Indulging in Carnal Desire

T/N: 2/2 chapters dedicated to Josephine F.! （☆ω☆*）

Everything she had seen and heard while traveling on the road made Chu Jiao feel more and more uneasy. Because in the middle of her travel, she had finally seen, for the first time, what was called, ‘people starving to death laying in the field.’

Shen Zhen worriedly covered her eyes to stop her from seeing such horrid scenes and spoke gentle words of comfort in her ears, “Don’t worry, we’ve already arranged for aid. They’ll soon get the help they need.”

“As for those scoundrels who selfishly hoarded the relief funds and grains…” Ever since ancient times, the officialdom had always been mixed in with corruption, but Chu Jiao felt that those, who built their interests on the sufferings of many people, should die and go to hell.

“En, not one would be left unscathed.” Shen Zhen’s tone was low.

After experiencing about half a month on their journey, the group had finally reached Huai An.

Huai An was a transport hub and an important salt transportation area that had fertile land and rich water. The place also had outstanding people and remarkable places. Jiangnan River’s governor dwelled at Huai An. At the same time, Huai An was an important road connecting the south and the north.

As the saying goes ‘The purple crab meets the Jiang sea while the red paddy and whitefish feed the children full¹Translated literally from “黃柑紫蟹見江海，紅稻白魚飽兒女.” This is about a poem and it describes the beauty of Huai An produce.,’ Huai An was the land of fish and rice²Land of fish and rice refers to a fertile region. . It possessed a large grain reserve so every time a disaster befell the Central Plains, Emperor Xie Yu would order the governor of Yang Zhou and Wu County to use Huai An as means to provide relief to the disaster victims.

Originally, it was supposed to be handled properly, however, before they could even douse the fire that burned the brow³The fire that burned the brow refers to extreme emergencies., one major catastrophe befell on top of the other.

Shen Zhongxing’s position after ‘Donating to Become an Official’ was a minor official of Huai An’s Granary Department. The Granary Department controls the reserve of provisions, and the minor official was a relatively insignificant auxiliary position. To phrase it better, he was an assistant to a superior. To phrase it badly, it was only a mere miscellaneous position. Although it was nothing remarkable, it was still an important enough position to be able to get in contact with the army provisions.

Shen Zhen had already bought a normal-sized residence in Huai An early on, and although it looked nothing impressive, it contained everything one would ever need.

Once they arrived at the residence, Shen Zhen quickly changed into another more reasonable attire and went to the government office to do a morning roll call. Chu Jiao, on the other hand, began to unpack her pieces of luggage and order the servants around.

She placed Lin Wenyue to the guest room on the Westside and pushed her to get some proper rest, promising her that once ‘Shen Zhongxin’ had set the situation straight, she would surely help her find her family.

From Lin Wenyue’s perspective, she was not in a hurry to return, because her escape would indefinitely lead to her ruthless and cruel confinement once she returned to the Lin Family estate. She yearned to have her freedom and awaited the day when she could meet a good-hearted person just like those in the novels, so she gladly stayed in the courtyard without any complaints.

※

Shen Zhen’s superior in Huai An’s granary department, Du Qi, was a scrawny man of more than 40 years old. In the beginning, when he received Shen Zhen’s letter carrying his official seal, he only coldly told a simple account of the current situation. But after knowing that Shen Zhen was the official who had put out the policy of ‘Donating to Become an Official,’ his attitude took a complete 180-degree turn as he became extremely amicable.

People who dabbled in officialdom always had the keenest noses as well as had eyes and ears everywhere. As such, news of the policy had already reached Jiangnan’s ears. For the sake of helping disaster victims, Emperor Xie Yue implemented a new policy that shook the imperial court to its core. In their leisure time, he would even sigh with his colleague because the silver required by the policy was a mountainous amount and if their families weren’t rich and powerful, how could one even afford to donate?

This “Shen Zhongxing” looked sickly, so he didn’t expect him to be the son of a wealthy family.

Encountering such a difficult matter, Du Qi’s heart shook from anxiety and his small eyes shifted nervously, as he concocted a devious plan.

Shen Zhen pretended to be greenhorn in politics and put on a yes-man appearance. Before Di Qu even left, he intentionally stuffed a silk brocade bag in his hands and giddily bade him farewell.

Du Qi originally thought that the silk brocade was as light as a feather and was a little dissatisfied with Shen Zhen’s behavior. However, upon opening it for a look, it contained one thousand banknotes. After counting the 10 complete banknotes, a pleasant smile bloomed on his face, and his view of ‘Shen Zhongxing’ improved by a few points.

He had encountered a cash cow.

On the other hand, Shen Zhen was also very happy.

Without him, Du Qi looked as though he would keep his lips sealed tightly, but as long as he could use the money to buy him, it didn’t pose a challenge.

Who told his wife to be such a wealthy madame?

Recalling that his little girl had stuffed a wad of banknotes inside his lapels before he left, Shen Zhen felt elated.

He didn’t seem to be the least bit ashamed of his situation.

In fact, he seemed particularly proud of it.

Little Theater:

Emperor: Zhen possesses Jiangshan.

Shen Zhen: This official possesses beauty.

Emperor: Zhen has 3000 concubines in the rear court.

Shen Zhen: This official’s wife is worth more than 3000 concubines.

Emperor: Zh-Zhen has money!

Shen Zhen: This official’s wife also has money!

Emperor: Pei! What a wife whipped pretty boy you are!

Shen Zhen: (Sticks tongue out~)⁴The meme that shows what Shen Zhen looks like lmao Aren’t you just being jealous~~~

TOC for advanced chapter – ICD

Translation status of advanced chapters:

4th and 5th world Completed

6th world Ongoing