Chapter 1039

The case had been investigated clearly, and both Xu Fugui and Huang Ye had been cleared of suspicion.

Congratulations!

But the two of them were obviously not happy.

They both thought at the same time that failing to kill the other party through this matter was really frustrating! They could only fight again next time!

Chen Guanlou called the two to the office and then showed them the investigation report.

"Take a look, everyone. The brothers from the Liushan Sect have already investigated the case clearly. In the end, the prisoner Tian Dabin just took advantage of the loopholes in poor management, using the dim light at night to muddle through and mix out of the Heavenly Prison. If you had put more heart into management and filled all the loopholes, even if the prisoner knew some disguise, could pick locks, and had strong language skills, it would have been impossible to escape smoothly."

The two flipped through the investigation report.

Huang Ye was studious and had never fallen behind in reading and writing, so he read very quickly.

Xu Fugui was old and dim-sighted, and his knowledge was limited, so he read very slowly. At least he finished reading the key content.

"The jailbreak was actually so simple!" Xu Fugui sighed, "Fortunately, the brothers from the Liushan Sect have real skills, and finally cleared my suspicion. As for Prison Clerk Huang's suspicion, the loopholes in management, heh..."

Huang Ye rolled his eyes secretly, "If Prison Clerk Xu hadn't delayed handing over the roster, delaying the proper business, I would have already filled the loopholes in the C-grade jail. Then the jailbreak incident wouldn't have happened."

"Talk is cheap! The huge C-grade jail has hundreds of prisoners; who do you think you are? You've only been a prison clerk for a few days, and you're bragging that you can fill the loopholes. Do you think I haven't filled them? Do you think I haven't tried? That's not just a simple loophole; it's been passed down from ancestors from top to bottom—a problem that has existed in the Heavenly Prison since ancient times!"

Xu Fugui was furious; at such a young age, he only knew how to brag. Yet Chen Jiang Yucheng believed the other party's act. It was infuriating!

"Both of you, say less!" Chen Guanlou scolded sternly; he was too lazy to listen to the two arguing, as they wouldn't argue out anything practical, "The investigation report cleared your suspicions. As for the division of responsibility, it seems that neither of you is convinced by the other, and both think the other party is responsible. Since that's the case, this official will decide: the responsibility for this jailbreak will be split in half, with each person bearing half. If you have any opinions, keep them to yourselves; this matter is settled!"

He kept a straight face, full of majesty.

Xu Fugui originally wanted to argue and fight for a bit, and by the way, suppress the one surnamed Huang, but now he had to shut his mouth.

Huang Ye felt he had gained more, "My lord's judgment is fair; I am convinced!"

Xu Fugui was so angry he gritted his teeth, as the kid surnamed Huang had snatched the chance to perform first again.

He could only follow suit, "I leave it all to my lord's decision."

Chen Guanlou snorted, too lazy to care about the two's emotions, and continued, "Because of the prisoner's escape, although the Ministry of Justice did not punish any specific person, it fined the Heavenly Prison a large sum of money."

He suspected that this decision was Sun Daojing's idea.

In the past, whenever something happened, the Ministry of Justice would directly arrest people, fine those who should be fined, lock up those who should be locked up, and kill those who should be killed. As for the effect, it was just so-so. The prison guards became increasingly corrupt, each one living a life of drunken stupor. No one knew when something would happen and their own heads would fall. It was better to enjoy life with money while they were still alive, and if they didn't have money, find ways to get money to enjoy life.

As a result, the atmosphere in the Heavenly Prison was very poor, management frequently had loopholes, and various accidents often occurred. Arresting and killing people became more frequent. It formed a vicious cycle.

It wasn't until Chen Guanlou became the Jiang Jiang Yucheng that he gradually changed this situation, trying his best to arrest and kill fewer people. If a fine could solve it, then fine them! If one fine wasn't enough, then increase the fine until the other party felt the pain. Try not to kill people!

Under his unremitting efforts, the atmosphere in the Heavenly Prison finally improved a little. Among the prison guards, some people began to awaken and had the awareness to save money. They were no longer living in a drunken stupor like in the past, muddling through their days.

Sun Daojing probably learned the essence: blindly killing people is not as good as fining them to create revenue for the Ministry of Justice.

This time, when the jailbreak incident occurred, the Ministry of Justice fined the Heavenly Prison two thousand taels in one breath.

Two thousand taels!

A full two thousand taels!

Not two hundred taels, not twenty taels.

Chen Guanlou felt a painful ache.

He discovered that every time he plucked some wool from Sun Daojing, the one surnamed Sun would find ways to make up for it from the Heavenly Prison.

He could be called an iron rooster himself!

He had been very angry these past two days, and because of this, he found both of them very unpleasant to look at.

"Because of you, the Heavenly Prison has suffered heavy losses this time. Presumably, you have already heard about it from Qian Fugui. The Ministry of Justice did not punish, but I have to punish. All prison guards in the C-grade jail will have their salaries docked for one month. You two will have your bonuses docked for half a year!"

"Half a year?" Xu Fugui exclaimed, looking like he was about to jump up.

Chen Guanlou glared, "Not convinced?"

Xu Fugui was unwilling, but had to submit, "Convinced, convinced, convinced! But the money has all been fined, how will we solve eating? The wife and children at home are still waiting for me to take money home to buy rice for the pot."

"Hmph! I don't care if you steal, rob, or borrow! Could it be that this official still has to manage your eating, drinking, and pooping? Your wife and children are not mine, and I didn't put a green hat on you, so stop dragging me into it. Besides, it's only your bonuses that are being docked; your salaries will still be issued on time and in full."

"Salaries are only a few coins. Nowadays, everyone in the Heavenly Prison relies on bonuses to eat; no one counts on that little salary from the imperial court. Moreover, the salary has been in arrears for half a year. If this continues, my lord, I really have no money to eat!"

Xu Fugui was an old hand after all, and an old man in the Heavenly Prison, with thick skin. Even after being scolded, he still had the guts to continue complaining and asking for benefits. Unlike Huang Ye, who had shallow seniority and no achievements to show off, most of the time he could only hold it in, never daring to be as uninhibited as Xu Fugui.

"If you have no money to eat, then starve to death!" Chen Guanlou stared at the other party sideways, "As long as you don't starve to death, just serve honestly for me. I don't care if you have money or not. If you are not convinced, then let the Ministry of Justice issue a document to punish you two. If the Ministry of Justice doesn't take action, fine; if it does, it's either half-crippled or life-threatening! You choose for yourselves!"

The dignified Ministry of Justice represents the majesty of the imperial court's laws. Once it takes action, it is definitely life-threatening!

The Ministry of Justice wouldn't even bother to look at cases that weren't life-threatening!

Because they weren't worth it!

As soon as Xu Fugui heard about letting the Ministry of Justice issue a document, he immediately cowered!

Don't look at these prison guards as being unreliable and corrupt on weekdays; deep down, they are very afraid of official authority! No matter what government office the official is from, they are all afraid!

Because officials can take their lives!

"No, no, no, don't bother the Ministry of Justice. My lord's decision is very reasonable; I will definitely learn my lesson, serve well, and manage the C-grade jail well. It's just the deficit in the account book..." Xu Fugui put on a smiling face, wanting to fight for a grace period.

Chen Guanlou glared, "Find a way to solve it yourself!" completely blocking the other party's path.

Xu Fugui instantly had a mournful face, while his brain started spinning; he would go find Qian Fugui to find a way in a while. At worst, he would borrow money!

Rather than finding a bank outside to borrow money, it was better to find Qian Fugui to borrow money. He was one of their own and certainly wouldn't force debt like a bank and drive someone to death!