Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 515 Stay with me tonight (6,000)
Thirty-six skeletons.

They were all women.

She has also given birth.

Even though Song Yan had already guessed that the tunnels in the Prince Fu's mansion wouldn't be so clean, hearing these words still made him feel a chill run down his spine. Although it was only mid-afternoon, he felt cold all over.

The words Granny Liang relayed from Granny Gui involuntarily surfaced in his mind: Gao Yang was not Kong Nianhan's biological daughter. And Prince Fu didn't only have Gao Yang as a daughter…

Fangshan simply enjoyed a quiet cup of tea, giving Song Yan ample time to reflect.

"Excuse me, Uncle Fang, I need to leave for a moment. I'll have to trouble you to take me to see that tunnel later. Is that alright?"

"It's alright."

Nodding, Song Yan left. Not long after, she arrived at the back of the house. When she reached the door of a bedroom, she hesitated briefly before knocking.

Soon, Gao Yang's slightly groggy voice came from inside the bedroom: "Who is it?"

"Gao Yang, it's me."

Then there was a rustling sound inside, probably Gao Yang changing clothes. About a minute or two later, the door creaked open, and Gao Yang, now dressed, appeared before Song Yan. Her cheeks were flushed, and you could still see the marks left by the pillow where she had fallen asleep.

She wore a light purple long dress, the loose skirt of which couldn't conceal her perfect figure. A warm afternoon breeze caused the hem of the dress to cling tightly to her legs, further accentuating their perfect contours.

Beneath her long eyelashes, her eyes were still a little blurry, probably because she hadn't slept enough, having stayed up all night the previous night.

With her pinky finger tucking a few slightly disheveled strands of long hair behind her ear, Gao Yang spoke softly, "Brother-in-law, what brings you here?"

Although the Fang family had already made arrangements and were just waiting for an auspicious day, Gao Yang was to marry Song Yan.

But, after all, they are not married yet.

The term "husband" is somewhat inappropriate.

Of course, Gao Yang's form of address also changed over time. Initially, he was called his cousin-in-law, but after spending more time together, he changed it to "cousin" to show intimacy. After learning that Luo Tianxuan and Luo Tianyi were both daughters of Emperor Ninghe, their relationship as cousins ​​became that of sisters, and it would be inappropriate to continue calling him "cousin." Therefore, Gao Yang's form of address became "brother-in-law."

Song Yan didn't really care about how he was addressed, but for some reason, the words "brother-in-law" made him inexplicably excited.

Song Yan felt that he was probably somewhat morbid.

But now was not the time to consider such things, and Song Yan quickly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind. A hint of pity appeared in his eyes: "Gao Yang, come with me somewhere."

Gao Yang yawned slightly, still a little dazed. She probably wanted to go back to sleep for a while, but since it was Song Yan's request, Gao Yang obediently nodded.

Seeing Gao Yang's sexy, charming, mature, and gentle appearance, Song Yan could hardly believe that last night, when she couldn't find Luo Tianyi and Hua Lianyue, she decisively led the Silver Feather Guards to the Prince's Mansion to provide support. If Gao Yang had delayed even a minute or two, she and Ziyu would probably have lost their lives... It was as if they were not the same person at all.

Fang Shan led Gao Yang to the front hall. Upon seeing Fang Shan, Gao Yang obediently bowed and called him "Uncle." After all, Gao Yang had already recognized Fang Hai as her goddaughter, so this "Uncle" was appropriate. Fang Shan also exchanged a few words of concern, and seeing that the sun was setting, he didn't exchange any more pleasantries and they went out together.

"By the way, if Zhang Han and Lei Yi come back, tell them..." Just before leaving, Song Yan suddenly stopped and said to the silver-armored guards at the door, "Tell those two bastards to bring me some burlap and wipe all the roads I walked on today clean."

"If I see a drop of blood on the road tomorrow, I'll be careful and I'll take their heads off."

The silver-armored guard at the gate had a strange expression. He had said that General Zhang Han's idea was unreliable, but Lei Yi actually believed it. Look how angry the Marquis is.

Just then, another person walked out of the courtyard; it was Hua Lianyue.

Whenever Song Yan goes out, one of the two Grandmaster-level experts must accompany him. This was something Luo Tianxuan and Hua Lianyue had agreed upon in private.

The four of them rode in a carriage toward the Prince of Fu's residence.

"Was your assassination attempt really related to the Empress?" Fang Shan couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and asked on the way.

Song Yan did not answer, but only chuckled and asked, "How did Uncle Fang know?"

Fang Shan leaned against the carriage, a faint smile on his face: "Not to mention me, I'm afraid everyone in Dongling City, even the people in the outer city, know about it now."

"Almost everyone is saying that Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan are His Majesty's biological sons, and Luo Tianxuan and Luo Tianyi are His Majesty's biological daughters. No one knows where this rumor came from, but the news spread extremely fast. In just one day, everyone knew about it."

"Rumor has it that the Empress was extremely dissatisfied with Emperor Ninghe's desire to abdicate in your favor, so she contacted assassins to try to kill you."

"Everyone says that you have completely broken ties with the Empress's lineage."

Song Yan scoffed. "The matter concerning Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan must have been spread by people on the Empress's side."

It seemed that in the Empress's eyes, as long as Emperor Ninghe had a legitimate heir, the dragon throne would never be for Song Yan to sit on, and the conservative faction in the court would naturally gather around Luo Tianshu.

As for the assassination attempt and its connection to the Empress, it was likely Yang Miaoyun who sent someone to spread the word. The purpose was simple: to further murky the situation in Dongling City, so that Luo Jingyu would have a chance to turn things around.

These rumors won't have much impact on Song Yan. The real headache should be for Emperor Ninghe.
……

Meanwhile, outside the Eastern Mausoleum.

In front of a gambling den, the manager stared at the bloody heads and limbs outside, his face deathly pale, his whole body trembling, his eyes filled with extreme fear. On those small mounds of corpses, he actually saw several familiar heads.

His throat was moving frantically as he swallowed, but it remained dry.

"Third Master, the boss and the others have all been killed. What do we do now?" A brother dressed in black asked in a low voice, leaning close to the shopkeeper.

They were all members of the Black Tiger Gang, who controlled two-thirds of the casinos in Dongling City.

Yesterday, the gang leader gathered the most elite members of the gang, saying they were going to do something big. Who would have thought that this big thing would be to assassinate Champion Marquis?

Assassination attempt? If you had succeeded, that would have been fine, but you failed and ended up being killed by the Marquis of Champion.

This is troublesome.

The manager known as Third Master was the third leader of the Black Tiger Gang. Although he was not skilled in martial arts, he was extremely good at business, and he was responsible for running almost all the gambling dens. Hearing his brother's words, Third Master trembled slightly, and then slowly said, "Notify all the stalls to send all the silver coins, copper coins, and any valuable items exchanged by the gamblers to me."

The henchman's eyes lit up: "Third Master, are we packing our valuables and getting ready to run away?"

He didn't want to stay here any longer; every time he saw those familiar faces, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Hearing this, Third Master's face turned even paler. He turned around and slapped his underling on the head: "Run away? Run my ass." Third Master cursed: "If you want to die, fine, but don't drag me down with you. Right now, the entire Dongling City is full of Silver Armor Guards. Where do you think you can run? Haven't you noticed that the Marquis of Champion already knows we're here? I'm afraid that as soon as we're about to run away, we'll be surrounded by Silver Armor Guards."

After being slapped, the underling didn't dare to do anything, just scratched his head and muttered somewhat unconvinced, "Really?"

"I heard that the boss and his men didn't even get into the Marquis of Champion's mansion. They were killed outside without even being interrogated. How could the Marquis of Champion know that our gambling den is owned by the Black Tiger Gang?"

"Idiot, idiot!" Third Master scolded, exasperated. "Can't you even look? Tell me, how many times has this convoy passed by our gambling den?"

"Eleven times, a full eleven times."

Do you think this is a coincidence?

"This is the Marquis of Champion deliberately showing off to us." Third Master sighed helplessly. Although the Black Tiger Gang was arrogant, in the face of a truly powerful army, they were still as vulnerable as clay chickens and earthenware dogs.

"But I've been to Yong'an Road many times, and Chang'an Street too, more often than I've walked past our gambling den." The underling was still unconvinced and tried to argue again.

Third Master looked at his underling with the same pity one would show someone with an idiot. With that level of intelligence, he'd probably only ever be a thug: "What's most common over on Yong'an Road?"

"Borthello."

"Who owns those brothels?"

"Azure Dragon Society".

Third Master said, "So now you understand? The places these silver-armored guards went to were all very targeted. They were either gambling dens of the Black Tiger Gang in the South City or brothels of the Green Dragon Society in the North City..."

"But there's also Chang'an Avenue."

Third Master's face twitched. He seemed to have reached his limit and couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and slapped his underling on the head again: "Damn it, do we not need to go through Chang'an Street to get from the south city to the north city?"

The younger brother dared not utter a sound.

Third Master nodded with a hint of pride: "Now you understand, right? The Marquis of Champion deliberately ordered his Silver Armor Guards to keep walking back and forth in front of the gambling den and brothel. He wanted to convey a message to us in this way... He already knew about our existence."

"Then why didn't the Marquis of Champion arrange for the Silver Armor Guards to wipe us out directly?" He had already been slapped twice, but he obviously hadn't learned his lesson. After a brief silence, he couldn't help but talk again.

"It's very simple, because this is a deal between Champion Marquis and the remnants of the Black Tiger Gang and the Azure Dragon Society." Third Master raised an eyebrow, clearly pleased with himself for being able to figure out Song Yan's thoughts.

"trade?"

“That’s right, it’s a deal.” Third Master nodded again: “The gambling dens under the Black Tiger Gang and the brothels under the Green Dragon Society are places that make a fortune every day. Although most of it is handed over to the people behind them, the amount that can be kept is not small. Anyone or any force would be envious of this money, and Champion Marquis is no exception.”

"It's more accurate to say that because the Marquis of Champion needs to support his army, he needs this money more than anyone else."

"This is the deal: we'll exchange this money for our lives."

Third Master said in a deep voice, his tone resolute and leaving no room for argument, clearly showing extreme confidence in his prediction.

The underling suddenly looked enlightened and let out a long "Oh," as if to say, "I see." But soon a hint of doubt appeared on his face: "But if the Marquis of Champion simply arranges for the Silver Armor Guards to confiscate our place, wouldn't all that money be his? Why go through all this trouble?"

Third Master wasn't angry about his younger brother's question this time. He was happy to answer sophisticated questions, as that was how he could demonstrate his wisdom.

Third Master sighed deeply, his face full of admiration: "This is the most impressive thing about the Marquis of Champion."

"The Marquis of Champion is ultimately just a marquis, a governor. He doesn't have the power to confiscate property. Even if he does confiscate someone's property, the money won't go into his pocket, but into the national treasury and the imperial treasury. But if we voluntarily hand over the money to the marquis, then that money becomes the marquis's own money. That's why the marquis uses such a secretive method to conduct this transaction with us. Do you understand?"

The younger brother suddenly realized.

Who would have thought that just a few carts carrying heads and severed limbs passed by the gambling den, and there were so many hidden dealings inside? Looking at the scholar's robe worn by Third Master, he cursed inwardly how cunning and filthy scholars were.

Then the younger brother thought of something else: "Wait a minute, if no one can see through the Marquis of Champion's hints, wouldn't he be completely clueless about all this arrangements?"

Third Master raised his head slightly, his chin tilted up, and his face showed an air of arrogance: "Impossible. Perhaps a thug like you can't see through it, but a person who truly plans for a powerful organization can definitely see through the Marquis of Champion's arrangements."

"Alright, enough talk. Instruct the people in charge of each stall to send all the cash over as soon as possible, and exchange the silver notes and the like. Tomorrow, these things should be sent to the Marquis of Champion's mansion... You can tell everyone what I said. Anyone who wants to run is welcome to try and see if their two legs can outrun the Silver Armor Guards' warhorses."

Meanwhile, on Yong'an Road, in the tallest brothel, a short, stout, wealthy-looking man dressed as a merchant watched the carts and piles of Jingguan (a type of ancient Chinese shroud) pass by below once again. His chubby face twitched, and after most of the afternoon, he finally confirmed his suspicions.

It was no coincidence that the silver-armored guards kept walking past the brothel.

This is a signal that the champion is sending to himself!
……

Prince Fu's Mansion.

The four people stepped down from the carriage.

Although a long time has passed, the stench lingering over the Prince Fu's mansion does not seem to have completely dissipated, and the faint smell of rotting corpses can still be detected.

The gates of the Prince's Mansion were open.

Looking up, you can see a thick layer of ash on the ground in the front yard.

The charred remains from the fire still lingered on the ground, but the bones had already been collected and buried somewhere. Several constables were still guarding the area, but judging from their expressions, guarding the Prince of Fu's mansion was definitely not a good job.

After all, only a few hundred people have died here. Not to mention at night, even in broad daylight, it feels like there's a chilling wind blowing, as if something might suddenly crawl out from behind at any moment... Even just a gust of wind blowing by, rustling the leaves, is enough to terrify these constables.

Even the sound of Song Yan and his companions' footsteps made the constables tense up, until they saw the familiar figures and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Yan, Gao Yang, and Hua Lianyue followed Fang Shan, walking step by step towards the backyard.

Just past the palace gate, one can see that there is indeed a rockery lying on the ground.

Behind it was a dark hole.

Several constables were guarding the entrance to the cave.

Fangshan somehow got hold of an oil lamp, gave Song Yan and the others a look that said "follow me," and then carried the oil lamp into the cave.

The passageway is vertically downwards and is connected by a ladder.

The underground space is more like a huge cellar.

The air was filled with decay and filth, and even though the cave entrance had been open for a long time, Song Yan still felt a bit suffocated when breathing.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered gently.

A few torches were stuck into the surrounding walls, so it wasn't too dark below. Several thick wooden pillars supported the earthen ceiling in the cellar.

Gao Yang let out a soft gasp, clearly having discovered the skeletons in the cellar.

The bones were not piled up in one place, but scattered everywhere. The flesh on the bones had long since rotted away, leaving only the white bones and the cloth attached to them.

"This is it. I've already had someone count them; there are a total of thirty-six skeletons." Fang Shan's voice broke the silence at the scene.

"How do you know these are all women? And that they've all given birth?" Song Yan frowned and asked.

Song Yan's voice made Gao Yang tremble. He had obviously thought of something, and his face turned pale.

“In the words of the coroner, a woman’s pelvis is wider than a man’s… The remains of ordinary people are white, while the bones of women who have given birth are slightly darker,” Fang Shan replied, then walked to a pillar: “Look here, there are many scratches and even teeth marks on this…”

"Clearly, these women were not killed and then left behind."

"They were still alive when they were locked in this dark, sunless cellar."

hiss.

Song Yan's body trembled slightly, and his face darkened.

Gao Yang, standing beside him, had her pupils contract, and she bit her lower lip hard to keep from screaming.

Alive, they were imprisoned in this dark and sunless cellar, the only entrance blocked by an artificial hill, their only companions being the long-dead corpses. No matter how loudly they screamed, their voices could not reach the surface...

Just thinking about that scene sends chills down my spine.

Darkness breeds loneliness, corpses breed fear, hunger breeds suffering...

Those who haven't experienced it will never understand what it's like.

When they could no longer bear the torment of loneliness and hunger, they began to try everything to fill their stomachs, tearing at and even gnawing on the rotting pillars.

Even the bones on the ground.

They hoped someone would save them, but every breath brought only disappointment, even despair.

They shouted loudly, hoping someone would hear them, but to no avail.

In the end, he still starved to death.

If ghosts and gods truly existed in this world, this cellar would probably be filled with resentment.

“There are only women’s remains in this place, no children. It’s likely that they were thrown into this cellar right after giving birth,” Fang Shan continued. “As for whether those children are still alive or where they are, no one knows.”

Song Yan's eyelids drooped, and her fingers clenched tightly.

Those children are still alive.

They were all raised by Kong Nianhan and regarded her as their mother. Just like Gao Yang, who would do something she didn't want to do, like marrying Fang Jun, in order to make her so-called mother Kong Nianhan happy.

Little did they know, their real mother had already been killed by Kong Nianhan in the most cruel way.

What a clever move to remove the mother and keep the child.

So what exactly does Kong Nianhan want to do?
Or rather... what exactly does Prince Fu want to do?
He kept favoring one woman after another, getting them pregnant one after another, and then cruelly killing the mothers of the children after they were born. Why did he do this?

They're both crazy. They're both crazy.

Moreover, since Prince Fu was able to get so many women pregnant and give birth in his mansion, his so-called pursuit of immortality and travel around the world was most likely just a pretext.

"On some pillars and earthen walls, you can still vaguely see words that these women carved with their fingernails before they died. It can be confirmed that they were all from the Prince Fu's mansion and were all taken into the Prince Fu's household. These women probably knew that they could not survive, but they just wanted to leave the truth behind, hoping that someone would see it in the future." Fang Shan continued, his voice tinged with helplessness.

This was the only resistance these women could muster, yet it was so fragile and powerless.

Song Yan looked up and saw crooked marks on the earthen wall, with some characters even overlapping.

Gao Yang walked slowly through the cellar. She knew that her real mother was among these skeletons, but she didn't know which one it was.

She couldn't describe her feelings; her heart felt empty, as if a piece had been hollowed out.

The unbearable sourness made tears stream down my cheeks uncontrollably.

"Uncle Fang, how do you plan to handle this matter?" Song Yan took a deep breath.

"After the grand court assembly tomorrow, I will privately report to His Majesty. After all, this matter involves Prince Fu, and we must see how Emperor Ninghe decides."

"Can we handle these bones?"

“Sure, but only after the case is closed, since these bones are evidence,” Fang Shan said.

"Thank you very much."

Gao Yang continued to examine the skeletons one by one.

She had lost count of how many times this had happened.

But... she really didn't know which one was her mother.

Her shoulders trembled slightly until a large hand landed on Gao Yang's shoulder. Only then did Gao Yang slowly raise her head, tears streaming down her face.

"I can't tell the difference."

The voice was filled with helplessness.

"It's alright, let's bury them all." Song Yan bent down to wipe away Gao Yang's tears and helped her up from the ground.

Looking at Gao Yang's appearance, Fang Shan vaguely understood something.

By the time everyone emerged from the cellar, it was already getting dark.

On the way back, Gao Yang remained silent.

It's like an absolutely beautiful doll.

This scene was very cruel to Gao Yang.

Upon arriving at the Marquis's residence, Hua Lianyue returned to her room, while Song Yan escorted Gao Yang to her bedroom.

"It's getting late, you should get some rest." Looking at Gao Yang, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed with a blank expression, Song Yan sighed helplessly.

Seeing that Gao Yang didn't respond, and knowing that Gao Yang also needed some time to slowly digest this cruel truth, Song Yan shook his head and prepared to leave.

only……

Snapped.

Just as she turned around, several slender fingers suddenly grabbed Song Yan's wrist.

Turning my head, I met Gao Yang's large, watery eyes, which held a hint of pleading.
"Stay tonight!"

"Stay with me!"

(End of this chapter)