Chapter 402: Buying Land
Chapter 402: Chapter 402: Buying Land
Although Gu Xingyang was being coaxed by her parents, she still insisted on going out.
Bai Suihe and Gu Kaiyuan quickly got ready. Not wanting any attendants to follow them, the couple took their child and began strolling around the county town. To accommodate Gu Xingyang, Gu Kaiyuan carried her at a slight angle so she could get a better view. This was to show that he, as her father, really hadn’t lied to her. Aside from two rather dilapidated streets and dusty gray houses, there really was nothing in this county town.
Bai Suihe had already walked back and forth around here twice, but this time her focus was on the pedestrians. It felt like the passersby here had no light in their eyes. They hurried about their business, and even though two unfamiliar faces had appeared, no one gave them a second glance.
"Just how badly did the previous County Magistrate ravage this place?" Bai Suihe knew the proverb, "A petty magistrate can ruin a household, and a prefect can wipe out a clan." In a place like this, where imperial power stopped at the county lines and the emperor was far away, the saying was a harsh reality. As long as the local magistrate willed it, even a lowly seventh-rank official could tear a commoner’s family apart.
Faced with this, she was powerless. After all, such things had existed since ancient times. The world had always consisted of three colors: black, white, and gray. This also made her urgently want to find an escape route for her family, but that required careful planning.
"When it comes down to it, it’s all about greed," Gu Kaiyuan lowered his voice. "The County Magistrate here was considered one of the Third Prince’s subordinates. This time, to cooperate with the Third Prince, he caused too much of a stir and drew the attention of the higher-ups. It was simply his time to die."
"Has he been dealt with?" Bai Suihe made a cutting gesture.
Gu Kaiyuan shook his head. "Not yet, but he’s already been escorted to the capital. I’m afraid it won’t be long before the sentence is handed down. Do you know who’s in charge of this?"
Hearing him ask this, Bai Suihe had a guess. "Is it Chen Dafu?"
Gu Kaiyuan gave her a thumbs-up. Having a smart wife meant she understood with just a hint. "That’s him. He is currently responsible for the Lingnan region, tasked with purging the officialdom here. After dealing with this place, he has already hurried to other counties and towns. I’m afraid once he finishes handling all this, he’ll receive a major promotion upon returning."
"I had my suspicions," Bai Suihe said. "But if his main task is keeping an eye on Lingnan, why is he keeping an eye on the Gu Family?"
Seeing the kind of person Chen Dafu was, he didn’t seem like someone who liked taking on extra trouble. Yet, back then, in order to keep an eye on the Gu Family, he had risked his entire family.
"It might just be collateral damage. After all, with so much silver missing, the emperor was afraid Gu Baijiang would embezzle it all."
Speaking of this, Bai Suihe’s expression became a little strange. "You know, it’s been so long since they returned. Your father must have discovered the missing silver by now. Will the Third Prince deal with him?"
"It shouldn’t come to that," Gu Kaiyuan hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Actually, my father didn’t just hide silver in one place back then. There was another location. Even though I knew about it, I didn’t take you there." He had only found out about these things later.
Bai Suihe raised an eyebrow, trying hard to recall. It seemed that when she was an Ah Piao, she had indeed seen it, but she hadn’t recovered her memory at that time. "A wily hare has three burrows. Your father plays this game quite well. Did you anticipate this all along?"
"At first, I didn’t take you there because that place was really inappropriate, and I was afraid it would scare you and the child," Gu Kaiyuan explained. "That place has heavy yin energy, which isn’t good for either of you. Besides, we couldn’t empty it all out, or we would have been implicated as well."
He hadn’t mentioned it before because he was afraid Bai Suihe would want to take the risk, but this was his other concern: if the Third Prince truly got nothing, he wasn’t the good-natured type who would let people play him for a fool. The Gu Family and all their clansmen would likely meet a grim end, let alone a Gu Family son like him.
"My father prepared for two outcomes. Part of that silver was meant for our family’s own use. Now that they’ve lost that safety net, their lives must be very difficult."
Bai Suihe thought to herself that it would be more than just difficult. The Third Prince wasn’t a magnanimous person; even if he helped them, his assistance would be limited. For this large family to eat and drink in the capital while trying to squeeze their way back into the royal court, lacking silver would be extremely frustrating. To be able to see it but not touch it was probably more agonizing than a fatal blow.
Thinking about this, Bai Suihe no longer felt as much regret over that silver. "Mrs. Xu and her daughter should have arrived by now. With Gu Kaichen there as well, the Gu Family is going to be very lively in the future."
Gu Kaiyuan nodded in agreement. The topic shifted back to Chen Dafu. Knowing that his family had already returned to the capital ahead of time while Chen Dafu stayed behind to handle official business, the couple decided to follow behind him and pick up the scraps.
The couple stayed true to their word. They sent a letter to Zhang County, asking Nanny Pang to help guard the house during this period, while the couple took charge of their grand purchasing venture. They didn’t go to meet Chen Dafu. Instead, they waited until he left a place before swooping in to snap up bargains. Surprisingly, this was even more profitable than following behind the military generals. Wherever Chen Dafu went, the officials of that county were bound to suffer. It was also the time when the people were most panicked, allowing the couple to acquire assets at excellent prices.
Bai Suihe sometimes couldn’t help but sigh, "In the past, I thought Mr. Chen was quite a gossipy person. I never expected him to be such an upright and honest official."
"He’s considered a rare good official in the royal court," Gu Kaiyuan chimed in with a word of praise. Even though his family was so poor, he still managed to hold onto his bottom line. With such an obvious opportunity to get rich, he hadn’t even taken a cut for himself. It showed how high his moral character was.
The couple simultaneously decided that the next time they ran into Chen Dafu, they would adopt a much better attitude when speaking to him. It was because of him that they were able to reap such a massive harvest this time.
Little did they know, Chen Dafu was currently depressed to death.
He was working like an old ox, clearing the wasteland at the front, yet the harvest at the back had absolutely nothing to do with him. He knew perfectly well that he could make a fortune here with just a few tricks, but alas, he didn’t have any silver on hand. As for taking bribes from others, Chen Dafu had genuinely never even considered it. He was a man with a bottom line. He knew what he could take and what he absolutely shouldn’t.
Glancing at the several guards following behind him, he really felt like crying. These were all sent by the emperor to protect him. Even if he had some devious thoughts, he wouldn’t dare act on them. Silently opening the county’s case files, he found them too horrific to look at. He had no idea how these people had become officials; even as mere seventh-rank petty officials, they managed to commit so many atrocities.
If these people were actually promoted, would there still be any justice in the world? Looking at the confessions that were blatantly unjust and false, it was hard to describe his feelings. They hadn’t even bothered with a superficial cover-up; the documents were full of loopholes.
"Send someone to thoroughly verify these case files again," he ordered. He was now the primary official in charge of purging the Lingnan officialdom. He had a group of people under him right now, so when better to use them?
Just as he finished speaking, he sneezed several times in a row. Chen Dafu looked around speechlessly, guessing that he was being cursed by someone unknown again. His Majesty had given him this miserable chore, causing him to completely offend yet another large group of people.