After receiving Cheng Mingzhen's letter, the local officials did not dare to slack off, and immediately sent their servants and gangs out to idle, and secretly protected Du Scar, Hao Laodao and others along the way. This is not because Cheng Xiaohou has a big face, but because Du Scar and Hao Laodao both have official positions. Although he only received a five-rank dismissal, he suddenly let two five-rank doctors have an accident on his ground, and even if the helmet of "law and order is not quiet" is buckled, no one in the local officials wants to get out.

But the more people worry about something, the more they come. At the beginning of June, the errand officer of Changping County reported that Master Hao and Master Du had gone to Bailu Mountain three days ago and had not seen each other so far. After receiving the news, the officials of Changping County panicked, and scolded in their hearts one by one, "Two masters, can you go south and have an accident?" A little further south is the territory of Hanoi County. The original intention of the surname Cheng was to find whoever was desperately looking for whom, so why bother to play missing with us! ”

Complaints are complaints, and no official, big or small, dares not to do their best to find them. After searching for five days in a row, the two of them appeared in a small dilapidated temple in Bailu Mountain. Wupin Chao invited the doctor Hao Wu to be ordained in the temple, and he refused to return to Hongchen without saying anything. Wupin Chaosan Doctor Du Ba can't give up his earthly family affection, so he hasn't shaved his degree for the time being, but he has also become a lay disciple of the temple abbot, and plans to eat fast and worship Buddha in the temple to atone for the sin of killing life that year.

Changping County Shouma tried to persuade him to no avail, so he had to allocate a sum of money for the reconstruction of the temple, and then personally wrote a letter to Cheng Mingzhen to inform him of what happened.

"Fifth uncle and father-in-law, alas! What is this for! After receiving the letter, Cheng Mingzhen was in a hurry. Pull the cuckoo to the back house and complain in a low voice. There is an invisible hurdle between the green forest road licking blood and the days of the ordinary people, and the two old men are obviously stuck on this hurdle. Ordinary people may not be able to experience that feeling of loneliness, but as a junior who came out of the green forest road, he can empathize.

So what to do? You can't call them back! The cuckoo had no idea for a while, lowered his head, and kept crying and wiping his tears.

"If you chant the Buddha a few times and donate some sesame oil money to go to the Western Heavens, what is the difference between the Buddha and the corrupt officials? No, you and I have to go there and talk to them personally! Cheng Mingzhen thought about it and proposed in a low voice.

"What about this side, can you get out of the way here?" The cuckoo wiped away her tears again and asked in a low voice. Although she is a daughter from the rivers and lakes, she hasn't read for a few days. She knows how to think about her husband very well. At present, His Royal Highness the King of Qin and Liu Wuzhou are fighting in Taiyuan, not far away, and although the Zhaozhou battalion only undertakes the task of maintaining the rear grain route, it does not allow the lord to leave his position without authorization. In case one day the King of Qin suddenly sends someone to inspect but cannot find the responsible official, how should the husband explain to the court afterwards?

"If you can't take it off, you have to take it off, let Ermao take it first. I pretended to be sick, hid from my local colleagues, and then sneaked away at night. If the road goes well, 10 days is enough time to run back and forth! Cheng Mingzhen smiled and wiped away the tears from his wife's face and said in a low voice.

Always holding a knife, his thumb belly was covered with calluses, and the smearing on his face was as rough as a steel file. But the cuckoo still laughed, took her husband's hand, and while feeling the body temperature on it with her face, she whispered, "Then let's go and come back quickly." Grandpa couldn't eat without meat in the past, and he may not be able to stand the hardships in the temple. Maybe he changed his mind before the two of us arrived! ”

"Possibly!" Cheng Mingzhen smiled and comforted his wife. In my heart, I am not sure at all.

That night, the husband and wife changed into the outfits of ordinary country couples and sneaked out of the Hou Mansion. Three days later, according to the description of the local officials in the letter, Hao Laodao and Du Scar were found in Bailu Mountain. Seeing the two juniors coming, the two old men were very moved, but after being moved, they became more determined to become monks and practice.

"Anyway, it's all about chanting the Buddha, isn't it the same everywhere? There is a big temple near our house, you two old people go over there to chant scriptures, and we can often visit the two of us, one can do our filial piety, and the other is that you can also feel the light of the Buddha! Cheng Mingzhen had no choice but to retreat.

"No, no!" Du Scarred shook his head like a rattle. "**Having said, the matter of cultivation is in the word 'quiet'. The closer you get to the world, the harder it is to settle down. These days, I have been clear in my heart, but when I saw you two children, I immediately messed up again. If you go back to your home, won't all your efforts be in vain? Forget it, you two are filial, I already knew here. But the sins I did in the first half of my life have to be atoned for by myself, and I can't drag others down! ”

"What drags down and doesn't drag!" Seeing that his father was becoming more and more confused, Du Juan was so angry that he slapped the case, "I'm going to set a fire and burn down the temple?" See what you have to read! ”

"Don't, Juanzi!" Hao Laodao knew that the apprentice was a quick temper who would do what he said, so he immediately stood up from the ** and blocked the other party in one step. "The Buddha is in his heart, and the temple is originally a thing for the monks to strust their bodies. It doesn't really matter where you practice. As long as you can feel peace in your heart at all times, Buddha will naturally grow slowly. But your grandfather's words make sense, he and I are not good at interacting with people in officialdom. When you arrive at the door of your home, you will inevitably be disturbed every day. It's better to be quiet here. If you are reluctant to talk to Xiao Jiu, come over to see him once or twice a year. It's not too far anyway! Besides, for your grandfather, apart from the two of you, there is nothing to be nostalgic for at home. ”

After saying this, the cuckoo's eyes were full of tears. Her father couldn't talk to the local gentry, and she knew this for a long time. After all, those people are family heirlooms of wealth, with a kind of annoying arrogance in their bones. But Julu Zezhong is very old brothers, as well as young people such as Wang Ermao and Zhang Jin, but they have always treated their father as their own parents. I never laughed at him for his rude speech, nor was he snub for his reckless manners.

Unexpectedly, despite this, my father still felt lonely when he was old. No matter how many women there are around, they can't fill the loneliness in his heart. So he chose to become a monk with Uncle Hao to find a sustenance for his soul. If so, what else can you say as a daughter? Instead of dragging him home and watching him hang himself, it is better to fulfill his wish and let him spend his old age quietly in the mountains.

Thinking about this, even if there are a hundred reluctances in Du Juan's heart, he will no longer stop it. and Cheng Mingzhen stayed in the temple for two days, leaving a bag of fine softness, and then left gloomily.

On the way home, remembering his father's words "I will atone for my sins", the cuckoo couldn't help but cry sadly. Cheng Mingzhen stretched out a hand from the horse, gently grabbed her hand, and persuaded in a low voice: "Father-in-law can do it if he wants, and we don't need to force it." In fact, when he returned to the party, he may not have lived comfortably here. Don't be too anxious, I have a bit of a friendship with Wang Junkuo. Turning over the White Deer Mountain is Hanoi, ask him to take care of one or two secretly, presumably he will not refuse! ”

"Don't bother Manager Wang. It alarmed too many people, but it was not good for Grandpa and Fifth Uncle! The cuckoo sighed softly and whispered. Besides, Manager Wang is so close to the prince now, if you go to beg him, you have to find a lot of trouble for yourself! ”

"Wang Junkuo is a down-to-earth man, so he doesn't expect me to repay my kindness for this little favor!" Cheng Mingzhen smiled and explained in a low voice, "Besides, after sharing a lot of Wagang heroes, the prince's side is now strong, and he can't afford to be angry with my little person anymore!" ”

"None of them are as good as you!" The cuckoo disagreed with her husband's self-humility and shook her head slightly.

"That's in your eyes!" Cheng Mingzhen laughed in a low voice, half to relieve his wife's mood, and half to state the facts. "In terms of strategy, Wei Zheng is one against the two of us. In terms of martial arts, if you don't take shortcuts, I can't beat Wu Tianxi with three of them. It's Han Gesheng and them, if I try again, I may not be their opponent! ”

In the past two years, the Tang Dynasty soldiers and horses have won every battle, and the brothers who were separated from the Zhaozhou battalion have also made many miraculous achievements. Among them, the best such as Wu Tianxi, Xiong Kuohai, etc., are far above Cheng Mingzhen in fame and official positions. Even a person like Han Gesheng, who was not obvious in the past, has become a third-grade general, and his actual official position can already be compared with Cheng Mingzhen.

But in Du Juan's eyes, her husband is still the best. Sometimes when I see good news from all over the world, I can't help but secretly think about what kind of future my husband would have if he hadn't refused the prince's woo that day?

Presumably, there must have been more than one county marquis, a county duke, and a national duke are very likely. After all, Chai Guogong, who was entrusted by the emperor with important tasks, was beaten by his husband back then.

If that were the case, she and her husband would have lived in the legendary Chang'an, with a high-walled compound and fresh clothes and angry horses, instead of landing in this small county town.

But in that case, Xiao Jiu won't be alone anymore. With Xiao Jiu's handsomeness and suaveness, walking on the street, I don't know how many girls and children will be attracted to it. As soon as a similar thought flashed, the cuckoo suddenly came to his senses. Just like the artists who go through the streets to find solutions sing, there will be many capable people who try their best to stuff their daughters into Xiao Jiu. Maybe one morning the emperor will ask, "Rich and easy to make friends, expensive and easy to wife, and people are favored?" ”。 Back then, didn't Dou Jiande once stuff the red line in, and he still regarded the red line as a sister.

The advantage of staying in Shangdang County is that as long as he doesn't let go, no one has the ability to go to Cheng's family to stuff his daughter. My father went to become a monk and a layman, and his only relative in this world was the only one left Xiao Jiu.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but hold her husband's hand and tighten it again, lest she fly away as soon as she let go.