One hundred and sixty-four
After hearing what was said, Fu Zhen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After calming down, he opened his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure that all the troubles of the Fu family came from Huo Shanrong?"
Fu Wei: "How can I speak nonsense without evidence?"
"My father had a subordinate named Lieutenant General Mo. When the Fu family was framed, he led troops to fight against the people. On his way home, he was ambushed. Xin De rescued him. He had originally planned to return to Wuling to report, but he happened to see the Fu family being raided and the county governor being beheaded. So he went into hiding to investigate."
"Twenty years of investigation, the evidence points to him."
"How could he not know that Huo Minzhi was harming me? Why did he allow it? And this time when we met in Yuzhang, he tested me everywhere, and even provoked Huo Minzhi to hire someone to kill me. All of this has been confirmed."
Fu Zhen suddenly stood up, his face looked terribly gloomy, his eyes were dark, and without saying anything, he turned around and walked out of the house with heavy steps.
Mrs. Luo, holding a cup of hot tea, saw her eldest son coming out of the study. She felt something was wrong and asked, "Where are you going, Dalang?"
Fu Zhen said in a low voice, "I'm going to practice my stick skills."
As he said that, he picked up a stick and went out.
It's almost dark, and you still want to practice stick fighting?
You can practice in this yard, why do you need to practice outside?
Luo and Wen Xing exchanged a glance. They could both tell that Fu Zhen was acting strangely, but they didn't know what was wrong with him.
Luo brought hot tea into the study and asked, "What happened to your eldest brother?"
Fu Wei: "I talked to him about some official matters, he needs to slowly accept it."
What official business needs to be accepted slowly?
Although Mrs. Luo was puzzled, since it was a public matter, she didn't ask too much.
Fu Wei pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "I'll go take a look later."
"Okay, drink the hot tea first."
Fu Wei drank some hot tea before going out.
There was no one by the river, so Fu Zhen practiced his stick skills there.
Each stick is so powerful that it seems to have the power to split mountains.
He is venting.
Fu Wei stood by and watched until it was completely dark, then he shouted, "If you don't go back after dark, your mother will worry about you and have all sorts of thoughts."
Fu Zhen suddenly hit the tree trunk beside him with a stick. The tree shook and the stick broke with a crackling sound.
He took a few breaths, calming himself before looking at the figure in the darkness. His voice was extremely suppressed. "I hate myself. I hate myself for feeling indebted to him in the past, for sharing the money I earned with him, leaving my family living in poverty. I hate myself for serving in his place, even though... I only needed to go in Xingniang's place. I hate myself for caring so much about the son of my enemy."
Fu Wei smiled and said, "If that's the case, then I'm the one who should hate myself the most. I've acknowledged the thief as my father for twenty years, called him father for twenty years, and respected him for twenty years. Big Brother is nothing compared to me."
"That's different!" Fu Zhen shouted.
"What's the difference? I was kept in the dark, but wasn't my elder brother kept in the dark too?" Fu Wei walked over to him and continued, "I have acknowledged the thief as my father for twenty years, and my elder brother has acknowledged the thief's son as his brother for twenty years. What's the difference?"
She walked up to him and spoke again, "My elder brother and I were both innocent victims and did nothing wrong. So why should we blame ourselves and feel guilty for our enemies?"
"While we are uneasy, our enemies are pleased."
"Are we just going to let it go like this?!" It was simply a fantasy for them to go against a county governor in their current status.
Fu Wei stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the dark river surface. The cold wind blew past, chilling him to the bone.
"Of course I won't let it go like this." Fu Wei turned to look at his brother and smiled: "Don't worry, big brother, the time for reckoning is almost here."
There was a hint of confusion in Fu Zhen's expression.
After a long while, he asked, "Do you think we still have a chance to burn a stick of incense for our father?"
Unlike Fu Wei, Fu Zhen still retains the few memories of his father in his dusty memory.
The wooden sword his father carved for him, the martial arts lessons he learned under the shade of a tree, and the laughter he shared as he carried him on his shoulders.
When things were most difficult and he was about to give up, he hated and resented his father more than once.
Now that he knew that his father had never done anything to rebel, but was murdered by a traitor, how could he not blame himself?
Fu Wei said, "Uncle Mo secretly sent someone to collect my father's body and buried it in Wuling County, but the memorial tablet was set up in Lingnan. If there is a chance, I will go with you to burn a stick of incense."
"Uncle Mo is in Lingnan?" Fu Zhen had no impression of Uncle Mo, but he vaguely remembered that he had a special playmate in his childhood, and most of his childhood memories were spent with this playmate.
I vaguely remember that this playmate's father was called Uncle Mo.
Fu Wei nodded. "Yes, but he is now deceased. To prevent Uncle Mo and the Fu family from falling into danger, it would be better for everyone if fewer people knew about his current whereabouts."
He glanced at his elder brother and said, "One day we will recognize each other."
Fu Zhen was silent for a long time, then looked at his brother beside him: "You can tell me this, it means Xinxin has already planned it. If so, I will be the one to take revenge on you in the future."
Fu Wei smiled: "Of course."
The two brothers chatted for a while before returning home side by side.
Luo asked worriedly, "Dalang, what's wrong with you?"
Luo was in poor health and had been feeling resentful for a long time, so the two brothers tacitly kept the matter to themselves.
Until the day comes when her injustice is vindicated, telling this story in advance will only add to her mother's depression.
Fu Zhen smiled and replied, "I heard from Erlang that he will be moving to Yuzhang soon. I'm a little upset, so I went to practice stick fighting to let off some steam."
When Luo heard they were going to Yuzhang, she looked at Fu Wei in astonishment: "We are going to Yuzhang?"
Fu Wei nodded and explained the reason.
We will have to make preparations in a few days anyway, so it doesn’t hurt to say it now.
*
The next morning, someone sent a letter to Yu Ying. The letter was signed with the name Yun. Yu Ying knew who sent the letter as soon as she saw it.
He is the leader of Muyun Village.
It was originally agreed that the patient would be seen once a month, but the leader of the Muyun Village was busy in January and February, and in March it was Yu Ying's turn to be trapped in the county seat, so there has been no follow-up visit for three months.
As soon as she came back, the letter arrived. It seems that there are spies from Muyun Village in Yu County.
The letter makes an appointment for a medical consultation tomorrow.
In the evening, Fu Wei came back from the yamen. Yu Ying showed him the letter, and Fu Wei set aside a morning to go with her.
The next day, Yu Ying arrived as scheduled.
When the head of Muyun Village saw Fu Wei standing beside Yu Ying, he raised an eyebrow and said, "It's been over half a year, and Master Fu is still worried about Doctor Yu coming to see me?"
Fu Wei smiled and said, "No, it just so happened that I also had something to ask the Village Master Mu Yun, so I came along."
The head of Muyun Village nodded and said, "Then we'll talk about it after the diagnosis."
Yu Ying examined the leader of Muyun Village, took his pulse and checked his heartbeat, and then asked about the frequency of his headaches and dizziness.
Everything is moving in a good direction.
The old doctor beside him said, "For the past few months, I have been reminding the village chief about his medicine, diet, and bedtime. He dare not neglect anything."
"The condition is good now. The previous prescription needs to be changed. I will write a new one later."
At the end, he advised: "No matter what disease you have, giving up halfway will only waste all your efforts. Only perseverance can achieve long-term success."
Upon hearing this, the head of Muyun Village suddenly smiled and tilted his head to look at her: "I have known Doctor Yu for more than half a year, and your principles and ideas really amaze me more and more."
Yu Ying smiled but didn't respond.
In modern times, there are many people who have received nine years of compulsory education and many people who have received higher education. They understand the principles and thoughts in their hearts better than she does.
All I can say is that dull people are not born dull, it’s just the limitations of the times.
After the consultation, Yu Ying and the old doctor went out to write a prescription, leaving only Fu Wei and the leader of Mu Yun Village to discuss matters in the room.
The head of Muyu Village straightened his robe and looked at Fu Wei: "Why did you come to see me, Mr. Fu?"
Fu Wei said, "I want to ask the village chief to help me find someone."
"Who?"
"Four years ago, he served as a lieutenant under the command of Erlang of the Zhou family in Yuzhang, who is now the magistrate of Yu County."
Hearing that it was about the Zhou family, the head of Muyun Village raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Why are you looking for him?"
"Four years ago, when you were serving in the army, you were falsely accused of embezzling military pay. As a result, the Zhou family patriarch sent you to Yu County as magistrate. This time, upon returning to Yuzhang, your grievances were cleared, but you lack a witness to testify against the culprit."
The Muyun Village Master tapped the table lightly and pondered for a moment: "It's not impossible to help you, but you must tell me the whole story, including the culprit..." After a pause, he changed the subject: "Or do you think this is a Zhou family secret that can't be disclosed?"
Fu Wei smiled and said, "Why not? You can't go to the Zhou clan leader and reveal the secret, and point out that I was the one who leaked it, right?"
The leader of Muyun Village paused.
"Besides, my master was wronged, and the culprit is at large. Can't I express my anger?"
"Who is the culprit?"
"The Zhou family has a rule that succession to a title depends not on the legitimate heir, but on ability. My master is older and more capable, and he's trusted in the army. The prince is young, and when he joins the army, he'll be compared everywhere. So, who else could the village chief think is the culprit?"
Although Fu Wei did not explicitly point out the culprit, it was the same as pointing it out directly.
"Let's talk about how he framed the second son of the Zhou family." The head of Muyun Village had a cold expression.
Fu Wei briefly recounted the story of how County Magistrate Zhou had been wrongly accused four years ago.
"I wonder if the village chief could help me find it?"
"Why do you need my help?"
Fu Wei said, "Since Captain Wu wants to escape, he must be fleeing to a remote and underdeveloped place. The most remote places are as far south as Lingnan and as far north as Yiluo. These two places are poor, have more corruption, and are easier to settle down and create false household registrations."
"Master Muyun has been in Lingnan for nearly twenty years, and his spies are all over Lingnan. Apart from the master, I can't think of anyone else who has the ability to find someone in Lingnan."
What Fu Wei said was well-reasoned and impeccable.
"If the village chief can help me with this, I will be very grateful. If you don't help, it's fine too."
The Muyun Village Master didn't waste any words and immediately said, "Look at the portrait of this captain. Who are the people around him and what are their characteristics? Please describe them one by one."
Fu Wei handed the portrait he had prepared long ago to the leader of Muyun Village: "This is the portrait."
Then he explained the characteristics of Captain Wu.
"Captain Wu was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight when he left Yuzhang. He had a daughter who died young, and was left with only his wife and elderly father."
The leader of Muyun Village took the portrait into his arms and said, "I will only give you two months to search. If you still can't find the person within two months, then either he is hiding deep in the mountains or he is not in Lingnan anymore."
Fu Wei bowed and said, "No matter what the outcome, I would like to thank you for your help, Village Master."
The Muyun Village Master glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then warned him, "If what you said is true, then Prince Zhou is narrow-minded and intolerant. If you plan for the Lord like this, you'd better be careful of his revenge."
"Fu will be on guard. Thank you for the reminder, village chief."
After a few polite words, we said goodbye.
It was not until he left that Fu Wei curled his lips into a smile.
Yu Ying, who was in the same carriage, saw him laughing and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Fu Wei: "Some evil thoughts that I don't want you to know about, calculating others."
Yu Ying seemed to understand: "You plotted against the leader of Muyun Village."
Fu Wei just smiled and said nothing.
Sect Leader Zhou had already guessed that the military pay false accusation case was closely related to Crown Prince Zhou, so it didn't matter whether he could find Captain Wu to identify him.
The important thing is that Fu Wei wants the leader of Muyun Village to know about this.
When the Zhou family ascends the throne one day, the leader of Muyun Village will definitely be a hero.
After the world was settled, the dragon sons began to be suspicious of each other and to fight for power.
Although Fu Wei had never thought of asking County Magistrate Zhou to seize that position, he must have the strength to protect himself and compete with the legitimate son, otherwise he would die without knowing how.
Today, the leader of Muyun Village knows that the Zhou family's eldest son has such a narrow-minded and treacherous mind, and he may not be convinced in the future.
*
Not long after Fu Wei returned from Yuzhang, the news of the change of the throne also reached Lingnan.
The people only care about whether they can eat enough and live a prosperous life, and they don’t care much about who is the emperor.
Moreover, rather than a change of dynasty, they were more afraid that this emperor would be even more ruthless than the previous one...
With the change of emperor, they looked forward to celebrating with the whole country so that they could reduce taxes.
But how could they know that it was the treacherous ministers who instigated the emperor to increase taxes, so how could he overturn the tax reduction?
The people's hopes are destined to be dashed.
Fu Wei asked Qian Muzuo to return to Yuzhang first, and he temporarily took over the miscellaneous affairs of the yamen.
Qian's staff had been looking forward to the day and night that the Lord could clear his name and return to the Zhou family. Now that his hope had finally come true, his whole heart had flown to Yuzhang. How could he have the mood to care about Yu County?
What Fu Wei said hit the mark exactly.
But he was worried that if he went to Yuzhang, County Magistrate Zhou would blame him. Hesitantly, Fu Wei said, "I have already asked the Lord for instructions when I return, and the Lord has told Mr. Qian to meet up in Yuzhang."
With Mr. Qian around, it's really hard to secretly control the purchase of medicinal materials.
Qian's staff immediately became convinced of Fu Wei.
He could have stayed in Yuzhang, but he came back anyway, and was allowed to go back first. This shows how magnanimous he is.
Qian's staff had no suspicion of him because there was really nothing to fight for in the two acres and three points of power in Yu County. There was no future in it at all. Fu Wei stayed only because of his sense of responsibility.
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