Chapter 194
On the day of Zhou Erlang and Fu Wei's celebration banquet, the prefect of Wuling came to Yuzhang in person. Was he here to congratulate them?
How is that possible?
Yu Ying secretly looked at the expressionless Prince Zhou and the Duke's wife who always had a smile on her face.
Huo Shanrong's appearance at the celebration banquet, was this discussed with them?
On the night Fu Wei returned, the couple had guessed that Huo Shanrong would appear at the celebration banquet, and now it was exactly as they expected.
Sect Leader Zhou frowned slightly and glanced at his eldest son who was busy drinking.
When he learned that his eldest son and his brother-in-law had taken the initiative to form an alliance with Wuling, he angrily scolded his eldest son.
The most important words are that as long as he, the father, is still alive, it is not his turn to make the decision. Even after his father passes away a hundred years later, he may not be the one to make the decision.
This is not just a rant.
The Yue family interfered too much. Although his son had some talent, he was not decisive and strong enough. Sooner or later, his mother and his maternal clan would strip him of his power and turn him into a puppet.
After making up his mind, he shifted his gaze to Fu Wei and said casually, "Fu Yi, Cao Shi, lead a group of palace soldiers to meet this prefect Huo."
Fu Wei put down the wine cup, stood up and bowed: "Yes."
Everyone quietly began to want to watch the show.
If Fu Wei were to go to greet him, it would not be Fu Wei who would be embarrassed, but the prefect Huo.
If they took him seriously enough, it would be either the Crown Prince or the Second Young Master who would go to welcome him, or at the very least, it would be the Minister of Yuzhang, and definitely not Fu Wei, who was once the adopted son of the Grand Administrator Huo.
The alliance with Wuling is definitely not as simple as it seems.
It is clear who Sect Leader Zhou will choose.
The alliance with Wuling was destined to break up.
Prince Zhou raised his gaze and looked straight at Fu Wei, with a hint of sinisterness in his eyes.
*
Yuzhang city gate.
Outside the city gate and inside the city gate, two people looked at each other, neither of them showing any expression.
Fu Wei did not dismount, but remained on horseback, holding the whip with a cold expression as he bowed and said, "The Duke of the County sent me to meet the Magistrate Huo."
Magistrate Huo raised his eyebrows and said, "Thank you for your help."
The fifth boss, who came with Fu Wei, took a look at the expressions of the two men and thought to himself that they were both pretending.
The fifth boss wanted to see what the scene would be like when the two met, but it turned out that each one was calmer than the other.
They even tacitly pretended to be unfamiliar strangers, which was not very interesting.
But then his eyes fell on the person behind Huo Shanrong.
He was somewhat similar to Huo Shanrong, staring at Fu Wei with hatred.
After a little guess, the fifth boss guessed who this person was.
Isn't this the Huo Shi who exchanged identities with Fu Wei for twenty years?
The fifth boss had no interest in what it was called and looked lazy.
Huo Shanrong led a flag and dozens of people into the city.
From the city gate to the Duke's Mansion, no one from either side spoke, and it was very quiet.
But beneath this quietness, there is a calm like a storm.
It took about half an hour to finally arrive at the Duke's Mansion.
The celebration banquet remains the same.
But everyone's eyes were on Huo Shanrong and Fu Wei.
Huo Shanrong led Huo Minzhi, followed by several people, each holding two boxes.
One person held a square box, and the other two carried a box that was taller than an adult man.
This was the first time Yu Ying met Huo Minzhi, who had exchanged lives with Fu Wei for twenty years.
He was just an unrelated person, so she didn't have any complicated feelings about him. But it was different for Luo.
Yu Ying couldn't help but turn her head to look at her mother-in-law.
Luo's expression was dazed for a moment, he sighed helplessly, and then looked away.
Huo Shanrong stopped a few feet away from the seat of Master Zhou, bowed briefly, and said, "Wuling Huo Shanrong greets the Duke."
Sect Leader Zhou asked someone to look for a seat, then asked, "I wonder why Governor Huo came to Yuzhang?"
Huo Shanrong smiled and said, "I heard that the Duke of the County has taken Lingnan and the three counties of Lingling, Guiyang, and Nankang. He has also recently established friendly relations with Pengcheng and is about to form an alliance. I came here to congratulate you."
As he spoke, he looked at the person holding the thing next to him.
The guard beside him walked to the long box and opened it.
It is a shiny silver spear with a cold glow. For a military general, it is a valuable weapon.
The eyes of the generals present lit up when they saw the spear.
Huo Shanrong, however, looked at Fu Wei, his smile filled with a hint of kindness. "This is Hanxue, the spear Jinzhi has been using since he was fifteen. It's priceless. I heard he made a great contribution, and since we're having a celebration banquet, I personally sent it here to congratulate him."
Hanxue is also a famous weapon among these weapons.
Yu Ying looked at the spear, then at Fu Wei.
Everyone also looked at Fu Wei.
Fu Wei only glanced at the spear in the box and did not linger any longer, as if he had no attachment to the spear at all.
"No reward without merit. I work for the Duke of the County, but I haven't done anything for Wuling. I won't accept this priceless snow."
After he finished speaking, he added, "Also, please ask Governor Huo to call me Fu Wei."
The atmosphere at the banquet was frozen for a moment.
Huo Shanrong's expression didn't change at all. "Since this spear has been delivered, I don't plan to take it back. If Sect Master Zhou doesn't mind, please keep it."
Sect Leader Zhou glanced at the spear, seemingly indifferent, and said, "Guests have brought gifts here, so it's not right for them to take them back."
Huo Shanrong bowed slightly and then said, "I'm here to congratulate you, but I'm also here to apologize."
When Sect Leader Zhou heard the word "apology," he picked up a cup of wine, took a sip, and then shook it slowly in his hand. He looked at him and said slowly, "Apologize? I don't even know what Magistrate Huo did wrong that I have to apologize?"
Huo Shanrong stood up from his seat and walked back to where he had just stood, followed by an attendant holding another box.
"On this trip to Pengcheng, I originally intended to send my most trusted aides to help, but I didn't expect them to disobey my orders and repeatedly obstruct the alliance between Yuzhang and Pengcheng, even intercepting Yuzhang's men outside the city. That's why I'm here today to apologize."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and the person behind him opened the box.
Some people stood up curiously and looked into the box. When they saw that it was a human head, some were surprised and some turned pale.
The women and children were held down and not allowed to look.
Soon, the box closed.
Huo Shanrong said, "The head of the person who intercepted the vehicle, and the apology of the person who orchestrated it."
After saying that, he glanced at Huo Minzhi coldly.
Huo Minzhi looked haggard and thin, without any spirit at all, and even his eyes revealed a hint of fear for his biological father.
Huo Minzhi looked very different from the last time Fu Wei saw him, as if he had experienced something terrible.
When Huo Minzhi came out, there was a lot of discussion.
He knelt tremblingly before Sect Master Zhou, his expression revealing a sense of timidity. "Yes, I, I was jealous and resentful of Fu Wei, so I bribed Xu and his staff to prevent Fu Wei from having a chance to rise to prominence. I then had Xu's staff destroy Pengcheng and stop Fu Wei at all costs, even to kill him."
At the end of the speech, his voice was trembling: "I planned all of this, please forgive me, Lord..."
When the confession was made, everyone sighed.
But some people don't believe it.
Is this not a scapegoat being pushed out?
"What does it matter if I forgive you? What does it matter if I don't forgive you?" Sect Master Zhou said this while looking at Huo Shanrong.
"I wonder what the Duke wants?" Huo Shanrong asked.
Sect Leader Zhou's gaze fell on the timid young man and said, "Your son almost caused Yuzhang's defeat in Pengcheng and nearly killed my most capable advisor. This doesn't seem to be how we should calculate this."
Huo Shanrong was silent for a moment, and to everyone's surprise, he suddenly drew the knife from his waist.
The moment he drew his sword, the guards at the banquet also drew their weapons and stood on guard almost instantly, but Huo Shanrong's sword fell directly on Huo Minzhi's neck.
A stream of blood spurted out, and although Huo Min's head did not separate from her body, she fell into a pool of blood.
Screams and children's cries rang out at the banquet at the same time.
Yu Ying turned around and covered her mother-in-law's eyes, whispering, "Mother, don't look."
Luo's body stiffened, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Is he...dead?"
Yu Ying was silent.
Luo closed her eyes, tears trickling down her cheeks, but she smiled bitterly and said, "This is retribution."
Yu Ying and Fu Wei looked at each other, both feeling helpless.
Huo Shanrong is indeed extremely cruel.
Huo Shanrong, the dramatic figure, took a deep breath, his eyes red and moist, his voice unsteady, and his hand holding the knife trembling: "In this case, Min's death is not a pity."
What a drama of sacrificing one's own relatives for the sake of justice.
Sect Leader Zhou looked at the man lying in a pool of blood in silence.
Huo Shanrong is truly cruel and ruthless.
No matter if they are his biological children or raised by his side, he will cruelly abandon them if they stand in his way.
Sect Leader Zhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Send the women and children away."
The women left the banquet with their children, but the wife of the Duke of Mount Deer stayed and remained calm and composed.
Yu Ying did not leave either, but asked her sister-in-law to help her mother-in-law away.
Most of the people at the banquet had left. Sect Leader Zhou glanced at the corpses, then at his wife and son.
The Lady of the County Duke looked at her husband calmly, then looked at her son who was only focused on drinking. She felt a little annoyed at his useless appearance.
She was the only one who spoke up now: "My Lord, in order to give Yuzhang an explanation, the Magistrate Huo was willing to sacrifice his own family for the greater good. Let's not pursue the past any further."
Sect Leader Zhou withdrew his gaze and looked at Huo Shanrong.
After a few breaths, he spoke: "I am really surprised that Magistrate Huo would sacrifice his own family for the sake of justice today."
Huo Shanrong seemed to be forcing himself to hide his grief. "Minzhi's mistakes can only be atoneed with death. As his father, I cannot escape the blame either. When I help the Duke achieve his great cause, I will accept whatever punishment he may."
Sect Leader Zhou held the wine cup in his hand and remained silent for a moment before saying quietly, "Yuzhang may not be so lucky as to form an alliance with Wuling."
As soon as these words came out, Governor Huo's expression changed slightly.
Even the Duke's wife's expression changed. She turned to look at her husband and said, "Duke, please think twice. Wuling has the advantage in both military strength and terrain. With Wuling's help, we will be even more powerful."
Sect Leader Zhou ignored his wife's words and put down his wine cup. He looked at Huo Shanrong with a cold gaze, "Huo Shanrong, there are some things that don't need to be exposed. We both know it. You think I want to borrow Wuling's troops, so I won't expose you."
"I didn't want to break off relations with you. You murdered your son in public today only to force me to back down." Sect Master Zhou's face darkened. "But it's precisely because of this that I despise you. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but you're even more vicious than that tiger. I'm afraid you'll stab me in the future."
As soon as Sect Leader Zhou finished speaking, the banquet became eerily quiet. Even the wife of the Duke of County did not dare to speak.
Amidst the silence, a voice suddenly came from the archway at the back: "After all, this isn't the first time that Governor Huo has betrayed someone."
As soon as these words were spoken, a man walked in from the archway, and everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
Huo Shanrong also turned around, and when he saw the man, his expression suddenly changed, and all the sadness disappeared.
"Mo Geng, how could it be you?!"
Fu Wei was also surprised by Uncle Mo's appearance.
Uncle Mo shouldn't be in Lingnan at this time, so when did he come to Yuzhang?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
