Chapter 129
The next morning, after everything was packed up, Song Sanlang arrived.
Yu Ying invited them into the house. When Song Sanlang saw Fu Wei, he nodded slightly and said, "Second Brother Fu."
Fu Wei wore a faint smile, sat on the plain carriage and raised his hand to invite him: "Brother Song, you are welcome, please take a seat."
After Song Sanlang sat down, Yu Ying poured him a cup of hot tea.
After Song Sanlang thanked him, he looked at Fu Wei and asked in confusion, "I wonder why Second Brother Fu asked me to come here?"
This morning, before daybreak, Fu Wei sent Wu Xiaoyacha to look for Song Sanlang.
Fu Wei said, "Keep collecting the grain, and I'll have someone send you money every month."
Song Sanlang was stunned for a moment. Thinking that the second brother of the Fu family worked in the government office and was quite favored by the prefect, he must know some things that ordinary people did not know. His face couldn't help but become serious. "What happened?"
Fu Wei shook his head at him and said, "Brother Song, please don't speak carelessly, or you'll bring disaster upon yourself. Furthermore, with the heavy taxes levied by the imperial court, no one can predict what will happen."
Song Sanlang was a man who knew the importance of things. He knew from the reminder that it was a matter of life and death.
Fu Wei naturally didn't believe him completely, so he suppressed his smile and said something serious: "If anything were to happen in the future, I would definitely not abandon Third Brother Song. When Third Brother Song gets married, he also hopes that his wife and children will be safe, right?"
Just the day before yesterday, Song Sanlang heard that Fu Zhen had returned, and not knowing that he was injured, he came looking for him, wanting him to help propose marriage to the Su family.
When I arrived, I found out that Fu Zhen was injured. I originally thought of giving up, but Yu Ying offered to propose marriage to her. The identity of a staff member's wife is already important enough.
Yesterday, Yu Ying went to propose marriage to Song Sanlang. Soon, Song Sanlang will also be a family man.
With a family, comes concerns.
Not to mention that Madam Yu had done him a favor, he had also witnessed the earth-shaking changes that had taken place in the Fu family in just one year.
Song Sanlang believed that Fu Wei had that ability.
"Don't worry, Brother Fu, I know the seriousness of the matter."
Fu Wei nodded and looked at Yu Ying.
Fu Wei talked about the grain collection first, and Yu Ying only talked about the herbs and stalls.
Yu Ying looked at him and said, "In September, I will have someone send a batch of medicinal herbs over. Please help with the delivery."
Song Sanlang agreed without any doubt.
"You decide everything about the shed."
After everything was explained, Song Sanlang did not stay long.
After Song Sanlang left, Wu Xiaoyacha came and urged him to leave.
Fu Zhen was helped down the stairs by Wu Xiaoyacha. Although it was just help, Fu Zhen was in good health and had recovered some of his energy after a few days of rest, so he didn't have to exert much effort.
Fu Wei was carried down the stairs by a stronger yamen runner.
Some were injured, some were lame, and the scene was quite dramatic, so it attracted the attention of others.
Under the gaze of everyone, the group left the county seat and returned to Yu County.
Because Fu Zhen was injured and could not ride too bumpy, the carriage moved slowly and the journey was much slower.
I was originally scheduled to return to Yu County within half a month, but now it has been delayed for five more days.
Before going hunting, Fu Wei sent someone to deliver the news back to Yu County at full speed, so he didn't have to worry about being blamed by County Magistrate Zhou.
When we returned to Yu County, it was already dark.
No matter how late it was, Fu Wei still had his wife and brother sent back home, and then went to the yamen to report.
When Fu Zhen came back, he told his second brother and sister-in-law to keep his injury a secret from his family so as not to worry them.
But after all, he was a seriously injured person and could not pretend to be healthy, so he said that he had caught a cold and just needed to rest for a few days.
The two knocked on the door and returned home. It was Wen Xing who opened the door. Seeing her husband and his sister-in-law, she was completely surprised and delighted. "Da Lang, sister-in-law, you are back!"
After the surprise, he was stunned for a moment: "Where is my second brother?"
Yu Ying and her elder brother entered the courtyard one after another. She smiled and replied, "Erlang has gone to the government office to report. He will be back soon."
Hearing the sound, Luo Shi poked her head out from the kitchen and immediately revealed a look of joy: "I've been looking forward to you all day long, and you're finally back."
Fu An Funing heard the sound and saw through the study window that it was his father and aunt, so he ran out of the study excitedly.
A year has passed, and Fuan has grown a lot taller. I haven't seen him for more than half a month, and he seems to have grown taller and looks like a nine-year-old child.
Fu Ning is six years old, and although he hasn't grown taller, he has become a lot rounder. He is white and plump, and very lovable.
Yu Ying's favorite was this little girl. She picked her up, looked at Fu An, and asked with a smile, "Did anything go wrong when you were helping out at the clinic?"
As soon as she said this, Fu An's smiling face froze, and even Wen Xing's expression changed slightly, and they all became quiet for a moment.
Yu Ying saw this and felt a pang of worry. She suppressed her smile and asked, "Did something happen at the clinic?"
Wen Xing nodded.
Yu Ying was silent for two breaths, and then said, "Let's go inside first."
After entering the house, Wen Xing told everyone what had happened over the past half month.
*
After Fu Wei entered County Magistrate Zhou's study, he stood up from the sedan chair and bowed to County Magistrate Zhou.
Fu Wei had already sent someone back to Yu County to inform County Magistrate Zhou about what happened after the hunt. The only other matter was the assassination of Prefect Shen.
Fu Wei ignored his speculation that someone had framed the bandits, but instead detailed the assassination and Prefect Shen's suspicion of the bandits on Muyun Mountain.
After listening to this, County Magistrate Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Although the prefect doesn't take charge of many things and doesn't like to cause trouble, he's not completely without temper even though he's in that position. The bandits in Muyun Mountain have gone to such lengths, the prefect will definitely take action."
After saying this, County Magistrate Zhou seemed to have thought of something, and frowned suspiciously, "That's not right. The people of Muyun Mountain have been plundering for more than a decade and have never sent anyone to assassinate the prefect. If anything happens to the prefect, the position of Cangwu prefect will also be replaced. What benefit will assassinating the prefect bring to them?"
Having said that, he looked at Fu Wei and asked, "What do you think?"
Fu Wei lowered his head and replied, "I dare not speculate."
County Magistrate Zhou didn't completely trust him, so naturally he couldn't tell him everything.
He didn't believe that Fu Wei would not have thought of something that County Magistrate Zhou himself knew.
Although Fu Wei is young, he has spent half a year to understand his true talents and skills. If there is no problem with his background, he is still the son of the prefect of Wuling County, and his future is limitless. He may even be able to secure a higher position for the prefect Huo.
But County Magistrate Zhou really couldn't understand it. Even though he knew that the child was not his biological son, he had raised him for so many years and he had outstanding talents. Even if he was the descendant of a criminal, with the ability of Prefect Huo, keeping one of them would only be a little troublesome, but not impossible.
If you continue to keep this boy by your side and make good use of him, the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages no matter how you look at it.
But Governor Huo did nothing. The more he thought about it, the more strange it seemed. He might have some secret that no one knew about.
Before, County Magistrate Zhou had not thought so deeply. If he had thought so deeply, he might not have used Fu Wei. But now he has been used. County Magistrate Zhou is not an indecisive person. He knows that Fu Wei does not want to take trouble, so he sees the truth but does not say it out loud.
"After all, it's the governor's decision to make. There's no point in us speculating."
Fu Wei nodded.
After asking a few questions, County Magistrate Zhou asked, "How is Fu Zhen doing now?"
"My eldest brother is doing very well." He then added, "After the assassination, there were not enough doctors, so my wife treated the injuries of many wounded guards."
County Magistrate Zhou had served in the army before, so he could best understand this kind of sadness. He had also been at the bottom of the army, so he could understand it best.
Even if a low-ranking soldier in the military is about to die, if an important person above him is injured, even if the injury is minor, the military doctor will give priority to the person above him.
"Your wife did a great job." After a moment's thought, he added, "I've also heard about the human traffickers. They deserve a reward, but Yu County is a small place after all. Unpleasant rumors are bound to spread. Besides, there's no guarantee there won't be accomplices left out who could bring disaster upon themselves. So, it's best to keep it secret."
Fu Wei responded, "Your Excellency has made thorough considerations. I share the same idea."
Magistrate Zhou continued, "Take what the prefect Shen has awarded you. Take one hundred taels from the three hundred taels and divide it among your companions. Give fifty taels to your elder brother, and leave fifty taels for the rest of the yamen as rewards."
Fu Weiying: "I will follow your arrangements."
Magistrate Zhou watched him standing, his eyes falling on his legs, and asked casually, "Are you planning to pretend to be a cripple for the rest of your life?"
Fu Wei replied truthfully, "I took medicine in advance when I encountered danger in the hunting grounds. My legs are paralyzed. I am too passive to face the killer. It is dangerous anyway. I don't plan to continue the performance."
After hearing this, County Magistrate Zhou thought for a while. If Fu Wei recovered his legs, it would be beneficial to him and would make things much more efficient for him. However, it would be extremely dangerous for Fu Wei.
After thinking for a moment, Magistrate Zhou said truthfully, "There's something I need to tell you. When you were at the county seat, someone came to Yongxi Hall and complained that someone was paralyzed by a massage. They brought the case directly to me."
Yongxi Hall was Ah Ying's hard work. Fu Wei's heart suddenly tightened: "What about now?"
County Magistrate Zhou smiled and said, "I'm not a freeloader, so I cleared the name of Yongxi Hall. However, at the beginning, that family insisted that they wanted to seize the dowry of my newly widowed sister-in-law and extort some money from her."
"But the newly widowed sister-in-law's husband has been ill for years, and she has a lover outside. Her dowry has already been subsidized. This statement is completely unreasonable. With a little torture, we can get the truth out of them."
After Fu Wei thought about it for a moment, he knew what was going on.
"Did someone instruct you?"
Magistrate Zhou nodded and said, "The uncle of that family is a gambler. He owed gambling debts and was unable to repay them. He was bribed with fifty taels of silver to frame Yongxi Hall. As for the identity of that person, he didn't know it either. The people I sent to investigate have come to no avail."
At this point, County Magistrate Zhou looked at Fu Wei and said, "It couldn't be the Yu County clinic. As for who ordered this, you can figure it out yourself."
County Magistrate Zhou did not expose it either.
Fu Wei took his leave and when he came out of the study, he was stopped by Qian Muzuo and talked for a while. When he left the county government office and returned home, it was already midnight.
The two younger ones couldn't hold on any longer and went to bed early. Mrs. Luo was waiting for her youngest son to come back.
After hearing the noise outside, he glanced at his granddaughter and walked out of the house.
After talking for a while outside the house, we went back to rest.
After the sister-in-law brought the warm food in the pot to the table, she went back to the kitchen, poured the medicine into a bowl, brought it into the house, and delivered it to her husband.
When boiling the medicine, it was said to be a medicine for wind and cold.
Wen Xing believed it at first, but after all, she had been helping out in the clinic for so long that she could more or less tell the symptoms of a cold. However, her husband didn't even cough, and his voice didn't change at all.
After all, they have been married for many years. Even without any words, they can tell from the slightest body movement or a glance that the other person may be hiding something.
Seeing his wife busy outside, Fu Zhen wanted to give her medicine first to prevent her from discovering the injuries on her body.
As he was taking off his coat, the door was suddenly opened from the outside, and he hurriedly put his clothes on.
Wen Xing saw her husband getting dressed and knew what he was hiding. She pretended to be calm as she walked over to him with the medicine in her hand and said softly, "You've been tired from the journey. Drink the medicine while it's hot and get some rest."
Fu Zhen took the hot medicine, put it to his mouth and drank it in one gulp.
Although the medicine was hot, it was still bearable for Fu Zhen.
After drinking the medicine, he handed the empty bowl to his wife and watched her turn around and put the bowl on the table without asking how his cold was. He knew in his heart that she saw through him.
Wen Xingcai put down the bowl when she was enveloped by a tall figure and was hugged into his hard chest in the next moment.
Fu Zhen's voice was already deep: "I'm fine."
Wen Xing nodded, turned around and put her arms around her husband's waist, without asking any further questions.
In the small kitchen, Fu Wei and his wife sat around a small table.
Yu Ying heard from her sister-in-law about the blackmail incident at Yongxi Hall. Although she had gotten through it safely, she still felt uncomfortable.
When Fu Wei came back, he saw that she looked tired and not very well. Looking at the expressions of others, he knew that they must have known about the Yongxi Hall incident.
Mentioning this, Fu Wei said helplessly, "If I'm not mistaken, it must be Wuling County that took action."
Yu Ying heard about the magistrate's trial process from her sister-in-law. After thinking about it for a while, she also suspected Wuling County.
Fu Wei placed his hand over Yu Ying's, raised his dark eyes and looked at her, his voice slow and heavy: "Perhaps there will be more hardships waiting for us in the future."
Yu Ying's voice was gentle but firm: "If there are thousands of mountains and rivers blocking the way, then when we encounter a mountain, we will build a road, and when we encounter water, we will build a boat."
Fu Wei looked at Yu Ying, who was as tough as ever, the corners of his lips slowly rose and a smile appeared in his eyes.
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