Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 380 The Sister-in-Law Who Can't Sleep (11,000 words)

A plum blossom encased in jade; this is a unique piece in the world.

Polished white crystal, filling a basket.

The difference is enormous.

The information provided by Mei Zicong and Ziyu was seriously flawed.

Although he and Mei Zicong had only met once and hadn't spoken much, Mei Zicong, despite his tall stature and well-developed limbs, making him a formidable tank on the battlefield, spoke to him in a gentle and sincere tone.

Looking at Song Yan, it seemed that he was not faking it.

But he always felt that things weren't that simple.

Woo.

A gust of night wind blew by.

The snowflakes were carried by the night wind and fell into the pavilion. A snowflake brushed past Song Yan's eye, leaving a slightly cool feeling on his brow.

Ziyu was somewhat puzzled as to why Song Yan would be interested in the Mei family's heirloom. However, this was not something she should worry about. On the contrary, she was quite pleased. She was not afraid that the young master would be interested. The more interested he was, the more useful she would be to him, and that was her value.

Although the Hehuan Sect is considered a prestigious and righteous sect, it is by no means a gentle place. On the contrary, the rules within the sect are extremely cruel. In the Hehuan Sect, only valuable disciples can climb to higher positions and enjoy better treatment.

A woman with a sexy and graceful figure and a face that could topple kingdoms, even if she is completely ignorant of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and her martial arts cultivation is a complete mess, can still be a core disciple in the Hehuan Sect, or even a personal disciple of the sect leader and elders, and no one dares to provoke her.

Sexiness and beauty are value.

A disciple who is exceptionally talented and progresses rapidly in cultivation can also attain a high status.

Talent and ability are what make a person valuable.

Members of the Hehuan Sect begin learning various skills and knowledge at a very young age. If a member lacks a sexy figure, an alluring face, or the talent and strength in martial arts, they will be ruthlessly abandoned by the Hehuan Sect. Many are abandoned when they are only seven or eight years old. What happens to them after they are expelled from the Hehuan Sect is of no concern to anyone.

This is the Hehuan Sect.

Growing up in such an environment naturally influences one's values, especially for someone like Ziyu who rose to the position of Saintess. Although the Hehuan Sect had spent considerable resources and effort gathering intelligence and information on many nobles in Dongling City, Ziyu would not conceal anything if her young master needed it. She understood the principle of being at the mercy of others, and she wasn't foolish enough to try to use this information to manipulate Song Yan at this time.

With this thought in mind, Ziyu's expression remained a gentle and charming smile. Her fingers caressed the teacup as she pondered for a moment: "Information about Old Master Meiwu can be traced back to the Longtai Emperor's era. The Hehuan Sect will arrange a separate file for each important figure, and the contents of the file will be updated over time."

"The contents of the archives have been verified and confirmed by multiple parties, and are therefore accurate."

"Grandpa Mei Wu did indeed find a jade pendant on the body of the Xiongnu Left Wise King. The jade pendant was round and smooth, exquisite and translucent, especially the plum blossom pattern in the jade, which was lifelike."

"It is said that even Emperor Longtai liked it very much when he saw it, and asked Old Master Mei Wu for it, but Mei Wu refused outright... After all, he was a trusted and beloved general, and in the end he just angrily cursed him as a stingy old man, said a harsh word, and said that he would never reward him again, before turning his sleeves and leaving."

Song Yan was speechless.

Generally speaking, if the emperor takes a fancy to an item in someone's home, he would probably happily present it to them with both hands. As the saying goes: it is an honor for this item to be chosen by His Majesty.

This was generally the case in ancient times.

Even in modern society, if a leader takes a fancy to a small item in your hand, you most likely won't refuse, since it's a way of showing your face to the leader.

But Mei Wu is different. Even if it's just a stolen jade pendant, even if you are the emperor and can't just refuse to give it away, there's no reason to give away something that's already in your hands.

After a brief pause, Ziyu spoke again: "However, this happened thirty or forty years ago. Emperor Longtai has long since passed away. Of that generation, the old are old, the dead are dead, and not many are still alive. In addition, in the last one or two decades, Mei Wu has gradually faded out of the court, and these legends about the old master of the Mei family have gradually disappeared."

Song Yan nodded: "What's the situation with Old Master Mei's only daughter?"

For Song Yan, the idea of ​​recognizing relatives didn't mean much.

He wasn't particularly interested in the title of Duke of Lu.

If he wanted, the Duke would be within his grasp.

However, on the one hand, Song Yan didn't want his biological mother, Mei Xue, to die without returning to her roots. He had never heard his mother mention anything about his maternal grandfather's family, but whenever he asked, he could see a faint sadness on her face. It always felt a little awkward that his mother's memorial tablet was placed in the Song family ancestral hall. If it could be placed in her maternal family's ancestral hall, his mother would probably feel a little more comforted.

On the other hand, if the jade pendant with the plum blossom mark is indeed the family heirloom of Old Master Mei Wu, then he becomes Mei Zicong's natural and greatest enemy.

If Mui Tsz-chung also knew this, then the assassin in the two assassination attempts would most likely be Mui Tsz-chung.

If he is the murderer, then eliminate him.

Ziyu recalled a few more things: "After Old Master Mei achieved fame and success, his status was naturally incomparable to that of a hunter. Countless people wanted to marry him, and in the end, the young Old Master Mei married a girl from the Yang family."

puff.

Song Yan, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn't help but spit it out a long way.

The stone table had become filthy.

Some tea even sprayed onto Ziyu, who then wiped it off with a hint of disgust.

"Could it be that Old Master Mei is like Song Hongtao?" Song Yan wiped his mouth and couldn't help but ask.

“Of course not…” Ziyu shook her head: “What kind of person is Master Mei? The adulterer had just entered the Mei residence as a guest when Master Mei noticed something was wrong.”

"Old Master Mei is a rather shameless person. He doesn't care about face or anything like that."

"After realizing something was wrong, he immediately went to the palace and invited Emperor Longtai to his residence. He also invited the Chancellor, the Minister of State, two Grand Secretaries, the six ministers, and seven or eight dukes. A dozen or so people, all over six or seven hundred years old, but a bunch of old scoundrels, all hiding in the wardrobe. Just as the Yang woman and her lover were embracing and kissing, Old Master Mei kicked open the wardrobe door..."

Song Yan's lips twitched.

Old Master Mei's temperament is truly shameless.

Most people, when faced with this situation, would either remain silent and not want others to know that they are being cheated on, like Song Hongtao.

They would either handle it privately, directly killing the adulterous couple, like Zhao Gaizhi.

But Old Master Mei was different. He directly summoned the emperor, along with a bunch of first and second-rank officials to watch, wanting to make a scene known to everyone.

Of course, the fact that so many important figures were able to be invited to endorse the emperor, and that Emperor Longtai was even allowed to do such absurd things, is enough to show that the relationship between the emperor and his ministers was quite harmonious during Emperor Longtai's reign.

In the eyes of those great Confucian scholars, this was incongruous, disrespectful of etiquette and law, and a heresy.

But for Mei Wu and Emperor Longtai, they would probably feel very happy.

Ziyu seemed to remember something and covered her mouth with a light laugh: "I heard that when that bang rang out, the Yang family girl was so frightened that her face turned pale, she screamed repeatedly, and she kept burrowing into the quilt."

Song Yan glanced at Zi Yu.

As expected of someone from the Hehuan Sect, he speaks without any restraint, neither bawling nor lewd words.

"While Emperor Longtai and a group of ministers were looking at each other in bewilderment, Old Master Mei started yelling and rushed forward, breaking both of the adulterers' legs. He then grabbed them by the hair in each hand and walked along Chang'an Street, spreading rumors about their scandalous affair. In the end, hundreds and thousands of onlookers gathered in front of the Yang residence. When the head of the Yang family saw this scene, he broke out in a cold sweat."

Song Yan could roughly imagine what the people in charge of the Yang family were thinking at that time.

When you encounter such a scoundrel, you can only curse him in your heart while putting on a smiling face and trying to comfort him, hoping to turn a big problem into a small one and a small problem into nothing. Otherwise, once the matter gets out, the Yang family will lose face in the court and in front of all the nobles and officials in the inner city. Everyone will say that the Yang family women are unchaste and adulterous, and it may even affect the marriage prospects of all Yang family women.

Unfortunately, this was witnessed by Emperor Longtai and his high-ranking officials, making it impossible for them to deny it.

That's just Old Master Mei's personality; there's no such thing as compromise, and he'll drag the Yang family down with him even if it means losing both sides.

"In a fit of rage, Old Master Mei smashed the adulterer to death against the stone lion in front of the Yang family's gate."

"Then Yang's legs were also broken."

"In the end, the Yang family paid 300,000 taels of silver in compensation, and the matter was finally settled. However, 300,000 taels was the official figure. According to the investigation conducted by the Hehuan Sect at the time, the actual compensation amount should have been 3 million taels."

Extorting three million taels of silver does fit the nickname "Old Stingy."

"And what about Lady Yang?"

Ziyu shrugged: "He was submerged in a pig cage and then thrown into the river."

"In order to salvage the family's reputation and prevent the women of the family from being married, the head of the Yang family at the time threw his own daughter into a pig cage and publicly drowned her in the Yi and Luo Rivers. It is said that tens of thousands of people watched at the time."

"After this incident, the Yang family invited many scholars to write articles, which largely salvaged the Yang family's reputation."

Song Yan clicked his tongue, looking quite regretful.

"This marriage can be considered a failure. This Yang family girl was unable to bear any children for Old Master Mei. Emperor Longtai was very concerned about his beloved general's marriage. He asked Mei Wu many times what kind of woman he liked, and he personally went to act as matchmaker." Zi Yu's smile deepened: "Old Master Mei was ultimately just a hunter from Mei Family Village. His aesthetic sense was actually quite simple. Emperor Longtai asked too many times, and finally couldn't stand it anymore and said he wanted a woman with big breasts and a big butt."

"This matter was originally inquired about privately by Emperor Longtai and a group of important court officials, but somehow it got out and everyone knew about Old Master Mei's preferences. Emperor Longtai then selected a palace maid who was good-looking and whose figure met Old Master Mei's requirements and sent her over."

"This time, there were no more troubles, and the two got married smoothly, and she became pregnant after the wedding."

"But at this time, the border war broke out again, and Grandpa Mei had to put on his armor and go into battle. Some relatives from Meijia Village also came and expressed their willingness to help take care of him while he was away from home."

"This journey will last for eight months."

"Eight months later, Old Master Mei's wife gave birth to a daughter, but before Old Master Mei could return, the little girl, who was only two months old, caught a cold and died."

"Even Old Master Mei's wife went mad because of her daughter's death."

Song Yan frowned, instinctively sensing that something was wrong.

One died, the other went mad.

It all feels too coincidental. While the mortality rate for newborns is indeed higher these days, this was, after all, a Duke's mansion. Their resources were top-notch for the era; they couldn't possibly be unable to care for an infant. Furthermore, the preference for sons was still quite strong in this era. It would be understandable if a son died and the mother went insane from the shock, but for a daughter to die young and then also go insane is far too suspicious.

With that in mind, Song Yan hesitated before asking, "After this incident, did anything else unusual happen?"

special?

Ziyu pondered for a moment: "Yes, there is. After Old Master Mei's daughter died young, the relatives in Mei Family Village urged Old Master Mei to choose someone from the family to adopt so that he could carry on the family line. You know, Old Master Mei was young and strong at that time. Although the war damaged his health and made it difficult for him to have children, it didn't mean he couldn't have children at all. Asking for adoption so early seems a bit deliberate."

"That's not all. Less than two months after Old Master Mei returned, his wife, who had gone mad, also fell into the water and died."

He slipped and fell into the water again.

That reason has been used to death.

"Old Master Mei seemed unable to believe that his daughter had died like that, and he searched for her everywhere like a madman. Everyone said that Old Master Mei could not bear the shock and had gone mad as well."

"However, after only half a year, Old Master Mei suddenly gave up his plan to find his daughter. He never mentioned adoption again until many years later, when he suddenly adopted someone from Mei Family Village as his grandson."

"That is, Mei Zicong."

"At this time, Emperor Longtai had already passed away for many years, Emperor Yuanjing had ascended the throne, and Old Master Mei had also retired from the military. On the advice of Yang Hetong, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor and spent his days in retirement at home."

"From then on, although the Mei family and the Yang family had a very unpleasant falling out, they never had any further conflicts and lived in peace ever since."

Song Yan's expression was solemn, as if he were deep in thought. After a long while, he slowly spoke: "What do you think of Mei Zicong?"

"A typical spoiled brat," Ziyu commented, "but he also has a good sense of propriety."

"He was a regular at Qunyu Garden, and he was good at everything from eating, drinking, gambling and whoring, but he only dabbled in it."

“He would also compete with other descendants of noble families for women, but he would never have any irreconcilable conflicts. On the contrary, after most of the conflicts, Mei Zicong could even become friends with the other party.”

Under the silent night sky, their voices drifted away on the wind.

Ziyu possessed a wealth of information, and in great detail. Song Yan listened quietly, trying to glean some useful insights. They didn't stop until midnight, when Ziyu was quite thirsty, and the two went back to their rooms to rest.

Tomorrow, I still need to deal with Song Yi, so I need to conserve my energy.

……

Next door to Song Yan, someone was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

At this moment, Luo Tianyi's appearance could be described as unkempt. Her long, black hair was scattered messily on the bed, her hands were holding a soft pillow, and her two straight, slender legs were wrapped around a thick quilt. Her body looked like a white worm, rolling around on the bed.

The heroine's charm has completely vanished.

Whoa!

Every now and then, you can hear mournful cries coming from its mouth.

ah ah ah ah...

Luo Tianyi, look what you've done!
That's your brother-in-law.

They had already made up their minds.

Luo Tianyi suddenly stopped moving.

She would occasionally bite her lower lip with her pearly white teeth, and occasionally puff out her cheeks.

She seemed angry, but it was unclear where the anger came from.

Squeak.

Woo.

The door to Luo Tianyi's bedroom was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind swept in.

With Luo Tianyi's current strength, this chill was nothing to worry about, but as if by instinct, she still tightened the blanket around herself.

A familiar fragrance, like that of lilies, wafted in the cold wind. In the hazy light, Luo Tianyi turned around, and then she saw the scarlet red of a tinderbox. A blurry figure blew out two breaths, and a flame leaped out.

The candle was lit.

The flame, about the size of a soybean, flickered gently.

By the light of the candle, a familiar, beautiful, and gentle face appeared before Luo Tianyi's eyes.

It's my sister.

Perhaps because she had done something wrong, Luo Tianyi felt flustered upon suddenly seeing her eldest sister, and her gaze involuntarily shifted to the side, not daring to look at Luo Tianxuan's face.
"Sister, you...you're back? Is everything done?"

"Well, it's nothing. The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect paid a huge price to hire me to deal with a grandmaster-level expert." Luo Tianxuan stretched and yawned. "Who knew that the grandmaster-level expert was actually Sister Lianyue? So we put on a show and pretended to fight. In the end, Sister Lianyue was no match for him and ran away."

"The Hehuan Sect truly lives up to its reputation as the most profitable sect in the martial arts world. In addition to selling the Purple Jade to me, they also paid me an extra 300,000 taels of silver as a reward."

“Pingyang is your home base, and there are many places there where money is needed. Although 300,000 is not much, it is still a little help.”

She stretched her wrists. Although it was acting, it was still a real fight. The confrontation between grandmasters was indeed different. Luo Tianxuan realized that there was still a small gap between herself and Hua Lianyue. If it weren't for acting, she would not be able to beat Hua Lianyue.

"Sister Lianyue and I have already discussed it. Every now and then, she will go to the Hehuan Sect to cause trouble, and I will go to the rescue. It'll cost another 300,000." Luo Tianxuan smiled happily, stuck out her tongue, as if she thought the plan was too evil.

However, it's impossible to buy out a Grandmaster-level expert for 300,000 silver coins; a Grandmaster wouldn't be that cheap.

Now that things are settled here, she can continue to stay by her husband's side.

I can't stop missing you after just a few days apart.

Just then, Luo Tianxuan noticed Luo Tianyi's expression and raised an eyebrow. Although this younger sister usually had a cold and aloof demeanor, she was quite lively in front of her older sister. What was wrong with her today? Why was she so listless?
Suddenly, Luo Tianxuan seemed to remember something. Her smile softened, and she gracefully walked towards the bedside, sitting down beside Luo Tianyi. She embraced Luo Tianyi's slender body, and her cherry lips approached Luo Tianyi's ear:

"Second sister..."

"But what happened between you and your brother-in-law?"

Luo Tianyi's body trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes widened suddenly: "You, how did you know?"

My silly little sister.

How could you possibly hide your little thoughts from your sister?
Tianyi and her husband finally got together. All her hard work in planning and creating opportunities for them to be alone was worthwhile.

Thinking this, Luo Tianxuan smiled with some relief.

……

Meanwhile, in Dongling City.

outer city.

A private house.

Although it was late at night, bonfires were burning in the houses.

A cold wind blew in through the leaky earthen wall, causing the flames to flicker.

Four people were gathered around the campfire. If Song Yan were here, he could easily call out their names: Song Huai, Song Yi, Song Jing, and Song An.

Of Yang Miaoqing's eight sons, four, excluding Song Lü, are all here.

Song Huai's face was gloomy.

Song Yi's left eye was now just a dark hole, with the skin and flesh around the eye socket knotted together. In the firelight, it emitted a dark red glow, which was somewhat eerie.

Song Jing's eyes widened, his eye sockets were surrounded by a deep, oppressive darkness, and his eyeballs were covered with blood vessels. For some reason, his breathing became rapid, and his face would spasm and twitch from time to time, revealing a strange look.

Song An, on the other hand, remained indifferent, as if nothing had happened. His eyes were exceptionally calm, as if he had not been affected at all.

Only when she heard Song Jing's heavy breathing did she frown and ask, "Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Upon hearing the fourth brother's voice, Song Jing trembled, as if he had returned to normal. He shook his head vigorously, took a deep breath, and forced a smile: "It's nothing. I've just been practicing martial arts too hard lately, and I'm a little mentally exhausted. It's nothing serious."

Song An then said, "It's a good thing that you've broken through to the ninth rank. Although I don't practice martial arts, I understand that at this time, what we should do is consolidate our current level, rather than be greedy for quick success and rush ahead."

"If one is not careful and goes astray in cultivation, it will be bad."

Although Song An was only the fourth son, he was a low-class merchant.

But somehow, his words carried a strange power, making people subconsciously feel that he was right and that they should listen to him.

Even the eldest brother, Song Huai, didn't possess this strange power when he spoke.

Song Jing nodded. Normally, he would listen to his fourth brother, but this time he seemed somewhat dismissive.

Since returning to Ningping and copying the entire "Vajra Arhat Technique," his cultivation has indeed progressed by leaps and bounds. He has broken through previous barriers one by one; even the ninth-rank martial artist realm couldn't hold him back for long. He feels that now is a crucial moment in his cultivation; he has never progressed so quickly. If he can persevere in his cultivation, breaking through to the Grandmaster level will be just around the corner.

damn it.

No one can stop him from cultivating!
(End of this chapter)