Chapter 1438

"Uncle Lou..."

"In the Heavenly Prison, please address me as Prison Warden!" Chen Guanlou said with a serious face, looking upright and incorruptible.

Chen Mengzhi immediately corrected himself. "My lord, it's like this: my family is arranging a marriage for me, and I'm a bit unsure. I wanted to hear your opinion."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. The younger generation was about to get married, yet he was still a bachelor.

He could already imagine that there must be people in the clan gossiping about him, calling him an old bachelor.

He coughed lightly. "What is the woman's family background, and why are you unsure? Could it be that she's too ugly and you don't like her?"

Chen Mengzhi looked slightly conflicted.

He fidgeted for a moment before saying, "My lord, do you remember Steward Ma from the Hou Fu?"

"The Old Lady's personal servant?"

The current Old Lady of the Hou Fu was the wife of the Marquis Pingjiang, the original legitimate wife!

Steward Ma had accompanied the Old Lady to the Hou Fu as part of her dowry and managed the affairs of the Hou Fu, being highly valued.

"Steward Ma's son and daughter have both been removed from the slave registry and are now commoners. His youngest son even passed the child scholar exam. I heard he's going to take the scholar exam next year. His granddaughter is sixteen, and she's decent-looking, though certainly not as good as the young ladies of our Chen clan. His family wants to marry into ours and give his granddaughter to me, and I can't figure out why. My lord, could you help me analyze whether this marriage should go ahead?"

It was clear that Chen Mengzhi was very confused.

His brain capacity was limited, and he couldn't guess Steward Ma's thoughts, which made him very distressed.

Chen Guanlou asked directly, "What is the attitude of your family elders?"

"My family hasn't opposed it. Steward Ma's family has a two-courtyard house in the city and even bought servants to wait on them. They're quite wealthy. The Ma family also promised to give about two thousand taels of silver as a dowry for the granddaughter."

"Did your family take a fancy to the woman's dowry?" Chen Guanlou asked bluntly.

Chen Mengzhi felt a bit embarrassed but nodded in admission.

For a small, humble family, being able to marry a daughter-in-law with a two-thousand-tael dowry was like burning high incense.

In general cases, the dowry was only a few dozen taels, or even none at all. If they were slightly better off, it would only be one or two hundred taels.

Two thousand taels was a huge sum.

"Then what are you hesitating about?"

"I just can't figure out what virtue or ability I have that makes Steward Ma willing to marry his own granddaughter to me, and even give two thousand taels as a dowry. This... could he be plotting against me?"

Hearing this, Chen Guanlou burst into laughter.

"Plotting against your ass! What do you have that's worth plotting against? Do you have an official position? Do you have a clever brain? Are you highly valued by the Hou Fu? You have nothing, so why would he plot against you? If he's really plotting, he's plotting against me!"

Chen Mengzhi had a sudden realization. "I understand! They are coming for you, my lord, right? They want to use me to befriend you, don't they?"

He cheered and jumped for joy at having guessed the truth, feeling the excitement and thrill of parting the clouds to see the moon. His own IQ had occupied the high ground!

He had to remember this moment of glory!

Chen Guanlou coughed lightly. "I haven't had any dealings with Steward Ma, so I don't know the man. How about this: I'll find someone to ask around. As for you, don't guess blindly. Wait until I find out the truth."

"My lord, am I a 'thousand-mile horse' in their eyes?" Chen Mengzhi asked excitedly.

Chen Guanlou really didn't want to discourage him; a young man's enthusiasm, dreams, and confidence were worth encouraging!

So he nodded. "You are definitely a thousand-mile horse!"

Having received the answer he wanted, Chen Mengzhi left, fully satisfied!

To ask about Steward Ma, of course, he had to find Brother Chen Guanqiang.

With the three molds found, Brother Qiang had resolved his heart's worry and kept his position as head steward, feeling very pleased with himself.

Upon learning that Chen Guanlou was treating him to drinks, he hurriedly said, "I'll pay for this round!"

The two agreed to go to a brothel, listen to music, and watch the top courtesan dance, having a wonderful time.

After three rounds of drinks and tasting the dishes, they finally brought up the serious business.

"There's a kid in the clan named Chen Mengzhi, do you know him? He works under me."

"I know him! Everyone knows him. Anyone you take a fancy to and arrange to work in the Heavenly Prison must be known." Chen Guanqiang spoke the truth.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. "The clan is giving me so much face."

"Absolutely! Why do you mention him? Did he commit a crime?"

"No crime. Steward Ma from the Old Lady's side has taken a fancy to him and wants to marry his granddaughter to him, and even prepared a two-thousand-tael dowry. Is there some trick to this?"

"Two thousand taels?" Chen Guanqiang was instantly shocked by the dowry amount. "That's quite wealthy. It looks like he hasn't embezzled little over the years. And he actually took a fancy to that kid Chen Mengzhi? That kid's family has a heavy burden, and his conditions aren't that great. If there's really a trick, it's probably aimed at you."

"Why aim at me? I've never had any contact with him."

Chen Guanqiang pondered for a moment. "You should have heard that apart from Steward Ma and his wife, plus his second son's family, all his other sons and daughters have already been removed from the slave registry and are now commoners.

His youngest son has some talent for studying, but only a little. It's said he took the exam three times in a row and couldn't pass the scholar exam, and is still just a child scholar. I'll make a bold guess: he probably wants to find a proper job for his youngest son. Maybe he's taken a fancy to a job in the Heavenly Prison—less work, more money, and close to home!"

Chen Guanlou said "Oh." "If he wants a proper job, he could go to the Hou Fu, the Prince, or even you. Why does it have to be me? Can't he use your connections? Why must he marry into Chen Mengzhi's family?"

"If he just wants to get into the Heavenly Prison, then using your connections is definitely the best. If you arrange a clerk's job for him, it's better than anything else. Other government offices' minor clerks don't make as much money as those in the Heavenly Prison. This is already an open secret!"

Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue.

"Besides this guess, is there anything else?"

Chen Guanqiang pondered and shook his head. "I can't think of anything. Steward Ma is a shrewd man, smooth and tactful, with a bottom line in his work; he's not a bad person."

"What's your relationship with him?"

"It's alright! Just a casual acquaintance; we can sit at the same table to eat and drink, and occasionally play cards together. He has good card manners."

"That's quite a high evaluation!"

"I'm speaking the truth, without any embellishment."

"What's the situation with his youngest son? Tell me specifically." Chen Guanlou asked.

Chen Guanqiang thought carefully. "He looks decent, just not very tall, though his build is quite sturdy. He's studied since childhood and can sit still. If you want to talk about flaws, does being a womanizer count? He once had an affair with a maid in the mansion, and after it was discovered, Steward Ma never allowed him into the Hou Fu again."

"Is he married?"

"Of course! He has children!"

Chen Guanlou thought to himself that if it were really as Chen Guanqiang said, and there were no major flaws, giving Steward Ma some face wouldn't be impossible.

Of course, he certainly couldn't be the one to rush into this.

He had to wait for Steward Ma to come to him voluntarily and see the other party's sincerity before deciding.

He let Chen Mengzhi work in the Heavenly Prison because the other party was surnamed Chen.

Steward Ma's son wasn't surnamed Chen, so naturally, he had to show some sincerity.

As long as he was willing to take the money, he guaranteed to be fair and honest, and would definitely handle the matter beautifully so that both sides were satisfied!