"The blades and spears have no eyes, be careful not to injure Duke Zhou! Have him come in." Just as Zhou Fugui and Huang Shibaba were at swords' point, about to engage in a martial arts duel, a gruff voice suddenly came from inside the room.
Huang Shibaba glanced at Zhou Fugui, sheathed his sword, and made a gesture of invitation to Zhou Fugui.
Who would injure whom was yet to be determined, Zhou Fugui muttered to himself upon hearing this, then placed his heavy sword in the training hall and walked inside unarmed.
To carry a sword into a room was a sign of disrespect to the host.
Zhou Fugui had already entered the Huang family compound, so what was the point of being on guard? It was better to be forthright. Moreover, if the Huang family wished to harm Zhou Fugui, no matter how brave he was, he could not possibly fight his way out of the Huang family compound alone.
He was not even sure he could defeat Huang Shibaba alone.
The sword techniques Zhou Fugui practiced were mostly for battlefield combat, characterized by wide, sweeping strikes. Therefore, in a martial arts contest with Huang Shibaba, he was not necessarily his match.
"Hmph!" As Zhou Fugui passed by Huang Daimei, she lifted her chin, as delicate as a lotus petal, and let out a cold snort, implying he was wise to back down.
Zhou Fugui shook his head, brushed past Huang Daimei, and then turned to glance at her, as if to say, "Only women and petty men are hard to deal with!"
Huang Daimei, with her back turned, always felt a pair of lecherous eyes on her. Embarrassed, she turned around and indeed saw Zhou Fugui's provocative gaze. She glared at him fiercely, her eyes like her brother's fine steel sword, as if carving him up.
"Little sister, Duke Zhou is not yet married," Huang Shirin said with a smile as he walked to Huang Daimei's side after Zhou Fugui entered the room.
"Second brother... whether he is married or not... what does it have to do with me?" Huang Daimei said, lowering her head, her face red with annoyance.
"Stop teasing little sister..." Huang Shibaba said to Huang Shirin, "How can the daughter of my Yihao family marry a Han traitor?"
"Heh, elder brother, if a Han traitor repents, is he still a Han traitor?" Huang Shirin chuckled.
"Second brother, it seems he is living quite leisurely as a Duke. How can he repent?" Huang Daimei said.
"Hmm, so you mean if he stops being a Duke, you'd be interested in him and marry him?" Huang Shirin asked with a smile.
"Second brother, if you keep saying this, I'll really get angry..." Huang Daimei stamped her foot in anger and shame, "Who wants to marry him? If you want to marry, you marry him..."
...
"For the country and the people, a true hero! Duke Zhou's words are very reasonable and heroic! But the people are the people, and the country is not the country!"
After a long, long time, the patriarch of the Huang family, Huang Weilun, personally escorted Zhou Fugui to the door and said to him, "For the country and the people, a true hero! Duke Zhou's words are very reasonable and heroic! But the people are the people, and the country is not the country!"
Huang Weilun was tall and imposing, and his eldest son, Huang Shibaba, resembled him greatly, only Huang Weilun was even more robust and, of course, older.
"Cao camp... Cao camp..." Zhou Fugui whispered to Huang Weilun.
The two murmured at the door, appearing unusually intimate, which made the Huang siblings, who had been waiting in the training hall, extremely puzzled.
Their father had never treated a junior, let alone a Han traitor junior, in such a manner.
"Haha!" Huang Weilun burst into laughter, and then, walking to the crowd with Zhou Fugui, loudly announced, "From today onwards, Duke Zhou is the Deputy Leader of our Yi Qing Society. His command is my command!"
What? This Han traitor joined the Yi Qing Society, whose mission was to expel barbarians? And was even a Deputy Leader? Everyone was stunned and exchanged bewildered glances, unsure what they had discussed in private.
Huang Shibaba and Huang Shirin, the two brothers, wanted to ask, but dared not. They both opened their mouths, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Father..." Huang Daimei dared to speak, but was interrupted by Huang Weilun.
"Why aren't you paying respects to the Deputy Leader?" Huang Weilun interrupted Huang Daimei.
"Pay respects to the Deputy Leader!" Everyone had no choice but to bow. The Huang siblings did the same, though as Huang Daimei curtsied, she wished she could kill Zhou Fugui with her eyes.
"You may rise, you may rise. It's all good, it's all good. From now on, we are family..." Zhou Fugui said with a smile. "However, everyone, I must remind you that outside, you should still address me as 'Duke'."
"Hmph, we are not fools, do we need you to remind us? And who is your family?" Huang Daimei snorted coldly again.
"Daimei, do not be rude!" Huang Weilun rebuked Huang Daimei and then said to Zhou Fugui, "My daughter is young and unruly, please forgive her for making you laugh."
"It's nothing, it's nothing..." Zhou Fugui smiled and said, "Miss Huang disguised herself, showed great courage, and boldly ventured into... that barbarian camp. She had a profound conversation with me and displayed exceptional intellect. I am full of admiration, why would I laugh at her?"
Everyone chuckled at this.
"This humble maiden is far inferior to Your Grace the Duke," Huang Daimei also smiled, her face blooming like a flower.
When it came to women, especially beautiful ones, Zhou Fugui always liked to tease them. It was his nature, and he didn't mean anything else by it.
...
The Imperial Palace of the Great Yan Kingdom in Youzhou.
"Princess of Lelang, what do you think of this matter?" Empress Dowager Murong Qing asked Princess of Lelang Murong Huiying, holding Zhou Fugui's urgent report.
For some unknown reason, Murong Qing always liked to summon Murong Huiying to the palace to attend her, even treating her as a transcriptionist and imperial female official.
"Marquis Pingliang requests relief, but Your Majesty..." Murong Huiying's expression was calm, and she said faintly, "Does the court have the money and grain to provide relief to Donghai Commandery?"
Murong Huiying spoke of Zhou Fugui's affairs with a detached air, as if discussing someone completely unrelated to her.
"Mm, you have a point." Murong Qing nodded after glancing at Murong Huiying.
The Great Yan Kingdom had experienced a series of major events, and the national treasury had long been empty. It had only recently recovered somewhat, and it was indeed unable to afford extra funds and grain for relief in Donghai Commandery.
"Your Majesty..." Murong Huiying added, "Not only will the court not provide relief to Donghai Commandery, but it must also dispatch troops and officials to set up checkpoints, prohibiting people from Donghai Commandery from leaving."
"Why is this so?" Murong Qing asked in surprise.
"The epidemic is as ferocious as a tiger. It must not spread to the capital and endanger the safety of Your Majesty and His Highness," Murong Huiying replied.
Murong Qing fell silent, her heart filled with hesitation.
The epidemic was raging in Donghai Commandery. Zhou Fugui, as the Duke of Donghai and the Prefect of Donghai, was fighting the epidemic while also seeking help from the court. The court's indifference was one thing, but to seal off Donghai Commandery and prevent its people from leaving was too unfair to Zhou Fugui.
Murong Qing felt quite guilty.
However, what Murong Huiying said was also reasonable. If the epidemic in Donghai Commandery spread to the capital, or even to all the commanderies and counties of the Great Yan Kingdom, wouldn't that be a great disaster? Murong Qing thought to herself.
It all depends on your own fortune, Murong Qing thought again.
...
Shuyang County, the most severely affected area of Donghai Commandery.
"Let us pass, why won't you let us pass?"
"We don't want to die here."
"Sir official, we are not sick, please let us pass!"
"Fellow villagers, follow me, they won't let us live, so we'll fight them!"
At a major thoroughfare in Shuyang County leading to Donghai Commandery, thousands of ragged peasants were being held back by a group of over two hundred people composed of village militia, yamen runners, clerks, and county yamen servants.
The peasants, with their families in tow and carrying their meager belongings, crowded the intersection, surging forward like madmen. Among the crowd were curses, pleas, angry shouts, and some were numb, pushed back and forth by the crowd like walking corpses, unsure what to do. Behind the peasant crowd, many women sat on the ground or on rocks, holding their babies and chewing the last bit of meager food with their mouths before feeding it to their infants. Some old people, hungry and thirsty, could no longer walk and simply lay down in the dust, their breaths faint, resigned to their fate.
The scene was chaotic and utterly tragic, unbearable to witness.
"Villains, draw your swords and string your bows! Anyone who dares to charge forward again will be executed without mercy!" Du Li, the Du Ting Chang of Shuyang County, seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, ordered his subordinates to draw their sabers, spears, bows, and crossbows, all aimed at the peasants.
"Do not act, do not act against the peasants! They are ordinary people, what crime have they committed for the sake of survival?" Fu Zhuo, the Chief Clerk of Shuyang County, shouted to stop them.
The sun hung high in the sky like a fiery ball, baking the earth until it was scorching hot. On the bare hillside, there was only a withered tree with some crows perched on it, watching the crowd and waiting to peck at the carcasses.
Fu Zhuo had only slept two hours in two days and two nights. His tattered official robe was soaked through with sweat and stained with dirt, its original color obscured, making it appear grayish-black.
"Chief Clerk Fu, they have already fled. Why must we guard this place so tenaciously?" Du Li turned and roared at Fu Zhuo.
When the plague began in Shuyang County, the Xianbei county magistrate of Shuyang County had already fled with his family.
"Du Du Ting..." Fu Zhuo glared at Du Li and said, "They fled, but the Grand Duke is still here! The Grand Duke has issued a strict order that no one is allowed to leave this place. If we disobey the Duke's order, what punishment shall we face? Moreover, there must be sick people among these individuals. If they carry the plague to Donghai Commandery, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Afraid of the plague spreading to Donghai Commandery? They are afraid of the plague?" Du Li said anxiously, "Are we supposed to die? Should these thousands of peasants die as well?"
"Do not speak nonsense!" Fu Zhuo said angrily, "Staying here and waiting for the Grand Duke's relief is the best course of action!"
"The Grand Duke's relief? Chief Clerk Fu, it's been three days! Three days! Not a single person has appeared. Waiting for them is no different from waiting to die!" Du Li said anxiously, "Many of my brothers have already fallen ill. Are we just going to wait to die like this?"
"The Grand Duke will send someone. He will send someone," Fu Zhuo muttered, then knelt on the dirt slope and murmured, "This official will stay here, I will not go anywhere. I will die in Shuyang County."
"Chief Clerk Fu? Alas..." Du Li's eyes welled up with tears upon seeing this. He drew his sword, sighed deeply, and directed his subordinates to gather with Fu Zhuo.