Chapter 82 Fighting and Killing
Outside the gate, a row of blue-robed guards, long swords hanging from their waists, holding reins in their hands, stood on the street. The passersby looked at them as if they were tigers and wild beasts, and they all covered their faces and ran away.
Song Mingde strode out of the Yanwang Mansion's red gate. The guard standing in the front immediately bent down to greet him and handed him the reins in his hand: "Master."
"Go to the East Prison and bring him back to the mansion." Song Mingde spoke succinctly, swiftly jumping onto his horse. He held the bamboo cat's head in one hand, and with his other hand, he grabbed the reins, lashed them hard across the horse's neck, and galloped off.
The factory supervisor had been away for over a month and had finally returned today. Upon hearing the news of Song Mingde's return, the servants in the mansion cleaned and arranged everything early, then lined up respectfully in two rows at the mansion's gate.
Song Mingde dismounted, tossing the reins aside, and without looking back, strode towards the study with the swift, imposing gait of a dragon and a tiger. A blue-robed guard followed him, saying, "Master, we've investigated everything. There are three Taoist priests in the palace, all of whom were plundered by Sun Caishan from southern Fujian. He was also the one who instigated the increase in the birthday gift collection for the Taoist temples and monasteries."
His tone was unkind and somewhat contemptuous. For this mere Sun Caishan, who thought he had Concubine Feng's support, actually had the audacity to take advantage of the governor's visit to Suzhou to flatter the emperor.
"Instigating?" Song Mingde pushed open the study door, and a heavy aroma suddenly wafted out. He sneered, his tone lacking much respect for the emperor, but rather a hint of sarcasm: "If I don't have this intention, others won't do it even if they talk their mouths off."
The guard didn't dare to respond, so he changed the subject and continued, "And there's Concubine Su—now Concubine Su. She passed us a note when you left. The servants followed your instructions and helped her send the baby away."
Song Mingde's expression remained unchanged: "Did you clean up the tail?"
Fanzi: "It was handled very cleanly. They were our people from the beginning to the end."
In the space of a few words, Song Mingde crossed the bamboo-lined courtyard, passed through layers of draped beaded curtains, and walked to the desk. He spread out a piece of rice paper, and the discerning servant immediately added water to the inkstone to grind ink.
Song Mingde picked up the pen, bent down slightly, and concentrated on writing a line of words on the paper.
Governor Song was a eunuch who wielded the imperial pen, and his handwriting was exceptionally fine, its strokes majestic and lofty, radiating a pure and noble character. Even the literati who had long criticized him could find no fault with his handwriting.
"Tell me something about Concubine Feng's palace." Song Mingde finished writing the secret letter and handed it to the guard. "I was away for a while, and Sun Caishan dared to take advantage of her and take over my duties. He deserves to suffer."
"Yes." The guard raised his hands to his head and took the secret letter. "The Imperial Hospital also said that Your Majesty has been using a lot of elixirs recently. If this continues, the elixir poison will accumulate in your body, which may damage your dragon body. Should we send someone to stop them? And Sun Caishan, do you want me to find a fault and transfer him to the factory supervisor?"
As long as the factory supervisor is in control of the person, they can do whatever they want.
"No need to bother." Song Mingde's tone was light and his drooping eyelashes were thick and looked like a black arc. "As for Sun Caishan, let him get sick and go."
The first sentence is talking about the emperor, and the second sentence is talking about Sun Caishan.
The guard shut his mouth, bowed, and retreated quietly.
Song Mingde was the only one left in the huge and luxurious study.
He stood in front of the desk with his hands behind his back for a moment, then suddenly reached out, picked up the cat-head bamboo on the table and looked at it in front of his eyes.
After a while, he raised his hand without warning and threw the cat's head out of the window.
The attendant outside was startled, thinking that Song Mingde had thrown something in anger, and hurried forward to clean up. Unexpectedly, just as he bent down and his hand had not yet touched the cat-head bamboo weaving, a voice suddenly came from above his head: "Don't touch it."
The attendant shuddered all over, and quickly retracted his fingers as if burned. He looked up in fear and met Song Mingde's gaze: "Sir..."
Song Mingde frowned fiercely, looking even paler and more sinister. "Get out of here! Get away from here!"
The servant was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, then turned around and left quickly.
A moment later, several blue-robed guards hurried in, carrying people. Entering the study, they saw Song Mingde standing in front of the desk, looking down at a round, tender yellow bamboo weaving.
The leading guard stepped forward and threw the limp man to the ground, his movements rather rudely: "Master, we've brought him back."
The man lying on the ground was none other than the man who was forced into the East Prison by Qianying that day.
His name was Song Qing. His cheeks were sunken, his whole body was covered in a layer of yellow and white, and his pupils were drooping. He had lost all his previous extravagant and lustful look, and he hadn't even recovered after being thrown to the ground.
Song Mingde came out from behind the desk and stepped in front of Song Qing with his spotless embroidered boots.
This seemed to inject a spirit into Song Qing's eyes, causing him to gasp and suddenly come back to his senses. His eyes immediately became moist and he howled at the top of his voice: "Brother, brother! You're back, you're finally back..."
Song Qing scrambled to his feet, trembling, and reached out to grasp the corner of Song Mingde's robe. "Do you know what the dog guards in the East Prison did to me? They dropped me on the beam and refused to give me a single drop of water. Yesterday, I heard you were coming back, so I finally closed my eyes and took a nap. Brother, you must avenge me!"
Song Mingde let Song Qing kneel at his feet, his chin slightly raised, his eyes glaring as he said coldly, "Brother, how do you want me to avenge you?"
"Kill those bastards in the East Prison first!" Song Qing's eyes instantly became venomous, filled with malice as he said, "Prince Yan is our master, we can't touch him. But that woman with a sword on her back beside him, after hearing your name, actually dared to attack me! She must die! Brother, break her hands and feet and bring her to me, and I will deal with her."
He thought his words were tactful and reasonable, but they almost made the guards beside him sneer.
Breaking off limbs...that is the world-famous Xingyi Sword, how could Song Qing be so shameless.
"Brother." Song Mingde bent down, his five fingers suddenly spread out, grasping Song Qing's hair and pulling him straight up. The jade ring on his pale finger was extremely gorgeous and gleaming.
Song Mingde was puzzled. He frowned and said in confusion, "I found you myself. The birthmark, the location of your childhood home, and the appearance of your parents all match. You are my brother - but why don't you and I look alike at all?"
A sharp tearing pain spread across the scalp.
Shocked, Song Qing felt more stunned than painful.
He was stunned: "Brother——"
"Pa!" A merciless slap, laced with internal energy, landed squarely on his face. Song Qing felt a burning sensation on his face, but the pain was soon swallowed by swelling. His teeth went numb, and when he opened his mouth, he spat out several broken teeth.
Song Mingde's voice was like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue, and he said sinisterly, "You went to the ghost market to rob a woman and offended Prince Yan. Why should I avenge you?"
The false image of the good brother who had always been illusory and vague was shattered, and the cold and ferocious beast bared its fangs and came face to face.
Song Qing was genuinely frightened, a sense of abandonment rising within him like never before. Song Mingde's grip was incredibly strong, and it hurt, but he didn't dare pull it away. He could only stretch his arm out to touch the edge of Song Mingde's clothes, tears streaming down his face. "Yes, I was wrong, I was wrong. I... I was afraid our family would be extinct, so, so..."
Stupid words spoken in a daze.
Song Mingde laughed out loud, his eyes curved: "Is this why you've married more than 20 concubines and had more than a dozen children in the past few years?"
"No, it's not." Song Qing blurted out such a ridiculous excuse in a hurry. After he finished speaking, he realized what was happening, his face turned pale, and he regretted it deeply.
In his view, the factory supervisor was also a eunuch. Without his penis, a eunuch wasn't considered a man. This was a taboo for many eunuchs, and they couldn't even mention it.
During that year's famine and plague, his parents had two children and could not afford to feed them, so they had to sell one for rice. He was older and stronger, able to run, jump, and do some work, so he was left behind. He watched his thin, small, and often sick younger brother being picked by human traffickers because of his fair complexion.
For so many years, he had simply believed his brother to be dead. Lying in the shabby house his parents had left him, he always considered himself lucky. That was until a group of bandits broke into the house and took him to Bianliang, into a mansion that looked like a fairy palace.
He knelt on the ground and trembled, looking at the man in gorgeous clothes sitting at the top seat, feeling extremely anxious.
The nobleman above came down and said that he was his younger brother.
younger brother?
Song Qing was at a loss.
This bewilderment quickly turned to ecstasy after learning of Song Mingde's identity. Factory Supervisor, the Emperor's favorite, he was the most powerful official in the world!
He was originally just a local ruffian, but suddenly he rose to prominence and became the governor, a brother that everyone had to give him some respect!
The huge gap was like walking down the street in broad daylight and being enlightened by a god. Moreover, Song Mingde had been able to get almost anything he wanted in recent years, which made him even more arrogant.
Although he was still afraid of Song Mingde, his fear was mixed with a strange sense of pride and complacency.
That's right. Song Qing had always felt a vague sense of pride towards this rootless brother.
He has no ability, but he has roots!
Isn't it a man's greatest ability to leave behind an heir? No matter how glorious Song Mingde was, he was still a eunuch, and his future would depend on his son, Song Qing, for his funeral. Naturally, Song Mingde's wealth would also belong to his son, who might even become a high-ranking official or even a member of the imperial family!
The shallow and ignorant delusions that had always been there were exposed today and were shattered by Song Mingde's cold and cruel slap.
"I won't cause any more trouble, I won't seek revenge, brother, brother!" The sharp pain of his broken teeth couldn't stop the fear in Song Qing's heart. He clutched the corner of Song Mingde's clothes tightly and said, "I know I was wrong!"
Song Mingde looked at Song Qing critically. "Although we were born from the same womb, you and I are definitely not alike. I wonder if any of your sons look like me?"
He said this with a flick of his sleeve, and Song Qing instantly flew out and crashed into the opposite wall, spitting blood. Blood mixed with pieces of flesh, Song Qing was actually shattered on the spot by this blow, and died!
"Let's bury him in glory." Song Mingde withdrew his hand and walked to the side slowly. He picked up the clear water from the copper basin on the rosewood stand and washed his hands carefully. "Take good care of his family. Bring the children here and ask someone to raise them."
Song Mingde killed Song Qing on the spot. The guards beside him were all his confidants, and they were also surprised to see this.
After all, the Governor had caused quite a stir when he'd been looking for his family. He'd been quite tolerant of Song Qing all these years, and just now, as well, he'd personally gone to the Prince of Yan's mansion to ask for him upon returning to the city. They'd assumed the Governor had some kind of blood relationship with Song Qing.
I didn't expect that he would be killed like this today.
The guards said nothing and showed no emotion as they dragged the body, which was still steaming and had collapsed into the mud, away.
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