The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Time for future updates: 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m.

—

When we returned to the pavilion, twilight had come.

On the way back, Shi Juxian said goodbye and went home. Xun Zhen led the horse into the pavilion alone, and just after entering the front yard, she heard a burst of crying.

Huang Zhong, Cheng Yan, Chen Bao and others were all there, in addition to three strange men and two women.

The cry came from the two women. They knelt beside Wang Tu's body. The older one lay on the ground and cried a lot. The younger one didn't cry too loudly, but it was still weeping.

Cheng Yan trotted over, took the reins, and led them to the stable.

Huang Zhong, Chen Bao and two other men hurried up to meet him. Huang Zhong pointed to one of the three men and introduced: "Xunjun, this is asking for Du Mai to be stolen from this pavilion."

"Little man Du Mai, I have met Xun Jun."

Du Mai was about 30 years old, tall and stocky, with a black and red complexion. When he bowed, his legs were not together, but separated, as if they were tucked in circles.

In a pavilion, if the pavilion chief is compared to the master, then the "pavilion father" is similar to the housekeeper, and the "begging for theft" is the eagle dog.

Xun Zhen returned a bow and said, "In the future, you and my colleagues don't have to be polite."

Huang Zhong went on to introduce: "These two are brothers from the Fan family, this is Fan Tan and this is Fan Shang, both of them are Ben Ting Ting's soldiers."

The two brothers are of similar height and features, both with deep eye sockets and high cheekbones. At first glance, they look a bit like Hu people, and they are seven feet taller than Du Mai.

After seeing each other, Du Mai said, "I don't know that Xunjun is here today, but it's really rude to not meet him." After looking at Wang Tu's body and the two women, he continued, "If A Bao had to tell him, I didn't expect it. Xu Zhonghui was so daring to come to our pavilion and kill Wang Tu in the busy city.... Xun Jun just went to Xu's house? Can you find out where Xu Zhong fled to?"

"According to the young man in the city, he should have fled to Xu County. Only his old mother and his younger brother are in his house, and there is no clue. ... Are these two women Wang Tu's wives and daughters?"

Huang Zhong replied, "Yes."

Wang Tu's wife and daughter were all focused on Wang Tu, and wept endlessly, ignoring Xun Zhen's return. Huang Zhong walked over, sighed, and said, "Don't cry. Master Ting Xun is back. Get up first and speak slowly if you have anything to say."

It was good that he didn't remind him. When he reminded him, the older woman immediately raised her body. The newcomer was only Xun Zhen, who was obviously Chief Ting.

She rushed over, grabbed Xun Zhen's feet, and kowtowed and cried, "Jun Ting! Jun Ting! The concubine-in-law was fine when he went out in the morning, but he was killed in the afternoon. When he died, he left the concubine orphans and widows behind. What should I do in this day? Tingjun, Tingjun, please be the master of the concubine!"

Xun Zhen took two steps back, broke her feet out of her hands, bent over to help her up, and said, "The murderer may have fled Ta County, this case needs to be reported to the county temple, how to deal with it is entirely up to the county magistrate. Order. But don’t worry, I will definitely cooperate with the county’s order.”

The woman kowtowed again and again, weeping.

Xun Zhenfu said warmly again: "It's getting late, and it's inconvenient to travel after the curfew. You go back first. I'll send someone to the county center to report the case. If you hurry, someone will come down from the county tomorrow. I'll ask you guys about the situation. When you go back, don't go out, just wait at home, okay?"

Hearing his cry and watching his sad face, even the cold-blooded person will feel sorry for him.

Xun Zhen said in his heart: "If it's all about love and reason, Xu Zhong should be arrested and brought to justice. But..., sigh." Although he didn't know what the county meant, at least he had decided to "open the door" to Xu Zhong, and now he will pity them again. It was also useless, "Wang Tu is dead, and people can't be resurrected from the dead. If there is a chance, just help them more in the future."

While thinking about it, he took out some more money, handed it to Huang Zhong, and said, "Her two women, lost in this tragic incident, can't let them go back alone, you give them a ride. Wang Tu is dead, I heard that many relatives of her family have died in the epidemic, and they are afraid that their livelihood will be difficult in the future. You give them this money. Although not much, it is better than nothing. "

Huang Zhong responded, picked up the older woman, greeted Wang Tu's daughter, and persuaded them for a while before leaving with them. Wang Tu's body was left in the pavilion, waiting for the people from the county to inspect it.

Xun Zhen's actions fell into the eyes of Du Mai, and Du Mai praised: "Xun Jun is kind, and the Wang family is very lucky."

Only Xunzhen left the money in the Xu family and sent it to the Wang family. One was for a "big plan" and the other was out of sympathy. He didn't explain, and said, "The killing of a thief is a major case, and it cannot be delayed. It needs to be reported to the county as soon as possible. Du Jun, will you work hard for you to go to the county?"

Du Mai is "seeking theft", not only has the responsibility of "catching theft" and "preparing for theft", but also has the responsibility to report to the chief justice of the county when a criminal case occurs in the pavilion. Although the night was approaching and the night road was inconvenient, he could not refuse his duty, and readily agreed.

"Wait a minute, I will write you a certificate so that you can prepare for the inquiries along the pavilion and entering the city after the curfew."

Xun Zhen went to the backyard to write an official document and handed it over to Du Mai, and said, "This is a ten-mile drive to the county, it's getting dark, and it's not safe for you to travel alone at night. I'll lend you a horse, you can find someone to go with you. Bar."

Before Xun Zhen came, there was only one old horse in the pavilion. Du Mai used to ride it to inspect the pavilion, and it was not enough for two people.

Du Mai thanked him and called Fan Tan, one of the Fan family brothers. The two of them didn't wait for dinner, they led the horse out of the pavilion, and rushed to the county in the face of the twilight.

…

Just like the county officials, the people in the pavilion also eat and live in the pavilion during working hours, and are not allowed to go home. Usually, Huang Zhong is in charge of cooking, and everyone in Cheng Yan can only eat, not cook.

Huang Zhong wasn't there at the moment, but Xun Zhen didn't mind cooking, but when he first took office, he was in a big case. His "big plan" to save his life in troubled times, the freshness of the first pavilion chief, Xu Zhongren's reputation for filial piety, the tragic state of Wang Tu's corpse on the street, and the sad appearance of Wang Tu's wife and daughter, and even after the case is reported, who will the county government send? When he came down, how should he deal with it, all kinds of things were intertwined in his mind, his thoughts were chaotic, he didn't even feel hungry, and of course he was not interested in cooking.

He instructed Cheng Yan, Chen Bao, and Fan Shang to move Wang Tu's body to the corner of the wall, cover it with a mat, put away the tools, boards and ropes used by the pavilion chief for law enforcement. She sat at the door of the courtyard.

The twilight gradually deepened, and there were fewer pedestrians on the official road. Occasionally, those who hurried past the gate of the house were no longer travelers passing by, but farmers returning home from the fields.

The red sun sets in the west, burning the clouds in the sky red. The fertile and green fields are connected with the distant forests and mountains. Under the twilight, it is a little quiet and a little lonely. The wind was as cool as water, three or two sparrows flew by chirping, and smoke curled up in the lichen within sight.

Cheng Yan, Chen Bao, and Fan Shang approached and squatted by the stool. Cheng Yan and Chen Bao had already met Xun Zhen, but Fan Shang had just met and looked at him secretly with curiosity.

In the face of the future Shangguan, the three of them wanted to say something, but Xunzhen just sat quietly looking at the wilderness, and they didn't know how to speak or where to start. In the end, Cheng Yan couldn't help it. He had nothing to say, so he broke the silence and asked, "Jun Xun, have you always lived in the city?"

"right."

"Coming to our country place, do you get used to it?"

"What's wrong with it? To be honest, the pavilion is bigger than my house."

Unlike Cheng Yan, Chen Bao carefully observed Xunzhen's expression before speaking, and then said, "Xunjun, I have something to ask or not?"

"what?"

"You are a son of the Xun family. Although the villain has no knowledge, he also knows the high name of the monarch's family. Why don't you work in the county, but come to be a pavilion chief?"

"Isn't it the same where you work?"

Fan Shang disapproved, widened his sunken eyes, raised his nose, and said, "How can it be the same? Working in the county, you have a decent salary and a lot of salary! How much is the head of the pavilion? It's barely enough for food. , If you work in the county, at least you are a hundred stone official!" When he said "decent, well-paid, hundred stone official", his face was full of admiration.

"You're right, but that's not my ambition."

"ambition?"

Chen Bao, Cheng Yan, and Fan Shang looked at each other in dismay. The respectable county official was unwilling to do it, and was willing to be a pavilion chief who welcomed the delivery and had complicated things. What kind of ambition is this? I've only heard of people walking up high, but I've never heard of people walking down low. This new chief pavilion is really interesting.

Cheng Yan was rough and couldn't hide his thoughts. With an expression of disapproval on his face, he almost said the words "Does your ambition be to be a pavilion chief?".

Chen Bao is a master of gambling, with a more refined mind, and asked cautiously, "So, what is Xun Jun's ambition?"

Xun Zhen was silent for a moment, looked at the sky and the setting sun, and recited: "Suxing sleeps at night, not born by Er. It is clear and wise, so as to protect his body."

Chen Bao, Cheng Yan, and Fan Shang had never read a book, so they could not understand.

Cheng Yan scratched the scar on his face and asked, "Xunjun, what did you say? I didn't understand. What do you mean?"

These lines are all from the Book of Songs.

The meaning of the first two sentences is: "When you get up early and go to bed late, think about it, don't be sorry for your life"; Linked together, Xun Zhen is saying: "It's not easy for me to be a human being in two lifetimes. It's going to be a troubled world, and I must try my best to save my life."

Of course, Xun Zhen couldn't explain this to them. He just stared at the setting sun and kept silent.

When twilight is at its extreme, night falls.

…

The light night is like a gauze, covering the earth.

Huang Zhong returned to the pavilion, met the three people at the door, and said in surprise: "Why are you all staying at the door? Xun Jun, I sent Wang Tu's wife and daughter back, it's really pitiful, I cried all the way, UU reading www.uukanshu.com can't be persuaded. I told Li Kui and her neighbors to take care of them and don't let anything happen again."

The pastoral scenery after nightfall is even quieter. After sitting at the door for a while, and talking to Cheng Yan, Chen Bao, and Fan Shang for a while, Xun Zhen's mood calmed down.

He exhaled a turbid breath, no longer thinking about Xu Zhong, no longer thinking about Wang Tu and his wife and daughter, no longer thinking about his own "big plan", and no longer thinking about the knowable and unknowable future, and said: " Thank you for your hard work. Duke Huang, don't forget to close the door. I'm going to sleep first."

"Stop eating?"

"Not hungry. Eat."

Huang Zhong was inexplicable. After Xun Zhen entered the backyard, he asked Cheng Yan, Chen Bao, and Fan Shang: "What did you just say to Xun Jun? How do you see him in a trance and lowness?"

"I didn't say anything, so I just chatted a few words. When it comes to 'aspiration',... eh, by the way, Lao Huang, you have read the book, 'Wake up is also charming, five days to live', what does it mean?"

"..., what a mess!"

Huang Zhong had only read literacy textbooks such as "Ji Jiu Pian", and had no idea what Cheng Yan was talking about: "Xun Jun just arrived, you don't know how to serve more, and you haven't lit candles yet! Black lights are blinding fire." After a few words, he called Cheng Yan again, "Ayan, Xun Jun doesn't know if he can find the burnt stone. You go and see it and help." Burnt stone, that is, flint, is used for making fire.

The candles were lit, the chickens were commotion, and then the pots and pans in the kitchen sounded. It didn't take long for the fragrant rice to fill the courtyard.

Huang Zhong closed the door of the house, and he and Cheng Yan, Chen Bao, and Fan Shang were in the courtyard covered in moonlight and starlight, eating, drinking, talking and laughing. The chatter and laughter spread far and wide in the night, and it also spread into the quiet backyard and into Xun Zhen's ears.

The moon is bending over Kyushu, and some families are happy and some are sad.

With different thoughts, people ended the day's activities, and the first day of Xun Zhen's inauguration ended like this.