Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 424 Alien Invasion (5500 words)

It was late at night, quiet and still, without a sound.

Upon hearing the sudden news of a female corpse being found in a ditch outside the city, Zhang Ci was so shocked that he fainted. Fortunately, Song Yan reacted quickly and caught him. Otherwise, if his old body had fallen heavily to the ground, he might have passed away on the spot.

Although Zhang Ci is an old man, Song Yan still values ​​him quite a bit.

As someone who transmigrated from modern society, Song Yan knew very well that for a place to develop, farming alone was far from enough; merchants were also an indispensable part of this society.

Although the old man probably didn't have many years left to live, he was an expert in business. With the trade routes with the Jurchens handled by Zhang Ci, everything was arranged perfectly, requiring no effort from Song Yan. If the old man were to suddenly pass away, Song Yan wouldn't be able to find a suitable replacement in a short time. While the next generation of the Zhang family had a few outstanding individuals, in Song Yan's eyes, none could compare to the ease with which he could rely on Old Master Zhang Ci.

I casually slipped him a capful of quick-acting heart medicine, and the old man slowly woke up.

After waking up, the old man didn't say a word. He just silently got into the carriage and ordered the driver to head towards the city gate. His face was ashen, as if he had forcibly suppressed his grief. At this moment, his cloudy old eyes were filled with intense hatred.

After about fifteen minutes, the carriage finally left the city gate.

After walking a little further, they saw several constables dragging a body from the ditch onto the bank. Although the river had thawed, the water was still icy cold at night.

The constable was soaking wet and his body was trembling.

Pingyang City is currently quite short of manpower. Although officials at all levels have been reassigned, there is a serious shortage of subordinate clerks.

It's not that no one wants to be a clerk.

Although clerks were not officials, had no rank, and did not have the nominal privileges, they were guaranteed two meals a day, received several hundred copper coins a month, and could even pass the money down to the next generation. It was a secure job, and in that era, it was definitely a respectable job.

Moreover, there will be some gray income.

However, what Song Yan was worried about was these gray incomes, so he had very strict requirements for his clerks, no less than those for his officials.

Those with a clean background and good character were required to even know some common characters. This process eliminated many candidates. Pingyang City was currently recruiting nearly a thousand officials, which sounded like a lot, but once they were assigned to various government offices, only a few remained. As a result, the city was extremely busy on weekdays.

Song Yan preferred to pay higher wages rather than relax his requirements to expand the number of officials, adhering to the principle of "better to have none than to have bad ones".

Pingyang is Song Yan's foundation, so it must not be allowed to be harmed.

As the saying goes, it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. The officials at all levels in Pingyang City are watched by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Night Scouts, but if the lower-level officials rely on their power to do evil and oppress the good, in the end, the blame will probably fall on Song Yan's head.

Generally, when a murder occurs, the scene must be sealed off to prevent bystanders from wandering around and potentially destroying important clues. However, Pingyang Prefecture only has a limited number of constables and officers, and some of them are also needed to guard the prison. It is obviously impossible to seal off the scene with just a few people, which explains why they need to borrow Black Armor Guards.

Song Yan and Zhang Ci walked over. A middle-aged man in an official robe was examining the corpse on the ground. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Song Yan. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

It was Jia Yifei, the prefect of Pingyang.

This is a talented individual selected by Luo Yuheng from among thousands of students in Pingyang Prefecture.

It is said that more than twenty years ago, Jia Yifei was quite famous in Pingyang. He passed the provincial, county, and prefectural examinations with top honors, and later went to Dongling to participate in the capital examination, where he also passed with high honors and ranked first in the palace examination. Although he was not the top scholar, second-place scholar, or third-place scholar, in that era, anyone who could pass the imperial examination was undoubtedly a remarkable person.

Because of his extensive knowledge and expertise in law, he was assigned to the Ministry of Justice as a Principal Officer... a sixth-rank official. The Principal Officer's job was to handle criminal cases in various prefectures, especially those involving murder, which required reviewing and examining all kinds of evidence.

Jia Yifei noticed something amiss in a murder case: the chain of evidence was incomplete, witness testimonies were inconsistent, and the evidence was a mess. It was clearly a wrongful conviction, so Jia Yifei submitted the case file. However, the Minister and Vice Minister of Justice jointly suppressed it. Only after the alleged murderer was beheaded did Jia Yifei realize that the case implicated a retired official, and that everyone from the Minister of Justice to the local magistrate was protecting him.

At that moment, Jia Yifei, who was full of enthusiasm, suffered an unprecedented blow, as if his ideals had been shattered.

Unwilling to compromise his principles, yet powerless to erase the darkness, he resigned in anger and returned to Pingyang, becoming a hermit in the mountains.

In order to persuade Jia Yifei to come out of seclusion, Luo Yuheng even went to invite him personally, and he did so three times.

However, although Song Yan was young, Jia Yifei respected her quite a bit. After all, Jia Yifei was from Pingyang and knew how much harm the Haixi Jurchens had done to Pingyang.

Song Yan returned the greeting before asking, "Mr. Jia, what's the situation here?"

Jia Yifei moved aside, and Zhang Ci's hunched body trembled slightly. Although he was afraid, he still subconsciously looked up.

The next moment, Zhang Ci let out a sigh of relief.

The woman's face had been disfigured.

The scarlet streaks and the almost completely cracked skin made it impossible to recognize her original appearance.

Just by looking at her figure, you can tell it's not Zhang Yan.

Although Zhang Yan's figure was beginning to show its graceful curves, she was only thirteen years old and still a petite girl, while this woman was clearly an adult at first glance.

Perhaps it was because he had endured too much pressure in such a short time that he suddenly relaxed. Zhang Ci couldn't hold on any longer and staggered backward until he leaned against the carriage and stopped, panting heavily.

Zhang Ci felt a little relieved, but Song Yan did not. A murder occurred in his jurisdiction, and he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Kneeling down to carefully examine the body, Jia Yifei began reporting the preliminary clues gathered from the investigation: "The victim was a woman, between twenty and thirty years old, dressed plainly, likely from an ordinary family, and had been abused before her death..."

A glance at the corpse revealed it to be covered in sticky blood from head to toe. Beneath the tattered dress lay even more mangled skin, making it easy to imagine what this woman had gone through in the days leading up to her death.

The person who did this is absolutely a psychopath.

"This is not a crime scene; the body was probably dumped here after the person died."

"The murder weapon was probably a whip or something similar. There were no fatal wounds, so the woman must have died from the pain."

"Moreover, the woman must have been violated before she died, as there were signs of assault on her body."

After a brief pause, Jia Yifei spoke again: "Your Excellency, I suspect that there are foreign tribes infiltrating Pingyang City, and this woman should also have died at the hands of foreign barbarians."

Song Yan's pupils contracted sharply: "What do you mean?"

Jia Yifei let out a soft breath, squatted down, picked up something from a wound with two fingers, and then stood up: "Your Excellency, what is this?"

Song Yan was somewhat suspicious, but still looked at it carefully, his brows furrowing more and more. After a few breaths, he said uncertainly, "What kind of fur is that?"

Jia Yifei nodded: "It is indeed the downy hair on the skin of some animals."

"Does Your Excellency know what a horsewhip is made of?"

Song Yan shook his head; he really didn't know that.

"In the four kingdoms of the Central Plains, whips, whether for riding or other purposes, are mostly made of bamboo or solid wood for the handle, and the whip body is woven from willow twigs or rattan. Some nobles also like to use colored paper or silk as whip tassels." Jia Yifei spoke eloquently: "As for the Jurchen and Xiongnu, various whips are mostly made of cow horn, sheep horn, or even animal bone for the handle, and cowhide, sheepskin, and horsehide are cut into strips and woven together."

"Although the mane on the animal hide is removed, many of these fine hairs remain."

"Therefore, I speculate that the murderer is most likely a Hun or a Jurchen."

No wonder he once served as an official in the Ministry of Justice.

Such fine detail meant that even Song Yan wouldn't have noticed these fine hairs unless Jia Yifei had picked them up himself.

Moreover, this amount of knowledge is simply too extensive.

Although Song Yan had countless classic texts in his mind and should possess this knowledge, he was still completely helpless when he couldn't think of a solution.

Anger was surging within Song Yan's chest.

Pingyang City was his territory, yet it was invaded by a foreign race, who even wantonly slaughtered the women in the city.

Okay, very good.

It was like a resounding slap across Song Yan's face.

"Make the arrangements: mobilize all the black-armored soldiers and garrison troops in Pingyang City to seal off the four gates of Pingyang and strictly prohibit anyone from entering or leaving. Anyone who dares to trespass will be killed without mercy."

"Also, send two thousand men with me to search all the inns in Pingyang."

Staring at the corpse on the ground, Song Yan's face was cold and gloomy.

Although he knew very well that in ancient times, people were not as good as cattle and horses.

But watching helplessly as a Han woman under his rule was brutally murdered by a foreign tribe, a hurdle seemed to weigh on his heart, preventing him from crossing it with a clear conscience. A murderous intent lingered in his mind.

As the messenger relayed the order as quickly as possible, the entire camp erupted in excitement while most people were still asleep.

Tens of thousands of black-armored soldiers and guards quickly donned their cold armor.

Boom...boom...boom...

Accompanied by a sound like muffled thunder, the four city gates were quickly sealed off.

Even the crescent moon in the sky seemed unable to bear the somber atmosphere and quietly hid behind the clouds.

……

Fenglai Inn.

The young man was sitting in a chair, panting and drinking.

Half an hour of fatigue requires half an hour of rest in order to regain one's strength.

On the bed lay the same blood-soaked corpse.

For some reason, the young man usually felt a strange excitement when he saw such a bloody scene, but now that he had calmed down, he felt an indescribable disgust.

My heart was pounding.

For some reason, I felt a little uneasy.

This feeling made the young man very uncomfortable. He frowned and found the corpse on the bed increasingly offensive. He then downed half a pot of wine and said, "Dispose of this corpse."

Behind him, the middle-aged man lowered his head and pursed his lips in a corner where no one could see him. He was somewhat dissatisfied with the young man's arrogant manner, but in the end, he didn't say a word. He simply stood up silently, walked to the bedside, found a piece of rag, and wrapped the corpse inside.

For some reason, the young man's eyelids twitched suddenly, and a very bad premonition rose in his heart: "What did you do with the previous corpse?"

The middle-aged man was slightly surprised to hear this. He knew the young man fairly well, as he had harmed at least a dozen women in recent days. He knew the young man was a beast, and this was the first time he had ever seen him so concerned about how to dispose of a corpse.

Without giving it much thought, he casually replied, "I left it in the ditch outside the city."

puff.

The young man, who was drinking, never expected to hear such a reply, and he immediately spat out his drink.

He jumped up from the chair, his face flushed. At that moment, he finally understood the source of his inexplicable panic. He wiped his mouth forcefully with his sleeve, his eyes wide with shock: "It wasn't dealt with, it was just thrown into the ditch?"

The middle-aged man smiled wryly, seemingly understanding why the young man had such an expression, and then comforted him, "Your Highness, do not worry."

"It's already late, no one will notice."

"By tomorrow, the body will have been washed away by the water, and there won't be any problems."

Upon hearing this answer, the young man called the Little Prince took a deep breath, as if desperately suppressing something, and beckoned to the middle-aged man with his finger. The middle-aged man then eagerly moved closer to the Little Prince, seemingly wanting to see what other instructions the Little Prince might have... Although he also looked down on these barbarians, he couldn't show the slightest disrespect on the surface.

Just as the middle-aged man approached the little prince, the little prince suddenly raised his right hand and swung it in a wide arc.

next moment.

Snapped!
A loud slap landed heavily on the middle-aged man's face.

A crisp sound echoed in the bedroom.

That slap was delivered with absolutely full force.

His body was instantly knocked to the ground, several teeth flew out of his mouth, and blood gushed out.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

The little prince suppressed his anger and cursed, his extreme rage causing his body to tremble slightly.

People from Ningguo have always prided themselves on being clever, so how could such a foolish person appear?
The middle-aged man was stunned by the blow, his head buzzing. It took him several breaths to come to his senses. He spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about appearances. He raised his sleeve to wipe his mouth, and his previous leisurely demeanor vanished completely. Even though he was filled with resentment, he had to suppress it desperately. He couldn't let his impulsiveness ruin his master's important matter.

Half of his face was already swollen, yet he still managed to put on a fawning expression, flashing a flattering smile: "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

"But what did this old servant do wrong?"

The little prince trembled uncontrollably, his face flushed red, perhaps from the blood rushing to his head: "What did I do wrong? Damn it, didn't I tell you to find a secluded place to bury these women's bodies? How dare you disobey my orders?"

The Little Prince did indeed give such an order. Although this man was just a barbarian with an arrogant and disdainful personality, he was still cautious when he entered Han territory. His only flaw was that he couldn't control his manhood. Whenever a woman died, the body was buried in a secluded place, which became the place of lodging. All the remaining things, whether it was bloodstains on the bed or fragments of women's clothing, were cleaned up thoroughly.

And that has always been what he has been doing.

However, after such a long period of calm without any disturbance, the middle-aged man couldn't help but relax. Today, the little prince had asked him to dispose of the corpse and to hunt new prey, so time was a bit tight. He also happened to meet a pretty little girl on the road. Worried that if he disposed of the corpse in a step-by-step manner, the little girl might run off somewhere, he handled it a little more casually.

But no one expected that the Little Prince would suddenly ask about the corpse today, and even less expected that the Little Prince would get so angry about it.

Half of his face was burning with pain. For a moment, the middle-aged man actually felt a little wronged. If it weren't for your eagerness to have a woman, and a beautiful one at that, why would he be in this situation?
The middle-aged man wanted to say something more, but he saw that the little prince's face was already ashen, and his eyes were flashing with a cold light, like a hungry wolf on the grassland. He slowly opened his mouth, and his lips seemed to reveal cold fangs: "Have you ever thought that someone might happen to pass by?"

"Have you considered what would happen if the body got tangled in seaweed or branches and couldn't be swept away?"

“A murder has occurred in Pingyang City, and the number of constables patrolling the streets will increase many times over.”

“Even the city gates might be blocked, adding an extra threat to our departure from Pingyang. Pingyang City is garrisoned with at least 30,000 soldiers. 30,000, you and I might both be riddled with arrows.”

"damn it."

The little prince exhaled forcefully, as if releasing some of the pent-up emotions in his chest, and his complexion looked much more normal than before.

He looked down on Song Yan.

They felt that the title of Champion Marquis was undeserved; he had only bullied the weak Jurchens and could not be considered a hero.

But that was strategic contempt.

This was ultimately Song Yan's territory, and he had heard about Song Yan's ruthlessness towards the alien races.

This time, he only brought a few of his best guards with him. He wasn't leading a large army to attack Pingyang. He could do some small tricks, but he really didn't have the guts to confront Song Yan head-on.

At this moment, the little prince was already somewhat regretful. If it weren't for the increasing pressure from his other brothers, he wouldn't have taken such a risk and gone to Ningguo alone for a cooperation.

Even more unexpectedly, the assistant assigned by the partner was so incompetent.

He was even more frustrated, knowing that this matter was of utmost importance, but he just couldn't control his lustful desires, which might cause him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

The middle-aged man's face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled involuntarily. He hadn't expected the consequences to be so severe, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead: "I'm going there right now to take the body to..."

The little prince took a deep breath: "Fool, forget about the corpses, get up and get out of here right now."

The middle-aged man trembled: "Then, Miss..."

"Get out!" The little prince couldn't hold back any longer and kicked him. "What kind of time is this to be thinking about women? Perhaps, in less than fifteen minutes, an army will surround the inn where we're staying..."

As he said this, he became increasingly annoyed, even wishing he could chop off that uncontrollable thing down there.

When indulging in lust, he is as mad as a demon; after indulging in lust, he is as holy as a Buddha.

But that's it.

Boom...boom...boom...

Just then, a dull thud of footsteps suddenly exploded in my ears!

(End of this chapter)