One hundred and fifty-two
As Huo Shanrong expected, his useless legitimate son really found a killer in Yuzhang to kill Fu Wei.
Huo Minzhi returned to the prefect's mansion two years ago. He was in disguise at first, but later he mixed with the playboys of Wuling County and secretly indulged in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling.
The money given by the prefectural government was not enough for him to spend lavishly, so he accepted a lot of money privately.
Of course, I can afford the money to hire a killer.
During these two years, although the people his father arranged to be around him could not be moved, it was enough time for Huo Minzhi to cultivate one or two confidants.
To find a killer, one must let his confidants do it.
Yuzhang was not Wuling County after all, and it took several days of searching before we found the person.
All kinds of people are running through the halls and alleys, hiding in extremely deep places.
Huo Minzhi asked doubtfully, "Are those people reliable? They won't be as unreliable as the ones we found before, right?"
I paid five hundred taels to buy Fu Wei's broken legs, but not only did he lose his legs, he didn't even lose a single hair!
The subordinates quickly responded, "Those are soldiers who have killed people in battle with real weapons. They were expelled from the army because of mistakes. They have been doing some work as guards and escorts in the alleys. They took on this killing business because they wanted to make some money to return to the countryside."
"Which military camp were you driven out of?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"I asked, but they said this murder business is a one-size-fits-all deal. For the safety of both the buyer and the seller, they don't ask about each other's identities. Even if the matter is exposed later, they won't be able to confess if they are arrested. Come on."
Hearing this, Huo Minzhi couldn't help but smile: "That sounds reliable, let them do it."
"They want a hundred ounces of gold. They don't want silver, they want gold because it's easy to carry."
"They also said that since human lives were involved, it might cause the death of their people, so the deposit was 50%, and the remaining 50% would be collected after the deal was completed. If it wasn't successful, it wouldn't be refunded."
Huo Minzhi didn't know what the rules were in this murder business, but he was still willing to spend fifty taels of gold.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around to get three pieces of gold, wrapped them in cloth and handed them to his subordinates: "State your requirements clearly. You want Fu Wei to die as miserably as possible. Disfigure his face, cripple his legs and feet, and finally take his life."
After a pause, he added, "Cut off his tongue so he won't complain in Hades."
The subordinate thought this was too harsh, but he said in a flattering way: "So what if he complains? He owes you this anyway."
"Yes, this is what he owes me!" Huo Minzhi sneered.
As long as he killed Fu Wei, even if his father knew it was him, it would be useless. He couldn't let his biological son pay for his life with an adopted son. Even if he was whipped again, it would be worth it.
Just as his men were about to leave, Huo Minzhi reminded them, "Go keep an eye on Magistrate Zhou. Wait until Fu Wei and Magistrate Zhou are separated before taking any action. After all, no matter how lowly a magistrate's rank is, he is still an official appointed by the imperial court and a member of the Yuzhang Zhou family."
Upon hearing this, the subordinate felt troubled, but he also knew that if he assassinated an imperial official, he would be going against the imperial court, and he would not dare to wade into such muddy water even if he had ten times the courage.
But soon, the opportunity came.
Huo Minzhi's men found out that after the seventh day after the death of Zhou's grandfather, County Magistrate Zhou went to Yanshan outside Yuzhang City to burn incense for his biological mother before returning to Lingnan.
County Magistrate Zhou's biological mother was a concubine and was not allowed to be buried in the Zhou family's ancestral tomb. Her tablet was enshrined in a temple in Yanshan.
After all, she is my biological mother and she has not returned home for several years. It is reasonable for me to burn a stick of incense for her. Even if the sect leader knows about it, he will just scold her a few words, and others can't say anything.
Huo Minzhi's men had discussed with the killer that they would be responsible for luring Fu Wei out of the Zhou family and preventing him from leaving the city with County Magistrate Zhou, and then take action.
*
On the second day after the seventh day after Old Master Zhou's death, the white cloth and white lanterns in the mansion were taken down, but the people in the mansion were still dressed in plain and elegant clothes.
Fu Wei's clothes are all in plain and elegant colors, so he doesn't have to worry about his outfit.
In the morning, Fu Wei tied his hair with a plain cloth in the house and then began to wash.
At this time, Luo Zhubu pushed the door open with a tray of breakfast in his hand.
Fu Wei wiped the water stains from his hands with a dry handkerchief, glanced at the breakfast, and was slightly surprised: "So rich?"
Egg cake, osmanthus cake, glutinous rice cake, and buns.
Since the old man passed away, the Zhou family has been eating simple vegetarian meals for the past seven or eight days. Their breakfast consists of steamed buns and white rice porridge with pickled vegetables. Today's meal was unusually rich.
Luo Zhubu placed the breakfast on the table and said with a smile, "Only Mr. Fu has such a rich meal."
Fu Wei raised his eyebrows slightly, hung the towel on the washstand, turned around and asked, "Why?"
Luo Zhubu: "It was brought by the maid of the Zhou Mansion. She said that her daughter had specially ordered the kitchen to make it, specifically for Mr. Fu."
At this point, Luo Zhubu continued, "This courtyard is remote and is inhabited by older men, but these maids have been passing by here every day these days, and the bold ones have even started asking about you."
Fu Wei sat down and poured a cup of hot tea with an indifferent expression, as if the things that Luo Zhubu said had nothing to do with him.
Luo Zhubu thought of the appearance of the maids in the Zhou family. Even the maids who served tea and water were very smart and clever. He couldn't help but get nervous.
He said with a serious expression, "Madam Yu is so capable and kindhearted, and she is also the benefactor of Yu County. Mr. Fu, you must control yourself and not be dazzled by the beautiful women in the Zhou Mansion."
Fu Wei, who was about to drink tea, almost spit out the tea when he heard what Luo Zhubu said, even though he tried to remain calm.
He looked at Luo Zhubu helplessly.
"You live in the same room with me, when have you ever seen me pay attention to them?"
Luo Zhubu shook his head: "Not really."
Fu Wei: "No matter how good other women are, no matter how beautiful they are, what does it have to do with me?" Yi smiled: "I only have one wife."
Luo Zhubu smiled, then glanced at the breakfast on the table and asked, "Mr. Fu, are you ready for breakfast?"
Fu Wei: "Sending it back will only lead to gossip. You might as well bring it out to serve as a snack for everyone."
Luo Zhubu thought that such a small amount of food was not enough for a big guy to fill his stomach, but he really didn't want Fu Wei to eat the food brought by the woman next to him.
Not to mention anything else, just say that Mr. Fu is handsome and has an extraordinary demeanor. I wonder how many girls are secretly attracted to him.
Since leaving Yu County, everyone who came with the magistrate has been helping Madam Yu keep an eye on Mr. Fu.
Luo Zhubu took the breakfast out of the house.
As soon as it was brought out, everyone's eyes glanced at the tray, and when they saw that the breakfast on the tray was untouched, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Very good, Mr. Fu is very self-aware.
Luo Zhubu called over a few younger constables. At their age, they were very greedy, so he let them take the breakfast and share it.
After he took a piece of cake and ate it, he saw the servant from Zhou's residence enter the courtyard. Luo Zhubu came forward and asked, "What's the matter?"
The servant said, "Someone came to the Zhou residence and said he was an old acquaintance of Mr. Fu from Wuling County. He heard that Mr. Fu had arrived in Yuzhang, so he came here specifically to tell him something important. He asked Mr. Fu to meet at Yong'an Teahouse at 9:00 PM."
Luo Zhubu nodded and said, "Thank you for letting me know. I will pass it on to Mr. Fu."
After the servant finished speaking, he turned and left. Luo Zhubu was silent for a moment, then turned and went back into the house.
Fu Wei was still drinking tea at the table, so he recounted what the servant had just said.
Fu Wei put down the cup and said calmly, "Okay, I understand."
"Mr. Fu, are you going?" asked Luo Zhubu with a frown.
Fu Wei smiled and said, "When an old friend comes to visit, of course I have to go. I'll leave it to Luo Zhubu to take care of the adults' affairs."
Luo Zhubu replied: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu, the carriage has been arranged and we will leave the city at the end of the morning hour."
Fu Wei filled his own cup with tea, turned it over, poured in the steaming hot tea, and said leisurely, "There's still time. Secretary Luo, why not have a couple of cups of tea to kill time?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Zhubu lifted his robe and sat down. After thanking him, he took a sip of tea and said, "Although the Zhou family's food is not to my taste, this tea is sweet and has a light floral fragrance. It is quite elegant."
Fu Wei pursed his lips and smiled: "My wife prepared it for me. If Luo Zhubu likes it, I will ask her to prepare more after we return to Yu County."
Luo Zhubu thought of Mr. Fu's half-cart of luggage and sighed, "Madam Yu is so well prepared. She's prepared everything for Mr. Fu, even several kinds of medicine. Besides, the weather in Yuzhang is completely different from Yu County. Seven or eight of us have caught a cold. It's all thanks to Madam Yu's foresight to prepare a large bag of cold medicine. Otherwise, we would have to ask others for the location of the clinic."
Fu Wei was intelligent, and his wife was a doctor, so he learned a few things from her, and naturally he also learned some skills in treating colds. It just so happened that Yu Ying had prepared some cold medicine, so he could just boil it and drink it as long as it was suitable for the condition.
After taking two doses of medicine, the cold was almost gone.
After drinking tea for a while, the breakfast prepared by the Zhou Mansion’s kitchen was delivered.
After breakfast, Luo Zhubu got up and went out.
When it was almost time, Fu Wei also got up and left the house.
*
Noon, Zhou's house.
The Zhou family patriarch took the list of people who came to pay their respects to Old Master Zhou and read through it. When he saw the name of the Wuling County Governor, he seemed to remember something and looked up at the steward. "Wasn't there a rumor in Wuling County a couple of years ago that the son of Governor Huo was taken away by mistake?"
The steward nodded and said, "It is true. The legitimate son who was replaced was the young man who accompanied Magistrate Huo to pay his respects to the old Duke."
Sect Leader Zhou frowned slightly and said, "I heard that the second brother used someone, and it seems to be the other person who was taken away by mistake."
"I checked, and it's the most outstanding young man who came back with the Second Master."
Sect Master Zhou sneered: "He dares to use it. He has been in Yu County for a few years, but he still hasn't learned to keep a low profile."
The steward did not belittle his master, but only said: "Second Master must have weighed the pros and cons before daring to use him."
"If you had weighed the pros and cons, you would not have embezzled military funds to help the people." When he said this, Sect Leader Zhou's face darkened.
Helping the people is a good thing, but using military funds to help the people is a serious crime and extremely foolish, so he will punish him severely.
The army of one place is under the control of the people of one place. If the military pay is not in place, no matter what mistakes the soldiers make, how can they protect the people of one place?
The steward said, "It's been four years since this happened. Will the Sect Master arrange for the Second Master to return?"
Sect Leader Zhou pressed the roster onto the table. "I originally wanted to keep him in that remote village for a few more years to hone his character, but now I'm afraid I'll have to bring him back sooner rather than later."
This winter is exceptionally cold. In previous years, countless people died of freezing or starvation, not to mention the increased taxes.
Spies reported that during the winter, many people froze to death or starved to death in the northernmost counties, which led to many civil unrests. Although there were suppression measures, it was not known how long the suppression would last.
Under such heavy pressure, there may be a great resistance.
The imperial court was already wary of the Yuzhang Zhou family's control of military power, so it had not yet sent the decree to confer the title of Duke of Yuzhang on him.
This is just delaying. I'm afraid the decree will only arrive when there is a real major disturbance, and then the Zhou family will be left to defend against the enemy.
The second brother is very capable in the army, so he will be transferred back.
The steward was good at observing people's expressions. Seeing that his master was wavering in his support for the Second Master, he immediately asked, "Second Master will be returning to Lingnan the day after tomorrow. Is there anything we should prepare for him to take back with him?"
"Just prepare some things for your brothers and sisters. There's no need to prepare anything else for him."
The steward nodded and said, "I'll have someone take care of it right now."
Just as I was about to leave the study, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Sect Leader Zhou looked outside the study and asked, "What's going on?"
The guard's voice came from outside: "Reporting to the Sect Master, the Second Master was attacked and injured!"
Sect Leader Zhou frowned suddenly and looked at the steward.
The steward understood, quickly opened the study door, and asked the guard, "What's going on?"
The guard replied, "Today, the Second Master was reminiscing with friends in a teahouse. Seven or eight assassins appeared out of nowhere and attacked him as soon as they saw him."
Sect Leader Zhou frowned even more tightly and asked in a deep voice, "How is your injury?"
"The person was brought back with some minor injuries, and the arm injury was particularly serious."
Sect Leader Zhou stood up and walked out of the study: "Looking for a doctor?"
"I've sent someone out to look for him. Now Mr. Fu is stitching up Second Master's arm."
Afraid that the master didn't know who Fu Muzhao was, the steward explained, "He's the Second Master's staff."
Hearing the staff member stitching, Sect Leader Zhou's face darkened and he spoke angrily, "How can a mere staff member stitch anything? He dares to show off his meager skills! If Second Brother's hand is crippled because of him, how can he bear the consequences?"
Sect Leader Zhou walked out of the yard and strode straight towards the yard where the second brother had lived before.
The steward hurriedly said, "Master, the Second Master lives in Luoying Courtyard."
The area around Luoying Courtyard is mostly where the families of the managers live.
Sect Leader Zhou paused and asked sullenly, "Who arranged this?"
The steward bowed his head and replied, "It was arranged by the steward on the prince's side."
Sect Leader Zhou frowned, said nothing, then changed direction and walked towards Luoying Courtyard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com