♂?，，

  His expression was first stunned, then the deep eye sockets were instantly moistened, and he struggled to hold back his inner sadness, but he couldn't hold on for a moment. Two lines of old tears still rolled down from the corners of his eyes, which were covered with crow's feet.

  What was in the earthenware jar was naturally his sister-in-law's ashes.

  "Little sister, little sister..." Zou Zhu's trembling hands caressed the cold jar wall, and the wrinkled back of his hand revealed a network of bulging veins.

  "By the order of my elder brother, I disguised myself as a merchant and secretly returned to Yangdu, searching for three whole days before finally finding Little Sister's body in a civilian residence. I had originally planned to bring her remains back so that our lord could give her a grand burial, but the Cao army's patrols were too strict along the way, and I couldn't do it, so I had no choice but to cremate the body and bring back her ashes."

  His turbulent emotions gradually calmed down, he lifted his sleeve to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and patted Mei Fang's shoulder to comfort him: "It's okay, Second Brother has had a hard time this trip. It seems that Ah Feng didn't lie after all."

  Miao Fang's expression suddenly turned serious, and he leaned close to Miao Zhu's ear and said: "Although the location where we found Little Sister's body is consistent with what Ah Feng said, I have discovered some suspicious circumstances."

  "What's suspicious about it?" Zou Ju immediately became alert.

  "When I found the body, although it had already started to rot, but it was still possible to see that Little Sister hadn't suffered any injuries, except for a severe blow to her head. And based on my experience, it should have been a fatal blow."

  "That's to say, Little Sister didn't have any injuries on her body before she died." Zou Zhu's eyeballs rolled back and forth, a suspicious look surging across his face.

  "Also, the body of your sister was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, obviously changed to avoid the Cao army."

  "If Little Sister was determined to die, why would she go through the trouble of switching clothes with the commoner's wife? And there were no injuries on her body. Clearly knowing that Ah Feng and Zi Long were around, they could have easily rescued both her and Ah Dou together. How could Little Sister think that she would become a burden? Unless..."

  "Unless they're telling lies!"

  Mi Zong's expression remained skeptical, clearly what Mi Fang said was what he had suspected. However, after pacing back and forth in the hall a few times, he shook his head and said: "If it were just Ah Feng's words, perhaps there might still be room for doubt that he is lying, but there's also Zi Long, I know his character best, to say that he is lying, I really don't believe it."

  Meng Fang coldly snorted: "This matter is of great importance, since we've discovered something suspicious, how can we easily let it go? I think this matter must be investigated clearly, otherwise, how can we face Xiao Mei's spirit in heaven?"

  Those last words, like a sharp blade, deeply hurt Mou Yu. The blue veins on his face twitched slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he said: "This matter is known to me, before the truth is clear, don't spread it out, I have my own measure."

  …………

  The quiet evening breeze swept across the land, and the sun, which was about to set, dyed all the scenery a deep red.

  Liu Feng stood on the high platform of the school field, taking a deep breath of the air filled with the smell of mud and river wind. He raised his head towards Xia Kou, under the sunset, the huge city wall was like a patient who had shrunk into a ball, covered in blood, with a hint of incomplete beauty.

  Below the high platform is a square school field, over twenty steps in length and width. At each corner stands a huge yellow flag embroidered with the character "Liu", which waves like a wave under the blowing of the evening wind.

  In the center of the campus, 500 neatly lined up soldiers stood quietly, although no one dared to speak, but they kept glancing at each other from time to time, their eyes revealing unease and confusion.

  The tall and majestic figure of Liu Xuan, the eldest son of Liu Bei, was recognized by most people in the room. At the time of the Northern Camp Rebellion, Liu Feng had held up a bloody head, exuding an aura of intimidation as if he were a god descending from heaven. Even now, thinking back on it still sends shivers down their spines. And upon hearing that they would become this young master's subordinates, each person felt a chill run down their hearts.

  It's no wonder, Liu Qi treated people with kindness and generosity, and his military governance was also like this. These 500 personal soldiers were used to being pampered under him, indulging in luxury and laziness, but now they suddenly had a cold-blooded leader, how could they bear it? So when they heard the news, their first reaction was: Good days are coming to an end.

  He stood there for a while, the young master neither scolding nor issuing orders, but simply standing with his hands behind his back, staring absent-mindedly in the direction of Xia Kou, as if lost in thought and waiting for someone.

  A group of crows perched on the fence around, their black eyes curiously staring at the group of wooden stakes-like humans in front. Suddenly, a light and quick sound of horseshoes echoed, the crows were startled, circling above the school field, crying loudly, as if creating an atmosphere for the newcomer.

  Liu Feng slowly turned around, his eagle eyes following the main road leading to the gate of the city, and in his line of sight, a horseman was galloping towards him.

  "Finally arrived, young man." Liu Feng stepped down from the stairs, ready to welcome his arrival.

  The soldiers finally understood that their new master, who had kept them standing foolishly for half a day, was indeed waiting for someone. Everyone stretched their necks and widened their eyes to look around curiously, wanting to see which deity was arriving late.

  When he rode into the school grounds, a burst of stifled laughter suddenly erupted from among the soldiers.

  Liu Feng suddenly became enraged, fiercely turning his head, his starry eyes like blades, harshly staring at them. The soldiers' hearts trembled, hastily closing their mouths, but when looking at the person who had dismounted from his horse, they still held back a bellyful of laughter.

  The newcomer was indeed Ma Chao.

  When Liu Feng saw Ma Su's attire, he also couldn't help but almost burst out laughing.

  At this moment, he was no longer dressed as a Confucian scholar, but wore armor and an iron helmet. He was already somewhat thin, but the armor was a bit too large for him, so when he put it on, it looked like a child wearing adult clothes, empty and loose everywhere, looking quite comical.

  "General Sima, you're late," Liu Feng said without any tone of blame.

  Ma Su adjusted his helmet and calmly replied: "The subordinate arrived on time to receive orders, it was the young master who came early."

  Liu Feng looked at his head and smiled: "Indeed I came early, follow me."

  The two men climbed up to the high platform, Liu Feng waved his hand in front of the five hundred soldiers: "How about it, my military commander, do you have confidence in helping me train these five hundred men and horses into an elite army?"

  The soldiers under the platform heard this and naturally felt a thud in their hearts, thinking that they should have known earlier that this young man was their superior and shouldn't have laughed at him.

  The young horse glanced around, with a hint of pride in his eyes, as if to say: You guys laughed at me just now, huh? Look how I'm going to take care of you.

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books