Chapter 1473: Once you enter the Heavenly Prison, you must learn to accept your fate

Dou Shu was very anxious.

The wedding date, originally set for the end of the year, had been suddenly moved up.

It was all because the grandmother of the groom's family was critically ill, and a charlatan had suggested a "bliss-inducing" marriage to ward off bad luck.

The wedding was next month, yet there was no movement at all from Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen's side. She was so anxious that blisters had formed on her lips and two pimples had sprouted on her forehead; no matter how much powder she applied, she couldn't cover them up.

She was in such agony she felt like she was suffocating!

She had no choice but to risk sending a letter to Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, praying for his help.

Trapped in a desperate situation and forced to beg an outsider for help, Dou Shu felt a profound sense of sorrow and loneliness. She thought to herself, if she absolutely had to marry, she might as well die. Let the groom's family's "bliss-inducing" marriage turn into a bloody disaster. From then on, the groom's family would surely hate the Dou family!

She had even planned it out: on the day of the wedding, she would definitely carry a dagger on her person. At worst, they would perish together! If they wanted to make her suffer, then no one would have an easy time.

Just as she was wavering in her anxiety, pondering how to commit murder, Chen Guanlou seemed to descend from the heavens, bringing the light of hope as he came to her rescue.

Her eyes lit up, filled with gratitude and the lingering fear of one who had narrowly escaped death.

Chen Guanlou handed her a pill. "Eat this, and next month's wedding will be called off!"

"What is this?"

"It's a poison! Don't worry, it won't kill you. It will only make you lie in bed and be ill for a period of time. Once your crisis is resolved, I will send someone to bring you the antidote."

Dou Shu took the pill and, without the slightest hesitation, swallowed it in one gulp!

Compared to getting married, she was clearly more willing to take poison!

"It will take effect tonight, so be prepared!"

"Thank you!" Dou Shu was full of gratitude, then asked hesitantly: "My Lord Chen, my father..."

"Still under investigation. This matter is a bit complicated; you must wait patiently."

Dou Shu nodded heavily. "My Lord Chen, I trust you!"

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Rest easy and lie down to recover; all obstacles will be overcome. You must believe that your future is bright."

"Thank you, thank you!" Dou Shu was so moved she shed tears, her gratitude beyond words.

Hearing footsteps outside, Chen Guanlou gave a final instruction and left decisively.

The medicine had been prepared by Medical Official Mu; it could make a person fall ill, yet ordinary physicians would be unable to detect it at all.

It was perfect for faking an illness.

Medical Official Mu clicked his tongue in wonder. "My Lord, you are quite attentive to the little Dou girl."

"I am merely showing pity for the poor and weak," Chen Guanlou said.

"Does My Lord really believe that Dou Anzhi is an impostor?"

"Whether he is an impostor or not is unimportant; I only want to know the truth. This story has successfully piqued my curiosity. Aren't you curious?"

Medical Official Mu nodded, indicating that he was also very curious.

He had seen people taking exams for others, and he had seen body doubles, but he had never seen someone who dared to impersonate an official. And right under the feet of the Son of Heaven, no less; their guts were truly massive, daring to defy the heavens and fearing nothing! They weren't afraid of being exposed at all!

And yet, all the relatives who could verify their identity were dead!

There were truly too many suspicious points!

If you don't put it on the scale, it weighs three liang.

Once you put it on the scale, three thousand jin won't hold it down.

The whereabouts of the servant boy had not yet been found, but Eunuch Wang Hai came running to see Chen Guanlou, looking startled, his expression slightly shocked.

"Did you see a ghost? In broad daylight?" Chen Guanlou teased.

Eunuch Wang Hai furrowed his brows tightly. "If, and I mean if... a woman, without coming into contact with outside men, without sleeping with a man, can she become pregnant?"

She can!

Artificial insemination!

But, does this era have that technology?

"Are you stimulated? Why are you talking nonsense!" Chen Guanlou asked curiously.

Wang Hai touched his own forehead; he didn't have a fever, so he wasn't talking nonsense.

"I'm asking you, if?"

"You tell me what exactly happened first, then I can analyze it. This kind of thing cannot be 'if'. It can't be 'if' at all!"

Eunuch Wang Hai stammered, wanting to speak but not wanting to.

He shook his head, wanting to shake the messy stuff out of his brain. "My brain is muddled! You're right, it can't be 'if' at all, it must be that I'm overthinking. Brother Chen, I'll take my leave!"

Chen Guanlou was bewildered, watching Eunuch Wang leave as swiftly as the wind; he blinked, unable to figure it out.

It had nothing to do with him, so naturally, he wouldn't overthink it.

There was a death-row inmate in the prison who didn't want to die and was looking for Chen Guanlou to make a deal.

Chen Guanlou went down to the Jia-grade prison and met the man.

"Magistrate Ding, your crimes are corruption and perverting the law, treating human life like grass, corrupting the court's administration and reputation, causing the local people to live in misery. You also colluded with mountain bandits, robbing and killing; you are guilty of the ten heinous crimes! You almost incited a civil uprising. You are dead for sure. I know you don't want to die, but you must die!"

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, I am wronged! I have money, I have plenty of money, please help me, I know you must have a way."

"It's useless to cry injustice in front of me; I am not the Minister of Justice, I am not responsible for judging cases."

Chen Guanlou was somewhat impatient and didn't really want to take this business.

According to Magistrate Ding's crimes, dying ten times wouldn't be enough.

Magistrate Ding was very haggard. When he was first locked in the Heavenly Prison, he was plump and fair, with a kind face, looking like a good person. After being locked up for a period, he had rapidly lost weight, his cheeks sunken. He hadn't seen the sun, yet he had darkened a shade. The whole person looked slightly gloomy and decadent, occasionally revealing a trace of ferocity.

Magistrate Ding gritted his teeth and said: "I admit to corruption and perverting the law, I admit to colluding with mountain bandits, but I don't admit to any of the other charges. When I judged cases, I did indeed favor one side, but I also made the defendants compensate the victims. I didn't beat people to death in one go; I left room for maneuver.

As for robbing and killing, that is even more of a baseless rumor! Did I collude with mountain bandits for myself? I was cleaning up after my superiors! I didn't see a single copper of the robbery money. As for the people killed, I didn't even see the corpses. How can all these crimes be pinned on me alone! I don't accept it!"

"It's useless to be stubborn with me. If you don't accept it, go tell the Ministry of Justice." Chen Guanlou said coldly. "Magistrate Ding, you have already entered the Heavenly Prison, you must learn to accept your fate!"

"I can't accept my fate! If I accepted my fate, I would still be facing the yellow earth with my back to the sky, being a bitter, miserable farmer. If I accepted my fate, I would still be huddled in some yamen, being a small eighth-rank official, suffering the bullying of colleagues and superiors. If I accepted my fate, I wouldn't have been able to marry a young lady from an official family as my wife! Today, I still don't accept my fate! Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, please help me..."

Magistrate Ding looked at Chen Guanlou with eager expectation. It was a struggle and refusal to accept fate, the resilience of someone who had climbed up from the bottom, and a thorough understanding of the rules of the officialdom!

Chen Guanlou coughed lightly. "How can I help you? Replace the peach tree with the plum? Or help you clear your name? The former, even if you luckily don't die, you'd have to hide your name for a lifetime, fleeing to a remote place to hide and live; how is that different from exile? Clearing your name is even more impossible; the witnesses and physical evidence are all there, the Ministry of Justice has already nailed you down, it's impossible to overturn the case!"

"I would rather be exiled than willingly accept execution!" Magistrate Ding said with a fierce expression. "I would rather live like a rat in a gutter than be beheaded on the execution ground! Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, help me, name your price!" ===== CHAPTER 1474 =====