Chapter 418

In early summer, the scorching sun was like fire.

Heat waves rolled on the official road, and even the wild grass by the roadside had withered leaves.

A team of carriages and horses drove slowly into the territory of Haizhou under the scorching sun.

Chen Chen Guangrui rode on his horse, hot sweat soaking his green official uniform.

On this trip, he had to return to his hometown in Haizhou first to pick up his mother, Madam Zhang, and then change his route to Jiangzhou to take up his post.

Three days later, Chen Chen Guangrui, having picked up his mother, led the team to a market town called Wanhua Shop.

"Husband, mother-in-law is feeling a bit unwell." The carriage curtain was lifted, and Yin Yin Wenjiao poked out half her body, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

Chen Chen Guangrui's heart tightened, and he immediately dismounted, taking a few steps to the front of the carriage.

The carriage was unusually stuffy, and Madam Zhang was leaning on a soft cushion, her face sallow, her breathing rapid, her eyes tightly closed.

After days of travel and the invasion of the summer heat, this elderly woman over fifty years old could not hold on after all.

"Quick! There is an inn ahead, let's settle down first!" Chen Chen Guangrui ordered his personal guards loudly.

The motorcade stopped in front of the only inn in Wanhua Shop.

Chen Chen Guangrui personally carried his mother into the upper room and ordered someone to invite a doctor from the town.

The doctor took her pulse, prescribed a few doses of medicine to clear heat and relieve summer heat, and said bluntly that Madam Zhang was of advanced age and needed to rest for a month, and must not be jolted again.

At night, the inn room was filled with the heavy bitter smell of medicine.

Chen Chen Guangrui held the medicine bowl, sat by the bed, and fed Madam Zhang spoonful by spoonful.

Madam Zhang swallowed the bitter medicine, took a breath, and her withered hand grabbed Chen Chen Guangrui's wrist.

"Chen Guangrui, you have an imperial order, and there is a time limit for taking up your post. You must not delay the court's business because of me." Madam Zhang's voice was weak, but her tone was very firm.

Chen Chen Guangrui shook his head repeatedly: "Mother, you are so ill, how can your child abandon you?"

"Foolish!" Madam Zhang was angry, triggering a violent fit of coughing.

Yin Yin Wenjiao quickly stepped forward, gently patting Madam Zhang's back to soothe her.

Madam Zhang recovered her strength and stared fixedly at Chen Chen Guangrui: "You have studied hard for twenty years to have today. If you delay the deadline for taking up your post because of me, I will die with regret! Tomorrow morning, you and Yin Wenjiao will set off. Leave the maid to take care of me. When the autumn is cool and my body is much better, you can send someone to pick me up."

Chen Chen Guangrui's eyes turned red, and he wanted to persuade her again, but Madam Zhang closed her eyes, turned her head away, and ignored him.

Chen Chen Guangrui knew his mother's temper was fierce, and in desperation, he could only kneel before the bed and kowtow three times heavily.

The next morning, Chen Chen Guangrui left enough travel expenses and gave a thousand instructions to the maid who stayed behind, only then taking Yin Yin Wenjiao out of the inn.

Just after walking out of the inn, he felt uneasy again, so he let two personal guards stay behind to take care of his mother, letting himself drive the carriage with his wife to leave.

Just after walking not far from the inn, he saw a fisherman wearing a bamboo hat carrying a large bamboo basket, shouting to sell along the street.

"Selling fish! Fresh fish just caught from the Hong River!"

Chen Chen Guangrui was driving the carriage, his gaze swept over the bamboo basket, and he suddenly stopped his movements.

The bamboo basket was full of jumping fish and shrimp, among which was a golden carp more than a foot long, its scales shimmering with dazzling golden light in the morning sun.

The golden carp did not struggle like the other fish, but lay quietly in the water, its fish head slightly raised, its two lively eyes looking straight at Chen Chen Guangrui.

Chen Chen Guangrui's heart shook; he actually saw a sense of pleading in the eyes of a fish.

"How much for this fish?" Chen Chen Guangrui stopped the carriage and horses, pointing at the golden carp and asking.

The fisherman saw that he was an official and immediately piled up a smiling face: "Master has a good eye, this golden carp is a rare thing, very nourishing! Only one string of coins."

Chen Chen Guangrui did not bargain, took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve, and threw it to the fisherman.

"Give me the basket too."

Chen Chen Guangrui carried the bamboo basket and mounted the carriage.

"Husband, why are you buying this fish?" Inside the carriage, Yin Yin Wenjiao poked her head out and asked.

"I observe that this fish has spirit and should not become a meal on the plate. The Hong River is ahead, I will take it to release it, which can be considered as accumulating a blessing for mother." Chen Chen Guangrui replied.

The carriage slowly drove out of Wanhua Shop, and half an hour later, the team arrived at the Hong River.

The Hong River was vast, with surging waves.

Chen Chen Guangrui got off the carriage, carried the bamboo basket, and walked to the riverbank.

He squatted down, tilted the bamboo basket, and submerged it in the water.

"Go."

The golden carp slid into the river along the water flow.

It did not swim away immediately, but circled on the water surface, nodding at Chen Chen Guangrui three times in a row.

Afterward, the golden carp slapped the water surface with its tail, dived into the depths of the river bottom, and disappeared.

Chen Chen Guangrui looked at the rippling water, let out a long breath, and turned back to the carriage.

He did not know that this scene was all caught in two pairs of eyes in the sky.

Deep in the clouds, the Golden-Headed Head Jiedi and Silver-Headed Head Jiedi sat on the clouds.

"This Chen Chen Guangrui is indeed a kind person." The Silver-Headed Head Jiedi looked at the scene below.

The Golden-Headed Head Jiedi replied: "That is the Long Wang of the Hong River. He was greedy last night, mistakenly swallowed the fisherman's fishhook with barbs, and was captured by a mortal. The Bodhisattva had already made arrangements, secretly suppressing the Long Wang's magic power, making him unable to escape, just waiting for Chen Chen Guangrui to come and buy him to release him."

The Silver-Headed Head Jiedi nodded in realization: "In this way, the Long Wang of the Hong River owes Chen Chen Guangrui a huge karma. Later, when Yin Yin Wenjiao throws that posthumous son into the river, the Long Wang will naturally take action to protect him, ensuring that Jin Jin Chanzi's reincarnation is safe and sound."

"Not bad. Every drink and every peck is a fixed number. Linked ring by ring, there will be no mistakes." The Golden-Headed Head Jiedi's gaze swept toward the distant river surface. "Next, let's see about those two water bandits. Only when Chen Chen Guangrui dies can Jin Jin Chanzi sever his mortal blood relatives and enter my Fomen without distraction."

The two looked at each other, said no more, and continued to stare at the motorcade below.

A thousand miles away from the Hong River, at the top of a lonely peak.

Su Chen wore green robes, sitting cross-legged on a blue stone.

A water mirror was suspended in front of him, the water waves on the mirror surface flowing, clearly reflecting everything that happened by the Hong River.

Su Chen held a wine gourd in his hand, tilted his head, and poured a mouthful of strong liquor.

He sighed: "The gods and Buddhas are high above, fooling all living beings."

The Fomen's calculations were indeed exquisite, calculating the good and evil, life and death of mortals, and even the Long Wang's greed, clearly and clearly.

The sky was getting late, the setting sun like blood.

At this time, Chen Chen Guangrui had already arrived at the Hong River ferry with his wife Yin Yin Wenjiao.

The wind on the river was a bit strong, blowing the reeds on the shore to make a rustling sound.

The river was wide, the water flow was rapid, but only a somewhat dilapidated large boat was docked at the ferry.

Two men sat at the bow of the boat.

One was burly, with a face full of flesh, and a long scar on his exposed chest; he was the boatman Liu Hong.

The other was thin, with sinister eyes, playing with a bone-picking sharp knife in his hand; his name was Li Biao.

Chen Chen Guangrui walked to the shore and shouted loudly: "Boatman! We want to cross the river to take up our post, can this boat be rented?"

Liu Hong stood up, his gaze swept over Chen Chen Guangrui's green official uniform, a trace of greed flashing in the bottom of his eyes.

"Rent! If the official master charters the boat, two taels of silver!" Liu Hong's voice was rough.

Chen Chen Guangrui was anxious to cross the river, did not bargain, paid the money directly, and drove the carriage onto the boat.

Yin Yin Wenjiao also got off the carriage and stepped onto the deck.

The river wind blew, lifting a corner of Yin Yin Wenjiao's veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful side face.

Liu Hong's hand holding the cable paused abruptly; he looked at Yin Yin Wenjiao's graceful figure, his Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Li Biao leaned over to Liu Hong and lowered his voice: "Big brother, it's a fat sheep. That little lady is even more of a top-grade."

Liu Hong withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth smiled slightly, and he said:

"Set sail."