In the seventh year of Jiajing (1523), Chen Huai was appointed as Zheng Xue in Zhou Pu (now Puxian County), Shandong Province, and his reputation spread far and wide, with appointments from south to north. According to the canon, both of them are outstanding scholars, and most of them are monks.
In the seventeenth year of Jiajing (1538), Chen Huai became a scholar and was sentenced to Wulin (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province) and later demoted to Piling (now Wujin County, Jiangsu Province). He is strict in law enforcement, unwilling to perfunctory, unwilling to practice favoritism. The plot should be concealed below, and the intercession should be entrusted above. Once found out, it will be dealt with seriously. After that, he stayed in the Ministry of Civil Affairs to supervise the new customs in the north. As always, he offended some powerful people. Some people suggested that Chen Huai raise his hand to pass, but Chen Huai refused to bow his head. He said, "I can't do it because I have fallen to the point of pleasing others." He resigned and went back to his hometown for a long time. He died in the 22nd year of Wanli (1594) at the age of 92.