Chapter 135: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
**Chapter 135: Pulling Down the Gods**
The Marquess of Pingyuan and his son played the roles of the good cop and the bad cop to stall Minister Han, preventing him from dealing with Guo Qiang. However, when the imperial soldiers finally located Guo Qiang, it was too late; they found his corpse. Based on the scene, it was confirmed that he had committed suicide. Yet, anyone with common sense knew that it was unlikely Guo Qiang had taken his own life, especially coinciding so conveniently with the court's attempt to arrest him. Regardless, Guo Qiang's death put an end to the matter.
Although they didn't succeed in toppling Minister Han, it wasn't without gain; at least they had cut off one of his arms. Moreover, after this incident, Minister Han would likely be cautious in his actions, knowing that any move he made could give the Marquess and his allies an advantage over him.
Xie Yunshang quickly sent this news to Master Chen using a carrier pigeon. Naturally, the speed of the pigeon could not compare to that of Xiao Qing. By the time Master Chen received the message, several days had passed, and they were all deeply relieved. Initially, they hadn't paid much attention, thinking it was just a coincidence, but it managed to scare the prisoners.
Previously, she had considered ways to mystify and intimidate the prisoners, so that one day if they disappeared from the carriage or conjured objects out of thin air, it wouldn’t cause much of a stir. Unexpectedly, things had turned out that way by a stroke of luck. Now everyone believed she was a celestial being, so even if she did something unusual or performed seemingly impossible feats, others wouldn’t be surprised.
Once they became accustomed to it, they wouldn’t spread tales about it, much like how some people in the past who spent time with celebrities might initially boast about it but eventually stop as it became routine.
Back to the main topic, this trip to the county to procure supplies cost Chen Xue a lot of silver, which pained her greatly. Thankfully, they had managed to purchase almost everything they needed, including several pigs. Except for the oxen Chen Xue had been hoping for, they had acquired all necessary supplies. They had even bought a considerable amount of beef despite not getting the oxen. Overall, although she felt the pinch from spending so much silver, seeing all the goods they had acquired made it worthwhile.
“Should we seize this opportunity to win over some people?” she suggested.
Given that everyone now believed she was a celestial being, recruiting people would be much easier than before.
“What do you propose?” Master Chen frowned. “Many of them are beyond persuasion.”
Indeed, some of them deserved their exile for embezzling disaster relief grains and committing other heinous acts. Many of them deserved their fate, and their exile was a lenient punishment.
“Father!” Chen Xue smiled. “Even if they’re not worth recruiting, we can still deceive them into doing hard labor.”
“That’s true!”
“Phew!”
“So cold!”
“When will this cursed weather end!”
The group exhaled visibly, shivering and clanking their shackles in the frigid winter air. Although they had recently gone to the county to purchase supplies and were not lacking in clothing or food, the weight of their clothes and shackles, combined with the relentless cold wind, made their situation unbearable. Despite clear skies and no snow, it remained bitterly cold.
“Ah-choo!”
Those with weaker constitutions began to sneeze.
“Hang in there!” someone nearby encouraged. “It’s fortunate that the man surnamed Sun is dead. Otherwise, we’d be worse off than we are now. It’s cold, but at least we can endure it without freezing to death.”
Everyone fell silent, knowing he was right, but humans are never satisfied.
“Something’s wrong!”
A sudden exclamation broke their silence. Several people turned to see a woman clutching a baby, crying in anguish. The shout had come from someone beside her, and while the others didn’t fully understand the situation, they could guess what had happened. This was not uncommon; or rather, it had become common since their exile. Especially in the early days, many infants and elderly perished, leaving the entire group in constant fear.
Fortunately, the darkest days had passed, or perhaps only the strongest had survived. However, such an incident had resurfaced. Most had expected it to happen earlier during the heavier snowfall when it was even colder. Now, with clear skies and adequate supplies, it seemed odd that someone would freeze to death, especially an infant. Witnessing the woman’s heart-wrenching cries, many were reminded of their own children’s deaths, bringing a wave of sorrow.
Others offered sympathy and comfort.
“He’s gone, you need to accept it.”
The woman, however, ignored the consolations, crying bitterly as she clutched her child.
“Aren’t you the ones who claimed the Chen family were immortals? If it’s true, reviving the dead should be easy for them,” Zhang Yiquan sneered, stepping forward. “Go find them and see if they really are immortals!”
At his words, the grieving woman lifted her head, stunned for a moment, before rushing towards the Chen family with her baby, crying out, “Master Chen, Madam Chen, please save my child…”
Her cries drew the attention of other prisoners, who began to ask what had happened. Zhang Yiquan seized the opportunity, knowing the Chen family couldn’t be immortals. Thus, if the child couldn’t be revived, the Chen family’s reputation would be ruined.
No, the child couldn’t be saved.
Zhang Yiquan was certain; he could see from a distance that the child had no breath left. The Chen family would face the prisoners’ wrath when they failed to save the child. Imagining the scene of the Chen family being denounced as frauds and conmen brought a twisted satisfaction to his mind.
Immortals?
Ha!
Even immortals could be played and dragged from the heavens into the mud. If he could do it once, he believed he could do it again.
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