Chapter 1137: His Sky Collapsed

Chen Guanlou's sky was about to collapse.

The Emperor's Gu-surnamed "brother-in-law" hadn't been sent away yet, and now another Xiao-surnamed "brother-in-law" had arrived!

Why did they all love to drill into the Heavenly Prison?

Wasn't the neighboring Zhao Prison appealing? Wasn't the Lesser Prefecture Prison appealing? Wasn't the Dali Temple appealing?

He wanted to protest.

He found Sun Daoning to vent his grievances, "Xiao Changsheng is the Emperor's treasure. You've locked him in the Heavenly Prison, and there's already a Gu Yiyang next door—what are you doing? Are you finding the Heavenly Prison too quiet and determined to find some amusement, is that it? Why don't you find someone else to be the Prison Warden."

Sun Daoning sipped his tea, looking unhurried, "Do you think this official wanted to take in someone surnamed Xiao? It's just that one thing after another happened, and it all piled up. I had no choice but to grit my teeth and accept it. If you aren't convinced, go to the Administration Hall, go find Minister Xie or Minister Yu. If you're still not convinced, go beat the Dengwen Drum and find His Majesty. This official will absolutely not stop you."

"If I had the ability to find them, why would I be holed up in the Heavenly Prison every day? You would have been sitting in this position eight hundred years ago." Chen Guanlou didn't hold back at all and retorted directly.

Did he really think pulling rank could scare him?

"Old Sun, your attitude is no good! You must straighten out your attitude. You're being all cryptic and sarcastic—is this an attitude for solving problems? Locking someone surnamed Xiao and someone surnamed Gu in the same cell—do you think that's appropriate?"

Sun Daoning was so angry his nose was crooked. First, he disparaged him, then he was sarcastic, and he even wanted to usurp his position—it was simply preposterous.

"Chen Guanlou, don't go too far! This official is a dignified Minister of Justice; speak to me with some respect. What attitude? What exactly is your attitude?"

He was so angry he started swearing; if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't win in a fight, he would have wanted to take action.

"This is my attitude."

Chen Guanlou was even less polite, "With one stroke of your pen, Xiao Changsheng enters the Heavenly Prison. Do you know that what you've done has put me in a very difficult position, making it impossible to carry out my work? Take the simplest problem: the Heavenly Prison only has one VIP cell. May I ask where I'm supposed to conjure up a second one?"

"The person is about to be sent to the Heavenly Prison immediately. Even if you were willing to approve the funds, I don't have the time to renovate. If the one surnamed Gu lives in the VIP cell and the one surnamed Xiao ends up in a regular cell—that conflict, that stimulating scene—are you using my head to please them?"

Sun Daoning:...

He scratched his head and asked, "There really isn't a second one?"

"You conjure one up for me then. A VIP cell requires redecorating everything from the floor to the ceiling, the walls, and the cell gate bars. Do you think it only requires changing a few pieces of furniture? First, the floor must use blue strip stones, two feet thick. The walls must also use strip stones. The ceiling must be rebuilt and reinforced to ensure safety. It also needs to be far from the window openings while simultaneously ensuring sunlight can shine in during the day..."

Chen Guanlou listed the requirements for building a VIP cell one by one.

Sun Daoning only then clearly understood that a small prison cell could be so complicated. The prerequisite was that the Ministry of Works had to be willing to dispatch craftsmen on time, and the master craftsmen had to complete the work on schedule.

This was called following procedure.

Only construction that followed procedure could be reimbursed.

If you went outside to find a civilian construction team, sorry, that didn't fit the rules, and the accounts wouldn't be reimbursed.

If one link was missing, don't even think about building a VIP cell.

Right now, two "brothers-in-law" were gathered in the Heavenly Prison; it could be called the sky collapsing.

"Just tell me what to do. If you can't think of a way and don't solve the problem, I won't return to the Heavenly Prison. Without me in the Heavenly Prison, let's see who dares to receive Xiao Changsheng."

Xiao Changsheng had to be locked in the Grade-A cell. Chen Quan hadn't received instructions and definitely wouldn't dare to receive him. So it was stuck in the middle—eh, this matter was troublesome.

For a moment, Sun Daoning's head grew large.

Locking up a prisoner had caused such a big mess. Who could have imagined it?

He gritted his teeth, "If there's really no other way, just lock Xiao Changsheng in a regular cell."

Chen Guanlou sneered, "I haven't lived enough yet. The Grade-A cell has finally had a few peaceful years; don't you go making trouble."

"How about this, let the one surnamed Gu change to a regular cell, and let the one surnamed Xiao live in the VIP cell."

"If you aren't afraid of being hacked to death by both families, go ahead and do that." Chen Guanlou looked up at the sky; this job couldn't be done. It was too stimulating! The competition between one brother-in-law and another—the Heavenly Prison, as a neutral party, had to hold the bowl of water level! If he leaned toward either one, he shouldn't expect to have a good life.

Imperial Consort Xiao could whisper in the Emperor's ear, while the Gu family could mobilize their connections in the court to clean up the Ministry of Justice.

The best thing was to help neither and offend neither.

Sun Daoning was also about to be angered to death, "If there's really no other way, just lock them both in a regular cell. That should be fine, right?"

Chen Guanlou chuckled, "Old Sun, you're thinking about the problem too simply. Gu Yiyang is living in a VIP cell; do you think the one surnamed Xiao won't be able to find out? I'll tell you the best method: divert the disaster. Let the one surnamed Xiao go to the Zhao Prison, go to the Lesser Prefecture, go to the Dali Temple—just don't come to the Ministry of Justice. We can't be the ones to shoulder all the risks."

Sun Daoning naturally understood that diverting the disaster was the only way to fundamentally solve the problem.

However...

"It's already too late! The Six Sects have already received the person, and the next step is to escort him to the Heavenly Prison. The other government offices are all avoiding the Ministry of Justice right now; there's no way to divert the disaster."

"Old Sun, you're a dignified Minister of Justice, and you've been calculated against like this—it's truly disappointing. Can't you show some spirit?"

Chen Guanlou was heartbroken!

An incompetent general exhausts the three armies.

Sun Daoning was good at everything else, but he was too conservative and didn't understand how to be aggressive. Conservative people followed orders and didn't dare to have their own ideas. Look, he'd been calculated against.

Sun Daoning wore a dark, gloomy face and said unhappily, "Show this official some respect. In front of you, I've lost my face, I've lost my substance, and now I've even lost my official authority. Don't you go bullying people too much."

"It's clearly the people outside bullying you, yet you only dare to shout at me. Old Sun, oh Old Sun, I've finally seen through you. Forget it, forget it—considering you're helpless, approve a sum of money for me, and I'll solve this matter for you." Chen Guanlou looked helpless, as if he were reluctantly sharing the burden for someone else—this lousy job, even a dog wouldn't do it.

Yet he was doing it!

Living worse than a dog!

"What method do you have to solve it?" Sun Daoning was suspicious.

Before, every word was about difficulties, and every word was about the sky collapsing. A tiny cell problem had trapped the massive Ministry of Justice.

In the blink of an eye, he had a solution.

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like he was being set up.

"Money can make ghosts push millstones; anyway, I have a way to make both brothers-in-law satisfied."

Sun Daoning pondered while asking, "How much money do you want?"

"Five thousand taels."

"Are you robbing me! No!"

"Do you want to solve the problem or not? If you won't even give five thousand taels, then let the Gu and Xiao families fight to the death—it would be best if they fought right in front of you, how about that?"

Sun Daoning pondered for a moment, "Two thousand taels, guaranteed solution. All subsequent expenses are included."

"Four thousand taels, not a penny less."

"Two thousand one hundred taels—either accept it, or let the two 'brothers-in-law' fight to the death! This official is an official of the imperial court, an official of the Emperor, and an official of the common people—but I am definitely not the official of those two 'brothers-in-law'!"

Sun Daoning was righteous and awe-inspiring, instantly becoming tall and grand. He made Chen Guanlou look like a treacherous villain! ===== CHAPTER 1138 =====