Chapter 4: You Are Not In Exile, You Are Clearly Traveling! (Patreon)

Chapter 4: Dumbfounded



"Is this the evidence you mentioned?"



The Imperial Censor stroked his beard, squinting his eyes. "Why do I only see air? Where is the grain you mentioned? Could it be that General Guo's eyesight is failing..."



"If that's the case, then I might start doubting whether I'm fifty years old or twenty. General Guo, on the other hand, seems to be in his fifties."



Guo Qiang's face was already unpleasant, but upon hearing the Imperial Censor's words, it turned even darker, resembling the bottom of a pot. He glared fiercely at his subordinate.



The subordinate shrank his neck in grievance. He truly didn't know where the grain had gone. It couldn't have been eaten by rats overnight, could it?



"There are a few more warehouses. Perhaps it's hidden in another warehouse."



His subordinate's mind was quick, and he soon found a way out. Maybe someone from the Chen family noticed something wrong and moved the grain to another warehouse.



"Let's go!"



Suppressing his anger, Guo Qiang continued to open the next blind box. Ah... a warehouse.



His subordinate arrived at the entrance of another warehouse, and the hand holding the door trembled suddenly.



If, if the disaster relief grain wasn't here, then...



Thinking of this, he first opened the door of the warehouse, revealing a crack, and peered inside with his eyes.



However, before he could see clearly, Guo Qiang kicked the door open with one foot, and then with a snap, he pulled the door wide open.



But it was still empty.



The spacious warehouse was empty, making people doubt whether it was really a warehouse. How could there be nothing inside?



"Squeak!"



Several mice on the ground were startled by the sound of the door opening, seeming to realize the confusion on the intruder's face. The mice suddenly felt a deep sense of empathy.



They also wanted to know, where was the grain? Where had their dinner gone?



"Next one!"



Guo Qiang gritted his teeth, his face extremely unpleasant. He just couldn't believe that he couldn't find the disaster relief grain.



The Chen family estate was not that big. It couldn't have been transported away, which meant it was still hidden inside.



However, what greeted him was yet another empty warehouse.



"Next one!"



"Next one!"



"Why are they all empty? Does the Chen family not eat?"



Guo Qiang's face was extremely unpleasant, especially after his previous confident statement that the disaster relief grain must be in the Chen family's warehouse. But now, not even a grain of rice was found. Oh, wait, correction, one grain was found, but it was taken by the mice.



In short, there was no trace of disaster relief grain.



This was clearly abnormal.



He personally arranged it, and his subordinates also personally delivered it. How could it just disappear?



"Go, summon a servant!"



He waved his hand to have another subordinate find a servant from the Chen family, intending to use coercion and inducement to make him confess where the things in this warehouse had gone.



In no time, the subordinate brought someone over.



Surprisingly, it was Chen Xue.



"I told you to bring a servant!"



Guo Qiang glared fiercely at his subordinate, wondering why on earth he had brought the master instead.



How could she possibly honestly confess where her family's belongings were hidden?



The subordinate felt embarrassed. Actually, he didn't want to do it this way. He had intended to bring a servant over, but there was no choice. Chen Xue kept calling him "little brother," which made him lost in thought... cough cough, anyway, he brought her over like this, in a daze.



However, before Guo Qiang could ask anything, Chen Xue spoke up.



"Do you want to find something in the warehouse?"



Upon hearing this, Guo Qiang's eyes lit up. "Do you know where it is?"



Unexpectedly, there was actually someone willing to expose the truth.



Guo Qiang was overjoyed, but at the same time, he felt sympathetic towards Chen Yuan. How could he have such a daughter, tut tut tut.



However, he then saw Chen Xue's expression of grievance.



"We are very poor. There is actually nothing in the warehouse because we don't have money to buy grain!"



"............"



Guo Qiang was dumbfounded.



How could this be so different from what he imagined!



Wait a minute, your family is poor?

What kind of joke is this?

A dignified third-ranked official is actually poor, so poor that he can't even afford grain. This is simply the funniest joke in the world.



However, just because Guo Qiang didn't believe it didn't mean others didn't.



The Imperial Censor, upon hearing this, immediately showed a sympathetic expression. "I knew it. Zhengyuan, such an upright person, how could he embezzle? I didn't expect him to be even more upright than I thought."



Zhengyuan, Chen Xue's father Chen Yuan's courtesy name.



Thinking that the warehouse of a third-ranked official's family actually had no silver was truly suspicious.



Although the Chen family only had a few decades of history, it was impossible for there to be no money in the family's warehouse.