The first time in history

In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), Dong Zhuo entered the capital. Under the pretext of Emperor Xian of Han, he ordered the states, counties and prefectures to select beautiful women to enter the palace for his enjoyment.

County Magistrate Zhao Qian had always been resentful towards Zhou Jun. Taking advantage of the opportunity of selecting beauties, he ordered a painter to go to Mu'er Village. Under the pretext of painting a portrait of the villagers, he painted Diao Chan's peerless beauty on paper and sent it to Dong Zhuo.

When Dong Zhuo saw this beauty, he became lustful and immediately sent several personal soldiers to Mu'er Village to seize Diao Chan.

When the soldiers arrived at the county governor's mansion and told him their purpose, the governor saw that it was getting late, so he arranged for them to rest in the mansion for one night. He would send someone to lead them to Mu'er Village the next morning.

Aunt Wu's husband is called Wu Dazhi. He has been trimming trees and flowers in the county governor's mansion these days. After working all day, he felt very tired. After dark, he went to bed early with a few craftsmen to rest.

Wu Dazhi was sleeping in a daze when he heard several people talking next door. Their voices were loud and powerful.

"Brother, open the portrait of that beauty and let us brothers take another look at it." A muffled voice reached Wu Dazhi's ears.

"Third brother, you have seen it so many times, why do you want to see it again?"

"Second brother, I was thinking that when we go to arrest someone tomorrow morning, we won't recognize the wrong person. If we capture another woman and give it to Prime Minister Dong, all of us brothers will be punished!"

"Third brother, if you said you wanted to see a beautiful woman, just say it directly, instead of beating around the bush."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's still my fourth brother who understands my third brother's thoughts!"

"Brother, what should we do if we encounter resistance from the villagers when we arrest someone tomorrow?"

"Brother, who are we? We brothers are the personal guards of the most powerful Prime Minister Dong Zhuo. Let alone some country folk, even the royal family of the capital can't do anything to us. They are not afraid of us, but are they not afraid of Prime Minister Dong behind us?"

"Alright, alright," a deep voice said, "Stop talking. Third brother, don't look at the portrait. When we get to her house tomorrow and get the woman, it will be better to see the real woman. We have been traveling all day, let's rest early!"

"A bunch of Liangzhou bandits who do all kinds of evil." Wu Dazhi cursed inwardly. When he heard no more noise from the next room, he prepared to turn over and go to sleep.

"Brother," the muffled voice sounded again, "Is the village we are going to tomorrow called Mu'er Village?"

Wu Dazhi shuddered, "Mu'er Village," he thought to himself, "Why are these bandits going to our village?" He quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

"It's called Mu'er Village. The woman we want to arrest is called Ren Hongchang, the wife of Zhou Jun from this village." The voice of the "Second Brother" was full of envy. "We will capture this stunning beauty tomorrow and send her to the Prime Minister's inner residence... Oh! The Prime Minister will be as happy as a god every day."

"Stop talking and go to bed."

Wu Dazhi was extremely nervous. It turned out that this group of bandits was going to Mu'er Village to capture Hongchang and present him to Prime Minister Dong. He turned over and sat up. "What should I do?" Wu Dazhi thought anxiously.

He had just purchased a few acres of land from Zhou Jun at a very low price. Wu Dazhi was very clear about this situation. This was an arrangement Zhou Jun made specifically to take care of his neighbors.

This behavior made Wu Dazhi feel very grateful and warm, because he knew that Zhou Jun was not a profit-seeking person, but a kind-hearted and helpful person. Zhou Jun's actions not only helped himself, but also made other neighbors feel his kindness and care.

Wu Dazhi thought of this, and he quietly put on his clothes. After going out of the back door of the county governor's mansion, he hurried all the way to the East City. He heard several soldiers in the county governor's mansion chat and said that the food and grass prepared by the county governor for the Xiliang army tonight would all leave the city through the east gate.

As expected, on weekdays, at the hour of You, the gatekeepers would close the four gates. Today, a lot of food and fodder was prepared, so even at this time, there were still food teams slowly passing through the East Gate.

Wu Dazhi took advantage of darkness to sneak into the grain transport team and successfully escaped from the city. He saw an opportunity, left the grain transport team, and rushed to Mu'er Village without stopping.

After listening to Wu Dazhi's words, Qian Mingduo's heart sank. He asked Wu Dazhi, who was out of breath, to sit down and rest. He frowned and thought about how to deal with it.

Qian Mingduo knew very well that he could not defeat Dong Zhuo at all, and the only way was to hide.

Qian Mingduo had already sold his land and property to prevent the county governor's revenge. He originally planned to leave here in the spring of next year and go to the south of the Yangtze River to find a quiet town to live in peace.

I didn't expect to encounter this kind of thing again. I have to leave sooner or later anyway, so I might as well take this opportunity to leave this place. Qian Mingduo had made up his mind. He turned around and looked at Diao Chan who had been looking at him anxiously.

He suddenly smiled at her, and that smile contained relief and determination.

Diao Chan instantly understood the meaning of Qian Mingduo's smile. She nodded gently, turned around and walked out of the courtyard, quickly heading towards her father's home.

"Uncle Wu," Qian Mingduo took out a few silver coins from his drawer and handed them to Wu Dazhi, "Please help me hire a light carriage, and then buy another carriage of the same type, and just wait at my door."

"It's so late..." Wu Dazhi frowned and thought, "My wife's nephew Goushengzi is doing business in the donkey and horse business. I'll go find him now." He said as he walked outside, "I think there should be no problem."

Qian Mingduo pulled out a small wooden box from under the bed, which was filled with shiny silver ingots. He unfolded a saddle bag and stuffed a few silver ingots into it.

He took out a few gold bars from the corner of the closet and put them into the small wooden box. Then he wrapped Diao Chan's dressing box with a piece of brocade and placed it on top of the small wooden box.

At this moment, Diao Chan and her father quietly walked in. Qian Mingduo took the bundle hanging from Diao Chan's elbow, took out the saddlebag containing the silver ingots and put it into the bundle.

Qian Mingduo handed the bundle to his father-in-law and said apologetically, "There are dozens of taels of silver in this bag. According to what we agreed a few days ago, you should stay at your aunt's house first. When Diao Chan and I find a place to stay, we will come to pick you up to live with us."

"I know," Daddy nodded resolutely, "This is something we have already discussed. No need to say more, I understand."

"These dozens of taels of silver are for your temporary stay at my aunt's house. I know you and my aunt have a good relationship, but we should not be stingy when we should be generous." Qian Mingduo sighed and said, "I'm sorry, father-in-law."

"Don't worry," Daddy slung the bag over his shoulder. "Your aunt and I have been good friends since we were young, and I also get along well with your uncle. Don't worry. But you have to be careful on your way!"