Chapter 292

After more than half a month of turmoil, the dust gradually settled. Hua Qingfeng and Ye Xiaotian received commendations from their superiors and were recorded in the examinations. Class Leader Su, Class Leader Zhou, and the others received a sum of money, and the vacancies were quickly filled with candidates.

Only the position of Tax Ambassador had not been confirmed, because this person had to be appointed by the prefectural yamen. However, although the Tax Ambassador had to be appointed by the prefectural yamen, it was impossible for the prefectural yamen to know the details of the subordinate counties, so it had to be nominated by the local officials.

This position should have been nominated by the county magistrate Hua Qingfeng, but solving this major case could almost be said to be the work of Ye Xiaotian alone. Hua Qingfeng had received many benefits for no reason, so there was no reason for him to take this matter into his own hands. Thus, the nomination of the Tax Ambassador fell to Ye Xiaotian.

For this reason, the people who had come to use their connections had almost flattened the threshold of the Ye residence. It was only when Ye Xiaotian announced that he would not see a single one of them and that he had already reported the names of the nominees to the prefectural yamen did this kind of activity cease. As for whose name Ye Xiaotian had reported, it was still a secret.

Those who had the ability to find out who Ye Xiaotian had nominated would not waste this favor to inquire about something that was already unchangeable and had no meaning to him. Those who did not have the ability to inquire about the final result, although they were the ones who were most concerned about this position, could only patiently wait for the day when the truth would be revealed.

However, although the Tax Ambassador had been nominated by Ye Xiaotian, the arrangements for the Tax Department's accountant and several officials had been taken care of by Hua Qingtian. This could also be considered a kind of exchange of benefits between Hua Qingfeng and Ye Xiaotian.

Ye Xiaotian was very satisfied with this. The Tax Ambassador had been promoted by him, so he was one of his people. Hua Qingfeng was also very satisfied. Not only had he enjoyed a great merit, but through the appointment of several officials and the accountant, he had directly expanded his influence. No one would ever treat him as an empty county magistrate again.

The crescent moon shone over the Nine Provinces. Some were happy and some were sad. Those who were promoted were naturally elated, and they held banquets to celebrate. As for the families of the criminals who were arrested, they were sorrowful all day long, and it was rare for them to see a happy face.

The former Tax Ambassador Chen Muyan's home had been closed these days. Other than when they went to buy rice and vegetables, it was very difficult to see the Chen Family's wife go out. Until today, when more than twenty people wearing mourning belts moved into the Chen Family, the usually cold and cheerless Chen Muyan finally had some liveliness.

The neighbors heard that these people were from Chen Muyan's hometown and were prepared to help the mother and son to return home. Chen Muyan's death. The widow and the widow could only return. The Chen family's house had to be disposed of later. Immediately, the kind-hearted neighbor took the initiative to help contact the buyer.

The night was even quieter. Most of the villagers who had rushed over from their hometown had already gone to bed. They had made mattresses on the floor in the two-compartment room, and all of them were sleeping. In the central room, a pair of white candles were still quietly burning. The Chen Family's wife wore a mourning belt and held her sleeping daughter in her arms. Her face was still covered with faint traces of tears.

Sitting across from her was a dark-skinned middle-aged man. He was Chen Muyan's cousin and ranked sixth among the brothers. He was younger than Chen Muyan by more than ten years, but because he worked at home all year round, he looked much older than Chen Muyan.

When the Chen Family's wife married into the Chen Family more than ten years ago, she was very familiar with this brother-in-law. At that time, he was still a seventeen or eighteen year old youth. He loved to talk, laugh, and was very lively. Now, his facial features hadn't changed much. It was just that he had aged a lot and his expression was a lot more wooden.

The Chen Family's wife said in a low voice, "Sixth Uncle, it must have been hard on you. Our Chen Family is a small family. To be able to invite so many people to help support the coffin, it must have cost a lot, right?"

Chen Laoliu rubbed his hands nervously and said, "Sister-in-law, don't say that. After all, Brother Muyan wants to return home. This is a dangerous place. If we don't find more people, how can we support the coffin? In our village, Muyan ge is the most promising. Everyone in the surrounding eight villages envies our Chen family for having a high-ranking official. Brother Muyan has earned face for our Chen Family for a lifetime. Now that he's back home, how can he be poor? It's only right, it's only right. "

The Chen Family's wife sighed softly and said faintly, "Then I have to thank Sixth Uncle. It's enough that our relatives have this kind intention. Hiring people, as well as the food and lodging along the way, how much did it cost? When you get back, let me know. Sister-in-law will take the money. If our family isn't rich, don't ask us to contribute. "

Chen Laoliu's expression was a bit awkward. He wanted to refuse, but when he thought about his tight purse, he still agreed.

There were five rites, but the most important one was sacrifice. Although her husband's death wasn't honorable, the funeral still had to be held. After Chen Muyan's death, the Chen Family's wife built a mourning hall at home and invited monks and Daoist priests to perform the ceremony for three days.

In the entire Gourd County, no one would make things difficult for this orphan and widow. In this society, a person's death was the most important thing. No matter how heinous the crime was, it should be over. Moreover, although Chen Muyan was greedy, he had excellent interpersonal relationships. Even if it was just to maintain a clean appearance, he still did a lot of good things, especially to small merchants and peddlers. He didn't take advantage of them.

Under such circumstances, anyone who wanted to harm the Chen Family was bound to be scolded as a cruel official. Even the bailiffs who followed orders would be secretly bitterly disappointed. Thus, the government didn't make things difficult for the Chen Family. After cleaning Chen Muyan's body, they returned it to the Chen Family.

When the Chen Family held the funeral, many people came to the Chen Residence to offer their condolences. There were officials, merchants, workers, farmers, and some people who often interacted with Chen Muyan. There were also many people that the Chen Family's wife didn't know at all and couldn't identify them.

Chen Muyan had committed suicide because of his greed. The people who came to offer their condolences couldn't say too many words of comfort. Thus, most of them just silently lit a stick of incense, paid their respects, and left a monetary gift to the Chen Family's wife before quietly leaving.

The more people the Chen Family's wife had never seen before and couldn't identify, the heavier the monetary gift they left behind. Some of the funeral gifts were so large that it far exceeded the amount that should be given for normal social interactions.

The Chen Family's wife knew very well that these people must have had many unclear relationships with her husband. Her husband's suicide was, in fact, to protect them. That was why these people would give such a generous monetary gift. No one wanted to owe a debt of gratitude to a dead person.

The Chen Family's wife also knew that if her husband confessed and exposed these people, he wouldn't necessarily be sentenced to death. However, the best outcome for him would be to be exiled to the border, never to return for the rest of his life. And a very important reason why he chose to die was to leave her and their child with a capital to survive.

This was because he knew that as long as he died, many things that only he knew would never be exposed, and those who he had protected with his life would definitely repay this kindness to his loved ones.

Therefore, the Chen Family's wife didn't feel grateful to these people who took out a large monetary gift. It was what her husband exchanged with his life. It was what she deserved. The Chen Family's wife put away all the money. That was the capital for her to raise her daughter alone in the future. That was the hope that her husband left for her and their child.

It was also because of this that she had the confidence to say to her cousin that all the expenses would be paid by her. Because Chen Muyan's public image was very poor, the stolen money that he had hidden had all been confiscated. If it weren't for these monetary gifts, the Chen Family could really be said to be destitute.

The Chen Family's wife faintly sighed and said to Chen Laoliu, "Sixth Uncle, it's late. You've come a long way and must be tired. Go to bed early. We still have to hurry back to our hometown tomorrow. "

"Hey! Hey, hey! "

Chen Laoliu stood up and said clumsily, "Then … sister-in-law, you should also go to bed early."

The Chen Family's wife gently nodded, feeling a little cold. She suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the Winter Solstice, but her heart had already entered the cold winter since the day her husband died …

…

The Winter Solstice arrived.

The Winter Solstice was a very important day in this era. Because people believed that from the Winter Solstice, the Yang energy began to gradually strengthen. It meant the beginning of the next cycle. This was a very auspicious day. Therefore, in later generations, activities such as ancestral worship, gatherings, and celebrations that only appeared during the Spring Festival often appeared on the Winter Solstice.

The Winter Solstice as a festival originated from the Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and continued to be celebrated until now. The Winter Solstice was called the "Winter Festival". On this day, the emperor also held a ceremony to worship the heavens on the outskirts of the Winter Solstice. All the officials would present congratulatory reports to the emperor and congratulate each other.

Of course, the local government would also hold a ceremony to congratulate each other. At the same time, the government would have a day off, and the officials would congratulate each other. As the magistrate of Gourd County, Ye Xiaotian naturally assumed the responsibility of the whole celebration. Early in the morning, he summoned all the officials of the county to the government office and led the group of officials to congratulate the county magistrate.

Magistrate Hua accepted the congratulations of the officials and subordinates with a smile on his face. Then he led all the officials to the county school to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the Sage Confucius. Magistrate Hua held the sacrificial words that he had written last night and stood on the seat of honor. He shook his head in the smoke and began to recite.

Below the stage, class leader Su quietly approached Ye Xiaotian and whispered, "Your Excellency, Ambassador Chen's wife returned to her hometown today. Do you think we should … "

When Register Wang heard this, he slightly leaned towards Ye Xiaotian and whispered, "Your Excellency Ye, public affairs are public affairs, and private affairs are private affairs. If the county government doesn't do anything, it will be unreasonable. In my opinion, we should show our sincerity."

Ye Xiaotian was a little hesitant at first, but after hearing Register Wang's words, he nodded and said to Su Xuntian, "You go there on behalf of the county government. If the Chen family needs any help, try your best to make it convenient for them."

Su Xuntian nodded and was about to leave when Register Wang called him back. He took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and said to Su Xuntian, "Just say that this is a gift from the county government to show our sincerity."

Su Xuntian glanced at Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian nodded and said, "Your Excellency Wang is thoughtful. Let's do this."

Su Xuntian took the silver ingot and left quietly. Ye Xiaotian heaved a sigh of relief and turned to look at Magistrate Hua, who was still on the stage. He looked a little depressed. Register Wang smiled and said in a low voice while twisting his beard, "Your Excellency Ye, you don't feel good, do you?"

Ye Xiaotian nodded, then shook his head and sighed again. Since the heart-to-heart talk that day, Register Wang had really changed into a different person. Probably because he saw that Ye Xiaotian was very ambitious, and his ambition was not limited to a small Hulu County. There was no power struggle between him and Ye Xiaotian, so he changed his opinion of Ye Xiaotian and the relationship between them gradually eased.

Register Wang laughed and comforted Ye Xiaotian in a tone of an experienced man, "This is how it is in the officialdom. Most of the time, you have to do something. It has nothing to do with gratitude or resentment, but you can't help it. If you want to go on, you must get used to it … "