Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 431 Stability
The Taoist priests of Baiyun Temple were there distributing porridge to the commoners who had filed complaints. Lin Chi, the Taoist priest who had been unjustly implicated that day, was also imprisoned. Fortunately, after trial, it was discovered that he had not participated in the rebellion, but he still incurred the emperor's wrath for providing elixirs and was sentenced to three years in prison. While in prison, Lin Chi handed over Baiyun Temple to his junior brother Chen Ji. Only Chen Ji, who had been secretly plotting with Shen Qingzhou and the others against the Yan family, could protect the temple's fellow Taoists.

When the people waiting in line to submit their petitions became so enraged that they picked up rotten vegetable leaves and mud and stormed the Yan residence.

The once bustling Yan mansion has become a desolate wasteland. The fire set by Yan Liang burned down two buildings, and the locals always said that it was haunted. This was because when the government raided the mansion, they only arrested the living. After the cleanup was over, no one thought of or was willing to deal with Madam Yan's coffin, which was still kept in the mourning hall.

Later, the government sealed off the garden. Many people learned from the servants who had escaped from the Yan family how extravagant and wealthy the Yan family was. They secretly climbed over the wall at night to take a look, but found nothing. In the end, they were driven back by the stench coming from the mourning hall.

They said the coffin was still there, but someone had opened the lid and taken away all the burial goods. Rats, maggots, and flies were running rampant inside and outside the mourning hall.

No one has gone in since.

The next step was to exonerate the Yang family, who had been wrongfully killed many years ago.

Even though many scholars and righteous men in the court knew that the Yang family had been murdered when the Yan family was alive, the common people were kept in the dark.

Apart from those who suffered the most, the vast majority of ordinary people tend to follow the crowd. Yan's faction controlled public opinion, so everyone believed that Yang Tingfang was a treacherous minister who deserved his fate.

Yang Tingfang was an upright official, not a saint. He may have had his imperfections, but how can they be compared to his hidden brilliance?

He was upright and honest, and no matter how one judges him, he was worthy of heaven and earth and the people.

On the day the decision was made to petition for a retrial of the Yang family's case, officials led by Shen Bo and Lu Jie filled the entire Qianqing Palace.

Outside the palace gates, hundreds and thousands of scholars knelt down to petition.

The case was handled very quickly, and the results were released in half a month.

The Yang family's injustice has been redressed.

Shen Bo looked at Shen Zhui, who was constantly gloating over the Yan family's fate with Xie Yi, and hesitated to speak several times.

In the end, he shut up about the heartless child.

However, when the imperial edict announced the injustice to the world and posthumously conferred the title of Duke Enyi on Yang Tingfang, Shen Bo took him to Yang Gong's tomb to offer a few cups of wine.

That's how he started calling him Grandpa.

Just like when he was taken to the ancestral hall to call Madam Shen "Mother," Shen Zhui obediently called her "Grandpa" and didn't ask anything else.

Being carefree isn't necessarily a bad thing. Madam Yang's dying wish was for this child to live a peaceful and healthy life, so letting him live happily like this might not be a bad thing.

But Lu Jia clearly had a different opinion, and she rarely spoke when the topic came up in private.

but it does not matter.

There is ample time.

Perhaps time will help them make the best choice.

Following the resolution of the Yang family case, several other wrongful convictions were given the opportunity for retrial.

Many people who considered officials to be treacherous and evil were overturned. As time went on, some people began to mention the major cases that the emperor had ordered to be handled and the high-ranking officials who had been arrested over the years.

Some people began to wonder if the Yan family might also be innocent victims.
But before this public opinion could take shape, countless storytellers in teahouses and taverns across the north and south began recounting the countless evil deeds of the Yan family.

Meanwhile, many storybooks circulated in the streets and alleys, detailing every single one of the Yan family's misdeeds.

At some point, those honest people, merchants, and scholars who had been bullied and forced to resign from their posts bravely stood up to recount their personal experiences, using their actions to prove to the world the persecution that the Yan family had inflicted. As a result, people came to know that even though the Yan family had made some contributions, the crimes they committed were all true.

And any questions that might have surfaced were nipped in the bud. The schemes of those who had benefited from the Yan Party in the past, or those who were trying to profit by following the same path, were thus thwarted.

……

Two months later, the end of the year arrived.

With the last batch of officials brought to justice, the capital city and its surroundings were imbued with a new festive atmosphere in anticipation of the upcoming New Year.

After two busy months, a large number of vacancies have become available. Taking advantage of the pre-New Year holiday when officials from all over the country come to Beijing to report on their work, a new batch of officials will soon be appointed.

Although Liang Jun's health was damaged and he was not suitable to be reinstated to his original position, he was still given a sinecure.

After Guo Yi returned from Tanzhou, Shen Qingzhou arranged for him to work in a quiet government office to avoid trouble. Now, he no longer had to live in hiding. He went to the Censorate and replaced Cheng Wenhui as the Vice Censor-in-Chief.

Cheng Wenhui was then sent to Yuanzhou, Jiangxi Province, as the prefect.

Yuanzhou was Yan Song's ancestral home, and the Yan family's influence there was deeply entrenched. In addition, the Yang family, the maternal family of Old Madam Yan, was also located there. The two families firmly controlled the area, and over the years, those who were able to serve as local officials there were all the most trusted confidants of the Yan family.

Otherwise, Yan Shu would not have kept the fact that he built many luxurious mansions in his ancestral home and even invited a geomancer to conduct a geomantic consultation so secret.

Although the Yan family has fallen and the main forces of the Yan and Yang families have been eliminated, the problems have been accumulating for a long time. The members of the two families are scattered throughout the jurisdiction. As a stubborn nail in the anti-Yan forces, how easy is it for Cheng Wenhui to govern there?
On the day the transfer order was received, none of the yellow guard dogs at the Cheng family's gate dared to utter a sound.

Later, he learned that it was his brother-in-law, Lu Jie, who had done it, so he went to Lu's house early in the morning and started cursing.

By the way, Lu Jie is now the Grand Secretary.

Yang Bonong felt that it was one thing to scold him in the past, but now that he had become the Grand Secretary, it was really outrageous for him to continue scolding him like this.

Before he could even utter a coherent sentence, Master Cheng's spittle sprayed all over his face.

Yang Bonong returned defeated, only to find the person in question sitting cross-legged in the study, holding a book, in an extremely good mood. He simply ignored him.

However, apart from Cheng Wenhui herself, no one else cared about this transfer order.

Mrs. Cheng was even very happy. The old man had a bad temper and would always grumble at anything he didn't like when he was at home. His eldest daughter-in-law had already married into the family and was an honest girl. Because her family background was not as high as her husband's, she was already a bit cautious, afraid of offending her parents-in-law.

If they were scolded again, they would become like frightened birds all day long. Whenever the old man roared, they would stand up like a kite.

The young couple were showing affection, and it seemed like they would have a child soon. But what if the father-in-law yelled at them and they got seriously injured? Would it be appropriate to chop him up then?
Mrs. Cheng packed his luggage three days in advance.