Chapter 10: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 10: Carriage
After flattering Xu Yuan and offering some money, Chen Yuan was initially refused, but eventually persuaded by Xu Yuan. After all, it was rare to encounter a bailiff who was easy to talk to, so they had to establish a good relationship with him.
After Xu Yuan left, the group gathered around the large bundle he had brought. Upon opening it, they found a variety of items, including pots, bowls, rice, and flour.
Of course, there were also plenty of dry rations like pancakes and biscuits.
In fact, the bailiffs wouldn't bother about prisoners cooking their own food on the road of exile. They could take advantage of the situation and freeload off the prisoners' cooking.
Moreover, by allowing prisoners to cook for themselves, the bailiffs could save a considerable amount of food. After all, the government provided food for the exiles to prevent starvation during the journey, although it was only coarse bread and pancakes.
Chen Yuan inspected the bundle and found, in addition to the basic supplies, several bundles of buns, pancakes, and even dried fruits.
Most importantly, there were dried meats.
Although they were all pancakes, these were made of fine flour, with different flavors and various fillings.
Without Chen Yuan's orders, the servants had already started cooking, as the buns and pancakes had cooled and needed to be served with hot soup.
Of course, because there were many people, the food wouldn't be enough for everyone for several meals, so they had to be frugal, considering the long journey ahead.
The masters could eat until they were full with buns, but the servants had to make do with drinking more soup to fill their stomachs.
Fortunately, Chen Yuan wasn't strict. He allowed the servants to cook some porridge to supplement their meals and prevent them from starving.
While the servants were cooking, Chen Xue didn't interfere. Instead, she quietly enjoyed pastries with Xiao Die and Madam Chen.
Since the buns and pancakes were too hard for them to eat, Chen Xue decided to retrieve some items from her space to enjoy.
As they were in a circle with everyone else, and since everyone had seen the bailiffs bring them food, they didn't have to worry about being exposed while eating.
"Miss, you go ahead and eat first!"
Seeing the pastries wrapped in a handkerchief, Xiao Die didn't reach for them immediately. Instead, she waited for Chen Xue to eat first to ensure that she wouldn't go hungry.
"Don't worry, there's plenty."
Chen Xue was touched by Xiao Die's consideration and affectionately patted her on the head.
Then, she magically produced more pastries from her space, along with grapes and other fruits.
If they had a barbecue grill, it would have been like a picnic.
By the time the servants finished cooking and invited them to eat, the three of them had already eaten their fill.
However, they didn't mention this and continued to pretend they hadn't eaten anything, each taking only one bun for the meal.
Chen Yuan was puzzled by how synchronized the three of them were in eating just one bun each. Just as he was about to ask, his daughter gave him a meaningful look, reminding him of her mysterious abilities, so he refrained from asking further.
After he finished eating, Chen Yuan instructed the servants to finish the remaining porridge and buns.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
At this moment, the bailiffs signaled the resumption of the journey. Everyone quickly packed up and prepared to continue on their way.
"No way!"
Chen Yuan suddenly frowned. "We can't go on like this. We won't make it thousands of miles without collapsing."
While he could endure the hardship, he couldn't let his wife and daughters suffer. Therefore, he needed to find a carriage. No, a carriage wouldn't do. A mule cart would suffice.
Thinking this, he discussed with his wife and daughters. Chen Xue nodded in agreement; she had already had this idea.
"Dad, you keep this money. You'll need it for handling matters."
Chen Yuan took the money, then found the bailiff Xu Tian and had a brief conversation with him. Xu Tian suddenly slapped his forehead.
"My mistake! How could I forget? Don't worry, Minister Chen, leave it to me!"
They hadn't left the capital yet, and there were people around everywhere. Conveniently, there was a village nearby, so Xu Tian spent some money to buy an old carriage.
The Chen family didn't expect Xu Tian to be so efficient and actually bring a carriage for them. They were overjoyed that they wouldn't have to walk anymore.
Although they had only been on the road for less than two hours, it felt like an eternity.
Seeing Xu Tian bring a carriage for the Chen family, Zhao Guang became anxious. He had planned for the Chen family to suffer and possibly die from exhaustion, but with the carriage, his plans would be thwarted.
"What are you doing, Xu Tian!"
"Don't you know these people are criminals? Who said they could ride in a carriage!"
Xu Tian, burdened with the responsibilities entrusted to him by several important figures and greatly admiring Chen Yuan, retorted without hesitation when he heard Zhao Guang's words.
"So what if they're criminals? Who said criminals couldn't ride in a carriage? Who made that rule?"
"Didn't you arrange carriages for criminals before? How come you can do it, but I can't?"
"You..."
Zhao Guang's face turned extremely ugly. He had indeed done so before, as it was ordered from above, and mainly because too much money had been given.
"What are you arguing about? What's the commotion!"
At this moment, the captain of the bailiffs walked over, and Zhao Guang hurriedly ran over to lodge a complaint.
The captain glanced at Xu Tian, then at Chen Yuan, before turning away. "Continue the journey. If you delay any longer, you'll see how many lives will be chopped off."
Apparently, he didn't express any opinion on the matter of the Chen family riding in the carriage.
After all, they hadn't committed any crimes, and there were no regulations against it.
Moreover, while there were orders from above to trip up Chen Yuan, several important figures had also sent letters asking him to take care of Chen Yuan.
One side wanted him to cause trouble for Chen Yuan, while the other wanted him to take care of him.
What could he do?
He couldn't afford to offend either side, so he just accepted the money, turned a blind eye, and didn't interfere with anything that happened on the road of exile. After all, outsiders couldn't possibly know what happened during the journey of exile.
Seeing that the captain didn't care, Zhao Guang's face turned dark as the bottom of a pot. He left angrily, and then a look of determination flashed in his eyes. "It seems I have to take matters into my own hands."
...
Chen Xue and the others ignored Zhao Guang's departure and came to thank Xu Tian one by one.
Being praised by Minister Chen and called "little brother" by his daughter made Xu Tian feel like he was floating on air.
Seeing this, other prisoners also approached Xu Tian, asking him to help them find a carriage. Money was not an issue for them.
Heh heh!
Xu Tian smirked and said,
"Sorry, I don't lack money either."
Seeing Xu Tian leave with a flick of his sleeve, the others looked at each other in confusion. They couldn't understand why Xu Tian helped Chen Yuan but refused to help them even though they offered money.
Could it be because they offered money?
Helpless, they could only turn to other bailiffs for help.
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