Chapter 373: The Scumbag Dad Has Arrived in the Village]
The bailiffs said impatiently, "That's enough. This has nothing to do with you, so there's no need to ask any more questions. Let's go!"
Chen Meixin and others had no choice but to follow the yamen runners.
After walking for a while, we arrived at a dilapidated courtyard in the village. The thatched house with loess walls consisted of three rooms in the north. Two small rooms were built in the place of the west wing, one for the kitchen and the other for storing sundries. There was also a wooden fence surrounding the courtyard.
"This is the house allotted to you. In addition, each person will receive two mu of land. Now is the spring plowing season, so I advise you to plant crops quickly. Otherwise, when the grain taxes are due in the fall and winter, you will not be able to pay them and will be arrested and imprisoned by the government. Don't blame me for not warning you."
The yamen runner spoke to them dutifully.
Compared with the red-walled and black-tiled courtyard of Shen Fenghe's house that I had seen before, this courtyard was simply unsightly.
Chen Meixin widened her eyes and said in disbelief: "You...you said you want us to live...in this shabby house?"
Xiao Yunqi's face darkened. "Is this a house suitable for human habitation? Even pigs wouldn't live there!"
Upon hearing this, the yamen runner couldn't help but sneer and said, "Hey! You still think you are the princes, princesses, and prime ministers in the palace? And you are still here picking on me? I don't know whether the pigs can live here, but I know you must live here."
Xiao Yunqi was almost suffocated by the criticism.
He was a prince, and although he wasn't particularly favored, few servants dared to humiliate him like this. Now a mere yamen runner dared to do this? This was simply too much!
"Who the hell are you? How dare you compare me to a pig?! Believe it or not..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a "snap" sound and the bailiff whipped him with a whip. The prison uniform on Xiao Yunqi was torn and a red mark appeared on his arm.
"Believe it or not, what do you think? You can't kill me, Your Highness Prince Rui? You've been exiled and you're still showing off your power in front of me! I'm giving you face!"
Xiao Yunqi was about to explode, but was stopped by Shen Shi'an and Shen Meixin.
Yang Cuicui said anxiously, "Sir, how come the deposed empress and the deposed crown princess can live in such a nice house, while we get such a shabby one? This is too unfair!"
The yamen runner squinted at her and sneered, "Don't keep saying that you deposed the empress and the crown princess. The two of them were actually pardoned by the imperial decree, but they refused to take the title of empress and crown princess anymore and were willing to live in our Youzhou. However, putting that aside, the houses that the two ladies were originally divided were even more shabby than yours! The house with red walls and black tiles was later built by Miss Shen herself, burning bricks and smelting lime. If you were capable, you could have rebuilt it yourselves too. Why are you talking about fairness or unfairness here?"
After hearing this, Yang Cuicui was speechless for a moment.
The bailiff continued, "Alright. I've brought you here, and my job is done. You can pack up yourselves. Don't even think about running away. If you get caught, you'll be charged with a heavier crime. If you're caught, you'll be charged with military slavery, and you'll have a hard time!"
After saying that, the bailiff ignored them and walked away.
Xiao Yunqi and others looked at the dilapidated house and were speechless for a moment.
At this moment, thunder rumbled in the sky, and soon it began to rain heavily.
Without caring about anything else, a few people hurried into the thatched hut to take shelter from the rain. When they went in, they saw that it was raining heavily outside and inside the hut, and the roof was leaking in several places.
Xiao Yunqi was so angry that he kicked a wooden table that was already falling apart. The table fell apart in an instant, and a sound came suddenly.
Yang Cuicui had lived in luxury for Shen Shi'an for so many years, so how could she bear this house? Suddenly, an idea came to her mind and she said to Shen Shi'an, "Master, this house is really uninhabitable. How about we go to Feng He's house? When I passed by just now, I saw that her house has both the main house and the east and west wing rooms. There should be a few rooms for us to stay in, and... there's also hot mutton soup to drink..."
Before she could finish her words, Shen Shi'an glared at her coldly, and Yang Cuicui had to remain silent.
After hearing this, Chen Meixin's mind moved, and she also stepped forward to persuade him, "Dad, I think what Mom said makes sense. No matter what Dad says, he is still her biological father. In this world, where is there a biological father who lives in a leaky thatched hut while his daughter lives in a luxurious house? Even if... even if we didn't send her off when she was exiled before, but... that was for the sake of the Shen family, so we had to distance ourselves from it. Can she really blame her own father?"
Xiao Yunqi was also a little tempted. Although the red brick house was not as magnificent as the palace and his Prince Jin’s mansion, it was better than this thatched house.
Moreover, thinking of Shen Fenghe's appearance, it was a hundred times stronger than Shen Meixin. If I could live under the same roof with Shen Fenghe, maybe...
However, he immediately remembered that Qin Mengyue also lived in that house, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed again.
The fact that the Crown Prince died at his hands was an indisputable fact. The Queen must have hated him to death, so how could she possibly allow him to live in the same courtyard?
However, after taking another look at the dilapidated loess and thatched house, Xiao Yunqi closed his eyes. At worst, he could just kneel down and kowtow to admit his mistake. Living in a good house was better than starving here!
Shen Shian also had this idea in his mind. No matter what, he was just a little partial to his second daughter. The eldest daughter was married to the prince, so he was not treating her unfairly.
Now that his father is in trouble, it is natural for his eldest daughter to help him.
However, he was an elder after all, and how could an elder lower himself to ask his daughter for help? Shen Fenghe should have come personally to invite him to live there.
If the dwarf goes over now, it will be difficult to control the eldest daughter in the future!
Thinking of this, Shen Shian said, "Mei Xin, go to the house first and tell your sister that your father has arrived. Tell her to come and greet him quickly."
Shen Mei was stunned for a moment.
She instigated Shen Shian, of course, in order to get Shen Shian to come forward so that she, as his daughter, could enjoy the benefits. She didn't expect that this task would fall on her.
She felt uncomfortable when she thought about having to beg humbly to her elder sister Chen Fenghe, whom she had always been unwilling to accept.
There was another reason. In the past, when Chen Fenghe woke up from hitting the pillar in the palace, he felt like he had given up everything and slapped her twice.
She was somewhat afraid of being beaten again.
"Dad, how could my sister possibly listen to me? It would be better if you came in person..."
Shen Shian glanced at her, unmoved: "What do you know? Just go if I tell you to! If she refuses to come to greet me, it means she is unfilial. I will intervene. What kind of father would rush to beg his daughter?"
After hearing this, Chen Meixin couldn't refuse anymore and had to go out.
Yang Cuicui was still thinking about the mutton, so she pulled Shen Meixin and said, "Meixin, when you see your sister, please ask her to leave some mutton and mutton soup for us, otherwise it will be gone soon and we won't be able to eat it!"
Chen Meixin agreed impatiently and then went out.
When they arrived at the gate, the banquet had just ended. Chen Fenghe escorted everyone to the gate.
Chen Fenghe took out the things he had prepared in advance: a dried wild boar leg, two cured pheasants, a bag of fried noodles and scallion pancakes, as well as today's fresh boiled mutton. He cut a large piece and wrapped it in dry lotus leaves. He put all the things in a bamboo basket and asked them to take it with them to eat on the way back to Beijing.
Chen Wu and Yuan Xun declined again and again, but finally accepted it.
When Chen Meixin saw Chen Wu and Yuan Xun, she was a little scared at first, and then a bit of hatred rose in her heart.
Chen Wu and Yuan Xun were the officials who escorted them to Youzhou.
Not to mention bullying them during the exile, at least they were never treated well.
Now seeing that the two of them were actually guests of honor of Chen Fenghe, it must have been Chen Fenghe's secret instructions that he treated them like that on the road.
Therefore, Chen Meixin blamed all the hardships she endured during exile on Chen Fenghe.
However, now that she needed help from Chen Fenghe, she naturally couldn't lose her temper. She had to force herself to swallow her anger and walked to the door with a smile on her face.
"Sister, I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you doing well?"
Chen Meixin bowed very ladylikely and called softly.
Chen Fenghe had seen her coming from a distance and pretended not to know her. Now he glanced at her and said coldly, "Excuse me, who are you? Why are you calling me sister?"
Chen Meixin couldn't help but look a little unhappy, but she quickly calmed down and whispered, "Sister, you're joking. I'm Meixin, how could you not recognize me?"
Chen Fenghe finally looked at her straight in the eye and said with a smile, "Oh, who was it? It turned out to be the Princess of Jin... Oh, no, the Prince of Jin has been demoted to a commoner and exiled, so naturally there is no Princess of Jin. But... regardless of whether she is the Princess of Jin or not, I don't remember her being my sister. Don't try to claim kinship with me so casually. If others find out, all sorts of people will come to our house to make trouble, which will be really annoying."
Chen Meixin naturally heard that Chen Fenghe was comparing her to a cat or a dog, and now she could no longer bear it. She said angrily: "Chen Fenghe, what do you mean! If you don't recognize me as your sister, doesn't that mean you don't even intend to recognize your father? We Dayu rule the world with filial piety. Aren't you afraid that I will go to the government to sue you?!"
When Chen Fenghe heard her mention Shen Shian, the scumbag father, she couldn't help but sneer twice: "Daddy? Why do I remember that my dad had severed the father-daughter relationship with me as early as when I was exiled? Otherwise... the prince was falsely accused of treason, and my family, as the crown princess, should have been implicated. Even if they were not beheaded, they should have been exiled together. How come Shen Shian is sitting safely as the prime minister, and you are sitting safely as the Princess of Jin? Why, now that the Prince of Jin and the Shen family have also been convicted and exiled, you think of me, your daughter? You really have the nerve to come to my door."
Chen Meixin's face flushed red, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Sister, what are you talking about? Daddy said that he would sever the father-daughter relationship with you, wasn't it to protect the Shen family? Do you really want us to be exiled with you? Besides, no matter how many faults Daddy has, a daughter should not resent him! If you don't acknowledge Daddy, it would be a great act of unfilial piety!"
Chen Fenghe gave her a cold look and said, "You don't have to use such a big accusation to pressure me. I'm a bit petty. If the Shen family had really been exiled with me back then, I might still have acknowledged them as my father. Now that you're using these words to ask me to acknowledge you, I can only say, go wherever you want to be cool, and don't come here again to cause trouble."
Seeing that Chen Fenghe refused to budge, Chen Meixin was furious, but she was helpless and could only sternly say, "Chen Fenghe! Remember what you just said! I'll go back and tell Daddy, and he'll come and tear your mouth apart himself!"
Having said that, he turned around and went back.
All the guests had not yet dispersed and saw the whole scene.
Because of the "Heavenly Fire" incident, the rumor that Prince Jin and Prime Minister Shen had colluded to frame the Crown Prince has spread among the people. Therefore, no one thinks that Shen Fenghe did anything wrong.
Madam Yang said, "Madam Shen, was that the Princess of Jin just now? She's actually your sister? The Prince of Jin is so evil. If it weren't for him, the Crown Prince wouldn't have died in vain. They even harmed their own brother, so it's obvious they're not good people. You'd better be careful and don't let them harm you..."
Chen Wu and Yuan Xun also whispered, "Ms. Shen, this family is not easy to deal with during this exile. If you confront them head-on, you will suffer losses."
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "Thank you for your reminder. Don't worry, I will be on guard."
As he was speaking, Shen Shian ran over aggressively.
When he was almost in front of Shen Fenghe, Shen Shian raised his arm and rushed over to hit her, cursing, "Unfilial daughter! You don't even recognize your own father! What's the point of giving birth to you? I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Chen Fenghe glared at him coldly and didn't move.
Because Chen Wu and Yuan Xun had already stopped him, Yuan Xun threw him to the ground and shouted, "Shen Shi'an, what are you doing! You still want to kill someone in broad daylight!"
Shen Shian saw that it was the officials who were escorting them. He had also been whipped many times along the way. He had long lost the arrogance he had when he was the prime minister. He couldn't help but shrink a little, but then he thought that after they arrived in Youzhou, they would be handed over to the government office and would not be under the jurisdiction of these officials. So he became tough again and said hatefully:
"She is my daughter, Shen Shi'an! But a daughter refuses to acknowledge her biological father. Even if I beat her to death today and report this to the government, the prefect won't be able to say a single wrong thing about me! It's better for the two officials not to meddle in other people's business!"
Chen Wu couldn't help but sneer after hearing this: "Shen Shi'an, you are so shameless! You colluded with King Jin to frame the Crown Prince, causing Miss Shen to be exiled. How much suffering did she suffer? Why didn't you mention that you were her biological father at that time, why didn't you come forward to save your daughter? Now that you are down and out, you come out to recognize your daughter? You were once the Prime Minister, but you are not even as good as us ordinary people. I am ashamed for you!"
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