Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 399 Song Hongtao's Decision (1)

The twentieth year of Ninghe.

Early spring.

Ningping, Song Prefecture.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the Milky Way stretches like a ribbon!
The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat strange.

Song Yan and Zi Yu simply held their teacups and sipped their tea in small sips, without saying much.

Lin Xiangwan held the teapot but did not sit down. Although she was now the mistress of the Song State Duke's Mansion, she had no airs of a mistress whatsoever. Not to mention serving Song Yan, she also served Ziyu without showing the slightest dissatisfaction, displaying an extremely humble attitude.

Only Song Hongtao's throat kept moving, as if he had an endless supply of saliva in his mouth.

I did get a little nervous.

Ji Peng's side is ready. The experts from the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect have all arrived. If everything goes according to the requirements in the letter, then three more eighth-rank martial artists and eight sixth-rank and seventh-rank martial artists have arrived. This is definitely a terrifying force. Not to mention the small Ningping County, even in the entire Songzhou Prefecture, they can do whatever they want.

Without a doubt, now is the best opportunity to kill Song Yan.

Song Yan himself is not a threat. The woman from the Hehuan Sect beside him is very alluring, but unfortunately, she lacks strength. If they simply smash the teacup, the group can swarm him and instantly chop Song Yan into mincemeat.

That was indeed Song Hongtao's original plan. He didn't even hesitate when he wrote the letter to sow discord among Song Huai and the others. However, when Song Yan actually sat in front of him, Song Hongtao hesitated.

He was never the kind of man with the decisiveness to act on impulse.

He is indecisive and hesitant, which are his character flaws.

Looking at Song Yan across from him, Song Hongtao couldn't help but have some different thoughts, mainly because Song Yan's identity was just too special.

Prince Consort.

Marquis of Champion.

Prefect of Pingyang.

If such a person were to die in the Duke's mansion, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Although Song Hongtao judged that eliminating Song Yan would bring him the protection of the Yang family and Bailu Academy, this was still just his speculation. What if Emperor Ninghe was furious? What if the Yang family and Bailu Academy made some kind of deal with Emperor Ninghe and abandoned him?
He had to consider this possibility.

Furthermore, Song Hongtao couldn't actually be certain whether Song Yan was his biological son. This information came from Song An, who spoke with great conviction, even providing some evidence. Song An also claimed to know a great deal about Song Yan and Mei Xue being Song Yan's biological father. However, Song An was Yang Miaoqing's bastard, so the credibility of his words was questionable. What if that so-called evidence was just fabricated by Song An? If Song Yan truly was his son, wouldn't that mean he had personally ruined the most promising descendant of the Song family?

If Song Yan and Song Qi are indeed biological brothers, then with Song Yan's success and fame, Song Qi will have more support for his future.

To kill or not to kill.

Song Hongtao's mind wavered between the two sides.

After an unknown amount of time, Song Hongtao let out a heavy sigh.

The horrific deaths of Song Yun, Song Zhen, and Yang Miaoqing flashed through his mind. Before their demise, they must have endured inhuman torture, their bodies unrecognizable as human. This was enough to show how deep Song Yan's hatred was. And this hatred was not only directed at Yang Miaoqing and those bastards, but also at the entire Duke's Mansion.

Song Yanping hated everyone in the Duke's mansion, including... him.

So much time has passed and so many things have happened. Song Hongtao has finally seen some things clearly. Does Song Yan yearn for family affection?
Probably yes.

But this familial affection is directed towards his sister Song Xue and his mother Mei Xue, and has little to do with him, his father.

Song Hongtao had a vague premonition that after Song Yan eliminated the Song brothers, his next target would be him. For Song Yan, a ruthless killer, the infamy of patricide was utterly meaningless. This feeling had grown stronger recently; he had lost count of how many times he had woken from nightmares where Song Yan had brutally murdered him. The images remained vivid in his mind, sending chills down his spine.

People in ancient times were somewhat superstitious.

The recurring nightmares over several days even gave Song Hongtao a sense of impending doom.

These nightmares were also the reason why Song Hongtao was determined to eliminate Song Yan. If he could strike first and get rid of Song Yan, those scenes in his dreams would probably never happen again. Moreover, if Song Yan could harm his own father, why would he show any mercy to Song Qi?
When it came to his own son, Song Hongtao finally made up his mind. He slowly raised his right hand, his fingers trembling, and reached for the teacup in front of him, gently rubbing his fingertips.

Outside the reception room, Ji Peng just smiled; he wasn't in a hurry at all.

The fees for the masters of the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Sect begin to be calculated from the moment they are hired. They will not be paid more for a bloody battle, nor will their pay be reduced for doing nothing. For them, doing nothing is probably the best thing for them.

Almost imperceptibly, Song Yan glanced at Song Hongtao, curled her lip, and felt a little disdainful.

If you're going to kill, then kill; if you're not going to kill, then don't do anything at all. This indecisiveness and hesitation is why you'll never amount to anything. However, for Song Yan, once the thought of killing him has taken root in his heart, there's no need to keep him alive any longer.

Since that's the case, let's give him a little push.

Thinking this, Song Yan raised his head and glanced at Lin Xiangwan: "Aunt Xiangwan, speaking of which, I haven't seen my little brother yet. Why don't you bring him over so I can take a look? If both parents are too old, there is a good chance that the newborn will have congenital diseases. I happen to have some medical skills, so I can check him out. If there is nothing wrong, Aunt and Father can rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Song Hongtao trembled, and his expression changed drastically.

Should we look at Song Qi at this point?
why?
Could it be that it was really just for Song Qi to have a medical check-up?
The gruesome state of Song Zhen and Song Yun's bodies when they were discovered once again flashed through Song Hongtao's mind. Did he intend to murder Song Qi?

Lin Xiangwan looked pleasantly surprised. She had great faith in Song Yan's medical skills. Her thinking was different from most people in this era. In Lin Xiangwan's view, even if Song Qi was fine now, it would be a good thing to have a skilled doctor take his pulse and examine him.

"Thank you, Ninth Young Master. I'll go right away."

With that, Lin Xiangwan put down the teapot in her hand and happily went to the back of the house.

Her expression was one of gratitude.

She could clearly sense that the atmosphere in the reception room was becoming increasingly oppressive, and the time to smash the cup as a signal was probably fast approaching. She was just a weak woman, and although she had some skills, her ability to protect herself was almost non-existent. If a conflict really broke out in the classroom, her situation would be extremely dangerous.

Song Yan letting her leave in advance was a way of protecting her.

She had a very clear understanding of her own position: she was just a tool under Song Yan's command. Only by constantly demonstrating her own value could she have the right to continue to survive. She never expected that Song Yan would care about her so much.

I felt a little touched.

I've made up my mind to serve the Ninth Young Master even more diligently from now on.

Watching Lin Xiangwan leave happily, Song Hongtao was too late to stop her. His expression darkened. For the first time, he felt that Lin Xiangwan's naivety was not a good thing. Did Lin Xiangwan really not see Song Yan's malice towards Song Qi? How dare she bring Song Yan to him?

damn it.

Can't wait any longer.

If they wait until Lin Xiangwan brings Song Qi to Song Yan, it will be too late.

With a fierce determination in his heart, Song Hongtao did not hesitate for a moment. He grabbed the teacup in front of him and smashed it heavily on the ground.

Snapped.

With a crisp sound, the teacup instantly shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions.

The next instant, the guards, who had already received the signal outside and were growing impatient, grinned and rushed in. The windows were kicked open, and the twenty-odd figures instantly filled the once spacious hall. In the candlelight, the steel blades gleamed with a chilling light.

"kill him."

Ji Peng was probably the leader of these people. He glanced at Song Yan and gave an order. A dozen or so people rushed towards Song Yan in an instant.

The quiet living room was instantly filled with noise.

Song Hongtao sat calmly in the main seat, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement and pride.

Since Song Yan achieved fame and success, this illegitimate son has completely escaped his control. Even he, as a duke, has to be careful when speaking in front of his son, for fear of accidentally touching on some taboo. But now, all the resentment in his heart has been swept away.

At this moment, Song Hongtao even felt a sense of triumph.

So what if you're the Marquis of Champion? So what if you're the Prefect of Pingyang? You'll still die by your own hand, won't you?

He looked at Song Yan triumphantly, expecting to see expressions of shock, fear, or even despair on Song Yan's face, but... nothing happened.
Nothing at all!

There was no trace of panic on Song Yan's face, only calmness and an indescribable sense of emotion.

For some reason, when Song Hongtao saw Song Yan's expression, he suddenly had a strong, bad premonition.

That was truly touching.

So many people, including myself, have been playing the trick of smashing a cup as a signal, and now we've finally succeeded... at least the teacup was genuinely smashed in one go.

"Eh."

Ziyu sighed helplessly. She just wanted to have a proper meal, but she didn't even have that chance. Before Song Yan could give any orders, Ziyu casually picked up a teacup from the table with her slender hand, flicked it with her finger, and the teacup, with a buzzing sound, spun at an unimaginable speed and flew forward.

Directly in front of Song Yan and Zi Yu were several experts who had jumped in through the window.

The man at the front, seeing the teacup rapidly approaching, changed his expression slightly. He instantly swung his steel knife horizontally, attempting to shatter the teacup. But just as the steel knife was about to strike the teacup, the teacup, in an extremely strange manner, drew an odd arc in mid-air, narrowly avoiding collision with the steel knife.

then.

Snapped.

With another crisp sound, the teacup struck the other person precisely between the eyebrows.

The teacup broke.

At the same time, the other person's head also shattered.

No one noticed that a thin string had somehow become wrapped around the teacup.

Ziyu's pale fingers trembled gently yet rapidly, as if the strings of the zither were an extension of her arm. After the teacup shattered, the strings drifted to the side and quickly wrapped around the hilt of the martial artist's sword. Her wrist rotated slightly, and her fingers drew a line in front of her.

Then a hissing sound was heard, and the steel blade swept across the air in mid-air.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Five martial artists rushed into the window. Apart from the one whose head was smashed first, there were four others left. These four were of sixth and seventh rank strength. They obviously did not expect that a steel knife would appear out of thin air without their fingers controlling it. Caught off guard, they did not even have a chance to dodge. Their throats were quickly cut open.

In an instant, blood gushed out.

The window was located on the wall behind Song Hongtao. The four men had barely rushed behind Song Hongtao when the steel knife slashed across his head.

In that instant, Song Hongtao could even clearly feel the chilling sensation of something tearing through his head.

Blood gushed out, instantly staining Song Hongtao's back a large patch of scarlet, and two more streams of blood sprayed directly onto the dining table, spreading a strong, pungent smell of blood instantly.

Blood soaked through the clothes.

It flowed slowly down the neck and back.

The sticky, slippery texture gave Song Hongtao goosebumps all over his body.

Something unexpected happened.

Song Hongtao's heart sank lower and lower.

According to the original plan, Song Yan and Zi Yu would have been instantly chopped into mincemeat, utterly powerless to resist. But now, Song Yan and Zi Yu were both unharmed, while their side had instantly lost five skilled fighters. Especially seeing the ambiguous smile on Song Yan's face, Song Hongtao felt an increasing sense of oppression in his chest.

He knew that he had been tricked by Song Yan.

Damn bastard.

On the other side, a large number of experts who poured into the guest hall from the door also changed their expressions drastically. This situation was obviously beyond their expectations. Ji Peng's face was gloomy, and his gaze locked onto Zi Yu in a flash. He thought she was a newbie who had just entered the martial arts cultivation, but who would have thought that she was a strong person who was pretending to be weak.
"Lin Xiao, Zhang Ji, Huo Donglin, come with me to kill that woman."

With another shout from Ji Peng, three of the twenty-odd martial artists quickly separated to join him and rapidly approach Zi Yu.

As for the remaining martial artists, they swarmed towards Song Yan and surrounded him.

Ziyu chuckled, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and gracefully rose from the chair. Her slender waist swayed, and her skirt fluttered as she stood before Zhang Ji.

He was a burly man.

Compared to Zhang Ji, Zi Yu's figure appeared exceptionally petite. However, the moment Zi Yu looked over, Zhang Ji felt a chill run down his spine. A sudden warning signal arose in his heart, and he abruptly stopped his advance, quickly retreating.

Immediately afterwards, I felt a sharp pain between my eyebrows.

A drop of bright red blood had already appeared between his eyebrows.

Zhang Ji was greatly alarmed. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, his head would probably have been pierced.

Huo Donglin, Lin Xiao, and Ji Peng, also with solemn expressions, quickly flanked from the side, completely surrounding Zi Yu.

At the same time, the three warriors who were at the forefront on the other side had also rushed behind Song Yan in a fan shape, with their steel knives raised.

Just then, Song Yan suddenly turned around.

The person was still sitting on the stool, but now he had a dark, seemingly assembled object made of steel and hardwood.

The dark metal holes exuded an indescribable chill.

This is a shotgun.

It was previously given to Bu Yu to use, but was taken back by Song Yan after the Ghost Cave was destroyed.

The finger was already on the trigger, pressing down hard.

boom!
In an instant, a clap of thunder!
(End of this chapter)