Chapter 75 - The Most Beautiful Woman

Ever since Song Zhen's incident, Yang Miaoqing, because of her son, had become almost possessed. Most of the time, she would shut herself alone in her room. Even Yang Siyao saw her very few times.

It wasn't until a few days ago that Yang Miaoqing suddenly told her she had found a way to rescue Song Zhen and wanted to take her and Song Zhen to escape far away, never to return.

At that time, Yang Miaoqing's eyes were already full of bloodshot veins, and she appeared mad. Yang Siyao could only feign agreement and say 'okay' to appease her. In her heart, she was complaining that this Yang Miaoqing seemed to have her heart set on her as a daughter-in-law.

It wasn't until she heard the address 'Mr. Hirata' that Yang Siyao finally understood that the method Yang Miaoqing had thought of was actually the Wokou.

The Wokou were a type of humanoid creature that drifted on the seas year-round, making a living by plundering merchant ships.

They were short in stature but fierce and cruel. Ordinary mountain bandits and the like, as long as you gave them money, wouldn't make things too difficult. This was the so-called 'road-passing money.'

But the Wokou were different. Although they had forms and appearances similar to humans, their nature was just like a hyena's. They would attack a fleet of ships without hesitation, kill all the crew, and steal all the merchandise. If there were any female family members on board, their fate would be even more tragic.

The Wokou would also land on shore. Wherever they passed, villages and towns would be razed to ruins, and houses would be burned to the ground!

Since the founding of the Ning Kingdom, in the hundred-plus years, hundreds of thousands of people in the coastal regions have been killed by the Wokou.

Places like Song Prefecture and Ningping County hated the Wokou to the bone. Almost every household had relatives who had died at the hands of the Wokou.

Yang Miaoqing had truly gone mad. Didn't she know that cooperating with the Wokou was no different from asking a tiger for its skin?

Could it be she wanted to use these Wokou to stage a jailbreak?

What made Yang Siyao feel even stranger was, when and how had Yang Miaoqing made contact with the Wokou?

Her eyelids drooped. It seemed that Yang Miaoqing still had a force she could mobilize that she didn't know about. This force was perhaps not very strong—at least it was not enough to stage a jailbreak and rescue Song Zhen—but it should be capable of transmitting information.

Yang Miaoqing did not know the thoughts in Yang Siyao's mind. Her body sat upright in the chair, her expression solemn. Even though she had now lost Song Hongtao's favor and the support of the Yang family, she still maintained the dignity of a legitimate daughter of the Yang family. This was probably the last persistence deep in her heart. She was unwilling to show a down-and-out appearance in front of anyone.

It's just that the insolent gazes of the five Wokou made Yang Miaoqing unhappy, and her brow furrowed slightly.

Noticing the change in Yang Miaoqing's expression, the leader, Hirata Shichirō, was slightly embarrassed.

Damn it, they had been at sea for too long and really couldn't control themselves. He coughed forcefully and finally called back the souls of the few idiots beside him.

"Madam Song, I wonder why you have asked us to come?"

It was still that strange intonation. Paired with his hoarse voice, it sounded like two pieces of metal being forcefully pressed together and rubbed.

Yang Miaoqing did not reply immediately, but instead turned her head slightly and glanced at Yang Siyao.

Yang Siyao was clever and naturally could guess Yang Miaoqing's thoughts. Although this so-called aunt hoped that she would become Song Zhen's wife, she did not completely trust her.

She gave a slight curtsy: "Aunt, I suddenly remembered I have some things to do. May I go back first?"

Yang Miaoqing didn't speak, just nodded slightly.

Her long, narrow eyes and slightly upturned corners glanced at the few Wokou. Yang Siyao then floated away, and also closed the door on her way out.

A cool wind brushed her face.

Yang Siyao's body trembled slightly. Only then did she realize that a layer of fine goosebumps had already covered her skin.

Staying in the same room with these fiendish Wokou, the suffocating pressure was simply indescribable. She had even been desperately suppressing her own seduction arts, not letting these Wokou focus their gazes too much on her. Otherwise, no one could guarantee what these things, who were worse than beasts, might do.

After a few breaths, Yang Siyao's expression calmed down, and she started walking downstairs. A thought surfaced in her mind: Since Yang Miaoqing doesn't completely trust me, why did she let me witness the scene of her meeting with the Wokou?

Perhaps this is a test for her?

Perhaps someone is watching her in secret. If she makes any unusual move to report this to the county yamen, she could be killed on the road.

Yang Siyao's brow furrowed tightly. It's also possible that Yang Miaoqing wanted to use her mouth to convey some information?

Thinking this in her heart, Yang Siyao's steps did not stop. She maintained a normal, unhurried pace and returned to the Duke Song's mansion.

It wasn't until the sound of footsteps disappeared that Yang Miaoqing finally looked up at the five Wokou opposite her.

"Mr. Hirata, from what I know, your band of Wokou has about seven or eight hundred men, is that correct?"

Hirata Shichirō sat down casually opposite Yang Miaoqing.

"Madam Song is quite clear about our situation. I wonder what exactly Madam Song has sought us out for? Could it be that a rival's merchant ship is setting sail?"

Yang Miaoqing did not answer directly, but instead took out a piece of paper from her bosom. Upon careful inspection, one could see it was a map. Although it was a bit crude, one could still clearly see the general layout of Ningping County.

"According to the information I have, just plundering ships at sea is not enough to satisfy Mr. Hirata's appetite. Therefore, Mr. Hirata often leads his men ashore."

"Several villages around Ningping County have mostly been plundered by Mr. Hirata. The most recent time was more than a month ago."

Hirata Shichirō's eyes suddenly narrowed to a slit. He glanced at the beautiful woman in front of him with some surprise. He had originally thought she was just a pretty woman, but this woman's level of understanding of him was truly a bit beyond his expectations.

Because a large number of Wokou were entrenched in the sea around Ningping County, the number of merchant ships setting sail in the last half a year had become fewer and fewer. Only some fishermen forced by circumstances would risk going out to sea to fish. Hirata Shichirō naturally wouldn't let these people go, killing them all. But how much profit could there be from fishermen?

Left with no choice, more than a month ago, Hirata Shichirō went ashore and plundered several villages.

To this day, he still clearly remembered the thrill of his Japanese saber cleaving open those people's heads, cutting their throats, and the fresh blood splashing on his face.

He could still recall the desperate screams of those people on the verge of death.

They had stolen all the grain and property they could see, and stolen all the women. Not even the young girls were spared. Then, with a single fire, they burned each village to ashes.

Those villages were not far from Ningping County. The County Magistrate of Ningping should have been able to see the thick smoke rising from the villages, yet from beginning to end, not a single bailiff or Wokou defense soldier appeared, as if nothing had happened. Of course, it wasn't without some losses. In one village, his comrades seemed to have run into a wandering vigilante, and they lost several dozen brothers.

Yang Miaoqing did not care about the change in Hirata Shichirō's expression. She picked up her teacup, took a light sip, and continued:

"You probably didn't get much from a few impoverished villages, right?"

"After more than a month, there probably isn't much grain left, is there?"

"And those women should be more or less dead by now, right?"

Hirata Shichirō's expression was gloomy:

"What exactly is Madam Song trying to say?"

The corner of Yang Miaoqing's mouth curled into an arc: "Mr. Hirata, don't you think that just plundering a few villages is rather meaningless?"

"The wealth accumulated in Ningping County is not something a few mere villages can compare to."

She reached out and pointed to a location on the map.

"See here? This is the Luo Mansion. The person who lives here is the richest person in all of Ningping County... no, in all of Songzhou city."

"Here, you can steal hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. You can steal enough grain to last you a lifetime.”

Hirata Shichirō, along with the four Wokou behind him, their breathing simultaneously became rapid.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. This unimaginably huge number stimulated the greed in their chests.

"The Luo family also has the most beautiful woman in the entire Ning Kingdom!"

Gulp.

The few Wokou swallowed a mouthful of saliva in unison. Hirata Shichirō asked:

"How beautiful?"

"Ten times more beautiful than me!"

Yang Miaoqing's voice was sinister, like a vicious ghost.

……

Under the flickering candlelight, the dagger shone with a silvery luster.

Who could have thought that a little servant boy serving tea and water would suddenly transform into a deadly assassin?

The distance between the two was already extremely close. In an instant, the dagger was already in front of Song Yan's throat.

Just as it was about to tear open Song Yan's neck, a strange smile had already appeared on the corners of the servant boy's mouth.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing suddenly rang out in the dark room!

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