Chapter 20: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 20: Grand Plan
"Father, I can't walk anymore."
The chubby boy pouted, looking at Zhang Yiquan with a grievance, while Zhang Yiquan looked at his son's physique, then at his own arms, and fell silent.
"Wei'er, you better walk by yourself. I'm afraid your mother will spank you again until your butt blooms."
Last time, in front of his own mother, the chubby boy's butt was spanked until it bloomed. Even if he begged his grandmother, it was of no use. It was said that he wasn't disciplined properly, and he dared to eat poisonous substances, which convinced his mother to punish him severely.
And then, there was no "and then."
Initially, they despised the donkey cart, which led them to the Chen family. But now, with the cart gone, they started to miss it, miss its smell.
"This matter can't just be left like this!" The woman gritted her teeth, evidently still resentful towards the Chen family for not gaining any benefits last time, which left her brooding.
"The Chen family has the support of the bailiffs, we don't need to provoke them," Zhang Yiquan analyzed the situation. He knew that the Chen family had a good relationship with a bailiff named Xu Tian.
Looking at their current situation, with their donkey cart gone because of Zhao Guang's deliberate provocations, what could they do? If they provoke the Chen family again, and Xu Tian comes to hinder them, they might not even survive to reach southern.
Most importantly, they were struggling to maintain themselves.
Losing something makes you realize its value. Though the donkey cart stank, walking was truly exhausting, especially with the shackles.
Their legs felt like they weren't theirs anymore, their ankles were rubbed raw, bloodied.
And this was just the first day.
To reach Nanman seemed impossible. It was too exhausting.
Not just them, everyone was suffering.
Snap!
Another person collapsed to the ground.
The nearby bailiff showed no expression, paying no attention, instead picking up a whip and lashing out at the fallen person.
"Get up, stop pretending to be dead."
Others quickly helped the fallen person up, supporting him as they left. Only then did the yamen stop lashing out with the whip.
Though it was only the first day, several people experienced this kind of suffering, and for a moment, the whole group wailed.
Fortunately, they finally arrived at an open space to spend the night.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Resting, the bailiffs distributed steamed buns, and the water had to be procured by themselves. Then, they were allowed to rest in place.
The Chen family members were also tired, but rather than walking, they rode in carriages. Riding in carriages was also tiring, so they got off to walk for a bit.
Seeing everyone busy with their own affairs, the Chen family members exchanged glances, and eventually, Chen Xue spoke up.
"Father, we need to speed up our plan."
After the incident with Zhao Guang poisoning them, Chen Xue proposed a plan called "Conquest."
Yes, it was that straightforward.
Her plan was simple.
Conquer all the bailiffs here and turn them into their own people.
At that point, they wouldn't have to worry about this or that. They'd all be their own people.
At that point, they would truly turn the path of exile into a tourist route.
At that point, with all the bailiffs on their side, who would dare to cause trouble for them?
They could eat whatever they wanted without hiding, openly enjoying their meals, and let the yamen take the blame for everything.
At that point, they could ride in carriages, eat hotpot, sing songs, and live carefreely.
This plan was "grand," but implementing it would be difficult.
However, they had already completed the first step, dealing with Zhao Guang.
There were only twenty yamen in the exile convoy, far fewer than the hundreds of prisoners.
But with fewer people, it was easier to pick them off one by one.
Originally, they wanted to deal with them one by one, but after discussing it, they decided to target the yamen captain first.
After all, for this group of exiles, the yamen captain was the leader. Once they dealt with him, dealing with the rest would be easier.
However, they had already tested it last time, and the yamen captain was very slippery, not participating at all. He neither oppressed them nor showed them favor.
Intentionally letting the yamen captain ask questions, Chen Xue wanted to test his attitude towards the Chen family. His attitude was impartial.
Like some people, it was obvious that they cared about reputation, some loved money, and some were upright...
However, none of these labels seemed to fit the bailiff captain. Finding out his preferences was difficult, making it hard to cater to him. The Chen family could only observe for now.
It was getting dark.
The bailiffs were resting in their carriages, while the prisoners were collecting firewood in the nearby woods, preparing for the night.
Some were also gathering wild fruits to eat along the way.
Others went to the riverbank to fetch water.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks, while the members of the Chen family had nothing to do. They had enough water, and they had food, too.
"Let's go to the riverbank and see if we can catch some fish!"
Chen Xue couldn't wait. Although there were fish in her space, they were for viewing only and were very expensive. They couldn't be eaten.
So, catching fish was not about eating them, but about the process. Chen Xue enjoyed the process of catching fish.
The joy of catching fish, you can't imagine!
Chen Yuan naturally didn't refuse. Whether it was to store meat for the road or to help the injured servants replenish their nutrition, it was a good choice.
Arriving at the riverbank, it was already crowded with people.
Many prisoners were washing clothes, fetching water, and some were fishing in the river.
Although it was called a river, it was actually not very large, only about four or five meters wide and less than a meter deep.
The Chen family did not squeeze into the crowd but came to a less crowded place by the riverbank.
Several servants rolled up their sleeves and started to wade into the water.
Snap!
However, they had just entered the water when they heard the sound of a stone falling into the water not far away. Not only did it splash the water high, but it also scared away the fish.
Chen Xue turned her head and saw the Zhang family not far away, looking at them unfriendly.
"You did it on purpose!" Xiao Die was a little angry.
"This river is so big, and it's not owned by your Chen family. What does it have to do with me if I disturb the fish?" Zhang Yiquan sneered. Seeing the Chen family wanting to catch fish to eat, he wanted to spoil their fun.
Why should the Chen family, as prisoners, be allowed to ride in a carriage and still want to eat fish? It's simply dreaming!
"Is your Chen family too overbearing? You can catch fish in the river, but we can't throw stones at fish?"
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