The ancient war between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in a wealthy family

Song Pangzhi's figure was completely revealed in the dim light, a sinister smile on his face, as if he was sure of victory. "I prepared this secret room especially for you, Bai Xin'er, just wait for death here!"

I suppressed the fear in my heart and pretended to be calm as I snorted coldly: "Song side branch, do you think you can trap me like this? You underestimate me too much." I tightly grasped the "Zhan Family Instructions" in my hand. This is my only hope now.

"Stop pretending," Song Pangzhi said with a disdainful laugh, "There are walls on all sides here, no exits, you can't escape even if you have wings."

I looked around. The walls of the secret room were made of thick blue bricks, with no windows. The only exit was the heavy iron door, now firmly locked. I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. If the family precepts mentioned a secret passage, there must be an entrance. I just hadn't found it yet.

I opened the Zhan Family Instructions again and carefully studied the record of the secret passage. According to the description, the entrance to the secret passage should be beneath a stone brick engraved with a special pattern in the backyard of the ancestral hall. However, the floor of this secret room was flat and smooth, with no trace of stone bricks at all.

Could the records be wrong? Or is the entrance to the secret passage covered? I was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on my forehead.

"Don't waste your energy," Song Pangzhi's voice came again, "I have sealed the entrance to the secret passage a long time ago. You will never escape!"

His words made my heart sink, but at the same time, they also aroused my fighting spirit. I must not give up, I must find the secret passage and escape!

I began to carefully check every corner of the secret room, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, not missing any tiny trace.

At the same time, Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang were anxiously looking for the entrance to the secret room.

"Damn it, where did this Song branch hide Xin'er?" Zhan Yu punched the wall, his tone full of worry and anger.

"Mr. Zhan, please calm down," Lawyer Fang said calmly, "We will definitely find Miss Bai."

They searched everywhere, but were constantly obstructed by Song's subordinates.

"Stop them!" Song Pangzhi's order echoed in the courtyard.

Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang fought with people from Song's branch, and the scene was chaotic.

As time passed, my hope faded. The air in the chamber was thin, and I began to breathe hard and feel dizzy.

Just when I was about to despair, my eyes fell on an incense burner in the corner of the secret room. This incense burner had a simple shape and was carved with intricate patterns, which was out of tune with the style of the ancestral hall.

My heart moved, and I walked forward to observe the incense burner carefully. Suddenly, I found an inconspicuous pattern on the base of the incense burner, which was exactly the same as the pattern described in the family motto!

Is it...

I turned the incense burner vigorously, and with a slight click, a stone brick on the ground slowly moved away, revealing a dark hole...

At the same time, Lawyer Fang pointed to an inconspicuous protrusion on the wall and said to Zhan Yu, "Look, here..."

The entrance to the secret passage suddenly appeared before my eyes. I was overjoyed, as if I had grabbed a life-saving straw. Without thinking too much, I immediately went into the cave.

At the same time, the situation on Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang's side was also very critical.

"Look, here!" Lawyer Fang pointed to an inconspicuous bulge on the wall with a serious tone.

Zhan Yu looked in the direction of Lawyer Fang's finger and saw a button-like device on the wall with complex carvings around it.

"What is this?" Zhan Yu asked in confusion.

"It looks like a mechanism," Lawyer Fang observed cautiously, "but I'm not sure what it will trigger."

Song's subordinates were pressing forward, and Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang had to make a quick decision.

"Never mind, let's give it a try!" Zhan Yu gritted his teeth and reached out to press it down.

Just as Zhan Yu's finger touched the button, Lawyer Fang suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Zhan Yu suddenly retracted his hand and looked at Lawyer Fang in surprise and suspicion.

Lawyer Fang pointed to the patterns around the button and explained, "I've seen these patterns in ancient books. They're an ancient trap mechanism. Once triggered, it releases poisonous gas."

Zhan Yu gasped, terrified. If Lawyer Fang hadn't intervened in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.

"Song Pangzhi is such a despicable villain!" Zhan Yu was furious.

Lawyer Fang calmly analyzed, "He deliberately set up this fake mechanism to confuse us and delay time."

"Where is the real mechanism?" Zhan Yu asked anxiously.

Just then, as I groped my way along the secret passage, I suddenly noticed some uneven bricks on the wall. I thought, could it be...

I tapped the bricks a few times and noticed they made different sounds. I immediately realized this might be a code to convey a message!

I recalled the records of secret chamber mechanisms in the Zhan Family Instructions, trying to find the pattern. Finally, I found a cryptic hint in an old document: "Use sound as a signal, and knock and you will get a response."

I get it! These bricks are a tool for conveying information! Following the code recorded in the family motto, I began to tap the wall rhythmically.

"Boom boom boom, boom boom, boom..."

Outside the secret room, Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang were at a loss when they suddenly heard a strange knocking sound coming from the wall.

"What's that sound?" Zhan Yu asked in confusion.

Lawyer Fang listened carefully, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

"This is... a code!" Lawyer Fang exclaimed, "Miss Bai is still alive! She's sending us a message!"

Zhan Yu was immediately alerted and quickly put his ear to the wall, carefully distinguishing the rhythm of the knocking sounds.

I repeated the code over and over again, hoping to get the message across as quickly as possible.

Finally, Zhan Yu understood what I meant. He followed my instructions and found a hidden mechanism on the wall.

He took a deep breath and pressed down slowly... The wall made a dull sound.

"Boom——"

The sound of the wall slowly moving came from above my head. I held my breath, looking forward to the moment of reuniting with Zhan Yu. However, the warm embrace I imagined did not come, but was replaced by a sharp sound of breaking through the air!

"careful!"

Zhan Yu's roar echoed at the entrance to the secret room, followed by several muffled groans and the crisp sound of weapons clashing. My heart tightened. Could it be that the Song branch had a backup plan?

Without thinking too much, I crouched down and crawled out of the secret room. The scene in front of me made me break out in a cold sweat.

Zhan Yu and Lawyer Fang were surrounded by a group of men in black. Although they had several bodyguards who fought hard, they were obviously outnumbered and the situation was precarious.

"lady!"

Seeing me appear, a bodyguard shouted anxiously, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

I looked around and didn't see Song Pangzhi, which made me even more uneasy: "Where's Song Pangzhi?"

"That old thief tried to escape during the chaos, but we found him!" Zhan Yu replied while fending off the attacks of the men in black. "Don't worry, Madam. He can't get away with me!"

I looked at the blood on Zhan Yu's body, and my heart ached. But now is not the time for sentimental things. We must resolve the crisis as soon as possible!

"Lawyer Fang, are you okay?" I asked anxiously.

Lawyer Fang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said calmly, "I'm fine, Miss Bai. I'm glad you're okay."

"Who are these people? Does the Song family still have such power?" I asked in disbelief.

Lawyer Fang shook his head solemnly. "Unlikely. These people are well-trained and ruthless. They don't seem like the kind of force the Song family can mobilize."

At this moment, Song Pangzhi, who had been hiding in the shadows, suddenly sneered viciously: "Zhan Yu, do you think you can defeat me? Today, I want all of you to be buried with me!"

"Song Bangzhi, forget it!" Zhan Yu roared, and his hands moved more fiercely.

However, Song Pangzhi did not seem to want to fight. While commanding the men in black to attack, he retreated towards the ancestral temple.

"Oh no, he wants to escape into the ancestral temple!" I immediately realized the danger and warned loudly.

The Zhan family ancestral hall is the resting place of ancestors for generations, full of mystery and unknowns, and even the Zhan family rarely sets foot there. The Song branch chose to flee there, obviously because they had something to rely on!

"We can't let him escape!" Zhan Yu made a prompt decision and ordered the bodyguards to force the man in black back, then pulled me and Lawyer Fang to chase after Song's side branch.

"Stop! Don't run!"

We passed through numerous courtyards and finally caught up with Song Bangzhi at the gate of the ancestral temple. He stood on the steps, his back to us, and let out a sinister laugh.

"Want to arrest me? Then come on! But I advise you to think carefully. Once you step through this door, you'll never get out alive!"

He turned around abruptly, pointed at the plaque on the gate of the ancestral hall, and said word by word: "This is the forbidden area of ​​your Zhan family, and it is also the place where you will be buried!"

I was startled, a chill running from my feet straight into my heart. Zhan Yu held my hand tightly, his eyes firm: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

He pulled me up the steps without hesitation... The ancestral hall's gate was heavy and ancient, carrying a chilling chill. I held Zhan Yu's hand tightly, and the warmth in his palm remained undiminished, instead conveying a sense of stability.

"Be careful!" Lawyer Fang lowered his voice and warned.

As we entered the ancestral hall, a chilly atmosphere hit us, a stark contrast to the bright sunshine outside. The air here, devoid of sunlight year-round, was filled with a strange, musty, sandalwood odor that made our chests suffocate.

Zhan Yu glanced around warily. The interior of the ancestral hall was even more spacious and profound than he had imagined. Tablets stood in rows, incense burned seemingly year-round, and the air was thick with the faint scent of fireworks. The walls on either side were covered in murals, mostly depicting the great achievements of the Zhan family's ancestors. However, due to age, the colors had faded, making them appear particularly eerie in the dim light.

"Song Bangzhi, come out!" Zhan Yu's voice echoed in the empty ancestral hall, but received no response.

We carefully searched for the figure of Song Bangzhi. Suddenly, I found that there seemed to be a narrow passage in front of one of the murals. It was almost integrated with the wall and it was difficult to detect without careful observation.

"Ayu, look there!" I pointed at the passage and said in a low voice.

Zhan Yu looked in the direction of my finger, his brows slightly furrowed. “Let’s go and take a look.”

The three of us walked lightly, slowly approaching the passage. At the entrance was a bluestone slab with some strange symbols engraved on it. I felt vaguely familiar with it, but I couldn't remember where I had seen it before.

"This is..." Lawyer Fang stared at the symbols with a frown, as if he was trying hard to recall something.

"Don't worry about it, just go in and take a look and you'll know." Zhan Yu said, reaching out to push the bluestone slab.

"Wait!" I grabbed his hand. "This place is too weird. We'd better be careful."

"What are you afraid of? It's just some trickery." Zhan Yu didn't take it seriously, but still stopped his movements obediently. "Then what do you say we should do?"

I pondered for a moment, my eyes falling on the bluestone slab. A bold idea came to my mind: "Perhaps, this slab is the mechanism that opens the passage..."