Chapter 137: Hu Yong, who has become an idiot

Su Zhenzhen had to admit that, in a sense, Hu Wen was quite a figure.

Putting aside her judgmental intent towards him, Su Zhenzhen steered the conversation back to the main topic.

Do you know why the Hu brothers died?

Hu Wen shook his head. "When I found their bodies, they had already begun to decompose. Even the coroner couldn't confirm that they had been dead for a long time. He could only deduce from the weapons scattered around that they must have died in a fight."

Meanwhile, Hensheng also returned from surveying the area around Yangcheng.

More than twenty years have passed, and even if there were anything, it would be buried under the weight of time, not to mention that Hu Wen had thoroughly searched the surrounding area in order to make the most of everything.

Hateful, he returned empty-handed, saying, "Zhenzhen, we found nothing near Yangcheng."

When he spoke, Hensheng's head was drooping, clearly resembling a child who hadn't done what the adults had asked him to do.

Su Zhenzhen parted her thin lips slightly and spoke softly, "It's alright, the Prefect has already told me what happened back then."

Su Zhenzhen then revealed all of Hu Wen's money-making schemes.

Hensheng was somewhat surprised after hearing this, but he did not show any disdain. He simply asked, "Prefect Hu, when you were searching for corpses near Yangcheng, did you find anything unusual? The Hu brothers died outside Yangcheng, so were there any weapons left near their bodies?"

Hu Wen stroked the small tuft of mustache on his lips and pondered for a long time before finally uttering a sentence.

"Nothing was found."

Su Zhenzhen stared intently at Hu Wen, not daring to miss the slightest expression on his face.

The fact that the commander of the Imperial Guard and his family died in Yangcheng, far from the capital, is itself a strange and suspicious matter.

As their relative and holding the high position of Prefect of Yangcheng, Hu Wen couldn't possibly be without some thoughts in his mind.

Was he genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance? Or was he forced to play dumb for some reason?

After staring at the person for a long time without figuring anything out, Su Zhenzhen simply gave up.

"Hensheng, you should make the coffins yourself and give the Hu family a proper burial."

Hensheng nodded. No matter what, the Hu brothers had ended up like this because they were covering his escape. He should be the one to carry their coffin and help with the funeral.

After learning that Hensheng could make coffins, Hu Wen looked at him with great curiosity.

She looks otherworldly, but it turns out she has a special skill.

Seeing that the case file was blank, Su Zhenzhen decided not to waste her time at the county office and went out to look for Chunzhi.

At this moment, Chunzhi was training her troops, and it was clear that she enjoyed leading troops into battle.

"Sister Chunzhi." Although she had already confirmed her relationship with Hensheng, it felt strange to call her sister-in-law, and calling her by her name would be a bit impolite, so she decided to just call her sister, since she was older than her anyway.

Chunzhi took full control of Yangcheng's defenses, dividing his troops into three teams: one to guard the city walls, one to patrol the city, and one to train. The three teams worked in three shifts to ensure that Yangcheng was always under his control.

Seeing Su Zhenzhen approach, Chunzhi ordered her deputy to keep watch on the area, then gestured for Su Zhenzhen to walk out, asking as she went, "What is it?"

"Sister Chunzhi, is Hu Yong still in Bianzhou?"

According to Old Mrs. Xu's idea, Hu Yong was just a "pig" to be bred, and his only task was to carry on the Hu family bloodline together with Chunzhi.

Previously, everyone in Bianzhou was conscripted, and no one knows what happened to Hu Yong.

Chunzhi understood immediately, "You want to find out what happened during your escape years ago through him?"

Su Zhenzhen nodded. "We have no clue at the moment, and this matter is full of doubts. Judging from what Old Madam Xu said, she must have seen the Hu brothers die in front of her, otherwise she wouldn't be so sure. But since she saw it with her own eyes, given how much she cares about her family, even if it was inconvenient at the time, she would have found a way to come back and give them a proper burial later."

Then Su Zhenzhen revealed all of Hu Wen's actions.

Chunzhi raised her eyebrows slightly. "I didn't know the Hu family had such a connection. My mother-in-law never told me either, so the relationship must not be close. It's not easy for them to help with the burial."

Su Zhenzhen voiced her conjecture, "I always felt that Hu Wenhua didn't say everything. He must know something. A simple person wouldn't think of a way to make money by using dead people."

Chunzhi fell silent, her brows furrowing repeatedly.

Su Zhenzhen noticed her hesitation and quickly asked, "But Hu Yong can't come here?"

"Not really. Back then, Hu Yong was just a baby in our arms, and he didn't remember much. Because it was inconvenient to take him with us, the Hu family entrusted him to a farming family. Later, when things settled down a bit, the farming family got tired of having another mouth to feed and kicked him out. Hu Yong followed his hazy memories all the way northwest, and by some twist of fate, he ran into my husband, and that's how we got him home and recognized him. My mother-in-law pitied the Hu family for having only this one son left, and spoiled him rotten, which made him a lazy and good-for-nothing."

Chunzhi had a complicated expression on her face. "And right now, he probably knows even less."

Su Zhenzhen didn't quite understand why Chunzhi had to lay so much groundwork beforehand, but she suddenly realized it when she met Hu Yong.

When the situation in the border region was critical, Chunzhi forced everyone who could still breathe to the battlefield.

In the end, we can't escape death anyway. Rather than waiting for the barbarians to come in and become lambs to the slaughter, it's better to fight to the death. Killing one is enough, killing two is a bonus.

Hu Yong is from a military family, how could he cower behind a group of old, weak, women and children?

Chunzhi forced him to pick up a sword and gun, so as not to disgrace his grandfather, General Hu Buwei.

Then this reckless fellow immediately started shouting loudly, claiming that if he died, the Hu family line would end, and he had to keep his life to carry on the Hu family line.

Enraged, Chunzhi was about to teach him a lesson on the spot. Hu Yong begged for mercy while dodging, and in the process of running away, he accidentally bumped into a pillar and damaged his brain.

Watching Hu Yong play with his boogers while his nose was running.

Su Zhenzhen was immediately disgusted.

I don't know what sins the Hu family committed, or if their ancestors chose the wrong burial site. General Hu Buwei was a great general who was on par with General Huo, yet he had such a grandson who brought shame to him.

But even if we take a step back, at least they still have descendants, unlike General Huo, who not only lost his body but also had no successor.

Chunzhi pointed at Hu Yong and said, "After he damaged his brain, I didn't have time to take care of him, so I locked him in the cellar and left him with food. I only released him after we won a complete victory. Fortunately, although he's mentally challenged, he doesn't run around like before. Yangcheng is relatively safe now, so it's fine to bring him here. Do you think you can cure him?"

Chunzhi didn't have much hope; her brain was damaged and basically couldn't be cured.

But Su Zhenzhen noticed something different.