Whether you see me or not, I will be there, neither sad nor happy. -- tsangyang Gyatso
Sin lives by concealment. Ancient Rome, Vergil
In the first few days after Liu Qingping left, everyone felt that something was missing when they bumped into each other. Later on, when they sent Ban Chao out of the fortress and started to raise cattle with the finance minister, everyone was no longer as disappointed as before. According to Liu He's plan, the finance minister had specially set up a cowshed for Mu Weizhou and the others, picking out ten of the best cows for them to raise. Dou Tao had never come into contact with such a thing before. She always found it fun and would pull Liu Meng and Mu Weizhou to the ranch every few days. Under the care of a few people, the ten cows grew fat and strong. When it was almost the winter solstice, he heard from Niu Cheng that two cows were already pregnant. When Dou Tao heard this news, she was even happier. She went out early and returned late almost every day to grow in the ranch and personally feed the grass. Mu Weizhou really did not expect Dou Tao, who usually looked gentle and quiet, to have such a heart. However, the bitter thing was that with Dou Tao's attention and Liu He's busy work, Mu Weizhou slowly learned the work of Niu Cheng.
When people stood in the present, they would always feel that time passed very quickly. In the blink of an eye, tomorrow was the new year. Mu Weizhou had been in this magical land for a year. He had always felt that he had been pushed forward in the past year. He had arrived in front of Nian without much consideration. According to the actual days in the past, Mu Weizhou would be eighteen years old after this year, and he would be considered an adult. However, Mu Weizhou was still confused about what an adult was. After thinking about it, he felt that perhaps she was responsible and could take on responsibilities independently. However, eighteen years old was not a special age in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Mu Weizhou had asked before, and the Eastern Han coronation ceremony was held at the age of twenty, so he could not join in the fun no matter what.
The weather was a little gloomy today. The cold north wind would occasionally blow a few snowflakes over, hitting Mu Weizhou's face coolly. "It might snow today." Mu Weizhou muttered to himself on his horse. After a while, he arrived at the east gate. Dou Tao was waiting for him there. Liu He and the others had made an appointment yesterday to meet here and then go to the ranch to see the cows.
When Dou Tao saw Mu Weizhou coming, she sat on her horse and happily greeted him from afar.
After three months of frequent contact, Mu Weizhou and Dou Tao were already familiar with each other. Recently, due to the matter of raising cattle, the two of them could be considered to be together day and night. Once people became familiar with each other, many of their self-defense would be put down. Mu Weizhou also gradually realized that Dou Tao might be young, but her thoughts were not inferior to others. What surprised Mu Weizhou was that Dou Tao would occasionally reveal a bit of dominance when dealing with matters. Liu Meng had once told Mu Weizhou that sometimes when he saw Dou Tao's fierce and domineering appearance, he was a little afraid. As he got to know Dou Tao better, Mu Weizhou's opinion of her had also changed subtly. Just a few months ago, Mu Weizhou would have felt that this passionate and generous girl in front of him was somewhat untouchable. The luxurious temperament on her body was like the light of a god. Now, he felt that this girl was straightforward and bold, and her thoughts were rarely as complicated as Liu Qingping's. Take raising cattle as an example. They had also adopted cattle, but Mu Weizhou felt that Liu Qingping would definitely not do it personally like Dou Tao, because it seemed difficult for Liu Qingping to form a conviction that doing the right thing required her to do her best.
"Brother Mu, you're a little late. I've been waiting for you for half a day.”Dou Tao said to Mu Weizhou with a smile.
Mu Weizhou looked at Dou Tao and saw that she was wearing a set of green cotton clothes and a silver-gray leather cloak on the outside. She looked even more graceful.
"Yes, it's cloudy, so I woke up a little late. However, I don't think I'm the last one. The Crown Prince hasn't arrived yet." Mu Weizhou replied with a smile.
"Wrong!" Dou Tao said," Just now, Brother Crown Prince sent someone to say that the Emperor is looking for him today, so he can't go.”
"This Liu Meng is absent-minded again. Sigh, looks like I'll be busy again today.”Mu Weizhou joked.
When Dou Tao heard this, she made a face at him and urged the horse to walk side by side with Mu Weizhou to the cattle farm. A few miles away from the east gate of Luoyang was the famous Eastern Market, which specialized in buying and selling cattle and horses. Due to the recent preparations for war, the promotion of cattle farming, and other major events, the business in East City this year was much more prosperous than in previous years. Recently, Mu Weizhou had gotten used to the rhythm of leaving the east gate and slowly riding a horse for a while. After passing the eastern market, he would rush to the cattle farm in one breath.
The current wind seemed to be stronger than when Mu Weizhou went out. He couldn't help but shrink back on his horse. Dou Tao, who was beside him, noticed this and said,"Brother Mu, it might snow today. Why don't you wear a robe?”
Mu Weizhou turned his head to look at her and said,"Yes, we're from a small family. How can we compare to you?"?Aristocratic families! Noble clan! It's already good enough for us to have a cotton coat. Dou Tao, is this gorgeous robe of yours the legendary mink fur cloak? Haha."
"No, this is rabbit skin. Hey, Brother Mu, do you think I look good in it?”Dou Tao asked with a smile.
In fact, Mu Weizhou did not care much about what mink or rabbit skin was. He thought that he was not particular about what he wore, but he was actually a little sloppy. During this period of time, no one had taken care of him or reminded him, so he did not even notice that his long robe was untied. When he heard Dou Tao ask him, he deliberately stared at Dou Tao for a while and pursed his lips."Looking at you, I suddenly remembered something.”
Dou Tao had dressed up meticulously today. She thought that Mu Weizhou would immediately praise her, but she did not expect Mu Weizhou to pout. Thus, she said unhappily,"What word?"
Mu Weizhou glanced at her expression from the corner of his eye and knew that he had achieved his goal. He said seriously,"Out of the east gate." After saying that, he continued to look ahead.
Dou Tao thought that he would say something unpleasant, but when she heard Mu Weizhou's words, she actually laughed out loud. It turned out that this was a sentence from the Book of Songs. The original words were-- Mu Weizhou's original intention was that they had just come out of the eastern city gate. Dou Tao looked very good in this rabbit skin cloak. She was comparable to the beautiful women in the clouds. However, Mu Weizhou had forgotten that the original intention of this song," Out of the East Gate," was to tell the story of a man's devotion to the person he liked. Mu Weizhou had not thought of that at all, but he had unintentionally provoked Dou Tao.
Dou Tao had been very close to Mu Weizhou and Liu Meng recently. Ever since she met these two people in Nan City half a year ago, she had noticed that they were different. Although the two of them had different statuses, they were less selfish and more righteous, making them trustworthy. Although their martial arts were not on the same level, they were not afraid of violence and were respected by others. One looked stupid and weak, but in fact, her heart was full of beauty; The other was careless in everything, but in fact, he was serious when things happened. Dou Tao always felt that if a person could make friends with one of them in their lifetime, they would be considered lucky. She did not expect that both of them were her good friends now. Moreover, Dou Tao also knew that these two people had a special impression of her. The difference was that Liu He was very direct and usually gave in to her in everything. However, this Brother Mu in front of her was sometimes close and sometimes distant, making people feel a little confused. Just like how Mu Weizhou had said," leave the east gate." Dou Tao felt a sense of intimacy in her heart. She felt that her dressing up today was not in vain. However, when she looked at Mu Weizhou's serious expression, she did not know what he was thinking.
Dou Tao thought for a moment and leaned forward slightly on her horse. She looked at Mu Weizhou and asked happily,"You never praise people directly. If I had asked Liu Meng just now, he would have said that I looked good in it.”
Mu Weizhou raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips."You're still picky when you're looking for praise. I really can't stand you.”
"Big Brother Mu, I really didn't expect to have known you for half a year in the blink of an eye. Do you know that I'll be sixteen years old after this year?”
"Oh," Mu Weizhou replied,"Then Liu Meng is also sixteen years old?"”Mu Weizhou knew that Liu Meng was two months older than Dou Tao, so he did not consider the meaning of Dou Tao's words at all and replied casually.
The reason why Dou Tao said this was actually that there was a hidden meaning in her words. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, women could talk about marriage when they were fifteen years old. When Dou Tao said that she was sixteen years old, this was actually what she meant. However, she did not know that in Mu Weizhou's heart, sixteen years old was not related to marriage at all. Because in Mu Weizhou's world, it was a crime for a woman to get married before the age of twenty.
Dou Tao saw that Mu Weizhou had changed the topic, so she secretly glared at him and continued,"Big Brother Mu, do you know what sixteen years old means to us women?”
Mu Weizhou turned his head to look at Dou Tao and asked casually,"What does it mean?"
Dou Tao didn't know if he really didn't know what she was talking about, or if he was just pretending. She wanted to say it directly, but when she saw Mu Weizhou's careless and silly look, she felt that it was really not suitable for a girl like her to say it. She immediately snorted and didn't say anything.
Mu Weizhou heard her "hmph" and looked angry. He felt that it was a little inexplicable and could not help but ask,"What does it mean? Little Sister Dou."
Dou Tao glared at him and still snorted without answering.
Mu Weizhou thought about it for a while, but he still couldn't understand what it meant to be 16 years old. He couldn't understand why all the girls would say " hmph " for no reason-no matter how smart or knowledgeable they were. Why couldn't they talk things out?
In fact, Mu Weizhou also wanted to chat with Dou Tao. He didn't care about discussing today's arrangements. However, this "hmph" made all his thoughts come to an end.
After a while, the two of them arrived at East City. Unlike usual, there was no hustle and bustle in East City today. Many people gathered in groups of three to five, anxiously discussing something. Mu Weizhou noticed that most of these people had one or more cows lying beside them. Just as Mu Weizhou was about to dismount and inquire about what was going on, he saw a horse galloping over from the east side of the road. The person on the horse was urging the horse while shouting," Get out of the way! Move aside!"
When the person came closer, Mu Weizhou realized that the person on the horse was a military officer from the cattle farm. Mu Weizhou saw that he was driving fast and did not dare to stop him. He called out from afar,"Hey, officer, why are you in such a hurry? What happened?”
The military officer also recognized Mu Weizhou and replied without stopping,""Lord Mu, there's an epidemic in the cattle farm. I'm going to tell the finance minister immediately. Forgive me for not getting off the horse!" As they spoke, the man and the horse had already driven towards the east gate.
Mu Weizhou was shocked when he heard that. He wanted to ask what was going on, but the officer had already left. When the people gathered by the roadside heard the military officer's words, they all started to discuss,"So the cattle farm also has cattle plague." Mu Weizhou finally understood why the people in front of him were surrounding the cow on the ground. He reined in his horse and called out to Dou Tao, then ran towards the cattle farm without looking back.
When the two of them arrived at the cattle farm, Mu Weizhou was shocked by the scene in front of him. In the past, when he came, he saw cows of different colors and sizes scattered on the pasture, leisurely grazing, accompanied by the occasional mooing, which made people feel full of vitality and peace. However, today's cattle farm was a completely different scene. A few ox officers and military officers ran around anxiously. Most of the oxen in the pasture had already laid down, and a few of them were lying there with their limbs in the air. Although the cries of the oxen could still be heard from time to time, everyone could hear that they were wails of pain.
"Big Brother Mu, what, what is going on?”Dou Tao asked excitedly.
"It's probably a plague. Quickly go to our cattle pen and take a look.”Mu Weizhou said.
The two of them came to the cattle pen they had built and found that nine of the ten cows in the pen were already lying on the ground. It was unknown if they were dead or alive. Only one cow was suspected of being sick the day before yesterday. It was tied to a tree stump outside the pen and was still eating grass leisurely.
" Brother Mu, look at our cow, our cow…" Dou Tao called out anxiously as she ran towards the cow that had fallen in the cow pen.
Mu Weizhou reacted quickly and grabbed her,"Be careful! Don't touch them. If there was a plague, it could be contagious.”
When Dou Tao heard this, she stopped in her tracks and stood beside her favorite cow, which was already two months pregnant. The cow blinked innocently and panted heavily. Its limbs twitched and it looked like it was about to die. When Dou Tao saw this scene, tears of sorrow had already started to flow from her eyes.
Mu Weizhou knew that she had been taking good care of these cows for the past two months. Seeing the scene in front of him, he must be feeling uncomfortable. He could not help but comfort her,"Don't worry. If you're sick, you might be able to cure it quickly. When the finance minister came, there would definitely be a way.”Although Mu Weizhou said so, he knew that the cows that had fallen in the pasture were most likely in bad shape. However, what made him feel strange was why the one tied outside the pen seemed to be fine. Mu Weizhou did not have time to think about it. He pulled Dou Tao to find a Ox Deputy and asked what had happened. Niu Cheng told him that last night, he and the officers were feeding the cows with water as usual. At that time, all the cows were fine, but this morning, they found that many cows could not stand up. Now, there were eight to nine hundred cows showing symptoms of lying down, and one hundred of them were already dead. Mu Weizhou was shocked and asked him how he had become like this overnight. Do you know what caused it? Niu Cheng said in fear and trepidation that he did not know the reason, but according to the symptoms, it was very likely that he had contracted the cow plague. Following that, Niu Cheng said many more words to shirk responsibility, but Mu Weizhou did not listen.
After Niu Cheng left, Mu Weizhou looked at the scattered cows in the cattle farm and felt a wave of pain in his heart. Other than the cows lying down one by one in front of him, which he was helpless about, the plan to promote cattle farming, which had been repeatedly discussed and could benefit the people, seemed to be destined to be greatly affected. It seemed that thousands of cows were infected by the disease, but it was already destined that the corn production in the next year would decrease. This incident happened just as they were preparing to attack the Xiongnu. It was a huge blow to the Great Han Dynasty.
Mu Weizhou rode on his horse and circled the cattle farm. He found that except for a few dozens of cattle in a few pens at the foot of the remote Mang Mountain, the rest of the cattle had basically been infected with the disease. By the time he returned to the officers 'quarters, Liu He, the finance minister, and Liu Yan had already arrived and were discussing the situation with Deputy Ox.
When Dou Tao saw Liu Meng, she quickly walked over and said with tears in her eyes,"Brother Crown Prince, almost all of our cows are dead.”
Frowning, Liu He looked at the sad Dou Tao and said,""Sister Dou, don't be sad. We're thinking of a way. We'll find a way to save them.”When Dou Tao heard him say this, her heart softened. The tears that she had controlled before finally flowed down.
Mu Weizhou stepped forward and bowed to Liu He and Liu Min, asking,""Finance Minister, can you confirm what is going on?”
"According to the doctor's diagnosis, the symptoms should be an acute epidemic," said West River King worriedly. However, according to my experience, no matter how urgent the ox plague is, it can't be like this overnight. There would always be signs before the outbreak of the ox plague. Perhaps two or three of them would fall sick first, or it would last for some time. There was no such thing as a thousand strong cows falling sick overnight. Cows are strong animals, but from the morning when the symptoms were discovered until now, half of the thousand cows have died in just four hours…This old man has lived for sixty years and has never heard of such a situation. I can't understand it, I can't understand it! I'm really worried."
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