At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 32
On the only road that must pass through the village, a large number of villagers gathered. The players who played, played, played and sang were very excited, and the sound of drums and zithers was endless.

"Officials are arresting the murderer, so hurry up and get out of the way!"

Pei Guo was assassinated and his head was beheaded. This incident will definitely break the sky.

When Lieutenant Liu learned about the escape of Zhou Qi and Xiang Hong, his work efficiency became extremely fast. Not only did he quickly issue the arrest documents, but he also recruited the horses in the city and ordered the officers to ride on them, and headed straight towards Zhou Ji. from the countryside.

Unexpectedly, before they entered the village, they were blocked by many people playing music and dancing, as well as livestock running around.

There is a man in the village who is over seventy years old. He stands tremblingly in the middle of the road with a cane, but he is not afraid at all in the face of the menacing officials.

He looked at the official on the horse and asked, "Are you an official from the county?"

Although the officials were eager to get someone, they didn't dare to be rude to the elders, so they got off their horses immediately.

The leader of the official mission came forward and said in a good voice: "To inform you, Grand Duke, we are the officers and soldiers sent by Lieutenant Liu, and we are here to capture the thief who assassinated the Prime Minister."

"what?"

Xiang Youzhi opened his mouth wide, and a little saliva overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

He shook his head and said, "You are really the officials dispatched by the county, are you here to appoint a new township Youzhi and a villager?"

The head officer was a little crazy, but the other party's age was here after all. He could only hold back the irritability in his heart and raised his voice and said: "Your Majesty, you heard wrong. We are officers sent by Lieutenant Liu. We are only responsible for arresting thieves and Regardless of the appointment or dismissal of officials in the township!"

Xiang Youzhi pointed to his ears and said with a sigh: "Hey, my ears don't work well as I get old. Please forgive me."

"However, the folk customs in Zhouji Township have always been simple and honest, almost to the point of not closing their doors at night, and no one has lost anything to report to the government. How could there be thieves?"

The officer was furious, and anxious to arrest Zhou Qi, he immediately yelled: "You have a rank in the village, and you are in charge of the land of the village. Can't you see the difference between our clothes and the ordinary guards?"

However, Xiang Youzhi shook his head and said: "The old man is old, he is blind and deaf, he has been unable to see clearly or hear clearly for a long time, and he has long been unable to be qualified for the position of Township Youzhi. I have gone to Shu County several times, hoping to appoint new people. take this position."

"In addition, the villager's husband passed away a few days ago, and the village needs new appointments. Otherwise, there will be no one to manage the lawsuits and taxes in the village."

"So when I learned that an official was coming to my hometown, I dragged this broken body to meet the official. How could I be wronged by the official?"

The officer was furious, pointing to the villagers who blocked the road and the livestock running around, he asked, "Why do they gather here to sing and sing, to block the road, to sing and dance?"

Xiang Youzhi tilted his head and asked with some confusion: "Is it true that the new decree issued by the imperial court prohibits people from singing and dancing on the road?"

Speaking of this, Xiang Youzhi stomped his feet angrily, and cried: "The old man has served as Xiang Youzhi for more than [-] years. He has always been diligent and diligent, and he dared not neglect in the slightest. , so that you will not be able to protect yourself in your old age."

"Alas!"

"Alas!
The dark-skinned young man who was not far from the ancestral grave hastily stepped forward, patted Xiang Youzhi on the back, and said: "The old man does not need to blame himself, we are the ones who have dragged him down."

Although the officer was angry, he could only hold back his anger when he saw the appearance of Xiang Youzhi: "The imperial court has no new decree, and it does not prohibit the people from singing and dancing on the road."

"It's not a festival now, and there are no weddings or funerals. Why do you block the way when we are arresting the thief?"

In ancient times, the elders were very respected. Even the government would issue special policies to show leniency. The older the elders, the more leniency and respect they would give.

There are three out of seventy ranks in the township. In this era, it is rare to live to seventy. Even the governors of the state and county will salute them, let alone these ordinary servants. That's why they are so polite to the ranks of the township in the beginning.

The swarthy young man said with a smile on his face: "To be honest, there has been a strange thing in the village these years. No matter what kind of livestock each household raises, they can't give birth to cubs, and even eggs can't hatch chicks."

"The villagers are very worried about this matter."

"No, just today the hens in Widow Liu's house hatched chicks, which aroused the joy of the whole town. Everyone gathered at the entrance of the village to celebrate!"

Having said this, the dark-skinned young man turned to everyone and asked, "Do you think this is the reason?"

"Yes!"

The villagers suppressed their smiles and responded neatly, which made the officer's face full of black lines.

Xiang Youzhi also shook his head and said, "It's a good omen for the chicks to hatch. Celebrate, indeed, you should celebrate!"

At this time, the guards didn't understand that the ancient township Youzhi in front of him was pretending to be confused and deliberately leading people to block the road, so his expression changed immediately.

He didn't bother to pay attention to the dark young man, and shouted to the village officials: "We were ordered to arrest the thief. As the head of the township officials, you just don't cooperate with the arrest of the thief. You even led people to block the road, trying to cover the thief?"

However, Xiang Youzhi shook his head and said: "This old man has been in charge of Xiang Youzhi for more than forty years. He has always obeyed the rules and laws. How could he deliberately assist the thieves?"

"As government servants, you should not talk nonsense. If it tarnishes my reputation, I will run to the door of your chief's house and bump my head against a pillar to death!"

Hearing Xiang Youzhi's threat, although the guard was still full of anger, he didn't dare to say anything more, instead he said with a smile: "I made a slip of the tongue just now, please don't blame my grandpa."

"However, catching the thieves is a very important matter. Please ask the grandfather to help disperse the crowd and let me wait to enter the village."

Xiang Youzhi's expression softened a little, and he spread his hands and said innocently, "Young man, tell me earlier, tell me sooner, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Having said that, he turned his head to the crowd and said, "If you make a judgment, he should make it clear early on, so there won't be so many misunderstandings?"

The villagers started to cheer, and the scene was chaotic and joyful.

Immediately afterwards, under the yelling of Xiang Youzhi, the people playing, playing, playing and singing began to slowly disperse.

Some people accidentally kicked the livestock, and there was a flurry of flying and jumping immediately. It took half a cup of tea before everyone gave way.

The officers didn't care too much and rushed over immediately.

Township Youzhi watched the guards leave, changed his image of falling in the wind just now, waved his withered arms, and said: "To celebrate the emergence of such heroes as Zhou Lang in the township, and to celebrate the killing of the dog officer."

Having said this, he suddenly stopped talking, scratched his head a little embarrassedly, and said: "Oh, I'm getting old, my memory is really bad, and I said something wrong just now, folks, don't blame me."

"We gathered here to celebrate the hatching of chicks in Widow Liu's home."

"Yes, to celebrate this."

"Don't stop, everyone, keep playing and dancing!"

(End of this chapter)