The army set off from Hami... The road was yellow and sandy, and the sun was scorching. It was very hard, but the road always came to an end. Now, clumps of trees, green weeds, occasional lakes, and small villages gradually appeared in front of them.
We are getting closer to Dunhuang.
As he was walking, a group of cavalry suddenly came galloping in the distance, dressed in Ming Dynasty uniforms. Even so, the guard commander sent by King Hami did not dare to neglect, and immediately led a group of soldiers to meet them on horseback, and met twice.
After talking for a while, the guard commander turned around on horseback and drove towards Xia Xun's carriage with one of the riders.
A light car, with a cover on the top and no curtains on all sides, was a little cool in this hot summer. Xia Xun, Xilin, Jeanne, and the little girl Tang Saier were in the car.
The guard commander led the people to the front of the car and said loudly: "My lord, the Handong Guard commander Suinan and the commander Tongzhi are working together to attack. The Shazhou Guard commander Kun Ji and the guard Mai Jia are in front.
Ten miles along the road, we are waiting for the Duke of our country to enter the city."
"Dunhuang, we won't go in. My father is eager to return home.
You go back and ask Suinan and Kunji to prepare water and food immediately, and arrange a team of soldiers and horses to escort the prince to Jiayuguan. Commander Song, you have had a hard journey, and you can rest in Dunhuang for a few days, and then return to Hami. Please do it for me.
I would like to express my gratitude to King Zhongshun!"
"As you command!" The two knights received instructions and rode away separately.
Liu Yujue reined up his horse and said: "My lord, after traveling all the way, the soldiers are a little tired. I see that Sai'er and the two ladies are also very tired. Anyway, the news has been sent back. Why should my lord be in a hurry? If he can rest in Dunhuang,
Two days, no need to delay anything."
Xia Xun shook his head and said: "These soldiers who survived by chance are all from Xiliang. They have been away from home for so long, and they are worried about their relatives in their hometown. The court and my family can know the news of my life and death as soon as possible, but many of them still have their families at home."
I don’t know whether I’m going to live or die, but it’s good to be here a day early!”
"Yes!" Liu Yujue stopped persuading after hearing this. Xia Xun raised his eyes and looked into the distance. It was still dozens of miles away from Shazhou City, and the outline of Dunhuang City could not be seen yet. However, it was close to the Dunhuang Oasis, with trees and
Grassland appears occasionally, and occasionally some small villages can be seen.
Xia Xun leaned back, put his arms around Xilin and Jeanne's slender waists, and asked softly: "Are you lacking?"
Both women's faces were covered with gauze, revealing only a pair of charming big eyes. Hearing this, they leaned towards Xia Xun and said softly: "Master, we also want to go home quickly!"
Tang Sai'er jumped on Xia Xun from behind, put her arms around his neck, and said, "Godfather, I want my mother to kiss you back!"
Xia Xun nodded silently, looked up at the white clouds, and suddenly missed his relatives: Ming'er, Zi Qi, thank you, Su Ying, Xiao Di, and those four precious girls and his son Yang Huaiyuan...
…
In the Ying family's meditation hall, there were only mother and daughter Xue Lian and Miao Yi.
The wooden fish rolled out far away with a "dang-dang" sound... and the scrolls were also thrown to the ground.
Snow Lotus was dressed plainly, sitting cross-legged on a futon.
Her cheeks have become a little thinner since then. The strong woman who originally held the power of running the Sun Family Medicine Hall, after ten years of being influenced by the Qingdeng Ancient Buddha, her aura has been replaced by softness, and she has a vague sense of being out of the world.
Perhaps because of ten years of calm mind and ten years of fasting and practicing, except for her slightly thinner cheeks and pointed chin, her whole person looks exactly the same as ten years ago, and she still looks like a person in her thirties.
The scroll was thrown to the ground, and the wooden fish was broken by Miao Yi. Snow Lotus was still sitting cross-legged, with her eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything in front of her.
Miaoyi's chest rose and fell sharply, and she said in a trembling voice: "How many times have I told you, mother! That person is dead, long dead! Did you listen? If we are wrong, ten years
Isn’t your confession enough? Why can’t you let go?”
Xuelian still had her eyes closed. Ever since she built this meditation hall and became a lay practitioner, Xuelian has lived here alone, isolated from the world. Whenever her daughter came into the Zen hall to see her, she would close her eyes, just like now.
Miao Yi said: "Mother, do you really believe in Buddhism? Do you live in this meditation hall to worship the Buddha, or do you want to escape from others and me? You think I don't know. You are afraid of seeing me, because you see
If you leave me, you will remember the unbearable conditions back then, but isn't ten years in prison enough? If you can't let go, how can you let your daughter let go?"
Xuelian's body shook. She still didn't speak, but her eyes trembled sharply.
Miao Yi's tears were already flowing down: "Mom, I am your sin, why are you... not my sin? We must forgive ourselves and each other before we can truly let go! Mother has been studying for ten years.
"Buddha, are you still unable to figure it out and let go? If my mother still can't accept the reality she faces with her daughter, maybe it would be better to separate for a while."
Miao Yi turned around slightly and said in a low voice: "The Duke of Guo did not enter the city. He rested for a while outside the city and then continued east. Do you understand what he meant? Chief Shenglong... is really good to you.
, Mom, in this life, you finally have someone who loves you sincerely. Mom made two mistakes in fate, but when the real fate comes, do you want to give up? My daughter said this, Mom, think about it carefully! "
Miao Yi walked out gently and walked out of the meditation hall. Sheng Long, the chieftain in Tanggula Mountain, was standing there respectfully, holding a box in his hand. It was the treasures, jewelry and spices that he specially bought for Snow Lotus when he went to the Western Regions.
Miaoyi nodded lightly to him, and Shenglong immediately tiptoed into the meditation hall like a monk, like a devout believer who wanted to worship the true body of the Bodhisattva.
Xia Xun's escort team was handed over. He just had a brief chat with the officials and gentry waiting outside the city. He waited until the Hami officers and soldiers were handed over to the Dunhuang officers and soldiers. The Hami officers and soldiers entered the city to rest. Shazhou Guard Commander Kun Ji personally led three thousand elite soldiers.
, escorted Xia Xun and his party to continue on their way.
Passing by the bank of Dunhuang, several miles away from the city, on a sandy slope, Xia Xun looked back and saw the mountain light all over the city, the shadow of towers in half of the city, the continuous reed stream, lakes everywhere, and the clear and clear sky.
, pure white clouds, allowed to move and change with the free wind, as beautiful as a paradise.
Xia Xun said silently: "Ten years ago, you left the sad place of Qingzhou and exiled yourself to the end of the world. Today, I took the initiative to leave Dunhuang City, and I will not go in. I think what you need most now is tranquility. I hope I can once
The arrival of your daughter has not disturbed your peaceful life. The past is over. I hope that you, mother and daughter, can put down the burden of their hearts and find their own happiness!"
In a spacious courtyard, there is a stone platform and a bench, and a middle-aged man with a mustache is sitting steadily on the bench, drinking tea slowly. This middle-aged man with a mustache is obviously the solemn man whom Tuoba Mingde tried his best to fawn over.
Mr. Shao Wangxin, a thousand households in the Yi Qianhu House in Paiwei Town.
Of course he is not the real Zhenyi Qianhu Shao Wangxin, this Xibei guy is none other than Wan Songling, a master of Qianmen who used to work in Fengyang area.
At that time, Xia Xun moved his family from Qingzhou to Jinling. Seeing that he had quite a lot of luggage, Wansongling wanted to try him out in Fengyang. Because he was short of manpower, he found a local man who used thousands of tricks to defraud people out of money. Xie Yuxiao, a colleague, helped, but unexpectedly, Xie Yuxiao knew that Yang Xu was the husband she had been betrothed to since she was a child. She promised to help Wan Songling on the surface, but secretly played tricks on him.
Wan Songling suffered a lot when he was returned to prison in Fengyang. After escaping, he gnashed his teeth and chased to Jinling, hoping to avenge a thousand with a thousand. However, in an away game, the information failed to work, and he was thanked again. Yu Hao and her master, Mrs. Xizhu, fought to the death, and in the end all the money they collected fell into Xie Yufei's hands. She fled Jinling cleanly and alone, thinking that she had killed an official and caused a murder.
On the way to escape, Wan Songling was afraid of being wanted by the official back home, so he thought of an ingenious way. He carved a carrot stamp and forged an official letter according to the format of the official return envelope. He stuffed waste paper inside and glued it on the outside. He put on the chicken feathers, got a set of bamboo-tubed yellow-faced baggage and carried it on his back, and he suddenly transformed into a Fu Chai who returned from the government.
The people at the post station receive so many messengers from north to south every day, how can they be so vigilant? In addition, they are only responsible for welcoming and delivering official letters, and are not the yamen that issues or receives official letters. They can only take a glance at the appearance of official documents. He believed it if it seemed to match, so the liar Wan Songling swaggered all the way west as a member of the government, passing through Henan, Shaanxi, and all the way to Gansu. Along the way, he ate, drank, and stayed in the official residence of the government. In the inn.
For more than ten years, Wansongling has taken root here and has taken on several apprentices, becoming a very important person in the local underworld.
Not long ago, Tuoba Mingde went around asking people about the relationship between Zhenyi Qianhusuo, and was targeted by him. Wan Songling suddenly transformed into Lord Shao of Zhenyi Qianhusuo. In order to win the trust of Tuoba Mingde He even entered the yamen of Suzhou Guard once in front of Tuoba Mingde, and was escorted out in person by the officials of the yamen very enthusiastically. Tuoba Mingde had no doubt about his identity.
In fact, the land of Gansu implements the same system as the original one in Liaodong, that is, the integration of military and political affairs. There are no local officials to return to the government, and the guards are used to manage all local administrative, judicial and other matters, so the yamen gate only needs you. You can get in if you have something to do. Wansongling entered Suzhou Guard just for some trivial matter, but he gave the official who was handling the matter a thick red envelope. The official felt sorry for him, so of course he had to send him out warmly.
At first, Wan Songling just wanted to defraud Tuoba Mingde of a sum of money, but then he discovered that this Hu businessman was very rich, and Feng... was very stupid. How could such a stupid rich man not make a fortune from him? Wasn't there going to be a thunderbolt from the sky? Wan Songling became so greedy that he not only wanted to benefit from him, but also wanted to defraud him of the huge sum of money he used to buy back the goods. This required a set-up. A bigger situation is needed.
Therefore, his plan has been drawn up. He has sent people to recruit a few capable apprentices, preparing to join forces with the apprentices to put on a big show and defraud the Hu businessman into getting a huge sum of money. Ten years have passed, and in the middle After the Jingnan War, no one must be paying attention to his case anymore. He will return to his hometown as soon as he gets this huge sum of money.
Fallen leaves return to their roots. Although he is a thief, a thief also has a hometown...