Rebirth of a Star General (Legend of the Female General)

Chapter 102: Chengfeng

The overgrown courtyard concealed countless white bones beneath the soil.

Song Taotao couldn’t bear to look any longer and turned her face away, filled with a mix of shock and anger.

As the last corpse was removed, there was no more space in the courtyard to place them. Even the red-armored soldiers from Xialing County, who had seen their fair share of gruesome scenes, couldn’t help but shudder at this sight.

“What… what…” Even Yuan Baozhen was at a loss for words.

“What do you want to say, Imperial Censor Yuan?” Xiao Jue asked calmly. “Do you still believe it’s a misunderstanding?”

“How can this be a misunderstanding?” Before Yuan Baozhen could respond, He Yan cut in, “This is clearly the residence of County Magistrate Sun. If someone buried female corpses here without his knowledge, one or two might be acceptable, but dozens or even hundreds? No wonder the assassins were able to mix in. The Sun family’s gate might as well have been made of paper. Are the guards at County Magistrate Sun’s residence all blind and deaf?”

Sweating profusely, Sun Xiangfu couldn’t fathom how Xiao Jue had learned about this underground situation. He bit his lip for a moment, struggling to argue, “These are just servants from my estate who committed wrongdoings and were beaten to death before being buried here. It’s…. common in wealthy households.”

He Yan sneered, “I also come from a wealthy family, but we don’t engage in such brutal acts. If you claim these were servants who made mistakes, I kindly request that County Magistrate Sun produce their indentures. I would like to know the reasons for their reproach. Furthermore, all the bodies here are female…. County Magistrate Sun, are all the maids in your estate treated this way? As a seventh-ranked official, your estate houses hundreds of maids, yet you beat them to death as if they were nothing. You’re even more imposing than His Majesty!” As He Yan concluded, her tone and gaze became increasingly hostile, making it difficult for anyone to refute her.

At this point, Sun Xiangfu could only kneel down and repeatedly kowtow, wailing, “No, no! It’s not true! I’m innocent! I’m innocent!” He kept repeating these phrases, unable to explain why he was wronged, losing his momentum.

He Yan was still filled with anger, unable to comprehend the audacity of the man before her. When she had faced off against Ding Yi last night, he had mentioned that each statue in that room represented a dead person. She had initially thought he was just trying to scare her with a joke, but now it seemed that it was true. How absurd!

Sun father and son had committed countless heinous acts in Liangzhou, abducting numerous young women. If these women displeased them even slightly or if they grew tired of them, it was easy for them to take their lives. Those buried in the courtyard were considered fortunate because at least their entire bodies remained intact. Who knew if there were even more unfortunate victims whose corpses had been thrown onto mass graves, consumed by scavengers, leaving no trace behind?

The audacity of these actions was beyond comprehension and devoid of humanity.

Song Taotao shivered with a sense of dread. If it weren’t for her fortuitous encounter with He Yan that night, she might have ended up like these unfortunate women, buried beneath the earth, rotting away, never to be discovered.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she angrily declared, “This is utterly despicable! We must seek justice for these girls!” However, as soon as she finished speaking, she felt a nudge on her arm. She turned to see He Yan gesturing toward Yuan Baozhen.

In an instant, Song Taotao understood He Yan’s intent and redirected her plea. “Uncle Yuan, I have been wronged terribly here. You are the only person I trust in this situation. Please speak on my behalf!”