Chapter 6: You Are Not In Exile, You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 6: Preventing Future Troubles
"Have you heard?"
"The Chen family's home was raided!"
"Is it true? Isn't Mr. Chen a Ministry of Revenue official? How could this happen..."
"No matter how high-ranking the official is, anything is possible... I heard Mr. Chen was imprisoned for embezzling disaster relief grain and his whole family was exiled."
"Embezzling disaster relief grain? That's despicable! He deserves death, yet he's only exiled..."
Some people were extremely angry. They knew that in recent years, the weather had been abnormal, with three years of drought followed by continuous heavy rain, leading to crop failures and countless deaths from starvation.
After the court managed to gather relief grain, only to have some of it embezzled, resulting in even more deaths from starvation, it was no wonder the people were furious.
"Do you know? When the Chen family's home was raided, my relatives were there too. They say not a single penny was confiscated from the Chen family."
"How is that possible!"
"Weren't they supposed to have hidden the relief grain in their home?"
"Even if there was no relief grain, there should still be other food and silver in their home. How could a third-ranking official's family have nothing at all?"
"I heard from my second aunt's niece's cousin that when the court called for disaster relief donations, Minister Chen donated ten thousand taels. It's said that he sold off all his family's belongings to raise that amount."
"I see. So, we misunderstood Minister Chen?"
"But why hasn't the court released Minister Chen?"
The people discussed fervently, with part of the news naturally spreading from the Imperial Censor's office, aimed at vindicating Chen Yuan.
At the same time, the Imperial Censor also submitted a report to the Emperor, detailing what he witnessed during the raid.
In the Golden Luang Palace, the Emperor, dressed in dragon robes, furrowed his brows as he read the memorial written by the Minister Chen.
"Xiao Li, do you think this is true? Is Minister Chen really in such dire straits?"
If it weren't for the report from the upright Imperial Censor, he would have doubted the authenticity of the matter, but even so, he still harbored doubts.
Regardless of whether Chen Yuan had embezzled or not, the matter of sleeping on bed boards... and the fact that there was not even a grain of rice in the household pots sounded incredulous.
"This..."
Xiao Li didn't know how to respond and could only feign ignorance.
Not receiving an answer, the Emperor didn't dwell on it. What concerned him was the request from the Imperial Censor to review the case.
In reality, he knew this matter involved the Minister of Revenue, but behind it was also the involvement of his second son, the second prince.
Furthermore, as the Emperor, his words were like gold, and once a judgment was made, it was not easy to change it.
However, the situation in Chen Yuan's home was beyond his expectations.
"Let it be."
He shook his head. "Out of respect for the Imperial Censor, let Chen Yuan and his family be exiled together."
Normally, during exile, men and women were separated, and Chen Yuan would also have to endure a period of punishment before being exiled.
"If, after a few years, he proves himself capable, it's not impossible to reappoint him."
......
"Uncle!"
Guo Qiang's expression was not good as he looked at the old man in front of him. The person before him was the Minister of Revenue, Chen Yuan's immediate superior.
"Worthless."
"A failure in success and a surplus in failure!"
The Minister of Revenue slammed his hand on the table, his face livid. If the raid had discovered relief grain in the Chen household, Chen Yuan wouldn't be exiled but executed publicly.
Once he died, the case of embezzling disaster relief grain would end.
But now, everything had been ruined by Guo Qiang.
"I... I didn't expect the Chen family to be so poor... No." Guo Qiang shook his head. "The relief grain was clearly in the Chen household. How could it disappear?"
"The secret chamber?"
The Minister of Revenue tapped the table.
"None."
Guo Qiang shook his head. "I've searched everywhere, even the secret chambers are empty."
Thinking of this, he felt a stomachache. He had raided many households before, but none had been as frustrating as this.
He had raided for so long, only to end up empty-handed.
"What about the underground passage?" The Minister of Revenue remained calm. "The estate belonged to a general of the previous dynasty. There's an underground passage inside. Perhaps they used it to transport the goods."
"I found that underground passage too." Guo Qiang also thought so. "But the other end of the passage is halfway up the mountain, and there are no traces of carriage tracks. Nevertheless, we'll continue searching!"
"That's not important." The Minister of Revenue waved his hand, his eyes flashing with killing intent. "What's important is that Chen Yuan must die!"
Guo Qiang gritted his teeth. "I understand. I'll send my trusted men into the exile escort and have them deal with Chen Yuan discreetly."
"Don't mess it up this time. Don't leave any evidence behind, or else..." The Minister of Revenue snorted coldly, and Guo Qiang understood the threat, suddenly feeling a chill down his spine.
......
At the home of the Imperial Censor.
A group of people gathered, listening as the censor recounted what he had witnessed at the Chen household.
"You know, Chen Zheng not only slept on a bed board himself, but even Xiao Xue, that little misw, also slept on one. Even if he didn't care for himself, he should have considered his daughter..."
"Ah, I didn't expect Chen Zheng to be so upright and honest. It's our fault for hesitating and causing him suffering."
Hearing the Imperial Censor's words, images of Chen Yuan and his family sleeping on bed boards filled the minds of the people present, evoking feelings of pity and guilt.
When they heard of Chen Yuan's embezzlement, they had not firmly stood by him, despite believing he wouldn't do such a thing. They knew people's true colors were often hidden, so they had some doubts.
However, with many people confirming Chen Yuan's integrity, their doubts grew.
Most importantly, the matter was too significant, and the Emperor was extremely angry, showing a strong desire to punish. It seemed that whoever spoke up would be held accountable as well.
However, conscience prevailed. They felt it was not easy to jump to conclusions and demanded a review by the Three Departments.
But unexpectedly, the Emperor directly passed the judgment of execution and public display, in order to appease public anger.
The people argued based on reason, but in the end, they could only secure the concession of exile for Chen Yuan and his family, without the additional torture.
Although they were unwilling, they also understood that this was the best outcome. After all, overturning the verdict would mean admitting the Emperor's mistake, which was impossible.
"We'll do our best to help in other ways!" the censor sighed.
"I have a friend who is a magistrate in Lincity. When Chen Zheng and his family pass through, I can ask him to take care of them."
"I'll make some arrangements. At least, I can ensure Chen Zheng and his family suffer less during their exile journey."
One after another, they discussed how to help, and unanimously decided to send some silver to Chen Yuan.
After all, the news of the Chen family's home being raided and finding nothing had spread throughout the country.
Everyone knew about the penniless state of Minister Chen's family.
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