Chapter 681: Hidden Mission

three princesses and three female soldiers were assigned to clean up the garbage. Every day, they dealt with corpses or rotting poultry, their noses always filled with the stench of decay. Their appet...Zhang Huiniang always believed that women should get married, but her daughter's situation was special right now, so she could only postpone it. Besides, their family's circumstances were just improving and she hadn't saved enough dowry for her daughter yet, so there was no need to rush.

The ripples lulled the tiger cub to sleep. Taking advantage of Hui-niang's preparation for dinner, she took out the envelope. The envelope had a lacquer seal; opening it would easily damage the seal, so she put it aside for the moment and took out the gold bars. She looked at them and found that the top of each bar had an imprint of the character "Yao."

"Could that be possible"

Ripple raised an eyebrow and muttered to herself.

"Stone mortar, what's going on"

"Congratulations, tasker, another hidden task has been discovered."

The sound of the millstone sounded at the right time.

"Go ahead and tell me!"

Ripples triggering hidden quests have become commonplace, so I'll just say it directly.

"If you hadn't discovered the man in black and Song Dashan today, this letter might never have been seen."

After some contemplation, the stone mill continued.

"Last life, Song Da Shan was also wandering around Mount Wan Kou. He said he was chopping wood, but he was actually avoiding boredom. Then, while he was sleeping on a tree after climbing up, he discovered the injured man in black that you saw first."

Song Dashian, as if possessed, followed him. When he found the man, the other was already dead. He couldn't read, so he only took the small pouch of gold. The letter and jade pendant remained on the body of the man in black.

He was very clever; instead of returning the way he came, he ran into the belly of Bowl Mountain. Then, just like you, he left Bowl Mountain from the other side and arrived at Zhangjia Village. He even used the excuse of visiting Song Daca to stay at his second brother's place for a night.

Although Song Dachuan didn't like this younger brother, he couldn't just drive him away. He waited until the next afternoon before returning to Songjiacun.

Shortly after he left, the body of the man in black was found, along with a letter and a jade pendant on him. With these two important items in hand, they withdrew.

Song Dashian had been quiet for a few days, then he ran to the county seat. A year later, he returned home wearing silk and satin, with a beautiful courtesan by his side. He said that he had helped someone important outside, received a reward, and with the money, he married a wife. For a while, he was praised for it.

"It seems like this time I've blocked his path to riches."

Ripple said unconcernedly.

He is already dead because they didn't find the letter and jade pendant on the man in black. Song Dashan was the only one present, and after being severely interrogated, he was killed by them.

The stone mill immediately replied.

As for this ripple, she wouldn't say anything. Since Song Dashan wanted to sell himself and marry a wife, his humanity had already been extinguished. She didn't care whether such a person lived or died.

What's the story behind this letter and that jade pendant

This letter holds a secret. The current eldest son of the Yao family, and Dong Qinglian's future husband, is not biologically related to the Yao family. He was the result of an affair between Mrs. Yao and her childhood sweetheart behind Master Yao's back, and they had him together.

While Yao Fu's illegitimate son was actually the child of Lord Yao, Mrs. Yao disliked him and oppressed him in every way, claiming she didn't favor illegitimate children. These were common tactics used by prominent wives in Kyoto, so it didn't raise much suspicion.

But Mrs. Yao wanted to completely get rid of the illegitimate son because she knew that if her child's identity was exposed, then this illegitimate son would be the only heir to the Yao family. Mr. Yao was already fifty years old, even if he was willing, he had no strength to have more children.

How was Lady Na Yao's secret exposed

The bastard son discovered that, while the mistress of the house disliked concubines in general and treated their children indifferently, her dislike for him was extreme. After all, prominent families in Kyoto usually upheld the decorum of a legitimate wife.

Dislike illegitimate children and oppress them, but even if an illegitimate child is more outstanding, they still can't surpass a legitimate heir.

Furthermore, Yao Lao Ye also suspected Mrs. Yao's consistent practice over the past decade. However, he didn't suspect that his eldest son wasn't his own, but rather thought his wife disliked her stepson, so he sent the stepson directly to the academy.

This illegitimate son was quite capable. He made friends with other students of the same background at the academy, and studied diligently enough to pass the civil service exam and become a Xiucai. This gave Old Master Yao an unexpected joy, but Madam Yao couldn't sit still. She directly hired someone to murder him.

But when it came to collecting the silver, Master Yao caught her in the act. He secretly stopped Mrs. Yao's actions and then began to investigate the reason.

On the other side, the younger son also learned from a fellow student about Lady Yao's youthful romance with her cousin. He immediately told his father, believing it to be an opportunity to bring Lady Yao down.

Even though Master Yao knew he might be wearing a green hat, he couldn't make a scene right away. After all, Madam Yao wasn't an ordinary woman; her father was a Censor. Without evidence, speaking out of turn would surely lead to being bitten back. So, Master Yao arranged for someone to start looking for evidence.

And in that letter, there was evidence of Madam Yao's infidelity. It was a letter she wrote to her childhood sweetheart cousin, clearly stating the true parentage of the young master of the Yao family. The jade pendant was their love token and also a mark for recognizing their child. Because the young master of the Yao family had the same birthmark, so did the cousin.

The old woman told ripples the story as gossip.

"How can we be sure this letter is from Mrs. Yao She could say it was someone else trying to frame her."

Ripple picked up the envelope again, weighing it in her hand.

"There is Mrs. Yao's private seal on top, and even if she tries to argue, it won't do any good! Just bring that cousin back to have him checked, and it will be clear."

"If Mrs. Yao were heartless and killed her cousin, what then You see, once a person is dead, their birthmarks disappear."

The ripples spoke directly.

"You could do that, but her cousin isn't stupid. He wouldn't just wait to be killed! This is leverage he has over Mrs. Yao to make her support him, he's definitely hiding himself well."

The millstone immediately said.

"None of them are good things! They don't belong to the same family, and they won't be welcomed at the same door. Now that Master Yao has Dong Qinglian as his wife, for their mutual benefit, they certainly won't let go of that illegitimate child."

"Yes, last time because there was no evidence, Mr. Yao's mistress hid again and Mr. Yao had no way to do anything about it. To protect his only bloodline, he directly passed off his illegitimate son as a legitimate son who had achieved fame through imperial examination."

Since the illegitimate son passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi, Master Yao used his connections to have him assigned as an official in a remote region near the border.

"I understand, but I think Lao Yao definitely won't be happy about this. Isn't this like a magpie taking the nest of a jay"

"Old Master Yao wasn't foolish. While he was still alive, he quietly transferred all the assets of the entire Yao Mansion to his illegitimate son, leaving only an empty shell for Young Master Yao. And when he was critically ill, he directly had someone file a complaint, saying that the eldest son killed him for the title." girl, with the dwindling flow of dark energy, once again revealed a horrifying and grotesque visage. Especially when Liang Feng called her a tool, the hatred in her eyes nearly materialized."Did you...