The first time in history

"Zhou Jun, why did you give me so much money?" Dad felt the bag was extremely heavy and was about to take it off when Diao Chan finished packing and walked out of the bedroom. She hung the bag on Dad's shoulders again and smiled and shook her head at him.

"Okay!" Dad sighed.

At this time, a low horse neigh was heard outside the yard.

"It's so late, and I can't find a driver," Wu Dazhi said embarrassedly, "but I can use the animals."

"Here are the remaining silver coins," Wu Dazhi took out a few pieces of silver.

"Uncle Wu," Qian Mingduo pushed back Wu Dazhi's hand that was about to take the money, took out an envelope from his waist, and put it in Wu Dazhi's arms, "Uncle, keep the rest of the money to buy wine. This envelope contains the title deed of my house and a letter I wrote myself giving this house to you."

"How can this be possible?" Wu Dazhi declined.

"Uncle's kindness today is not something I, Qian Mingduo, can repay with a few pieces of silver or a few tiled houses!" Qian Mingduo patted Wu Dazhi's shoulder and said, "I have to trouble you to send my father-in-law to my aunt's house. I hope you can take good care of the old man along the way."

At this time, the sky was already turning pale. Diao Chan looked at the carriage going away and wiped away her tears. She turned around, took Qian Mingduo's hand, and said resolutely: "Let's go!"

Qian Mingduo and Diao Chan drove the light carriage slowly across the field. On both sides of the road, the autumn grass was withered and yellow, swaying in the bleak autumn wind. The mountains in the distance were rolling and stained with a layer of light twilight, like a quiet and distant ink painting.

Diao Chan gently lifted the curtain of the carriage, looked at the blood-red sunset in the sky, and said with emotion: "My husband, if it weren't for this escape, this kind of scenery would be a pleasant trip." Qian Mingduo smiled slightly, but his hand holding the reins did not relax, "Madam, although there are beautiful scenery, the road ahead is unknown, so you still need to be cautious."

"Yeah!" Diao Chan responded in a low voice.

Qian Mingduo, the "conceited pig," turned around and said, "It's getting late, are you cold?"

"It's not cold." Diao Chan lifted the door curtain, put a cloak on Qian Mingduo, sat next to Qian Mingduo, put her hands around one of his arms, pressed tightly against him, and asked softly, "You've been driving for a whole day. Are you tired?"

"I'm not tired." Qian Mingduo turned his head and kissed Diao Chan's hair. "Alas!... You are a useless husband. You let your wife and father-in-law flee their hometown and live under someone else's roof. Darling... I'm sorry for you!"

"Hmm..." Diao Chan raised her face and kissed Qian Mingduo's cheek fiercely, saying coquettishly, "Don't talk nonsense. What do you mean by useless? Dong Zhuo is the current prime minister, a great man who is second only to the emperor. Not to mention that we ordinary people can't afford to offend him, even the current emperor Dong Zhuo can be abolished at will, right?"

Qian Mingduo felt a hint of coolness in the breeze, so he spread out his cloak. Diao Chan understood and got into the cloak.

"Do you still remember the matter about the county governor?" Diao Chan snuggled in Qian Mingduo's arms with a happy face. "My husband, you calmed him down with just a few words, and in the end he became sworn brothers with you and gave us such a valuable gift. You are amazing, aren't you?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Qian Mingduo narrowed his eyes, a chill in his eyes, "this time it must be a dirty trick by that bastard Zhao Qian. The painter who came to the village to paint the portrait a few days ago must have been sent by him."

"I wish I hadn't asked that painter to paint my portrait." Diao Chan said regretfully, "But he didn't charge any money at the time and painted the portraits for the villagers for free, so I..."

"This painter spent the whole day painting your portrait alone." Qian Mingduo shook his head and said, "I didn't think too much about it at the time. I just thought that he would paint well and show your stunning face so that people in the future can appreciate your beauty."

"Alas!" Qian Mingduo sighed, "Zhao Qian is a piece of shit. Damn it. He made me flee my hometown. Poor conceited pig, you have to suffer with me."

"Don't scold these treacherous villains." Diao Chan smiled gently, brushed a few strands of hair from Qian Mingduo's forehead behind his ears, put her face close to his, and said softly: "As long as I am with my husband, no matter what hardship or suffering I endure, as long as my husband is by my side, I will feel happy. I am not afraid of anything, I just want you to be by my side."

The moonlight shone on them, reflecting the two of them leaning on each other. Although their hearts were filled with tension and worry, the warmth of each other's company along the way made them feel as if they were not on the run, but on a driving trip.

In the past few days, they tried to avoid the official roads with a lot of pedestrians and chose the secluded paths. After a few days of eating and sleeping in the open air, they were very tired. Qian Mingduo decided to find a city with Diao Chan and go into the city to rest.

When they were more than a mile away from the city gate, the cautious Qian Mingduo decided to walk to the outside of the city gate alone, observe the situation, and then drive into the city.

The soldiers guarding the city gates were lazily leaning against the wall, some taking naps, some chatting. Qian Mingduo looked around and found nothing was wrong, so he turned around and walked back, preparing to drive into the city.

"Come here, woman," a soldier shouted loudly, "you come here too and stand over here."

Qian Mingduo turned around and saw several women who were about to pass through the city gate being led into the city gate by soldiers. He suddenly had a bad feeling, so he hurried to the city gate, pretending to enter the city, and slowly went in.

"All of you raise your heads." A soldier who looked like a small leader unfolded the scroll in his hand and carefully compared the women standing in front of him with the scroll.

"Let's go," the little leader waved the rolled-up scroll, "each one is uglier than the other."

"Big Brother," a soldier came up to the little leader, took out a piece of dried beef and handed it to him: "We have checked hundreds of women in the past few days. We checked every woman who passed by here, but no woman is prettier than the one in the painting!"

At this time, Qian Mingduo had already walked out of the city gate and took a few steps into the city. He turned back and listened carefully to the conversation between the soldiers.

"You are talking nonsense!" The little leader said angrily, "The woman that Prime Minister Dong likes must be as beautiful as a flower, the most beautiful woman in the world! How can we country women in this remote and poor village compare to her?"

When Qian Mingduo heard this, he no longer hesitated and strode towards the carriage.

"What is this guy doing?" The little leader looked at Qian Mingduo's back and asked, "One moment he goes into the city, and the next moment he goes out of the city?"

Qian Mingduo got on the carriage, turned the horse around, and galloped away on the road. Diao Chan looked confused and did not ask anything. The tacit understanding between them had made her understand that Qian Mingduo must have his own reasons for doing this.