One hundred and seven

Not only did the Fu family not catch the plague, but Huo Jinzhi was even working in the government office!

The Yu family, who was forced upon him with the intention of torturing him and the entire Fu family, actually entered the clinic as a doctor?

Not only did she make the people respect her, but she also made Fu Wei famous!

When Huo Minzhi heard the news brought back by the spies, he was so angry that he swept everything on the table to the ground.

The servant beside him hurriedly advised: "Sir, calm down. The master has forbidden you to continue investigating the Fu family. If the news gets out, the master will be unhappy."

Huo Minzhi gritted his teeth viciously.

How can he calm down!

The wealth and glory that should have belonged to him was enjoyed by Huo Jinzhi for twenty-one years.

Not only that, after returning, his biological father didn't feel too much indebted to him, nor did they have much of a father-son relationship. Although the people around him didn't say it openly, they privately said that he was inferior to Huo Jinzhi in every way and looked down on him!

He wanted Huo Jinzhi to live a harder life than he had in the past twenty-one years, otherwise he would not be able to swallow this humiliation!

This matter must not be let go easily.

After pondering for a while, he looked at the servant and said, "Prepare writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone immediately. Then, secretly send a letter to Magistrate Zhou of Cangwuyu County and to the clinic that hired Yu."

He just couldn't believe that after receiving the letter, County Magistrate Zhou and the clinic still dared to employ him and his wife!

After writing the letter, Huo Minzhi handed it to the servant and said sinisterly, "Don't let my father know."

The servant nodded in response, then took the letter and left.

When he reached the front yard, he did not go straight out of the mansion, but took a detour to the courtyard of Governor Huo while no one was paying attention.

The servant told the governor Huo all the news that the spies had brought back from Lingnan.

After all, he had raised this child for twenty years, so he knew best what the child was capable of. Governor Huo knew best.

"After hearing about these things, the eldest son wrote these two letters and sent them to Cangwu Yu County, one to the magistrate and the other to the manager of the clinic."

After saying that, the servant placed the letter he had just received from his master on the table.

Since Huo Minzhi came back, he has been under close surveillance by his biological father. Nothing he does can escape the eyes of Governor Huo.

Not only did Governor Huo know everything about what he did after returning, but also what happened in Lingnan before he returned.

His own son behaves like a street thug and is looked down upon by others. If he were not his own son, he would really want to ignore him.

Governor Huo narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the letter on the table, opened it and read it.

After reading it, they all returned it to the envelope and handed it back to the servant with an expressionless face: "Send it to Cangwu as the eldest master said."

After the servant left, the housekeeper in the study asked, "Sir, should we send someone to Cangwu to completely eradicate the problem and prevent future troubles?"

Governor Huo tapped the table with his finger, looked up at him, and asked, "What do you think they have to become a threat to me?"

The butler thought about it and then shook his head.

Magistrate Huo said calmly, "If I took action, I would have given people something to talk about. Besides, the Fu family has been exiled for twenty years. If they wanted to have a chance to come out, they wouldn't have waited until now."

"But the Fu family now has Master Jinzhi. Master Jinzhi has been very smart since he was young. What if he really has a chance to succeed?"

Prefect Huo took a breath, whispered the word "Jingzhi" again, and recalled the past.

Yes, this son has been outstanding since he was young.

He joined the army at the age of twelve. He was an expert in riding and archery, and even his spear skills were amazing.

In a military drill competition, the fifteen-year-old boy led a group of twenty-year-old boys from the same battalion as him and stood out among a group of veterans to take first place.

A young man in silver armor was holding a command flag and riding a fierce horse around the field. The young man was sharp, high-spirited and shining.

It was also from that time that he saw the shadow of Fu Jun in Jinzhi.

He thought he was seeing things, but the more he looked, the more it resembled the real thing, so much so that it frightened him. He felt that it was Fu Jun who came for revenge.

It was also from that time that he gradually distanced himself from this son who had been his pride since childhood.

After knowing that he was the son of Fu Jun, even though he had extraordinary talents, Governor Huo did not dare to keep him, fearing that he would be retaliated against in the end.

His worries were not unfounded. This young man, who was once proficient in all kinds of martial arts and had a sharp mind, now had crippled legs, but he still managed to get in touch with the magistrate in a remote village in desperate situation.

Huo Taishou said coldly: "So, I will not stop Minzhi. What worries me more now is the unrest in Longxi and Shu counties."

"Are you worried that there will be chaos in the world?"

Magistrate Huo stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the melting ice and snow outside and murmured to himself, "If there's chaos, it's not a bad thing."

There is chaos, and many heroes are fighting for the high position, so he also has a chance.

*

In mid-February, County Magistrate Zhou held a banquet in a restaurant to reward everyone who contributed money and effort during the epidemic.

Yu Ying pushed Fu Wei into the lobby, and doctors from several clinics came forward to greet Yu Ying. Some also greeted Fu Wei. Almost all of them were acquaintances.

This banquet was not as lively as the one held at the prefectural governor's residence, and there were no dancers performing graceful dances, but there was pleasant music from stringed instruments.

The lobby was lined with low tables, stretching from the high seats to the door.

Of course, this position is also based on status, not on the amount of merit.

Yu Ying and Fu Wei's positions are in the middle, neither high nor low.

The seats in the front row are for the prominent families, and most of them are merchants.

After Yu Ying sat down, she whispered to Fu Wei, "Did the nobles and merchants donate money for this epidemic?"

Fu Wei nodded lightly: "Everything has been donated, including the food and medicinal materials previously given to the resettlement center, as well as this banquet and the food distributed to the people. Do you think our poor county government can afford it?"

Yu Ying was surprised. "But this epidemic has only been going on for about two months. How could they have raised so much money and supplies all at once?" She glanced at the nobles who refused to interact with those below their station, lowered her voice, and said, just loud enough for her and Fu Wei to hear, "These nobles look so arrogant. They don't seem like the type to donate money or supplies."

There were sounds of stringed instruments and laughter in the hall, but no one paid attention to the couple's whispers.

Fu Wei curled his lips slightly and said, "Of course I don't want to, so I asked you to put up a merit stele at the gate of Yu County early on. Anyone who donates more than ten taels of silver or goods will have their name engraved on it."

Yu Ying passed by the city gate twice, but did not pay attention to the monument of merit.

"Then secretly contact a few merchants and nobles and induce them to donate first. With this start, the nobles who care about their reputation will donate, and it will only increase, not decrease. Moreover, the merchants see that the nobles have donated, and they also have to follow the government's instructions. How can they not donate?"

Yu Ying immediately understood. Fu Wei was using the nobles' love of face and the public's tendency to follow the crowd to get people to donate voluntarily. She raised her hand to cover her lips and smiled: "You have a quick mind."

Fu Wei picked up the cups and handed one to her, then took his own cup and took a sip of sake. He looked out at the bustling lobby and said slowly, "It's impossible. If they don't donate, the government won't be able to bear such a huge expenditure, and the epidemic won't be over so quickly."

Manpower, medicine, food and other supplies all cost money. The yamen was already poor, and even if County Magistrate Zhou took out his own private money, it might not be enough to supply them.

Yu Ying looked at the expenses of the banquet and whispered, "It seems that there is still a lot left over from this donation." Otherwise, the banquet would not have been so grand.

Fu Wei smiled: "The nobles love face, and everything they donate will be engraved on the stone tablet. They naturally don't want to be left behind in this century-old event."

He leaned close to her jade-like ear and whispered to her, "If we convert it into silver, we can raise more than a thousand taels."

Yu Ying was surprised, and then she heard him say, "There are still about 700 taels left."

Hearing this, Yu Ying looked at the smiling County Magistrate Zhou and said, "No wonder County Magistrate Zhou is grinning from ear to ear."

Yu Ying had roughly learned from Fu Wei that the annual expenses of this government office were only about three hundred taels. These remaining silvers could cover the expenses of the government office for more than two years. How could County Magistrate Zhou not be happy?

The guests arrived one after another, and when County Magistrate Zhou raised his glass, the music stopped.

County Magistrate Zhou first expressed his gratitude to Madam Yu for the epidemic and toasted her with a glass. Everyone looked at Madam Yu.

Even though the gentry still did not take this woman seriously, they all raised their glasses to toast Yu Ying to give face to the county magistrate.

Yu Ying didn't like drinking, but she still raised the glass and drank the wine in it.

Then County Magistrate Zhou thanked everyone one by one, taking everyone into consideration. Yu Ying also started drinking, and before she knew it, she had drunk five or six glasses of wine. Although the alcohol content was not high, it still had a strong taste of alcohol.

After a few drinks, although it had no effect on my rationality, I felt dizzy, but people still came to toast me.

Yu Ying rubbed her forehead, feeling a little drunk.

Upon seeing this, Fu Wei spoke to the waiter who was serving the wine and asked him to put the water in the wine jug.

The waiter responded quickly and brought a pot of water.

Fu Wei poured a cup, handed it to Yu Ying, and whispered, "This is water, don't worry about getting drunk."

After hearing this, Yu Ying felt relieved.

The banquet lasted for an hour before everyone dispersed.

When they came today, the county magistrate sent a carriage to pick them up, and they naturally took a carriage when they left.

After the yamen runner helped Fu Wei onto the carriage, he lifted the thick curtain and stretched out his hand to Yu Ying: "Come up slowly."

Yu Ying saw some double images in front of her eyes. She reached out but couldn't put her hand on Fu Wei's hand. But the next moment, she was held by a warm hand.

She leaned on Fu Wei to pull her, and she also held on to the carriage and stepped on the footstool to slowly enter the carriage.

After they sat down, when the curtain was lowered, Fu Wei took off his outer robe and covered her with it. Then he stretched out his arms and pulled her close, letting her lean on his shoulder. He whispered, "You sleep for a while. I'll call you when we get home."

"Will you feel uncomfortable if I rest my head on you like this?"

Fu Wei smiled lightly: "It's okay, you can go to sleep."

Yu Ying was indeed feeling a little uncomfortable, so she leaned on his shoulder and took a nap.

There were no pedestrians on the road at night, and I returned home in about half an hour.

Wen Xing was worried that her second brother and his wife had drunk alcohol at the banquet and would have no one to take care of them when they came back, so she waited for them.

When she heard the knock on the door, she put on her clothes and went out with her husband, carrying a lantern, to open the door.

The door opened, and seeing his brother's wife so dizzy she could barely stand, he hurried forward to support her: "Why are you drunk?"

Fu Zhen walked out of the house and pushed Fu Wei into the yard.

When the courtyard gate was closed and Fu Wei stood up, Yu Ying, probably drunken from drinking and sleep, did what she had always wanted to do.

She suddenly raised her hand and pinched her sister-in-law's cheek three times. Then her eyes curved and she smiled sweetly, saying, "Sister-in-law's face is really soft. I really like it."

The eldest brother who just closed the door and turned around: ...

Fu Wei, who had just stood up and was about to help someone, said: ...