Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 7 The real murderer
If Yang Can instigated Leopard Head to attack the Suo family, and when the two sides clashed, the only person from the Suo family who stepped in to quell the conflict was still Granny Tu, then Yang Can could be certain that Granny Tu was the sole leader of the Suo family's group.

In that case, as long as he can get rid of Granny Tu, he will have a great chance to turn the tables and take the initiative.

At the same time, escalating the conflict between the Yu and Su families would only be beneficial to him at present.

The people in the Suo family camp on the slope noticed a group of Yu family guards rushing up the slope, shouting and yelling, and immediately became alert.

They immediately shouted warnings to each other and began to gather together.

Yu Chengye was the eldest son of the Yu family, a powerful clan in Tianshui, and his death clearly affected many people.

But everyone is trying to make this influence work in his favor, or at least not against him.

But no one grieved for Yu Chengye's death, not even his bride.

Perhaps there is only one exception, and that person is currently on Phoenix Mountain.

Tianshui City, Phoenix Mountain.

There is a Yu family manor on Phoenix Mountain. The manor is named after the mountain and is called "Phoenix Mountain Manor".

At this moment, the rising sun bathed the eaves and corners of Phoenix Villa in a vibrant red.

The main gate of the ancestral hall deep within the Yu family mansion was wide open, and the brilliant sunlight slanted in from outside, illuminating the deep and spacious ancestral hall.

The memorial tablets on the altar seemed to glow as a result.

This is the place where we worship our ancestors.

The Yu family has continued for 327 years, and the glory and honor of these 327 years were created by the ancestors of the Yu family enshrined in this ancestral hall.

Tianshui Vale Master Yu Xinglong held a brand-new memorial tablet in his hands, gently stroking the line of words he had personally engraved and gilded on it.

After a long while, he sighed sadly, and a tear fell onto the memorial tablet with a "plop," slowly sliding into the indentation of the character "业" (ye).

Yu Xinglong picked up his sleeve and gently wiped away the tears on the character "业" (ye, meaning karma/karma), then gently placed the memorial tablet on the altar.

A pair of old eyes, glistening with tears, gazed at her son's memorial tablet.

"The spirit tablet of the deceased son who inherited the business!" This is the way to write it when the father is alive but the son is dead, unmarried and childless.

Yu Xinglong is over fifty years old, and his hair is gray.

Although he was the head of the Tianshui Vale, holding a high position and great power, his appearance and temperament resembled that of a learned scholar—refined and elegant.

Now, a touch of sorrow has crept onto that clear and handsome face.

Although the messenger sent by Leopard Head had taken a shortcut, he had not yet arrived, and of course, the people sent by Granny Tu had not arrived either.

However, Yu Xinglong had already placed his son's memorial tablet in the ancestral hall.

Because he knew that his son was no longer alive.

Before Yu Chengye went to Jincheng to fetch his son, he had already foreseen his son's death.

The reason is that the "bandit" who assassinated Yu Chengye was sent out by him.

The reason is that when and how Yu Chengye died was a plan agreed upon by Yu Xinglong and his son Yu Chengye.

“Father, I was shot with a poisoned arrow before. Although I was lucky enough to survive, the poison has not been cleared, which has greatly reduced my lifespan. I will not live for more than a year or two now.”

Through Yu Xinglong's tear-filled eyes, the figure of his eldest son, Yu Chengye, could be vaguely seen.

When Yu Chengye said these words, his eyes were frighteningly calm, as if he were not talking about his own life or death, but about an upcoming autumn hunt.

"I think that rather than clinging to life for another half a year, I should use this crippled body to do something useful for our eldest son's family."

He took two steps back and knelt before Yu Xinglong: "I beg Father to arrange a marriage alliance between our families, and to orchestrate an assassination during the wedding procession to frame my second uncle..."

"Shut up! This is utterly absurd!" Yu Xinglong immediately shouted, his whole body trembling.

But it wasn't anger, it was fear; he found himself shamefully attracted.

"Time waits for no one, Father. If our eldest son's branch doesn't stop Second Uncle now, we'll never have a chance to turn things around."

Yu Chengye gave a bitter laugh: "My son is already nearing the end of his life, why not make good use of this opportunity?"

Since we lack the power to suppress the two meridians, we will borrow their power.

Using the marriage alliance between the two families as a bond and the death of the child as a trigger, they used this opportunity to suppress the two branches of the family while also intimidating the other branches.

This way, we can buy enough time for my younger brother to grow up.

As Yu Chengye spoke, he chuckled again: "Besides, the poisoned arrow that my son was shot with was most likely the work of my good second uncle."

Although I, as his nephew, am now framing him with my death, I may not actually be entirely innocent.

"My son, my son..."

Yu Xinglong gently closed his eyes and murmured sadly.

After a long while, he picked up his sleeve, gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, then picked up three incense sticks, lit them on the candle flame, and inserted them one by one into the incense burner.

Wisps of smoke rose, gradually blurring the golden characters on the memorial tablet.

……

Leopard Head led a group of men and stormed into the center of the camp.

The bandit was now bound hand and foot on a large cart. He was curled up, half-dead, and the dried blood on his clothes had turned dark red.

"Halt! Who gave you permission to barge in?" A group of Suo family guards stepped forward without flinching.

Leopard Head roared, "I am Young Master Yu's bodyguard commander! Today I will interrogate that bandit, find their hideout, and avenge my young master!"

One of the Suo family guards sneered, "We cannot hand this person over to you. How to deal with this person is the responsibility of the Suo family."

"It was my young master, Yu, who died!"

"So what?"

The Suo family guards proudly raised their heads: "No one is allowed to approach without our Granny Tu's orders!"

As he spoke, his hand was already on the hilt of the knife, his gaze cold and sharp.

Leopard Head roared, "Can I assume that you are protecting the murderer and deliberately delaying the time so that the murderer can escape at will?"

Leopard Head's big eyes flashed with ferocity. Although the Suo family was powerful, he couldn't care less about anything else when he saw that his head was about to be lost.

The Suo family guards sneered, "Trying to pin a label on me? It's useless. In short, no one is allowed to approach without our Granny Tu's orders!"

"Then I'll just rob it!" Leopard Head grinned maliciously, drew his knife, and charged forward.

The shouts and sounds of fighting on the slope could be faintly heard into the wedding tent on the high slope.

"What happened?" Suo Chanzhi asked vaguely, lying on her side on the couch, looking languid.

She didn't sleep well at all last night, and was completely exhausted.

She got up very early this morning and took a bath without even having breakfast. Now she's so tired she can barely keep her eyes open.

She wasn't worried about the noise outside; it couldn't be that bandits were attacking again, could it?

The bandits have already launched a surprise attack once, so they are on guard. If the bandits come again, they won't be able to break into the center of the camp as easily as last time.

"I don't know, I'll go check," Xiao Qingmei replied.

After taking a bath, Suo Chanzhi changed into a set of thin, soft pajamas and lay on her side on the couch, with only a thin quilt draped around her waist.

Looking at her listless appearance, Xiao Qingmei was filled with curiosity and was about to ask her something when suddenly a noisy shouting and cursing came from outside.

Having received the order, Qingmei had no choice but to agree and hurriedly ran out.

Suo Chanzhi lazily hummed and then yawned.

She was really sleepy and wanted to take a nap whenever she could before setting off.

……

On the slope, seeing that Leopard Head was as fierce as a tiger or leopard, the Suo family guards showed no fear.

He took off running to meet Leopard Head, and as he ran, he flicked his thumb, and the sharp blade in the sheath popped out with a clang.

With a flick of the guard's thumb, the sharp blade was drawn and shot into the air.

The guard rushed forward, and with a swift movement of his right hand, caught the blade that had been flung through the air.

"Whoosh~", with a shrill whistle, the blade transformed into a halo of light and slashed down at Leopard Head.

This set of movements was truly fluid and graceful, and very beautiful to watch.

However, while it looks good, it's clearly not as practical as a leopard's movements.

With a loud "clang!", it made one's teeth ache.

Leopard Head had already charged forward with his sword drawn. The guard suddenly slashed down with his sword, and the sword in his hand broke in two with a clang. The broken half of the sword tip bounced into the air.

Leopard Head lunged in from the side, and taking advantage of the guard's surprise and momentary lapse in concentration, he delivered a "mountain-hugging" blow, sending the guard flying backward.

In mid-air, the guard coughed up a mouthful of blood, clearly injured in the lungs and internal organs from the impact.

Leopard Head used a powerful shoulder strike to knock away his enemy, leaving him wide open. Immediately, three more Suo family guards rushed towards him.

"Well done!"

Undeterred, Leopard Head grinned and charged forward with his knife.

With a sickening thud, the three Suo family guards staggered back a few steps, their hands split open, their arms trembling, and the blades in their hands chipped with pea-sized nicks.

Although Leopard Head made a move, he didn't dare to kill them. He used the back of his steel-bladed horizontal sword when he went to meet them, and the three sharp blades struck the back of his sword, so naturally they didn't fare well.

Leopard Head strode forward, his horizontal scalpel flashing up and down, sometimes sweeping like a bronze whip, sometimes striking like an iron ruler.

Although he dared not kill, he deliberately targeted the victims' weak points, striking them hard but not killing them. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight men were lying on the ground, rolling and howling in pain.

As soon as Leopard Head made his move, his men also drew their weapons and began fighting with the Suo family's guards.

As soon as the two sides started fighting, the Suo family guards who had been watching nearby immediately rushed over, shouting and cursing.

Their action was naturally seen by the Yu family guards who were still watching from below the slope, so they rushed over shouting.

Before they could even reach Leopard Head, they were stopped by the Suo family guards who came to their aid. In an instant, swords flashed and shouts of battle filled the air.

After the groom's death, the conflict between the in-laws finally became public.

(End of this chapter)