Chapter 273 Dragon Boat Race! Shocking Change!
The annual Anshun County Dragon Boat Race kicks off today.
As contestants from Lingshui Village, Xu Lao Da and Xu Lao Er set out early in the morning.
After Mr. Xu had breakfast, he went to catch the car. Mrs. Xu took Fubao with her to watch the fun.
Fubao was also very excited about this.
Dragon boat racing, I wonder if it’s as exciting as what she saw on TV before.
The three daughters-in-law of the Xu family all chose to stay at home. Although they also wanted to watch the dragon boat race, as mothers, they couldn't just abandon the little ones in the family, right?
Lu Mudan was not interested in the dragon boat race, so she simply stayed at Old Xu's house and talked to Zhou and the others.
Uncle Lu, on the other hand, seemed quite interested.
So, in the end, the people from the Xu family who went to the dragon boat race were Uncle Lu, Grandpa Xu, Grandma Xu and Fubao. Lichun would also go with him, bringing diapers, clean clothes and other things that Fubao might need.
The four little girls in Old Xu's family basically follow Fubao around during the beginning of spring.
Xia Chu, Qiu Xiang and Dong Xue assisted Zhou, Li and Wang respectively.
This time, Lichun was able to go watch the dragon boat race, which made the other three little girls extremely envious.
…
The carriage left Lingshui Village, with Old Man Xu driving.
Uncle Lu thought the car was too slow, so he simply rode a horse and went ahead.
Along the way, Fubao was in high spirits and kept looking at the situation on both sides of the road.
Everywhere is lush and green, a pleasant sight.
The drought, with that heavy rain, became a thing of the past.
On the way, Mr. Xu would greet people from time to time.
However, no one took advantage of the carriage.
Knowing that there were women in the car, people knew to avoid suspicion, even in this rural area.
Even when they met a group of women only, they had no intention of hitchhiking.
As a result, Mr. Xu drove a brisk carriage and soon arrived at the dragon boat race venue.
Jiuqu River!
This is a big river that spans Xiangyi Prefecture and Jiangcheng Prefecture.
The annual dragon boat race is held on the Jiuqu River.
At that time, spectators will gather on the embankment of Jiuqu River to watch this grand event.
During the dragon boat race, the embankment of Jiuqu River is filled with vendors selling snacks, toys, rouge, powder, clothes and fabrics.
On the day of the dragon boat race, the Jiuqu River embankment becomes a super-large market.
This day is the most important day of the year for the people in the entire Anshun County, even more important than the Chinese New Year.
Because if this team wins the final championship, the village will have a prosperous year.
In addition, many girls will come here to see each other on this day.
Most of the dragon boat racers were young men from various villages, many of them unengaged. But today, many young women would be quietly observing and comparing the two in the dark.
Therefore, dragon boat racing is not a trivial matter for people in every village.
…
On the grandstand built beside the Jiuqu River, the county magistrate Zuoqiu was standing beside Zhao Bingzhao with a big smile on his face.
In previous years, he, as the local official, was the one who had the final say in the dragon boat race.
But not this year.
With Zhao Bingzhao, the newly crowned Marquis of Wealth and Honor, here, Zuoqiu can only be second.
"My Lord, are you satisfied with this?"
Zuo Qiu half bent his waist and asked Zhao Bingzhao with a gentle smile on his face.
"Zuo County Magistrate is very experienced, so you can make the decision. I am just a spectator. You can handle the specific situation as you wish. I will not say anything more!"
Zhao Bingzhao replied with a smile.
He came to watch the dragon boat race not just for fun.
He came here with an ulterior motive.
But he wouldn't tell anyone why he was there until the time came.
"grown ups!"
Just as Zuoqiu was about to wave the flag and order the preliminaries of the dragon boat race to begin, Li Tuo, the chief clerk who had been particularly cautious recently, hurried over.
"What is it?"
"Your Excellency, the prefect is here!"
Li Tuo quickly answered.
When Zuo Qiu heard that Shen Wansheng had arrived, he immediately reported it to Zhao Bingzhao, the wealthy marquis.
"There's no need for County Magistrate Zuo to tell me about these official matters. Just go ahead and handle them yourself."
"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your understanding!"
Zuo Qiu immediately left to greet Shen Wansheng.
But when he met Shen Wansheng, he found that there was more than just his sworn brother.
The three officials sent by the court to investigate Xu Yuanzun's disappearance have all arrived.
"This humble official greets my mentor!"
Upon seeing Dai Duo, Zuo Qiu immediately stepped forward to greet him and performed the solemn ceremony of a disciple.
Seeing this scene, Shen Wansheng was also stunned. He really didn't know that Zuo Qiu and Dai Duo had such a relationship.
"It's Dingshan, not bad, you've done a good job over the years!"
Dai Duo glanced at Zuo Qiu and raised his hand. "Hurry up and get up. Let me introduce you. This is Chen Zheng, the Chief Censor of the Inspectorate. His courtesy name is Lingzheng. From now on, you two can get closer!"
"Greetings, Brother Lingzheng!"
After hearing Dai Duo's words, Zuo Qiu immediately clasped his fists with Chen Zheng, calling him brother instead of his official title. This was what Dai Duo meant by closeness.
Chen Zheng also clasped his fists and replied, "Brother Dingshan."
As for Liu Zhongda, the Dali Temple Secretary, he was simply ignored by Dai Duo.
However, even so, Liu Zhongda did not dare to complain at all.
Because of him, Xu Yuanzi lost his life.
By the time the news reaches the capital and the imperial edict arrives, not only will his career as the Dali Temple Secretary be over, but if he's unlucky, he might even end up in jail or even lose his life.
Now he is just being ignored and neglected, what else is he dissatisfied with?
Knowing the purpose of Shen Wansheng, Dai Duo and his group's visit, Zuo Qiu could only apologize.
The cemetery where the eighteen horse thieves' bodies were stored had been set on fire. It wasn't arson, but a man, overcome with grief over the loss of his wife and children, had burned himself to death in the cemetery, holding their bodies.
Therefore, it is naturally impossible to check the body of the horse thief.
"Dingshan, how could you be so careless with such important evidence!"
"Master, what do you mean by this?"
Zuo Qiu was stunned. "They were just a few bandits, so what? How did they become evidence? Evidence of what?"
"Mr. Dai, this government has not informed the local authorities about Xu Yuanzun's case."
"I don't blame County Magistrate Zuo for not knowing about this."
Shen Wansheng decisively came out to help Zuo Qiu out of trouble.
"Master, sir, I wonder what happened?"
Zuo Qiu's face was serious. "The eighteen horse thieves' bodies were indeed burned, but the clothes they were wearing, their mounts, and the weapons they carried are all preserved in the county government office."
"Okay, okay, there really is always a way out!"
Upon hearing Zuo Qiu say this, Dai Duo immediately showed joy on his face.
As long as you see these things, you can have a general understanding of the identity of these horse thieves.
"Teacher, Mr. Prefect, today is the day of the annual dragon boat race in Anshun County. If you're not in a hurry, could you please wait a few minutes so I can finish hosting the race?"
"Oh, by the way, Marquis Fugui is in the stands up front right now."
Zuoqiu raised his hand and pointed at the stands on the river bank ahead.
"No hurry, no hurry, come on, let's go and meet Marquis Fugui!"
"Yes, I must bow!"
Shen Wansheng chuckled, "Xiangyi Prefecture has suffered a severe drought this year. If it weren't for the righteous intervention of Marquis Fugui, I don't know how many families under our jurisdiction would have sold their children. This prefecture owes Marquis Fugui a huge favor!"
So, led by Zuo Qiu, the group went up to the stands.
Zhao Bingzhao sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, even when facing Dai Duo, the elderly Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he sat there very steadily.
"Please forgive me, Mr. Dai. My injury hasn't fully healed yet. Sitting down and then standing up again is a bit too much for me!"
"No need to be polite, Marquis Fugui!"
Dai Duo laughed and pointed at the river, "Let's go and see the excitement together!"
"OK!"
Mr. Zhao Er smiled harmlessly.
When Zuoqiu saw this scene, he immediately waved the flag in his hand, signaling that the dragon boat race was about to begin.
Then, the messenger quickly reported the news to the dragon boat racing teams on the river.
There are six towns and seventy-two villages under the jurisdiction of Anshun County.
It is impossible for seventy-two dragon boats to be lined up in a row on the river, so the preliminary round of the dragon boat race is divided into eight games, with nine teams competing in each game.
There are seventy-two dragon boats and seventy-two serial number plates, with the numbers on the plates ranging from one to eight.
Before the game begins, the drummers of each team come on stage to draw a number. Then, the game begins according to the number drawn. Number cards with the same number belong to the same round.
As Zuoqiu gave the order, each team drew their own number card.
The number on the serial number plate of Lingshui Village is six.
In other words, they will be the sixth batch of participating teams.
There are eight preliminary rounds, and only the first place in each round will enter the finals.
If you are unlucky, even a very strong team may not be able to enter the finals.
Boom——!
Boom——!
Boom——!
Accompanied by the sound of drums, the dragon boat race officially began.
When the drums stopped and a gong sounded, the first preliminary round began.
The nine dragon boats were like arrows shot from a bow, speeding forward on the river.
On the levee, Fubao sat on Grandpa Xu's neck, his eyes wide open, watching the dragon boats speeding forward on the water, feeling inexplicably excited.
At that moment, Fubao almost shouted "Come on!" excitedly.
Fortunately, his mother said something at the critical moment, which brought Fubao back to his senses from his excited state.
"Boss, can we win?"
Old Mrs. Xu looked very nervous and asked this question out of the blue.
Old Master Xu chuckled and said, "From the current perspective, there should be hope. The speed of these dragon boats is not good enough. Compared with the boss and his team, they are not even a little bit behind."
"It's good to win!"
Old Mrs. Xu sighed.
Fubao was awakened by his mother's words, and naturally he lost his previous excitement.
Among these nine boats, there was no dragon boat from their village, so what was the point of shouting? Was it to boost others' morale and destroy their own prestige?
Fubao figured it out, but there were still other people who didn't understand. Shouts were heard from the shore, and people kept cheering for each village.
In the end, among this first batch of teams, the winner was Shangxi Village, which almost fought with Lingshui Village over water during the drought.
"reward!"
At the end of the first round of preliminaries, Zhao Bingzhao suddenly said, "All teams will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver, and the winner will be rewarded with 40 taels of silver."
"The teams behind you will all follow this reward method!"
"On behalf of all the dragon boat racers, I would like to thank Marquis Fugui!"
As the local official, Zuoqiu really had to come forward to thank Zhao Bingzhao in this situation. After all, the dragon boat race teams still had to compete!
"You're too polite, County Magistrate Zuo. I was just enjoying the fun, so I'm just giving you a few coins. I don't deserve your thanks!"
What does it mean to be rich and willful?
Look at the rich and noble Lord Zhao Er, that’s it!
When Zuoqiu sent the message down, all the participating teams were excited.
Even if you can't make it to the finals, you can still get silver. Although it's not much, it's silver after all!
In the following races, all the dragon boats were accelerating, accelerating, and accelerating continuously.
As the speed of the dragon boat increased, the wealthy and willful Master Zhao Er raised the reward to fifty taels of silver, and the first place winner received one hundred taels.
Everyone was boiling and cheering.
However, no one noticed that Zhao Bingzhao's eyes were not very excited.
"It's not enough, it's still not enough, it's almost there, almost there!"
Zhao Bingzhao whispered to himself in a voice that only he could hear, and his hands were trembling slightly.
"County Magistrate Zuo, is it time for the sixth round of dragon boat races?"
Zhao Bingzhao looked at Zuo Qiu, who was sitting at the end of the table, and smiled faintly. "Please tell the dragon boat racers behind you that if any dragon boat can go faster in the preliminaries, I will reward them with 500 taels of silver!"
Five hundred taels!
As soon as this number came out, everyone was shocked.
Dai Duo turned his head and looked at Zhao Bingzhao, saying in a deep voice, "Marquis Fugui, what do you mean?"
"It's nothing special, I just think the speed is too slow!"
"Don't you think this dragon boat race isn't exciting enough?"
Zhao Bingzhao smiled slightly. "I once watched a dragon boat race on the Chu River in the south. The dragon boats were like arrows shot from a bow, speeding across the water. It seemed as if they could take off at any moment."
"I've heard that the dragon boats in Chu are the fastest. But I've never seen one with my own eyes. What a pity!"
After hearing what Zhao Bingzhao said, Dai Duo nodded. He had also heard of the dragon boat race in Chu.
…
On the Jiuqu River embankment, Uncle Lu suddenly jumped out from beside Mr. Xu.
"Master, where were you just now? You've missed several dragon boat races. You didn't see it. The speed was truly too fast. It's simply not this fast in previous years!"
"Money makes the world go round!"
Uncle Lu glanced at Old Man Xu and said, "But now is not the time to talk about this. Hurry up and take your wife and little Fubao with you to hide on the hill over there for a while!"
"Huh? Hide for a while? Why hide?"
"Master, is something going to happen?"
After hearing what Uncle Lu said, Mr. Xu not only did not retreat, but instead became very interested.
"Is there an expert coming?"
Ever since listening to Uncle Lu's theories on innate and acquired martial arts, Mr. Xu has been quite interested in these things.
For Mr. Xu, Uncle Lu's words made him discover a brand new world that he had never encountered before.
Everyone has curiosity.
For someone like Mr. Xu, who has mastered such impressive martial arts, he is naturally obsessed with and interested in these things.
What Uncle Lu said was really attractive to Mr. Xu.
Fubao, who was sitting on Mr. Xu's neck, listened to her father's excited words. Thinking of the truth her beautiful master told her in the morning, she really couldn't bear to see her father doing such a stupid thing.
However, she is unable to stop it now.
So, let’s continue watching Dad’s fun!
When Fubao decided to be a spectator, he suddenly found that the water of Jiuqu River in front of him was a little different. It was hazy, as if fog was about to form.
"ah!"
"ah!"
Fubao quickly reached out to grab his father's hair to divert his attention to the Jiuqu River.
Mr. Xu, whose hair was grabbed by Fubao, turned his head to look at the river.
"Walk!"
Uncle Lu noticed the changes in the river and immediately glared at Old Man Xu, "Hurry!"
"oh!"
This time, Mr. Xu was not stubborn.
The sun was shining brightly and the river was beautiful, but for no reason it seemed as if fog was forming. It was obvious that something was wrong.
Old Master Xu held Fubao in one hand and held his wife's hand in the other, shouted Lichun, squeezed out of the crowd as fast as he could, and headed straight for the hillside that Uncle Lu had mentioned earlier.
When we reached the hillside and looked back, we could still see the surface of Jiuqu River, but the fog on the river surface was getting thicker.
"County Magistrate Zuo, evacuate the people immediately!"
Zhao Bingzhao, who had been sitting on the Diaoyutai, suddenly stood up at this moment and gave orders directly.
"ah?!"
Zuo Qiu was stunned for a moment and looked at Zhao Bingzhao in confusion.
Zhao Bingzhao immediately spoke up and said, "Do it immediately!"
"If you delay and someone dies, you can't bear the responsibility!"
"Dingshan, go quickly!"
Dai Duo also spoke at this moment.
Although Zuo Qiu didn't understand why, since Zhao Bingzhao and Dai Duo both said so, he had no choice but to do as they said.
The gongs sounded loudly.
The yamen runners from Anshun County came on the scene and began to disperse the people on the river bank.
In less than a quarter of an hour, all the people on the river bank were dispersed.
At the same time, the fog on the Jiuqu River had reached the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of you.
…
Fubao was held by Old Man Xu, staring at the thick fog. Slowly, she felt that the fog seemed to come alive, and faintly, it seemed as if something was swirling in the fog.
"Chiu——"
Just as Fubao was staring at the thing in the fog, a flare shot up into the sky, making a sharp sound.
The next moment, a row of horse-drawn carriages appeared on the river bank. The drivers got off the carriages, drew their swords, and mercilessly stabbed the horses pulling the carriages with the daggers in their hands.
The horse felt pain and ran forward with all four hooves.
The galloping packhorse carried the carriage directly into the Jiuqu River.
The wooden barrels pulled by the carriage flew up.
An unknown liquid flew out of the wooden barrel, and a fishy smell quickly spread.
"hold head high--"
As all this happened, a painful scream could be vaguely heard from the fog, but no one knew what was screaming.
"What the hell is that?"
When Mr. Xu saw the strange scene in front of him, he believed more and more what Uncle Lu told him.
Fubao had originally believed that her master, the old man, was a big liar. But now, she was also somewhat skeptical.
That roar just now sounded like a dragon's roar!
Fubao had never seen a dragon, so naturally he had never heard a dragon's roar.
But in many TV dramas, it seems that dragon roars are like this.
But are there really dragons in this world?
What were those things that spilled out of the empty barrels in the carriage that just rushed towards Jiuqu River?
boom!
rumble!
Just when everyone's attention was attracted by the fog, the sky suddenly became overcast without anyone noticing, and dark clouds gathered in the sky above the Jiuqu River.
Lightning, thunder and roars continued.
"Isn't this guy going through a tribulation?"
Fubao swallowed his saliva.
In the past, whenever the silly netizens saw thunder and lightning somewhere, they would always joke that it was a Taoist who was undergoing a tribulation. Now, Fu Bao looked at the magical scene in front of him and couldn't help but wonder, could there really be something undergoing a tribulation?
If transcending tribulation is real, then isn't it possible that there are things like gods and monsters in this world?
Unfortunately, the facts prove that there is no such thing as overcoming tribulation.
When the thunder stopped, it started to rain.
Fortunately, Mr. Xu took them back to the carriage early, so they were spared from being drenched by the heavy rain.
The rainstorm came suddenly and ended quickly.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.
The family got out of the carriage. Fubao was held by Old Lady Xu. As soon as he got off the carriage, his eyes unconsciously looked towards a puddle in front of him. In the puddle, there was a pure golden carp swimming, only the size of a thumb.
"fish!"
"fish!"
"keep!"
"mine!"
The moment he saw this golden carp, the first thought that came to Fubao's mind was that he must keep it.
"Okay, okay, raise it, raise it!"
Old Master Xu followed the direction of Fubao's finger and found the little carp in the puddle.
"It looks pretty good, so just keep it!"
Old Master Xu was not at all surprised that there was a golden carp in the puddle.
Because, this kind of thing of fish falling from the sky is really not a rare thing. And what exactly is going on, Mr. Xu doesn't know, but this doesn't prevent him from knowing that this situation exists.
After the rain, the sky cleared up and the dragon boat race continued.
In the stands, Zuoqiu, Dai Duo and others all had big questions, but no one asked.
They could all see that Zhao Bingzhao, the newly promoted First-Rank Marquis of Wealth, was behind this. No matter what Zhao Bingzhao was doing, they were not qualified to question him.
Even if there are any suspicions, they can only be reported to the Ministry of Clan Affairs, which will continue the investigation.
Not long after Grandpa Xu collected the golden little carp in the porcelain jar filled with water in the carriage, Uncle Lu appeared with Grandpa Xu and his friends.
"Master, what was that just now?"
"Did you fight with the other party?"
Seeing Uncle Lu coming back, Mr. Xu immediately became interested.
"That was a trick used by the remnants of the previous dynasty to rob Yun Dao. Master failed to find the one who cast the spell, so he escaped!"
Uncle Lu was quite angry when he heard Mr. Xu's question.
(End of this chapter)
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