Chapter 110: The Tiger Falls in Pingyang and Be Bullied by Dogs
Xiao Chen was very happy after hearing this, and repeatedly praised Chen Ziang for his ability in doing things. Chen Ziang was so proud that he scratched his ears and cheeks, danced with his hands, and grinned up to his ears.
I even said that it was all due to Mr. Xiao's kindness. Resigning to an official position was nothing more than a small effort. I really cannot deserve the compliments of Mr. Xiao...
While chatting happily, Wei Yuntian hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in Xiao Chen's ear. Xiao Chen's face changed slightly and he stood up.
Upon seeing this, Chen Zi'ang and Lin Yue hurriedly stood up and said goodbye. Xiao Chen walked out the door and raised his hands to say goodbye.
He hurriedly followed Wei Yuntian to the back room, only to see Chen Jisheng lying on the bed, his face sallow and unconscious. They hadn't seen him for more than a month, and he was as skinny as a bone!
Zhuge Xiaosheng and Ye Baiqing were also there, and when they saw Xiao Chen coming in, they were all silent.
Wen Shanchang sat in front of the bed to diagnose his pulse and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, boss. Mr. Chen is not seriously ill. It's just that his old illness has relapsed due to excessive grief. He hasn't had enough water or rice for several days, so he's so weak. Wait until I give him a prescription."
A few decoctions and a few more days of cultivation and you'll be fine."
Only then did Xiao Chen feel relieved and looked at the two young men in ragged clothes and dusty faces standing blankly in the room.
"Oh, boss, they are all from Mr. Chen's hometown. This one is called Chen Xiaohu and that one is called Chen Gouzi. They were the two of them who brought Mr. Chen all the way here on a cart." Wei Yuntian said hurriedly.
"Greetings, sir!" The two young men didn't care, threw themselves to the ground and kowtowed.
"Come on, brothers, I want to thank you." Xiao Chen hurriedly helped the two of them up, asked them to sit down, and asked someone to bring them tea.
"Sir, I'm very thirsty and can't drink hot water. It would be nice if I could give you a big ladle of cold water." Chen Xiaohu said naively.
"Yeah, it's burning my throat." Chen Gouzi took a sip of tea and stuck out his tongue when it was so hot.
These two are both simple and honest young men from the countryside who are outspoken and outspoken.
Xiao Chen laughed and ordered someone to get a bucket of cold sour plum soup that was brewed in the well.
The two brothers were very happy. They took turns picking up the wooden bucket. They drank the whole bucket of sweet and cool sour plum soup in an instant like a cow drinking. They burped together. It was really enjoyable.
It turned out that they were all from Chenjia Village, and were adjacent to Chen Jisheng's family. Chenjia Village also suffered floods during the spring floods. After the floods, another plague broke out. Many people died in the village, including Chen Jisheng's family...
Because the fact that Chen Jisheng was imprisoned by the emperor was well known to the whole world, the local government paid no attention to it and did not even send anyone to Beijing to report the funeral. Instead, the villagers pooled some money to bury them hastily.
Chen Jisheng returned home full of joy, but he did not expect such bad news waiting for him. He was so angry that he fainted and when he fell to the ground, he cracked open the newly healed wound, causing the old injury to relapse. He has been bedridden ever since.
rise.
Fortunately, Chen Xiaohu and Chen Gouer took turns taking care of her day and night, so they were able to survive.
Finally, he was getting better, but unexpectedly, a local magistrate named Lang Wenxin, who he trusted, heard that Chen Jisheng had returned, and personally brought people to his door to collect taxes!
Chen Jisheng was the second rank of the current dynasty. According to the regulations, his family did not have to pay all kinds of exorbitant taxes. However, Lang Wenxin said that he was a person who was punished by the emperor. Now he is just a white man, with no fame and honor. Not only will he have to pay the regular taxes in the future
To pay taxes, you have to do corvee work!
You have been an official for so many years, and you must have embezzled a lot of money? You can take it all out now. I think you are old and frail, so I will take more care of you in the future...
Chen Jisheng was so angry that he started to curse loudly, but he forgot the old saying, a phoenix in trouble is worse than a chicken!
He is not a second-rank official in the imperial court now, he is just a prisoner, and the one he offended was the emperor.
Lang Wenxin didn't tolerate him at all. He immediately changed his face and ordered his family property to be searched immediately!
Chen Jisheng's family was poor and had almost nothing. A group of government servants smashed pots and bowls and smashed everything in his house. They even tore down the bed and found not a single tael of silver.
Lang Wenxin was so angry that his nose was crooked. It seemed that the rumors were true. It turned out that this old man was really a poor man!
It wasn't until I checked his package that I finally got a huge harvest!
Dozens of Dazhou Tongbao, twenty taels of silver per ingot, and a full one hundred taels of gold leaves found in several books!
Hahaha, they say you, Chen Jisheng, are an upright official, so how do you explain these silver and gold?
All of them will be fined, confiscated and sent to official positions!
And all your family property must be sealed up, even if it is used to offset past years of taxes...
And he, a prisoner, dared to insult his own officer, which was very rude. He took him back and imprisoned him for a few days to kill him. How could he still be proud?
Poor Chen Jisheng had been imprisoned in the capital for so long. He didn't expect that he would have to go to jail when he returned to his hometown...
Fortunately, Xu Wenlin, the county magistrate in charge of the prison, was an upright and strong man. He was very dissatisfied with Lang Wenxin's behavior, so he released Chen Jisheng directly on the grounds that he was old and sick.
For this reason, he and Lang Wenxin had a big quarrel in the hall, each claiming that they would sue the other...
Although Chen Jisheng was released, he was homeless. It was Chen Xiaohu who took him to his home to take care of him. Seeing that his condition was getting worse, he went around to seek medical treatment for him.
But he offended the county magistrate, who would dare to come to see him?
Chen Jisheng also knew that Lang Wenxin would definitely not let him go, so while he was still awake, he asked Chen Xiaohu to take him to the neighboring Fenzhu County and wait for Xiao Chen to come back...
Chen Xiaohu and Chen Gouer had no money to hire a carriage or mule, so they had to find a broken cart and walk dozens of miles to transport Chen Jisheng here.
After staying in Fenzhu County for a few days, the little money he had had was all used up. When he was at a loss, Xiao Chen finally came back...
The two brothers thought it would be difficult to meet the world-famous Mr. Xiao, but they didn't expect that they were directly invited in after telling the gatekeeper Chen Jisheng's name.
"A dragon swims in shallow water and is tricked by shrimps; a tiger falls flat and is bullied by dogs!" Ye Baiqing sighed.
"It's extremely hateful," Zhuge Xiaosheng said.
"I'm going to take someone to kill him right now!" Wei Yuntian turned around and left.
Chen Ziang had just returned to his place of residence and was happily bragging to several officials from Fenzhu County. Hearing that Mr. Xiao had invited him again, he hurriedly trotted over.
But when I saw Mr. Xiao, who had been smiling just now, his face turned as dark as water, my heart skipped a beat.
But with my mind racing, I couldn't remember how I had offended the old man?
"What's the name of the magistrate of your Qingtian County?" Xiao Chen didn't let him sit down, and his tone was quite cold.
"My lord, my name is Lang Wenxin. He has just arrived." Chen Ziang answered carefully.
"How is he?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Uh... Sir, this Lang Wenxin has just arrived a few days ago, and I am not familiar with him either. I only met him once when he came to report on his work." Chen Ziang said hurriedly.
"Master Chen, do you know your guilt?" Xiao Chen suddenly shouted.
Chen Ziang was so frightened that he knelt down directly...