Zhang Hulan was silent for a while, and then asked, "Do you have any relatives in this world?"
Liu Cong said: "I don't know if there are any relatives left alive. But the closest people are all dead."
"Are they all dead?"
Liu Cong nodded slightly.
Zhang Hulan was silent for a while again. There were two little people fighting in her heart.
One is to just ignore it and live your own life.
The other one let her be in charge, be a good person to the end, and see the Buddha off to the west.
Zhang Hulan sighed, and then said to Liu Cong: "Liu Cong, do you think this will work?
If you really believe in me, tell me your story.
If I think I can help you, then I will.
If I can't help, then I'll just pretend I didn't hear it.
Anything you said to me, I'll keep rotting in my stomach.
How do you feel about this?
Liu Cong hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Since Madam wants to know, I can tell Madam."
Liu Cong said: "My original surname was not Liu, but Duanmu. Later, something happened in my family, so I changed my surname to my mother's."
Zhang Hulan didn't say anything and listened to Liu Cong continue.
"My father's name is Duanmu Yun, and he was the prefect of Maozhou. But one night two years ago, my whole family was killed.
There were eighty-six people in my family, and no one was alive except me.
I was not at home at the time, and went out of town with some classmates. As it was late, I did not go back.
The next day on my way back to the city, I met my uncle, who was fighting with three men.
My uncle tried his best to kill the three men, and he was also seriously injured.
When my uncle saw me, he told me to run away quickly and not to go back to the city or visit any relatives or friends.
My uncle was seriously injured and died without saying a few words.
I was terrified at the time, and my classmates were all terrified too.
But I remembered what my uncle had told me, and I immediately rode away on horseback.
After running for a distance, I let the horse go and let it continue running forward, while I changed direction and fled.
I didn't know the specific situation of my family at that time. I heard later that the family of the Maozhou prefect was wiped out and some of the yamen runners also died.
In fact, I still don’t know why my family was wiped out, let alone who killed my entire family.”
Liu Cong is fourteen this year, and he was only twelve years old the year before last.
A twelve-year-old child has gone through all this. Zhang Hulan doesn’t know how Liu Cong has survived the past two years.
Although it has been two years, Liu Cong still shed tears when he talked about the annihilation of his family.
Zhang Hulan didn't know how to comfort Liu Cong. Maybe letting him cry would make him feel better.
After Liu Cong calmed down for a while, Zhang Hulan spoke up, "The whole family of a prefect was wiped out, that must be a big deal. Did you hear how the government handled it later?"
Liu Cong shook his head. "I haven't heard of it. I was fleeing southwards and I had some money on me, so eating was not a problem.
But after a long time, I spent all the money I had, so I started begging.
I arrived in Ding'an Prefecture in the second half of last year, and have been with Gou Zi and Hu Zi ever since.
I didn’t dare to ask about anything about my family. I had no money left, and I didn’t even dare to pawn my jade pendant.”
Zhang Hulan nodded. "You did the right thing. If you pawn something that can identify you or your family, it might expose your whereabouts."
This matter is really not an ordinary one. Zhang Hulan certainly cannot handle it, but I don’t know if Wu Deyong can handle it?
Zhang Hulan still trusts Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun very much. After knowing them for such a long time, from all aspects of her understanding, she believes that Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun are both very upright people.
But she couldn't make this decision, so she still had to ask Liu Cong whether he was willing to ask Wu Deyong for help.
So Zhang Hulan said, "Liu Cong, our county magistrate, Lord Wu, has come to my place several times. Have you seen him?"
Liu Cong nodded, "I have seen it."
"Lord Wu is a good official. He comes from the capital, and someone in his family is a high-ranking official in the capital.
Maybe Lord Wu can help you. Are you willing to ask Lord Wu for help?
If you are willing, I will go to see Lord Wu. If you are not willing, forget it.
I definitely can’t help you with this matter, I can only keep it to myself.”
Liu Cong asked: "Madam Zhang trusts Lord Wu very much?"
Zhang Hulan nodded, "Lord Wu and his wife are both good people, I am basically sure of that.
Besides, Lord Wu comes from an extraordinary family, I think he should be able to help you.
If he is willing to help, maybe he can find the murderer of your family and avenge your parents and family.
But this matter is probably not easy to investigate. You don’t know anything, so it’s hard to find out who the murderer is.”
Based on Liu Cong's own judgment, Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun are also good.
When they first arrived here, Wu Deyong came to see them, and Ye Hongyun even gave them frostbite ointment.
Liu Cong said: "I believe in you, Madam. If you think Lord Wu is trustworthy, please ask him for help.
If you can really help me get revenge, I am willing to work like a slave for the rest of my life to repay my lady’s kindness.”
Liu Cong knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Hulan.
Zhang Hulan hurriedly pulled Liu Cong up and said, "Don't talk about working like a slave. I will help as long as I can.
If it's something I don't have the ability to help with, there's nothing I can do.
You still have a long life ahead of you. Even if you cannot avenge your family, you cannot keep living in the pain of the past.
Your parents don't want you to live in pain all your life.
You must live well and happily, so that your parents can feel at ease.
Also, even if Lord Wu can't help you, you have to rely on yourself.
You are good at studying, so you should study hard, take the imperial examination and become an official in the future. Become a high-ranking official, and then slowly investigate the murderer who killed your family."
After listening to Zhang Hulan's words, Liu Cong felt that it was very right.
He can take revenge on his own, but if he becomes an official in the future, he may be exposed to some things.
But then he lost his temper again.
"But the civil service exam requires a household registration..."
Zhang Hulan said, "What's so difficult about this? You stay with me now, and I will go to see Lord Wu and register all of you.
From now on you are a member of Daping Village, your household registration is in Daping Village, and your name has also been changed.
You were only twelve years old when your family was in trouble. It will take you many years to pass the imperial examination and become an official. Your appearance will also have changed a bit by then. How many people will be able to recognize you by then?"
There are both good and bad sides to instilling such ideas in Liu Cong.
The bad thing is that Liu Cong continues to live in hatred.
The good thing is that Liu Cong knows what he is going to do now and in the future, allowing him to focus on studying.
Study hard now, live well in the present, and worry about the future later.
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