Everyone searched for another day, and in the evening, they finally found a corpse wearing Cao Shuo's clothes in a river branch. The corpse had been soaked in the water for two or three days, and was hit by rocks on the shore. It was completely unrecognizable.

Everyone could only vaguely recognize Cao Shuo's appearance.

This corpse was prepared by Cao Ang in advance. Since everyone wants to think that Cao Shuo is dead, there must be a corpse and evidence that is perfect.

Although Cao Ang knew that the corpse was fake, when he saw it again, his legs were still weak, his limbs were stiff, and tears welled up in his eyes, as if the person lying there was really Cao Shuo.

I may never see my brother again in this life.

Cao Shuo died inexplicably, but in the Cao family, except for Cao Ang, not many people would be sad about it.

He was a concubine with a reserved personality and rarely interacted with others. Although he had lived in Qiao County for many years, he was completely overshadowed by his radiant brother.

Who cares about such people?

Cao Song came to visit once, and others also came to express their condolences, but it was just a gesture, and the main target was Cao Ang. Except for Cao De, who helped Cao Ang take care of his funeral, many people came, and the others even forgot about it in the blink of an eye.

It's over.

Cao Shuo was only sixteen years old, not yet fully grown up, and he died unexpectedly. Even a proper funeral could not be held, and the funeral was held for only two days.

Even a concubine could not be buried in the main cemetery of the Cao family.

Brothers Cao Ang and Cao Shuo had no heirs, so they had no nephews to guard Cao Shuo's body.

Cao Ang sat alone in front of Cao Shuo's mourning hall, looking at the clear sky and the clouds rolling in and out; looking at the night as cold as water and the moon and stars.

Cao Ang stayed overnight, and on the second day, he looked much older.

It happened that at noon that day, the chamberlain who announced the imperial decree also arrived. In fact, the chamberlain should have arrived long ago. After all, Cao Ang had received the news two or three days ago.

However, there were many bandits along the way. These servants were delayed in avoiding the bandits, so they only arrived today.

As Cao Ang knew about the content of the imperial edict, he was a general of hussars, a captain of the military affairs department, and a secretary of state affairs. If the three positions were added together, it would be no problem to have power over the government and the public, not to mention covering the sky with one hand.

But Cao Ang knew very well that Emperor Ling was about to die, so these positions alone were meaningless. Only with sufficient military power could they be effective.

Of course Cao Ang was not planning to return to Beijing. He did not want to be Dong Zhuo's puppet.

So Cao Ang asked to postpone his trip on the grounds that his brother was attending a funeral. Cao Ang knew very well that once He Jin came to power, he would definitely not allow him to go back.

So after this period of time, there is no need to return to Beijing.

Cao Ang didn't move, which made the group of servants anxious. But everyone knew Cao Ang's temper, and no one dared to offend him. They were afraid of following in Xia Yun's footsteps, so they had to beg hard.

Cao Ang was annoyed and ignored them.

Anyway, these eunuchs are like rabbits’ tails and can’t grow any longer.

Cao Ang didn't care about entering the capital. On the contrary, Cao Song and other members of the Cao family were extremely happy. The appointment of Prime Minister and Assistant Secretary was a great opportunity for the Cao family.

Seeing that Cao Ang refused to leave, Cao Song also came to persuade him.

In the past two years, Cao Song has ignored Cao Ang and allowed him to carry out his duties. He also knew that in terms of vision and officialdom, he could not compare with his eldest grandson.

But this thing was so tempting that he couldn't let it go.

When his grandson is older, Cao Song can no longer control him. If he controls too much, he will easily make a joke, so he has to be careful when mentioning this matter.

Seeing his grandfather's careful look, Cao Ang was a little moved and a little sad.

Are you really going to be alone?

Cao Ang had no choice but to explain the pros and cons to Cao Song. Cao Song had political wisdom because he had been in the officialdom for so many years. He believed in Cao Ang's judgment.

After hearing what Cao Ang said, he could only watch the opportunity slip away from his hands.

Cao Ang didn't care about his family or Luoyang, he only thought about Cao Shuo's funeral.

Although the funeral was very simple according to the etiquette, Cao Ang was very attentive and almost did it himself. Everyone thought he was too sad. Only Cao Ang knew in his heart that it was guilt.

It didn't take long for Cao Shuo's coffin to be buried in his ancestral grave. Since he was a concubine, Cao Ang allowed him to stay close to the Liu family's grave, which was considered as a favor.

Of course, what was buried was an empty coffin, which was originally thought to be Cao Shuo's body. Cao Ang would not let him be buried in the Cao family's ancestral grave.

As for the location of Cao Shuo's tomb, Cao Ang planned to keep it for his younger brother, waiting for the day when he comes back.

Cao Ang had been too worried and a little tired these days. After handling Cao Shuo's funeral, he became ill.

Cao Ang was a little surprised by this. He had not been sick for many years.

The illness comes like a mountain falling, and the illness goes away like a thread spinning.

The disease was coming with force and he was unprepared, so Cao Ang had to settle down and recuperate, and he couldn't go to Luoyang. The group of servants who were anxious every day were as anxious as if their hearts were burning.

On this day, Cao Ang was resting on the couch, hugging the quilt.

Cao Ang's illness is a bit like a fever. Now that the fever has subsided, he still needs to rest more.

At this time Cao Ang's sister Cao Xiu came to see him.

Among Cao Ang's many sisters, Cao Xiu is the only one who is truly a compatriot. Therefore, although Cao Ang does not show off to such a sister, he is actually very considerate.

Cao Xiu came to see Cao Ang, his face full of sadness.

Cao Ang only thought that Cao Xiu was mourning the death of Cao Shuo, but he didn't pay much attention to it. However, he kept comforting his sister and told her to take good care of herself and take care of her body.

Cao Xiu looked at his brother, hesitated for a long time, and then asked: "Eldest brother, did you kill the second brother?"

Cao Ang was a little stunned when he heard his sister's words.

"Xiu'er, how can you say this!"

Cao Xiu didn't answer, with tears in his eyes, looking at the brother he was most proud of in the past, his heart was like a knife.

"You were the one who killed me, right? I saw you go to the water that day, and I also saw my brother push the second brother into the water. Brother, tell me, why did you do this? Why?"

Cao Xiu couldn't see clearly because of the angle. He only saw Cao Ang and Cao Shuo hugging each other, and then Cao Shuo fell into the water. He thought it was Cao Ang who pushed Cao Shuo into the water.

Seeing Cao Xiu crying so hard, Cao Ang didn't know what to say.

"Xiu'er, many things are not what you think. There are many things that I can't explain to you now, but I hope you believe me, brother!"

"How can I believe you? I believe that my second brother died right in front of my eyes."

Cao Xiu stood up, looked at Cao Ang, shouted "I will never forgive you", and ran out excitedly.

Cao Ang quickly asked people to chase him, but he couldn't help but feel upset about this matter in his heart.

How to let Xiu'er see it.

Cao Ang was having a headache when someone came to report that Yuan Ying was feeling a little unwell due to fatigue. Cao Ang was shocked and hurriedly got up to take a look.
Chapter completed!