Chapter 106: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 106: The Pawn
In the capital city...
Guo Qiang was overjoyed when he heard that the exiled convoy had been attacked by bandits. He felt that he had succeeded.
So, when he heard that the Grand Secretary wanted to see him, he was excited. He thought to himself, "I can finally call him uncle this time!"
Arriving at the Grand Secretary's residence, he entered the hall with great excitement. He saw the Grand Secretary sipping tea and hurriedly suppressed his excitement, but quickly walked over.
"Unc... Grand Secretary!"
Guo Qiang respectfully bowed, but his expression clearly showed that he wanted praise, and he wanted it quickly.
The Grand Secretary heard the commotion, set down his teacup, and saw Guo Qiang's eager expression. He raised his hand and slapped him across the face.
Smack!
Guo Qiang was stunned, holding his face in disbelief.
"Uncle... why did you hit me?"
"Hit you?" The Grand Secretary slammed his hand on the table, furious. "I not only want to hit you, but I also want to kill you!"
Hearing the Grand Secretary's anger, Guo Qiang quickly stepped back, putting some distance between them.
"Unc... Grand Secretary, why?"
"Why?" The Grand Secretary snapped, "Because you are incompetent and reckless!"
"How am I incompetent and reckless?" Guo Qiang was indignant. "I've already arranged for bandits to attack the Chen family. I've received news that the exiled convoy has been attacked by bandits, and now the Chen family..."
"So..." The Grand Secretary interrupted him, squinting, "So, you want to take credit, don't you?"
Guo Qiang dared not speak anymore, afraid of being hit again, but his expression betrayed his true intentions.
"Take a look for yourself, see what kind of mess you've caused!"
The Grand Secretary took out a document from his sleeve and threw it at Guo Qiang. Guo Qiang hurriedly caught it and instinctively opened it.
He was dumbfounded.
Inside was the report of the exiled convoy being attacked by bandits, but it was different from what he knew, no, different from what he imagined.
He didn't know the full story, only that the convoy had been attacked by bandits, and he assumed it would develop as he expected.
After reading the document, he understood what had happened.
The report stated that General Pingwei had reported to the court, stating that a vicious bandit group had attacked the exiled convoy, resulting in the deaths of many bailiffs and others.
Initially, he felt a bit hopeful when he saw this. If the bailiff leader were dead, then the Chen family wouldn't be able to escape.
After all, if he hadn't arranged it, how could the bandits have attacked the exiled convoy? And the main target of these bandits was the Chen family.
However, as he read further, his expression turned extremely ugly.
It turned out that the Chen family had detected the bandits' movements early on, informed the bailiff leaders to take precautions, and sent messages to General Pingwei nearby.
Although the bailiffs didn't stop them, General Pingwei and his men arrived in time, preventing the bandits from causing more damage.
This also saved the court from losing face. Therefore, not only did the Chen family not die, but they also gained great merit.
"This..."
Guo Qiang opened his mouth but couldn't speak. No wonder Uncle was so angry, calling him incompetent and reckless.
This... no, it's the fault of those bandits.
They were the ones who were incompetent and reckless. Not only did they fail to kill the Chen family, but they also ended up losing their lives, giving credit to them.
"But... if the Chen family has gained merit, then..." Guo Qiang couldn't help but feel worried. This merit could be significant or insignificant, depending on how the court judged it.
If the court recalled the Chen family, then...
"Hmph!"
The Grand Secretary snorted coldly. "Don't worry, the Chen family won't come back, and it's impossible for them to come back."
"That's not important. What's important is whether you've left any evidence!"
"Evidence?"
Guo Qiang was puzzled, but he heard the Grand Secretary say in a low voice, "According to the confessions of the bandits captured by General Pingwei, someone ordered them to attack the Chen family and the exiled convoy..."
Guo Qiang suddenly felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet. He understood what the Grand Secretary meant.
If there was evidence, then he would probably be abandoned. Even though he was the Grand Secretary's nephew, he was just a pawn that could be discarded at any time.
"No, absolutely not!"
He shook his head vigorously, retorting, "My men would never reveal our identities. And the day after he returned, I silenced him."
"Let me trust you one more time." The Grand Secretary sat back in his chair, took a sip of tea, "Don't deal with this matter anymore!"
"Uncle..."
Guo Qiang panicked. He remembered what his uncle had said before. If he couldn't accomplish this, then he wouldn't be called his uncle anymore. The thought made him anxious.
Would his uncle really abandon him?
"That's enough." The Grand Secretary slammed his cup on the table, making a loud noise. "How many chances have I given you?"
"Do you still want to give credit to the Chen family, until the Emperor changes his mind and reinstates him?"
"I..."
Guo Qiang had nothing to say. The first time he raided the Chen family, he didn't find anything, but instead, he helped the Chen family gain a good reputation, making the people think that Chen Yuan was falsely accused of corruption.
After that, he sent Zhao Guang to deal with the Chen family, but there had been no news so far, and he didn't know if Zhao Guang was dead...
The third time, he contacted the bandits to attack the Chen family, intending to use their power to eliminate the Chen family, but instead, he helped the Chen family gain merit...
Now that he thought about it, it was indeed as his uncle had said...
Uh...
No, how could he have given credit to the Chen family? His men weren't competent enough, that's all. He was just a scapegoat.
"I'll personally handle it this time!" The Grand Secretary stood up, no longer wasting time with him. "Get out of here."
"Lord Secretary..."
Guo Qiang was anxious.
"Shut up!" The Grand Secretary's face darkened, "This time, I'll spare your life. It's because you're my nephew. If you want to die, I can grant your wish."
Guo Qiang dared not speak anymore, as he truly felt the murderous intent.
"But..."
The Grand Secretary changed the subject, "There are still people investigating the embezzlement of disaster relief grain in secret, and they say they have found several witnesses..."
Guo Qiang reacted quickly, understanding what the Grand Secretary meant. He immediately took over, "I'll go take care of those witnesses."
"Alright, I can't spare any effort to deal with the Chen family for now, so I'll give you another chance. If you're caught with evidence
..."
"Rest assured, Lord Secretary!" Guo Qiang said firmly, "If discovered, I'll take all the blame and then commit suicide."
The Grand Secretary nodded without saying anything more, apparently very satisfied with his answer.
Although he was his nephew, he was also just a pawn. How could he not fully exploit his value?
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