Chapter 12: Easily Controlled
Hearing the servant say that someone was looking for them, the Chen family became curious and got out of the carriage, but they didn't see anyone.
No one was seen, but a bundle was seen. The servants said it was sent by the yamen runners.
Chen Xue and the others looked at each other, and then they thought of Xu Tian. Although they were a little curious about why he didn't come, they thought that he had to keep an eye on the exile team and had no time to stay with them.
When they opened the bundle, they saw food inside, such as steamed buns and baked cakes, and they immediately lost interest.
In the carriage, they were all full, mainly because after Chen Xue revealed her secrets, she simply didn't hide it in front of them and took out all kinds of food.
Sometimes they eat cakes, sometimes they eat preserved fruits, sometimes they eat fruits, or they eat melon seeds and chat.
Anyway, I ate too much without knowing why.
It doesn’t matter if they eat too much, the most important thing is that it makes the people around them suffer.
The exiled prisoners were already dizzy with hunger, and some of them had sharp noses, so they could smell the scent of pastries from time to time, but before they could savor it, it turned into the smell of melon seeds.
In short, the smell of various foods lingered in their noses, arousing the gluttony in their stomachs.
However, they looked around but could not find the source of the smell. They just thought that the officials in the carriages in front and behind were eating, and countless resentments arose in their hearts.
Let’s get back to the topic.
Before Chen Yuan could figure out what to do with the food, he saw someone coming over and became curious.
What day is it now? Why are all of you here?
Could it be a housewarming celebration?
Isn't it just a change of carriage?
When the man came closer, he saw clearly that it was Zhang Yiquan, his colleague. He was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhang Yiquan was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
The two were quite familiar with each other, but he seldom interacted with him because he felt that he was always flattering and hypocritical and not worth interacting with.
This corruption case almost implicated the entire Ministry of Revenue, because the investigation found collusion between upper and lower levels, which led to the embezzlement of disaster relief grain.
In fact, Chen Yuan was sick at the time and had taken leave, so he did not discover the Ministry of Revenue's behavior. Otherwise, given his personality, he would definitely report it.
When he recovered and returned to work, something serious happened.
The embezzlement of disaster relief grain was exposed.
The mastermind was Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan was completely bewildered. Faced with the written admission from everyone in the Ministry of Revenue that Chen Yuan was the mastermind, he was speechless and it was useless for him to speak a hundred times.
And most importantly, because the witnesses were there, the verdict was quick and the execution was immediate.
If some officials who were on good terms with him had not known his character and knew that he would not engage in corruption, and had not written letters to plead for mercy, he would not have been simply exiled.
In any case, the person who took the lead in admitting that Chen Yuan was the mastermind was Zhang Yiquan in front of him.
"Brother Chen!"
Zhang Yiquan was thick-skinned and although a little embarrassed, he still came over. As soon as he got close, he saw Chen Yuan's expression as if to ask, "What are you doing here?"
"Now that we're both exiled, what's the point of holding on to past grudges? Why not let them go..."
"lay down!"
Chen Yuan didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but when he heard his words, he was immediately filled with anger.
"I was framed by you and lost my official position for no reason. If it were you, would you be able to let it go?"
"Besides, my wife and daughter are so innocent, but because of a few words from you, they were implicated and exiled to the southern barbarian land three thousand miles away. Their best years have been wasted. If it were you, could you let it go?"
"I'm not a saint, I'm a human being, a husband, and a father. I've already been very good by not coming after you. You still want me to let go of my hatred!"
If he hadn't been too impulsive in taking revenge with a knife, losing his life would have been a small matter, while the big problem would have been that his wife and daughter had no one to protect them. He would have looked at Zhang Yiquan with a knife in his hand.
However, Zhang Yiquan did not care about Chen Yuan's scolding and even smiled.
"Brother Chen, if you think cursing a few times can help you vent your anger, go ahead and curse. After you're done, we can discuss it..."
Faced with such a shameless person, Chen Yuan suppressed his anger, flicked his sleeves and got into the carriage.
"No room for negotiation!"
Although he didn't know what he wanted to discuss, he just didn't want to agree.
"Brother Chen, don't rush to refuse. Listen to me for a few words. I know your family is in financial difficulty..."
Is it ever going to end?
Chen Yuan was speechless. Why did it feel like the whole world knew that I was penniless and my family was in financial difficulty? No, when did I ever say that my family was in financial difficulty?
Zhang Yiquan didn't know what Chen Yuan was thinking, so he continued, "The road to exile is a thousand miles long, and there are countless dangers along the way. Brother Chen, if you don't consider yourself, don't you consider your wife and daughter?"
"I am willing to pay one hundred taels to buy Brother Chen's carriage, and I am also willing to give him a donkey cart as a gift, so that Brother Chen still has a means of transportation and can still get one hundred taels."
"With this one hundred taels, it won't be difficult to arrange transportation or buy food and bedding for the rest of the journey..."
Inside the carriage, Chen Xue and the others' faces darkened when they heard Zhang Yiquan's words. He was so shameless that he made us fall into this situation and still wanted to buy our carriage.
He even pretended to be kind and kept saying that he was giving away a donkey cart. It was simply a humiliation.
"That's too much!"
Chen Yuan was immediately furious and turned around to get out of the carriage to settle the score with him, but was stopped by Chen Xue.
"Dad, I'm coming!"
Chen Xue got out of the carriage and looked at Zhang Yiquan, "Master Zhang is very rich."
Zhang Yiquan didn't expect that Chen Yuan didn't come out, but his daughter did. He frowned immediately. Did Chen Yuan not want to talk to him and let his daughter reject him?
However, no matter whose daughter it was, they rarely met guests, especially other men, and they stayed in their boudoirs.
But considering that I am in exile now, there are not so many rules.
But I heard that Chen Yuan loves his daughter very much, so why would he let him see me?
He couldn't figure it out, but he heard Chen Xue continue, "Master Zhang is not short of money, but a carriage. If we sell it for 10,000 taels, I wonder if Master Zhang is willing to buy it."
You wish!
Zhang Yiquan almost blurted out, but sneered, "Ten thousand taels, if you don't want to sell it, why ask for such a high price?"
Chen Xue didn't care. Instead, she looked enlightened. "So Master Zhang has no money. I thought only our family was poor. It turns out Master Zhang is also poor."
fart!
Whose family is as poor as yours!
No matter how thick-skinned or patient Zhang Yiquan was, he couldn't help but speak out in defense when he heard this.
"What a joke! Even if our Zhang family is in dire straits, we can still come up with 10,000 taels."
As he said this, he sneered, "It's just that you two broken carriages are not worth it."
"Really?"
"Then I wish that Master Zhang's wish comes true and that he can escape from the donkey cart as soon as possible!"
When Zhang Yiquan heard the word "donkey cart", he seemed to smell the stench on his body, and his face changed immediately. His originally arrogant attitude instantly fell to earth, and he hurriedly smiled and said.
"Well, Miss Chen, we can talk it over. We can discuss it!"
Seeing their daughter easily controlling the third-rank official who was once very successful, Chen Yuan and his wife looked at each other in surprise, but also felt relieved that their daughter had grown up.
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