About ten miles ahead, there is an osmanthus village, where every household has osmanthus trees planted in front of their doors and in their yards. Every autumn, the osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, with a refreshing fragrance that spreads far into the distance.
The unique sweet fragrance of osmanthus always brings people to a wonderful world, making them feel refreshed and dreaming.
The picturesque beauty of Guihua Village has attracted countless scholars and writers.
What is even more peculiar is that every year in the autumn provincial examinations, it is the villagers there who win the championship, which makes Guihua Village unprecedentedly famous.
Besides, the sweet osmanthus is not just for looking at, it can also be made into delicious food, such as sweet osmanthus cakes, sweet osmanthus rice, sweet osmanthus wine, sweet osmanthus meat...
People there like to put some osmanthus flowers on all food, which has attracted countless customers to consume, turning the small Osmanthus Village into a wealthy town.
Later, a young top scholar in the imperial examination emerged in Guihua Village. He loved to eat dog meat, and his favorite was dog meat steamed, boiled, fried, etc. with osmanthus flowers.
It was from that time that Guihua Village had a dog meat festival on September 15th every year.
Therefore, not only Guihua Village, but also the surrounding villages are particularly fond of raising dogs, waiting to sell them at a good price on the 15th day of September every year.
Until that time, the top scholar in the Jinke exam came back to the village to participate in the Dog Meat Festival. The whole village started a feast that day. In order to thank the top scholar, they bought dogs from a radius of more than ten miles and killed hundreds of them. The dog blood directly dyed the river red.
"Then something happened that night. It must have been a major battle, because the earthquake and explosions could be heard for miles around.
The next day, people went to investigate. Where was the Osmanthus Village? All that was left was a Flaming Mountain. The houses in the village had been flattened to the ground, and not even a trace of the villagers' bones remained.
Even the osmanthus trees within a radius of ten miles withered and died overnight.
What's even more bizarre is that the meat is addictive. Someone couldn't control themselves and killed that person again, but he also died suddenly that same night, and his death looked like he had been bitten by a wild beast."
Therefore, Zhong Bo guessed that it was the dog demon who did it, and the shop owner did not refute it.
The whole thing really looks like a dog demon's revenge, and now people within a radius of dozens of miles dare not mention the word "dog" anymore.
"There is such a thing? How come I haven't heard of it?" Zhong Bo really had never heard of it. Logically speaking, such a big thing should be reported to the court, right?
"Of course I haven't heard of it. Look at those merchants passing by. Aren't they running very fast? The government has also posted a notice at the city gate saying that the official road has been changed. Don't go in that direction unless necessary."
Ah, they flew over the mountains and forests at night and didn't pass through the city.
"Master, have you heard about it?" The memorial should have been presented before the emperor, right? Although Huo Jinxing was not in the palace, he was still well-informed.
"Are you talking about Yuwen Zuoxiang's son-in-law? Monk should know better." Huo Jinxing looked at Wu Gong lazily.
Yuwen Zuo Xiang was Wu Gong's grandfather. The man Zuo Xiang was looking for as his son-in-law was the top scorer in the imperial examination who came from a remote place in the north. It was said that he had just died.
The Left Prime Minister was furious about this and brought ten memorials of complaint against local officials to the emperor. Huo Jinxing had no idea how the Regent handled the matter later, as he generally did not pay attention to such matters.
"What son-in-law? You know I don't have an aunt, so of course I don't know." What son-in-law is the top scorer in the imperial examination? Wu Gong didn't know anything about it.
However, his grandfather did have a concubine, but Wu Gong never paid attention to her. With his grandmother around, no one could threaten the status of his family's legitimate branch.
"Ah, so it turns out that this dog-loving Jinke champion is the son-in-law of the Left Prime Minister, although this statement will make the little monk unhappy.
However, the top scorer in the imperial examination was indeed talented and handsome. Many forces were looking for a husband for him, and finally the top scorer ended up in the residence of the Left Prime Minister. The Left Prime Minister's daughter was also talented and beautiful. The two of them were a talented man and a beautiful woman, a golden boy and a jade girl, and were the envy of others.
Not long after, the couple gave birth to a beautiful daughter. The number one scholar, oh no, he was already serving in the palace at that time. He had a bright future ahead of him, but he died suddenly. What a pity.
After the two people in front said this, Zhongbo suddenly came to his senses. It turned out to be him, so he told everything he knew.
People who don’t gossip don’t really know these rumors.
"Uncle Zhong, are you stupid? What's the pity if a fat country guy dies?" Wu Gong rolled his eyes immediately, and his young wife nodded in agreement, following his lead.
Zhong Bo was speechless. He had only eaten a few dogs, so how could he be so rampant in the village? But it was indeed foolish to lose one's life for the sake of food.
"That number one scholar actually didn't have any quick wit. He worked as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy for several years without moving, but he always got first place in every examination." It's like cheating.
This was probably the thing that impressed Huo Jinxing the most about the top scorer in the imperial examination.
"It's just like cheating. If there was only one top scorer in the provincial examination, it might be an accident, but the fact that the top scorer in the provincial examination every year comes from Guihua Village is no coincidence.
If the teacher was not famous, then it was very likely that someone leaked the questions, and the demon had unlimited abilities, so if it really operated, it could be done without anyone noticing.
Didn't the shopkeeper say that there was a huge, earth-shattering battle in Guihua Village? This doesn't look like it was caused by human hands."
Feng Ling could see the whole picture from a small part, but the people were dead, and it was meaningless to pursue these things any further. What they should care about was the present.
"Shopkeeper, you just said that the flame burned for a long time without going out. Is the range expanding?" Feng Ling asked.
"Ah? Ah! Yes, yes, yes. Initially, only Guihua Village was burned, but when the wind blew, the sparks would occasionally follow, and now it has burned two villages and a mountain.
The county magistrate has already ordered the relocation of all nearby villages and has even invited Taoist priests to put out the fire, but it's all in vain!"
The shop owner didn't expect that this group of people knew so much information. They were really worthy of being from the capital. He was stunned for a moment.
Huo Jinxing frowned. He really didn't know about the village relocation and the fire. It was impossible that the local officials did not report it, but the news was blocked.
He believed that it must not be Huo Yan's problem, so...
With a thud, Wu Gong knelt down. There was nothing wrong with Huo Yan, so the problem must be with Zuo Xiang's forces that were suppressing local officials.
He used the people's livelihood to drain the local officials, disregarded the safety of the people, and concealed the truth from the emperor.
This matter is not a big deal because it did not directly harm the lives of the people; but it is not a small matter because it is deceiving the emperor.
"Boss, he is just old and confused. You can remove him from his official position, but please spare his life!" Wu Gong bowed his head and pleaded for his grandfather.
After looking left and right, Pei Rujun knelt down.
Huo Jinxing narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression a little cold, "It depends on your performance."
Zuo Xiang rose from obscurity to the top. It is impossible to say that he has never done anything dirty, but his merits outweigh his faults.
Moreover, in recent years, things have indeed been a bit muddled. I have to retreat, but not now.
Wu Gong immediately understood what Huo Jinxing meant. This meant that he would have to rely on his performance in the Northern Frontier. Hard work would be worth it.
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