Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 31 - Your Kid is Not Your Seed

Butler Wang's seemingly cloudy eyes stared at Song Yan. He felt that after staying at the Luo family for a period of time, the Ninth Young Master had changed a lot.

The person was still the same person.

But it was as if his scabbard was gone, and his sharp edge was completely exposed.

He then looked at Song Hongtao. If it were a normal day, perhaps the Old Master wouldn't have cared too much. But during this period, a series of shitty incidents had already made the Old Master dissatisfied with the First Mistress. Thus, the conflict between the two would rapidly expand because of this one sentence.

The Ninth Young Master couldn't have failed to guess that the Old Master wanted to restore the Duke's mansion's reputation. Even with Zhang Xiaoshan making things difficult, he only needed to wait a moment and the matter would naturally be resolved. But the Ninth Young Master deliberately turned and walked away, choosing to escalate the problem, forcing the Old Master to have to personally come out. The Old Master would naturally feel resentful, and this resentment could only be placed on the First Mistress's head.

The most terrifying part was that although the Ninth Young Master was targeting the First Mistress, he didn't mention Yang Shi at all throughout the entire process. Instead, he led Song Hongtao to think of Yang Shi on his own.

Something one thinks of oneself is far more convincing than a reminder from others.

The Ninth Young Master wasn't making a return visit; he was coming back for revenge.

But the Ninth Young Master also knew very well that Yang Shi was the main mistress of the main house, and with the Yang family behind her, she couldn't be easily toppled. That's why he said the servants of the Duke's mansion needed to be cleaned up.

First, eradicate Yang Shi's lackeys. Without these servants, even with Yang Shi's noble status, she would just be a tiger without claws and teeth.

As for Zhang Xiaoshan, he was just the first poor fool to be implicated in the game between the Ninth Young Master and the First Mistress.

Of course, Butler Wang believed that the Ninth Young Master's methods wouldn't be limited to just this. I'm afraid what comes next will be the real killing move.

If I don't remind him from the side... But very quickly, Butler Wang smiled slightly. Why should I remind him?

Song Yan had been imprisoned in the backyard for nearly ten years before, feigning foolishness, and had finally survived Yang Shi's grasp. The moment he broke free from the Duke's mansion, his sharp edge was revealed. Such a temperament, such for bearance... Butler Wang also didn't think that making an enemy of this kind of person was a smart choice.

So he very obediently lowered his head and said nothing.

Song Hongtao's expression, however, was growing uglier and uglier. Even a gatekeeper dared to ignore his command. One can imagine what the scene in the back residence of the mansion must be like.

"Butler Wang..."

"This old slave is here."

"That Zhang Xiaoshan, beat him to death." Song Hongtao waved his hand. Sometimes, it was necessary to kill a chicken to warn the monkey.

Their indenture contracts are all with the Duke's mansion. Could it be they don't know who their master is? A dog that doesn't know who its master is, what's the use of keeping it?

This life can also be considered an apology to the Luo family.

Butler Wang nodded slightly and shot a look at the household guards behind him.

That Zhang Xiaoshan was still kowtowing on the ground, his forehead thumping loudly. He knew he would definitely be punished, but when he heard such a cruel outcome, his whole person was dumbfounded. His once arrogant and proud face was now full of terror, his voice shrill and sharp:

"Old Master, spare my life! It was the First Mistress! The First Mistress told me to do it!"

Song Hongtao became even angrier.

The First Mistress? The First Mistress again!

In their eyes, do they even have me, the Old Master?

Seeing the Old Master's expression turn even uglier, Zhang Xiaoshan became more and more flustered, cold sweat dripping down his face.

At this moment, who knows what he was thinking, but he scrambled and crawled on his hands and knees towards Song Yan, grabbed his legs, and pleaded mournfully:

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"Ninth Young Master, I beg you, have mercy and spare me this once. It was I who was blind and foolish before. I guarantee it will never happen again."

"My son is going to be born next month! I can't let him lose his father as soon as he's born!"

His voice was shrill, like a cuckoo crying blood.

Then he slammed his head forcefully on the ground.

Thud, thud, thud.

Before long, it was already covered in blood.

Looking down, he saw that Zhang Xiaoshan's tears and snot were streaming down, mixing together and smearing across his face. This is what 'snot and tears streaming down' looks like. Mixed with the blood flowing from his broken scalp, his whole face was a filthy mess. The smugness from when he had looked down on people was completely gone. He was quite pitiful.

An ordinary person, seeing this sight, might have softened. But Song Yan was different.

So what if your son loses his father? What does that have to do with me?

You know you're wrong now?

Too late!

Besides, it's not that you know you're wrong, you just know that you're going to die.

Crouching down, he took that crystal-clear, snow-like jade pendant from Zhang Xiaoshan's body.

At the side, Song Hongtao shot a look. Two household guards immediately rushed over, dragged Zhang Xiaoshan down and pinned him to the ground. Another person already had a staff as thick as an arm in his hand.

The so-called 'staff punishment' also had its particulars.

Generally, when a certain number of strikes or planks were ordered, it was mostly the buttocks that were beaten. The buttocks are fleshy, and even an ordinary person could withstand seven or eight strikes. Even if the buttocks were beaten to a pulp, it just looked scary but was mostly not fatal. Of course, if you're talking about fifty or a hundred strikes, that's another story.

But being beaten to death was different. The staff would mostly be aimed at the back. Even a strong man often couldn't last long. Three to five strikes would split the skin and mangle the flesh, shattering the spine. Seven or eight strikes would rupture the internal organs, and one wouldn't be able to live.

There were few who could withstand more than ten strikes.

A noble household still had the power to execute a servant.

In Zhang Xiaoshan's terrified gaze, the staff in the household guard's hand was already raised high, and then with a Thwack, it smashed down onto Zhang Xiaoshan's back.

Amidst the shrill screams, the cracking sound of breaking bones could be heard.

Zhang Xiaoshan's body trembled violently. Blood seeped from between his gritted teeth. His body, like a pathetic maggot, twitched and convulsed neurotically.

Thwack!

Thwack!

After just three strikes, the screams disappeared, leaving only painful groans.

His bloodshot eyeballs still looked in Song Yan's direction. In his pupils, there was pleading, despair, unwillingness, and also hatred.

He was spitting out dark red blood clots, who knows if they were the fragments of internal organs commonly seen in wuxia novels.

Thwack…Thwack…Thwack!

After a few more strikes, the light in his eyes also dissipated.

He was probably dead.

Some of the servants, both inside and outside the house, who saw this scene were all deathly pale and trembling. Their gazes towards Song Yan were as if they had seen a ghost... Could this person be here to collect a debt?

Last time, Cui'er was beaten to death because of a single sentence.

This time, Zhang Xiaoshan lost his life because of a single sentence.

Many servants and handmaidens began to calculate in their hearts whether they had ever bullied the Ninth Young Master before. Some secretly rejoiced, while others shivered all over.

Song Hongtao smiled and invited Luo Tianyi's group inside. As for Zhang Xiaoshan's corpse, it would probably just be thrown away somewhere.

The return visit required a tea ceremony.

Yang Shi did not appear, and on Song Yan's side, Luo Tianxuan was also not present. They just went through the motions and that was it.

Afterward, Song Hongtao put on an act and asked a few questions about Song Yan's situation at the Luo family, instructing him to abide by his duties at the Luo family, and so on. Then he took out a small wooden box and handed it to Song Yan.

"Yan'er, before, someone from the Duke's mansion made a mistake. This is to supplement your dowry."

Song Yan reached out and took it. He opened it and saw a stack of property deeds inside, all for shops under the Duke's mansion's name.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into an arc. He didn't need to think to know that the business of these shops was probably very poor, but that wasn't important. Even if he didn't use these shops to do business, he could still get a considerable sum just by selling them all.

He had struck it rich.

Song Hongtao also felt a pang of pain. The Duke's mansion had a total of sixty-four shops, and he had given away half of them in one go.

Luo Tianyi was not interested in these matters, so she and Yushuang left the hall to get some fresh air outside.

Seeing Luo Tianyi leave, Song Hongtao then brought Song Yan to the study.

Song Yan knew what he wanted to ask, so he took the initiative and spoke first.

"Father, there is something I must tell you!"

"What is it?"

"I killed Yang Guifang."

As expected, Song Hongtao's expression changed instantly. He wanted to get angry but desperately held it in. Taking a deep breath, he finally asked:

"Why?"

"Yang Guifang insulted my mother when I was little. The grudge for insulting one's mother must be avenged."

Song Hongtao opened his mouth several times, but in the end, couldn't say a single word. Avenging his mother—Song Yan had even raised this banner. No matter how much dissatisfaction he had, he could only suppress it.

This world revered filial piety.

If word of this got out, probably no one would say a bad word about Song Yan; they would only say he was a real man.

"It's alright." Song Hongtao forced a smile.

"Father was just worried you would have no one to take care of you. But there are still others..."

Song Yan puffed out his chest and nodded forcefully.

"Mm-hmm, there are still three. I've locked them up."

This time, Song Hongtao was no longer calm. He couldn't catch his breath, and his whole face turned red.

He had arranged for four people. One was killed, three were locked up. Was this rebellious son trying to stage a coup?

If he didn't still need something from this youngest son right now, he probably would have already slapped him.

"And why is that?"

Song Yan frowned and looked around.

Song Hongtao waved his hand in annoyance. All the handmaidens left, but he had Butler Wang stay behind.

"What is it? Speak."

Song Yan didn't mind: "It's all because of that old woman Liang. She kept spouting nonsense to the other two old servant women."

"Oh? What did they say?" Song Hongtao picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This news was a bit explosive. Song Yan felt he should try to say it as tactfully as possible, otherwise Song Hongtao might not be able to take it.

"That old woman Liang said... that Fifth Brother, Song Zhen, is not your seed."

Pfft!

Song Yan felt helpless. I already said it so tactfully, and you still sprayed.