Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 451 Cutting One Inch a Day (10,000 words)
A hazy night.

Sparse torches, mixed with the moonlight in the sky, illuminated all directions.

ah ah ah ah...

The tranquil environment was shattered by Ma Zhifeng's piercing screams.

The fingers that had fallen to the ground were still curled up nervously. The pain of having four fingers severed at once is unimaginable. The intense pain twisted Ma Zhifeng's face into a grimace, and his once tall body instantly hunched over, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

His face was deathly pale.

His eyes widened as he stared intently at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy opposite him, his gaze filled with disbelief and fear.

The sword hung down naturally, with the tip pointing downwards.

A drop of crimson blood slid down the blade to the tip, fell, and shattered.

This all happened so fast that Chu Muqing, the steward of the governor's mansion, and his four legitimate sons were all dumbfounded, feeling a chill run down their spines, and for a moment they didn't know how to react.

All along the way, Ma Zhifeng had been saying that once they reached Pingyang, they would be safe. Even though there was a rift between Champion Marquis Song Yan and Bailu Academy, Song Yan would never fuss over such a trivial matter in the face of national crisis, lest he tarnish his reputation.

But who could have imagined that after finally arriving in Pingyang, this would be the scene we see?

No matter what, Ma Zhifeng was a prefect.

In terms of official rank, he was on par with Song Yan.

Even if Song Yan has the title of Marquis of Champion, what right does he have to cut off Ma Zhifeng's finger right away?
"Ah ah ah ah ah……"

A few seconds later, another piercing scream rang out. Chu Muqing finally reacted. Her once elegant and dignified face was now twisted like a vengeful ghost, her eyes bloodshot. She lunged at Ma Zhifeng, grabbing her husband's swaying body. Seeing his bare hand and the blood gushing from the cut, her gaze towards Song Yan was filled with resentment and hatred. She shouted sharply, "Song Yan..."

"Who do you think you are? Who gave you the audacity to hurt my husband like this?"

"You wait, I will tell my father everything about this, and I will send you to the Dali Temple so that you will pay the price for what you have done today."

Chu Muqing's face was contorted with rage, her eyes filled with a hatred that wished she could tear Song Yan to pieces.

Song Yan glanced at Chu Muqing with some surprise. Because of the Embroidered Uniform Guards planted in the governor's mansion, he naturally knew about Ma Zhifeng's family situation.

Logically speaking, Chu Muqing is Chu Licheng's daughter, and comes from a scholarly family. How could she be so stupid?

This idiot, can't he see the situation right now?

Then it suddenly occurred to me that although Chu Licheng was a disciple of Confucianism, he was quite radical in some respects, advocating things like "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent" and "starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a great matter." The increasingly conservative social atmosphere in Ningguo was partly due to the influence of Chu Licheng, the leading figure of Confucianism.

It is said that in Chu Licheng's family, his daughters and granddaughters only know a few characters. Even when they read, they mostly read books like "Women's Virtues" and "Women's Rules." They also live in the inner quarters of the house year-round. Thinking about it this way, it is quite normal for Chu Muqing to be so foolish.

Even when he heard Chu Muqing's insults, Song Yan just smiled and showed no anger at all: "Don't worry, Madam. Although I don't care about that old bastard Chu Licheng, you probably won't have a chance to leave here alive."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Ma Zhifeng's four sons changed drastically.

What does this mean?
Could it be that Song Yan is planning to kill them all here?
Even Ma Zhifeng's screams abruptly ceased. His eyes widened as he stared intently at Song Yan. Despite it being their first meeting, he had absolutely no idea what he had done to offend this ruthless figure. Even if it was because of Bailu Academy, surely it shouldn't have gone to this extent?
Even though the wounds on his shoulder and fingers were excruciatingly painful, almost making him faint, and his forehead was covered in a layer of sweat, and his lips were twitching, Ma Zhifeng could only desperately endure it and stop Chu Muqing, that stupid woman, from screaming. Only then did he take a deep breath and slowly say, "My lord, I wonder what I have done to offend you that makes you treat me so cruelly?"

"Even if you want to kill me, at least let me die knowing why."

"Furthermore, has Your Excellency forgotten that even though I, Ma Zhifeng, do not hold a noble title, I am still a governor in charge of a region, on par with Your Excellency? Can Your Excellency truly bear the consequences of killing me?"

Ma Zhifeng racked his brains, searching for a chance to survive.

At this moment, his heart was already filled with regret.

If I had known that Song Yan was so insane, I would never have fled to Pingyang.

Damn it, how could I have been so blinded by greed, thinking that escaping to Pingyang would be safer? Now, I'm lucky I didn't die at the hands of the Xiongnu, but I'm about to die at the hands of Song Yan. He wasn't a fool like Chu Muqing; he could sense Song Yan's murderous intent. Now, the only thing he could rely on was his own status, hoping that the position of governor would make Song Yan somewhat wary.

"So what if I killed him? What consequences could there be?" Song Yan just chuckled. "Don't even mention those of my rank; I've killed countless officials of higher rank than me."

Ma Zhifeng's breath hitched. He then remembered that Song Yan was not only extremely cruel to foreign tribes, but also to the people of Ningguo. In Dongling City, Song Yan, who had been stripped of his acting governorship and was left with only the position of county magistrate, still managed to crush the necks of more than two hundred officials, including high-ranking officials of the fifth, fourth, and even third ranks.

Even the relatives of these officials were sent to the execution ground by Song Yan, where their heads were all chopped off and piled up into two large mounds outside the Eastern Mausoleum Imperial City.

"Besides, everyone here is my man. Even if I kill your whole family, who would know?" Song Yan shrugged, and after a brief pause, he continued, "As for why I want to kill you..."

"Ha ha……"

"The military rations allocated by the imperial court were resold to the Xiongnu by you. Isn't that enough to warrant the execution of your entire family?"

At this point, Song Yan's voice suddenly turned cold.

Ma Zhifeng trembled, his pupils contracted sharply, and he was filled with immense fear. He had done these things extremely secretly, so how did Song Yan know? He didn't even have time to react. In the next instant, a figure flashed before his eyes, and Song Yan had already appeared in front of his eldest son, Ma Yongze.

Grip the knife handle tightly with both hands.

Under the moonlight, the cold light reflected from the blade was like a sharp steel needle, piercing the eyes.

The next instant, the knife fell with a swift motion.

laugh!
The blade had already sliced ​​across Ma Yongze's neck.

It's like slicing tofu, without any stickiness.

A perfectly fine head was sent flying into the air in an instant.

He reached out with his left hand and grabbed the neatly combed hair.

He lifted his head slightly, looked around, and you could even see the horror and despair on his face before he died.

The knife was incredibly fast.

After three breaths, blood began to gush out from the cut neck of the headless corpse, filling the moonlit night with an intensely pungent stench.

The silence didn't last long. Ma Yongze's three brothers screamed in terror. Their brother, who had been alive just moments before, had been beheaded in the blink of an eye. The three brothers were so frightened that they burst into tears.

They instinctively looked around, wanting to escape this nightmarish place. But they were surrounded by black-armored soldiers; where could they possibly run?
puff.

The headless corpse lay on the ground.

"My son!" Chu Muqing cried out in anguish, rushed forward, and embraced the body of her eldest son, weeping uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Song Yan tossed Ma Yongze's head to Ma Zhifeng's feet.

Looking at the head at his toes, Ma Zhifeng slowly squatted down. He didn't cry or curse, but just trembled as he reached out, wanting to hold his son's head in his arms. He had indeed considered whether to leave one of his legitimate sons in Anzhou City to make his plan more perfect, but in his heart, he ultimately valued these biological sons very much and had a lot of affection for them; otherwise, he wouldn't have given up so easily because of Chu Muqing's two words.

Two lines of clear tears slowly fell from her dirty face.

Song Yan sneered. He wanted to crush everything that Ma Zhifeng valued in front of him.

"The armor, cotton-padded clothes, and weapons issued by the imperial court were all resold to the Xiongnu by you..." Song Yan's sinister, devilish voice rang in Ma Zhifeng's ears once again: "Is this enough to exterminate your entire family?"

Ma Zhifeng shuddered and saw Song Yan striding towards his second son, Ma Yongen.

"Do not……"

Swish.

With Ma Zhifeng's piercing scream, the sharp steel knife had already slashed across the back of Ma Yongen's neck as he tried to escape.

Song Yan tossed the round head in front of Ma Zhifeng once again.

Ma Zhifeng was already in tears, and he knelt down with a thud: "Champion Marquis, please, no, please..."

It pleaded, its voice piercing and mournful, like a cuckoo weeping blood, bringing tears to the eyes of all who heard it.

Song Yan just grinned. Now he knows he regrets it?
So you know how to beg?

Do you know how desperate those soldiers guarding the border were when they were hungry, wearing tattered armor, and carrying rusty weapons, and when they could not wait for reinforcements and all died in battle?

Song Yan held the soldiers who guarded the country in the highest esteem. Knowing the fate of the 30,000 border troops in Yongchang City, Ma Zhifeng was already considered dead in Song Yan's eyes. He had originally worried that finding this man would be difficult, but who would have thought that this guy would actually deliver himself to his doorstep, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Song Yan didn't know or care whether Ma Zhifeng's sons were involved in his embezzlement... Song Yan only knew that his sons, daughters, and wife had enjoyed the money he embezzled, and that was enough. He never showed much pity to those who benefited from the system.

"When that personal guard, after running for several hours straight to Anzhou Prefecture to ask you for help, had his throat cut, ultimately leading to the fall of Yongchang and the deaths of 30,000 border troops, isn't that enough to warrant the extermination of your entire clan?"

It was that familiar, indifferent voice again.

Song Yan was like a judge who had come from hell, announcing Ma Zhifeng's crimes one by one.

Ma Zhifeng's third son, Ma Yongtao, was desperately squeezing into the middle of the black-armored soldiers. His originally tall and handsome body was now curled up in fear. The deaths of his two older brothers had already terrified him. He didn't understand why he was the one who had to bear the consequences of his father's evil deeds.

A large, fan-like hand reached out from behind, grabbed Ma Yongtao by the back of the neck, and lifted him up like a chick. With a flick of the wrist, Ma Yongtao flew towards Song Yan.

Song Yan grinned and slashed the blade upwards.

puff.

Cut in two.

Fresh blood fell from mid-air.

With a thud, a head landed right in front of Ma Zhifeng.

"Anzhou City was besieged by the Xiongnu army. As the governor of Anzhou, you abandoned all the people of the city and fled, leaving hundreds of thousands of people to die under the Xiongnu's slaughter. Can this sentence warrant the execution of your entire clan?"

Song Yan's voice was filled with hatred and resentment.

If the governor of Anzhou were someone like Jiao Junze, Song Yan would have been willing to risk everything, throwing all the troops from Pingyang into battle against the Xiongnu. Unfortunately, the governor of Anzhou was a scoundrel like Ma Zhifeng. If he went to help, he would most likely be dragged down and stabbed in the back by Ma Zhifeng. No matter how unwilling he was, Song Yan could only watch helplessly.

As she spoke, Song Yan walked toward Ma Zhifeng's fourth legitimate son, Ma Yongheng.

Chu Muqing seemed to finally realize what was happening, screaming and spreading her arms to block her youngest son: "Stop! My father is..."

laugh.

Before he could finish speaking, the sword severed both of their necks.

Who your father is is none of my business.
With a casual flick of his wrist, the heads of his wife and youngest son also fell in front of Ma Zhifeng.

At that moment, the light in Ma Zhifeng's eyes seemed to vanish completely.

His face was ashen, and his eyes were empty.

His body trembled almost imperceptibly, as if he were being electrocuted.

No one can describe Ma Zhifeng's feelings at this moment. It's as if everything has been drained away in an instant, leaving only darkness, coldness, and despair... He can no longer feel pain; what envelops him is an extreme emptiness and numbness.

The only sounds were violent churning in his abdomen and dry heaving in his throat.

Slowly walking up to Ma Zhifeng, Song Yan squatted down, reached out and took the heads of the four legitimate sons, placing three at the bottom and one on top, forming a small two-story Jingguan (a mound of skulls).

Looking at the pile of heads, Song Yan's lips twitched.

Damn.

This is a habitual reaction.

He pursed his lips and patted Ma Zhifeng's shoulder: "Don't worry, I won't let you die so quickly."

"Because of you, tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians in Anzhou Prefecture will die under the Xiongnu's butcher's knife. Killing you so easily is too lenient for you."

"Lei Yi, take him away and hand him over to Granny Liang."

"Whether you start from the toes, fingers, or anywhere else, cut off an inch from me every day."

"Also, find me the best doctor and the oldest ginseng. I want him to live so I can make 30,000 cuts."

Song Yan's gloomy voice seemed to startle Ma Zhifeng awake. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide with intense fear.

The next second, he lunged at Song Yan, trying to crash into the tip of Song Yan's knife and die.

Cut one inch a day!
Just hearing it sent chills down Ma Zhifeng's spine; at that moment, all he wanted was to die. But Song Yan wouldn't give him that chance. She kicked Ma Zhifeng away, and two black-armored soldiers immediately subdued him.

Just then, a cry suddenly came from the sky.

Then, from the darkness, a large bird swooped down; it was none other than the gyrfalcon that Nakhtoya had trained.

Song Yan's expression changed slightly; he knew this was a signal.

The Xiongnu army is almost here!

(End of this chapter)