Free Web NovelChapter 385: Chapter 151: Reward by Holy Decree (Part 2)
Chen Song waved his hand. "I was just on my way home to get you. I was passing by and saw the two of you in here, so I rushed over. Hurry and come with me to the government office. A reward has come from the court, specifically for the three of you."
At Chen Song’s words, Chen Wanqing’s and Zhao Jing’s eyes lit up.
When they were in the Prefecture, they had heard Chen Song mention this.
Chen Song had hinted to them that the palace would issue a reward for the matter of the treasure chest. The reward itself was secondary; the real benefit was getting recognized by the palace. That would be a huge advantage for Zhao Jing and De’an.
They had waited and waited, hoped and hoped, and were starting to worry that the reward might never materialize. They never expected it to arrive so coincidentally today.
Chen Wanqing quickly pulled five taels of silver from her purse, turned, and placed it on the counter for Mr. Sun. "This is for the box. Please take it."
In truth, it was also to thank Mr. Sun for helping with the charade.
But Mr. Sun felt he hadn’t really done anything.
He had wanted to explain the situation, but Mrs. Meng never gave him the chance.
Although Mrs. Meng ended up paying a high price for the ginseng, his conscience was clear regarding the matter.
He pushed the five taels of silver back. "The box is worthless. Take your silver."
Chen Wanqing didn’t take it. She gave the old doctor a slight nod, then pulled Zhao Jing along and hurried out after Chen Song.
The watching crowd had also heard their conversation and started chattering with questions. "What reward? Deputy Magistrate, who is the reward from?"
Chen Song had no time to answer, and Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing remained silent.
The townspeople’s curiosity was piqued. They felt they would go crazy if they didn’t see what was happening, so every last one of them fell in behind the group and ran after them.
The farther they ran, the more they realized—weren’t they heading toward the county government office?
So the person delivering the reward was an official?
Now this was getting interesting.
As they made their way to the county government office, more and more uninformed townspeople joined in. The crowd grew larger and larger, gradually forming a long, snaking line.
The Chen family’s baked-pancake stall, the Qian Family’s grain shop, and the Shi Family’s coffin shop were all on this street.
Chen Lian, who was helping Chen Dachang, saw his uncle and quickly shouted, "Uncle, weren’t you going home to find..."
He turned his head and saw not only Chen Wanqing but Zhao Jing as well. Forgetting his question about why his sister and Zhao Jing were in town, Lian jumped out from behind the pancake stall in a panic. "What’s wrong? Uncle, what’s happened?"
"It’s nothing. Go back to selling your pancakes."
But how could Lian go back? He was incredibly worried and quickened his pace to follow the crowd.
Passing the Qian Family’s shop, Chen Bai and Qian Yuzhu saw the commotion and hurried out of their store. Mrs. Mei thrust Qian Yuliang, who was in her arms, at her father. "Dad, something big has definitely happened! I’m going to see if I can help. You watch the child for a bit." Then she rushed out to follow them.
In front of the Shi Family’s shop, Chen Wanyue was cracking melon seeds with one leg crossed over the other. The moment she saw the scene, she pocketed her seeds and immediately ran over.
Her parents-in-law shouted from behind her, "Where are you going? What’s this commotion have to do with you? Get back here and watch the shop."
Chen Wanyue replied, "I’m going to see what’s happened. Maybe someone died! If so, I can promote our family’s coffins and maybe drum up some business."
More and more people appeared, with others running out of their homes. In just a short while, the entire street was clogged with people.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Who knows? I heard it was an argument..."
"An argument causing this big of a scene? I bet it turned into a fight, and someone got killed."
"Did you hear? Someone up ahead died! Several people! Heavens, how will their poor families survive?"
This was a perfect example of a lie becoming truth when told by three people. Nothing had actually happened, but as the story was passed from person to person, it got distorted, and things that never occurred were suddenly being reported as fact.
Seeing the long line of people forming, Meng Jinchun, who hadn’t gotten far while carrying his mother on his back, set her down in a teahouse and quickly went to follow the crowd as well.
Mrs. Meng, panting unevenly, shouted after him, "You wretched boy! What does the Chen Family’s business have to do with you? Are you their filial son or grandson, running so fast for them?"
"Oh, Mother, something big has definitely happened! It might even be something that costs people their heads. Chen Song and his family bullied you, so I have to go watch the show. If they’re getting their comeuppance, I’ll come back and tell you so you can have a good laugh."
But they weren’t getting their comeuppance. On the contrary, a pie had just fallen from the sky.
Inside the government office, an official wearing the mandarin square of a civil servant solemnly lifted a bright yellow Holy Decree from a brocade box.
