Chapter 32: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 32: Disappointment (Happy New Year)
"Where are the supplies?"
The head bailiff was somewhat angry as his subordinates gathered the boxes, barely managing to fill one.
Keep in mind, there were six or seven boxes, and each could hold over ten kilograms of supplies.
However, now, with six or seven boxes, they could only fill one, which naturally angered him.
He glared fiercely at Chen Xue and the others, looking fierce, "Where did the supplies go? Speak up, did you hide them?"
"If the officials don't believe us, you can ask the people around. They all saw that after these boxes were loaded onto the carriage, they were not taken down."
After hearing Chen Xue's words, the head bailiff decisively instructed his subordinates to inquire with the surrounding prisoners.
As long as they weren't blind, they could see whether the Chen family had hidden the supplies. After all, the boxes were loaded onto the carriage in front of many people, so how could the surrounding prisoners not pay attention?
The facts were indeed as Chen Xue had said. The surrounding prisoners saw that after the supplies were loaded onto the carriage, they were not taken down.
"Go check the other carriage!"
The head bailiff was not giving up and ordered his subordinates to check the carriage Chen Xue was sitting in.
Chen Xue was even less concerned, as that carriage had even fewer supplies.
"Brother Qian, there's nothing here!"
Sure enough, not long after, the bailiff returned disappointed.
"Sir, we were truly deceived by the stationmaster." Chen Xue once again complained pitifully, "We managed to scrape together some silver, and the magistrate promised to give us supplies, but who knew that when we opened the boxes, there was only this little..."
Beside her, Xiao Die appeared from nowhere and followed Chen Xue's instructions, crying pitifully.
"Sob, sob, sob, our lives are so miserable. Master was framed, Miss was exiled, and after managing to gather some silver, we wanted to buy supplies, but we were deceived by the stationmaster..."
As Xiao Die spoke, tears streamed down her face, looking very pitiful. Her sorrowful words could make anyone cry or sympathize upon hearing them.
Chen Xue twitched at the corner of her mouth. If she didn't know Xiao Die was acting, she would almost believe her.
This little maid indeed had talent. Her tears flowed as she pleased, even more skilled than herself. At most, Chen Xue could splash some water on her face to fake tears, but Xiao Die was genuinely crying.
Seeing the maid cry so sadly, everyone felt sympathetic. After all, considering the Chen family's financial difficulties, everyone knew they were broke.
They managed to gather some silver, only to be deceived by the stationmaster.
If it were them, they would surely go crazy.
The head bailiff furrowed his brows, believing most of what was said. After all, the supplies couldn't just disappear into thin air. The only possibility was that there were only this many supplies when they were loaded onto the carriage.
In other words, it was highly probable that the Chen family was deceived by the magistrate.
After all, as dark as a crow among crows, he, as a bailiff, was well aware of the greed and corruption of lower-ranking officials.
It was normal for a clerk to take money without fulfilling their duties.
However, how to account for these meager supplies?
The head bailiff was getting annoyed.
"Move these boxes away!"
Finally, the head bailiff decided to move the boxes.
"Sob, sob, sob... Sir, this is all the supplies we have." Seeing this, Chen Xue hurriedly said, pretending to be aggrieved.
"Sir, you know our Chen family is very poor. We managed to gather some silver, exchanged it for these supplies, and if the officials take them away, we'll starve to death..."
"Yes, yes." Xiao Die echoed, her face full of grievance, "Our young lady is already so thin from hunger. In order to let our young lady eat her fill, we had to buy supplies from the magistrate..."
Cough cough cough!
Enough acting!
Chen Xue coughed, realizing Xiao Die was even better at acting than herself. She hadn't instructed Xiao Die to say those things, yet she came up with them on her own. Did she have a talent for acting?
The head bailiff's face turned very ugly. These supplies were too few for him to care about, but the problem was, how would he account for them?
Seeing the head bailiff's expression, Chen Xue knew that appealing to his sympathy wouldn't make him leave the supplies. So, she had to speak up.
"Sir, I'm afraid you won't find these supplies appealing. However, I have a business proposition. Would the officials be interested in cooperating?"
"Business?"
The head bailiff furrowed his brows. The Chen family had been raided and exiled, so what business could they have? Although he wasn't interested, he was a bit curious.
After all, with these meager supplies, it was impossible to fulfill his duties. If the Chen family had a good business proposition, then he might consider taking the supplies.
Chen Xue didn't speak directly but instead looked hesitant, "However, this business is not easy to operate. After all, Captain Sun might not approve..."
"Don't worry about Captain Sun. If this business is good, the captain will support it." The head bailiff interrupted Chen Xue without hesitation.
Chen Xue's eyes flashed. Sure enough, the person behind him was Captain Sun, the bailiff captain who was in charge of the exiled prisoners.
Previously, she thought he didn't care about the Chen family and wouldn't help, let alone take action against them.
But now, it seemed different. Captain Sun's attitude towards the Chen family had changed, otherwise, he wouldn't have ordered his subordinates to seize their supplies.
This was bad news.
After all, although they had the support of Zhao Guang and Xu Tian, there was still a bailiff captain above them.
This captain controlled all the bailiffs and the exiled prisoners, wielding significant power. While Xu Tian might have someone backing him, he could only threaten the bailiff captain verbally and couldn't do much in reality.
To become a bailiff captain, there had to be someone supporting him.
Moreover, with the distance and the emperor's rule, the person behind Xu Tian couldn't meddle in the affairs here. So, whether it was Xu Tian or Zhao Guang, they had to consider the bailiff captain's attitude.
In other words, if the Chen family wanted to pass this stage safely among the exiled prisoners, they had to find a way to win over the bailiff captain.
However, in reality, they had already tried.
That bailiff captain had no reaction whatsoever, seemingly not optimistic about the Chen family. But what made them relieved was that the bailiff captain didn't lean towards Guo Qiang. After all, seeing he didn't help Zhao Guang, it was evident.
But now things were different. The bailiff captain's attitude had obviously changed for some reason, even ordering his subordinates to seize their supplies.
Either he didn't think much of the Chen family, or Guo Qiang had paid a high price to win him over, causing his attitude to change.
But back to the point.
When Chen Xue probed about the bailiff captain behind the head bailiff, she felt relieved. As long as they could handle the bailiff captain, their future prospects would be promising.
"This matter is of great importance... By the way, may I ask how I should address you, sir?"
"Qian Zhan!"
"Turns out it's Master Qian..."
"I'm not worthy of the title of 'Master' Just call me sir Qian. Hurry up and tell me what your business is. If it doesn't satisfy me, you know the consequences."
With that, the bailiff Qian snorted coldly, his face showing a fierce expression. If he wasn't satisfied with Chen Xue's answer, he would take action.
"I wonder if Master Qian could find Captain Sun. After all, this business is too big and requires Captain Sun's help..."
"No need." Bailiff Qian interrupted Chen Xue, "Tell me about the business first, and I'll inform the captain later."
He wasn't that foolish. If the Chen family's business proposition wasn't interesting, and later, the captain blamed him, how could he bear it? At the very least, he needed to know the value of this business.
"Hurry up, I don't have time to dilly-dally with you." Bailiff Qian was a bit angry, "If you dare to trick me, I'll make sure you don't see the sun tomorrow."
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