Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 26 Good Days

The three of them sat in the yard.

Qilou Nanhuo also ate a bowl of Taozi's meat soup and praised it repeatedly.

Lu Qubing was digesting the news he had gotten from Qilou Nanhe here, and explained it to Taozi who was standing beside him.

"Mr. Guo, whose name is Guo Yuanzhen, his father is General Guo Qingli, the General of Conquering the Enemy, and his great-grandfather is Duke Wenzhen, the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Later Wei Dynasty!"

"He comes from a famous family, and is the descendant of Guo Liang, the younger brother of Guo Huai, a famous general of the former Wei Dynasty."

"The former county magistrate was called Bu Dahan Xiu, a Qixiongnu. His father was the Duke of Yiyang, but he was later stripped of his title because he disappeared in battle."

Lu Qubing was aware of the difficulty of begging in the nearby building, so he did not speak too directly.

Qilou Nanhuo didn't care about these things at all. He ate very happily, made very rude noises, and muttered:
"I could have stayed in the county and worked as an official."

"As a result, they were short of clerks here, so they sent it to me. Damn it, if I had known I would not have done it."

He sobbed, without saying anything, but his eyes were full of regret.

Lu Qubing was unusually sober at this moment, "Actually, it's not bad to be out of the county town."

"Major incidents frequently occur in the county. First, three Baibao Xianbei were lost, then someone killed an official, and now someone broke into the residence of the school official and killed more than ten people. Such evil deeds have never been heard of since the founding of the country."

Qi Lou Nanhu glanced at him and wanted to say something, but held back.

"If it was a small town in another county, it would be fine, but this is Cheng'an, next to Yecheng, also known as the capital!"

"The government will certainly send important officials to rectify the situation and leave the city, which will save a lot of trouble."

Listening to Lu Qubing's words, Qi Lou Nanhuo fell into deep thought, with a different kind of light flashing in his eyes.

"We still have to find a way to get back to the county!"

Qi Lounan said something and looked hurriedly at Lu Qubing.

"Don't misunderstand, Mr. Lu. I'm not seeking pleasure, but the troubles in this countryside are much greater than those in the county town."

"Previously, dozens of Xianbei people were rampant and killing people in the countryside. These people don't care about the law at all. When they see us, they kill us at will. I am afraid of falling into their hands!"

As Qi Lou Nan was talking, Xiao Wu beside him nodded, "Yes, two people came three days ago from Li Village. They said they met a group of Xianbei people in their village. They were talking incoherently and it was hard to understand what they were saying. When they saw that they didn't answer, they killed people and set fire to the village."

“It’s pretty scary.”

Liu Zhang came forward at some point and scolded, "How dare you interrupt the adults when they are chatting?"

He dragged him away from the front yard.

The three people in the yard fell silent.

Lu Qubing and Taozi have limited time left, so they have to hurry back to avoid being locked up outside the city.

Qilou Nan still warmly invited them to stay for a while longer.

"I have a donkey here, I can lend it to you, Mr. Lu, why are you in such a hurry?"

"No, no, I've ridden the donkey away, so it's inconvenient for you to go to the beggar's house."

Lu Qubing took his hand again and said, "My good friend's family is a kind family. The folks here are honest and kind. I just hope you can take good care of them. I will prepare a small gift."

Qi Lounan looked at him in surprise and doubt.

In his impression, this chatterbox did not understand the ways of the world and always spoke to his colleagues in an imperative tone.

He is simple-minded and shows off what is in the book everywhere.

As time went by, no colleagues became close to him.

He quickly replied: "Why do you say that, Mr. Lu? You and I are close friends, why would you need to prepare any gift for such a small matter? Mr. Lu, don't worry!"

Taozi was now saying goodbye to Liu Zhang in the house.

"The students can take the exams when they are full-term. After we go back this time, we can prepare for the exams."

"Mother, please get ready. I will try to find a job as a village official."

"The farther from the city, the better."

Liu Zhang just sighed.

Soon, the two of them set off on their journey.

As the cold wind blew, the weeds were neatly pressed down, almost level with the ground, revealing a broken skeleton hidden in the weeds.

Lu Qubing's expression was extremely serious.

"Cui Mou really wants to kill us."

"The County Magistrate Guo he mentioned is related to Lord Yang, and Lord Yang is not on good terms with the Cui family. Cui Mou's father was dismissed from his official position because of Lord Yang."

"Once this new county magistrate arrives, he will definitely find a way to deal with Cui Mou. He is afraid that I can't keep the secret."

"Oh, I really can't hide it."

"That Hu'er didn't lie. They were going to attack us while we were out. If it weren't for this incident, we would have been buried under these weeds."

“So, Brother Taozi, was it you who broke into Fei Zongxian’s mansion at night and killed so many people?”

Lu Qubing asked suddenly.

Before Taozi even opened her mouth, he said hastily, "Forget it, don't tell me."

"I can't hide things." The two continued to walk away.

Lu Qubing sighed: "In this world, kind and honest people are bullied and humiliated. This is wrong."

"In the past, I just wanted to wait for the world to get better so that I could go out and make achievements."

"It seems that if we want to change the world, we still have to rely on ourselves. Even a famous person like Cui Mou is like this. Who else can we rely on?"

"I have to work hard. If I were in charge of the school, I would protect the thirty students and allow them to complete their studies with all their heart."

"If I were in charge of a county, I would protect the people of the county and ensure their peace and contentment. If I were an imperial censor, I would not allow traitors to run rampant in the country."

"I will never regret it until my death."

Lu Qubing looked a little excited. He was full of fighting spirit. He had completely changed from his previous decadent and confused look, and there was a gleam in his eyes.

"Brother Taozi, what about you?"

"What are your ambitions?"

"Become a village official and move my mother there."

Lu Qubing was stunned for a moment, then he laughed, "What a great ambition! If my mother were still alive, I would do the same!"

When the two returned to the county town again, Yao Xiong was still in charge of registration here.

He looked quite tired.

At this moment, there were a few people chatting behind him. These people were dressed luxuriously and behaved arrogantly. Lu Qubing had never seen them before.

Yao Xiong just nodded to them but didn't dare to talk.

Watching the two people enter the city, Yao Xiong sat there in a daze.

The sky kept changing and the night gradually deepened.

"Qihu! It's you! Switch shifts!"

Shouted by the knight guarding the gate, Yao Xiong stood up tremblingly, his legs were numb and he almost fell to the ground the moment he stood up.

He sat here for the entire day without any rest, only drinking some water, and he was almost exhausted.

But even so, he still had to nod to those people with a flattering look on his face, and then limped towards the county government office.

My whole body aches, and every step I take, every part of my body loudly speaks out its pain.

Yao Xiong walked to the county government office.

Outside the gates of the county government were all unfamiliar Xianbei people.

They were fully armed, with fierce eyes, standing at various important roads, staring at the people passing by.

A minor official like Yao Xiong could not enter through the main gate, so he went around to the left side of the county government office and entered the courtyard through a small door.

It was pitch dark, but there were still quite a few people in the courtyard. Some were covering their legs, some were rubbing their heads, and some were lying on the ground motionless.

A foul smell rolled in.

There was only a fire at the door of the house opposite, which could barely illuminate half of the courtyard.

Yao Xiong found a place and lay down as comfortably as possible.

He took a few bites of the cake and his expression became even uglier.

"This is worse than a study room."

someone complained.

Yao Xiong was stunned, then he remembered something and looked around, "Do you know who I saw today?"

"Who?"

"Brother Taozi and Lu Lingshi!"

Yao Xiong excitedly told everyone what happened when he saw the two of them at the city gate today, and everyone was happy to hear it.

"It would be nice if Brother Taozi was here."

Yao Xiong sighed, "Back in the day when we were in the Law School, we were also bullied and humiliated. The courtyard was stinking, and every time the old official came to deliver food, he would curse and nag at us."

"Those nobles outside would come in from time to time to amuse themselves and play with us. We had to endure all kinds of humiliation."

"Even Lu Lingshi couldn't persuade them."

"But when Brother Taozi arrived, the old official stopped talking, and the nobles outside did not dare to come in again. They were never bullied again."

The other few people also nodded, as if they were reminiscing.

"This place is even worse than the school. The officials bully us, the soldiers bully us, and even the old officials bully us. They treat us like slaves, don't give us time to rest, and take away our food."

Yao Xiong became more and more excited as he spoke.

"In ten days, Brother Taozi will be here!"

"We can endure this, but he may not be able to!"

“Our good days are coming.”

(End of this chapter)