Chapter 1024: Scam One, Get One

Verifying what Warden Hu said was simple.

Chen Chen Guanlou made a personal trip to the Jiafeng Lane Prison, of course avoiding prying eyes and leaving no trace. He observed covertly for a whole day. He also had someone inquire into Warden Zhang's character and conduct, as well as Old Nanny Li's character and ways.

He did not let Lu Lu Datou do the inquiring on this matter.

Lu Lu Datou's connections ran through the three teachings and nine streams of society, which did not include palace people. He also dared not deal with palace people, fearing that one careless slip would land him in a calamity of the highest order, and he would end up dying without rhyme or reason.

The palace carts corpses out every day—that cannot be faked!

Others may not be clear on this, but every one of them who works in criminal punishment knows it cold.

Criminal punishment work requires dealing with those who handle funeral affairs, long-term cooperation and exchange. When people die in the palace, they likewise must deal with funeral handlers, entrusting them with the disposal of corpses.

And so, the information flows!

According to the funeral handlers, the palace kills far more people than the prisons do. On the worst night, over a thousand people died, and hauling the corpses took two full days—the men were worked to the point of madness. The subsequent burial of the bodies was even more maddening. It all relied on manpower to dig the pits, pure physical labor!

They say the bodies are left to rot in the wild, but in actual practice, that simply cannot be done.

Anyone with a shred of common sense knows that leaving corpses in the wild is extremely likely to cause plague. With so many bodies, who would dare truly leave them in the wild? No one could bear the consequences. They all have to dig pits and bury them. And they cannot dig shallow pits—shallow pits easily attract wild dogs and beasts that drag the corpses back out, making the burial pointless.

A mass grave is a mass grave—first and foremost, it is a burial! Only then comes the "mass," the chaotic burial without plan or order, no grave mound, no tombstone, not even a place to offer sacrifices—that is what earns it the name mass grave. Who really thinks they just leave bodies in the wild!

Everyone knows the palace waters run deep, and dealing with the palace, Chen Chen Guanlou certainly could not harm his own people.

He decisively sought out Wang Hai. A ready-made person, no sense not using him.

Wang Hai's under-eyes were a sheet of blue-black, clearly showing he had not rested well lately.

Chen Chen Guanlou asked with great curiosity, "Have you been out thieving lately? You look like you've been sleep-deprived for ages. You're at least a ninth-rank martial artist—who could be so heartless as to work you like a slave every day? If you ask me, if it really won't do, quit the palace work. Come work with me, I'll guarantee you eat well and live well."

Wang Hai gave a cold snort and said softly, "You're not much better than they are."

"You can't put it that way. Even being a little better is better! I called you here today because I have something I need you to look into, and I may need your help afterward."

"Speak!"

"Do you know Old Nanny Li from Jiafeng Lane?" Chen Chen Guanlou got straight to the point.

Wang Hai immediately frowned. "Why do you ask about her?"

"Does she have a son serving in the palace?"

"He empties the night soil." Wang Hai was concise.

Chen Chen Guanlou was stunned for a moment before coming back to himself. "You mean Old Nanny Li's son is in charge of emptying the night soil in the palace? That work is degrading! Didn't he grease any palms to find a better path?"

Wang Hai, upon hearing this, seemed to have heard some great joke, his mouth splitting open in a silent laugh. "Let me tell you, being able to empty the night soil is already the result of his greasing palms.

Warden Chen, in your eyes, emptying the night soil is the most degrading work. But in the palace, many people fight for this job. Why? Because there are jobs even more degrading, even more brutal, than emptying the night soil. Want me to take you to broaden your horizons?"

Chen Chen Guanlou waved his hand. The more he learned about the palace, the less curious he became. That place—disgusting!

Every kind of method one has never heard of can be found within the palace.

The greatest evils of human nature are all embodied in the palace.

The existence of the palace, the existence of that group of people, is the greatest obstacle to social progress.

"What kind of person is Old Nanny Li? What kind of person is her son? What sort of person can be swayed by money? Is he trustworthy?"

"What are you trying to do?" Wang Hai was very curious—why would Chen Chen Guanlou think to inquire about people from Jiafeng Lane? Jiafeng Lane had nothing whatsoever to do with the Grand Prison.

Chen Chen Guanlou did not hide it, saying frankly: "Someone paid silver to ask me to look after the Chu Wang family members held in Jiafeng Lane. Since I've taken their money, I naturally have to do the job properly.

I asked around. The route through the Shaofu Warden doesn't work, and Warden Zhang of Jiafeng Lane is a madman—his route doesn't work either. After much thought, I can only settle for the next best thing and try Old Nanny Li's route. What do you think?"

"You want to kill Warden Zhang and have Old Nanny Li take his place?" Wang Hai instantly seized the core point. To take Old Nanny Li's route, the prerequisite was that Old Nanny Li had to hold power. The only obstacle to her holding power was Warden Zhang—one link after another.

"Just tell me, can this route work or not?"

Wang Hai clicked his tongue twice and mocked: "To help someone out, you'd even kill a man. How much did they pay you? Is it worth going this far?"

"They say Warden Zhang has peculiar tastes. A man like that—what's the harm in killing him?"

"I didn't expect Warden Chen to actually be a righteous knight-errant." Wang Hai grew even more sarcastic.

Chen Chen Guanlou gave a cold snort. He neither dodged the issue nor gilded himself to show off his righteousness.

He merely stated matter-of-factly: "Originally, Warden Zhang's tastes had nothing to do with me. Whatever he gets up to is his business. But I have one flaw—I cannot stand to see anyone bully children.

You bully adults, bully anyone you like, I can turn a blind eye. But bullying children—if I don't know about it, fine. But now that I do, even without this whole affair, I wouldn't stand idly by. Children are my bottom line!"

Wang Hai gave an "oh."

Those of them who worked the palace basically had a clear picture in their minds of every yamen's steward and their tastes.

Serving in the palace, one does not fear slacking off or fawning on the high and trampling the low—one fears being slow-witted, unable to remember people, not knowing when one has offended someone. The first rule of surviving the palace: a good memory, you must remember people. What person, whose person, what tastes… everyone must keep their own private ledger.

Warden Zhang worked the Jiafeng Lane Prison, so by rights he had no connection to the palace. But then, Warden Zhang himself had come out of the palace. In an instant, Wang Hai's mind flipped through Warden Zhang's service record, and naturally he understood exactly what Chen Chen Guanlou meant by "bullying."

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "He's getting more and more unhinged!"

"So, can you help me?"

Wang Hai hesitated for a moment, then said casually: "Old Nanny Li is, after all, a woman, with a son, a daughter, and grandchildren—her emotional life is normal. Even if she has methods of tormenting people, compared to others, she is much milder. Your plan to give Old Nanny Li a helping hand so as to look after the Chu Wang family members held in Jiafeng Lane is sound overall. It's just that there's still one missing link."

"Which link?"

"The Shaofu Warden is hard to deal with, but his godson is someone who opens his eyes at the sight of money. If you overlook this step, Old Nanny Li's prospects are bleak!"

Chen Chen Guanlou was overjoyed upon hearing this—as expected, finding the right person beat everything else.

"How about you handle this for me? I'll only be responsible for putting up the money, not for showing my face. How about it? At worst I'll split the hard-earned fee with you half and half. Look at you—running errands for those heartless palace bastards, you don't earn a single coin and still get scolded. Run errands for me, and not only is the job simple, you can make money. Why wouldn't you?"