Chapter 1405
Jin Yue 6
Chapter 1405 Jin Yue 6
Tan You smiled and pulled a jade flute from her waist. The flute was entirely emerald green, with only a touch of crimson at the end. She had found this jade flute in Cheng Qian's study last night, and now it was hers to keep it.
As the melodious sound of a flute began, leaving everyone puzzled, a mother outside suddenly exclaimed in alarm, "Snakes! Where did so many snakes come from?"
A chorus of exclamations erupted outside, and a commotion broke out in the main hall as well. Madam Wei, seated in her armchair, was particularly agitated. She looked pleadingly at Tan You, hoping she would quickly retract her supernatural powers.
Tan You continued playing her jade flute, and soon, one, two, three, and more and more snakes surged into the main hall. The largest snake at the front was as thick as an adult's thigh, with a red fleshy growth on its head, like a crown.
Upon arriving at the main hall, it immediately spotted Tan You. With a clear purpose, it stopped in front of Tan You, raised its upper body, and swayed from side to side in sync with Tan You's flute music.
Tan You chuckled and reached out to touch the red crown on the snake's head: "It's quite intelligent."
The giant snake nuzzled Tan You's fingers affectionately. This scene was both bizarre and terrifying, as if a snake woman from Miao territory had suddenly appeared in the human world.
Cheng Sui curiously tugged at the armrest: "Mom, are you going to keep it? It looks... really powerful!"
Tan You flicked the snake's fangs with her finger: "It is indeed very powerful. If you want to keep it as a pet, you can let it live in your room and protect you closely. Don't worry, it is non-venomous."
The maids serving Cheng Sui were immediately relieved. As long as it wasn't poisonous, that was fine. If it were poisonous, everyone would be afraid.
Cheng Sui also wanted to touch the giant snake, but Tan You stopped him: "Let's take care of business first, and you can get to know it slowly later."
The main hall was now filled with snakes, all facing the Wei family members, leaving only their tails for the Duke's household. The fear of the Duke's servants and maids had lessened considerably, as it was clear this was under Tan You's command and targeted at the Wei family.
Madam Wei spoke with great difficulty: "Miss..."
Tan You glanced sideways and saw her pleading expression. Finally, she calmly snapped her fingers, and the Wei family members all woke up. Before they could react, they were terrified by the swarm of snakes in front of them.
Liu was so frightened that she lost control of her bladder on the spot. The other three daughters-in-law were trembling with fear.
Wei Qian and Wei He dared not move. The large snake was coiled directly in front of them, its head raised high, as if it were about to launch an attack at any moment.
Tan You dismissed the matter, saying, "This is your family matter. You can negotiate with them yourself. I just want the money. Once the money is in place, they can naturally go back."
Having no other choice, Madam Wei had to step in. Through her persistent persuasion and the intimidation of Tan You and the snakes, the Wei family finally managed to scrape together one million taels of silver. Of course, it wasn't all in banknotes; there were also shops, estates, and other assets.
The Wei family paid a heavy price to redeem their two grandsons, but Tan You was the only one who became wealthy. She was the ultimate winner; no one else was as rich as her.
Having obtained the item, Tan You picked up the jade flute once more. Amidst the terrified gazes of everyone in the Wei family, the flute's melody began to play, plaintive and full of sorrowful farewell.
The snakes in the main hall gradually dispersed, leaving only the large snake, five or six meters long and as thick as an adult's thigh. It coiled itself around Tan You's armchair and rested its head on Tan You's shoulder.
Its tail was draped over Tan You's thigh, as if it wanted to stick to Tan You every inch of her body.
Cheng Sui touched the snake's scales with awe: "Mother, it's so beautiful."
Tan You chuckled: "Of course, she's a queen, of course she's beautiful."
"Let's go, we should go back." After Tan You and the others left, Wei Shi slumped into the armchair, her legs weak. "Heavens above, I can't live like this anymore! Duke, why aren't you back yet?"
Meanwhile, back home, the Wei family members were all furious. The patriarch of the Wei family waved his sleeve and said, "This matter cannot be left like this. We must discuss how to subdue this monster!"
The entire Wei family echoed in unison, but as soon as they nodded, they all clutched their heads in dismay.
Wei's eldest brother opened his mouth to say "Tan You," but couldn't utter a single word. The others were the same; they all looked at each other, their eyes filled with fear.
Having endured this ordeal, the eldest brother of the Wei family said with a grim expression, "Is this something that can't even be mentioned?"
The second brother of the Wei family refused to believe it: "If we can't say it, then we can write it down."
He stood behind his desk, and just as he picked up his pen, he suddenly slumped onto the desk, spilling ink and making a mess of himself.
Father Wei sighed, "Forget it, the world in the Duke's mansion has truly changed. Let's wait for the Duke and the young master to return before we talk about it. Right now, we... can't even take care of ourselves."
I can't mention it, I can't say it, I can't write it, I can't even think about it. How did my daughter end up with such a daughter-in-law?
Looking at the image transmitted by the beauty system, Tan You couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. If her restrictions were broken so easily, all her years of training would have been for nothing.
That night, everyone in Qinglanggan slept soundly. Cheng Sui rolled over, his legs sticking out wide onto the snake's belly. The snake disgustedly pushed Cheng Sui away, leaving only the tip of its tail barely touching Cheng Sui's small blanket.
It must protect Cheng Sui well, because its master said that if it protects Cheng Sui well, it will be rewarded.
Life returned to normal, and Tan You became the de facto head of the Duke's mansion. Ostensibly, she was the steward of the Wei family, but in reality, Tan You was the one in charge.
This was a fact known to everyone, but the outside world knew nothing about the situation within the Duke's mansion. How could the Wei family, or even the entire Wei clan, dare let the outside world know about such a shameful affair?
Especially if you get involved with supernatural forces and strange phenomena, you're just asking for trouble. If you don't end up hurting Tan You, but instead cause trouble in your own backyard, that would be even worse.
Lady Wei wanted to write to Duke Cheng Kun and her son Cheng Qian, but all the letters she sent disappeared without a trace. They were all intercepted by Tan You and replaced with ordinary family letters.
Therefore, the Cheng family father and son, who were away fighting, were completely unaware of all the events that had occurred within the Duke's mansion, which was exactly what Tan You had hoped for.
She needed to think about how to give Cheng Qian a big gift.
Cheng Qian, it would be better if he died out there. She could accept being a widow, but she couldn't accept having a man in her life, especially not in such a feudal society. Even if it was just in name only, Tan You wouldn't accept it.
That evening, Tan You was reading with Cheng Sui when she suddenly seemed to remember something: "Judging by the time, Cheng Qian should have received the letter by now, right?"
Gu Yu knelt on the low couch next to her and said softly, "The letter was sent out thirty-two days ago. It usually takes a month to travel from the capital to the border. The young master should have received the letter by now."
Inside the military tent, Cheng Qian frowned as he looked at the letter from home brought by his attendant. The tone of the entire letter was very bland, but it was precisely because it was so bland that he found it strange.
According to her usual letters, she would definitely mention her daughter-in-law whom she disliked in her letters, so why did she not mention her at all this time?