Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 24: Abnormalities in Kuangcheng

Early in the morning.

In the early morning fog and still cold weather, the Fu family set out to leave Qu Bo's house.

Fu Zihou was carrying a package and holding his little nephew Qu Chong's hand. He looked at his elder sister and mother who were crying, and he didn't know what to say.

Not until they were far away from Lei Shi Village did Fu Zihou, his mother and others ask his eldest sister and brother-in-law to stop and not send them off.

Looking at his crying elder sister being hugged by his elder brother-in-law, Fu Zihou touched his nephew's face, then stood up and left with his mother and family.

"Hou'er, you have to take good care of your mother!"

Even after walking for quite a distance, Fu Zihou could still hear his elder sister crying behind him.

Fu Zihou turned around to look at his elder sister on the distant path and raised his hand to signal her not to worry.

last night.

When he woke up, Fu Zihou actually heard those words, but he didn't say anything because he knew his elder sister was worried.

Some things, as my elder sister said, are not suitable to be said.

But this does not mean that Fu Zihou will forget this matter. Since his second sister and Lei's family have chosen to do this, he will definitely get it back if he has the chance in the future.

What we are asking for is not the abandoned family affection, but justice!
Justice for the Fu family!!!

………………

Kuangcheng.

As the first city heading north from Wanqiu, and a must-pass place for major rivers leading to Xingyang County and Liang County, Kuangcheng’s importance in Huaiyang County is second only to Wanqiu.

Originally, Kuangcheng had an ancient name, Yangxia, which was the origin of Xie's family, Xie Daohong's title, and Duke of Yangxia.

More than ten years ago, in the seventh year of Kaihuang, Emperor Wen of Sui ordered to change the name of Yangxia to Taikang. In the seventeenth year of Kaihuang, it was changed from Taikang to the current Kuangcheng.

But whether it is Kuangcheng or Taikang, in the eyes of the older generation, they are all called Yangxia.

In this era of inconvenient transportation and limited information transmission, it was not only the older generation who were like this. In all counties across the country, unless they had been to Kuangcheng, the common people who lived a little further away and seldom went out, when asked about the second largest city in Huaiyang County, would instinctively answer Yangxia.

"We have just arrived in Kuangcheng. When can we take the boat? I am so tired! Daughter-in-law, if you are tired, just throw the package on the wooden cart!"

Zhang complained breathlessly, looking at her daughter-in-law Tai with heartache.

Tai looked at her husband and brother-in-law with pity. The two brothers pushed the wooden trailer all the way and were soaked in sweat. Fortunately, it was not cold during the day, otherwise both brothers would have fallen ill.

"Not far from Kuangcheng, you can take a boat on the Tongji Canal! Then you can travel along the river without having to walk!"

Old Liu was also very tired. He had many hidden illnesses and now he was carrying a package and a sword. After hearing what Zhang said, Old Liu also hoped to get on the boat as soon as possible.

Looking at Kuangcheng not far ahead, Mr. Liu was also glad that he had seen the Tongji Canal in his early years.

"Back then, the head of the family brought me from Tujun in the north, up the river to Luokou, and then went south via the Tongji Canal!"

Old Liu turned to Fu Zihou who was standing beside him and said with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. That year was the first time he followed Fu Rui back to the Fu family.

After the incident where the refugees broke into the city, Fu Rui never went north again.

"In those years, the entire river was littered with corpses. You can still touch the exposed bones buried in the mud along the river. I wonder if it has gotten better in recent years!"

As Old Liu was talking and walking, he suddenly noticed that Fu Zihou, who was helping Fu Zhi push the cart, suddenly stopped, frowned, and looked towards the city in the distance.

Everyone in the Fu family felt strange, and just as Old Liu was about to ask.

"Mr. Liu! Wait a minute!"

Fu Zihou suddenly shook his head at Old Liu, glanced at Old Liu and his family, and then looked at the city in the distance again. He always had a bad premonition between his brows, and his heartbeat began to accelerate.

This is a very mysterious feeling!

Even Fu Zihou couldn't explain it, but the last time he appeared, the Fu family almost died that night.

Now that he has appeared again, Fu Zihou has to be cautious. The whole family is here, and Fu Zihou dare not be careless with his father's instructions.

"We're all tired, take a rest!"

Aong looked at Fu Zihou, who was all wet, and thought that he was too tired, so he asked everyone to rest.

Just at this time, as the Fu family members were resting, a group of villagers were slowly walking towards them on the way to Fu family, obviously also going to Kuangcheng.

Since the Fu family had to carry their belongings and push the cart, they were naturally no match for the people who were hurrying along the way. As a result, they were often overtaken by other passers-by along the way. However, unlike the other people who were hurrying along the way, when they saw that person, all the Fu family members frowned, even Grandpa and Old Liu were no exception.

The reason was that among that group of people, except for the many villagers carrying loads behind them, the Fu family knew the four people walking in front.

Two elderly people in their sixties and seventies, and the other two people, one was Lei Kai who opened the door at Lei's house yesterday, and the other was Lei Kai's father Lei Qifeng.

"In-laws! Why are you here?"

Hearing the voice, Fu Zihou turned his head and looked at Lei Kai, and found that Lei Kai had a look of disdain and indifference on his face. Then he looked at Lei Kai's father, Lei Qifeng, who was walking forward and smilingly blaming the Fu family for leaving without saying goodbye.

As for the two old men in their fifties or sixties who were in plain clothes and were greeting the old man, Fu Zihou had also seen them. They were respected elders among the Lei people in Lei Shi Village.

It was these two old people who went to the Fu family to propose marriage on behalf of Lei Jing's family.

Judging from what Fu Nian said last night, these two people are probably going to the He family in Kuangcheng to propose marriage and present the betrothal gifts on behalf of Lei Kai.

"Hou'er, if you've had enough rest, go into the city early! It's so desolate out here, there's no one to be seen, it's better to go into the city early!"

Zhang was carrying a package on her back and looked at the Lei family's carrying poles filled with expensive betrothal gifts. She looked at the Lei family coldly and then urged everyone to hurry up.

What do you mean there is no one?
Hearing Zhang's words, not only did Lei Qifeng frown, but even the two old men with the surname Lei looked unhappy. They looked at Zhang and then at Aong.

Only Lei Kai didn't hear it at all. He still had a serious expression and didn't want to even look at the Fu family. His expression was full of arrogance.

After all, compared to all the belongings of the Fu family, they were just those packages and a wooden cart of luggage, while for their Lei family, whatever the villagers behind them were carrying was a valuable item.

"Speak less! Hou'er..."

When Grandpa saw the looks in the two elders' eyes, he knew them well. After hearing what his eldest daughter-in-law Zhang said, he didn't want to argue with the Lei family, so he looked at Zhang unhappily. Then, when he was about to speak to Fu Zihou, he saw Fu Zihou turned his head away.

"Aweng, we are not going into the city!"

Fu Zihou looked at Aweng and said that although he didn't know what would happen, he decided not to enter the city.

"Not going into the city? Hou'er, if you say we're not going into the city, what are we going to eat?"

When Zhang heard Fu Zihou's words, she immediately stood up, glanced at the Lei family, and frowned at Fu Zihou.

In Zhang's eyes, her nephew must be competing with the Lei family and does not want to go to the city with them. This makes her, as an aunt, very happy.

but……

What to eat if you don’t go into the city?

You can fight with each other, but you can’t starve your family!
In Zhang's eyes, this nephew must not do anything stupid!
"Aunt, we can't go into the city!"

Fu Zihou looked at his aunt Zhang and shook his head firmly as before. His eyes were full of seriousness, not at all like his usual easy-going self.

"The millet cakes that my elder sister gave me this morning are enough for us to eat for a long time on the road. Let's not go into Kuangcheng for now. Zihou will think of a way when we are on the road!" Fu Zihou knew that after passing Taikang City, once they took a boat, they would have to sit on it for several days, and the whole family would have to eat and drink.

But looking at Kuangcheng in the distance, Fu Zihou could not let his family enter the city no matter what.

On the trail.

After hearing what Fu Zihou said, whether it was Aweng, Fu Zhi or Tai, they all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Hou'er, we finally got to Kuangcheng..."

Aweng thought about it and decided to persuade Fu Zihou.

Seeing his eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law rushing on the road early in the morning, and about to reach Kuangcheng where they could have a rest, eat something and drink some water, Zihou said he did not want to enter the city.

"whispering sound!"

At this moment, Lei Kai felt as if he was watching a joke, as he saw all the men, women, young and old in the Fu family looking at Fu Zihou.

In Lei Kai's eyes, he had already determined that Fu Zihou deliberately did not enter the city because of their Lei family!

Last night, my aunt Fu Nian came back and asked about it, so Lei Kai naturally knew about it. The Fu family had already known yesterday that my aunt and the Lei family were unwilling to entertain everyone from the Fu family.

I'm afraid that Fu Zihou is holding a grudge, and now that he sees that the Lei family can come up with so many valuable properties, he feels unbalanced, so he wants to compete with the Lei family.

"Hou'er!"

Tao was also preparing to persuade her son at this time, but she was interrupted by a voice just as she opened her mouth.

"Nephew! Why don't you go into the city? Look at your grandfather, aunt, and mother! Who isn't tired? Your uncle is here, so don't mess around!"

Lei Qifeng also scolded Fu Zihou at this time, using the attitude of an elder, as if he was standing on the side of his parents, and reprimanded him righteously. After he finished speaking, he showed an angry look and glared at Fu Zihou.

"You are not young anymore, why are you so ignorant, so inconsiderate to your family, and so disrespectful to your elders?"

As soon as Lei Qifeng uttered a few swear words, Aweng, Old Liu, and Mrs. Tao all frowned, but when they looked at Lei Qifeng, they could not refute him.

"Hey! Lei's family still knows how to behave? Show sympathy to their family? Respect their elders?"

But at this time, Zhang retorted sarcastically and defended Fu Zihou without hesitation.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhang was referring to Fu Nian's words, saying that she was already a member of the Lei family, and she was mocking the Lei family's behavior yesterday to their face.

"How can you, Zhang, speak like that? I just..."

Lei Qifeng didn't expect that Zhang, such a shrew, would disregard his face and directly stand up to scold his Lei family. He immediately looked at Zhang.

"What's good about that? Is it your turn as a Lei family member to teach our Fu family a lesson?"

Zhang smiled, glared at Lei Qifeng, threw away the package on her shoulder, rolled up her sleeves, and said, "Try to scold my nephew again."

"OK OK!"

Seeing this, Aung, Tao and others stopped Zhang. Seeing Zhang and Lei Qifeng falling out, they were really worried that they would take action.

The two old men and the villagers of Lei Shi Village were no exception. They knew that Zhang was a shrew, but they did not expect Zhang to be so protective of her. Lei Qifeng scolded Fu Zihou a few words, and Zhang refused to allow it before Fu Zihou's mother even said anything.

"You shrew!"

"You are still an uneducated thing!!!"

"you……"

Lei Qifeng was humiliated and his face turned red.

The father and son looked at the Fu family with angry faces. If they hadn't seen that Old Liu had a sword on his waist and that there were two swords tied to the wooden trailer, they would have really wanted to slap Zhang a few times and smash her mouth.

But looking at Fu Zihou's eyes, for some reason, both Lei Qifeng and the two old men from Lei Village felt their hearts skip a beat.

He was a kind-looking boy just now, but in the blink of an eye, his eyes became like a different person, as cold-blooded as a butcher killing an animal.

"let's go!"

Lei Qifeng didn't dare to really take action, so he could only look at Zhang and speak. After that, he took his son and walked towards Kuangcheng.

Seeing this, the other two old men also looked at the Fu family. In fact, the two old men could see that if they really dared to touch the Zhang family, both the young man and the old man with a sword on the side would draw their swords.

Not wanting to really fight, the two old men didn't say hello and followed Lei Qifeng and his son away.

"We're not leaving! We'd rather not enter this city!"

Zhang was panting, with her hands in her arms, looking at the backs of Lei Qifeng and others.

"I bother!"

Zhang had a stern face, and seemed unwilling to look at those people any longer, so she turned her head to look elsewhere.

"Hou'er said something in anger, and you said something in anger too!"

Grandad looked at his eldest daughter-in-law and complained helplessly.

The other members of the Fu family were all at a loss when they saw this, and didn't know what to say. Only Fu Zihou looked at the backs of Lei Qifeng and his son and calmed himself down.

"Hou'er!"

Tao also saw the look in her son's eyes, and fearing that something might happen to him, she quickly raised her hand to comfort him.

"Mother, Hou'er is fine!"

Fu Zihou said to his mother, then looked at Aong.

"Aweng, let's go around the city!"

After saying this, Fu Zihou looked towards Kuangcheng in the distance.

Not far away, both the two old men from Lei Shi Village and Lei Qifeng heard Fu Zihou's words, but did not stop. Only Lei Kai turned around, looked at Fu Zihou, then sneered, and then walked towards Kuangcheng with his father without looking back.

Seeing this, Fu Zihou did not take it to heart. Instead, he looked towards the west of Kuangcheng with a serious face.

"Hou'er, what happened?"

Tao thought about it. After all, this family had to eat and drink, and she couldn't make a decision based on her son's words alone. Zhang was angry, so as a mother, she naturally had to ask clearly.

Like Aweng and others, Tao rarely saw Fu Zihou being so persistent.

Fu Zihou saw that Aweng, Old Liu, his cousin, Tai, and even his angry aunt Zhang were all looking at him, so he raised his hand and pointed to the west of Kuangcheng.

"Just now, Zihou discovered that there were birds flying from the west to the east intermittently, as if they were frightened! On the other hand, the birds in other directions did not do so!"

Fu Zihou explained that no matter whether it was a few individuals or a flock, there was no reason why they would all fly from one direction to another in a short period of time, and their speed would be different from that of the birds flying west in other directions.

Thinking about what happened in Wanqiu again, Fu Zihou had already vaguely guessed what might happen.

After hearing what Fu Zihou said, everyone in the Fu family looked at each other in doubt.

(End of this chapter)