Chapter 107: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 107: Doing Bad Deeds with Good Intentions
In the exiled convoy, without Captain Sun's harassment, Chen Xue and the others no longer had to worry about this and that, and could enjoy life to the fullest.
Especially since there were guards present, Chen Yuan didn't have to worry about anyone barging in and discovering they weren't there when they lifted the curtains.
Moreover, with Magistrate Xu sending a cart of supplies, they could openly enjoy good food.
Of course, they kept their wealth hidden.
They still chose to eat in seclusion in their space, while the servants ate outside, consuming the food provided by Magistrate Xu.
In fact, when Chen Xue was in the county town, she packed many street snacks into the space.
Since the space had preservation capabilities, even freshly bought food wouldn't spoil no matter how many days passed, and it would still be fresh.
Therefore, she bought a lot of food.
Although it cost a lot of money, it was not a loss. Before leaving, General Pingwei and Magistrate Xu both gave them a considerable amount of silver.
Chen Yuan refused, but what did it have to do with her, Chen Xue?
After all, she welcomed any guests; after all, who didn't know her father was "penniless"?
...
"Each person gets one bowl of porridge and one steamed bun!"
During lunchtime, the bailiffs were distributing lunch to the prisoners, and the bailiff who was ladling out porridge suddenly stared at a prisoner.
"It seems like you already got your portion earlier!"
The prisoner's face flashed with panic, but he remained calm and said, "No, I just arrived."
The bailiff, however, kept staring at him, "That's impossible, my memory isn't that bad!"
"I really didn't." The prisoner wore a mournful expression. "Sir, are you mistaken? I really just arrived."
"Heh!" The bailiff sneered, "Although you changed your clothes, you didn't change your shoes, and the smell on you can't deceive anyone."
"I..."
The prisoner's face turned ugly, then he looked at the others and shouted, "Everyone, help me testify! These bailiffs not only deny us food but also falsely accuse people..."
As he finished speaking, several men nearby chimed in, "That's right, we'll go to General Pingwei and Magistrate Xu!"
"You..."
The newly arrived bailiff's face turned extremely unpleasant, but unlike Captain Sun and the other experienced ones, he was a first-time constable for the exiled convoy, and his temperament was not as bad.
So, faced with this situation, although he was angry, he didn't lash out with a whip. For a moment, he didn't know how to handle it.
After all, they had just arrived, and if they didn't do well and the Lord or General found out, then...
"What's going on!"
Xu Tian noticed the commotion and hurried over. The bailiff's eyes lit up when he saw Xu Tian, and he quickly ran over to complain to him.
Xu Tian looked at the bailiff, who hastily explained, "I clearly saw him getting his portion of porridge earlier, but now he comes back..."
"Forget it!" Xu Tian glanced at the prisoner and sighed, "Let's put an end to this."
One bowl of porridge, although it contained a lot of rice, was still just porridge, not enough to fill one up. It was okay to let the prisoner have a bit more.
Seeing this, the prisoner quickly thanked Xu Tian and hurried away.
The bailiff, however, frowned and approached Xu Tian, "Captain, if everyone starts doing this, our food won't last more than a few days..."
"Yeah." Another bailiff nearby spoke up. He was one of the first constables to serve in the exiled convoy, "There are regulations on the amount of food to give the prisoners. If they finish it all, it's hard to get more!"
Actually, the court had not officially regulated the amount of food to give the exiled prisoners, but there was a customary rule to follow, basically one bowl of porridge and one steamed bun.
Asking for thicker porridge like Xu Tian did was already pushing it, but if...
"Captain, it's not a good thing if they eat too much. What if they start another riot?"
Xu Tian interrupted them, "And what if they starve to death?"
They won't starve to death, the veteran constable thought to himself. They used to give the prisoners even less food, and they didn't starve to death, not even with bran and stone cakes.
However, now that Xu Tian was the captain, he dared not disobey Xu Tian's orders.
...
After the prisoner left, those who had previously agreed with him quickly followed, gathering together.
"It really works!"
The prisoner couldn't help but feel excited. They had long known Xu Tian's character, and these days, they had confirmed the temperament of the other bailiffs. They were completely different from the previous bailiffs.
So, they could easily take advantage of these bailiffs.
Moreover, even if Captain Xu Tian found out, he would favor them, so they had instances of getting extra food while pretending to be new.
"Let's take turns disguising ourselves and going tomorrow. With two bowls of porridge, we can eat our fill and save two buns."
"That's right."
"While these bailiffs are still easy to deal with, let's get more food."
"But... I'm worried that other prisoners will see what we're doing and report us..."
"What are you afraid of!"
One man shrugged, "We can just pull them into our group. The more of us there are, the better it is for us."
"That's right, I've noticed that as long as we unite, others won't dare to bully us, even those bailiffs... if they want to mess with us, they'll have to think twice..."
If Captain Sun were still in charge, they wouldn't dare to do this, but now that it was Xu Tian, they were very clear about his character.
He treated the prisoners well, and as long as it wasn't anything serious, he would side with them.
It wasn't against the law to take a bit more food; Xu Tian didn't say anything, so they naturally grew bolder.
...
Xu Tian was unaware that his moment of weakness had caused a big problem, and the prisoners had started forming alliances.
Moreover, in order to allow the prisoners to eat a little better, Xu Tian also allowed them freedom. On the journey of exile, as long as they didn't run away, they could enter the woods to pick wild vegetables or catch fish in the river.
They could even go hunting at noon or in the evening, as long as they didn't escape. They were free to use any means to supplement their meals.
This measure, of course, was welcomed by the prisoners, but it also brought trouble to the bailiffs.
They had to patrol the woods at lunch and in the evening, and they had to count the number of people every day to ensure no one had escaped.
Fortunately, General Pingwei was concerned that they wouldn't be able to control the prisoners with so few people, so he arranged for more bailiffs for them.
One bailiff oversaw four or five prisoners, and with fifty or sixty bailiffs, it was the most they'd ever had in a few years in the exiled convoy.
However, giving the prisoners freedom had fueled their ambitions. From barely having enough to eat to wanting to live better lives now.
Of course, they never thought of comparing themselves to the Chen family.
Although they couldn't see what good food Chen Xue and the others were eating, the food the Chen household servants ate was better than theirs.
It was impossible for them not to envy it. Without any backing, they could only rely on themselves.
As a result, many prisoners formed alliances. When they saw someone catch prey, they began using threats and coercion to snatch it away.
It started off okay, but eventually, they even resorted to violence.
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