Hou Tianzong is a familiar yet unfamiliar name to Hou Yao.
It feels strange because I haven’t heard this name a few times since I can remember.
Familiar because even if you have never heard of it, this name is deeply imprinted in your mind.
Whenever someone mentions this name, everyone will express one emotion, that is, regret.
As far back as thirty years ago, the name Hou Tianzong became a legend in Hai County.
He set the record for the youngest scholar in Hai County and even Nanhai Prefecture at the age of twelve.
It can be said that he became famous at a young age, but what is extremely regrettable is that
This person never took the imperial examination again for more than 20 years, which cannot but be regarded as a pity.
Until his mysterious disappearance more than ten years ago, this name was lost to everyone.
When he heard this name, Hou Yao just felt dazed.
I never thought that other than my own family, anyone would remember this name.
But when he saw the teasing face of Mr. Jinfu, he knew that this man probably had no good intentions when he said this name.
So he responded coldly:
"Fuck you."
When Mr. Hou heard such an rude reply, instead of being angry, he laughed:
"You are excited, hahaha. Let me do the math. Hou Tianzong has been missing for more than ten years. His son was already an adult before he disappeared.
You look like you are only in your early twenties, so you cannot be his son, so you are his grandson.
Right? You are Hou Tianzong’s grandson, you are indeed a bastard left behind by that clan.”
Hou Yao said coldly:
"Who are you? You look like a QR code. If you don't scan it, you won't know what you are. Why don't you just eat carrots with me and worry about it?"
Mr. Hou was confused when he heard this. He didn't know what a QR code was.
But he could still understand what he was saying, and he immediately shouted loudly:
"I am Hou Chengyun, the second son of the Nanhai Hou family. I passed the scholar examination three years ago and am also a man of great fame.
It’s not something you, the nerds who only know how to cultivate and read, can compare with.”
Only then did Hou Yao realize that it was the descendants of his master's family who wanted to trouble him.
When Hou Tianzong was selected as a scholar, his family argued endlessly for him.
Some people said they wanted to take him back, others said it wouldn't be too late to take him back after he won the imperial examination, and most of them were firmly opposed to taking him back.
Especially in the direct lineage, if one more person means an additional share of the family property, who would be willing to do that.
Hou Chengyun is the second contemporary son of the direct lineage. In addition to his reputation as a scholar, he is also a sideways character in the family.
With the current financial status of the Hou family, basically all the children in the family can study.
But I don’t know if there is something wrong with the Hou family’s reading gene. In short, after so many years, very few people have been able to pass the exam.
Scholarship is already the highest level that the Hou family can achieve so far.
"Who cares what you are? The more you meddle, the more you eat shit. The less you meddle, the less you poop. Haven't you heard?"
After saying that, Hou Yao left without looking back.
Hou Chengyun wanted to catch up and humiliate Hou Yao again, but he was grabbed by Yao Yingzhe behind him:
"Hou Er, we are here as guests today. Don't embarrass the master. You have plenty of time to deal with your family's troubles."
Hou Chengyun glanced at Hou Yao's back angrily, and although he was unwilling to do so, he had no choice but to let him go.
Another Mr. Su also came forward, looked at Hou Yao's back and said thoughtfully:
"Mr. Hou, this side branch of your family seems to be in a bad financial situation."
Su Gongzi, Su Mingzhi, was a famous scholar in the capital academy and the eldest son of the minister of rites at that time. Although his hometown was Nanhai, he grew up in the capital.
So I don’t know much about the Hou family that everyone in Nanhai knows about.
Hou Chengyun glanced at Su Ming strangely:
"Why would Brother Mingzhi make such an assertion?"
Su Mingzhi thought for a while and said:
"The clothes he is wearing seem to be the clothes I discarded in Yazhou City a while ago.
It had just been delivered, and before I could put it on, a damn servant rubbed off a bit of yarn from the inside of the collar.
I threw it away in a fit of anger, but I don't know how it ended up on him."
Hou Chengyun smiled excitedly and said:
"Oh, this kid actually picked up Brother Mingzhi's discarded clothes, hahaha, there will be a good show later."
Yao Yingzhe glared at Hou Chengyun unhappily:
"I told you, I'm here as a guest today, so don't embarrass the host too much."
Hou Chengyun nodded:
"Don't worry, I know what's appropriate. I'm just letting this kid make a fool of himself, and I will never embarrass the master."
…
The time has come,
The poetry meeting has already begun in the lobby of the Yamen. In fact, it is the same as the opening ceremony and art performance in later generations.
It's just that we sit closer together, and of course there can't be that many people.
After all calculations, the total number of scholars in Hai County is less than 100. Including the entourage, bookboys, etc., there are only about 200 people.
At the beginning of the conference, there was a speech session by the leader. Ren Hongcai worked so hard to organize such a conference, wasn’t it just for this moment?
No matter what era, leaders are always so arrogant.
After listening for a while, Hou Yao felt drowsy, so he used the urine escape technique to run out, leaving Zhou De alone to listen attentively.
After going to the toilet, he passed by a secluded side room. The door was just ajar. Hou Yao took a look and saw that there was no one inside.
Two more plates of snacks were placed on the table. I was in a hurry this morning and didn't eat anything, so I happened to be a little hungry now.
There was food in the hall, but he didn't want to go back and listen to Magistrate Ren's nonsense.
I thought I might as well stay here for a while and have something to eat.
I pushed the door open and entered the room. As soon as I took a few bites of snacks, I heard voices coming from outside the door.
I'm afraid the owner of this room is not coming back. It would be embarrassing if he was caught.
However, there are limited places to hide people in the room, and the only place to hide is under the table.
As soon as Hou Yao ducked under the table, the door was pushed open.
Hou Yao couldn't see the faces of the two people clearly. He only knew that an old man and a young man walked in.
Just listen to that old voice saying:
"Young Master, this matter is absolutely true. The previous information was too simple. After the old servant's investigation, the inside story is more complicated than imagined.
Judging from the degree of decomposition of the corpses on Heiyu Island, it was obvious that Bai Tao went to Heiyu Island much later to bring in reinforcements.
In other words, the fact that they were able to bring in reinforcements meant that there were still people on Heiyu Island at that time.
Our previous inference that they evacuated because of civil unrest is no longer valid.
Their evacuation should have taken place after Zheng Chong was captured, so the old servant suspected that Bai Bo knew something and was deliberately avoiding us.
If that's the case, it will be difficult to find him."
There was a moment of silence in the room, and Shao Qing's young voice said:
"No, I don't think so. Now I am even more sure that there is serious civil strife in the Haima Gang.
I even doubted whether Bai Bo was killed by someone. I understand Bai Bo's character. He is the kind of person who will support him even if he dies.
It can be said that he is extremely vicious. If the relationship between Bai Tao and Zheng Chong is true, he will never let the Hou Fu family go.
Now Hou Fu and Hou Yao are still fine, but it can only mean that he is no longer capable of revenge.
Under what circumstances would a master of fourth-grade swordsmanship be unable to take revenge on a family of scholars? I'm afraid he would only be able to do so if he died."
"Ah? If Bai Bo really dies, what will happen to our things? I'm afraid Master..."
"There is no need to consider my father's side. The situation is out of control. There is no point in being anxious. Now I have to clear up a doubt first.
Otherwise, it would be really hard to think about what to do next.”
"Young Master, do you still have any doubts?"
"The strangest thing to me right now is what position Bai Tao has in the Seahorse Gang."
"The Haima Gang is able to take the risk of breaking into the county jail for a second time to rescue people. He must be a person who has an extremely important influence on the gang.
Otherwise, who would take such a big risk to save an ordinary gang member?"
"I originally thought so, but if this is true, then why did Bai Tao fall the first time?
Shouldn't there be heavy protection? Those jailers couldn't even stop him the second time.
Shouldn't the first time be more sudden and unprepared? Why did you catch such an important Bai Tao instead?"
"this……."
The old man didn't know how to explain it for a while, and it took him a while to say:
"When you think about it, it is indeed very strange, but what if such an accident really happened? Sometimes such accidents cannot be explained."
The young man thought for a moment:
"This possibility is not impossible. After all, Bai Tao had just been injured at that time, so it would not be unusual to have an accident.
In this case, I have a bold hypothesis. Bai Tao somehow got the secret of the jade flute from Zheng Chong.
Then he secretly persuaded Jiang Hong and caused Bai Bo's rebellion. The two of them took control of the Haima Gang.
Bai Tao has liked Hou Fu's wife for many years and wanted to marry her before going to sea. However, he was seen by Hou Yao who returned.
After that, everything went smoothly, and the timing and details all fell into place.
It can also explain why the Haima Gang suddenly changed its style and became so low-key and forbearing. I’m afraid the real person in charge has been replaced by Jiang Hong.”
"The old servant still has some impressions of this Jiang Hong. This person is not easy to deal with. He is very cautious."
"Hmph, there's no such thing as caution, it's just fear of death."
"I'm afraid of death, but this kind of people are the hardest to catch. They will run away at the slightest sign of trouble.
If something falls into his hands, we may have a hard time getting it back."
"Then stop looking for it and spread the word that the key to the 'Kunpeng Treasure' is in Jiang Hong's hand.
Let the Neptunes go and force this rat out.
If he doesn't want to die, he can only come back to us."
"But Master, if the key falls into the hands of Neptune, then..."
"If we really fall into the hands of Neptune, wouldn't this be an excuse to start a war? Then my father can openly recruit troops for great things."
"Young master, this is really a clever move, I admire you."
"Okay, there's something else I need you to do."
"Master, please give me your instructions."
"Now I'm a little curious. There is another person who is the key to the whole thing. This person seems to be missing in the telegram.
But after careful analysis, his shadow appears on key nodes.
Go and investigate carefully to see what Hou Yao did in this whole incident."
"Yes, old servant, I'll do it now."
After speaking, the old man left in a hurry.
The young man sat for a while, then got up and left the room.
Hou Yao was already breaking out in a cold sweat while hiding under the table. He never imagined that the jade flute was the key to Kunpeng's treasure.
How could it be that so many powerful enemies were targeting us before we even had time to build an invincible fleet?
The common man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying a jade. Now he is going to be doomed.