Chapter 152 — Counterattack

Xia Lian could not bear to look, and turned his face away. Only after a long while did he turn back and softly console Chen He. "Accept what has happened and take comfort."

He had been one of the guards who accompanied Song Yan to Zhending that time. On this journey he had followed Song Yan to Liaodong. Because Song Yan was in a hurry to get back, and Yu Jian was the better fighter, Yu Jian had gone with Song Chuyi to the capital while Xia Lian led the guards following behind. It was only when they were galloping hard and less than twenty li from the capital that he met the man Chen Yanzhou had sent to warn him, and then Chen Lanxu, who was carrying a letter in Song Yan's own hand...

Song Yan's face showed no expression, and he walked slowly forward.

The two guards who had been stationed in the side chamber knelt trembling on the ground. They kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Song Yan looked at the two Chen brothers in silence, then asked Xia Lian quietly, "Have you found Yu Jian?"

"We found him!" Xia Lian's voice carried a note of hesitation, and a grief he could not hide. "But the tendons in his hands and feet had been cut..."

Song Yan nodded. The only thing in his eyes was a trace of moisture that had not yet dried at the corners, devoid of all warmth.

He said gently, "Kill them all."

Xia Lian was stunned. "All... all of them?"

The two guards stared wide-eyed at Song Yan, their faces full of horror. For a moment they forgot to kowtow and beg.

Song Yan nodded, and without so much as a glance at the two guards, went out of the side chamber as unhurriedly as if he were strolling in a garden.

"Thieves broke into the house," he said indifferently, "and a few people were killed by mistake. That sort of thing happens."

Xia Lian bowed his head and answered with a respectful "Yes."

Song Yan walked toward the side chamber where the maids, serving women, and old women of the upper courtyard were held.

Behind him rose burst after burst of shrill wailing.

Song Yan pushed open the door, and the maids, serving women, and old women all surged toward him, weeping.

"Young Master, save us!"

"Young Master, you have come back!"

But the guards in the side chamber stopped them at a distance of ten paces from Song Yan.

Song Yan glanced over the chamber.

They were all third-class maids and old serving women, or those beneath even that. Xie Momo, who served at his mother's side, and the several senior maids were not among them.

One of the guards, who at Song Yan's orders had seized this chamber of serving women the moment they entered the upper courtyard, stepped forward at once and reported. "Young Master, after the Madam passed away, Xie Momo fell ill within a few days, and the Zhenguo Lord sent her to a country estate to recuperate. Of the four senior maids at the Madam's side, Meirui dashed her head against a pillar and died after the Madam's death; Xingfang, Zhujun, Qingli, and the others were summoned by the Zhenguo Lord a few days ago and have not been seen since..."

Song Yan lowered his eyes, and only after a long while did he order the guard, "Send someone to bring Xie Momo back."

Perhaps it was already too late, but so long as there was a single thread of hope, he would not give it up.

He went out of the side chamber, and a guard came hurrying over. "Young Master, we found two young servants in Yizhi Hall beaten till their flesh was torn and their skin split. Their names are Wuyi and Songluo. They say they have something urgent to report. I have had Wuyi brought here."

Since his father meant to move against him, he would surely not spare the people of Yizhi Hall; and these two served Chen Yanzhou besides. With Chen Yanzhou gone, what fate they had met could well be imagined.

Hearing that the two were still alive, Song Yan felt a stir of emotion, and nodded quickly.

Wuyi was helped in by others.

"Young Master!" He looked about at the people around them, his face drawn with weeping.

Mr. Yan had instructed that the matter of Old Chen must not be spoken of to a third person, save himself and the Young Master.

He kept Mr. Yan's words firmly in mind.

Song Yan received him alone.

"Old Chen is gone!" Wuyi was on the verge of tears from anxiety. "That day, just before the fifth watch of the afternoon, Old Chen said he wanted to walk about the courtyard. Songluo was inside tidying things, and I stood on the steps watching as usual. I never thought that in the blink of an eye Old Chen had vanished. Songluo and I searched most of the night and did not find him..." As he spoke he knelt down. "Young Master..." And he began to weep.

Song Ke smiled faintly. "If he is gone, then he is gone. As for the two of you, your loyalty is commendable. Go and tend your wounds properly."

His gentle voice made Wuyi blink in bewilderment.

Old Chen was gone, and the Young Master seemed almost pleased about it!

Could it be that he had guessed right after all?

Old Chen was the Young Master's adversary. Though the Young Master had captured him and brought him back, he had never been willing to submit to him, and the Young Master had been unable to do anything about him. With the household in such chaos this time, he had escaped; and the Young Master now had just the excuse he needed to let the matter drop.

Wuyi could make neither head nor tail of it, and in a daze he withdrew behind the guards.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Song Yan's forehead.

From his breast he drew a very ordinary porcelain vial, the sort a wandering quack might use to peddle his miracle pills, and shook from it a single pill, blood-red and the size of a lotus seed. "Bring me a cup of water," he ordered those beside him.

The guard fetched a cup of water, none the wiser.

Song Yan swallowed the pill and felt much better.

Xia Lian, coming in, saw this and his face changed drastically. He hurried forward and said with deep concern, "Young Master, would you not like to rest a while?"

"No need!" Song Yan waved a hand and said calmly, "Those guards—are they all dealt with?"

"A few escaped..." Xia Lian lowered his head in shame. "Guiyuan has sent men after them..."

"No need!" Song Dan said. "I must leave my father a few servants to command, after all." Then he added, "Pile all the corpses in the middle of the main courtyard. We will wait for my father in Yizhi Hall!" As he spoke he flicked the dust from his lapels, betraying an ease he had never shown before.

※

Brothers, sisters, today's update.

o(n_n)o~

※