty of guards patrolling and maids waiting to be ordered around. These guards and maids also like working at night. Firstly, there is less work to do at night, and apart from staying up all night, the work is relatively easy and not tiring. Secondly, they are paid more each month.

In this day and age, it's already considered a rare and good job.

Of course, it wasn't without its downsides... For example, sordid things often happened in wealthy families late at night, and if you accidentally saw or heard something, you might lose your life.

The tea used by the Fang family was naturally of the highest quality. Unlike brewing tea, which is troublesome and takes a long time, the tea was simply steeped in boiling water and served after the first pot was finished. Song Yan then invited Ziyu to sit down, took a teacup, and poured a cup of tea for Ziyu as well.

"Has Song Jincheng made any unusual moves in the last few days?"

Ziyu held the teacup in her two small hands. Although she hadn't drunk from it yet, the warmth had already seeped through the cup and soothed her cold fingers. Taking a small sip, she felt much of the chill off her body.

“Song Jincheng has done nothing these past two days. Apart from attending court as usual, he has stayed in the Ministry of Works’ residence all day and hasn’t even gone out.” Perhaps because he had been staying at the Hehuan Sect for too long, his words inadvertently revealed a touch of languor and allure.

"Would he really be that honest?"

Ziyu shrugged: "He's just that honest. He hasn't even gone to Qunyu Garden, which he used to frequent. But his two sons are still the same as always. Today, they even came to the Fang family to visit you, but they left after hearing that you had official business to attend to."

"Shen Qi's side is making quite a commotion."

"The day before yesterday, Shen Qi arranged for two trusted confidants to carry a large sum of money, ride fast horses, and travel day and night to Songzhou, seemingly to go to the Duke of Song's mansion to ask Song Hongtao for something."

Song Yan smiled; this seemingly ordinary-looking aunt was surprisingly efficient in her actions. Although Song Hongtao didn't want the news of him being cuckolded to spread far and wide, Shen Qi would definitely offer him a bargaining chip he couldn't refuse.

Once Shen Qi's trusted confidants return, the Ministry of Works' residence will likely be in complete chaos.

"Oh, right, something else happened the day we met Bu Yu." Her slender fingers lightly tapped the rim of the teacup, producing a crisp sound that rippled across the surface of the water. "That day, I followed the young master back to the Fang residence, while Miss Tianyi kept a close eye on Song Jincheng. She then discovered that Song Jincheng had quietly left the inner city and met an old man."

"During their conversation, they also mentioned the prince or something."

Prince?

Song Yan immediately perked up.

Could it be that Song Jincheng is also one of Prince Fu's men?

A book of history.

The power dynamics within the imperial court are truly complex and intertwined.

"What else?"

“In short, it means that your existence is an obstacle to the prince, and you must be eliminated.” Ziyu carefully chose her words. The Hehuan Sect was professional at gathering intelligence, but they were somewhat powerless to analyze anything from this intelligence. “Therefore, I suspect that the two assassination attempts you suffered were related to this prince.” Song Yan was silent for a moment.

The Prince of Fu has a very low profile.

If Ziyu hadn't mentioned it, Song Yan would have almost forgotten about this person.

"Judging from the conversation between Song Jincheng and the old man, the prince seems to be a fairly skilled expert, a ninth-rank martial artist, who is at least confident that he can suppress Luo Tianyi."

Song Yan nodded. A ninth-rank martial artist? No big deal. Wasn't the Ghost Cave Master just a ninth-rank martial artist? He still managed to kill him. Although the Ghost Cave Master had already turned into a human stick when he made his move.

"What about the three Song brothers?"

"Most of the three Song brothers are honest, and Song Jing just stays in the military camp and never goes out."

"After Song Huai went to the military camp, he and Song Yi moved out of the Ministry of Works' residence. It seemed that they were dissatisfied with Song Jincheng's banquet for you. Song Yi lost an eye and was weak. He was still in the recovery period and spent most of his time cursing in the house. Other than that, he didn't do anything out of line."

Song Yan nodded, took out seven or eight envelopes from his pocket, and handed them to Ziyu: "Tomorrow, see which place is being raided, find a place, and stuff these letters inside."

He was about to leave Dongling City.

Before leaving, they always have to kill one more person.

Ziyu clicked her tongue, knowing that her young master was about to do something naughty again, but she still obediently stuffed the envelope into her sleeve.

Then, the conversation turned to other noteworthy characters, such as Chu Licheng and Gao Hong, who fainted on the spot from anger after Bailu Academy was splattered with excrement and even had its statue of a saint knocked over. The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, witnessing the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief's head being crushed, was terrified and returned home, refusing visitors and even rumored to be considering retiring. As for the Yang family, apart from the eldest grandson Yang Siqi, who was extremely dissatisfied with the killing of his seven uncles, everyone else remained quite calm.

Simply put, none of those who have a grudge against Song Yan have shown any signs of taking action against him in the past few days.

This made Song Yan feel somewhat irritated... Could it really be related to Princess Gaoyang's father?

There have already been two assassination attempts, both of which failed. However, the other party is like a slippery eel, and Song Yan has been unable to find any leverage against them.

Not even knowing who the other person is is a truly terrible feeling.

"How much do you know about the Mei family's Hehuan Sect?" Song Yan asked, pursing his lips.

"The Mei family?" Ziyu was a little curious, not understanding why her young master would suddenly ask about the Mei family. After all, since her young master came to the capital, he had basically had no interaction with the Mei family, and there was no enmity between them. However, she still thought about it carefully and replied obediently, "The Mei family is actually not a very big family."

"He doesn't even qualify as a member of aristocratic families. He looks down on large clans like the Fang and Yang families, and even compared to some smaller families, he lacks a certain depth. Among the nobility, although he is already a Duke, he doesn't have the wealth accumulated by other Dukes over generations."

"The roots of the Mei family should be in Meijia Village, west of Dongling Prefecture. The lineage of Duke Lu is a branch of Meijia Village."

"Old Master Mei, whose real name was Mei Wu, was a hunter in Mei Family Village."

"Born with superhuman strength, capable of tearing tigers and leopards apart."

"During a hunting trip in the mountains, he happened to encounter Emperor Longtai, who was hunting outside the city at the time. He saw that Mei Wu killed a tiger with three punches and knocked down a palace guard with one punch. He admired Mei Wu's bravery and forgave him for his offense, keeping him by his side as a guard."

"After the internal strife in Ningguo, there was a peasant uprising. Emperor Longtai personally led troops to suppress it. Mei Wu then became Emperor Longtai's personal bodyguard. It can be said that without Mei Wu, Emperor Longtai would have had many more holes in his body."

Ziyu was as precious as a family heirloom.

The Hehuan Sect has been entrenched in Dongling City for many years, and they have a thorough understanding of the information about the city's powerful figures and officials.

"Subsequently, an opportunity was found that Mei Wu was finally able to lead troops on his own. From then on, Mei Wu’s talent in military strategy and tactics began to shine and could no longer be suppressed. He was invincible and, together with Emperor Longtai, quickly suppressed several rebel armies within Ningguo."

"When the Xiongnu attacked, he led his troops into the northern desert for a hundred miles and killed the Xiongnu Left Wise King. This was the greatest victory Ningguo had achieved against the Xiongnu in many years."

"During the time when Mei Wu was in command of the army, neither the states of Chu nor Zhao dared to invade."

"Some interesting things happened to Old Master Mei. It is said that because of his humble origins, he developed a stingy nature. Whenever Emperor Longtai bestowed upon him fine silks, satins, gold, silver and jade, he felt they were extremely precious and it would be a pity to wear them. He usually wore coarse cloth and linen clothes, which were occasionally patched. Emperor Longtai took pity on him and bestowed upon him even more generous gifts."

"Until one day, Emperor Longtai visited the Duke of Lu's mansion and discovered that all of his rewards had been kept by Mei Wu, who had not even used a single copper coin. He then jokingly scolded Mei Wu as the number one miser in Ningguo."

"This stinginess has also extended to the battlefield."

“When Mei Wu leads the army, it is essential to clear the battlefield.”

“Broken and broken swords, shields, shattered armor on corpses, even arrows that have been shot must be retrieved, and the valuables on the enemy's body will not be spared.”

"Even horses killed or seriously wounded by the enemy will be brought back to the camp, since they are at least meat."

A black line appeared on Song Yan's forehead.

Generally speaking, armies will not eat warhorses unless they are in dire need of food.

On the one hand, horse meat is coarse and has a sour taste, making it unpalatable.

On the other hand, the army also had cavalry, and even enemy warhorses were something they couldn't bear to eat.

But for Mei Wu, waste was out of the question. Eating horse meat could save a lot of grain, which was definitely a very worthwhile deal.

Song Yan strongly suspected that if cannibalism hadn't had such a negative impact, this Mei Wu might have used the corpses of enemy soldiers as military rations as well.

"It is said that after he killed the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu in battle, he noticed that the jade pendant on the Left Wise King's waist was quite nice, so he immediately took it off. Because he saw that the jade pendant was green and contained plum blossoms, which matched his own surname, he kept it as a family heirloom."

Originally, Song Yan was just listening to it as a story and didn't pay much attention, until she heard these words, and her head suddenly looked up:
"Jade pendant?"

"Jade containing plum blossoms?"

"Is this confirmed?"

Song Yan asked several questions in a row. He had heard from Mei Zicong that the Mei family did not have any family heirlooms. Even if they did, it was just a white crystal that Old Master Mei picked up in a mountain valley by the river and polished into the shape of a jade pendant.

The Mei family has a whole basket of that stuff.

This information is inaccurate; there's a problem!
(End of this chapter)