One hundred and fifty-seven
Fu Wei followed the steward all the way to Qingyu Courtyard where the Zhou family's eldest son lived.
As soon as you enter the courtyard, you will see elegant pavilions and waterside terraces, graceful stone scenery, and gurgling water. The eldest son of the Zhou family is sitting in the pavilion beside the lake.
When Fu Wei, dressed in plain clothes and a short cloak with a fur collar, walked to the front of the pavilion, Prince Zhou turned his head and looked out from the pavilion. Fu Wei raised his hand and saluted.
Prince Zhou smiled and waved, "Come in."
Fu Wei entered the pavilion, and Prince Zhou asked someone to serve tea.
The beautiful maid walked to Fu Wei's side and bent down to pour tea. A scent of flowers wafted into his nose.
It had been snowing in Yuzhang not long ago, and it was even colder now, but the beautiful maid was wearing a thin jacket and skirt that showed off her figure. It seemed that there was some other purpose for this outfit.
To win people over, all you need is power, wealth, and beauty.
Fu Wei's gaze didn't even scrutinize him at all.
"I heard that my second brother was assassinated at the Yong'an Teahouse yesterday. How is he now?"
Fu Weiying said: "Your Excellency's injury is only in the arm, there is no need to worry about your life."
"Why did an assassination suddenly happen out of nowhere? Did your master offend someone in Cangwu?"
"Your Excellency is a benevolent official and has never offended anyone."
"That's strange. I just came back to attend a funeral, so why did I suddenly provoke a killer?"
Fu Wei smiled and said, "If you knew, you wouldn't be assassinated."
"I heard that Second Brother originally went to Yanshan to burn incense, and Fu Langjun didn't go with him. But I heard from the servants in the mansion that someone came looking for Fu Langjun yesterday morning and arranged to meet at Yong'an Teahouse to discuss important matters. But it was Fu Langjun who should have appeared in the Shanzi Room, but it was Second Brother who showed up. Why is that?"
Fu Wei picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip of water.
Prince Zhou glanced at his evasive drinking gesture, raised the corners of his lips slightly, and asked in an ambiguous tone, "Are those assassins targeting Second Brother, or... are they targeting Lord Fu?"
Fu Wei put down his teacup and asked, "Why do you say that, Prince Zhou?"
Prince Zhou smiled and said, "I heard some interesting things a while ago. Last August or September, a killer in Cangwu received a bounty of 500 taels to buy off Mr. Fu's legs. This bounty came from Wuling County. The adopted son has a high bed and soft pillows, fine clothes and delicious food, but his own son has no clothes to keep warm. Naturally, he is resentful."
"I heard that Magistrate Huo came to offer condolences and brought his legitimate son with him. On the day of the condolence, someone saw Mr. Fu meeting Magistrate Huo. Perhaps the legitimate son was so angry that he committed suicide."
Fu Wei did not refute, but only said ambiguously: "Perhaps it is possible that this is the case."
Seeing that he didn't refute, Zhou Shizi continued, "It's just that I can't understand why my second brother appeared in the teahouse. Can Fu Langjun explain this to me?"
Fu Wei stood up and bowed, "I am doing errands for you, my Lord. I'm sorry I can't tell you. I hope your Highness will understand."
Prince Zhou shrugged and said indifferently, "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."
"However, when I invited Mr. Fu to work for me that day, I wasn't joking. I was serious. Being my retainer, you'd get fifty taels a month and a house. Maybe one day you could even become a high-ranking official. This is much better than being a small-time county magistrate's staff member, earning a few hundred wen a month and having no future."
Fu Wei showed a look of regret: "Your Highness, I am indeed tempted by what you said, but Your Highness has been very kind to me and helped me escape danger when someone hired a killer to break my leg. If I leave the Master, I would be ungrateful. I'm afraid Your Highness wouldn't dare to use me."
Prince Zhou: "If you dare to come, I dare to use you. Think carefully before returning to Cangwu. If you are willing, I can naturally ask my second brother to let you come over. As for any favors or not, why take it so seriously."
Fu Wei: "I will seriously consider what Prince Zhou said, but I may disappoint you."
"If you really don't want to, I naturally can't force you."
Fu Wei bowed and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."
"I'll take my leave now."
Prince Zhou waved his hand.
Fu Wei exited the pavilion and turned to leave.
Watching Fu Wei's departing back, Prince Zhou dismissed the extra servants from the pavilion. He raised his hand and touched his temple. After a long moment of contemplation, he asked the steward beside him, "The man who killed Fu Wei was sent by the eldest son of the Huo family, but who do you think was the person who met my second brother that day? Could it really be who I think it was? And why did he appear in the teahouse with Fu Wei?"
The steward asked, "Could it be that Mr. Fu deliberately arranged for someone to come to the Zhou residence, claiming to have important matters to discuss at the Yong'an Teahouse, in order to deceive others. In fact, it was the Second Master who went to see that person, but he had been secretly following the assassin and thought that Mr. Fu was alone, so he took action?"
Prince Zhou tapped the table in thought.
While he was pondering, someone came hurriedly to report: "Sir, I just got the news that the Second Master will stay in Yuzhang for twenty days, and the clan leader has assigned the Twelve Guards to the Second Master."
Prince Zhou frowned and had a bad feeling in his heart.
Is my father suspicious about the embezzlement of military funds? So he asked Zhou Yi to stay and sent his personal guards to help him investigate?
"My Lord, what if the person the Second Master met is really that Captain Wu? What should we do?"
Prince Zhou glanced at him calmly: "Why are you panicking? What if he saw him? What evidence can he produce?"
Maybe there is evidence.
After pondering for a while, his eyes suddenly darkened: "Secretly arrange for someone to keep an eye on them. If it really is Captain Wu, don't let him have the chance to appear in front of father."
The implication is to kill to silence the witness.
*
Fu Wei went to find County Magistrate Zhou.
The magistrate's wife, Mrs. Mo, was trying to sow discord between them and applying medicine to magistrate Zhou.
When Fu Wei came, County Magistrate Zhou asked his wife to go out first and let Fu Wei come to apply medicine to him.
"What did you say to Governor Huo?" County Magistrate Zhou was a little curious.
Fu Wei bandaged County Magistrate Zhou's arm and replied casually, "Prefect Huo wants me to return to the Huo family as his son-in-law."
County Magistrate Zhou frowned, "This proposal from Magistrate Huo makes me feel uncomfortable and nauseous."
Fu Wei: "Grandmaster Huo said this on purpose to annoy me."
Just as Magistrate Zhou was about to say something, Fu Wei added, "I just came out of the hall and was invited to the Qingyu Courtyard by the Crown Prince's men."
County Magistrate Zhou looked up at him and asked, "He asked you to stay in Yuzhang and work for him?"
"That's one thing. Secondly, it also proves the false accusation against you. The prince is very likely involved."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhou straightened his back and sat up straight, frowning at him and asking, "Do you have any evidence?"
After Fu Wei bandaged the wound on County Magistrate Zhou's arm, he took two steps back and replied, "The lord met with a mysterious man and was assassinated. When the clan leader learned about it, he subconsciously suspected that it was the truth of what happened back then. Only the mastermind would be suspicious about who was the assassinated person."
County Magistrate Zhou: "You mean, the prince knows that Huo Minzhi hired someone to kill you?"
Fu Wei nodded. "Although I guessed it, I didn't know that I was the one who instigated the assassination. I also didn't know who the person was that you met with, or why." He paused. "But you'll soon believe that you're meeting with a key witness in the case of embezzlement of military funds."
"Is it because father agreed to keep me in Yuzhang and transfer the Twelve Guards to me?"
Fu Wei nodded and replied, "That's right."
Magistrate Zhou frowned and thought for a moment: "If it was really done by my third brother, would he really fall for it?"
Upon hearing that the person behind the scenes might be the prince, County Magistrate Zhou did not seem surprised at all. He seemed to have some doubts, so he quickly accepted it.
Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then said, "If there were no Wu Xiaowei, he might not be fooled. But as long as Wu Xiaowei is there, and the old case is reopened, and the Lord comes to investigate personally, he will be fooled."
Fu Wei paused, his eyes showing a bit more confidence: "The fact that the Sect Master allowed you to investigate means that he is convinced that there is a suspicion of misappropriation of military funds. This also means that if you can't find out, the Sect Master will secretly send people to investigate thoroughly."
"A careful investigation will definitely reveal some clues. The Crown Prince will also think of this possibility. Then, we must not let the Sect Master find out about him. We will definitely destroy all the evidence pointing to him."
"The Crown Prince asked me to go there today because he was suspicious. When he heard that you stayed in Yuzhang and that the clan leader assigned you twelve guards, he knew that you stayed in Yuzhang to investigate what happened back then. He then concluded that the person you met was the military lieutenant. He would definitely send someone to secretly watch him and take action once he was sure it was the military lieutenant."
"As long as the prince takes action, the injustice of the false accusation against you will be redressed."
Hearing the word "exoneration", County Magistrate Zhou lowered his eyes and looked at his bandaged arm. He was not a very upright person, but he was also an upright person. Naturally, he did not want to bear the stigma of embezzling military funds.
*
After taking a day's rest, County Magistrate Zhou led the yamen runners and twelve guards out of the mansion to investigate the next day.
He secretly ordered people to search Yuzhang City with the portrait of Captain Wu. He also searched for the people who had guarded the military pay and those who had received the pay, and questioned them in detail about the disappearance of the military pay.
After Fu Wei sent someone to deliver the letter back to Yu County, he accompanied County Magistrate Zhou every day, going out early and returning late.
It was not until the evening of the eighth day when he returned from outside the mansion that the housekeeper of Zhou's mansion delivered the letter to him.
"Mr. Fu Lang, there is a package for you this morning." As he said this, he handed him the letter.
Fu Wei took the package, looked at it, and asked, "Do you know where it came from?"
The steward thought for a moment before saying, "It seems to be Cangwu Yu County."
When Fu Wei heard the words Cangwu Yu County, the corners of his lips involuntarily rose, and his beautiful eyes showed a happy smile.
Fu Wei was born with a gentle and handsome appearance, and his eyes were like a wave of gentle lake water. His smile made the steward and the maidservants beside him feel as if they were bathed in spring breeze, and they couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
The maid's heart was moved, but she remembered that Mr. Fu had a wife in the countryside and was cold and distant towards any woman, so her eyes suddenly dimmed.
After Fu Wei left, someone asked the steward, "Who sent this to Fu Langjun? Look at Fu Langjun's smile, it's as if it was covered in honey."
This is a bit sour.
The steward didn't want to say anything, but when he turned around and saw that it was a concubine's daughter, he replied flatteringly, "It's a letter from Yu County. It seems to be sent from Mr. Fu's family."
Hearing this, the concubine pursed her lips, a little unhappy.
"What kind of person is Mr. Fulang's wife?"
The steward didn't ask and casually replied, "She must be a country woman."
Upon hearing this, the concubine frowned and thought to herself, how could a country peasant woman be worthy of such a handsome man?
Turning around to look at Fu Langjun's departing back, she felt a little fascinated, but she also knew that if she really did something that would bring disgrace to the family, she would definitely be banished to the village.
I can only dream about it, but I dare not really have any thoughts about it.
Fu Wei didn't care how many people were thinking about him, he just knew that Ah Ying, whom he thought about day and night, had sent him a letter.
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