Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 25 Three Days
The city gate is extremely huge.

Even if Taozi were to find a high platform, he would not be able to reach the top.

In contrast to the huge city gate, people seem even smaller, even peaches.

There was an official at the city gate who was responsible for recording the passage of people entering and leaving.

The man was sitting at the door with a desk in front of him, on which there was paper and a pen.

At this moment, the clerk stood up excitedly and looked at Liu Taozi in front of him.

The man's hair was slightly curly and turned a little yellow in the sunlight.

It was Yao Xiong, the Qiehu who worked in the county school in the past.

When Yao Xiong saw Liu Taozi, he was so excited that he couldn't speak, as if he had met a relative.

"Brother Taozi, I..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes suddenly turned red and tears rolled down.

Lu Qubing was extremely surprised.

This guy was restless when he was in the county school. He led everyone to bully newcomers and had a very bad relationship with Taozi.

Why did I feel so wronged and sad when I saw Taozi today, as if I saw a concubine from my mother's family?

Liu Taozi said nothing, his eyes quickly swept over the other person's body.

On the exposed flesh of Yao Xiong's arm, one could see blue and red streaks, which were the marks of being whipped.

"Are you all okay?"

Liu Taozi asked.

Yao Xiong looked conflicted, but he just nodded, "Fortunately, we all passed the exam and now we have each received a job."

"When will Brother Taozi take the exam?"

Yao Xiong asked hurriedly, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Ten days later."

Yao Xiong laughed.

"Okay, let's wait for Brother Taozi."

He didn't talk any more and sat down again to prepare for work. The Xianbei people on duty checked their whereabouts and gave it to Yao Xiong to record.

After the recording was completed, Liu Taozi and Lu Qubing left together.

Yao Xiong just stared at them as they went away, with a certain look in his eyes.

"Aqa!!"

The Xianbei man cursed loudly, Yao Xiong trembled all over, lowered his head, and picked up the pen in panic.

Liu Taozi was walking outside the city.

He was like a seasoned wild man from outside Ancheng, walking with big and fast steps, scanning the distance with hawk-like eyes, alert to any danger.

There were no more thieves or refugees on the road, but there were obviously more knights.

The knight galloped past without even bothering to pay attention to the heads along the way.

This must be a big deal.

Dark clouds came from afar, blocking the scorching light. The world emitting heat waves suddenly became real again, as if a cold filter was added.

The two returned to the familiar peach forest again.

The peach orchard of Taozi's family is growing really well.

Lu Qubing likes this kind of scenery very much.

But when the two approached the room, faint crying sounds came from the courtyard.

Lu Qubing was stunned. Just as he turned around to look at Taozi, Taozi flew up.

He jumped out with one foot and really seemed to fly. He ran wildly, his whole body like a charging war horse, whistling past, the dead branches and leaves on the ground flew up, and he quickly disappeared from Lu Qubing's sight.

"Brother Taozi!"

Lu Qubing shouted loudly, dropped the package and ran after him.

"Bang!!"

The wooden door was knocked open and Liu Taozi barely stopped.

It was like a gust of strong wind.

The people in the courtyard who had been crying just now felt as if their necks were strangled and they couldn't utter a word.

Liu Zhang stood in the yard, with several women standing beside her, their faces full of tear marks.

Mrs. Liu Zhang was not too surprised by her son's arrival. She gestured to the inner room and said, "Taozi is here. You go in and have a rest first."

"Brother Taozi!!!"

Lu Qubing ran in panting, staggered, stood beside Taozi, opened his mouth and breathed hard.

After running this distance, he felt as if his throat was on fire and his abdomen was aching badly.

He raised his head, saw everyone, and hurriedly saluted.

Taozi frowned, "What happened?"

Liu Zhang's face was full of helplessness, "Zhang Cheng's matter."

She looked at Lu Qubing again, "Lu Lingshi, there is a funeral in the village. We are not able to provide a good reception. Lingshi, please come in with my son and rest first."

Hearing these words, the women seemed to come alive again and began to sob again.

Seeing them crying so sadly, Lu Qubing sighed, bowed and said, "My condolences."

Taozi pulled him into the house.

Lu Qubing heard the crying outside and asked, "Who is this Mr. Zhang?"

"He is a wicked man, a local tycoon and a village official. He usually runs rampant in the countryside and does all kinds of evil."

Hearing Taozi's words, Lu Qubing's eyes widened, "Evil man???"

He looked outside carefully, "Are those his family members?"

"No, they are the tenants who were bullied by him before." "Then why are they so sad?"

Lu Qubing's face was full of confusion.

"They all have no household registration and work for Zhang Cheng. They are not on the county government's list. If officials come, Zhang Cheng will hide them so that they don't have to do corvée labor. Zhang Cheng will not watch them starve to death. He will give them enough food to barely get by."

"Now Zhang Cheng is dead."

Lu Qubing suddenly fell silent.

The crying outside continued for a long time, and finally, those people left.

Liu Taozi and Lu Qubing walked out, and Liu Zhang's face was haggard and helpless.

When she saw her son, a smile appeared on her face again.

"peach."

"I was quite busy just now and haven't prepared the meal yet. I'll go prepare it right away."

"Mom, no need, we already ate when we got here."

Lu Qubing also nodded hurriedly.

Liu Zhang laughed and said, "Is it true that I can't tell whether you have eaten it or not? You two can talk first."

"Where's Xiao Wu?"

"He's gone to gather firewood. He'll be back soon."

Liu Taozi and Lu Qubing were sitting in the courtyard. Lu Qubing suddenly asked, "There should be someone else in the village who can be a village official, right?"

"No, except for me, there are still a few people who can read, but they are unable to stand up."

"That means it must be appointed by the county government. If appointed, it may be someone from our Law School!"

"Since we are classmates, I will definitely take good care of your fellow villagers!"

Lu Qubing's mood suddenly improved a lot.

He felt that the newly appointed village official was most likely one of the people who had taken the exam last time.

He was chattering on about his thoughts when Xiao Wu walked into the yard with difficulty.

"Mom! Look! I picked up a lot of stuff in the peach forest!!"

Looking at the large and small packages he dragged over, Lu Qubing blushed, "I just dropped it and forgot to take it."

These were the gifts that Lu Qubing brought to Liu Zhangshi and Liu Da.

When he visited for the second time, he felt he should bring something.

Liu Zhang did not reject his kindness.

Liu Zhang took over these and asked Xiao Wu to help with cooking.

"Didn't I tell you to collect firewood nearby? What took you so long?"

"The village is very lively. I heard that a new official has come. He is currently taking down names. He may come over soon."

Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Lu Qubing was stunned and quickly stood up.

But seeing Taozi still sitting there, he slowly sat down again.

"Aren't we going to take a look?"

"Maybe it's someone we know?"

Taozi didn't say anything, so Lu Qubing had no choice but to continue sitting here. Liu Zhang quickly prepared the meal for them, which was actually just a simple meat soup.

Holding the broth, Lu Qubing stopped talking and focused on eating. He broke the dry biscuits into pieces, threw them into the broth, let them soak for a while, and then picked them up to eat. The taste was really different.

Lu Qubing ate with gusto, and Taozi also ate two large bowls in a row.

Just at this moment, there was a shout from outside the door.

“Is anyone here??”

Hearing this voice, Lu Qubing was stunned and put down the bowl in his hand.

Xiao Wu went forward to open the door, and outside stood a burly man with light green eyes and a haggard look.

Lu Qubing was stunned.

"It's difficult for a beggar to beg for mercy?!"

Taozi also recognized the person who appeared outside the door. He was the official who took Lu Qubing away that day.

At this moment, he had lost all his previous wealth and looked slovenly.

It is equally surprising to beg for food or to see Lu Qubing.

"Lu Jun?? Why are you here?"

The two men hurried to meet each other, and Lu Qubing introduced Liu Taozi, saying, "This is my former colleague, Qilou Nanjun, a thief catcher in the county government."

He pointed at Liu Taozi and said, "This is my good friend Liu Jun from the county school. He is still studying at the county school. His home is here."

Qi Lou Nan greeted Taozi with a bitter bow.

"Mr. Lu, please stop talking about thieves."

"I am just a village official in Zhangjia Village now."

Lu Qubing was stunned. "What's going on?"

"It's not easy to catch a thief. Don't worry, I'm still fine."

"The Yanei Cheng, the Chief Clerk, the Recorder, the Chief Recorder, the Menxia Shuzuo, Gan, Youjiao, Yisheng, and Gongcaoshi, none of them could escape, they were all put into the prison cart and taken to Yecheng."

"Even the county magistrate was dismissed and taken back to Yecheng."

"Lord Bu was deposed?"

Hearing what Lu Qubing said, Qi Lou Nanhuo glanced at him and said, "Lord Bu Dahan died a long time ago. Mr. Lu didn't know? A few days ago, a new county magistrate came, Lord Guo."

"He had only been in office for three days when something like this happened and he was removed from office."

“It’s only been three days.”

"Three days."

(End of this chapter)