Chapter 1045: Mrs. Cui's trip is interrupted

Inside Puji Temple.

When Abbot Faben saw the Cui family members suddenly appear, he was a little confused and out of control.

He had just sent away his good friend's son Su Mingzhe, and hoped that Prime Minister Cui would take care of him for his sake.

As a result, in less than an hour, Prime Minister Cui's body was brought over by his family.

This is such a coincidence!

When the Prime Minister's wife Cui Zheng saw the fierce-looking Master Faben, she immediately bowed and said, "Widow Cui greets the Master."

"Ma'am, you don't have to be so polite!"

Before becoming a monk, Abbot Faben was also a well-known and learned man.

Just because of his ferocious appearance, he was despised everywhere, so he got angry and became a monk.

After Master Faben and Cui Zheng exchanged greetings, he learned that Cui Zheng had brought the coffin up the mountain to avoid the chaos caused by soldiers and bandits, and he quickly comforted her:

"Madam, don't worry. Our Great Tang Emperor has been on the throne for ten years and has always been wise and intelligent. He will definitely be able to resolve this war."

"I hope so."

Cui Zheng sighed, her eyes showing sorrow: "Even if this war can be resolved, it will be a long time before my master's body can be returned home."

Prime Minister Cui was born into the Cui family of Boling.

And Boling is located in the Hebei area of ​​Daliang State.

Now Daliang and Datang are at war, and there are soldiers and bandits everywhere.

Cui Zheng didn’t know what to do next.

Abbot Faben also thought of this and could only sigh and tell Cui Zheng not to worry and to store the coffin in Puji Temple first.

The two were talking.

A young monk hurried into the hall and reported:
"Master, the donor Su Mingzhe brought a group of people up the mountain, saying that they were escorting Prime Minister Cui's body back home."

Abbot Faben and Cui Zheng were both a little surprised, but they didn't think much about it and hurried to the outside of the temple together.

Everyone saw sixteen bandits tied into a line.

Su Mingzhe and Zhao Zhenkun walked side by side. When they saw the Puji Temple open its doors, they immediately stepped forward to report what had happened.

When Abbot Faben heard that his good friend's son actually had great martial arts skills, he could not help but exclaimed, "If I had known that Mr. Su was so capable, I would not have advised you to take the imperial examination, but would have sent you to join the army to serve the country!"

"Master, please don't blame me for hiding it."

Su Mingzhe chatted with Faben with a smile.

Cui Zheng also took the discarded gold and silver jewelry from Zhao Zhenkun.

After counting, it was confirmed to be correct.

Cui Zheng looked at Su Mingzhe again, and her eyes began to shine:
"Excuse me, sir! May I ask your name? Where are you from?"

"I dare not trouble you, Madam, to ask. I am Su Mingzhe, a local from Hezhong Prefecture."

Su Mingzhe looked at Cui Zheng and found that although the future mother-in-law was over 40 years old, she was still charming and graceful. He was not only interested in his future daughter-in-law, Cui Yingying.

Cui Zheng was impatient. When she saw the name, she immediately asked:

"I just heard from Master Faben that Master Su is going to participate in this year's Enke?"

"good."

Su Mingzhe did not hide anything and told the story of Master Faben writing a letter of recommendation for him.

After hearing this, Cui Zheng's originally smooth face suddenly showed wrinkles from laughing:

"Mr. Su, this year's Enke was supposed to be hosted by my master, but he suddenly passed away. So the person to host the Enke will definitely fall into the hands of 'Du Milang'."

When Su Mingzhe heard the three words "Du Milang", he couldn't help but frown.

Du Milang, born as an actor, has the habit of being a homosexual and is fond of young and handsome men.

When Su Mingzhe thought about the host of Enke, he gave up the idea of ​​participating in this year's Enke for the sake of his reputation. Seeing that Su Mingzhe's reaction was not what she expected, Cui Zheng smiled with satisfaction and said:
"Master Su, this time the imperial examination has fallen into the hands of 'Du Milang', and the next spring examination should be presided over by Minister Wei of the Ministry of Rites. My master and Minister Wei have always been good friends. Before the next spring examination begins, I am willing to write a letter of recommendation for Master Su..."

Su Mingzhe understood the meaning of the string, and smiled, saying:

"Madam, you are so kind, but is there anything you need me to do?"

"Mr. Su is indeed sensible."

Seeing that Su Mingzhe took the initiative to "take the bait", Cui Zheng did not hesitate and directly revealed her true intentions:
"I would like to ask Master Su to protect my master's coffin and return it to his hometown. As soon as I arrive in Boling, I will immediately submit the letter of recommendation. What do you think, Master Su?"

"It's easy!"

Seeing that Cui Zheng really asked him to escort her back home, Su Mingzhe readily agreed:
"From Hezhong Prefecture to Boling, it's only 1,500 miles, and we can reach the destination within two months if we travel 30 miles a day! Madam, would you like to rest in Puji Temple for one night and set off tomorrow?"

"There's no time to lose, let's set off after lunch!"

Cui Zheng was also afraid that the night would be too long and she turned around to thank Faben, then discussed with the housekeeper about packing her luggage and preparing to set off.

It was past noon.

Prime Minister Cui's coffin slowly left the Puji Temple under the protection of Su Mingzhe and Changfeng Escort Agency.

Also traveling with them were sixteen bandits who had been "subdued" by Su Mingzhe.

These sixteen bandits changed into uniform clothes and were named the "Yi Nu Army" by Su Mingzhe.

At night.

The team arrived at Hezhong Prefecture.

Currently, the Tang Dynasty and Daliang are at war. Hezhong Prefecture, as a border town of the Tang Dynasty, is now guarded by General Baima Du Que, who has sent his confidant Xue Minggao to defend the city.

That night, when Xue Minggao was patrolling the city and reached the north gate, he happened to see a group of more than 50 people entering the city gate under the cover of darkness. He could not help but scold the guards at the city gate:
"Zhang Xiaosan, you bastard, you are so brave! The sun has already set, and you dare to enter the city as a human. Do you think that because I have an affair with your sister, I dare not kill you as a sacrifice?"

"Brother-in-law, listen to my explanation!"

Zhang San was scolded by his brother-in-law, but he did not dare to retort. Instead, he smiled and explained in a flattering manner:
"Brother-in-law, these are Prime Minister Cui's family members who want to send Prime Minister Cui's body back to his hometown. They have the clearance documents issued by the court. I dare not refuse to let them pass!"

"Prime Minister Cui's family?"

Xue Minggao was shocked when he heard this, but then he remembered his backers and couldn't help but sneer:

"What pass? When a general is away from home, he may not obey orders from his sovereign! Now the Liang army is besieging Hezhong Prefecture, and the rebel general Sun Feihu is causing chaos. Who knows if the pass they have is stolen?"

Seeing that the troops were about to enter the city, Cui Zheng had no intention of getting off the carriage to greet a group of smelly soldiers.

As a result, the team was stopped by Xue Minggao, and Cui Zheng had no choice but to show up, walk out of the carriage, and greet:

"General Xue, do you still recognize me?"

"Oh... So she is really the Prime Minister's wife?"

Xue Minggao only wanted to use his power to make things difficult for Cui's team because he saw Prime Minister Cui pass away.

Seeing Cui Zheng show up, Xue Minggao's face changed, but he finally smiled and greeted her:
"So she is really the Prime Minister's wife?"

A few years ago, the White Horse General Du Que led his White Horse Volunteers to Beijing and received rewards from the emperor.

The emperor wanted to confer the title of Jiedushi on Du Que.

At that time, Prime Minister Cui put eye drops on General Bai Ma and warned the emperor to be alert to the rebellion cases of military governors in various places.

After receiving the reminder, the emperor took back the reward of "Jiedushi".

It was also because of this that a rift arose between Du Que and Prime Minister Cui.

Today, Xue Minggao deliberately caused trouble for the Cui family in order to restore face for his "master" Du Que.

"Since you are the wife of the Prime Minister, you should understand that the city gates need to be closed when the sun sets and people cannot continue to pass through."

"So, I'll have to trouble the Prime Minister's wife and her group to stay outside the city tonight!"

Xue Minggao laughed deliberately, as if he was really in trouble.

After Cui Zheng's face changed drastically, Xue Minggao grinned and ordered his guards to drive the team out of the city gate.

(End of this chapter)