Chapter 1087

"The person who dug the trap to bury him—is it Liu Changrong from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?" Chen Guanlou asked, pretending to be casual.

"Where did you find that out?" Sun Daojing was very surprised.

"Where else? Naturally, the one surnamed Qin shouted it out himself. He says the two families have a generational feud, and the one surnamed Liu is narrow-minded, holding a grudge to this day because of a broken engagement back then, completely forgetting the Qin family's kindness to him. If the Qin family hadn't extended a helping hand back then, the one surnamed Liu would never have had the chance to study for the imperial examinations, and there wouldn't be today's disaster!"

Sun Daojing said "Oh," and holding his teacup, said slowly: "This official has vaguely heard people mention that Liu Changrong lived in the Qin household for a few years when he was young. I heard the Qin family was very strict and harsh with him. During those years he lived under someone else's roof, he had to work hard in addition to his studies just to have food to eat."

As soon as Chen Guanlou heard this, he immediately laughed.

It was indeed a Rashomon-style story.

"Who is right and who is wrong, I have already sent people to inquire. There must be many people who know the situation back then; whether it was kindness or harsh treatment, the truth will come out eventually."

Sun Daojing put down his teacup: "Even if the truth comes out, the case cannot be overturned."

"I already said I wouldn't overturn the case; why do you always suspect my intentions? If I were going to overturn the case, would I come empty-handed? I would definitely bring plenty of silver."

Chen Guanlou was a bit dissatisfied; was he really that untrustworthy?

"As long as you don't overturn the case, that's fine! I don't care what you specifically do, as long as you don't affect the case. If I hear that the one surnamed Liu has had an accident, I don't care what the truth is—I'm coming for you."

"Old Sun, you're going too far. You suspect I'll help the one surnamed Qin take revenge, and you even suspect I'll kill the one surnamed Liu. Am I that idle? I never take assassination commissions. I am a Jiang Jiang Yucheng of the Heavenly Prison, not a gang assassin. You underestimate me too much!"

Chen Guanlou snorted coldly. He, a dignified Jiang Jiang Yucheng of the Heavenly Prison, earning plenty of money with little work—why would he be so foolish as to go and become an assassin? He didn't have that problem!

These people always measure a gentleman's heart with a villain's yardstick!

Ruining his character.

"It's good that you know your identity!" Sun Daojing breathed a sigh of relief; he was truly afraid that Chen Guanlou would let justice go to his head and go out to kill someone.

Official matters should be handled through official channels, following the unspoken rules everyone agrees upon. Not by using the methods of the Jianghu. This is something that must be resolutely prevented. This is also one of the reasons why the imperial court has never spared any effort to strike at the Jianghu martial arts world.

Jianghu people only care about settling grudges with a sword, not about the law, and they do not respect the imperial court. What is this? To put it mildly, it's a provocation against the court's laws; to put it strongly, it's rebellion!

Jianghu scum—killing a thousand or ten thousand isn't enough. They must be purged every three to five years.

Sun Daojing would never allow anyone under his jurisdiction to act according to the style of the Jianghu martial arts world. If he discovered even a hint of it, he would resolutely stop it.

It was for this reason that he had reminded Chen Guanlou several times not to go astray.

As for making money or protecting people, he would turn a blind eye; it didn't matter. But he absolutely would not allow the private establishment of torture chambers or acting as a judge. Because he knew very well that Chen Guanlou had the ability to kill without a trace.

Seeing that the other party really had no intention of killing to uphold justice, Sun Daojing became happy again, and his expression softened.

"Since you aren't overturning the case for the Qin family, what do you want to do?"

"I heard the Qin family's eldest daughter was forced to death by her husband's family. If the Qin family is willing to pay, I will help protect the lives of the remaining Qin family members so they don't fall victim to foul play. I won't do anything extra."

Sun Daojing frowned: "Old Qin's case has nothing to do with his in-laws. Based on the evidence currently held, it doesn't implicate his in-laws. How could it force the Qin family's eldest daughter to death!"

"Old Qin guesses that it was the one surnamed Liu applying pressure behind the scenes, forcing the Qin family's eldest daughter to death. After all, the feud between the two families started because of the broken engagement. Back then, the Qin family's eldest daughter was betrothed to the one surnamed Liu, but later an accident happened, and the two families broke the engagement. This accident damaged the woman's reputation, so it wasn't spoken of clearly. The one surnamed Liu just thought the Qin family was snobbish, looked down on him, and humiliated him... in short, it's a messy account."

Sun Daojing looked enlightened: "Liu Changrong—this official has had contact with him a few times and didn't see anything special. Privately, I've heard people say he is indeed a bit narrow-minded. Anyone serving under him who gets in his way gets made things difficult for and is given the cold shoulder, never getting promoted. But to harm the entire Qin family because of a broken engagement is truly a bit..."

He couldn't comment openly, but in his heart, he looked down on Liu Changrong's style. Matters from many years ago—since he had already ruined a girl's life back then and vented his anger, it should have been settled by rights. From then on, let bridges be bridges and roads be roads!

To force the Qin eldest daughter to death years later—this style was truly a bit deranged and shameful!

However, he still reminded him: "I don't object to you protecting the Qin family members. But you cannot lay a hand on Liu Changrong. Killing an official is equivalent to rebellion; pay attention to your limits."

"Old Sun, you underestimate me too much. When have I ever killed an official? Why are you always so uneasy about me? Have I ever done anything that made you feel troubled?"

Sun Daojing snorted twice; for a martial artist with profound cultivation, one could never be too cautious. If he got unhappy for a moment and killed someone, he would have to step in to clean up the mess.

Two days later, Mu Qingshan ran to Chen Guanlou to complain, saying that Lu Datou had brought people in from outside without permission and locked them in the Bing-block prison.

It was simply absurd!

A prison guard—where did he get the right to imprison prisoners?

A prison guard—where did he get the right to arrest people from outside?

What is this called?

This is called overstepping one's authority.

This kind of behavior is a major taboo in official circles!

Moreover, the Heavenly Prison has no law enforcement power.

The duty of the Heavenly Prison is only to be responsible for guarding the prisoners locked in the Heavenly Prison. As for arresting people or locking up whoever, they have no qualifications to interfere. These are all the duties of the Six Sects! Only the Six Sects and the Ministry of Justice can decide who to arrest and who to lock up.

Mu Qingshan was very excited, spitting as he spoke, counting how many laws Lu Datou had broken. This matter must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. Otherwise, if the prison guards follow suit in the future, bringing people into the Heavenly Prison from outside on their own and locking them up at will, wouldn't it be a total mess?

Chen Guanlou rubbed his brow: "Did you not ask Lu Datou what the identity of the person he brought in was, and why they were locked in the Bing-block prison?"

"My lord, no matter what the identity of the person Lu Datou brought back is, he shouldn't have done this; he is breaking the law. And he is breaking the law while knowing the law! My lord, this matter must never be tolerated; it must be severely punished to serve as a warning."

"Alright, alright! Call Lu Tou over first, and I will ask him."

Chen Guanlou was impatient to listen to Mu Qingshan's nagging, even though what the other party said made a lot of sense. From a management perspective, one should indeed kill the chicken to warn the monkey!

But he wasn't willing.

He was just nepotistic and loved to turn a blind eye!

Mu Qingshan was so angry he nearly fainted and flicked his sleeves to leave. He called over a prison guard: "Go, call Lu Datou over. The lord has something to ask him."