Chapter 1265: A More Perfect Substitution

Wang Hai is a night owl; he always likes to do things in the dead of night.

Chen Guanlou followed him over rooftops all the way to the edge of the capital, a place where few people lived, before they finally touched the ground.

"What exactly are you bringing me to see?"

"We're almost there."

They threaded through streets and alleys, soon arriving at an ordinary residence, and knocked on the door!

Huh?

It actually required knocking on the door.

Couldn't they just jump over the wall?

Just as Chen Guanlou was feeling puzzled, the courtyard gate opened, opened by a hunchbacked old man.

Neither side said a word. Upon seeing Wang Hai, the hunchbacked old man directly stepped aside to clear the entrance. He didn't even show the slightest curiosity toward Chen Guanlou, who was following behind Wang Hai.

Chen Guanlou followed Wang Hai into the small courtyard.

Before entering the room, Wang Hai stopped his steps and asked the hunchbacked old man, "How is the person?"

"Still alive." The hunchbacked old man's voice was hoarse, as if it had been scraped by metal, creaking and grating.

"Fine, you go get some rest."

Having said that, Wang Hai pushed open the door and signaled for Chen Guanlou to follow him inside.

The room was pitch black, and Wang Hai lit a candle.

Facing the door, a bed was placed against the wall, and a person was lying on it. Every breath they took sounded like a pulling bellows.

"Who is he? You brought me here just to see him?" Chen Guanlou frowned; he was certain he had never seen this person before.

Wang Hai smiled broadly, pointing at the person on the bed who couldn't move, "He is Zhao Dahai, the former Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, now paralyzed in bed. How about it, are you satisfied?"

Eunuch Wang smiled smugly, clearly fishing for credit.

"He actually isn't dead yet!" Chen Guanlou chuckled twice, "What are you keeping him alive for?"

"I'm doing things for you, so I have to let you know how things turned out. Otherwise, if you suspect I've embezzled the silver, that wouldn't be good."

People in the palace never had the virtue of doing good deeds without leaving their names. Once they helped someone, they had to make the other party remember their favor so they could be repaid in the future.

The two of them were in a monetary partnership.

Since he had taken the money, he had to let the person who paid see the results.

Eunuch Wang was very pleased with himself!

Chen Guanlou's expression at this moment was indescribable. He swept a look of extreme disgust at Zhao Dahai on the bed; the smell in the room wasn't pleasant either. No matter how well a person paralyzed in bed was cared for, there would always be a smell on them.

He coughed lightly, "Brother Wang, you're being too formal. I've never doubted your ability. Of all the people I know, you are the most capable person I've ever seen. I'm at ease with you handling things!"

Wang Hai held his head high like a big rooster—albeit a castrated one.

"Brother Chen trusts me, and I am deeply grateful. Next time you encounter something, come find me again; I'll handle it cleanly for you."

"Very good! Very good! If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. I've been staying up late quite a bit these past few days."

"Wait!"

Wang Hai pointed at Zhao Dahai on the bed, "Brother Chen, give him a quick end; don't let him live to see the New Year."

Chen Guanlou laughed.

He pointed at himself, "You took the money, yet you're making me do the work."

Wang Hai smiled, "With Brother Chen's cultivation, why would you need to do it yourself?" A burst of Qi sent into Zhao Dahai's body would be enough to end the other party's life.

Chen Guanlou wore a look that was half-smile, half-not, "You aren't being sincere! Fine, fine, as you wish."

As soon as his voice fell, he saw Zhao Dahai on the bed stretch his neck, opening his mouth wide to breathe desperately. Within the span of a single breath, the man stopped breathing.

Wang Hai was very satisfied!

"I'm treating tonight; let's go to the brothel and have some fun."

Chen Guanlou, however, didn't move; he stared at the other party suspiciously, "Brother Wang, did you open up your Ren and Du meridians and suddenly have a change of heart?"

In the past, whenever the topic of going to a brothel came up, no matter how natural Wang Hai appeared, he would still be a bit uncomfortable inside.

Tonight, oh my, he was even more proactive than him. Something was very wrong.

"I've thought it through." Wang Hai was very frank, "The things you said were very useful to me. I pondered them repeatedly for many days and realized I had indeed been trapped by worldly views and opinions, which led to a heart demon. A few days ago, I had a sudden epiphany, and coupled with taking the Five Elements Pill, my cultivation had a breakthrough. So, feeling happy, I just wanted to get closer to Brother Chen."

"You want to get close to me, yet you have to kill someone first. Is your brain flooded?" Chen Guanlou didn't give him a good look.

Eunuchs are all perverts!

"Brother Chen, calm your anger! Since we are brothers, naturally we share blessings and hardships together. You killed Zhao Dahai in front of me, and I am very grateful; you truly didn't treat me as an outsider."

"Just for this?"

Chen Guanlou didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

No one could ever guess the mind of a eunuch; they always liked to take crooked paths.

"The word 'trust' is very important to me." Wang Hai said solemnly, "As a eunuch, there is no trust to begin with. But I want to cooperate with Brother Chen for the long term, so there must be trust and tacit understanding between us. Could it be that Brother Chen thinks I would harm you?"

"Even if you harmed me, I wouldn't be afraid. I could have just stated your thoughts directly instead of testing me."

"But I'm used to testing."

"I don't care how you get along with others, but when getting along with me, put away that set of behavioral principles you use in the palace! Either we talk business as business, without involving personal feelings."

Chen Guanlou laid it out directly to avoid future trouble.

Wang Hai was silent for a moment, and finally agreed, "I will be mindful of the boundaries in the future."

"Let's go, let's go to the brothel and have some fun. You're treating today, and next time it'll be my turn to treat you!"

The two walked with arms draped over each other's shoulders, like good brothers!

"I heard your next-door neighbor was arrested; do you need my help?"

Wang Hai, being in the palace, was indeed well-informed.

"I'm worrying about this matter right now. Given the current situation, I'm afraid a batch of heads will be chopped off. It's really not easy to fish someone out in one piece. Since you're in the palace, do you have any way? This is different from previous cases."

As a small pawn, Dawang wouldn't receive the slightest sympathy during sentencing; he could only be cannon fodder, destined to die. Chen Guanlou was thinking that if he could maneuver things, changing the immediate execution to exile would be fine. He had even thought of the place of exile: the Northwest! The territory of Marquis Pingjiang!

However, there was a troublesome matter: if everyone else died and only Dawang escaped through exile, it would look particularly glaring. Plus, with that pack of mad dogs from the Censorate biting down and not letting go, it wasn't easy to maneuver!

He stated his difficulty, and Wang Hai offered him an idea.

"You mean a substitution?"

"A simple substitution definitely won't work. Your neighbor is deeply mired in this case; escaping alone definitely isn't appropriate. What if we get your neighbor into another case and let someone else take his place in this one?"

Oh my!

Chen Guanlou started to laugh, "You haven't done this little in the palace, have you."

Planting Person A's crime on Person B, and Person B's crime on Person A. To make it more complex, add a Person C. Three people exchanging crimes with each other.

He clicked his tongue in admiration; it would be a huge loss if Eunuch Wang didn't join the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"The premise of the exchange is also an exchange of identity. Is your neighbor willing to change his name and surname? At the very least, if he wants to hang around the capital, he can't use his old name anymore."

"Small households don't have that many scruples; it's good enough if he can save his life."

Chen Guanlou began to seriously ponder this method.

If he wanted to do it, he had to do it early. He couldn't wait until the verdict was handed down before acting. ===== CHAPTER 1266 =====