Chapter 41 Two corpses return home

The first impression that the fourth uncle Cao Ding gave Cao Cao was that he was chic and suave. The scene of him playing Cuju in his hometown of Qiao County was always imprinted in Cao Cao's mind.He was free and easy in every movement and stillness, and it seemed that the vigor of Zhang Yang had never been worn away by the growth of age.Of course, in addition to this style, he is also a greedy and domineering person.In Cao Cao's memory, no one has ever been so greedy and domineering as he is. But now... Cao Ding just stopped in the courtyard without moving.The corpse that had just been transported out of the Luoyang Sky Prison was in tattered clothes like a beggar on the street.His originally rich and graceful face was covered with a layer of grey, his thin, burnt-yellow hair was loose like withered grass, and his lips were almost cracked white paper... He could no longer yell at others, no longer I can no longer reach out to money and women, and of course I can no longer laugh and play with my nephews.

Cao Hong took off the prison clothes for his uncle himself.Cao Ding's body was covered with bruises, some were scratches, some were bruises, and some were obviously whipped. What is outrageous is that all the nails on his right hand fell off! "Bastard!" Cao Hong punched the board of the mortuary, "This is definitely not dying of illness, but tortured to death by them!" After Cao Cao glanced at the distorted hand covered with blood scabs, he felt dizzy for a while, and quickly turned his face away: "It's too much... Even if he is guilty of the old man, he can't be treated like this. You can't be a doctor. Don't they understand?"

Cao Song was sitting in the main room at the moment, leaning against the desk with his eyes closed, and when he heard his son's question, he raised his hand and pinched the center of his brows: "This is not the court's law, I am afraid Duan Jiong ordered people to do it." "Did that old thief add insult to injury?" Cao Cao was furious. Cao Song opened his bloodshot eyes: "There is no way. They say that those who died of illness died of illness. For sinners, how can there be any justice? Back then, Chen Fan was beaten to death by eunuchs. It's just the words 'go to prison and die'. Duan Jiong is very popular now, and no one can do anything to him. The only thing to blame is that we shouldn't have turned against him and provoked this evil wolf." He glanced at him and sat aside. Cao Chi, "I'm so confused... If I had listened to your persuasion back then, why would the fourth child be where he is today?"

Cao Chi didn't respond to his words.Rather, he has been unresponsive these days.He sat there with a fluffy bun, his eyes staring like a pair of bells, his expression was full of fear, and none of everyone's words could get into his mind.He just sat there motionless all the time, like an empty shell without a soul. Cao Cao suddenly felt that the atmosphere in this dilapidated house was very terrifying: there was a corpse lying outside the hall, and a living dead sitting inside the hall!My father survived the past few days in such an environment. Cao Hong wiped Cao Ding's body, wiping away the blood and stains with a damp cloth.After wiping, he suddenly howled hysterically: "I can't stand... these beasts!" Following the shout, he actually pulled out a two-inch steel needle from Cao Ding's rib!

"Damn it! You can't take advantage of the surname Duan." Cao Hong yelled and drew out his sword, "I want to kill these two old thieves, Wang Fu and Duan Jiong!" Seeing this, Xiahoudun, who hadn't interjected all this time, hurriedly got up and grabbed his sword, stroking his back to comfort him.Cao Cao couldn't stand it anymore: "Father, let's go back to our hometown! Don't stay here any longer, go back and see a doctor for your second uncle." Cao Song shook his head: "I can't go." "Let's go, if this continues, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it. It's getting colder and colder."

"I'm fine." Cao Song gasped. "Why are you bothering? Is there anything you can't let go of now?" "It's not that we can't let go, it's that there is no way out. Our Cao family has managed to get along to this day, and we must not fall down because of the Song family's involvement. If we really can't be reinstated, who else can the younger generation rely on? I'm sorry for the ancestors, and I'm sorry Children and grandchildren!" Cao Song gritted his teeth, "I can't go, absolutely can't go, I want to get back what we lost!"

"Is there anything you can do?" "Cao Jie... now we can only rely on Cao Jie, I have to try to bribe Cao Jie, let him help us get rid of the crime and restore the official." Cao Cao felt very uncomfortable: At the beginning, his father had hoped to be on two boats, marrying the Song family while attaching to Wang Fu.Unexpectedly, in the end, the Song family was destroyed, Wang Fu turned against each other, and ended up with both feet on the ground.But being harmed by Wang Fu was not enough, he was going to curry favor with another great eunuch Cao Jie, suck hemorrhoids for the second time, flatter him, and suffer humiliation again.Although it is for the sake of future generations, is it really worth it to sell face without shame?

At this time, Lou Yi and Qin Yilu came back, and Cao Ding's coffin was ready.Cao Song nodded and said, "Meng De, the three of you will have Lou Yi take the corpse away tomorrow, and leave Yilu to me. This kid can speak well and has a quick brain, I still need him to go around." Seeing that he was so determined, Cao Cao knew that he couldn't stop him. Looking at the demented Cao Chi, he said, "Second Uncle, come with us too. He won't be able to help if he stays in this state. When he returns home to see his son, he may be able to recover." .” For some reason, Cao Song looked at Cao Chi with a disgusted look, and sneered for a long time before saying: "It's still... Your second uncle has been cautious all his life, but in the end he was convicted and dismissed from office and escaped death. He was so frightened. There is no cure for this disease." He said this not in sympathy, but in sarcasm.

Cao Cao didn't realize it, and just comforted him: "It doesn't matter, we have the right to be a dead horse doctor, and I have an explanation for Zixiao and Chun'er when they are cured. If they can't be cured, they have done their best. My biggest worry is Daddy. You, don't hurt yourself..." Cao Song was very relieved: No matter what, the nature of father and son, the son is still worried about me after all.Although I thought so in my heart, I said: "What do I have to worry about? I eat when I need to eat and sleep when I need to sleep. I won't be so worthless like your second uncle. Who told me that I can't count on others!" He glanced at the stupid Cao Chi inexplicably, and said slowly: "Only if I live well myself, can I resolve to save everyone."

Cao Cao felt that his father was picking on him, so he quickly made a promise: "When the child goes back to bury the fourth uncle, I will come back to accompany you immediately." "No need..." Cao Song said here, and suddenly said something that no one could have imagined, "From now on, you are you and I am me. Now I have to give up my face to seek camp. If you accompany me Even your reputation is ruined." "Father, how can you tell the child how to behave when you talk like this?" Cao Cao didn't know if he was speaking the truth or deliberately sarcasm.

"Hmph! Don't think you're my son. You don't know until the end of the day. You have more face than me!" Cao Song said and stood up. "I haven't had time to tell you something. Qiao Xuan recently resigned gone." "Oh? The old man is still gone..." Cao Cao was disappointed for a while. "He came to see me before he left." "To see you?" Cao Cao couldn't believe it. "Yes! Although he came to see me, it was all for you." Cao Song took out a few volumes from the bookcase, "This is the book he gave you." Cao Cao took a look: "?" "This is not ordinary. It was annotated by Fu Shi of Donghai. He knew that something happened to our family, so he specially asked his disciple Wang Jun to come to Fu Wan to ask for it." Cao Cao knew that the Langya Fu clan was a family of Confucian classics.Its prominent reputation can be traced back to Fu Sheng in the era of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.Fu Zhan was also a heroic minister who helped Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu conquer the world.Now Fu Wan, the seventh grandson of Fu Zhan, has married the eldest princess of Emperor Xiaohuan, and is a real pampered guest of the country.What the family annotated was the generally accepted correct solution, and it was also the basis for the imperial court to recruit people who understood the scriptures. "Do you know why Qiao Xuan gave you this set of books?" Cao Song sat down again and patted his son on the shoulder, "He is creating opportunities for you to recover." "Qifu!?" Cao Cao's eyes lit up. "Before he resigned, he went to the imperial court and proposed to recruit young talents who understand ancient studies, and pardon Cai Yong's crimes, and asked him to preside over the collection. If you enter the capital, you can become a Yilang if you have the talent. Just think about it, old man Qiao has really worked so hard for you!" Cao Cao suddenly choked up his sobs, and in an instant, Qiao Xuan and his elders' care and encouragement for him welled up in his heart, and tears rolled in his eye sockets. "He chatted with me for a long time, all about your business. That old guy really has a bad temper, and he bluntly said that I am a eunuch's ugly ugly man! What a stubborn old man!" Cao Song said with a smile "But what he said touched me. He said that no matter how much money I spend or how many favors I entrust, I can only buy officials for my children and grandchildren, but I cannot buy them a good reputation. He is right! So, now you have to rely on yourself Yes, relying on diligence and studying ancient studies can change other people's views on you. This is also changing others' views on our Cao family! You must read that book carefully. You! Boy, do your best!" Cao Cao was holding the book, his eyes dimmed with tears. "Hmph! You know how to cry too..." Cao Song sneered, "Take this book and study hard when you go back. Never come to Luoyang to find me unless you are recruited by the imperial court. From now on, you follow your Yangguan road, and I will pass you by." We still have two boats on the single-plank bridge. Did you hear that! This is a big deal for our Cao family." "I'll remember it, baby." Cao Cao wiped away his tears. He still felt very awkward about the saying that his father was in two boats. "Also, now that you are the oldest in the younger generation, remember to get along well with your brothers. I also hope that your brothers can help you, protect you, and fulfill your fame. After all, you are brothers of the same clan! "Cao Song said these words to his son, but now his eyes were on Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun understood: Although he didn't say it directly, he finally admitted it. Cao Cao also understood, and immediately added: "Not only the brothers in the clan, but also the brothers Yuan Rang and the others, the son also has to rely on a lot." "Very well, then I'm relieved." Cao Song nodded meaningfully, "You guys can set off early tomorrow morning." Cao Cao felt that he and winter seemed to be destined.It was winter when I went to Dunqiu to take office two years ago, and now I am carrying my fourth uncle's coffin home, and it is winter again.Although the horses and chariots this time were much stronger than the one in Dunqiu, but carrying the dead body and the demented second uncle, the journey along the way was really depressing. Cao Chi sat in the car foolishly, not knowing hunger, thirst and sleepiness, no matter how Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Hong called, they just ignored them.Later, everyone also gave up, got on their horses, and lowered their heads to think about their own concerns. Unexpectedly, after the chariots and horses left the land of Henan, Cao Chi suddenly spoke! "I have to leave the land of tigers and wolves, and I can finally go home." Cao Cao was leading the way on a horse, and he heard it clearly, so scared that he almost fell off his horse.He immediately got off the horse, straddled the side of the car, and opened the curtain to see: Cao Chi had stopped sitting still for a long time, and he was lying in the car with his legs crossed leisurely. "Second uncle, you, you..." "I'm fine!" Cao Chi's expression had recovered, "I was just pretending!" "Why are you crazy?" "In order to go home, I don't want to go through the muddy water with your father anymore." Cao Cao suddenly realized: If he didn't pretend to be sick, how could his father let him go back to his hometown easily?But he pretended to be crazy and stupid on purpose, and such scheming was also scary. "I'm tired, really tired." Cao Chi yawned. Cao Cao sneered and said, "Yes, in order to lie to my father, you have not eaten, drank or slept for several days, can you not be tired?" "Don't blame me, kid, I'm really tired." Cao Chi could hear the accusation in his words, "I've been pretending to be crazy and foolish for more than a few days? Since I entered the official career, I have been walking on thin ice for twenty years. Xiang, today I finally got my wish.” Cao Cao has been very jealous of Cao Chi since he was a child, but today he thinks he is particularly ugly.He simply got into the car, sat beside him, and said sarcastically, "Do you think my father is blind? I just figured it out now. He said so many gossips on the sidelines, but they were all aimed at you. He already I can see that you are pretending to be crazy!" "So what, why don't I leave?" Cao Chi said with a naive face and didn't care. When Cao Cao saw that a dead pig was not afraid of boiling water, he became more and more disgusted, and all the past came to his mind: Cao Yin, the seventh uncle, said that this person was the one who used the name of old Cao Teng to swindle and deceive everywhere, and he was the one who told his father about the Bian family. He has accumulated nothing but nothing over the years, and his love for his clan is far less than that of his father and fourth uncle Cao Ding... Thinking of this, Cao Cao suddenly asked, "Are you really letting go?!" "That's natural." "My nephew would like to ask, who was the first to use my grandfather's name to become an official? And who was the first to flatter Wang Fu?" This sentence hit Cao Chi's weakness, he turned his face away and looked out the window: "Where did you know these things?" "Uncle Qi told me a long time ago." "Yeah, I'm the instigator, the culprit! But I...how did I know I would get to where I am today." There was a trace of shame on his face, but it was fleeting, "It's fine to dismiss from office, everyone is clean. I Cao Yuansheng is terrified, and he will never leave Qiao County again in this life. I don’t want to go on like this, so what if the official returns to his original post, Wang Fu can turn against us, and so can Cao Jie. I want to run for my life! If I can’t, I will hide in the mountains In Old Lin, I don’t care about other people’s life or death! Anyway, I’m the richest man in the clan now, so why can’t I spend the money I have?” Cao Cao couldn't believe his ears. He never thought that the second uncle would say such shameless words.Human nature can hide ugliness so deeply!All of a sudden, the depression, anger, and misery of the past few months came flooding back, and he cursed: "Bah! You...you disappointed my nephew too much. Back then when I was Luoyang Captain, you told me that those words are all unreasonable." How nice! But how did you do it yourself? Do you think it’s over as soon as you leave? You used my grandfather’s name to go around and ruined his old man’s reputation. How can you be worthy of my grandfather? You ruined the family Notoriety ruined Uncle Seven's future. Are you worthy of Uncle Seven? Uncle Fourth was young and ignorant at the time, and you led him around to fawn on you. Now that he has died miserably, are you not responsible? Are you worthy of him? I Your father, Nai Enyin, was from a background and supported you to be the captain of Changshui. Now that something happened, you abandoned him. Are you sorry for my father? You go back in such a disheveled manner, what face do you have to meet your seventh uncle and your fellow villagers? What face do you have to see your two sons! Don't you feel ashamed when you are old?" "Pfft!" A stream of blood spewed out of Cao Chi's mouth like an arrow! Cao Cao was also shocked: "Second Uncle...Second Uncle..." "You scolded well!" After saying this, Cao Chi couldn't calm down, and stared at him unwillingly, "But... I... I'm sorry... you boy!" Cao Cao roared in his head: Yes, everyone is sorry, he is sorry for me.If he hadn't covered up the Huanfu murder case for me, how could I have become an official?Thinking of this, he quickly hugged Cao Chi: "Second uncle, my nephew has spoken, you..." Cao Chi wanted to push his hand away, but he couldn't use any more strength, and finally softened and said, "I don't blame you, I've been sick... for many years..." "Nephew didn't know you were really sick." Cao Cao regretted endlessly, "Nephew is wrong!" "I want to go home...go home..." Cao Chi said, the blood in his mouth was flowing, and his clothes were already stained red, "Ren'er... Chun'er...I can't die here... Hurry up... ..." He called out his son's name, already in tears. Cao Cao hugged his uncle, and felt that Cao Chi's body was getting heavier and heavier, his consciousness was gradually blurred, and his emotional awareness was not good.He lifted the curtain, jumped out of the moving carriage, and made a big somersault. "Master, what's wrong with you?" Lou Yi was taken aback and hurriedly stopped the car.Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong also hurried over. Cao Cao didn't care about explaining, so he grabbed the reins and got on the horse: "Second Uncle is not well, I'm afraid... Go away! Go away!" A group of people whipped harder and hurried to Qiao County.After a day and a night of non-stop driving, he finally arrived home... Unfortunately, Cao Chi still failed to fulfill his long-cherished wish, and this shrewd fellow died in a coma in the carriage.When Cao Cao and Lou Yi carried his body out of the car, his body was still warm.Just one step away, I will be able to see my two sons...