Chapter 62: Grand Tutor Chen Suffers Humiliation

Wan Hongzhe and his companions looked closely, almost thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them.

It took a good while for Wan Hongzhe to react; the First Prince had found someone with a similar build to do the work in his place, and he was so furious that smoke was practically coming out of his head.

He had thought that this exile of the Wan family was not actually a loss.

The First Prince was dead, the Wan family had taken the blame, and the Third Prince would be released sooner or later; perhaps after reforming himself in Tianlao, he might even become the crown prince in the future.

But all of this was predicated on the First Prince being dead.

Now that the First Prince was not yet dead, they had already been exiled—this was a massive loss!

Yan Ze couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Wan Hongzhe and pulled Yan Ning's hand: "Let's go, we're going back to eat; your mother said we're having hot pot tonight, and it tastes especially good."

Yan Ning's attention was immediately diverted; she hadn't had hot pot in a long time and actually missed it quite a bit.

Watching the lighthearted backs of this father and daughter, Wan Hongzhe gritted his teeth.

Why is it that even though they are all in exile, their lives are so comfortable?

"Snap—"

A whip lashed onto Wan Hongzhe's back, and a bailiff scolded: "What are you looking at? Get back to work immediately!"

Wan Hongzhe's whole body was itching; at this moment, he was in both pain and agony, and he felt miserable all over, but as long as he hadn't collapsed, no matter how uncomfortable he was, the bailiffs would make him continue working.

On the other side, Yan Ze took Yan Ning and traveled back by boat.

Yan Ning frowned: "Taking a boat is still somewhat inconvenient; it would be better to build a bridge after a while and repair the road to Shawan County a little, so it would be much more convenient for us."

Yan Ze thought that made sense: "That's possible, we can call people over to do it tomorrow. Do you think we should build a stone arch bridge or a wooden bridge?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment; a stone arch bridge would be solid and sturdy, but she didn't know how to build one, while a wooden plank bridge would be convenient but not sturdy enough.

Yan Ning then said: "When the time comes, have Er Gouzi look for people to see if he can find someone suitable. Father, hurry and think, what else are we missing?"

Yan Ze pondered for a moment: "It seems we need to dig a well to avoid having to fetch water back and forth."

"We also need to build a woodworking shop, otherwise every time someone comes to look for me, they have to run to the house."

Yan Ning noted them down one by one, then prepared to go find Er Gouzi for help.

Er Gouzi especially liked it when Yan Ning called for him, because every time she tasked him with something, Yan Ning would give him at least five taels of silver.

And now, with five taels of silver in hand, all he had to do was find people to build a bridge and clear a stretch of road. Such a simple job earned him five taels of silver.

Er Gouzi swore that in his next life, he would still work for the young mistress!

After finishing his instructions to Er Gouzi, Yan Ze hoisted her up: "Let's eat hot pot first; think about other things after you're full. I just had a bite, and this flavor is even better than that hot pot place we used to go to."

Yan Ning's eyes lit up, and she couldn't care about anything else, sitting down together to eat hot pot.

Li Dachu had already eaten after stir-frying the hot pot base, and at this moment, he was still helping them slice meat and vegetables.

Li Dachu also said there was a lot of good food here and a lot of money to be made; he wanted to build a house and bring his wife and daughter over.

At this moment, the hot pot base boiled, and in an instant, the wafting fragrance could be smelled.

Yan Ning began to swallow her saliva.

It was truly too fragrant.

Li Dachu had great skills, and his knife work was even better; the meat slices were easily prepared, with every piece as thin as a cicada's wing.

Yan Ze swished a few slices of meat: "It's a pity we can't slaughter the cattle; beef is the most delicious."

Yan Ning whispered: "We can let the cow accidentally fall down and just say it died from the fall; that way we can eat beef."

Their family had bought five cows in one go, and a few days ago, two of them had given birth to calves; Yan Ning stared at the cow, and after a good while, she said: "It really looks like it's perfect for hot pot and pan-seared steak."

Yan Ze pondered: "It will be the New Year in a while; when the New Year comes, we'll slaughter the cow—oh, no, I mean, let the cow fall to its death."

The whole family reached a consensus.

"Speaking of which, should we bring Grand Tutor Chen over to spend the New Year with us? Otherwise, it's quite pitiful for him to be alone at the post station."

Yan Ning brought it up, and Yan Ze and Ji Lan only then remembered that there was still a Grand Tutor Chen here.

Seeing that there was one month left until the New Year, Yan Ning wanted to bring Grand Tutor Chen over; in any case, those bailiffs were the type to skim off whatever they could, so she would give some money to buy Chen Yuan a New Year's holiday.

Before Yan Ze had transmigrated, Grand Tutor Chen was the original owner's teacher; since Yan Ze was using his body, he should also do something for the original owner.

However, their family had been hunted down just a while ago and were very busy, so they hadn't been able to attend to Chen Yuan.

In the afternoon, Yan Ze and Yan Ning went together to the post station in Shawan County.

The post station was located in a remote area on the outskirts of Shawan County.

When Yan Ning went over, she saw Grand Tutor Chen bent over, washing a water trough.

Who would have thought that a person appeared behind him and poured a basin of water directly onto Grand Tutor Chen.

Even though it was Lingnan, this world was somewhat cold, and with such a large basin of water poured over his head, plus the wind blowing, Grand Tutor Chen might very well fall ill.

Yet Grand Tutor Chen only turned his head to look, then continued cleaning the horse trough.

Clearly, this kind of thing happened often.

Yan Ning's fiery temper flared up instantly; she kicked the person's knee pit hard, and that person fell directly to his knees, even knocking his head toward Grand Tutor Chen.

Grand Tutor Chen was incredulous: "Why have you come?"

Weren't they supposed to go to the Cai Shi Chang to serve hard labor?

Yan Ning said with a smile: "Everything is settled, no need to go, but as for you, Grand Tutor..."

The person who had just poured cold water on the Grand Tutor was Yao Bing; he had also been exiled here, and his official rank wasn't high—he was just a seventh-rank official.

But he had money in his hands and was good with words, so he had bribed everyone else at the post station.

Yao Bing's reason for bullying the Grand Tutor was simple: the once high-and-mighty Grand Tutor had now been reduced to a post station servant, and he could insult him at will without the man daring to say a single word.

Yao Bing looked at them and, seeing their luxurious attire, felt a bit uneasy.

Yan Ning hurriedly said: "Grand Tutor, go change your clothes; in such cool weather, don't catch a cold."

Chen Yuan's voice was a bit hoarse: "Many thanks, Your Highness."

Yan Ning began to deal with Yao Bing: "You are the one who has been bullying Grand Tutor Chen, aren't you?"

As he spoke, Yan Ze grabbed his hair directly and pressed his head into the horse trough; when he was nearly unable to breathe, he pulled him back up, and once he saw him recover, he pressed him back into the water again.

He could not die, yet he did not want to live.

Yao Bing had nearly lost half his life.

The people in the post station acted as if they saw nothing, and the Steward even held a book in front of his face, looking as though it were none of his business.

Just kidding, those two were dressed in finery, using fabrics they had never even seen before; how could they dare to court disaster?

Seeing Grand Tutor Chen come out after changing his clothes, Yan Ze said, "Grand Tutor, why not come with us? I will handle things here, so you won't need to come."

Chen Yuan sighed, "Forget it, I am just an old man; your money didn't come from a strong wind, so don't waste it on me."

Yan Ning revealed a very sweet smile, "Grandpa Grand Tutor, our money really is as easy to get as if it were blown in by a strong wind."

Yan Ze took the money, and after finding the Steward, Yan Ze placed a Pouch on the table.

The Steward was trembling with fear because of him, his eyes glancing at the Pouch several times, but he did not dare to take it.