Chapter 1334: Extremely Crude Methods

Chen Chen Guanlou finished reading the case file, then listened to Huang Ye's detailed account of the ins and outs, his face dark the whole time.

Huang Ye's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

My lord is angry!

The Ming family's adopted son is unlikely to come out of this well.

He, too, couldn't stomach the Ming family's ways—protecting the adopted son while pushing out their own flesh and blood to take the blame. Old Man Ming was being utterly foolish beyond belief. And the way this case was handled, utterly absurd.

He was only a jailer, his abilities limited. No one asked, so he pretended not to know. But since Warden Chen had asked, naturally he would tell the truth.

Chen Chen Guanlou stood before the cell door, stared at the prisoner inside, was silent for a moment, then asked, "Ming Qiang, are you willing to accept this?"

Ming Qiang seemed dazed.

Huang Ye whispered, "Reporting to my lord, I suspect the prisoner Ming Qiang has been poisoned. Ever since he entered the Heaven Prison, he's been in a daze, unable to focus. Whatever you ask, his answers are off the mark."

The implication being his brain might be damaged.

Chen Chen Guanlou asked Huang Ye, "What makes you think he was poisoned?"

"There's a jailer in the third cell block who lives not far from the Ming family. According to him, Ming Qiang wasn't like this before. Though he wasn't favored, he'd studied and was quite sharp. A perfectly normal person. The current Ming Qiang is clearly not normal."

Indeed, very abnormal.

They chatted away animatedly, but Ming Qiang inside the cell showed no reaction.

As if the topic of their conversation had nothing to do with him at all. Dazed and muddled.

Chen Chen Guanlou stepped into the cell, placed his hand on Ming Qiang's head. "Ming Qiang, can you hear me?"

Ming Qiang's head was splitting with pain, agony beyond endurance.

He clutched his head with both hands, shouting irritably, "Get away, all of you get away. Let me go, I won't agree…"

"Won't agree to what?"

"I'm innocent! I'm not guilty!" Ming Qiang's face contorted, hands flailing wildly in the air, struggling to break free from whatever force held him.

Chen Chen Guanlou released him.

Ming Qiang instantly shrank back into the corner, drenched in cold sweat, body convulsing.

"Go fetch Mu Yiguan Mu. The Ming family lives outside the city?"

"Yes, in Big Pagoda Tree Village outside the city."

"Which official in the Ministry of Justice is related to the Ming family?"

"To be precise, related to the woman Old Man Ming married later. I think her surname is She."

Lord She!

Ha…

Chen Chen Guanlou gave a cold laugh.

The surname She was uncommon—among the several hundred people in the Ministry of Justice, only one official bore that name. He'd even dealt with the man before. Seemed upright and honest, yet who'd have thought he'd brazenly pull a swap-the-plum-for-the-peach stunt. Inexperienced! If you're going to have someone take the fall, at least find someone willing and who looks the part.

One look at Ming Qiang told you he'd been forced.

Fearing he'd turn on them, they'd most likely poisoned him.

The way the Ming family handled this… truly left one speechless.

He asked Huang Ye, "Is Ming Qiang's adoptive older brother still in the village?"

"Heard he's gone, already fled. After all, he committed murder, and many people saw it. Staying on in the Capital City Domain, sooner or later someone would overturn the case. The Ming family didn't dare keep him at home."

At least they had some sense.

But this made finding the man a real hassle—wasted legwork!

"First have Mu Yiguan Mu examine Ming Qiang—save him if he can be saved. I'm going out for a bit."

Chen Chen Guanlou first went to Big Pagoda Tree Village, quietly making inquiries. Ming Qiang's adoptive older brother Ming Sheng was indeed not in the village.

The switch must have happened during the transfer between prisons.

The villagers all thought Ming Sheng was locked up in the Heaven Prison. Little did they know the person locked up in the Heaven Prison was Ming Qiang.

The villagers mistakenly believed Ming Qiang was out studying. That was what Old Man Ming told people, and no one doubted it.

Old Man Ming and the woman he married later had four children together—three boys and a girl. No wonder he didn't care whether Ming Qiang lived or died.

Such a formidable woman—even Chen Chen Guanlou couldn't help wondering if she'd had a lover on the side, whether those four children were really Old Man Ming's. He stole a few glances. Huh, they really were Old Man Ming's blood. All of them had Ming family faces, unmistakable.

Old Man Ming was biased—killing his own son to save the adopted one. Tsk tsk… truly a move that left one speechless.

Back in Jingcheng, he took the case file and went straight to find Sun Sun Daojing.

He flung the case file onto the table and said bluntly, "Old Sun, look at your people and the job they've done. Brazenly deceiving you, sneaking around pulling a swap-the-plum-for-the-peach deal. The key is the method was so crude, anyone could see through it at a glance.

The case file records that Ming Sheng is built like an ox, at least a hundred and eighty catties. The one in the cell is thin as a rail, probably not even a hundred catties. And the height doesn't match, the looks don't match.

I made some inquiries and found out the one in the cell is the eldest son born to the Ming family's first wife, and he's been poisoned to the point his brain's no longer clear. What kind of work is this! This sort of thing is enough to anger both heaven and mankind!

When we play swap-the-plum-for-the-peach, it's consensual—both parties willing, each getting what they need. But look at you people in the Ministry of Justice playing swap-the-plum-for-the-peach—the whole point is coercion! Refuse and they poison you!

Completely disregarding the survival of us jailers who have eyes! They don't even bother with Biao Mian Gong—who do they think they're looking down on! Looking down on Heaven Prison jailers is one thing. But in fact, they're clearly looking down on you, my lord!"

"Wait… what on earth are you talking about." Sun Sun Daojing looked completely baffled.

The moment Chen Chen Guanlou came in, he'd rattled off a stream of complaints, and Sun Sun Daojing hadn't even caught up to which case he was referring to.

"Read the case file yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about."

Sun Sun Daojing opened the case file and read it carefully, and combined with what Chen Chen Guanlou had just said, his brow furrowed tight.

"Are you certain the prisoner in the cell isn't Ming Sheng, but the Ming family's eldest son?"

"How could that be false? Just to be safe, I made a special trip to Big Pagoda Tree Village outside the city. The person locked in the cell is indeed Ming Qiang, and his brain has already been ruined by poison. I had Mu Yiguan Mu treat him—don't know if he can be saved."

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

Sun Sun Daojing had worked in criminal justice for decades, had seen every kind of monster and demon, every bizarre case. But a swap-the-plum-for-the-peach this crude—using one's own son to replace the adopted one—and succeeding at it—was a first.

"This case must be handled carefully. I shall first accompany you to the Heaven Prison."

He had to see for himself. Just in case, he didn't give Chen Chen Guanlou a single moment of free time, to prevent any cheating. He immediately took his official robes and led men to the Heaven Prison.

With the Minister of Justice personally arriving, the Heaven Prison guards all behaved themselves, putting on an act, striving to be qualified jailers.

Sun Sun Daoning couldn't be bothered with the guards' little tricks. He went straight to the third-class prison block, straight to the cell holding Ming Qiang.

Sure enough…

The prisoner Ming Sheng recorded in the Juan Sect files didn't match at all. Height, build, appearance—nothing matched.

The substitution trick was so crude it was painful to look at.

Imperial Physician Mu was administering medicine to Ming Qiang.

"What's his condition?" Sun Sun Daoning asked.

"Reporting to my lord, this prisoner has been poisoned with multiple toxins. His mind is already ruined."

"Can he be cured?"

"The poison has seeped into his marrow—hard to treat. This old man will do his utmost, but at best he can recover to about half. Continuing his studies will be impossible."

"Treat him with everything you have. At the very least, get him to speak."

"Yes, my lord!"