Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 395 Lin Xiangwan's Choice (5,000 views, please vote!)

A warm glow enveloped the area.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the window, filling the entire study.

Ningping County is a bit colder than Dongling City, but the orange-yellow light seems to have added some warmth out of nowhere.

Lin Xiangwan was holding a chubby baby in her arms, who was sucking on a finger. Drooling dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his neck. Lin Xiangwan muttered something under her breath and took out a silk handkerchief to wipe it off.

The bright red swaddling clothes look very festive, and the tiger-head hat also adds a touch of playfulness and cuteness.

Quietly and peacefully, sleeping soundly.

Even though Song Hongtao was somewhat obsessed with the baby, he couldn't help but smile when he saw the little baby.

This is his son.

He's different from Song Huai, Song Zhe, and Song Yan.

My own flesh and blood!!!
The baby was less than a month old, but every time he saw Song Hongtao, his heart would melt. The biological child was different from those bastards. Look at those eyes, that nose, that mouth. Some of the old maids in the mansion said that he was exactly like him when he was a child.

Of course, Song Hongtao was unaware that many people in the mansion had already been bribed by Lin Xiangwan, and he forgot that all the old women in the mansion were cunning and shrewd. In front of him, the Duke, they would naturally say whatever was nice and not take it seriously.

The more he loved Song Qi, the more he wanted to clear all obstacles for him. He wanted to give his son the best of everything in the world and didn't want him to encounter any danger... Song Hongtao was a cold-hearted and selfish man. This was the first time in his life that he had given so wholeheartedly to someone without asking for anything in return.

Song Huai and his eight children were all Yang Miaoqing's offspring, and they all inherited Yang Miaoqing's ruthlessness and cruelty.

Three are already dead, but Song Huai, Song Yi, Song Jing, Song An, and Song Lü are still alive. Even though four of them are wanted by Ningguo and have lost their eligibility to inherit the title of Duke, in Song Hongtao's eyes, as long as they are alive, they are a threat.

Of course, this also includes Song Yan.

Although Song Yan seems to have no interest in the title of Duke of Song, and he is already a Marquis and a Prince Consort, the title of Duke doesn't mean much to him... But, the Duke is a figure at the very top of the powerful and wealthy. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Who can guarantee that Song Yan is not even a little bit tempted?

However, Song Yan's identity is quite special, so even Song Hongtao wouldn't dare to easily make a move against him.

Therefore, we can only deal with the Song law first, since this bastard lives in the Duke's mansion.

Thinking this, Song Hongtao's gaze turned cruel.

Seemingly afraid of frightening his beloved son, Song Hongtao pursed his lips, forcibly suppressing the murderous intent in his eyes, and looked back at the table. There was an unfinished letter... The recipient was the sect leader of the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect.

Although he has already bribed quite a few powerful martial artists, in Song Hongtao's eyes, these people are not enough to deal with Song Jing, Song Yan, and Song Anhai.

Song Jing himself was a martial artist of considerable skill, and it was said that his strength had reached the eighth rank.

However, he should be the easiest to deal with.

Song Jing had returned to the Duke's mansion to copy the "Vajra Arhat Technique," but just the day before, Song Hongtao had secretly altered some of the content. Practicing according to the new manual would most likely lead to qi deviation. He might even kill himself while practicing without lifting a finger.

Song An is not easy to deal with either. This guy has been a merchant for many years and has amassed a fortune. He never seems to bring any of it home; he's truly an ungrateful wretch. A wealthy merchant like Song An would usually have a large number of skilled fighters around him, and sixteen powerful martial artists might not be enough.

The most troublesome one is Song Yan, and his sister-in-law, Luo Tianyi, is always flirting with him, completely oblivious to any impropriety. She's a shameless slut, and to make matters worse, she's incredibly powerful. Even with the bribery of an eighth-rank martial artist and fifteen fifth and sixth-rank martial artists, it's still not enough to deal with Song Yan. ...The Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect has a terrible reputation in the martial arts world.

This sect has absolutely no interest in chivalry or justice, and they don't even bother with pretense. They're clearly the type who only care about money and not people. As long as the money is right, they can be assassins, bodyguards,镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), or even fierce generals charging into battle, or spies relaying information to enemy countries.

Of the sixteen martial artists Song Hongtao found this time, half were from the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect, including even the eighth-rank martial artist. He is currently preparing to write to the sect leader of the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect to see if he can hire another batch of martial artists from them—not too many, just sixteen more would be enough.

It would be best if we could have two more rank eight martial artists.

The price of a ninth-rank martial artist is simply too high. Although Song Hongtao has some wealth now, he wants to leave that money to Song Qi and can't just squander it all. Besides, whether a ninth-rank martial artist accepts a job depends entirely on their mood. Even Song Hongtao, a duke, can't force a ninth-rank martial artist to do so... Three eighth-rank martial artists can probably deal with one ninth-rank martial artist, and the price is much cheaper, less than half the price.

Song Hongtao thought it was a great deal.

Once this group of martial artists arrives, even if they encounter Luo Tianyi, there shouldn't be any further problems.

Although Song Hongtao was not in the court, he still knew some of what was happening there. Song Yan and Emperor Ninghe were two madmen who used the Ghost Cave incident to kill a large number of officials. This was not something a mature emperor could do... Didn't Emperor Ninghe consider the stability of the court?

That seems like a satisfying solution.

But the result?

They completely broke ties with the Yang family and Bailu Academy.

Song Hongtao was acutely aware of the immense influence of the Yang family and Bailu Academy, and could easily imagine the swift and fierce retaliation that Emperor Ninghe would face. Under such circumstances, Emperor Ninghe had no energy to spare for anything else; dealing with the Yang family and Bailu Academy alone was enough to overwhelm him. He might even suffer the same fate as Emperor Yuanjing and Emperor Longtai—a careless fall into the water, a cold, and then his death.

Therefore, Song Hongtao was completely unconcerned about whether killing Luo Tianyi would provoke Emperor Ninghe's retaliation.

He may not be considered particularly intelligent, but he has put a lot of thought into many things.

Ningguo is bound to change sooner or later.

It's conceivable that even if the next emperor is still surnamed Luo, he'll be nothing more than a puppet. The real power in the court will be either the Yang family or the Bailu Academy, and both of them have deep-seated hatred for Song Yan. If he can get rid of Song Yan, he will naturally catch the eye of these two major forces and will definitely be protected by them. He might even rise to prominence.

There are risks involved.

Those who aspire to great things must have foresight; to achieve their goals, they must be ruthless in their methods. As for the minor details, there's no need to delve too deeply. If something is beneficial to oneself and one has a 70-80% chance of success, then one should do it. Even if one fails, it's simply a matter of being less skilled than others, and there's nothing to complain about. If one does nothing, watches opportunities slip away, and then regrets it afterward, then one has fallen to a lower level.

Song Hongtao didn't want his son to be just a duke in name only; he wanted his son to be able to rule the court and wield great influence. He was willing to take this risk for Song Qi's future.

Thinking this, Song Hongtao couldn't help but glance in Lin Xiangwan's direction again:
My beloved wife.

Youngest child.

The setting sun.

It did have a certain warmth to it.

A slight smile played at the corners of his lips as he lowered his head and continued writing. Putting everything else aside, Song Hongtao did possess excellent handwriting; he could easily be considered a calligrapher. Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the study. A servant entered, bowing obsequiously with a beaming smile: "Master, the Ninth Young Master is back."

Upon hearing this, Song Hongtao's hand trembled, and a drop of ink from his brush fell onto the paper. He also stood up abruptly. Lin Xiangwan, who was next to him, subconsciously hugged the child in her arms tighter, her eyes narrowed, and her expression became serious.

Seeing Lin Xiangwan's expression, Song Hongtao assumed she was worried about Song Yan's return and his attempt to seize Song Qi's title of Duke. He put down his brush, walked over, and gently patted Lin Xiangwan's shoulder, saying, "Xiangwan, don't worry, I'll handle things." He then looked at the servant again, asking, "Where is Ninth Young Master now?"

"I heard that the Eighth Young Master was injured, and the Ninth Young Master went to visit him," the servant replied.

Song Hongtao's expression turned somewhat strange. The place where Song Lu was currently staying... well, it didn't matter. Song Yan shouldn't make a fuss over such a small matter.

After pursing his lips, Song Hongtao asked again, "How many people did Ninth Young Master bring?"

"There's only one person." "Could it be Luo Tianyi?"

"No, the Ninth Young Master called that woman Ziyu, the two young ladies of the Luo family. The Ninth Young Master sent them back to the Luo family." Although the servant acted extremely obsequiously, he was obviously a capable person and had basically investigated the situation clearly.

Song Hongtao breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that it's not Luo Tianyi.

Immediately afterward, Song Hongtao felt a strong, uncontrollable agitation welling up in his chest. Luo Tianyi wasn't by his side, and ninth-rank martial artists were few and far between. Surely Song Yan wouldn't have another ninth-rank martial artist guarding him?

This is the Duke's mansion, and it's his own territory. With the martial artists he's currently hired, they're not enough to deal with a ninth-rank martial artist, but if it's just to deal with Song Yan, it's a piece of cake. This is a golden opportunity to get rid of Song Yan. Should he take a gamble? If he misses this opportunity, and Luo Tianyi returns to Song Yan's side, it will be extremely difficult to kill Song Yan... Thinking like this, the impulse in his heart becomes even stronger.

Just then, Lin Xiangwan's eyes flickered: "Master, the Ninth Young Master is back. We should treat him well tonight. I'll go and instruct the kitchen to prepare properly. The Ninth Young Master is now the Marquis of Champion, and there are some unpleasant misunderstandings between him and the Duke's Mansion. If the banquet is too simple, the Ninth Young Master might feel that the Duke's Mansion is deliberately treating him poorly, which would not be good."

Song Hongtao was deeply moved. Look at her, what a wonderful wife she is!

Although his background was somewhat inferior, he was well-educated, gentle, and refined. He arranged everything very well, so he didn't need to worry about anything.

He wanted to say that if Song Yan were eliminated today, there would be no need to waste such a good meal, but considering that the act had to be done properly, he nodded in agreement.

Lin Xiangwan smiled and left the study with the baby in her arms. She was a smart woman. Although there were many maids and old women in the Song State Duke's mansion, many of whom were good at taking care of children, Lin Xiangwan always kept the child by her side, except when Song Hongtao occasionally wanted to hold the child.

After watching Lin Xiangwan leave, Song Hongtao turned his gaze to the servant and said, "Go and call Ji Peng over. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him."

The servant hurriedly accepted the order and left. Not long after, he returned with a young man in his thirties. The man was thin, with a hooked nose and triangular eyes. He had an unappealing appearance, but his Eagle Claw Kung Fu was incredibly skillful and powerful.

Those fingers, honed through years of practice, could easily pierce a person's skull; a light touch would leave three holes in the head.

Born into the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect, he is an eighth-rank martial artist.

Upon arriving at the study, the servant left on his own, tactfully closing the door behind him. Ji Peng then bowed respectfully to Song Hongtao, saying, "This humble servant greets Your Excellency."

Despite being an extremely powerful martial artist, he maintained a very humble demeanor.

This is the rule of the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect: be polite to your employers, whether they are wealthy merchants or nobles. Don't worry about saving face; just say a few auspicious words. After all, a few flattering words won't hurt you. Who knows, the employer might be so pleased that they might add an extra ten or twenty percent to the agreed reward. Even if there's no extra reward, leaving a good impression is always a good thing. Next time they need something, you'll be the first person they think of.

Of course, this completely ruined the reputation of the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect in the martial arts world. Many martial artists privately called them a bunch of lackeys. However, in the sect leader's words: "Let them curse us all they want, we can't hear them anyway. They may be of high moral character, but they're struggling financially. Unlike us, who drink, eat meat, and frequent brothels, we live a life of luxury." Besides, what kind of reputation could the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect possibly have?

Sure enough, seeing an eighth-rank martial artist who could easily snap his neck being so obsequious in his presence, Song Hongtao felt quite pleased, as if something in his chest had been filled. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Brother Ji Peng, how many times have I told you? There's no need for so many rules between us brothers. Wouldn't that make us feel distant?"

Ji Peng then said with a smile, "It is our good fortune that the Duke needs us. The Duke is willing to call us brothers, which is a sign of respect. But we cannot forget our status just because of the Duke's favor."

"What can I say about you?" Song Hongtao said with a laugh, but his expression showed even more satisfaction, as if he had achieved a spiritual sublimation and his whole being was filled with joy.

"Fine, fine, do as you please. I called you here today for one thing, and you should know that my ninth son has returned."

Ji Peng nodded: "One man and one woman, two people."

"What level of strength does that woman possess?"

"A martial artist who has just begun his cultivation is older and has barely any internal energy. He is unlikely to achieve great things in this life. If I am not mistaken, this should be the woman your son bought from the Hehuan Sect at a high price... The women of the Hehuan Sect may not be very strong, but they are all excellent in bed."

Song Hongtao felt more at ease.

Ji Peng is an eighth-rank martial artist; there's absolutely no way he could be mistaken.

"So, would there be any trouble killing those two?"

Ji Peng grinned: "It's a sure thing."

He knew that Song Hongtao wanted to kill his son, after all, Song Lu was pushed into the river by his men. As for the reason, he didn't know and was too lazy to investigate. He could only say that he was indeed a nobleman, playing a really fancy game.

Song Hongtao was even more satisfied: "Besides this, are there any other people following?"

"Nothing."

“Very good.” Song Hongtao picked up the white paper on the table, blew on it, folded it up, and stuffed it into an envelope: “The Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect is not far from Ningping, only a few dozen kilometers away. Arrange for someone to deliver this letter to the sect leader on a fast horse. I also need a group of experts.”

"Tonight, I will host a banquet for Song Yan."

"Once all your men are in position, I will smash the teacup as a signal. Then you can all rush in and chop Song Yan into mincemeat."

The signal was given by smashing a cup.

Poor Song Hongtao didn't know that when he met Song Yan, all those who were prepared to smash a cup as a signal never had a good ending.

"Remember, you must be skilled. Luo Tianyi might come to kill us, and then we'll have to rely on you."

Ji Peng nodded: "Don't worry, Your Excellency, there will be absolutely no mistakes."

With that, Ji Peng turned and left, arranging for people to head to the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Gate.

……

Meanwhile, Lin Xiangwan had already returned to her bedroom.

To be fair, what Song Hongtao did was the best thing for her... If Song Huai, Song Yi and the others were dead, then no one would be able to compete with Song Qi for the title of Duke of Song; if Song Yan were also dead, then her situation would be a secret that no one would ever know.

The son's wealth and glory will no longer be affected in any way.

For a moment, even Lin Xiangwan couldn't help but be moved.

A hint of madness crept into the depths of his eyes.

However, Lin Xiangwan quickly suppressed this madness.

Are you kidding me? There are plenty of people in the entire Ning Kingdom who want to kill Song Yan. Who do you think you are, Song Hongtao? Putting aside everything else, just look at the people in Dongling City, who doesn't hate Song Yan to the bone? They wish they could grind Song Yan to dust.

Would these powerful forces not have a ninth-rank martial artist in charge?
But what will the final result be?

The Yang family, Bailu Academy, the Censorate, Ghost Cave—so many powerful figures and forces couldn't kill Song Yan. What are you, Song Hongtao? Do you think you have such ability?

With this in mind, Lin Xiangwan quickly calmed down. In her situation, the only way to ensure her long-term safety was to put her life in Song Yan's hands.

Looking down at the baby in her arms, Lin Xiangwan smiled, took out paper and pen, quickly wrote a few words, and then turned and went to the backyard.

(End of this chapter)