The annual Anshun County Dragon Boat Race begins today.
As contestants from Lingshui Village, Mr. Xu and Mr. Xu set off early in the morning.
After Mr. Xu had breakfast, he went to catch the car. Mrs. Xu took Fubao with her to watch the excitement.
Fu Bao is also very interested in this.
Dragon boat racing, I don’t know if it is as exciting as what she has seen on TV before.
However, the three daughters-in-law of Lao Xu's family unanimously chose to stay at home. Although they also wanted to watch the dragon boat race, they, mothers, couldn't just leave this group of little kids alone, right
Lu Mudan was not interested in the dragon boat race either, so she simply stayed at Lao Xu's house and talked to Zhou and the others.
Uncle Lu, on the other hand, seemed very interested.
So, in the end, the people from the old Xu family going to the dragon boat race were Uncle Lu, Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu and Fubao. In addition, Lichun would also bring diapers, clean clothes and other items that Fubao might need.
The four little girls of Lao Xu's family basically followed Fu Bao in Lichun.
Xia Chu, Qiu Xiang, and Dong Xue helped the Zhou family, Li family, and Wang family respectively.
This time at the beginning of spring, I could follow him to see the dragon boat, which made the other three little girls jealous.
…
The carriage left Lingshui Village, and Mr. Xu drove the carriage.
Uncle Lu didn't like riding in a car too slowly, so he simply rode a horse to go ahead.
Along the way, Fubao was in high spirits and constantly looked at the situation on both sides of the road.
Everywhere is lush and green, a pleasant sight.
Drought, with that heavy rain, has completely become a thing of the past.
On the way, Mr. Xu would greet people from time to time.
However, no one touched the carriage.
Knowing that the people sitting in the car were women, even in this rural place, people knew to avoid suspicion.
Even when they met the purely female team, they had no idea of taking advantage of the car.
As a result, Mr. Xu drove the brisk carriage and quickly arrived at the venue of the dragon boat race.
Jiuqujiang!
This is a large river that spans Xiangyi Prefecture and Jiangcheng Prefecture.
The annual dragon boat race is held on the Jiuqu River.
At that time, people watching the game will gather on the embankment of Jiuqu River to watch this grand event.
During the dragon boat race, there will be many vendors on the Jiuqu River embankment. There are sellers of snacks, small toys, even rouge, gouache, clothes and fabrics.
On the day of the dragon boat race, the Jiuqu River Embankment is a super-large market.
This day is the most important day of the year for people throughout Anshun County, even more than the Chinese New Year.
Because if they win the final championship, the village will have a good year.
In addition, on this day, many girls will come here to see each other.
Most of the dragon boat racers in the dragon boat race are young men from various villages, and many of them are not yet engaged. Today, there will be many girls quietly looking and comparing in the dark.
Therefore, this dragon boat race is no small matter for people in every village.
…
On the stand set up by the Jiuqu River, Zuoqiu, the county magistrate, was accompanying Zhao Bingyu with a smile on his face.
In previous years, he, the parent official, was the talker at the dragon boat race.
But not this year.
With Zhao Bing?, the newly minted wealthy nobleman here, Zuoqiu could only settle for second place.
"Master Hou, are you satisfied with this?"
Zuoqiu half-hunched his waist and asked Zhao Bing? with a gentle smile.
"County Magistrate Zuo is rich in experience. You can make the decision. I am just a spectator. You can decide the specific situation, so I won't say anything more!"
Zhao Bing replied with a smile.
He came to see this dragon boat race not just to watch the fun.
He came with a purpose.
It's just that he won't tell anyone what he's here for until the time is up.
"grown ups!"
Just when 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's the matter?"
"Back to your lord, the prefect is here!"
Li Tuo quickly answered.
When Zuoqiu heard that Shen Wansheng was coming, he immediately reported it to Zhao Bing
"There is no need for Magistrate Zuo to tell me about such official matters. You can do your own thing."
"I thank you, Lord Marquis, for your understanding!"
Zuoqiu left immediately to meet Shen Wansheng.
But when he met Shen Wansheng, he found that his sworn second brother was not the only one coming.
Officials from the three offices sent by the imperial court to investigate the disappearance of Xu Yuanzun arrived.
"I have met my mentor!"
Seeing Dai Duo, Zuoqiu immediately stepped forward to greet him and gave him the great disciple's salute.
Seeing such a scene, Shen Wansheng was also stunned for a moment. He really didn't know that Zuoqiu and Dai Duo had such a relationship.
"It's Dingshan, yes, you've done well over the years!"
Dai Duo looked at Zuoqiu and raised his hand, "Get up quickly. Let me introduce you. This is Chen Zheng, the censor of the Inspectorate. His name is Lingzheng. From now on, you two can get closer." !”
"I've met brother Ling Zheng!"
After hearing Dai Duo's words, Zuoqiu immediately hugged Chen Zheng, saying that they were brothers, rather than calling him by his official title. This is what Dai Duo calls intimacy.
Chen Zheng also clasped his fists and replied: "Brother Dingshan."
As for Liu Zhongda, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple, he was ignored by Dai Duo.
However, even so, Liu Zhongda did not dare to complain at all.
Because of him, Xu Yuanzi lost his life.
When the news reaches the capital, and when the decree comes, he, the prime minister of Dali Temple, will do his best. If he is not lucky enough, he may have to go to jail or even lose his life.
Now that he was just being left out and ignored, what else could he be dissatisfied with
Knowing the purpose of Shen Wansheng, Dai Duo and his party's visit, Zuoqiu could only express his apology.
The Yi Zhuang where the eighteen horse thieves' corpses were stored has now been burned down. It was not that someone set the fire maliciously, but that a man, because his wife and children died, couldn't think about it for a moment, so he burned himself in Yizhuang while holding the bodies of his wife and children.
Therefore, it is naturally impossible to check the body of the horse thief.
"Dingshan, how could you be so careless with such important evidence!"
"Teacher, what do you mean by this?"
Zuoqiu was stunned for a moment, "Some horse thieves, just kill them. How come they become evidence? What evidence?"
"Mr. Dai, I have not informed the local government about Xu Yuanzun's case."
"It's not my fault that County Magistrate Zuo didn't know about it."
Shen Wansheng decisively came out to help Zuoqiu out of trouble.
"Teacher, Lord Magistrate, I wonder what happened?"
Zuoqiu looked serious, "The corpses of the eighteen horse thieves were indeed burned, but the clothes they were wearing, their mounts, and the weapons in their hands are all kept in the county government office."
"Okay, okay, it's true that there is no end to the road!"
Upon hearing what Zuoqiu said, Dai Duo suddenly beamed with joy.
As long as you see these things, you can have a rough understanding of the identities of these horse thieves.
"Teacher, Lord Magistrate, today is the big day for my annual dragon boat race in Anshun County. If you are not in a hurry, can you wait for half a day so that I can finish presiding over the dragon boat race?"
"Oh, by the way, Marquis Fugui is in the stands in front at the moment."
Zuoqiu raised his hand and pointed to the stands on the river embankment ahead.
"No hurry, no rush, let's go, follow me to see the rich prince!"
"I have to pay my respects!"
Shen Wansheng chuckled, "Xiangyi Prefecture is experiencing a severe drought this year. If the Marquis of Fugui hadn't stepped in to take action, I don't know how many families would have sold their sons and daughters under our rule. I owe the Marquis of Fugui a huge favor!"
So, a group of people, led by Zuoqiu, went to the stands.
Zhao Bing sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, even when facing Dai Duo, the elderly left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, he sat there very firmly.
"Dai Gong Haihan, I haven't recovered from my injury yet. It's a bit unbearable for me to stand up again after sitting down!"
"No need to be polite, Marquis Fugui!"
Dai Duo chuckled and pointed at the river, "Let's watch the fun together!"
"OK!"
Mr. Zhao Er smiled so harmlessly.
When Zuoqiu saw this scene, he immediately waved the flag in his hand, signaling that the dragon boat race was ready to begin.
Then, the officer who delivered the order quickly reported the news to each dragon boat racing team on the river.
Anshun County has six towns and 72 villages under its jurisdiction.
It is impossible for seventy-two dragon boats to line up on this river. Therefore, the preliminary round of the dragon boat race is divided into eight races, with nine teams starting in each race.
There are seventy-two dragon boats and seventy-two serial number plates. The numbers on the serial number plates are from one to eight.
Before the game starts, drummers from each team come on stage to draw numbers. Then, the game starts according to the drawn sequence number. Serial cards with the same number are the same game.
As Zuoqiu's people gave instructions, each team drew its own serial 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 advance to the finals.
If you are unlucky, even a very strong team may not be able to make it to the finals.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
Along with the sound of drums, the dragon boat race officially started.
When the drums stopped and a gong sounded, the first preliminary round began.
The nine dragon boats are like arrows leaving the string, moving forward at high speed on the river.
On the embankment, Fu Bao sat on Mr. Xu's neck, his eyes widened, watching the dragon boats speeding forward on the water, feeling inexplicably excited.
At that moment, Fu Bao almost shouted "Come on" excitedly.
Fortunately, his mother said something at the critical moment, which brought Fu Bao back to his senses from his excitement.
"Master, can we win?"
Mrs. Xu looked very nervous, and she also suddenly accepted such a question.
Mr. Xu chuckled and said: "From the current point of view, it should be very promising. These dragon boats are not very fast. Compared with the boss and the others, they are not even a bit worse."
"It would be great if I can win!"
Mrs. Xu sighed.
Fu Bao was awakened by his own mother's words, and naturally lost his previous excitement.
Among these nine boats, there is no dragon boat from their village, so why should they shout? Does it destroy one's own prestige by growing other people's ambitions
Fubao figured it out, but there were still others who didn't understand. Waves of shouts rang out from the shore, and people kept cheering and cheering for each village.
In the end, among the first batch of teams, the winner turned out to be Shangxi Village, which almost fought with Lingshui Village over grabbing water during the severe drought.
"reward!"
At the end of the first batch of preliminaries, Zhao Bingyu suddenly said, "All teams will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver, and the winning team will be rewarded with forty taels of silver."
"The teams behind will all follow this reward method!"
"On behalf of all the dragon boat racers, I would like to thank Fuguihou!"
As the local parent official, Zuoqiu really had to come forward to say thank you to Zhao Bing in this situation. After all, the dragon boat racing teams still have to compete!
"You are so polite, Magistrate Zuo. I just watched the fun and was happy. I gave you a few pieces of silver, but I can't thank you for it!"
What does it mean to have money and be willful
Look at the rich and noble Lord Zhao Er, this is it!
When Zuoqiu had someone convey the news below, all the participating teams were excited.
Even if you don't make it to the finals, you can still get money. Although it's not much, it's money after all!
In the next race, all the dragon boats are accelerating, accelerating, and accelerating.
As the speed of the dragon boat increased, the wealthy and willful Mr. Zhao Er once raised the silver reward to fifty taels, and the first place directly received a hundred taels.
Everyone was boiling and cheering.
However, no one noticed that Zhao Bingyu's eyes were not very excited.
"It's not enough, it's still not enough, it's almost, it's almost!"
Zhao Bingxi whispered to himself in a low voice, in a voice that only he could hear, and his hands were trembling slightly.
"Magistrate Zuo, are the sixth batch of preliminaries dragon boats here?"
Zhao Bingqi looked at Zuoqiu, who was sitting next to him in the last seat, and smiled slightly, "Please tell the dragon boat racers behind you that if there is a dragon boat that can go faster in the preliminaries, I will reward you with five hundred silver coins." two!"
Five hundred taels!
As soon as this number came out, everyone became restless.
Dai Duo turned to look at Zhao Bingyu and said in a deep voice: "Marquis Fugui, what do you mean?"
"It's not interesting, I just think the speed is too slow!"
"Don't Mr. Dai think this dragon boat race is not exciting enough?"
Zhao Bingxi smiled slightly, "I once watched a dragon boat race on the Chu River in the south. It was like a dragon boat flying on the water as fast as an arrow, as if it could fly at any time."
"I have heard about this. It is said that the Chu dragon boat is the fastest. But I have never seen it with my own eyes. What a pity!"
Dai Duo nodded after hearing Zhao Bingyu's words. He had also heard about Chu Di Long Zhou.
…
On the Jiuqu River embankment, Uncle Lu suddenly jumped out from beside Mr. Xu.
"Master, where were you just now? You have missed several dragon boat races. Didn't you see that the speed was really too fast? It was simply not this fast in previous years!"
"Money can make the world go round!"
Uncle Lu glanced at Mr. Xu, "But now is not the time to talk about this. Hurry up, take your wife and little Fubao, and hide on the hill over there for a while!"
"Ah? Hide for a while? Why are you hiding?"
"Master, is something going to happen?"
After hearing Uncle Lu's words, Mr. Xu not only did not retreat, but actually became very interested.
"Is there an expert here?"
Ever since he inquired about Uncle Lu's martial arts theories of nature and nurture, Mr. Xu has become quite interested in these things.
For Mr. Xu, Uncle Lu's words made him discover a new world that he had never been exposed to before.
Curiosity is something everyone has.
As Mr. Xu, who can practice such good martial arts, is naturally very obsessed with and interested in these things.
What Uncle Lu said was really very attractive to Mr. Xu.
Sitting on Mr. Xu's neck, Fu Bao listened to her father's enthusiastic words. Thinking of the truth her beautiful master told her in the morning, she really couldn't bear to see her father be so stupid.
However, now she is unable to stop it.
So, let’s continue watching dad’s excitement!
When Fubao made up his mind to be a small spectator, he suddenly found that the water of the Jiuqu River in front of him was a little different. It was hazy, as if it was about to fog.
"ah!"
"ah!"
Fu Bao quickly reached out to grab his father's hair, drawing his attention to the Jiuqu River.
Mr. Xu, whose hair was grabbed by Fu Bao, turned his head to look at Jiang.
"Walk!"
Uncle Lu saw the changes on the river surface and immediately glared at Mr. Xu, "Quick!"
"oh!"
This time, Mr. Xu was not stubborn anymore.
The sun was shining brightly and the river was looking fine, but it seemed to be fogging for no reason.
Mr. Xu held Fu Bao in one hand and held his wife in the other. He called for the beginning of spring, squeezed out of the crowd as quickly as possible, and headed straight for the hillside that Uncle Lu had mentioned before.
When I reached the hillside and looked back, I could still see the surface of the Jiuqu River, but the fog on the river became thicker and thicker.
"Magistrate Zuo, evacuate the people immediately!"
Zhao Bingyu, who had been sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, stood up suddenly at this moment and gave orders directly.
"ah?!"
Zuoqiu was stunned for a moment and looked at Zhao Bingyu in confusion.
Zhao Bingxi immediately spoke and said: "Do it immediately!"
"If time is wasted and someone's life is lost, you cannot bear the responsibility!"
"Dingshan, go quickly!"
Dai Duo also spoke at this moment.
Although Zuoqiu didn't know the reason, Zhao Bingyi and Dai Duo both said so, so he could only do it.
Gongs ring.
Officials from Anshun County came on stage one after another and began to disperse the people on the river embankment.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the people on the river embankment were dispersed.
At the same moment, the fog on the Jiuqu River had reached the point where it was difficult to see even one's fingers.
…
Fu Bao was held by Mr. Xu and kept staring at the thick fog. Slowly, she felt that the mist seemed to be alive, and there seemed to be something faintly hovering in the mist.
"Chirp——"
Just as Fubao was staring at the thing in the mist, a loud arrow shot up into the sky and made a sharp sound.
The next moment, carriages appeared on the river embankment. The driver got out of the car, drew his knife, and mercilessly stabbed the back of the horse pulling the carriage with the short knife in his hand.
The horse was in pain, so it spread its hooves and ran forward.
The galloping packhorse led the carriage directly into the Jiuqu River.
The wooden barrels pulled by the carriage flew up.
Unknown gunpowder flew out of the barrel, and the fishy smell soon filled the air.
"hold head high--"
As all this happened, a painful scream came vaguely from the mist, but I didn't know what it was that was screaming.
"What the hell?"
When Mr. Xu saw the strange scene in front of him, he believed what Uncle Lu told him more and more.
Fubao originally listened to his master's words and thought that this bad old man was a big liar. But now, she is also a little doubtful.
The neighing sound just now sounded like a dragon's roar!
Fu Bao has never seen a dragon, and naturally he has never heard a dragon roar.
But in many TV series, Long Yin seems to be like this.
But are there really dragons in this world
The carriage that rushed towards the Jiuqu River just now, and what were the things that broke out of those empty barrels
boom!
rumble!
Just when everyone's attention was attracted by the fog, the day turned overcast unknowingly, and dark clouds gathered in the sky above the Jiuqu River.
Lightning, thunder, and roaring continued.
"Isn't this Nima going through a tribulation?"
Fu Bao swallowed.
Internet trolls used to joke that every time they saw thunder and lightning somewhere, they would joke that it was a Taoist friend who was going through the tribulation. Now, when Fubao looked at the magical scene in front of him, he couldn't help but wonder, could there really be something going through the tribulation
If transcending tribulation is true, then isn't it possible that there are such things as gods and monsters in this world
Unfortunately, facts have proven that transcending tribulation does not exist.
When the thunder stopped, it rained.
Fortunately, Mr. Xu took them back to the carriage early, thus avoiding getting soaked by the heavy rain.
The rainstorm came suddenly and ended quickly.
For half an hour at most, the clouds cleared and the rain dispersed, and the sun shone brightly in the sky.
The family got out of the carriage, and Fu Bao was held by Mrs. Xu. As soon as he got out of the car, his eyes unconsciously looked at a puddle in front of him. In that puddle, there was a pure golden carp swimming. Thumb size.
"fish!"
"fish!"
"keep!"
"mine!"
The moment he saw this golden carp, the thought that came to Fu Bao's mind was to keep it, he must keep it.
"Okay, okay, raise, raise!"
Mr. Xu followed Fubao's finger and discovered the little carp in the puddle.
"She looks pretty good, just keep it as long as you want!"
Mr. Xu was not surprised at all why there was a golden carp in the puddle.
Because, this kind of fish falling from the sky is really not a rare thing. Mr. Xu didn't know what kind of situation this was, but that didn't stop him from knowing that this situation existed.
After the rain, the sky cleared, and the dragon boat race continued.
In the stands, Zuoqiu, Dai Duo and others were very suspicious, but no one expressed their disapproval.
They all could see that behind this matter, there was Zhao Bing?, the newly promoted first-class wealthy prince. No matter what Zhao Bingxi was doing, they were not qualified to ask.
Even if there is any suspicion, they can only report it to the Zongren Mansion, which will continue the investigation.
Not long after Mr. Xu collected the golden little carp in a porcelain jar filled with water in the carriage, Uncle Lu appeared at Mr. Xu's side.
"Master, what was that just now?"
"Did you fight the other party?"
Seeing Uncle Lu coming back, Mr. Xu immediately became interested.
"Just now, it was the method used by the remnants of the previous dynasty to calamity their luck. I didn't find the bull's nose that cast the spell, so he escaped the disaster!"
Uncle Lu was a little angry after hearing what Mr. Xu said. (End of chapter)